Page 178 – The Pulse of Football

Jan

2023

Serie A Review: A Neapolitan special

This week, we’re dedicating this full column to league leaders Napoli due to their incredible 5-1 victory over Juventus.

By Matteo Bonetti, US Serie A expert

Napoli’s historic night

It was one of Napoli’s greatest moments since the days of Diego Maradona more than three decades ago. On a Friday night in a stadium named after the Napoli legend, the Partenopei put on a performance worthy of Diego’s legacy. It’s hard to overstate just how incredible a 5-1 victory for Napoli is over their biggest rival Juventus. More than just a footballing derby, it’s the old North vs. South battle in Italy. During the 2010s, Juventus’ nine consecutive Scudetti made sure that Napoli’s competitive sides couldn’t reclaim a trophy they hadn’t won since 1990. It was a period when Napoli were always the bridesmaid, never the bride. They were tagged as the anti-Juve, but always fell short at the very end.

This season feels so different. For starters, having a nine point lead at the top of the table is something unprecedented for the current winter champions. Their style of play isn’t just the best in Italy, but one of the most aesthetically pleasing worldwide. Napoli hold the ball for longer than anyone else in Serie A, with an average possession of over 60%. They also press frenetically the second they lose the ball, which often times leads to them winning it straight back and having another long period of uninterrupted passing combinations.

What makes Napoli’s record even more remarkable is how this was supposed to be a rebuilding season for them. After a summer in which the club saw their most influential players leave in every department – Ospina in goal, Koulibaly from the defence, Fabián Ruiz from the midfield and then the two popular attackers Dries Martens and Lorenzo Insigne. Apart from Fabián, the others were older players on expensive contracts who were entering the tail end of their career.

The work that Napoli sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli did last summer is one of the finest I’ve seen from a person in his position. To be able to identify younger, low cost solutions from smaller leagues to come in right away and seamlessly transition to Serie A was incredible. The likes of the Korean defender Kim Min-Jae and winger Kvicha Kvaratskhelia have had the most incredible impact right away.

It was once again Kvara as the catalyst in Napoli’s success against Juventus. The Georgian winger had his way for most of the night against Juve’s defender Danilo, especially in the one-on-one situations. Kvara inadvertently set up Victor Osimhen’s first goal by unleashing a bicycle kick that was parried right onto the waiting head of the Nigerian striker. Kvaratskhelia then was on the receiving end of an Osimhen assist, after Juve’s centre-back Bremer made another backbreaking error in his own box which Napoli pounced on. Finally, Kvara curled in a pinpoint cross for Osimhen’s headed brace. A world class performance for a 21-year-old who looked fearless in the biggest Serie A match of his life, a game that could’ve either opened up the Scudetto race with only a four point gap, or extend Napoli’s lead to double digits atop the standings.

The other player who lit up the Stadio Maradona was Victor Osimhen. The Nigerian has finally gone half a season without picking up a serious injury, something that has kept him out for months in the past. What Osimhen has been able to do with continued playing time is look like the best striker in the league. He’s now the current Serie A capocannoniere with 12 goals, including 10 of them coming in the last 10 league matches. Osimhen’s dynamic style has made him virtually unplayable. If the opposing defence plays a high line, the striker will torch them on the counter with his lightning pace and control. If a defence sits back, Osimhen’s accurate heading ability becomes a problem if you force everything wide and allow Napoli to cross it into the box.

On the Juventus end, nothing went right. For a team that had only conceded a league best seven goals all campaign, they nearly doubled that tally with the five Napoli scored past them. It was the ultimate battle between attack and defence, and Napoli boss Luciano Spalletti’s approach made the pragmatic, defensive style of Allegri seem archaic. In hindsight, Juve’s formation was perplexing. Having Federico Chiesa and Filip Kostic play as wingbacks who were rooted deep in their own half defending in a back five seemed like the worst way possible to utilise two natural wingers who do their best work in the final third. What’s even more puzzling is how Juve still seemed content to sit back and apply little pressure when they were down multiple goals. When they finally did show a bit more life, the game was well out of reach. It’s a Juventus system based on keeping a clean sheet rather than piling on the goals, so when the defence looks so utterly poor, it feels like there’s no chance for this team to succeed against such a dynamic attack.

What we’ve learned by now is that Napoli are truly the best side in Serie A. This no longer feels like a midseason fairytale. There’s enough evidence both in European play and domestically that Napoli’s depth and identity is going to lead to continued success. They play the best football and are managed by one of the great offensive minds of the 21st century, the massively underrated Luciano Spalletti. Spalletti’s fearless approach, as seen by his side constantly playing high up the field and pressing even with a four goal lead, shows you just how ruthless this team are. It would be an incredible story for Serie A if Napoli were to lift the Scudetto, and the party in Naples would probably be one heard around the world given the religious passion the Napoletani faithful show for their club.

Closing Notes…

Paulo Dybala scored a fantastic brace to secure Roma a win against Fiorentina, while Mexican keeper Memo Ochoa conceded eight goals as Salernitana got obliterated by Atalanta. Lecce’s unbeaten streak in Serie A is now at six, with wins against Lazio and Atalanta, followed by a 2-2 draw at home against Milan over the weekend.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every match from the 2022/23 Serie A season live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage including shot maps, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Jan

2023

Last Weekend: <strong>Monumental Manchester derby, Napoli batter Juventus and more</strong>

Last Weekend: Monumental Manchester derby, Napoli batter Juventus and more

We are approaching the midway point of the 2022/23 season in most major winter leagues, so things are starting to really heat up now. Across Europe, there were some massive top-of-the-table clashes this weekend, many of which had the added twist of being local rivalries. We will be going over some of those, as well as a number of other consequential results in this edition of Last Weekend.

By Neel Shelat

🇮🇹 Italy: Napoli 5-1 Juventus

Serie A got its big game in early, as Napoli took on Juventus on Friday night. This was a match between the top two, but seven points separated the hosts from the Bianconeri prior to kick off.

Juventus did come into this game on a superb run of form, though. They had won each of their last eight league games, all with clean sheets to boot. Napoli, meanwhile, suffered their first defeat of the Serie A season a week and a half ago, so this was being built up as a crunch fixture for both.

In recent history, Juventus have always tended to win these big games by hook or crook, whereas Napoli have a bit of a reputation for choking at such times. For that reason, this result was nothing short of seismic.

Napoli did not just beat Juventus; they completely blew them out of the water. Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia were simply too hot to handle all game, and they both returned three goal involvements. Besides them, defender Amir Rrahmani and substitute Eljif Elmas got on the scoresheet for the Partenopei.

There was a lot of talk about Juventus’ aforementioned clean sheet record prior to this match, but a quick look at the data made it clear that it was bound to end sooner rather than later. Prior to this match, they had conceded well under half the amount of goals their xGA projected, and their defensive stats still show a massive overperformance.

Napoli, on the other hand, are the best side in league in terms of goals scored and xG, and second-best in the division in terms of goals conceded and xGA. Clearly, their 10-point lead at the top is very deserved, and they are well on course to win their first league title since 1990.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England: Manchester United 2-1 Manchester City

It is hard to recall an English weekend in recent history with title-defining derbies of the proportion and impact that we saw over the last couple of days. On Sunday, Premier League leaders Arsenal visited the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in a huge North London Derby, just a few hours after their clubmates were involved in a table-topping WSL derby against Chelsea.

