Page 202 – The Pulse of Football

Jul

2022

Last Weekend: Castellanos flying for NYCFC, Norway crash out of the Euros and summer is officially over

There were a host of big fixtures as Rivalry Week continued in MLS while the final round of the Group Stages provided drama at the Euros. Elsewhere the 2022/23 season began, in earnest, across Europe, thus signalling the return of the ‘winter leagues.’

We will be covering all that and more in this edition of Last Weekend.

?? MLS: New York Red Bulls 0-1 New York City

The final day of Rivalry Week saw the Hudson River Derby between the sides placed second and third in the Eastern Conference. Both teams had two wins and a draw in their last three games so this was set to be a very even encounter.

That is indeed how it turned out to be, although NYCFC dominated possession, as they typically do. That would not have been concerning for the hosts because they tend to thrive in transition and were unbeaten in home clashes against their rivals since 2017.

This was a match of very few clear-cut chances, but the decisive moment came in the 69th minute when Santiago Rodríguez floated a ball over the top for Valentín ‘Taty’ Castellanos, with the Argentine striker nudging the ball home after some very clever movement to create space for himself. It was hardly a surprise to see him on the scoresheet as this was his sixth goal in his last four matches.

Last season’s Golden Boot winner finds himself at the top of the scoring charts yet again, and with the highest xG and second-highest xGOT tallies in the league, he has a very good chance of staying there – should a much rumoured move to Europe not come to fruition in the coming days. The rumour mill was churning after he appeared to be bidding farewell to the fans and his manager after being substituted.

Of course, Castellanos could just have been enjoying his role as derby-day match winner.

? UEFA Women’s Euros: Austria 1-0 Norway

With England having secured progression to the knockouts and Northern Ireland already eliminated, the big decisive match in Group A saw Austria take on Norway with the two sides level on points. Naturally, the winner would advance to the quarter-finals but in case of a draw, Austria had the upper hand thanks to Norway’s inferior goal difference after England put eight past them in midweek.

So the onus was on Norway to chase the game, but they looked very flat in the first half while Austria created a few decent chances before taking the lead in the 37th minute, via the head of Nicole Billia. Even after trailing, Martin Sjögren’s side never really looked threatening as Manuela Zinsberger faced just two shots on target.

For a side that features forward talent from the likes of Barcelona and Chelsea plus Ada Hegerberg – the Champions League’s all-time top-scorer in a must-win match, a shotmap like this is incredibly disappointing.

Austria, therefore, deservedly progressed to the knockouts where they will face Group B winners Germany. That should be a very tight affair as the Germans are the only side apart from England to have kept a clean sheet in all of their group matches, while Austria have conceded just once.

?? Switzerland: Young Boys 4-0 FC Zürich

The Swiss Super League returned with a blockbuster clash between defending champions FC Zürich and Young Boys, who had won the title in four straight seasons prior to 2021/22. There were new head coaches in both dugouts – ex-MLS and USA Under-17 manager Raphael Wicky for the hosts and ex-Austria manager Franco Foda for FC Zürich.

There were no goals and truthfully, barely any noteworthy openings in the first half as both sides were cautious in their approach, but the second half was filled with action. 10 minutes after the break, Zürich were awarded a penalty for handball, but Antonio Mascherano skied his kick. Seven minutes later, Christian Fassnacht headed the home side in front.

After the first round of substitutions, Cedric Itten came off the bench to score ion debut in the 77th minute. And in a nine-minute period thereafter, Young Boys scored twice more through Fabian Rieder and Wilfried Kanga, making the final score quite flattering.

In reality, the two sides were very evenly matched in terms of xG and in fact, Zürich had a slightly greater tally, but they were left ruing missed opportunities.

?? Denmark: FC København 0-1 Horsens

In Scandinavia, the Danish Superliga is the only top-flight winter league, and it was back for the 2022/23 season this weekend. Defending champions FC København were playing on Sunday as they hosted newly-promoted Horsens at Parken.

The visitors thought that they had gotten off to a perfect start when Casper Tengstedt, who scored 15 league goals in the second tier last season, put the ball in the back of the net but a VAR review saw the goal ruled out for offside. Nonetheless, they continued to defend resolutely and create chances but it was FCK who were celebrating next – at least until another VAR review ruled their goal out for the same reason.

Horsens had less than a quarter of possession in the game, but they went toe-to-toe with their opponents as they contained them very well in their 5-4-1 defensive shape while also posing a regular counterattacking threat. Their hard work paid off just after the hour mark when Zambian left wing-back Lubambo Musaba directed his finish in to the top corner from the edge of the box.

