FotMob TOTW – Round 5
Matchday 5 in the Champions League produced some big individual performances. The lowest rating to make the FotMob TOTW was Napoli’s goalscoring centre-back Leo Østigård with a 8.3 while PSG pair Mbappé and Messi each topped out with a 9.6. And at Camp Nou, Serge Gnabry was the scourge of Barcelona as Bayern consigned their hosts to Europa League football.
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The weekend just gone saw important wins for Spain’s top three so let’s get down to the main talking points from those games and around the league.
By Ben Hayward, LaLiga expert
Real Madrid scored three goals for the third consecutive match in LaLiga and stay top of the table after Saturday’s 3-1 win over Sevilla at the Santiago Bernabéu. Carlo Ancelotti’s side took a first-half lead through Luka Modrić – playing his 450th match for the club – after an excellent run and cutback from Vinicíus Júnior, but looked as if they may have to settle for a point as Erik Lamela levelled in the second period. But Lucas Vázquez restored Real’s advantage following a devastating counter 11 minutes from time and Fede Valverde added another spectacular strike to his collection shortly afterwards. That is seven goals for the Uruguayan now in 2022-23 and the 24-year-old’s new-found form in front of goal is a welcome boost for Los Blancos – particularly with Karim Benzema forced to sit this one out due to muscle fatigue.
Benzema did not play but presented his Ballon d’Or to the Bernabeu faithful. But after Valverde’s wonder strike late in the game, the home fans chanted “Fede, Ballon d’Or.” Asked afterwards about that, Ancelotti said: “Let’s wait a bit, shall we?”
On a more serious note, Madrid have now won 10 of their 11 LaLiga games and drew the other. Even without Benzema or Thibaut Courtois, who was back in goal on Saturday after recovering from sciatica, this team is impressively consistent.
“I don’t know if it’s the most reliable team I have had, but it’s one I like to coach,” Ancelotti said. “It’s a team that doesn’t give me problems. It’s respectful. And in terms of quality, it’s one of the best I have had. If not the best.”
Despite their recent improvement under Jorge Sampaoli, Sevilla are only a point above the relegation after 11 rounds of LaLiga.
Barcelona brushed aside Athletic Club in an emphatic 4-0 win at Camp Nou on Sunday to stay within three points of rivals Real Madrid. Ousmane Dembélé opened the scoring with a downward header shortly after his own long-range effort had been acrobatically saved by Unai Simón and the French forward went on to add a hat-trick of assists – for Sergi Roberto, Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres. That ensured an unhappy return to Camp Nou for former coach Ernesto Valverde, but the match had been over as a contest very early on as Barça scored three times in the opening 22 minutes.
“Dembélé was especially good,” Xavi said afterwards. “He made the difference. We circulated the ball well high up the pitch. We killed the game off in the first half.” And he added: “We have taken a step forward since El Clásico.”
That remains Barça’s only defeat in LaLiga this term, with nine wins and a draw in their other 10 domestic fixtures so far in 2022-23.
Lewandowski’s goal means he has 17 in 15 games overall this season and 12 in 11 LaLiga appearances. The Pole may have to be rested at some stage, but Xavi said: “Ferran [Torres] and Ansu [Fati] can play in Robert’s role, if we rest him. There are several options.”
The one blip for Barça was a shoulder injury suffered by Sergi Roberto, who is expected to be out for up to six weeks and is therefore out of next month’s World Cup.
It already looks like a two-horse race for the title in LaLiga, but Atlético Madrid moved back up to third with a win at Real Betis on Sunday. Antoine Griezmann scored both goals for the Rojiblancos, the first direct from a corner and the second with a low shot which went through the legs of Rui Silva before trickling into the corner. In both cases, the Betis goalkeeper could probably have done better. Nabil Fekir pulled one back with a fine free-kick after 84 minutes, but Atleti survived a late onslaught – including a header against their crossbar and a penalty appeal in added time – to take all three points.
“I’m very happy for Griezmann,” Diego Simeone said. “He worked hard to be here. It looks like we are seeing the Griezmann who left [for Barcelona in 2019], who is a leader with his play. We need leaders.”
But Betis boss Manuel Pellegrini was unimpressed with Atlético’s approach. “A team that set out not to lose, won,” he said. “And a team that set out to win, lost.” Despite defeat, Betis are in fifth place, just three points behind Atleti.
Despite playing over half an hour with 10 men and conceding a number of chances, Villarreal managed to beat Almería 2-1 thanks to a goal from youngster Nico Jackson deep into added time at the Estadio de la Cerámica on Sunday. Earlier, winger Alex Baena was shown a second yellow card after his equaliser for lifting up his shirt to reveal an emotional thank you message for the club’s vice-president José Manuel Llaneza, who passed away last week.
This was the first match at the Cerámica since Llaneza’s passing and turned out to be the last for Unai Emery as Villarreal coach following the announcement that the Basque is joining Aston Villa.
