The Easter matchday weekend did not disappoint with a number of potentially season-defining moments across the board in the Premier League. Here’s a look at some of the biggest.
Arsenal haven’t beaten Liverpool at Anfield since September 2012. All of the talk heading into this game was about how a win on Merseyside would be enough to get them over the line in the race for the title.
It looked as though it might happen. The Gunners had silenced Anfield after 28 minutes, taking a 2-0 lead courtesy of goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus. Liverpool had chances but everything felt a little flat until a clash between Trent Alexander-Arnold and Granit Xhaka seemed to spark everyone into life. Mohammed Salah poked the ball beyond Aaron Ramsdale to halve the deficit before the break.
After the half-time whistle, it was all Liverpool. The Reds racked up an Expected Goals total in the second half of 2.88 to Arsenal’s 0.22. Salah missed a penalty before Roberto Firmino nodded in the equaliser. Ramsdale kept the leaders level with two late saves but Mikel Arteta won’t be happy with how his side lost control after the break. His usually resolute team gave up eight big chances. It was very much a tale of two halves.
The record is in sight
Manchester City are hitting their stride at the perfect time. Since returning from the international break, Pep Guardiola’s men have won both of their matches by the same 4-1 scoreline.
Erling Haaland had to watch from the sidelines last week as the reigning champions took Liverpool apart at the Etihad but he was leading the attack against Southampton. He put in a centre-forward clinic, scoring twice and having three shots despite only having 12 touches in total. His second was a stunning overhead kick which took his Premier League tally for the season to 30. He now needs just three more to break the existing record held by Salah and he has nine games to do it in.
The end of the Honeymoon Period
Wolves welcomed Chelsea to Molineux having won just once in their last seven outings in the Premier League. The Blues had been unlucky not to beat Liverpool in mid-week and would’ve no doubt fancied their chances against Julen Lopetegui’s men following the appointment of Frank Lampard as interim manager.
His return was supposed to reinvigorate this underperforming side. The one-time Everton boss changed the system – moving away from a back three shape and using a more recognised 4-3-3. While the Blues did have more shots and a slightly higher xG than their hosts, it is quite telling that they didn’t manage to carve out a single big chance.
Chelsea are now winless in four and there is a real possibility they finish in the bottom half of the table.
The battle for fourth
The clash between Spurs and Brighton was very much the definition of a real six-pointer. A win for the Seagulls would’ve lifted them to just a single point behind fifth-placed Tottenham with two games in hand.
Due to a number of questionable decisions during the game, however, Roberto De Zerbi’s men now find themselves seven points behind. The PGMOL have since admitted that Karou Mitoma should’ve been awarded a penalty when the game was tied at 1-1. Brighton also had two goals disallowed during the game as well as another potential penalty waved away before Harry Kane scored his 23rd of the season.
Unai Emery has guided his team to four successive wins in the Premier League and Villa now find themselves in sixth position, just nine points outside of the top four.
Key to this resurgent run has been the form of Ollie Watkins. The centre-forward netted his 12th goal of the season in the win over Nottingham Forest. It was his ninth goal in his last 11 matches for Aston Villa across all competitions. He also has an assist in that period. The 27-year-old is well on course to better the 14 Premier League goals he scored in his debut campaign in the top-flight for Villa.
(Cover image 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.
The world of football celebrated Easter weekend with some big fixtures and results including a big derby in a final in Brazil, a potentially decisive fixture between two eternal rivals in the Greek Super League title race, and many more. As ever, we have picked out six of the best in our weekly column.
The final of the Campeonato Carioca was the Fla-Flu derby between Rio de Janeiro rivals Flamengo and Fluminense. Both of these teams play their matches at the Maracanã Stadium, so both legs of this final were held at this legendary venue.
Flamengo won their designated home leg 2-0, so they held the advantage going into Sunday’s second leg. They seemed primed to take the regional title off the defending champions, but Fluminense had other ideas.
Although the match might seem quite even based on the possession stats and shot counts, one team looked more imposing and threatening. Indeed, Fluminense created the better chances and crucially converted them as well, staging a memorable turnaround.
A strike from legendary ex-Real Madrid left back Marcelo set them on their way, after which a brace from Argentine hitman Germán Cano on either side of half-time put Fernando Diniz’s side in a commanding position. Alexsander Gomes’ goal in the 65th minute added a buffer to their lead, which proved handy when Ayrton Lucas pulled one back for Flamengo deep into stoppage time.
Four rounds into the championship play-offs in the Greek Super League, the title race is as close as it gets. Defending champions Olympiacos’ three-season streak is under real threat, as their eternal rivals Panathinaikos are looking to win their first league title since 2010.
The two faced off in what could well prove to be the most decisive fixture of the season, as Panathinaikos hosted Olympiacos. There was a somewhat new face in the away dugout, as sporting director José Anigo was taking charge of his second match for the visitors after Michel’s resignation on Monday.
Olympiacos started this match three points behind their rivals, so they were within overtaking range if they managed to come away with a win. Of course, the hosts had a very different idea of how they wanted this match to go, and it was they who prevailed.
Their Slovenian striker Andraž Šporar gave them the lead before the half-hour mark. A few minutes later, an own goal from Olympiacos’ frontman Youssef El-Arabi made the task all the more difficult for them, and they never looked like coming back from that. Panathinaikos were able to see out the win, pulling six points clear of their great rivals.
Ivan Jovanović’s side still do not have any room for slip-ups if they wish to win the title, because they are level on points with AEK Athens. Each of the top three will play each other again before the end of the season, so you can expect many more twists and turns in this title race.
It’s been a busy week at Chelsea, to say the least. Last Sunday, Graham Potter was sacked a couple of days after a loss at Aston Villa saw them slip into the bottom half of the Premier League table. Then, on Tuesday, Bruno Saltor took charge of their goalless draw with Liverpool. Frank Lampard watched that match from the stands, but he found himself on the touchline for the next one.
He was installed as the club’s caretaker manager until the end of the season on Thursday, exactly 800 days on from his sacking from the club in January 2021. This time, it appears that he has simply been brought in to steady the ship until the end of the season while the board carefully assess their next long-term pick. Nevertheless, he would obviously have been keen to impress with his side’s results and performances to perhaps throw his hat into the ring.
Unfortunately for him, things have not gotten off to a good start at all. The ex-Everton manager took his side to the Molineux Stadium on Saturday afternoon, where they faced relegation battlers Wolverhampton Wanderers. Matheus Nunes scored the only goal of the match just after the half-hour mark with a thunderous strike from a relatively tight angle, which also happened to be his first goal in a Wolves shirt.
Chelsea’s performance was quite disappointing and they never really threatened to equalise, so they failed to take anything away from the match yet again. That means they now have more defeats (11) than victories (10) in the Premier League this season, so it should be no surprise to see them on the second page of the standings.
Wolves may only be a couple of places behind them in the table, but the relegation battle is so tight that they still are only four points above the drop zone.
There were a couple of managerial debuts in Spain as well this weekend. Luis García’s first match in charge of Espanyol ended in a defeat against Athletic Club, so our focus will be Paulo Pezzolano and Real Valladolid.