The home side tried hard to find an equaliser thereafter, but as this shotmap shows, they were not allowed to create any serious goal-scoring opportunities and had to resort to potshots by the end.

?? Belgium: Club Brugge 1-0 Gent

Belgian football was back with the Super Cup, the traditional season-opener featuring the previous winners of the league and cup. That meant Gent visited Club Brugge, for whom Carl Hoefkens was making his managerial debut after he stepped in following Alfred Schreuder’s move to Ajax.

Hoefkens stuck to the 3-5-2 formation that worked wonders in the second half of last season but Gent were seemingly able to neutralise it in their 3-4-1-2 shape. The visitors were the first to hit the back of the net through Tarik Tissoudali less than 10 minutes prior to half-time, but the assistant referee’s flag was raised. With effectively the next attack at the other end, Brugge scored after Andreas Skov Olsen cut inside from the right and found the bottom corner.

The Danish international looks set to have a standout season in his first full campaign in Belgium. After joining from Bologna, he played a massive role in Club Brugge’s title charge as he contributed with five goals and six assists in 739 minutes of action in the league, averaging 1.34 goal involvements per 90.

Coming back to the match, Gent were unquestionably the better side in the second half as they pushed for an equaliser, but their efforts proved futile despite the fact that they attempted thrice as many shots as their opponents.

?? Germany: Kaiserslautern 2-1 Hannover 96

Our beloved 2. Bundesliga also returned this weekend. Kicking us off were four-time Bundesliga champions Kaiserslautern, who were last seen in the top flight over a decade ago, and had been down in the third tier since 2018. They finished third last season, securing promotion only after beating Dynamo Dresden in the play-offs.

This was a big game for the visitors too, as Stefan Leitl, who recently led Greuther Fürth to the Bundesliga, was taking charge of them for the first time in a competitive fixture. His side lined up in his favoured 4-1-2-1-2 formation. For the hosts, Dirk Schuster made just two changes from the XI that beat Dresden in May.

The away side unsurprisingly dominated possession, but early on, Kaiserslautern looked more dangerous going forward, with the deadly duo of Terrence Boyd and Mike Wunderlich looking in the mood. Indeed, those two combined for the opener in the 11th minute after a very loose backpass from Julian Börner.

Kaiserslautern looked fairly comfortable after taking the lead and continued to pose a threat going forward, but as we entered the second half and inched closer to the final whistle, the nervousness surrounding the slender lead was palpable in the Fritz-Walter-Stadion. The home fans’ fears came true in the 80th minute when Håvard Nielsen, who had followed Leitl from Fürth to Hannover, came off the bench and grabbed an equaliser.

The visitors would have hoped to push on and score a winner thereafter, but the final twist in the tale in stoppage time saw centre-back Kevin Kraus redirect Kevin Prince Redondo’s bicycle pass towards the net following a corner, sending the stands into a state of absolute delirium.

This was a dream start to the season for Kaiserslautern, but their focus should remain on avoiding relegation for now.

?? Norway: Viking 2-1 Kristiansund

We’ve looked at a lot of positive stories this week, but there is a less optimistic one from our home league, the Eliteserien, where Kristiansund are still winless after 12 matches – picking up just one solitary point way back in April when they drew with HamKam.

Their loss to Viking on Sunday was the second time in three games when they have lost from a winning position. After going into the half-time break with a clean sheet, they took the lead through Bendik Bye in the 52nd minute but conceded the equaliser almost straight from kick-off. They were still looking set to hold on to a point but a penalty conceded in the 89th minute stripped them of that as well.

It will take nothing short of a miracle for Kristiansund to survive as they currently sit 12 points away from safety and they could even break the unwanted record of fewest points in a league season (in the three points for a win era). This is held by Aalesund and Start, who managed 11 points in 2020 and 2002 respectively.

Written by Neel Shelat.

Cover Image from IMAGO

Jul

2022

This Weekend: Pre-season clashes, Season re-starts and crunch time at the Women’s Euros

The best action to follow this weekend

Saturday

? The final round of groups games at the Women’s Euros continues on Saturday with Group B coming to a head. Germany face Finland but are already assured of their place in the quarter-finals thanks to two contrasting wins. They dominated against Denmark, running in four unanswered goals but were forced on to the back foot by Spain, before eventually beating them by two goals to nil despite having just 30% of possession.

The other game is therefore a direct play-off for the second qualification spot with both Spain and Denmark level on three points thanks to their respective wins over Finland. Spain are famously without star player Alexia Putellas at this tournament but Denmark should be able to call on their no.10, Pernille Harder, who was substituted following a clash of heads shortly after scoring the winner against the Finns.