“It was a great day for Villarreal and a good homage to Llaneza on the field of play,” Emery said. “Sometimes you need heart to win matches.”
Emery leaves the Yellow Submarine in seventh place in LaLiga and although the timing of his exit is a disappointment, he will be remembered in Villarreal as the coach who brought a first-ever major trophy to the club (the Europa League in 2020/21) and led the team to the Champions League semi-finals a year later.
Notable mentions are also necessary for Real Valladolid and Real Mallorca. Valladolid beat high-flying Real Sociedad 1-0 on Saturday to secure a second straight win and move to within a point of the top half of the table, while Mallorca stunned Valencia with an impressive 2-1 victory at Mestalla. South Korea attacker Lee Kang-in, formerly of Valencia, netted a late winner for Javier Aguirre’s side with a neat cutback and ferocious finish before holding his hands up in a gesture of apology to the home fans. Mallorca are up to 12th.
(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.
FotMob TOTW – Round 11
Rayo Vallecano and Barcelona posted the biggest wins in the league and that’s reflected here. But how about that LaLiga dream team upfront!? Griezmann, Vinícius Júnior and our top rated player of the round, Ousmane Dembélé, who earned a 9.7.
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FotMob TOTW – Round 13
Kurt Zouma played his way in to the side with his goal in the Monday night game, Erling Haaland returns up front, while there’s a place for two of Nottingham Forest’s heroes against Liverpool. And Danny Ings top scored with a 9.0.
Who missed out? Have your say in the comments on Instagram.
It was a weekend of surprise results as a number of struggling teams ended losing streaks and the league leaders dropped points for only the second time this season. Here’s a round-up of the biggest talking points and the best stats.
By Sam McGuire, Premier League expert
Taiwo Awoniyi has just three goals for Nottingham Forest in the Premier League this season but two of them have been winners. He scrambled the ball past Alisson Becker on Saturday to give Forest all three points against Liverpool as the team that had been rooted to the bottom of the table climbed level on points with Leeds and Wolves.
Awoniyi was a Liverpool player for six seasons but work permit issues meant he never turned out for the Reds. He was given the nod by Steve Cooper to lead the line at the Forest Ground this weekend and he repaid the manager’s faith. Only Mohamed Salah and Fabio Carvalho (both four) had more shots than the 25-year-old while teammate Dean Henderson was the only player to have a higher FotMob rating (8.4 to 8.2).
Miguel Almirón scored one goal in the Premier League last season. He scored what turned out to be the winner against Spurs on Sunday to take his tally for the campaign to six. The 28-year-old has five in his last five starts for the Magpies and his goals are one of the reasons they now find themselves in fourth place in the Premier League.
He took six shots against Tottenham Hotspur in what was a productive display. Almiron also won 100% of his tackles and recovered the ball on six occasions as the team with the best defensive record in the league limited Antonio Conte’s men to just one goal.
Only four players have more goals than Almirón this term.
Heading into the match against Brentford, Aston Villa had won just two of their 11 matches in the Premier League this season. They were on a four-game winless streak and had scored just once in that period.
At Villa Park on Sunday, they were 3-0 up inside of 14 minutes and they eventually coasted to a 4-0 win over the Bees in what was one of the most dominant performances of the season. They racked up an extraordinary xG total of 2.87 in a ridiculously one-sided game as Danny Ings, Ollie Watkins, Emiliano Buendía and Leon Bailey all impressed in a much-changed starting XI.
Arsenal remain top of the league by two points following a 1-1 draw with Southampton on Sunday afternoon. However, Mikel Arteta’s side aren’t looking quite as sharp as they were earlier on in the season. Gabriel Jesus is now three Premier League games without a goal and for a second successive match, the Gunners failed to create chances with an xG value of over one.
They were held to an xG total of 0.99 by Southampton and this arrived just a week after Leeds limited them to 0.55. Arsenal are struggling to turn their dominance into goals and this wasn’t a problem earlier on in the season.
After a blank at Anfield last week, Erling Haaland was back amongst the goals as Manchester City returned to winning ways against Brighton. The reigning champions ran out 3-1 winners at the Etihad with Haaland netting twice to take his tally to 17 (SEVENTEEN!) in the Premier League.
The goal machine had just three shots on Saturday, a relatively quiet afternoon for the No.9 in that regard, but he did also create a chance on his way to an 8.8 FotMob rating.
(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.
With Round 11 now at a close, it’s time for three talking points from a league where Napoli remain the only unbeaten side and Milan, and Lazio, lead the chasing pack.
By Matteo Bonetti, US Serie A expert
Throughout the summer, much of the talk was about one Roman club in particular – not Lazio, but their biggest rival, Roma – and for good reason. The Giallorossi had just signed a slew of talent like Paulo Dybala and Giorginio Wijnaldum.