Valladolid are largely owned by Brazilian legend Ronaldo, who undoubtedly had a significant role to play in this appointment. Pezzolano’s last job was in Brazil at Cruzeiro, who were recently acquired by Ronaldo and won Serie B last season under Pezzolano, who was the first manager of their era with O Fenômeno at the helm.
He left the club in mid-March, presumably with the knowledge that the Valladolid job would be available soon. One match later, that proved to be the case as Pacheta departed after a 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Real Madrid, and in came the 39-year-old Uruguayan.
In his playing days, his only stint in LaLiga was a brief loan spell at Mallorca. As fate would have it, they would be his first opponents at the start of his managerial career in Spain. They would pose a tough test too, taking a two-goal lead in the first 15 minutes of the second half which Valladolid managed to overcome with what they thought was a winning goal in the 86th minute.
But, there was more drama in store for us in stoppage time. Canadian striker Cyle Larin conceded a penalty with a handball in the box, allowing Vedat Muriqi to equalise and rescue a point for the visitors. Valladolid will certainly be disappointed to not come away with the win, but they should take heart from their performance and the fact that they still are a couple of points above the relegation zone.
There is no relegation in MLS, which should be good news for 5-time winners LA Galaxy given their terrible start to the season. Having played six fixtures, they find themselves second from bottom in the Supporters’ Shield standings having failed to win a single match.
Their loss to Houston Dynamo was emblematic of their issues in some ways, as they caused their own problems with extremely silly decisions. The turning point of the match came in the 63rd minute when 36-year-old centre-back Martin Cáceres saw a second yellow card for bothering the referee mid-VAR review. The referee went on to award a penalty for the initial foul as well, allowing the hosts to add to their lead and comfortably see out the win.
This result not only adds pressure to the position of LA Galaxy manager Greg Vanney, but perhaps more importantly club president Chris Klein. Fan protests against him have strongly intensified this season, with all five fan groups uniting against him, and many boycotting matches too.
Given the Galaxy’s performances and results over recent years, fan dissatisfaction is quite understandable. They have only made the playoffs once in the last five seasons – their worst run since MLS’ inception in 1996. Supporters feel administrative decisions are to blame, but the tipping point came when Klein was suspended for the most recent transfer window after LA Galaxy were found guilty of violating financial rules in 2019. He faced no repercussions from the club, simply resuming his role as president when the season started.
The fact that almost every LA Galaxy fan has the same opinion of Klein should speak volumes of his popularity at Dignity Health Sports Park, so this is a situation worth keeping an eye on.
Benfica did not enjoy a good Friday evening against their old rivals Porto, as O Clássico was the headline act in Portugal this weekend.
The Estádio da Luz was celebrating initially, not least because Benfica carried a 10-point lead at the top of the table into this game. The hosts also struck first as they took the lead in the 10th minute when Gonçalo Ramos’ header struck the crossbar but went in off the back of a flailing Diogo Costa.
Benfica could not hold that lead to the break, though, as a driven effort to the bottom corner from Mateus Uribe brought Porto level in the 45th minute. They then thought they had turned it around again before the break when Wenderson Galeno scored, but VAR ruled that goal out after finding an offside of a 6-centimetre margin.
Porto were undeterred by that call, as they went and completed the comeback less than 10 minutes into the second period through Mehdi Taremi. Sérgio Conceição’s side were able to keep things tight at the back thereafter and secured the win in a match of very few chances.
This was Benfica’s first defeat in 17 matches, but it most likely will not have a major impact on their season. They still have a seven-point buffer at the top of the league with as many fixtures left, so a first Primeira Liga title in four years remains within their reach.
🏴 There’s eight Premier League fixtures on the slate for Easter Saturday which should be enough to keep you busy. Manchester United and Everton get things underway in the early kick-off, a game that is important at both ends of the table, with United level on points with third-placed Newcastle, and Everton one of the nine teams separated by just seven points at the bottom.
In the afternoon kick-offs, the freshly re-appointed Frank Lampard takes caretaker charge of Chelsea for the first time as they look for a confidence boost at Wolves. That game comes at the start of a week where they must go to Real Madrid for the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals.
Leicester City, the other side who sacked their manager last weekend, face Bournemouth, the team immediately above them in the relegation zone so that game looks particularly crucial for both clubs. As does the late kick-off, with both bottom side Southampton, and title-chasing Manchester City in need of three points. City could narrow the gap to leaders Arsenal to five, and avenge their surprise Carabao Cup defeat when these two last met, on the South Coast back in January.
Also of interest will be the battle between fifth-placed Spurs and sixth-placed Brighton, with the latter looking to sneak in to the European qualification places.
🏴 In Scotland, where we’re three games away from the league split, Celtic and Rangers meet for the fourth time this season. The former hold a nine-point advantage over the latter with the two Glasgow giants currently on long unbeaten runs. Since bowing out of the Champions League at the end of the groups stages, Celtic have won 22 out of 23 league and cup games – the other match being a 2-2 draw at Rangers back in January. For their part, Rangers have lost just once in 20 since coach Michael Beale took over in December – that single defeat coming against Celtic in the League Cup Final.
Celtic are therefore unbeaten against their eternal rivals this season but where there’s mathmatical hope, there’s a way, and even if they can’t overhaul them, Rangers will want to delay Celtic’s title win for a long as possible. Either in this game. Or in their final league meeting still to come after the league split. And they also have the chance to stop Celtic winning a domestic treble when the two clash in the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup later this month.
🇩🇪 At the end of a week where the Bundesliga’s top three – Bayern, Dortmund, and Union Berlin, were all knocked out of the DFB Pokal at the quarter-finals stage, there’s a round of league games where the top four play one another. Freiburg are that fourth-placed side, and it was they who shocked Bayern in the cup, beating them for the first time ever in Munich thanks to a penalty scored by Lucas Höler, in injury time.
League leaders Bayern don’t have long to wait for revenge though, as they now visit Freiburg in the Black Forest on Saturday. With their win over Dortmund in the Klassiker last weekend, Bayern hold a slender two-point lead in the table as we head in to the weekend. There’s then a two point gap between second-placed Dortmund and Union Berlin in third. Something that could change when the two clash in what will be a massive game at the Signal Iduana Park.
🇮🇹 The main action in Serie A comes on Friday night, and therefore falls outside of the remit of this particular column! Head to your match feed in the app to get the low-down on the games between Salernitana and Inter, and Milan vs. Empoli. We’ll also see how leaders Napoli respond after that huge defeat, to Milan, when they go to Lecce.
Anyway, that leaves us with perhaps a bigger headline game on Saturday night as second-placed Lazio host Juventus. The Old Lady were held to a 1-1 draw by Inter in the first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-finals in the week but they have a good record against the blue half of Rome, unbeaten, as they are, in their last seven meetings.
🇪🇸 Real Madrid have scored 10 goals in two games played so far in April – and Karim Benzema has six of those to his names with back-to-back hat-tricks coming against Real Valladolid last weekend, and in the Copa Del Rey win over Barcelona during the week. And while that sequence of results might not win them anything in the league due to Barça’s hefty points advantage, it does set them up well for that Champions League quater-final mentioned, against Chelsea on Wednesday night. Before that however, Madrid must take on sixth placed Villarreal.
🇫🇷 French league leaders PSG slipped up, again, last weekend, losing 1-0 at home to Lyon. A result that had coach Christophe Galtier pleading with his squad to wake up and defend their league title. With Lens playing on Friday night, PSG’s lead in the table could be down to three points by the time they kick-off at Nice, in the Côte d’Azur, in Saturday’s late game.