Perhaps the most meaningful derby result came the day before those matches. Second-placed Manchester City visited United with four points between the two sides, but a noteworthy gap to Arsenal. Quite simply, this was a must-win game for both teams, not that there ever are any other options in such a derby anyway.

The first half was not the best from an entertainment point of view, but it featured a gripping tactical battle. The home side did fairly well in their 4-2-1-3 high block with player-marking through midfield which generated some good counterattacking opportunities, but their final action was not always on point. City controlled proceedings for the most part, but they too looked sloppy in the final third.

A couple of tactical tweaks at half-time seemed to give Pep Guardiola’s side the edge in the second period, so they looked to be on course to pick up all three points when substitute Jack Grealish turned in Kevin De Bruyne’s cross on the hour-mark. Out of seemingly nowhere, though, Manchester United equalised in very controversial fashion with just over 10 minutes to go when Bruno Fernandes slotted home Casemiro’s through ball. The Manchester City defence was passive since the clearly-offside Marcus Rashford made a run towards the ball, but he did not touch it, and in accordance with the laws of the game, did not interfere.

Perhaps the nature of that call and, of course, the timing of the goal completely shifted the game’s momentum. A Manchester United winner looked inevitable, and it came in the 82nd minute when the electric Alejandro Garnacho set up Rashford for his eighth goal in the last seven games (with at least one in each). With that, a seemingly comfortable win for City turned into absolutely nothing in a game of fine margins.

Manchester United will definitely feel that they too are now in the title race.

🇪🇸 Spain: Real Madrid 1-3 Barcelona

The first Clásico of 2023 was not played in Spain, but in Saudi Arabia, which hosted the Supercopa de España. Both Real Madrid and Barcelona needed penalties in midweek to advance past Valencia and Real Betis respectively and set up a date against each other in the final on Sunday.

When the day arrived, it was Barcelona who sprung a bit of a tactical surprise. They adopted a very aggressive player-to-player defensive approach which really unsettled their opponents, switching to more of a 4-2-3-1 formation in the process.

In possession, Xavi set his side up in their usual asymmetrical system, which sees the left-back advance far forward while the right-back stays deep. In midfield, both Pedri and Gavi were quite advanced, and they really stole the show.

The 18-year-old Spanish international proved to be the difference-maker in the first half, as he got a goal and assist along with Robert Lewandowski to put Barcelona two goals to the good going into the half-time break. The second half was all about controlling the match, but Pedri got a third in the 69th minute, putting the result beyond doubt. Karim Benzema did get on the scoresheet late on, but that was just a consolation goal.

So, Barcelona lifted their first trophy in Xavi’s tenure as a manager, and also their first since the departure of Lionel Messi. They should no doubt celebrate this achievement, but must also refocus quickly on greater and grander ambitions, such as winning La Liga.

🇳🇱 Netherlands: Ajax 0-0 FC Twente

While Barcelona seem to be on the up again, Ajax are rather slumping as their four-season streak of Eredivisie titles is under real threat this time out.

After going down to 10 men in the first half, they could only manage a goalless draw against FC Twente. That was their fifth consecutive match without a win in the league, and the first time they failed to score in their last 38 Eredivisie games. Perhaps most concerningly, though, this was just their first clean sheet in the last 10 league games.

That leaves Ajax in third place, five points behind league-leaders Feyenoord, as we approach the midway point of the season. AZ are a point above them, while PSV have the same points tally but an inferior goal difference.

Twente are just one point and two spots behind the defending champions in what is turning out to be a brilliant campaign for them, although they will also be disappointed with this result as they missed the chance to leapfrog them in spite of having a numerical advantage for the majority of the match. Still, for a side last promoted as recently as four seasons ago, that is a great position to be in.

The upcoming weekend could prove to be pivotal in the Eredivisie title race, as Ajax visit the leaders in the first Klassieker of the season.

🇨🇱 Chile: Colo-Colo 1-1 Magallanes (3-4 pens)

Football is back in Chile for the 2023 season, and its return was marked by the Supercopa. It featured the country’s most successful club and Primera División holders Colo-Colo, and Deportes Magallanes.

Magallanes’ story is quite fascinating. Formed in 1897, they have one of the richest histories in the country, having won the first three Chilean top-flight titles back-to-back in the 1930s. However, they have been fallen giants in recent history, as their last Primera División match was in 1986, and they were down in the third tier as recently as 2010.

2022 was incredible for them, as they not only won the Primera B and secured their return to the big time, but also went on an unforgettable run in the Copa Chile which saw them win their first major trophy since 1938 and also qualify for the Copa Libertadores as well as this match in the process.

Of course, they were still the clear underdogs in the Supercopa, and it seemed they would get a taste of reality in the top flight when they conceded the opener 22 minutes in. Magallanes took just four minutes to equalise, though, and then held on till the full-time whistle.

Having won two of their last three cup ties on penalties, they were well-prepared for what was coming up next. Colo-Colo went first and missed, but they were right back in it when Magallanes’ third effort was saved. Their last two takers delivered under great pressure, while Gastón Rodriguez saved the fifth penalty to help his side start 2023 with more silverware.

🇵🇹 Portugal: Rio Ave 0-1 Paços de Ferreira

The main match in Portugal this weekend was the Derby de Lisboa, which ended in a 2-2 draw between league-leaders Benfica and Sporting. Naturally, therefore, we will be focusing on the club at the other end of the table.

That team is Paços de Ferreira, who are having a really torrid time this season. 15 matches in, they had just three points, not a single win, and not even a clean sheet! That was a pretty shocking return for a club that qualified for Europe just two seasons ago and finished a respectable 11th last time out.

Unsurprisingly, they have changed head coaches in the middle of the campaign. César Peixoto was the man who was leading the team last summer, but he was told to pack his bags in October. His replacement was José Mota, who had played close to 200 matches for the club between 1987 and 1996 and had also managed them for almost 300 games in two separate stints in the 2000s.

This time, though, Mota just got seven matches – four league defeats and a winless elimination from the group stage of the League Cup – before losing his job. His replacement? You guessed it: César Peixoto.

Two games into his second tenure, the 42-year-old head coach is unbeaten and has tripled Paços de Ferreira’s points tally with a draw and a win. They also finally managed their first clean sheet of the season en route to three points against Rio Ave, who were no pushovers having started the match in the top half of the table.

Of course, Paços are still rooted to the bottom of the table and have a long way to go if they are to escape relegation, but they seem to finally be heading in the right direction.

Cover Image from IMAGO

Jan

2023

Premier League Review: United beat City and Arsenal win the North London Derby

We had a couple of potential season-defining results this weekend in the Premier League as a number of teams suffered hefty blows to their ambitions. We take a look at the biggest talking points from across the action in England’s top tier.

By Sam McGuire, Premier League expert

Brighton March on

The Seagulls continue to soar in the Premier League this term and are now up to seventh following their 3-0 win over Liverpool on Saturday. It was a deserved victory for Roberto De Zerbi’s men as they dominated the ball (61%), had more shots (16 to 6) and had almost double the xG of their visitors (1.94 to 1.05).