Lazio on the other hand, quietly went about their business without a marquee signing. A lot of credit must be given to the club for being able to keep their best players in Ciro Immobile, Sergej Milinković-Savić and Luis Alberto, all of whom have all been at Lazio for a long time and have developed one of the best partnerships in the league. In terms of new additions, the Biancocelesti refurbished their centre-back pairing. Gone was the veteran Francesco Acerbi and the talented but injury-prone Brazilian defender Luis Felipe. In their place arrived the Italian pairing of Alessio Romagnoli and Nicoló Casale – the former, desperate for a change of scenery after his involution at Milan which saw him lose his starting place; the latter, an impressive 24-year-old defender from Hellas Verona, with a bright future ahead of him.
Lazio’s defence is currently ranked first in Serie A, with only five goals conceded after 11 rounds. It isn’t just the new centre-backs who have impressed, but their new goalkeeper too. Ivan Provedel was one of two goalkeepers to join the club last summer alongside former Granada shot-stopper Luís Maximiano. Maximiano was red carded after six minutes in round one and is yet to play another minute for the club. This has been a blessing in disguise for Maurizio Sarri, who was forced to play his backup Provedel. The Italian has since been outstanding and maintained a starting role well beyond Maximiano’s one game suspension.
Sarri’s Lazio is one of the biggest surprises of the season so far. They’re playing their usual “SarriBall” style of high press and a lot of possession, but they’re winning mostly because of a surprisingly stellar defensive unit of former cast-offs and players inexperienced at the highest level.
Napoli are the only team in Serie A that has yet to lose a game this season. Nine wins and two draws, a stunning style of play and first place in their Champions League group. Over the weekend, they had one of their stiffest tests of the season, playing José Mourinho’s Roma at Stadio Olimpico.
What stands out more than anything about the way Napoli play is how they don’t change their style for anyone. Whether it’s at home against a provincial or away against a direct Scudetto rival, Luciano Spalletti’s side tries to dominate possession and plays high press off the ball. Napoli’s style meant Roma was rooted deep in their own half for most of the match, often having to play vertically on the counter as they couldn’t build up slower possession.
Victor Osimhen’s stunning goal was even more impressive when you looked at it more than once – it was such a narrow angle that he had, meaning the shot had to be perfect to beat Roma’s goalkeeper Rui Patricio. Osimhen got himself free by being able to bully his way through Chris Smalling in a one-on-one battle. The biggest hope for Napoli is that their Nigerian striker can stay healthy for the rest of the season. He’s been incredibly unlucky with bad injuries in each of his Napoli seasons – from the fractured orbital/cheek to hamstring issues, Osihmen hasn’t had a full season to show off his goal scoring prowess.
Napoli have already picked up three points away to Roma, Milan and Lazio in Serie A. These are the types of performances that show their confidence and personality, especially with a team that was supposed to be in a rebuild this season.
Milan’s no.10 Brahim Díaz thought he had lost his starting spot for good after the club spent nearly the entire summer trying to sign Belgian wonder boy Charles De Ketelaere. After finally convincing Club Brugge to accept their 35m Euro offer, “CDK” came to the club with the expectation of being the new star in the trequartista role. Last year, Brahim Díaz began the campaign as a starter, but inconsistent play in the second half of the season saw coach Stefano Pioli switch to the more industrious Rade Krunić to play as the forward destroyer. It seemed like Brahim’s future at Milan as the starting attacking midfielder was pretty much done with, apart from being a situational substitute and rotation guy.
Fast forward to October 2022 and Brahim has thoroughly outplayed De Ketelaere and as a result, taken back his spot in the line-up. Brahim has scored three goals in his last three Serie A games, all of them wonderful efforts – two magical solo runs to split multiple defenders, and a quick turn and fire inside the box, which showed off his clinical touch.
While Brahim has been shining, CDK has been regressing further with every chance he’s been given. Pioli has been quick to support the young Belgian by saying that it took both Raphael Leão and Sandro Tonali more than a full season to get acclimated to their new club and start producing at a high level.
De Ketelaere seems jittery and nervous with his play now. It’s clearly a by-product of the massive expectations heaped onto him by the Italian media and seemingly not being able to perform at the level that made him a stand out at Club Brugge.
This is a battle that’ll continue throughout the season. CDK will need plenty of minutes to improve, so it’s Brahim’s job now to make himself undroppable if healthy. Perhaps the two could even play together under Pioli – Brahim has featured in a wider position in the past, while the Belgian is quite versatile and can fill a few positions throughout the frontline.
(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.
As we approach the World Cup in November, many summer leagues are drawing to a close. Elsewhere, the big games are continuing to come thick and fast in the big winter leagues around Europe. We will be rounding up all the major action from the last couple of days in this edition of Last Weekend.