🇺🇸 Our pick of this weekend’s round in MLS takes in a number of games involving the early season pacesetters. FC Cincinnati are the only remaining unbeaten side in the Eastern Conference, and they’ll test that with a home fixture against Philadelphia Union. Also, Atlanta United, the next best placed side in the East now face a trip to NYCFC.
Over in the West, defending champions LAFC play the unpredictable Austin FC, and the top two will meet as Seattle Sounders are the next side to face newcomers St. Louis City. The latter’s record breaking 100% start to their inaugural MLS season was brought to an abrupt end by Minnesota United last time out.
Sunday
🏴 They have actually saved a couple of Premier League games for Sunday, the first of which comes at Elland Road, between two clubs who’ve recently changed coach to good effect. In fact, Leeds United and Crystal Palace are now the two best placed sides in the aforementioned nine-way relegation battle. Leeds have lost two out of six games under Spanish coach Javi Gracia while Roy Hodgson returned to take charge of the Eagles and promptly snapped their 12-game winless run, at home, to Leicester in his first game back.
Then, the final game of the weekend sees two giants of the Big Six clash at Anfield. Okay, so Liverpool will start outside of the current top six but this has the pedigree of a top flight rivalry that goes back decades in the English game. Jürgen Klopp’s side looked poor in defeat to Bournemouth, then Man City, before the midweek draw at Chelsea, but have proved capable of taking apart a big name, or two, over the course of the season. Should Arsenal survive this test then surely we’ll be taking about when will they win the title, not if? The Gunners have won each of their last seven league games, a run in which they’ve scored 23 goals and come in to this one off the back of two straight 4-1 wins – against Palace and Leeds.
🇪🇸 In La Liga, Diego Simeone’s Atlético Madrid are aiming to lock down third place as quickly as possible. They go in to their game at Rayo Vallecano hoping to extend their current unbeaten run in to double figures having only dropped points twice during that time – drawing at home to Getafe and away at Real Madrid. For their part, Rayo are without a win in seven but remain an outside bet for a place in the top six come the end of the season.
🇧🇷 There’s plenty of excitement on offer in Brazil on Sunday as a selection of the biggest State Championships come to a head.
The second leg of the Carioca, the Rio State competition sees Flamengo start with a 2-0 goal advantage against old rivals Fluminense in a Fla-Flu Derby that will be played at the World famous Maracanã stadium. Not to be outdone, Atlético Mineiro have a slender advantage over city rivals América, with the second leg of the Mineiro championship starting with the aggregate score at 3-2. But perhaps the biggest game of all comes in the Paulista. Here, regional minnows Agua Santa go up against last year’s national champions Palmeiras having beaten them 2-1 in the first leg! They won’t be expected to hold on for what would be a famous trophy win but Palmeiras have also had to endure a gruelling Copa Libertadores trip to Bolivia during the week, where they lost, so you never know. You never know!
Monday
🇪🇸 Barcelona have to wait until Monday to exercise any remaining demons from that humiliating Clásico defeat, at home, in the Copa Del Rey during the week. Their 12-point, possibly 9-point cushion, at the top of LaLiga come kick-off, should go someway to easing the mood but Xavi won’t want to rest on his laurels. Nothing but three points against mid-table Girona will do.
🏴 In the EFL Championship, England’s second tier, Burnley and Sheffield United have been head and shoulders above the rest of the division for the majority of the season and they now face each other at Turf Moor. Burnley more so – under the stewardship of Vincent Kompany – but The Blades have battled through some tough runs and remain six points clear of the sides below them in the play-off places.
Automatic promotion for both is the aim then and Burnley could have secured that by the time you’re reading this article. Or shortly afterwards! That depends on results elsewhere on Friday, and should Burnley beat third placed Middlesbrough, whom they face on Friday evening.
🏴 And in Wales, there’s possibly an even more eagerly awaited clash between title rivals. Wrexham, supercharged by their A-List backers, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney – and the goals of Paul Mullin – finally meet Notts County, who are fired on by their own in-form marksmen, the 40-goal-man, Macauley Langstaff. The two have been neck-and-neck at the top of the National League, England’s fifth tier, all season, fighting for the one automatic promotion place to the football league and both clubs are set to finish on record breaking point and goals tallies in this, the final month of the campaign.
At the time of writing (both also play on today – Friday) it’s home side Wrexham who have a three point advantage with six games to play, one more than Notts County’s five.
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!
Our regular Serie A expert gives his first person account of being pitchside for Milan’s 4-0 triumph at Napoli and we take a look at the first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final between Juventus and Inter.
As a commentator and analyst for Serie A with CBS in the United States, it’s a rare treat to be able to travel to Italy and cover matches from the ground. With Napoli vs. Milan slated to play three important games in the space of 16 days, we were sent to the south of Italy to cover the Serie A edition of a game that turned out to have the most unexpected twist. The day before the game, we were able to meet with Napoli manager Luciano Spalletti in his office to discuss the biggest topics from his team’s season. I asked him if he knew straight away that Kvicha Kvaratskhelia was going to be special, and he said that not only could you see the talent at first glance, but his mentality was instantly evident too.
Moving on to the actual game – Milan’s 4-0 drubbing of the Partenopei was a reminder that the reigning Scudetto champions still have glimpses of the magic they displayed for the entirety of last season. The former league MVP also rolled back the months after an inconsistent 2022/23 campaign – Rafael Leão had his best game of the season, scoring a terrific brace and looking like the unplayable one-on-one force that made him such a star last season.
Napoli on the other hand were unrecognisable. It seemed like they finally let their foot off the gas with their massive 16 point lead at the top of the table. The two defenders Amir Rrahmani and Kim Min-Jae were disastrous, beaten easily by Milan’s flair players. Napoli’s midfield, normally a source of possession and dominance, were completely outclassed by Milan. It was Sandro Tonali that took over that part of the pitch and was a decisive box-to-box presence with his interceptions, physicality and ball playing. Milan’s manager Stefano Pioli opted to play three central midfielders, with Ismael Bennacer a bit further forward as a no.10, the Algerian’s forward role was actually employed for defensive purposes, as it meant he’d be plastered all over Napoli’s deep-lying playmaker Stanislav Lobotka. With Lobotka smothered for much of the game, it meant Napoli’s defenders suddenly didn’t have their usual outlet in the middle and were forced to pass the ball out wide where the possession seemed to die off for the hosts.
Napoli have given themselves the luxury of being able to afford these losses in Serie A. Their hefty lead means the Scudetto hopes aren’t at all fazed by a result like this. What’s potentially worrying though, are the psychological aspects of such a shocking loss at home. How will this mostly young group of players bounce back in the biggest game of their lives next week after having endured that type of basing? Napoli now play a full strength Milan squad in the Champions League quarterfinals.
While they didn’t have their star striker and leading Serie A goal scorer Victor Osimhen available for the Milan match in Serie A, he should be fit enough to be involved in the European battles. Osimhen fundamentally changes the way a defence has to play Napoli – he’s devastating on the counter and if you play a low block he’s then going to show off his lethal heading ability. While Napoli hadn’t lost any of their seven matches this season without Osimhen prior to the game over the weekend, they just don’t pose the same threat with Gio Simeone leading the line. However, Napoli manager Luciano Spalletti made sure to reiterate in the days leading up to the Milan match that his club was not Osimhen-dependent, that you need an entire unit to be able to play the way they have this season.