Solly March was the star of the show as he netted twice and assisted Danny Welbeck for his goal. His FotMob rating of 9.1 was truly deserved. The 28-year-old ran riot at the Amex, attempting four shots and creating four opportunities for teammates. He did it all on the day and was rewarded for such an eye-catching showing.

Red Devils Derby delight

It was a controversial Manchester derby as United came from behind to dent City’s title hopes.

The away side took the lead on the hour mark as Jack Grealish nodded home a Kevin de Bruyne cross. Pep Guardiola’s side dominated the ball but United continued to look dangerous on the break.

Bruno Fernandes scored a hotly debated goal after Marcus Rashford, clearly in an offside position, raced onto a through ball. However, officials deemed the No.10 didn’t interfere with play as he didn’t touch the ball. With Ederson all at sea, Fernandes calmly passed the ball into the net.

Rashford then got on the scoresheet himself to continue his remarkable goalscoring run. While it might’ve felt like a smash and grab, United did have significantly more big chances (four to one) and had an xG of 1.72 to City’s 0.65.

They deserved the win.

Can a free-kick be as dangerous as a penalty?

They can be when James Ward-Prowse is on the pitch. The Southampton midfielder curled home yet another free-kick in the 2-1 win over Everton. He also netted the other goal for the Saints as they claimed all three points to put them level with the Toffees and West Ham United in the table.

It was a fairly even match ultimately decided by a moment of magic. It is something Everton could desperately do with right now with their last win coming in October.

Southampton, meanwhile, are showing signs of life under new boss Nathan Jones. This may have been their first win in the Premier League under him but across all competitions now, they are on a three-match winning streak.

Another clean sheet for Newcastle

They may have been fortunate but Eddie Howe’s side kept an 11th clean sheet of the season in the 1-0 win over Fulham. Nick Pope did have to pick the ball out of his net but Aleksandar Mitrović’s penalty was ruled out for a double touch. The Serbian powerhouse slipped when striking the ball and the ball struck his standing leg before looping into the goal.

You need that bit of luck though when you are battling for a top-four place. Newcastle deserved all three points too after peppering the Fulham goal for the entire match. Their xG haul of 2.36 was enough to win two matches. The hosts also had four times as many efforts as the visitors in what was a very one-sided game.

Newcastle are now just a point behind Manchester City and will fancy their chances of playing Champions League football next season.

Hugo Lloris costs Spurs…again

If you are to get anything against Arsenal this season you have to frustrate them. You can’t gift them a goal – which is exactly what Hugo Lloris did in the North London derby. With just 14 minutes on the clock, the Frenchman inexplicably parried Buyako Saka’s cross into his own net to give Arsenal the lead. From there, it was complete dominance from the Premier League leaders.

Top of Antonio Conte’s to-do list this summer is now likely to find a new goalkeeper. This is Lloris’ fourth error leading to a goal this season. Spurs are now five points behind Manchester United having played a game more.

(Images from IMAGO)

You can follow every match from the 2022/23 Premier League season live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage including shot maps, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Jan

2023

This Weekend: European Derby Days and massive games galore

The best matches to follow this weekend

By Bill Biss

Friday

🇮🇹 Your match feed should be brimming with big name match-ups over the next few days, not least tonight in Serie A, where leaders Napoli meet nearest rivals Juventus.

The Neapolitans boast a seven point lead but have, since the re-start, lost their unbeaten record, and found strugglers Sampdoria tough to break down in the 2-0 win last weekend. Juve have been typically pragmatic since the turn of the year, picking up consecutive 1-0 wins thanks to late goals, results that take their current winning streak to eight games. Amazingly, they’ve also kept eight straight clean sheets in that run.

Saturday

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 After last weekend’s FA Cup drama, it’s back to the regular Premier League schedule for England’s top flight clubs. Aston Villa face Leeds United on Friday night before a run of six games take us through Saturday.

Among the fixtures, in-form Brighton host the unpredictable Liverpool knowing that a win would see them switch places with the Reds and move in to seventh. The two played out an exciting 3-3 draw at Anfield back in October with Leandro Trossard scoring a hat-trick for the Seagulls.

There’s also a battle in the bottom three as Everton face Southampton at Goodison Park. Nathan Jones relieved some of the pressure on his new position with an unexpected Carabao Cup win over Manchester City in the week and he’ll be hoping to transfer that form to the league where the Saints haven’t won since mid-October.

But clearly the day’s biggest draw is the Manchester Derby. Pep Guardiola will undoubtably bring in more of his star players from the start for this one as City look to get back to winning ways and keep the pressure on Arsenal at the top of the table. For their part, United are aiming to win their first derby in four having conceded 12 goals in the last three meetings between these two city rivals.

🇪🇸 With the top two (plus Betis and Valencia) away in Saudi Arabia contesting the Spanish Supercopa, it’s up to third placed Real Sociedad to hold the fort in LaLiga. And fittingly, they have their biggest game of the season – the home derby against Basque rivals Athletic Club. The Bilbao side may sit down in eighth but they are unbeaten in five competitive games and have the third best goalscoring record in the division – scoring at a rate of 1.5 goals per game to Real Sociedad’s 1.4.

🇮🇹 In Serie A, defending champions Milan go to Lecce – where depending on the result of the big Friday night game – a win could take them second in the league. But they’ll need to shake off the shock of losing to Torino in the Coppa Italia during the week. Fourth placed Inter, who required extra-time to defeat Serie B side Parma in their Coppa R16 tie, now face relegation threatened Hellas Verona. That was the Nerazzurri’s fifth game without defeat.

Milan and Inter will then turn their attention to the small matter of next Wednesday’s Supercoppa, a game also being played in Saudi Arabia.

🇳🇱 The Eredivisie returned to action last weekend and both leaders Feyenoord, and three-time defending champions, Ajax, were held to 1-1 draws. That left the Amsterdam club still in need of three points to catch up with their old rivals – points that might be tough to come by with their Saturday fixture coming against FC Twente, who sit just behind them in what is a heavily congested top five. Feyenoord will look to reinstate their slender advantage when they go to Groningen on Sunday.

Sunday

🇪🇸 The format of the Spanish Supercopa – pitting last season’s league and Cup winners together with the runners-up in both competitions and taking them off to Riyadh is designed to give us a spectacle. And for the first time since moving to this format, the league have finally got what they wanted – an additional Clásico to add to the two regular league meetings between Real Madrid and eternal enemies Barcelona!

Both sides required penalty shoot-outs to get through the midweek semi-finals, with Thibaut Courtois Madrid’s hero against Valencia and Marc-André ter Stegen pulling off two crucial saves for Barça against Real Betis. That sets us up nicely for Sunday’s showdown, and gives Xavi’s Barcelona the chance to avenge October’s defeat at the Bernabéu.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 The Premier League weren’t content with providing just the one derby this weekend – they’ve also lined up the North London Derby for Sunday afternoon! League leaders Arsenal travel the short distance to Tottenham Hotspur aiming to extend their current unbeaten league run to 11 games. But they’ll have to do so against a side who looked refreshed in the recent win over Crystal Palace but then only managed a 1-0 win at home against League One Portsmouth in the FA Cup. There hasn’t been a draw between these two rivals in seven previous meetings.