By Neel Shelat
Argentina: Racing Club 1-2 River PlateAfter 26 games, the Liga Profesional title race boiled down to the final matchday. Boca Juniors were leading the league but had a tough test against Independiente, whose local rivals Racing Club were one point off the top spot. Funnily enough, they were facing Boca’s arch-rivals River Plate, for whom Marcelo Gallardo was overseeing the final match of his long and memorable tenure.
The tension was palpable at La Bombonera and El Cilindro de Avellaneda, which heightened the drama as both title race protagonists were playing at home. After a cagey first half-hour in both matches, Racing fans began to celebrate an Independiente goal for probably the first and only time in their lives. By the time word reached every spectator in the stadium, though, Boca had already equalised. So, we went into the half-time break with level scores in both matches.
Just five minutes into the second period, substitute Sebastián Villa whipped a free-kick into the top corner for Boca, but soon thereafter, Racing won a penalty, which was converted by Matias Rojas. As it stood, though, that goal meant little because Boca were winning too. Hope slowly began to fade at the Cilindro as we entered the last 15 minutes of the match, and Racing’s title hopes suffered a huge setback when Miguel Borja equalised in the 80th minute.
No more than a minute later, the Racing fans started urging their players on with renewed vigour because Javier Vallejo equalised for Independiente, so Racing needed to win their match to lift the title. They were given a golden chance to do just that when they won another penalty in the dying stages of the match. Rojas had been substituted off, so Jonathan Galván stepped up to take it. His effort was incredibly tame, so Franco Armani was able to keep it out after diving the right way.
To add insult to injury, Borja scored a last-minute winner for River Plate, but the difference between a draw and a loss was as good as nothing for Racing in this context. So, in the most incredible circumstances, River Plate effectively won the title for Boca Juniors.
You’d do well to write a script as good as that.
Italy: Roma 0-1 NapoliThe big Serie A match on Sunday night saw league-leaders Napoli visit the capital, where they faced the only side in the division with a better xGD (Expected Goal Difference) than them. Luciano Spalletti’s side were on a six-match winning streak domestically going into this game, yet Milan were level on points with them after their win over Monza earlier in the weekend.
It was a typically staunch defensive performance from Roma, who were happy to cede possession as long as it meant they could better protect their goal. As a result, there were no clear-cut chances to speak of in the first half, so the match was goalless at half-time. As the match wore on in the second period and crossed the hour mark, Napoli began to fashion some openings by capitalising on lapses from the tiring Roma defenders.
Their star striker Victor Osimhen was back in the starting line-up for the first time since he sustained an injury against Liverpool in early September, and although Napoli coped very well in his absence, he showed just how important he can be in this match. The direct threat that he poses with his runs in behind led him to get on the end of a gilt-edged chance in the 70th minute when he went through on goal on the right, but he dragged his finish well wide of the far post. Still, he persevered, and 10 minutes later, he was in behind at a much tighter angle, but this time he superbly struck the ball across the face of goal and into the far corner, putting his side in front in the process.
That was enough for Napoli to take home all three points and put an end to Roma’s unbeaten record in the league, so now they are the only side that can boast of that. It is safe to say that their victory was deserved too.
In his last column, our Serie A expert Matteo Bonetti explored Napoli’s chances of finally lifting the Scudetto this season, and they seem to be getting increasingly better with every passing week. They still have a long way to go, but we might start calling them favourites at this stage.
Portugal: FC Porto 0-1 BenficaThe weekend’s action in Portugal kicked off with O Clássico, where the top two faced off at the Estádio do Dragão with three points separating them. Benfica were leading the way this season, but having gone three years without a league trophy, this was set to be a real test of their title credentials.
The home side looked the stronger of the two early on, but the match changed in the 27th minute when Stephen Eustáquio picked up a second yellow card in the span of three minutes. Benfica were then able to get a stronghold on proceedings, but Porto did defend admirably for the rest of the first half.
Roger Schmidt made some crucial decisions at half-time as he made three substitutions that saw three booked players come off, while their replacements helped make Benfica more attack-minded. Their endeavours were finally rewarded in the 72nd minute when Rafa Silva found the back of the net with a goal that was initially flagged for offside, but later given by VAR.
With that, Benfica earned a deserved victory in this Clássico – their first in over three years – and remained the only side in the Portuguese top flight with an unbeaten record. The title charge is very much on for them.
Belgium: Standard Liège 3-1 AnderlechtIt has been an intense week of Jupiler Pro League action, where some big midweek clashes added to the talking points ahead of the weekend’s fixtures. Last season’s top two squared off on Saturday night, this season’s top two kicked off the action for Sunday, but our focus will be on the Belgian Clasico between a rejuvenated Standard Liège and a struggling Anderlecht.
Standard had been regular European challengers since the turn of the century, but they had a torrid time last season when they finished 14th. They were taken over by 777 Partners heading into this season, and they brought in New York City FC’s most recent title-winning manager Ronny Deila to start the rebuild.