For Milan, it’ll be interesting to see what Stefano Pioli does from a formation standpoint. He was forced to go back to a 4-2-3-1 in the Napoli game and abandon his new 3-5-2 after an injury to centre-back Pierre Kalulu. It would be shocking if Pioli decided to change back to the more conservative shape after his team put four past the best team in Serie A. The good news for Milan fans is that Pioli has shown the ability to adapt with his side and change tactics throughout the course of the season when required.
Inter’s deficiencies on show despite draw
The first leg of the Derby D’Italia edition of the Coppa Italia semi-finall ended 1-1 between Juventus and Inter on Tuesday. It was a game that once again highlighted some of the recent deficiencies of Inter’s play under manager Simone Inzaghi.
The Nerazzurri attack has been a nightmare recently. In their last five matches, Inter have scored no goals from open play. Their only two goals have come from Romelu Lukaku penalties. Only a few days after losing 1-0 to Fiorentina in the league (in a game where a Romelu Lukaku miss from point blank range made the news worldwide via every troll account), Inter continued their poor form up top, as Lautaro Martínez was voted the worst player in the match against Juve. Lautaro has only scored once in his last eight games, a record that has become the norm for the streaky Inter striker who can score a goal-a-game for a few months and then go on these long-term dry patches. Lautaro’s form wouldn’t be as much of an issue if the other important players were stepping up, but they haven’t been. Lukaku is a shadow of his former self and won’t be playing in Serie A for much longer when he goes back to Chelsea this summer.
The issue with Inzaghi’s team is that he’s unwilling to change anything. The manager has stubbornly stuck with his 3-5-2 and hasn’t shown any interest is trying some new things from a tactical standpoint in an effort to light a fire under the team. The team really lacks a creative dribbler to break down an opponent that defends deep, so often times the solution is to spam crosses into the box or try shots from distance rather than quicker, intricate play in-between the lines.
Anyway, Inter were partially saved by a Bremer handball in the dying minutes which gave Inter the chance to equalise, and chaos ensued shortly after Lukaku scored his penalty. Lukaku went to silence the Juventus supporters and was red carded for “excessive celebration”, prompting a melee between him and Juan Cuadrado. The fight reportedly spilled into the tunnel after the final whistle with other players involved from both sides.
(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.
Let’s review the latest round of action in the Spanish top flight AND look ahead to tonight’s Copa Del Rey clash between Real Madrid and Barcelona – the fourth time they’ve met in El Clásico already this year.
Barcelona have won their last three matches against Real Madrid and warmed up for today’s Copa del Rey semi-final second leg at Camp Nou by beating bottom club Elche in LaLiga on Saturday.
Robert Lewandowski scored twice, his first goals since February, while there were also morale-boosting strikes for two players who have struggled in recent times: Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres.
The 4-0 win ensured Barça stayed 12 points clear at the top of the table, while Elche remain rooted to the bottom of LaLiga with just 13 picked up all season.
Gavi played for 68 minutes and Elche have launched an appeal against his selection, according to Cadena COPE, believing that the midfielder was ineligible after his contract renewal was not registered by LaLiga due to the competition’s financial regulations.
It seems unlikely that Barcelona will be docked points, but the Catalans have a big advantage anyway,
Barça have a 1-0 lead going into the second leg of their Copa semi-final, but Xavi said on Tuesday that he still sees Madrid as favourites.
“I have the feeling that, when we play over two legs against Real Madrid, it’s really difficult,” he said. “How long has it been since they lost over two legs? That’s why I still think they are favourites, despite the scoreline. The pressure is on them.”
Real Madrid need a reaction against Barcelona
In a way, Xavi is right. While Barcelona are on for a domestic treble, having won the Supercopa in January and all but wrapped up LaLiga, Real Madrid’s hopes of ending the season with a major trophy are diminishing.
Los Blancos are still in the Champions League, of course, but face a tough route to the trophy with either Bayern Munich or Manchester City in wait if they make it past Chelsea in the quarter-finals.
That leaves the Copa del Rey, a trophy Real have not won since 2014. Coach Carlo Ancelotti surely needs to win either the Copa or the Champions League to extend his second spell to a third season in charge, and there is pressure on Los Blancos to beat Barcelona after three straight defeats in El Clásico.
Madrid thrashed Real Valladolid 6-0 in LaLiga at the Santiago Bernabéu on Sunday and they were boosted by a timely return to form for striker Karim Benzema, who hit a hat-trick in six and a half minutes late in the opening period.
Rodrygo, Marco Asensio and Lucas Vázquez were also on target in a big win for Los Blancos, the latter on his 300th appearance for the club.
Real have been narrowly beaten in each of the last two Clásico clashes: a 1-0 defeat at home in the first leg of the Copa and a 2-1 loss in added time at Camp Nou.
“We want to play a complete match,” Ancelotti said in his pre-match press conference. “I don’t think we did too badly in the last two, but tomorrow it’s our turn to win.”
Correa’s wonder goal keeps Atlético run going
Atlético Madrid looked like they might be frustrated at home to Real Betis on Sunday, but Ángel Correa claimed all three points for the Rojiblancos with a wonderful winner after 86 minutes.
The Argentine attacker, who replaced Thomas Lemar just short of the hour mark, beat several Betis defenders with some sublime skill before finishing past goalkeeper Rui Silva to make a spectacular late breakthrough at the Metropolitano.
“We needed something different against Betis’ low block and Correa has that,” coach Diego Simene said. “He always wants the ball, he’s always participating. He had the cool head we always see in training.”
The win keeps Atlético in third as their fine form continues, five points adrift of Real Madrid but six ahead of fourth-placed Real Sociedad, beaten 2-0 by Villarreal. The Yellow Submarine are still sixth, just a point behind Betis now.
Valencia still in trouble
Valencia are out of the bottom three on goal difference after their 1-1 draw at home to Rayo Vallecano on Monday night, but the Mestalla-based club are level on points with Espanyol (18th) and Almería (19th) with 11 rounds remaining. Espanyol were beaten 2-1 by Girona and have since parted company with coach Diego Martínez, with former midfielder Luis García now in charge.
Sevilla won 2-0 at Cádiz and climb to 13th, but the Andalusians are still just four points clear of the drop zone. It was a win for new coach José Luis Mendilibar in his first game in charge and a first away from home for the club in almost six months.
Getafe, Cádiz and Valladolid are all still in danger, but Celta Vigo are up to 10th after picking up seven points from the last nine available. They face Sevilla next at the Sánchez Pizjuán.
(Cover image 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.
Premier League action returned with a vengeance this weekend following the last international break of the 2022/23 campaign. It was a round of fixtures that resulted in two clubs parting ways with their managers as they look to salvage their seasons. So, let’s take a look at some of the biggest talking points.
Though the reigning champions have an impressive record against Liverpool at the Etihad, hosting the Reds following a two-week break without being able to call upon Erling Haaland could’ve been a bit of a banana skin fixture in their quest to retain the title.