Elsewhere, Palace go to Stamford Bridge looking to heap more misery on Chelsea and their under-pressure coach Graham Potter. That game comes just 72 hours after the Blues lost to West London rivals Fulham for the first time since 2006.

A result that might also be bad news for Newcastle United, who now have to face a Fulham side still riding that high from Thursday night.

There’s also something of a Super Sunday in the Women’s Super League as the return of the league is headlined by the clash between the top two – Arsenal and Chelsea.

🇫🇷 World Cup winner Lionel Messi returned to the PSG line-up in the midweek round of Ligue 1 action – scoring the second in a 2-0 win over bottom side Angers. With Lens only drawing at the same time, that gave the Parisians a six point lead in the title-race – a lead they’ll want to at least maintain in Sunday’s clash with Rennes. The Breton side are themselves in the hunt for a top four finish so should provide stiff opposition.

🇵🇹 In keeping with this weekend’s theme, two of Portugal’s three super clubs – Benfica and Sporting are set to meet in the latest edition of the Derby de Lisboa. Benfica have been dominant this season, going 13 games unbeaten at the start of the league campaign and progressing from their Champions League group. They currently sit six points clear of Braga at the top of the table and will be dreaming that a win against their city rivals will take them another step closer to a first title in three years – an unusually long wait for them.

Sporting appear to have gone backwards a little after finishing first and second in the last two seasons and they currently lie down in fourth, 12 points behind the leaders.

🇧🇪 To round things up, we’ll point you in the direction of one last game of national-level interest taking place on Sunday: The battle between Belgium’s two most successful, and therefore biggest rivals – Club Brugge and Anderlecht. Neither are particularly in a rich vein of form, with three-time defending champions Cub Brugge currently on a run that has seen them win just one competitive game since October and Anderlecht, who sit 11th, fairing little better.

It’s certainly been a baptism of fire for Club Brugge’s new coach Scott Parker – he’s had to face runaway leaders Genk – a game they lost last weekend – and now arch-rivals Anderlecht in his first two games managing in a new country.

If you want to follow any of the games mentioned above, click on the relevant link and tap the bell icon to receive all the key match updates.

Or join us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to discuss all the important football going on this weekend!

Cover Image from IMAGO

Jan

2023

LaLiga Review: Barcelona edge ahead as Madrid slip up

With LaLiga back in full swing, the title race is hotting up and as you’d expect, that dominates our review of the weekend action.

By Ben Hayward, LaLiga expert

Villarreal beat Madrid on a historic day for Los Blancos

Three Frenchman, two Brazilians, two Germans, a Croat, a Belgian, an Austrian and a Uruguayan lined up for Real Madrid at Villarreal in LaLiga on Saturday. It was the first time in the club’s almost 121 years of history that there had been a starting XI in an official match featuring no Spanish players. And if that was not exactly good publicity for Los Blancos, worse was to follow: they lost – and deservedly too.

Villarreal and Madrid had drawn their previous five meetings at the Estadio de la Ceramica in LaLiga, so the champions already knew it would be tough. And there was an early scare for Los Blancos as Francis Coquelin flicked an audacious back-heeled effort against the post after five minutes. Quique Setién’s side then took the lead just over a minute into the second half as Ferland Mendy carelessly gave the ball away in his own half, Dani Parejo found Gerard Moreno and the striker squared for Yéremy Pino to fire home. Mendy almost got back to make amends, but could not block the ball on the line as it hit him on its way in.

Two absurd penalty decisions at either end followed after that. Madrid levelled from the spot through Karim Benzema after the ball had brushed Juan Foyth’s arm in the box, only for Moreno to quickly cancel out the Frenchman’s effort as David Alaba was penalised when the ball hit him on the ground. At least they had one each.

Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois went forward as the visitors sought a late leveller deep into added time, but Villarreal came away with the ball and Moreno missed an empty net from way out. On the sidelines, Setién held his head but it was all over and his side earned a win which should keep him in the job for a while after recent pressure.

“We played an extraordinary match against an extraordinary opponent,” Setién said. And he also praised Pepe Reina after the 40-year-old goalkeeper started following Geronimo Rulli’s move to Ajax on Friday. “Pepe is doing phenomenally well,” he said. “It’s the perfect combination: a veteran like him and a youngster who has just arrived but has already played for the first team [Denmark under-21 keeper Filip Jorgensen].”

Villarreal are up to sixth, level on points with fifth-placed Atletico, but Madrid missed a chance to move above Barcelona at the top of the table. “We made mistakes,” coach Carlo Ancelotti said. “We have to read situations better.” And on the penalties, he added: “I wouldn’t have given either of them.”

Incidentally, Madrid did finish with two Spanish players on the pitch after Luis Vázquez and Marco Asensio came on as substitutes. But it made little difference in the end on a day of unwanted headlines for Los Blancos.

Advantage Barcelona after top level clash

Unlike Madrid, Barcelona came out on top in a tough away match of their own at the weekend. Xavi’s side beat Atlético Madrid 1-0 at the Metropolitano on Sunday thanks to Ousmane Dembélé’s 22nd-minute goal, which was created by a moment of magic from Pedri as the midfielder waltzed past a number of opponents before finding Gavi, who in turn squared for the French winger to fire home. Atleti’s players appealed for a foul by Gavi, but there was not enough in it to deny the goal.

Neither team were at their best after that in a game of few clear-cut chances, but Atlético probably had enough to deserve a draw as José Giménez headed inches wide, Antoine Griezmann forced Marc-Andre ter Stegen into a fine save and the French forward was denied in added time by a vital block from Ronald Araújo on his goal line.

Dembélé hit the side netting in the second half and Barça also saw a Ferran Torres effort ruled out for offside. The former Valencia winger was later sent off in added time along with Atlético’s Stefan Savić for a contest which would not have looked out of place in the wrestling ring.

But Barça wrestled away the three points and move three clear of Real Madrid at the top of LaLiga. “Today, without playing well, we took the three points,” Xavi said. “We suffered. This win is a big boost to our morale. We have struck a blow and shown that we are candidates for the league title.”

They should be. With 13 wins from 16 and 41 points out of a possible 48, this has been an impressive season so far for Barça in LaLiga. And this win came without Robert Lewandowski, missing through suspension.

For Atlético, though, it was another opportunity missed as the Rojiblancos were unable to convert any of their 20 shots on the night. Diego Simeone’s side drop back out of the top four and the Argentine said: “The reality is that we lost, even though it’s true we did enough to merit a different result. I think we did more good things than bad things. But we were missing the most important thing of all: the three points.”

Atlético are a point behind fourth-placed Real Betis, who won 2-1 at Rayo Vallecano. Real Sociedad are four points above the Andalusians in third after a 2-0 victory at Almería, which featured a goal from David Silva on the occasion of his 37th birthday.

And at the other end of the table, Sevilla secured a 2-1 win at home to Getafe on Sunday to finally move out of the bottom three, although Jorge Sampaoli’s side are ahead of 18th-placed Cadíz – surprise 1-0 winners at Valencia on Friday – on goal difference alone. Meanwhile, bottom club Elche are still without a win after 16 games. They lost 1-0 at home to Celta Vigo (Iago Aspas was the match-winner, naturally) on Friday.