Anderlecht, on the other hand, finished third last season but were always a good distance away from the title race. Head coach Vincent Kompany left at the end of the season, making way for Union Saint-Gilloise’s miracle-mastermind Felice Mazzù to replace him. Mazzù had a great track record of success at ‘smaller’ clubs like Union and Charleroi, but his last ‘big’ job at Genk did not end well.
Things were already rocky for him going into this match, as Anderlecht came on the back of a three-match losing streak in all competitions that saw them fall out of the top two of their Europa Conference League group, and drop out of the European spots in the league after losses to rivals Club Brugge and bottom-club Zulte Waregem.
The travelling fans finally had something to celebrate just three minutes into this match as Yari Verschaeren opened the scoring, putting Anderlecht on course for what would just be their second win in their last six competitive fixtures. They were soon derailed from that course, though, as Standard Liège scored twice in the space of seven minutes before the half hour through Nicolas Raskin and Marlon Fossey.
As the away side’s supporters began to grow disgruntled in the second period, Philip Zinckernagel added a third for Standard, and that proved to be tipping point. Flares were thrown onto the pitch from the away section and the match had to be suspended and eventually abandoned. Anderlecht’s players could only leave their dressing room two and a half hours after that due to security concerns, and their drive back to Brussels must have been made even less enjoyable by the broken glass at the back of their bus.
Besides the visitors getting fined for their fans’ actions, Standard were of course awarded the 3-1 win which takes them all the way up to fifth. Anderlecht, meanwhile, are down in 12th and have a whopping 21-point deficit to Genk, but are just five points ahead of Zulte Waregem at the foot of the table.
On Monday, Anderlecht announced that they had parted ways with Mazzù, for whom this looks to be a repeat of his experiences at Genk. The next head coach will have quite a job on their hands.
England: Nottingham Forest 1-0 LiverpoolThe Premier League also gave us some great action this weekend including Manchester United’s visit to Stamford Bridge, Tottenham’s loss at home to Newcastle, Arsenal’s draw with Southampton and Manchester City’s win over Brighton & Hove Albion, but the most shocking result came in the first match of the weekend.
Last-placed Nottingham Forest welcomed a depleted, yet in-form Liverpool, who had beaten Rangers, Manchester City and West Ham in the previous ten days, although they lost Diogo Jota and Darwin Núñez to injuries in those fixtures. Still, they would have been expected to make light work of a newly-promoted side that had one of the league’s worst defences.
The visitors created some good chances in the first half but largely looked uninspired, while Forest’s disciplined defending in their 4-5-1 formation was deserving of a goalless half. Steve Cooper’s side knew that they needed a one-off chance like a set-piece to cause further problems to their opponents, and they made the most of just that in the 55th minute when former Liverpool striker Taiwo Awoniyi scored the rebound after initially hitting the post.
Liverpool naturally began to push harder for an equaliser as the full-time whistle got closer, but Forest were also able to fashion a number of chances to double their lead. Both goalkeepers produced some spectacular saves as big chances were missed at both ends, but on the balance of play, Forest were good value for their win.
Nottingham Forest are still at the foot of the table, but their second win of the season means that they are now level on points with the other two sides in the relegation zone, and are just two points away from safety. Liverpool, on the other hand, are down in 8th and 12 points behind league-leaders Arsenal, while their injury issues do not seem to be getting resolved anytime soon.
France: Lille 4-3 MonacoOne of the more entertaining matches of the weekend was Lille’s win over Monaco in a seven-goal thriller. It featured superb attacking, poor defending and sloppy goalkeeping in equal measure.
Alexsandro Ribeiro opened the scoring 22 minutes in with a header from a set-piece, but Monaco were back level just over 10 minutes later when Lucas Chevalier let Caio Henrique’s seemingly harmless free-kick slip through his hands. It was 2-2 within the next 10 minutes, as Rémy Cabella put Lille back in front after some great work by Jonathan David but Axel Disasi equalised from a corner soon thereafter.
The away team took the lead for the first time in the match on the other side of the half-time break through Wissam Ben Yedder, but Lille made a comeback after the hour through goals from Cabella and Jonathan Bamba, which proved decisive when the full-time whistle was blown.
While it was a very fun spectacle for the neutral viewer, this match really summed up the two sides’ seasons so far. Both Lille and Monaco have shown sparks of brilliance going forward, but their defences have been pretty shaky, as is highlighted by their goal records of 25-21 and 23-18 respectively. Entertainment is good, but it does not always lead to success in football.
Cover Image from IMAGO
The best action to follow this weekend
Swiftly following the midweek matches in the Premier League, the next round starts with four fixtures on Saturday. They include a meeting between Liverpool – who looked a bit more like their former selves when they beat West Ham on Wednesday, and Nottingham Forest – who slipped to the bottom of the table despite drawing at Brighton on Tuesday.