A groin injury prevented Haaland from being involved with Norway and it sidelined him on Saturday, though he was in attendance as Pep Guardiola’s men came from behind to romp to a 4-1 win.
In truth, it was perhaps one of the most one-sided matches between these two teams as City took complete control of the proceedings. They limited the Reds to an Expected Goals total of just 0.06 in the second half while racking up an xG haul of 2.05 after the break.
Both Kevin de Bruyne and Jack Grealish bagged goals and assists in what was a statement victory for the Citizens.
Pressure? What pressure?
This young Arsenal team isn’t showing any signs of inexperience. The Gunners faced off against Leeds United knowing title rivals Manchester City had just dismantled Liverpool in the early kick-off.
That could’ve put pressure on a team without the services of William Saliba and Bukayo Saka, though the latter was on the bench. It didn’t seem to bother the league leaders though as they recorded an emphatic 4-1 win over Javi Gracia’s side.
Gabriel Jesus was back among the goals as Arsenal dominated from start to finish, recording an Expected Goals total of 3.78. The hosts had six big chances to the away side’s zero. Their lead at the summit is now back to eight points with just nine games left to play.
The return of Roy, the end of Rodgers
Eyebrows were raised when Crystal Palace made the decision to part ways with Patrick Vieira and turn to Roy Hodgson again.
But with the former England manager back in the dugout, Palace brought their 13-match winless streak to an end as they recorded their first win of 2023. It was a deserved victory too with the hosts creating far better chances than Leicester City. Brendan Rodgers’ side did take the lead courtesy of a Ricardo Pereira effort but that was just one of their three efforts on the day and accounted for 0.06 of their 0.22 Expected Goals total.
By comparison, Palace had 31 shots and accumulated an xG total of 2.42. Mateta’s last-minute winner was more than deserved.
Following this loss, Rodgers and Leicester parted ways with the Foxes sitting in 19th position. The win lifts the Eagles up to 12th.
All change at Stamford Bridge
It felt like a matter of when and not if Graham Potter would be axed by Chelsea. The former Brighton boss had won just 12 of his 30 matches in charge of the Blues heading into their game against Aston Villa.
Despite their dominance at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea weren’t able to make it count and Unai Emery’s side claimed a 2-0 win.
Potter watched on as his side had 27 shots to the away team’s five in what turned out to be his final game as Chelsea manager. He leaves the club with a 38.7% win rate and with the Blues languishing in 11th place in the Premier League.
The fight for survival
Bournemouth looked to be a cert for the drop but two wins in their last three have seen them escape the drop zone. They are just a point clear of the relegation zone but only three points off Palace in 12th.
Fulham did take the lead early on in the first half but goals from Marcus Tavernier and Dominic Solanke after the break completed the turnaround. Marco Silva’s side have now lost three successive Premier League matches.
Carabao Cup Final revenge
There is no other way to dress this up. Newcastle United dominated Manchester United at St James’ Park.
The hosts didn’t dominate possession but they did control the space and this allowed them to dictate where the away side had the ball. Eddie Howe’s men had almost four times the number of attempts (22 to six), they had four big chances to United’s zero and they finished with an xG of 3.68 with the Red Devils failing to create chances with a value of 0.5.
Keiran Trippier was the star of the show for the Magpies, creating four chances and assisting one of the goals as he earned a FotMob rating of 8.6.
(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.
Men’s club football returned in some style after a two-week international break, as we had some huge fixtures and results across the continents. As ever, we have picked out the best of the bunch in our weekly column, which features our newly-added match momentum graphs for the first time!
Their match against Borussia Dortmund was being billed as the biggest Klassiker in about a decade, so the importance of the occasion only heightened when Bayern parted ways with Julian Nagelsmann and hired ex-Dortmund head coach Thomas Tuchel in his place during the international break.
The hosts did not get off to the most dominant of starts, but they did not need to. As Dortmund have done all too often in such big matches throughout the last ten years, they were the masters of their own downfall.
An absolute howler from the otherwise-solid Kobel gave Bayern the lead 13 minutes in, in a manner no one could have envisioned. Within the next 10 minutes, the hosts found themselves three goals to the good thanks to two Thomas Müller goals from close proximity to the net. Kingsley Coman added a fourth early in the second half to kill Dortmund’s hopes for good, so Emre Can’s penalty and Donyell Malen’s late effort counted for mere consolation.
As the match momentum graph shows, this was far from a totally dominant display from Bayern. However, they were gifted the three points by some terrible mistakes, which they gladly accepted.
A pivotal fixture in the title race marked the return of the Premier League on the other side of the men’s international break. Second-placed Manchester City took on Liverpool, who were fighting to pop up in the top-four race.
The home side were without star striker Erling Haaland for this fixture as he continued to recover from an injury that kept him away from the international action as well. They made no changes to their overall system, though, continuing to operate in a 3-2-2-3 shape in possession with Julián Álvarez selected as the central attacker.
Pep Guardiola’s side dictated proceedings throughout the match, but were the ones who conceded first to Mohamed Salah. Their World Cup-winning striker equalised within 10 minutes, and the scores remained level at half-time.
City made their dominance count in the second half, though, taking the lead through Kevin De Bruyne in a matter of seconds. İlkay Gündoğan soon gave them a buffer, and Jack Grealish put the result beyond doubt with about 15 minutes of regulation time left.
After the match, Guardiola called his side’s display one of the best performances in his seven years at the club. Given how they bossed proceedings against such high-quality opposition, it is easy to see why.
Arsenal’s comfortable win over Leeds United means the gap at the top of the table remains five points, but City’s performances seem to suggest that they will take the title race right down to the wire.
The Serie A title race is certainly not going to go down to the wire given the vast lead Napoli have, but their match against defending champions Milan was quite an important one. Beyond the symbolic significance of the champions-elect playing the current holders, this was a dress rehearsal of an upcoming Champions League quarter-final tie.
There was a fair bit of intrigue when the two line-ups were announced. Napoli were without star striker Victor Osimhen, while Milan seemed to be returning to a 4-2-3-1 formation. They had used such a system en route to the title last season but had diverted to a back-three for the last couple of months in the midst of a very poor run of results.
And suddenly, Milan started to look like their former selves again. Although they kept under 40% of possession, the Rossoneri looked solid defensively and packed a real punch when attacking. Their main danger man was Rafael Leão, who ended an 11-match goal drought in some style.
The Portuguese international seemed to struggle a bit as he was forced to play in a more central role when Milan switched to their back-three system, but he was unleashed again out on the left wing in this match. He bagged a brilliant brace with a goal in either half, with the other two strikes coming from Brahim Díaz and Alexis Saelemaekers.
This result does little to dent Napoli’s title chances, but it could prove to be a decisive win for Milan’s quest to finish in the top four. Of course, it also gives them a huge confidence boost ahead of the aforementioned Champions League quarter-final.
Much like in Serie A, the title race in La Liga seems to be done and dusted as well, but we could be in for an all-timer of a relegation battle. Going into this weekend, a mere three points separated 13th-placed Getafe from 19th-placed Almería.
In the middle of all that, Europa League quarter-finalists Sevilla and their local rivals Cádiz were level on points with the Andalusian derby scheduled for Saturday evening. To add to the drama, Sevilla changed managers during the international break. Jorge Sampaoli – who was only hired in October – was replaced by José Luis Mendilibar, a veteran of many La Liga relegation battles.