(Images from IMAGO)

You can follow every match from the 2022/23 LaLiga season live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage including shot maps, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Jan

2023

FA Cup Review: 10 talking points from a dramatic third round

The FA Cup third round always delivers and it was no different this time around. We had a number of shock results and controversial moments. So we thought we’d piece together a bumper review, recapping some of the biggest talking points and a number of statistical standouts.

By Sam McGuire

Rashford’s rampant form continues

Marcus Rashford has now scored in five successive matches for Manchester United following his return from the World Cup. The England forward had a hand in all three of the goals, converting from the penalty spot in added time to add gloss to the scoreline.

Rashford ran riot at Old Trafford, creating three chances and attempting seven dribbles on the night as he gave Seamus Coleman the runaround. His 8.3 FotMob rating was more than deserved.

LiVARpool

Following the 3-1 loss to Brentford, everyone expected a reaction from Liverpool. Jürgen Klopp expected one too having named his strongest possible team while Wolves fielded a weakened XI.

Yet the Reds needed luck on their side to avoid defeat. Granted, the visitors had a serious slice of luck for the opener when Alisson passed the ball to Gonçalo Guedes. However, after that, it was Liverpool getting the rub of the green. Last season, Mohamed Salah’s goal would’ve been ruled as offside. There was controversy late on when VAR was unable to check a late Wolves winner and the referee had to stick the linesman’s decision of offside. Nobody is certain whether it should’ve been ruled out.

Questionable decisions aside, Wolves went toe-to-toe with Liverpool’s best XI and held their own. The xG on the night was practically identical and the away side even had more efforts on goal.

A proper FA Cup tie

This may not have been the FA Cup clash Wrexham hoped for but they certainly put on a show against Coventry City. At one point in the tie, the non-league side had a 4-1 lead over their hosts. The Championship team scored two during a seven-minute spell to set up a nervy finish but Phil Parkinson’s side had enough about them to claim a 4-3 victory. Their reward is a home tie against high-flying Sheffield United.

The run comes to an end

Heading into their FA Cup tie against Sheffield Wednesday, Newcastle United had not lost a football match since the final day of August. And even then, Liverpool needed a 98th-minute winner to beat Eddie Howe’s men at Anfield.

The Magpies, even with their weakened XI, were favourites to beat the Owls. In truth, it should’ve been a routine win for the Premier League’s surprise package this season. They created chances with an xG value of 3.37 but weren’t able to make the most of these opportunities.

Sheffield Wednesday ran out 2-1 winners courtesy of two Josh Windass goals. Bruno Guimarães halved the deficit but Howe’s side weren’t able to make their dominance count.

A smash and grab at Blackpool

Steve Cooper took the opportunity to rest players for the FA Cup clash against Blackpool as he focuses on Premier League survival. However, even with plenty of fringe players starting, very few would’ve envisaged a 4-1 win for the hosts.

It wasn’t a 4-1 sort of game either. Forest had more shots, better opportunities with almost double the Expected Goals haul and created four big chances to Blackpool’s one.

Chesterfield denied a famous win

West Bromwich Albion had been in fine form under Carlos Corberán. The Baggies had won eight of their last nine outings and found themselves just a point off the play-off spots in the Championship.

They took the lead on two occasions against Chesterfield but then needed a stoppage-time goal to level the tie at 3-3.

Chesterfield actually finished with an xG of 2.08, significantly higher than the xG accrued by the Baggies. The non-league side will feel aggrieved not to have recorded a giant killing.

Burnley continue their fine form

Bournemouth have now lost five successive matches under new permanent manager Gary O’Neil. The FA Cup tie against Burnley was an opportunity for them to halt their bad streak and give the players a confidence boost with a win. Vincent Kompany’s men had other ideas though, heading into the break with a 3-1 lead. The game eventually finished 4-2 but the stats show it was a much closer affair.

Both teams had a similar number of efforts and finished with a near identical Expected Goals total. The big difference, ironically, was that the Burnley players had confidence and made the most of their opportunities.

From heroes to villains

Unai Emery went strong with his team for Aston Villa’s FA Cup match against Stevenage. Despite taking a first-half lead, the hosts struggled to impose themselves on proceedings. Morgan Sanson netted the opener but Villa failed to add to that, even failing to create high-value chances.

The hosts equalised from the penalty spot in the 88th minute and then won the game in the 90th. It wasn’t a deserved win but it was the sort of result you see in the third round of the FA Cup. Keep yourself in the game long enough and there is always that chance of something magical happening.

A Cardiff collapse

This game had everything.

There was the threat of a cup upset after Cardiff City took a 2-0 lead. Then, there was the drama of a handball on the line that resulted in a red card and a missed penalty as Leeds hunted for an equaliser. Then, with time running out, Jesse Marsch’s side scored in the third minute of added time to book a replay with the Bluebirds at Elland Road.

Remarkably, Leeds racked up chances with an xG value of 4.29 but just couldn’t find that elusive winner.

More pressure on Potter

Chelsea and Graham Potter could’ve avenged their mid-week Premier League loss to Manchester City at the Etihad by knocking Pep Guardiola’s men out of the FA Cup. Both teams rotated but it was City with too much class on the day.

They coasted to a 4-0 win and it was yet another game in which Chelsea created nothing under Potter. The visitors attempted just three shots, all from poor positions, for an Expected Goals total of just 0.09.

City, by comparison, created four big chances and had an Expected Goals total of close to 2.8. It was, yet again, a very one-sided result at the Etihad.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every match from the 2022/23 FA Cup live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage including shot maps, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Jan

2023

Serie A Review: Three takeaways as football returns to Italy

Serie A is back and so is our regular Italian football column rounding up some of the main talking points from the latest action.

By Matteo Bonetti, US Serie A expert

Juventus are Scudetto contenders

It’s incredible what a few months can do. It feels like only yesterday that we were talking about the awful state of Juventus in Serie A and the Champions League, where they were knocked out of the group stages and were playing a dull and uninspired brand of football under their manager Max Allegri. But since their 2-0 loss away to Milan in early October, Juventus have been perfect domestically. Eight wins in a row and perhaps more impressively – 8 consecutive clean sheets. They’ve reverted back to the version of Allegri’s Juve that last won the Scudetto, a team that wins no matter the playing style. While this win streak hasn’t seen the most scintillating football, what it has seen is the emergence of youth. 21-year-old Nicolo Fagioli scored back-to-back goals in two games right before the World Cup break, while the teenage midfielder Fabio Miretti has already played 15 league games for the club. This goes along with more minutes for another teenager, Argentine winger Matías Soulé. These young players have given Juventus a new type of spark that they desperately needed in what was becoming one of the most boring teams to watch in Europe.

Adding to the youth movement, Juventus have only good news on the horizon; Federico Chiesa – who is one of the best players in the league when healthy – is finally fit enough to play significant minutes for the club, after missing a year of action due to a devastating ligament injury. Paul Pogba is also ready to take his first competitive minutes for Juventus, after being sidelined since his return to the club form Manchester United last summer.

Given their woeful start to the season combined with the absence of key players, Juventus’ current second place in the table is as improbable as it is extraordinary, given the circumstances they were in just a few months ago.