Manchester City return to action after sitting it out during the week as they host Brighton. City can move to within a point of leaders Arsenal if they can continue Roberto De Zerbi’s winless start to life with the Seagulls. And in the evening fixture, Graham Potter – still unbeaten with Chelsea – will face a test as Manchester United go to Stamford Bridge. The visitors will most definitely be without Cristiano Ronaldo following his disciplinary issues but as the 2-0 win over Spurs on Wednesday showed – does Erik ten Hag need him?
There were midweek games in LaLiga too, where leaders Real Madrid will be in action again on Saturday, after following last weekend’s victory over arch-rivals Barcelona with a 3-0 win at Elche on Wednesday. That result included a goal for the newly crowned Ballon d’Or, Karim Benzema – not that Madrid need their talisman to score with contributions currently coming from all over the pitch!
Madrid play Sevilla, who’ve enjoyed a four game unbeaten run since the return of Argentinian coach Jorge Sampaoli. Also on Saturday – we’ll get another look at form side Real Sociedad as they go to Real Valladolid. The Basques have won eight straight games in all competitions but will come up against a team with fresh confidence after Valladolid enjoyed a rare 4-1 win over Celta Vigo during the week.
Serie A throws up an interesting clash as third placed Milan prepare to host Monza, who are, of course, owned by Silvio Berlusconi, the Political behemoth who also used to own Milan. The newly promoted side appear to have settled in to their first tilt at the top tier of Italian football having won two of their last three and they also defeated high-flying Udinese in the Coppa Italia on Wednesday.
Another side finally showing a bit of form are Simone Inzaghi’s Inter Milan – they’re unbeaten in four having won twice in the league and taken four points from two Champions League meetings with Barcelona. They face strugglers Fiorentina on Saturday evening, a side who’s current plight was covered here, in our most recent Serie A column.
As in Italy, a lot of the Bundesliga clubs have been involved in domestic cup action over the past few days so watch out for a few sides who may get caught out in terms of their recovery. Bayern ended their recent hoodoo at near neighbours Augsburg – beating them 5-2 having lost a league meeting there earlier in the campaign. The 10-time champions play fourth placed Hoffenheim, who smashed five past Schalke in the week, the same side they’d beaten in the league last weekend.
Elsewhere, Dortmund – who are winless in three league games – enjoyed some respite with a win at second tier Hannover. Just what they needed as they look to refocus for their home clash with mid-table Stuttgart. And third placed Freiburg, who were taken to extra-time by St. Pauli but were eventually victorious go up against Werder Bremen. Werder were not so lucky after they were knocked out of the cup by Paderborn on penalties.
With PSG involved in this week’s Friday night game – the weekend’s focus will be on those sides sat just behind them in the table. Luckily for those with a short attention span, two of them meet at Marseille‘s Vélodrome. RC Lens, who sit third, are the visitors with Marseille currently a point below them, in fourth, following defeat in last weekend’s Classique against the Parisians.
There’s top of the table action in Türkiye as well – with Fenerbahçe hosting Istanbul Başakşehir. The prize for a winner is the honour of leapfrogging leaders Adana Demirspor – at least until they play their game against fifth placed Konyaspor on Sunday.
LaLiga provides not one, but two top-six clashes on Sunday. Barcelona (2nd) bounced back from that Clásico defeat by comfortably beating Villarreal in midweek and they now face former manager Ernesto Valverde and his Athletic Club side (6th). Athletic have started the season brightly only to stutter in recent games – they’re now winless in three.
The other big game involves Real Betis and Atlético Madrid, two sides locked together on 20 points. Diego Simeone’s Atleti have a superior goal difference – albeit only +1 but they also have a decent recent record against Betis, going six games unbeaten, and winning five of those meetings.
Back in the Premier League and there’s a busy Sunday programme with five games lined up. The highlights of which include Arsenal’s visit to Southampton, where they’ll be looking to open up their lead at the top of the league table, after the important business of sealing qualification from their Europa League group with Thursday’s win over PSV.
Third placed Spurs face the side with the tightest defence in the league: Newcastle United. Eddie Howe’s Magpies are enjoying a six game unbeaten run in which they’ve conceded just three goals while scoring 11. And there’s an early season six-pointer in the midlands as Wolves and Leicester meet to see if either of them get out of the relegation zone with a win.
Serie A’s largest fixtures of the weekend involve both the sides from the capital. José Mourinho’s Roma face unbeaten leaders Napoli at the Stadio Olimpico, a side they’ve not beaten in five previous meetings. Can Luciano Spalletti continue that run, and thus the Neapolitans’ Scudetto charge with his young dynamic squad?
Meanwhile Lazio, the Olimpico’s other tenants, go to second placed Atalanta. This will be a meeting between the league’s two meanest defences but with Ciro Immobile leading the way in the goalscoring charts, Lazio might just have the edge in this one.