Mendilibar is not known for having his teams play the most attractive brand of football, but he does have a record of getting results when they are needed. That is presumably the quality that caused Sevilla to go in for him, and he has delivered the goods in his first assignment.
By all measures, there was very little to separate the two sides in this rather dull clash, but the visitors scored two crucial goals in the second half. Lucas Ocampos drew first blood in the 51st minute, and Youssef En-Nesyri put the result beyond doubt in the 74th.
With this result, Sevilla have opened up a four-point gap to the relegation zone, but they are far from safe yet. They have a tough run of fixtures coming up in the league against sides challenging for Europe with their Europa League tie against Manchester United in the middle of all that.
The final round of the 2022/23 CAF Champions League’s group stage was held over the course of the weekend, but there was not a lot to play for. Seven of the eight quarter-final spots had already been decided, but there was one big showdown left.
In Group B, South African champions Mamelodi Sundowns had secured their spot in the last eight. Behind them were Sudanese side Al Hilal, who held a three-point lead over Al Ahly. The two were set to face off on Saturday night in what was a must-win match for the Egyptian giants.
To put things into perspective, Al Ahly have won four CAF Champions League titles and made seven finals in their last eleven campaigns. Al Hilal have not reached any continental final since the turn of the century, with their last CAF Champions League knockouts appearance coming in 2015.
Being eliminated in the group stage was something that the Egyptian league leaders and their fans could not bear to see, so they were determined to avoid such a fate. The club appealed to the authorities to allow 50,000 fans into the Cairo International Stadium for this crucial fixture, and tickets were sold out within two days after the approval was granted.
It was up to the players to deliver under some serious pressure, and they did not disappoint. Mahmoud Kahraba’s exquisite control and finish sent the fans into raptures after a dominant first 25 minutes. In the second half, substitute Hussein El Shahat scored a brace to ease any nerves, securing Al Ahly’s spot in the quarter-finals.
The Red Devils were the defeated finalists last season, so they will hope to go one better this time around.
In Denmark, the regular group stage of Superligaen drew to a dramatic close last week. After that, the table was split in half, and the two play-off rounds commenced this weekend.
In the Championship play-off, league leaders FC Nordsjælland faced a tough trip to the capital to face defending champions FC København, who were hot on their heels with just a one-point deficit.
FCK’s season got off to a terrible start as they found themselves down in 9th place with six losses from their first 10 games. At that point, the board decided to act and did so by firing Jess Thorup and promoting assistant manager Jacob Neestrup to the hot seat.
Under the 35-year-old Dane, København slowly climbed up the table and entered the top half in time for the long winter break. On the other side of it, they have seemingly returned to their dominant best, while Nordsjælland have been slipping up a fair bit.
Therefore, this match was billed as a potential title-decider already for København, who were surely not going to get caught if they took the top spot in the table.
Nordsjælland put up a fight and took the lead in the 35th minute through Mohamed Diomande, but were ultimately defeated. Just after the hour-mark, Mohamed Daramy equalised with a superb finish. Late on, substitute Diogo Gonçalves netted a deserved win for the side that looked more threatening over the course of the match.
🏴 The International Break is over, and with no further gaps planned until the European summer, it’s time to buckle up for the business end of the season in all of the top leagues. Not least in England, where we could see another pivotal set of results come in over the weekend.
The first of Saturday’s seven fixtures is a case in point: Manchester City host Liverpool, the two main title protagonists over the past few campaigns and while that might not be the case this season, Liverpool could still have a say in the destination of this year’s silverware. City sit second, eight points down on Arsenal, but with a game in hand, they need to keep the pressure on. Liverpool’s need for the three points is just as great as they currently sit sixth, seven points short of Tottenham, in fourth.
Recent form shows City unbeaten in 10 across all competitions but Pep Guardiola will be wary of a Liverpool side who may well have lost to Bournemouth last time out in the league, but were able to stifle City, and Erling Haaland in particular, to record a 1-0 victory against them back in October.
Playing later in the day, Arsenal will have the benefit of knowing City’s result but with points already on the board, the Gunners will no doubt just want to continue their recent form – 8 wins and 2 draws in their last 10 meetings – against their opponents, Leeds United.
Brighton vs. Brentford, the battle between the sides level on points and placed seventh and eighth in the table should be intriguing – especially with the winners likely to move into the top six, should Liverpool slip up at City. And then there’s Chelsea vs. Aston Villa, two more sides who find themselves level on points, albeit stuck a little further down in mid-table.
🇩🇪 We’ve been talking up this edition of Der Klassiker all through the International break but only because the Bundesliga title race was so beautifully set up after the last set of games. With nine rounds to play, the leagues’ two biggest clubs meet each other, separated by a single point in the table, and for once – it’s the 10-time defending champions Bayern who are sitting below rivals Borussia Dortmund.
That was after Dortmund continued their 10-game unbeaten run since Christmas with a 6-1 thrashing of FC Köln while Bayern slipped to a 2-1 defeat at Bayer Leverkusen. But what have Bayern gone and done about that in the interim period? They’ve sacked Julian Nagelsmann and replaced him with former-Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel. Honestly, this game couldn’t come at a better time.
Union Berlin, meanwhile, will continue their pursuit of the top two, or at least a third place finish, when they take on bottom side Stuttgart.
🇪🇸 Barcelona, like Arsenal in England, have a sizeable advantage in LaLiga. They return to action with a 12 point lead on nearest (and dearest) rivals Real Madrid, who they beat, thanks to an injury time winner, just prior to the break. Confidence should be high then, regardless of events off the field, when they go to bottom side Elche. Unsurprisingly, this is a meeting between the leagues worst defence – Elche – and the best, with Barcelona still only having conceded nine goals in 26 games played.
Incidentally, Barcelona meet Real Madrid again, in the second leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final this coming Wednesday (Barca lead 1-0 on aggregate).
🇮🇹 Serie A, among the top five leagues in Europe, is undoubtably the closest to being done and dusted (more on Napoli later), but nevertheless there are key games for two of the league’s big names on Saturday. Inter have been disappointing of late – losing three of their last four league games despite progressing to a Champions League semi-final during that same period. It’s a run of form that has allowed others in to the race for the runners-up spot and which has frustrated fans, and coach Simone Inzaghi alike. They therefore need a result against an in-form Fiorentina side who’ve won each of their last seven competitive games.
For Juventus, this season has become all about putting themselves in the best position they can in case they are given back the 15 points deducted from their tally for off-field improprieties earlier in the campaign. They’ve lost just once in their last 12 but remain seventh, outside of the European picture, ahead of Saturday’s home tie with relegation threatened Verona.
🇺🇸 In MLS, where we did not stop for the international break, the season continues at pace. With five rounds played only new franchise club St. Louis City can boast a 100% record – which is the best ever start recorded by a new side entering the league. This week, they’ll test that at home to Minnesota United, who are also unbeaten having played a game less, winning two, and drawing the other two.
Elsewhere LA Galaxy will be looking for their first win of the campaign in a tough looking fixture against Concacaf Champions League holders Seattle Sounders, and their inform striker Jordan Morris, who has seven goals from his first five games of 2023. Defending MLS Cup holders LAFC go to winless Colorado Rapids in the Western Conference while Eastern leaders New England Revolution take on NYCFC.