Napoli get back to winning ways

Napoli were the only undefeated team remaining in the top five European leagues before last Wednesday, when they were finally dealt their first loss of the season, away to Inter. The result isn’t really one that should worry the Napoletani faithful, as they lost to a team that was favourite for the Scudetto with every bookie before the start of the season. There’s no shame in dropping points to a strong Inter side that is injury free, but the issue was how quickly they could recover mentally. In another tricky game, Napoli had to travel to the Marassi stadium over the weekend to face a Sampdoria side that had started off their 2023 campaign with a win under new manager Dejan Stanković, who has given the team much needed life after the failed stint of Marco Giampaolo.

Against Samp, Napoli looked like the team we’ve become accustomed to seeing – quick, dynamic, ruthless under pressure and unstoppable on the counter. With Kvicha Kvaratshkelia quiet once again given his usual standards (at least this time he didn’t get hacked into oblivion like he did in the Inter game), it was Victor Osimhen who took charge by being his usual brilliant self. Osimhen scored a fantastic goal with a perfectly timed run at the near post, finishing off Mario Rui’s cross with a precise first time finish. It was the Nigerian’s pace which caused Sampdoria to pick up a red card, as Thomas Rincon took out the players’ legs from behind, as he was making his way in to the box.

Another positive performance came from Eljif Elmas. The North Macedonian midfielder has been a supersub for most of his career with Napoli, but clearly has the tools and talent to warrant a starting role as he continues to grow. Elmas’ versatility has been called upon by Luciano Spalletti as he filled in for Kvara at left wing before the World Cup, and against Samp, replaced Zielinski in central midfield. It’s this type of adaptability in various positions that will allow Elmas to keep getting called upon in rotation, especially since Napoli are now competing on three fronts with domestic action, Champions League and the Coppa Italia.

We’ll have a lot more answers after this coming Friday, when Napoli take on Juventus at the Maradona, in what’s become the most anticipated game of the season so far in Serie A.

Romelu Lukaku is becoming an enigma

Who exactly is Romelu Lukaku? So far, he’s been a far cry from the unstoppable, world class player that terrorized Serie A under Antonio Conte at Inter, won the club a Scudetto and became the best player in the league – prompting a massive money deal back to Chelsea. Since then, the Belgian striker has been a shadow of himself.

Lukaku scored 47 goals in two seasons under Conte, where he played in a direct counter attacking formation that suited him to perfection. At Chelsea, he only managed eight goals and was in and out of the lineup, often making the headlines for events that happened off the pitch that made him seem like a malcontent with the situation in England. Inter saw this failure at Chelsea as a perfect chance to bring back their hero at a discounted rate. Since his return, Lukaku has managed one goal in six appearances for the Nerazzurri. He’s battled injury and fitness issues since the summer, and endured a frustrating World Cup with Belgium to cap off a 2022 calendar year that he probably couldn’t wait to turn the page on.

While Lukaku looked noticeably heavier and slower at the start of the season, the issue now seems to be more mental than anything else. How else could you explain misses from point blank range with Belgium or the inability to latch onto a simple ball? There’s certain football moves that can’t be simply blamed on form or fitness. These are elementary errors that we’re seeing from Lukaku in the most basic aspects of being a footballer. The hope is that he just needs a few goals under his belt to build up his confidence and get back to the form that made him the most feared player in the league. Inter certainly do need him. While Lautaro Martínez has made improvements to his game since Lukaku’s first stint at Inter, he still can’t offer the one man wrecking crew style counter attacking threat that made the Belgian so unstoppable. Inter are also in fourth place and need something truly special to make up the 10 point difference to leaders Napoli. Lukaku still has plenty of time to work himself back into form, but from a Nerazzurri perspective, that time is hopefully now.

(Images from IMAGO)

You can follow every match from the 2022/23 Serie A season live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage including shot maps, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Jan

2023

Last Weekend: Villarreal outplay Madrid, and title-defining derbies in Türkiye and Greece

As clubs from four of the top five European men’s leagues competed in competitions of various descriptions, there were also some massive derbies elsewhere in the continent. Those matches, plus some massive cup upsets, make up the agenda for this week’s edition of Last Weekend.

By Neel Shelat

🇪🇸 Spain: Villarreal 2-1 Real Madrid

After Unai Emery left for Aston Villa in late October, Villarreal decided to replace him with Quique Setién. Things got off to a very poor start for the 64-year-old Spaniard as he failed to win his first four matches in charge and lost three of them, but it is safe to say that he has turned things around on the other side of the World Cup break.

Their win over defending champions Real Madrid, and the manner of it, is definitive proof of that fact. Villarreal took the game to their opponents right from kick-off with a high press that caused real problems for Carlo Ancelotti’s side, while also building out from the back very nicely when they had the ball.

The hosts couldn’t score in the first half but needed just a couple of minutes in the second period to take the lead through Yéremy Pino after benefitting from a dangerous high turnover. Madrid equalised at the hour-mark thanks to a VAR-awarded penalty which was converted by Karim Benzema, but only three minutes later, Gerard Moreno did the exact same thing at the other end.

That was enough for Setién’s side to come away with three deserved points at the end of a very entertaining match.

That makes it six straight wins for Villarreal in all competitions, while Real Madrid have fallen three points behind Barcelona at the top of the table having won just two of their last five league matches.

🇹🇷 Türkiye: Fenerbahçe 0-3 Galatasaray

On any day, the Intercontinental derby is one of the biggest matches in Türkiye, but on Sunday, there was more than just bragging rights at stake. Chasing their first league title in four seasons, Galatasaray made the short trip across the Bosporus Strait as they sought to at least maintain their one-point lead over Fenerbahçe, who last won the league back in 2014.

Jorge Jesus’ tactics at Fenerbahçe this season have been very interesting to follow. Usually, he uses a 4-1-3-2 formation that looks very different in possession, but for this match, he switched to a 3-4-2-1. Galatasaray, on the other hand, stuck to their favoured and much more straightforward 4-2-3-1 system.

There were very few clear-cut chances in this match, so making the most of whatever fell their way was crucial to both sides’ chances. Galatasaray had an early opener from a corner ruled out for offside, but went on to take the lead in the 32nd minute from a similar situation through Sérgio Oliveira’s powerful strike to the far corner.

With a game to chase, Fenerbahçe returned to their preferred 4-1-3-2 at half-time, and while they did dominate possession, chance creation remained an issue. As they pushed harder for an equaliser, they left themselves more exposed at the back. Galatasaray took advantage of this in the 78th minute when they started a counterattack after a midfield turnover which culminated in substitute Mauro Icardi sending Kerem Aktürkoğlu through on goal, after which the Turkish international made no mistake.

Things went from bad to worse for the hosts late on as İrfan Can Kahveci was sent off for a high boot, and later in stoppage time Mauro Icardi compounded the margin of their defeat.

Fenerbahçe have now lost two of their last four league games and slipped from leading the way to four points behind Galatasaray, who have won nine on the bounce in all competitions. We are almost midway through the season, so there is a long way to go yet.

🇬🇷 Greece: AEK Athens 1-0 Panathinaikos

In Greece as well, there was a derby between the top two teams in the table. Athens is best known for the ‘derby of the eternal enemies’ between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos, but this weekend, the match between AEK and Panathinaikos took centre stage.

The visitors sought to protect a seven-point lead at the top of the table, which was formed partly thanks to their unbeaten record after 16 matches. They are aiming to win their first league title since 2010, whereas AEK’s goal is to prevent that and get their first in five years. Both, however, will be keen to end Olympiacos’ three-season streak.