It’s top vs. bottom in the Bundesliga as Germany’s surprise leaders (can we still call it a surprise?) Union Berlin travel to Bochum. With the lowest amount of goals scored and the most goals conceded, the basement side might just be dreading this one. Union, have proven themselves to be very resilient in recent weeks – winning their last five straight without conceding a goal against the likes of Dortmund, and Malmö in the Europa League (twice).
The title will be decided in Argentina on Sunday and there could be just the right amount of skullduggery that you’d expect from a major footballing story in South America. In a strange twist of fate, the final games for the two sides battling it out for the title – Boca Juniors and Racing – come against each other’s major rivals.
Boca lead by a single point and go up against Independiente – who share the same block with, but do not get on with neighbours Racing. Meanwhile, kicking off simultaneously, Racing play Boca’s bitterest rivals River Plate.
Will either opposition side want to win knowing they could gift the title to the club they hate the most!?
Sunday sees the remaining Conference semi-finals in the MLS Cup Play-offs. In the East, in-form Montréal meet New York City for the right to face top seeds Philadelphia Union in the conference final. And in the West, Austin are looking to extend their first post-season appearance by beating Texan rivals FC Dallas. The winners of that one will go on to face Supporters’ Shield holders LAFC.
Two of the sides who’ve enjoyed the best start to the season anywhere in Europe – Royal Antwerp and Genk – will go head-to-head on Sunday. In any other year, one of them would be running away with the league but unfortunately, they’re stuck with each other!
Genk lead the table by a point after going 12 games unbeaten since losing to Club Brugge on the opening day while Antwerp won nine straight games but have since lost two of their last four.
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Cover Image from IMAGO
There’s been a full round of games in LaLiga this week so let’s break it all down for you.
By Ben Hayward, LaLiga expert
Real Madrid consolidated their lead at the top of LaLiga on Wednesday night after beating bottom club Elche 3-0 away from home. Carlo Ancelotti’s side scored six times at the Martínez Valero, but saw three of those ruled out by VAR (two netted by Karim Benzema and the other a fine team move finished by David Alaba). No matter. Benzema continued his memorable week with a lovely strike from the edge of the box to follow up his goal in El Clásico on Sunday and his Ballon d’Or triumph on Monday.
Earlier, Fede Valverde scored another lovely goal from the edge of the box to make it five in 10 LaLiga appearances in 2022-23 and six in all competitions. That doubles his previous best return for a campaign and he has only played 15 games this term. Coach Carlo Ancelotti had joked in September that he would tear up his coaching badge if he could not get the Uruguayan to score 10 in a season. “I took a risk asking him for 10 goals,” the Italian said on Wednesday. “If he scores four more, my badge won’t be torn up and will stay intact.”
And on a more serious note, he added: “He is a player who surprises me because he is doing everything well – both in defence and attack. If you think of a modern ‘interior’, you think only about Valverde.”
Marco Asensio made it 3-0 to Real Madrid late in the game to round off a professional performance from Los Blancos following their exertions in El Clásico. After 10 rounds of LaLiga, the champions lead the way and are the only unbeaten team left in the competition. “We’re in an important moment of the season,” Ancelotti said. “We’re showing a lot of solidity on the pitch. Physically we’re in good shape and we need to take advantage of this moment.”
One player who is taking advantage of his chance is goalkeeper Andriy Lunin, who continues in the absence of Thibaut Courtois as the Belgian sits out with sciatica. “He has done well,” Ancelotti said. “He has shown he is ready. When Courtois comes back, Luni will be back on the bench. But he is better every match and he’s accumulating experience, which he needs because he is young.”
Barcelona came into their match against Villarreal on Thursday with their morale dented following a frustrating draw against Inter in the Champions League last week and then a 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid in El Clásico on Sunday. Xavi asked his players for a reaction and he got it as Barça sealed an emphatic 3-0 win. Two golazos from Robert Lewandowski, the second a super curled effort from the edge of the area, and a third from Ansu Fati – all arriving late in the first half – sealed a comfortable victory for the Blaugrana and saw FCB move back to within three points of Real Madrid after 10 games.
“I think we played a great game, we needed it,” Xavi said. “We had to react. It wasn’t an easy day after losing at the Bernabéu and drawing with Inter. There is a lot of expectation in this team, a lot is expected. We showed up, with character, good intensity, playing well in defence and especially in attack.”
Lewandowski’s brace means the Pole now has 16 goals in just 14 matches for Barcelona this season and Xavi said: “He’s insatiable. He has goals in his head. He’s a killer, a goalscorer. He sees the angles, he’s intelligent, he looks for the spaces. He’s a great striker.”
In midfield, Frenkie de Jong also impressed for Barça. “He enjoyed the game. I’m happy for him, he deserves it,” Xavi said of the Dutch international, who was close to leaving the Catalan club in the summer.