Sunday
🇮🇹 Serie A champions elect Napoli clash with the outgoing champions Milan in Italy’s biggest game of the weekend. This game will mark a changing of the guard domestically (with the home side 19 points clear of second placed Lazio) and also give us a preview of the Champions League semi-final between these two that is taking place later this month.
Milan currently sit fourth, four points further down on Lazio, and come in to this game having lost momentum. They won four games on the bounce in February only to lose to Fiorentina and Udinese, and draw at home to Salernitana in March. For the Partenopei though, all looks rosy, the only blot on their recent copy book a 1-0 defeat to Lazio three rounds ago. They haven’t conceded so much as a goal in the other eight games that they’ve played in the last two months.
🏴 Back in the Premier League, there’s just two further fixtures on Sunday (with Everton vs. Spurs held over to Monday night). First, there’s an all-important six pointer between West Ham United and Southampton – two of the three sides occupying a place in the relegation zone heading in to the weekend. With four points separating the bottom nine, a positive result could see either side leap up the table.
Then, to follow, there’s Newcastle United vs. Manchester United, fifth vs. third, and a re-run of the Carabao Cup Final played a little over a month ago. The Red Devils won that day at Wembley but have consequently looked poor in the league – losing 7-0 to Liverpool and drawing with Southampton – but strong in both their FA Cup and Europa League knockout games. Over the same period Newcastle have lost to City but beaten Wolves and Nottingham Forest.
🇪🇸 In LaLiga, Sunday is a day for the chasing pack. At the top of that, second placed Real Madrid prepare for the midweek Copa semi-final second leg against Barcelona with a home game against Real Valladolid, a side they have not lost to since FotMob started, and therefore our archive began, in the early 2010s.
Then, there’s the clash between sixth and fourth – Villarreal vs. Real Sociedad followed by the battle between third and fifth as Atlético Madrid host Real Betis. With a five point gap separating the top six from the sides below them and 10 points from Atlético in third to Villarreal in sixth, this is probably going to be the make up of the final places. We just need to work out where everyone slots in in terms of Champions League, Europa League, and Europa Conference League qualification.
🇫🇷 Ligue 1’s headliner on Sunday evening sees leaders PSG host wildcards Lyon. Despite sitting down in 10th, Laurent Blanc’s side have the ability to disrupt in the league thanks, in part, to the goalscoring exploits of a revitalised Alexandre Lacazette. They’re currently unbeaten in five, a run that includes draws with Lille and Nantes, a side they face again in the semi-finals of the Coupe de France this coming week.
PSG were knocked out of that competition, along with the Champions League, so must now focus on securing what would be their ninth league title in 11 seasons. Incidentally, the race for the Ligue 1 golden boot may prove to be more interesting than the title run in!
🇩🇪 Lastly, we return to the Bundesliga for another notable match-up, this time between Rhine River rivals FC Köln and Borussia Mönchengladbach. The Billy Goats and the Foals don’t get on so with nothing else to play for in terms of the league table we could be in line for another goalfest. The last five meetings between the sides have averaged 4.6 goals per game.
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!
It is an odd thing to say about a player who recently became the top scorer for England when he netted in the win over Italy, but it is true. The goalscoring exploits of Erling Haaland for Manchester City have cast a shadow over every other attacker in the Premier League. The Norwegian goal machine has 28 goals to his name already and looks destined to shatter the existing record of 32 goals in a 38-game campaign.
With everyone focusing on the City No.9 and his numbers this term, Kane is being overlooked. The Spurs talisman has already found the back of the net on 21 occasions and looks set to have his most prolific campaign since his 30-goal haul during the 2017/18 season.
He missed out on the Golden Boot then as well with Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah setting a new record with 32.
There are parallels to that season. The new goalscorer in the league is going to shatter an existing record and prevent Kane from adding to his individual trophy cabinet.
Prior to this season, the 82-cap England international had scored 20 or more in just one of his last four Premier League campaigns. It is by no means an issue but in his first four full seasons with Spurs, Kane netted 20 or more goals. In three of them, he managed 25 or more.
Kane had 105 goals to his name across those first four campaigns but just 75 in the following four. He was still one of the best goalscorers in the Premier League but he wasn’t anywhere near as prolific as he was in those early days.
He didn’t have to be though. His role within the Spurs team had evolved and he was combining goals with assists, playing as a well-rounded centre-forward. Kane notched 23 assists across the 2020/21 and 2021/22 Premier League campaigns. While he wasn’t scoring as often, he was still heavily involved in the team’s output.
For example, he may have scored 30 in 2017/18 but he assisted just two goals to take his goal involvement tally to 32. During the 2020/21 campaign, he scored seven fewer goals but assisted 14 times to take his involvement total to 37. Last season, he scored 17 times and assisted nine times. The goals may have dried up a little but he’s still been contributing to 30 goals per season over recent seasons.
He’s currently on 23 this season in just 2,508 minutes. He’s assisted just two goals this season, reverting back to the Kane of yesteryear as the pure goalscorer. But this alone highlights how flexible he is as a player. Goal-getter or goal-creator, he can adapt to different situations.
Kane has an Expected Goals (xG) total of 15.6 this term so there has been an overperformance in this particular area. He’s over five goals better off. However, when you look at his Expected Goals On Target (xGOT) total (17.8), it does go some way to explaining why he’s scoring at the rate he is.
He is finishing well due to his shot placement. However, you can’t use these figures to forecast what he going to happen. All this does is highlight that Kane has been adding value to his shots this season with his placement. A reason for this might be that he’s getting opportunities in better situations this season.
For context, last season Kane had just 14 shots from inside the six-yard box last season – 10.5% of his shot total. This season, he’s already surpassed the 14 shots (16) of last year and shots from within the six-yard box account for 15.5% of his total so far.
The Spurs No.10 is able to scale up his underlying numbers because he’s in better situations on a more regular basis. It sounds fairly straightforward but getting the ball to your centre-forward in higher-value areas is easier said than done, but Spurs are doing it and Kane is reaping the rewards.
What makes this all even more impressive is that the three-time Golden Boot winner is managing to do this during what is an inconsistent season for Spurs. Performances and results have been patchy, Antonio Conte was sacked during the international break and there is still doubt over the striker’s future with the club.
His current deal expires in 2024 and he is believed to be a transfer target for both Manchester United and Bayern Munich. If Spurs don’t nail their next managerial appointment, Kane may opt to leave and the club could be forced to cash in on the striker this summer rather than allow him to leave for free 12 months later.
All of this could impact a player’s performance, yet Kane has been at his prolific best. There’s every chance he finishes with 30 Premier League goals for only the second time in his career. He could fire Spurs into the top four while simultaneously proving he’s still a clinical goal machine. If it is his last season with Tottenham, he’s set himself up to go out on a high.
(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.
Although most of the men’s top-flight leagues are not in action thanks to the international break, we have no shortage of matches to look back on this weekend. Our selection includes some potential title deciders in major women’s leagues, as well as some clashes from men’s leagues.
Wolfsburg and Bayern München have finished in the top two of the Frauen-Bundesliga in each of the last eight seasons, and that streak looks set to continue. The big question, however, is what order they finish in.