This match was about as cagey as one would expect such a big derby to be, so there were very few presentable opportunities at either end. AEK had more of the ball and a significantly greater shots tally, so they would have felt that they took a deserved lead when Orbelin Pineda scored from a tight angle in the 68th minute.

The most impressive aspect of AEK’s performance was how they operated out of possession and almost completely contained the visitors, so their lead never seemed under great threat. They even had a stoppage-time penalty to double it, but the failure to convert that did not prove costly in terms of the result.

By becoming the first side to defeat Panathinaikos in the league this season, AEK have closed the gap at the top down to four points. These two might not be the only contestants of the title race, though, as Olympiacos and PAOK are slowly inching back in to it.

🇧🇪 Belgium: Genk 3-1 Club Brugge

There were a number of big matches in Belgium this weekend, including Gent’s visit to Royal Antwerp on Saturday and the Brussels derby on Sunday. Our focus, however, will be on league leaders Genk’s game against defending champions Club Brugge.

This also happened to be Scott Parker’s first match in charge of Brugge, so he started off with a real trial by fire. The English head coach set his side up in a 4-3-3 formation that acted as such in possession but transformed to a 4-4-2 without the ball. Genk, of course, operated in their usual 4-2-3-1 system.

The visitors got off to a slightly better start (perhaps due to the novelty of their tactics) and took the lead about 20 minutes in when Bjorn Meijer set Hans Vanaken up with a nice cutback. Genk were able to equalise within a few minutes, though, as Carlos Cuesta headed a corner home after Simon Mignolet’s failed attempt to punch it away,

Things started to get a bit heated thereafter as five bookings were handed out in the last 20 minutes of the first half, as well as a sending off for Wouter Vrancken. His side would go on to take the lead in the second half with a well-worked goal finished off superbly by Paul Onuachu, who is the league’s top scorer with 14 goals in 16 games.

The game rather slipped away from Club Brugge thereafter, as Abakar Sylla saw a second yellow in the 75th minute. A few minutes later, Bryan Heynen sealed the win for his side.

This maintained Genk’s seven-point lead at the top of the table, while Club Brugge’s deficit has widened to 15 points. Don’t write them off just yet, though, because the Pro League’s format sees points halved for the top four before their Championship play-offs.

🇫🇷 France: Strasbourg Koenigshoffen 0-0 Clermont Foot (4-3 on pens)

The Coupe de France threw up some massive upsets in the Round of 64 this weekend, but the biggest by far came early on Saturday afternoon.

Ligue 1 club Clermont Foot made the trip to face amateur outfit FCO Strasbourg Koenigshoffen 06 in the Northeast of France. The number in the club’s name represents its year of founding — 1906 — but at the moment, it also reflects the tier of French football they play in.

With that in mind, the visitors would have expected to come away with a routine win here so they made a number of changes to their starting line-up. They were in for a real surprise, as the FCOSK06 defensive block kept them at bay for large periods of the match, conceding just 12 shots altogether.

After a goalless 90 minutes, the match went straight to penalties as there is no extra time in the competition this season. Clermont blinked first when Jim Allevinah hit the woodwork, but Ouparine Djoco bailed the Gabonese international out by making a save a couple of efforts later. The decisive moment came when Baila Diallo, brought on just to take a spot-kick, missed the target altogether. Substitute Herman Kekambus had the chance to win for the hosts, and he did just that.

With this incredible result that certainly seems to be the biggest Cupset of 2023 so far, FCOSK06 have become just the fifth sixth-tier club to eliminate a Ligue 1 side in the history of the Coupe de France. Based on the records we could find, this also appears to be their best-ever cup run.

Perhaps most impressively, though, they have made it further in the cup than the city’s main team – RC Strasbourg Alsace, whose match in this round also went to penalties but ended in defeat against Angers. Le SCO will be heading to Strasbourg again soon, as they have been drawn against none other than FCOSK06 in the Round of 32.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England: Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 Newcastle United

While not quite at the level of the shock result in the Coupe de France, the FA Cup in England also had some great matches and surprising scorelines.

The picks of the bunch perhaps were non-league Wrexham’s 4-3 victory away at second-tier Coventry City, and League One side Sheffield Wednesday knocking Premier League podium-sitters Newcastle United.

Both Wednesday and Newcastle are two very historic clubs in the English game, but it’s safe to say they have had contrasting fortunes in recent years. Sheffield Wednesday have sunk down the pyramid and find themselves in the third tier right now. The 2010s were far from kind to Newcastle too, but the recent Saudi-backed takeover has given them a huge injection of cash, which has contributed to them mounting a charge for a Champions League spot this season.

Given the fact that they are fighting on multiple fronts this season, Newcastle fielded a heavily rotated XI for this match. Still, they would have been expected to outplay the hosts, and they did so in the first half, but their failure to convert their chances would prove costly.

In the second half, Josh Windass went on to steal the show. Fresh after ending a six-game goal drought with a hat-trick last Monday, the 28-year-old striker bagged a brilliant brace in the first twenty minutes of the period (although one goal seemed to be offside). Newcastle would have felt that justice was served when Bruno Guimarães pulled one back from a clearly offside position soon thereafter, but they could not score another despite creating more presentable chances.

This memorable win takes Wednesday to the fourth round of the FA Cup while they also challenge for promotion to the Championship. Newcastle, meanwhile, will continue their quest for a trophy in the League Cup in midweek, when they will face Leicester City in the quarter-finals.

Cover Image from IMAGO

Jan

2023

This Weekend: Atlético Madrid vs. Barcelona, the FA Cup and Coupe de France take centre stage

The best matches to follow this weekend

By Bill Biss

Saturday

🇪🇸 After a dramatic week in Spain’s Copa Del Rey, some LaLiga sides might be grateful to get back to league play this weekend. Not least Real Madrid, who were outshot by, but ultimately beat fourth tier Cacereño thanks to a single goal from Rodrygo. A result that left Carlo Ancelotti bemoaning the state of the pitch that the semi-pro side play on. On Saturday, the joint league leaders visit seventh placed Villarreal.

The Yellow Submarine conceded first in their own Copa game against Cartagena, from LaLiga 2, but roared back, scoring five second half goals and progressing to the Round of 16 with ease. That continues the side’s recent good form under former Barcelona coach Quique Setién – they beat Galatasaray, Aston Villa and Napoli in winter break friendlies before last week’s win over Valencia.

🇮🇹 Serie A became the latest big league to restart with the traditional Epiphany holiday round of games played on Wednesday. And there were some big results too, with Inter finally ending Napoli’s unbeaten start to the season. That win took the Nerazzurri in to the top four – a position they’ll be looking to consolidate with a positive result, away at Monza, this weekend.

Elsewhere, Juventus returned to action with a hard-fought win at Cremonese. With the squad decimated by injuries, Arkadiusz Milik’s stoppage-time free kick gave them their seventh straight win in Serie A. Their black and white counterparts from Udinese are Juve’s next test, a side who despite sitting outside the top six have actually been scoring goals at the same rate as the Turin giants this season (1.6 per match).

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 The FA Cup third round – the stage at which the Premier League and Championship clubs join the World’s oldest cup competition – commences with tonight’s all-EPL clash between Manchester United and Everton.