However, Xavi was unhappy with the whistles for Gerard Piqué as the defender was introduced late in the match. “At the Gamper [Trophy], I asked for unity,” he said. “It’s a time to be together. Whether Piqué plays or not, all I can say is that in the dressing room he is an example in capital letters. He sets the example as a captain and the people need to know that.”
Atlético Madrid drop to fourth following a disappointing draw at home to Rayo Vallecano. Diego Simeone’s side took the lead through Álvaro Morata after 20 minutes. The Spain striker was set up by Antoine Griezmann, who later saw an effort ruled out when he was narrowly offside before netting with 10 minutes left. And there was late frustration for the Rojiblancos as José María Giménez was penalised for handball right at the end and former Atleti icon Radamel Falcao blasted home the spot-kick to earn the visitors a point. “If VAR and the referee determine that it’s a penalty, it’s because they saw handball,” Simeone said. But he admitted: “We have to work and improve on finishing off games.”
Atlético fall one place to fourth and are overtaken by Real Sociedad, 1-0 winners at home to Mallorca thanks to an early Mikel Merino strike. Real Betis stay fifth and level on points with Atlético following a 0-0 draw at Cadíz, while Athletic Club are in sixth after they were twice pegged back in a 2-2 tie at Getafe. Osasuna are up to seventh after beating Espanyol 1-0 and ending a disappointing run which saw the Pamplona outfit pick up just a point from their previous four fixtures.
Elsewhere, Sevilla earned a point thanks to Erik Lamela’s late goal at home to Valencia – and an even later penalty miss from the visitors. The Andalusians face another tough test this weekend as they travel to Real Madrid on Saturday. And perhaps the performance of the week came from Real Valladolid, who beat Celta Vigo 4-1 at the José Zorrilla on Wednesday to move up to 11th in the table.
(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.
Goals were at a premium as 18 clubs faced off in this mid-week round of matches. Just 13 goals were scored across the nine games, but a number of these were key in shaping the future of a club. We take a look back at some of the biggest talking points.
By Sam McGuire, Premier League expert
Steven Gerrard watched on as his Aston Villa side crumbled at Craven Cottage. The away side had a man sent off, conceded a penalty and put the ball into the back of their own net in a 3-0 loss. The former Liverpool midfielder was sacked not long after the final whistle. This isn’t a kneejerk reaction from those in charge at Villa Park. The team have taken just nine points from their 11 matches this season and are only outside of the relegation places due to goals scored.
Gerrard needed a reaction last night. He didn’t get one. Instead, they were blown away by a team that was winless in three heading into the game.
Darwin Núñez finally scored his first Anfield goal for Liverpool. It proved to be the winner against West Ham as the Reds climbed up to seventh in the Premier League table. It turned out to be a scrappy match against the Hammers but Nunez was able to show glimpses of his class.
He forced Łukasz Fabiański into a fine save after connecting with a stunning left-footed half volley and he cracked the post with another effort from just outside of the area. His goal was one that an old-school centre-forward would be proud of after he timed his run to get across the defenders and emphatically nod home. In total, he had six shots during his 57 minutes on the pitch with an Expected Goals total of 0.46. The impressive metric, however, was the xG on target total – 1.07. He was adding real value to his efforts with his shot selection.
Frank Lampard was able to name Anthony Gordon and Dominic Calvert-Lewin in his attack against Newcastle United. The hope was that the Toffees would be more of a threat than they were against Spurs over the weekend when they managed just four shots.
It didn’t work out and Lampard’s team mustered just one effort on goal. One shot in the entire 90 minutes. To make matters worse, Everton weren’t at their defensive best and allowed the hosts 16 shots in total with an xG of 1.46. The third consecutive defeat was, in truth, deserved.
Hugo Lloris singlehandedly kept Spurs in the game against Manchester United.
The Frenchman made an astonishing eight saves as the hosts took an incredible 28 shots in a 2-0 win. Fred’s deflected effort broke the deadlock just after half-time and it was the slice of look Erin ten Hag’s men needed to beat the Tottenham captain between the sticks. Bruno Fernandes added a second to make it appear like a comfortable victory. On another day, without this Lloris masterclass, that is a statement victory.
Crystal Palace came from a goal behind to beat Wolves. Wilfried Zaha scored the winner but the start of the show was Eberechi Eze.
The 24-year-old is reportedly going to be named in the preliminary England squad and after that performance on Tuesday night, you can understand why. He finished with one goal from two shots, created three chances and completed all of his dribbles on the night.
A lot of Chelsea players have benefitted from Graham Potter’s revival but few have had their luck transformed in the way Kepa has.
Frozen out by Thomas Tuchel in favour of Edouard Mendy, Kepa is back in the first-team picture and kept another clean sheet for the Blues in the draw with Brentford. He’s now kept five successive clean sheets. The world’s most expensive goalkeeper is finally living up to the price-tag, making a string of stunning saves to extend Potter’s unbeaten run as Chelsea manager.
(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.