Wolfsburg have won the league in seven of the last eight seasons, meaning Bayern have almost always had to settle for the runners-up spot. They occupied that familiar position once again going into the weekend, but had a golden chance to change things as they hosted their rivals with just two points between them.
With just six matches left after this one, both sides recognised this is a potentially season-defining match. The hosts were the ones who needed to win, so they seemed to be the more imposing side in the match. A little after the half-hour mark, they were convinced they’d scored after a corner when the ball was cleared off the goal line, but the referees did not agree. With no VAR or goal-line technology, there was no way to be certain, so everyone had to go with the on-field decision.
We seemed to be headed for a goalless draw, but with just a few minutes left on the clock, a major refereeing decision went Bayern’s way. Lena Lattwein was penalised for handball inside the penalty area, meaning Alexander Straus’ side had a glorious opportunity to win all three points from the penalty spot. Georgia Stanway stepped up, and she scored with no signs of hesitation.
This crucial victory puts Bayern in the driver’s seat as we approach the end of the season. Both sides’ run-ins look fairly similar in terms of fixture difficulty, so the title is Bayern’s to lose now.
This was Women’s Football Weekend in England, and it did not disappoint. The spoils were shared in the Merseyside derby on Friday night, Arsenal thrashed North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, and yet, the best had been saved for last. League-leaders Chelsea visited Manchester City, who were once pronounced out of the title race after a poor start to the season, but now found themselves within two points of their opponents. Chelsea do have a game in hand as well, it should be said.
For that reason, this game was billed as a must-win for City if they wished to keep up their unlikely title bid. They showed that they knew that right from kick-off, imposing themselves on the game and forcing Chelsea back. The home side could not really create any big chances after getting to the final third, but their attackers decided they did not need any.
In the 21st minute, after a high turnover, Lauren Hemp found FIlippa Angeldal on the right side of the box. The Swedish international realised that there was no one to close her down, so she picked out the far corner and left the goalkeeper rooted to her spot. Nine minutes later, a cross from the right broke for Hemp, who thrashed it home to take City two goals to the good.
Chelsea had looked comfortably second-best to that point, so much so that Emma Hayes felt the need to make a couple of changes in the 36th minute. Puzzlingly, though, one of the players who came off was danger player Lauren James. Unsurprisingly, Chelsea did not look any better without her, so City cruised home and came away with all three points.
That really makes things interesting in the WSL title race, which will surely go down to the wire. The fixture schedule is looking great from an entertainment point of view because the penultimate matchday has a Manchester derby and a London derby between the four main title rivals.
We’ve been treated with back-to-back Clásico in the space of a week. After the men’s sides went at it last weekend, it was time for the women this Saturday. The picture in Liga F was quite similar to LaLiga too, as Barcelona took a 10-point lead into this game. Maintaining that would not be enough, though, as they were looking to preserve their 100% record in the league this season.
It was goalless at half-time, though, and Barcelona did not look all that threatening. Of course, they kept more of the ball and looked the better side, but did not seem to have their usual cutting edge in the final third. As the match wore on, people certainly began to wonder if this was the day Barcelona’s winning streak was snapped.
It would have been quite a big occasion in that case. Not only would this be the first time Barcelona dropped points in the league, but it would also be the first time they would do so in 58 Liga F matches! A world record winning streak would come to an end, while Real Madrid would also register their first-ever Clásico point!
But, that was not to be. As we entered the last 15 minutes of regulation time, Salma Paralluelo was brought down in the box by Athenea del Castillo. Fridolina Rolfö stepped up to take the resulting spot-kick which she coolly converted to keep the Barcelona train chugging along.
This win takes Barcelona closer to yet another league, which could well be theirs by this time next month.
Defeated World Cup finalists France were back in action for the first time since that painful night at the Lusail Stadium, as they began their Euro 2024 qualification campaign against Netherlands. Not a lot had changed for them, except the fact that Hugo Lloris had retired so there was a new captain: Kylian Mbappé.
The Dutch had also fallen to Argentina in a dramatic quarter-final at the World Cup, which proved to be Louis van Gaal’s last match in management as he announced his retirement thereafter. So, the KNVB had to search for a new national team manager, and they decided to go back to Ronald Koeman.
His preparations for his first match back might have been rather ruined by a few cases of food poisoning in the squad which meant that a number of key players were sent home ahead of this fixture. Nonetheless, the ex-Barcelona manager was able to name a pretty strong line-up that should have been expected to give the French a run for their money.
But they didn’t. France scored twice within the first eight minutes and added a third in the 21st minute to effectively seal the result then and there. Unsurprisingly, Mbappé was the star of the show. He set up Antoine Griezmann for the opener, before starting and finishing a counterattacking move for the third. In between those, Dayot Upamecano bundled home a free-kick.
The Dutch seemed well beaten at the time in spite of Koeman’s attempt to change things with a first half tactical substitution, so France could take their foot off the pedal in the second half. Nevertheless, Mbappé decided to add another late on after toying with a couple of defenders before finding the bottom corner from the edge of the box, capping off a fantastic win for France.
Koeman and his men will need to perform a lot better than that if they intend to keep step with France in Group B. The good news for them is that they have Gibraltar next, so they will definitely get points on the board and likely erase their negative goal difference.
In spite of the men’s international break, we had a full round of MLS fixtures this weekend. That meant that some sides had to make do without key players, and that had quite an adverse effect on one of them.
Atlanta United’s season had gotten off to a very good start. With three wins and a draw, they went into this weekend sitting pretty at the top of the Eastern Conference. Their star man definitely was Thiago Almada, who had four goals and as many assists to his name in just four games. He did not make the trip to Columbus, though, as he was away with the Argentina squad celebrating their World Cup triumph back home. Six of his club teammates were away on international duty as well, including Greek striker Giorgos Giakoumakis.
These absences seemed to significantly weaken Atlanta’s attack, as they managed just two shots all game. Meanwhile, at the other end, they were leaking goals. They were just one down at half-time when left-back Andrew Gutman went off injured. It all went south thereafter, as Atlanta United suffered their worst-ever defeat in franchise history.
The Crew were also missing some key players such as Lucas Zelarayan and injured striker Cucho Hernández, but they clearly had no problems. Their youngsters have taken them through this international break in style, as four of their five scorers are aged 23 or younger. They will hope this serves as a launchpad for their bid to make the playoffs for the first time since 2020, when they ended up winning the whole thing.
In Brazil, the regional championships are drawing to a close. We have reached the play-off stage in most places, including the Campeonato Gaúcho. The second legs of both semi-finals were played this weekend, and there was one huge upset.
Last year’s Serie A runners-up drew first blood through Maurício in the 21st minute, but they could not hold on to their lead till half-time. Three minutes into first half stoppage-time, Eronildo equalised with a header. There were no goals to come in the second half, so the tie was to be decided by penalties.
Both sides’ takers were faultless as the first eight spot-kicks were scored, but Internacional’s fifth attempt was clawed away from the corner by Bruno. So, Wesley stepped up with a chance to send his side through to the final, and he did not disappoint.
There were some unsavoury scenes at the end of the shootout as some of the Internacional players were unhappy with their opponents’ celebrations and caused quite a scuffle, which resulted in two sendings-off after the final whistle had been blown. Still, that should not mar what otherwise was a brilliant night for Caxias, who will now have the chance to win just their second Gaúcho title.