The fun continues tomorrow with the three remaining Non-League sides all in action – Hollywood-owned Wrexham and Chesterfield face Championship sides Coventry and West Brom, respectively, and recent giant-killing heroes Boreham Wood play Accrington Stanley. The Wood have made it through to this round for the third season in a row and beat Wimbledon and Bournemouth en route to a fifth round tie at Everton last year.

Liverpool vs. Wolves is one of three all-EPL games taking place on Saturday and Spurs vs. League One Portsmouth is another of the day’s headliners. With Pompey sacking their management team during the week, the glamorous away tie at a Big 6 club could be a good chance to reset.

🇫🇷 Similarly, the big boys join the party in the Coupe de France. Here, nearly 6,000 clubs have been whittled down to 64, a number that still includes six sides from the regional, semi-pro, sixth tier and even one representative from France’s overseas departments. Tamponnaise, based in Réunion, an island between Madagascar and Mauritius will play at fourth tier RC Grasse. That’s one hell of an away day!

With giants PSG playing on Friday night, Ligue 1’s biggest representatives in Saturday’s games are Marseille, who play at Hyères from the fourth tier, and Lens (victorious over PSG in their last game) who face fifth tier Linas-Montlhéry.

Sunday

🇪🇸 We have to wait until Sunday for the biggest fixture taking place in LaLiga this weekend – the clash between heavyweights Atlético Madrid and Barcelona. The Madrid side appear to have sorted themselves out over the extended World Cup and festive break – albeit, their back-to-back 2-0 wins since then have come in a virtual free-hit, against struggling Elche, and at Real Oviedo in the Copa.

For their part, Barcelona dropped two vital points in the Derby against Espanyol before Wednesday’s extraordinary victory over CF Intercity. Xavi’s side were forced in to extra-time after the third tier side equalised on three occasions through former-Barcelona youth player Oriol Soldevila before a goal from Ansu Fati finally won the game 4-3.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Back in the FA Cup, Sunday brings the second instalment of this week’s double-header between Manchester City and Chelsea. Pep Guardiola needed two of his subs – Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez to combine for the latter to score the only goal of the Premier League clash on Thursday night. But like many, we’re predicting it will be two very different line-ups that take to the field back at the Etihad for this third round game.

Graham Potter will be looking for his side to relieve some pressure after a run of just four wins in their last eleven competitive games.

🇮🇹 Sunday looks busy in Serie A with five matches on the slate. League leaders Napoli will be looking to shake off that first defeat of the season against Inter when visit Sampdoria. That was obviously a set-back for the side chasing their first Scudetto since 1990 and they’ll need to wary of the renewed threat posed by the Genoese club buoyed by just their second win of the season, against Sassuolo on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, Napoli’s nearest title rivals, Milan, face Roma at the San Siro while fifth placed Lazio play Empoli. Lazio were also shock losers as the league returned this week, going down 2-1 at mid-table Lecce.

🇹🇷 Perhaps the biggest game taking place anywhere in the world this weekend is in the Süper Lig. The Intercontinental Derby between Istanbul rivals Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray comes at a time when both clubs have been leapfrogging each other to lead the league after enduring a relatively lean time in recent seasons.

Current leaders Galatasaray last won the title three seasons ago and finished way down in 13th last year while Fenerbahçe were distant runners-up to Trabzonspor – the fourth time they’ve settled for second since winning the league in 2014.

🇧🇪 Finally, there’s also an intriguing looking match up in Belgium where Scott Parker was recently installed as the new coach of three-time defending champions Club Brugge. Entrusted with improving their current league position – they sit fourth – the Englishman’s first test comes against runaway leaders Genk.

Genk went in to the festive break unbeaten since the opening weekend and on a run of 10 straight wins but that all came to an abrupt end with the league’s return on Boxing Day – they lost 1-0 at struggling Kortrijk. However, they do remain seven points clear.

If you want to follow any of the games mentioned above, click on the relevant link and tap the bell icon to receive all the key match updates.

Or join us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to discuss all the important football going on this weekend!

Cover Image from IMAGO

Jan

2023

Premier League Review: a potentially pivotal week of action

We might look back at this midweek round of fixtures at the end of the season and realise just how decisive it was. The leaders dropped points while both Liverpool and Chelsea lost ground in the race for a top-four finish. We take a look back at some of the statistical standouts and the biggest talking points.

By Sam McGuire, Premier League expert

More big chances missed for Liverpool

At a glance, Liverpool’s attacking numbers this season are impressive. The Reds find themselves ranked first for shots on target (109), fourth for goals (34) and third for Expected Goals (31.5).

However, when you look a little closer, things aren’t that pretty for Jurgen Klopp’s side. Their conversion rate of 8.4% is significantly down on Arsenal, Spurs and City – all of whom convert over 11% of their chances. Furthermore, the Reds top the charts for big chances missed with 42 – nine clear of those in second.

Liverpool just aren’t clinical and it hurt them against Brentford in a 3-1 loss. Klopp watched on as his side missed two of the three big chances they created. The defeat sees them seven points off a top-four spot.

Newcastle United – the Atlético Madrid of England

According to multiple outlets, the ball only remained in play for 51 minutes and 23 seconds, just over half a match, during Arsenal’s clash with Newcastle United. The hosts were left frustrated as they dropped points at home for the first time this season. Newcastle have been criticised for their approach in these matches, it was the same against Liverpool, but Eddie Howe’s men are successful in executing it, so why should the onus be on them to change anything?

Teams need to figure out how to beat them.

The Magpies ultimately deserved their point. They forfeited possession and instead looked to dominate the space and actually finished with an xG of 1.06, just 0.06 off the Arsenal total in what was a deceptively brilliant showing.

Everton’s defensive woes continue

Earlier in the season, the Toffess had the best defensive record in the Premier League and Frank Lampard was boasting about it. Now though, they’ve conceded 24 times, with 12 of those breaches occurring in their last five English top-flight matches.

Brighton ran riot at Goodison Park, romping to a 4-1 win. The Seagulls racked up an xG of 2.17 and created four big chances on the night to Everton’s one.

Lampard has tried different systems and different players but a clean sheet eludes him. Their last one was in October.

Fulham’s form

At the start of the season, many tipped Fulham for the drop. They hadn’t made many signings, the manager wasn’t impressed with the board and their previous stints in the top flight over recent years had been brief.

Yet as we head into the second half of the campaign, Fulham find themselves level on points with Liverpool and ahead of Brighton. Their 1-0 win over Leicester City saw them open up a three point lead over neighbours Chelsea. The match-winner was, of course, Aleksandar Mitrović with his 11th goal of the campaign in just 15 outings.

Potter’s magic has worn off

The honeymoon period for Graham Potter at Chelsea was brief. The Blues lost for the fourth time in their last six Premier League outings last night with Riyad Mahrez, rumoured to be a Chelsea transfer target in the summer, netting the winner for Chelsea.

Potter has now watched his side win just one of their last eight in the English top-flight and they find themselves in 10th position, 19 points off the top and 10 off the top four places.

It was yet another disappointing attacking performance as a team. City were deserved winners with an xG of over two at Stamford Bridge. The visitors created three big chances while the hosts didn’t create any.

(Images from IMAGO)

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