? Pre-season is now well and truly underway for Europe’s top clubs and we can therefore bring you coverage of friendly games being played all around the world as part of lucrative overseas tours. Saturday’s highlights include Sevilla vs. Spurs in South Korea, Chelsea vs. Club América in Las Vegas, Everton vs. Arsenal in Baltimore and FC Köln vs. Milan in well, Köln.

???? MLS’s Rivalry Week has been keeping us entertained in recent days and the derby-day action continues in to a second weekend.

Austin moved top of the Western Conference thanks to their midweek win over fellow Texans Houston and they now face the third club from the Lone Star State – FC Dallas, on Saturday. Elsewhere, there’s the Canadian Classique featuring Montréal (4th in the East) and Toronto (13th).

?? The 2. Bundesliga, one of Europe’s most keenly fought second-tier leagues returns this weekend, meaning we’ll be treated to a number of headline clashes between sleeping giants, or big sides who for whatever reason find themselves at this level.

St. Pauli were top of the table for long periods last season and looked nailed on for automatic promotion only to fade and finish fifth. Having no doubt regrouped in the summer, they begin the new campaign at home to Nürnburg, a side with nine top flight titles to their name but who are now looking at their fourth-straight season outside the Bundesliga.

??Another league returning to the app is the Swiss Super League. And here, the FA are kicking things off with a bang as last season’s surprise winners FC Zürich travel to Young Boys – the title winners in each of the four seasons prior to that.

Sunday

?? The MLS Rivalry week continues in to Sunday with the Hudson River Derby between New York Red Bulls and New York City. With both clubs battling at the right end of the Eastern Conference, this should be a significant fixture. The two last met in June with Red Bulls pulling off a convincing 3-0 win in the quarter-finals of the US Open Cup.

Elsewhere, there’s the cross-border Cascadian rivalry between Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps plus a meeting between second and third in the Western Conference as LAFC travel to Nashville.

?? Back in the 2. Bundesliga and perhaps still smarting from their defeat in the promotion play-offs last season – Hamburg start at Eintracht Braunschweig. Eintracht themselves are another of the sides in the division with a German title to their name but they have been yo-yo’ing between the second and third tiers for the last few seasons and will be hoping to consolidate now they’re back at this level once again.

? Group C wraps up at the Women’s Euros on Sunday and it’s a group where, mathematically, any of the four sides could still go through.

Defending champions Netherlands are on four points having drawn with Sweden and overcome Portugal – despite that is, injuries and positive Covid cases affecting key players such as goalkeeper Sari van Veenendaal and Vivianne Miedema. They now face a Swiss side who only have one point but have proved dogged opponents in the tournament so far.

The Swiss lost to Sweden last time out, with Barcelona’s Fridolina Rolfö key to the Swedes’ success. They’ll be looking to her to perform well again in their meeting with Portugal. Similarly to the other game, Sweden start on four points to Portugal’s one and there will no doubt be someone on both benches tasked with keeping an eye on the scoreline in the other game to ensure everyone knows exactly what result they need to progress.

?? Unlike other Nordic countries, Denmark doesn’t play its main football season over the summer months. Instead, it just feels like that due to the shortness of the gap between one Superliga season ending and the new one beginning!

So, less than two months after winning the Championship – FC København will kick off their title defence with a game against Horsens, at home, on Sunday.

?? Football also returns in Belgium with the country’s Super Cup set for Sunday. Club Brugge, who won their third successive league title during 2021/22 play Gent, who overcame Anderlecht in last season’s Cup final.

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

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

Cover Image from IMAGO

Jul

2022

FotMob’s Euro 22 Quiz: Matchday 2

How many can you get right?

What’s your score? Let us know on Twitter!

Jul

2022

‘Expect the unexpected.’ Norway’s Tuva Hansen on what makes them a threat at Euro 2022

The 24-year-old defender is set for a breakout summer with the tournament’s dark horses

By Curt Baker

“I just love spoiling the party,” Tuva Hansen says with a laugh.

We’re discussing Norway’s matchup with the tournament’s hosts, England. The Norway and Brann defender isn’t just happy to be a part of this summer’s historic Euros, she wants Norway to steal the headlines.

Tipped as the tournament’s dark horses by many, it’s a mindset that suits the two-time Euro winners.

“You don’t have that pressure, you’re the underdog. You can do the unexpected. I love that.

“It’s going to be very exciting, I don’t think people look at us like a real threat. But, I think we have so much to prove and so much to show. The last World Cup was a really good performance from Norway [a run to the quarterfinals where they were beaten by England] and I want to do even better,” Hansen tells FotMob.

This summer’s Euros is the latest peak in what has been a remarkable rise for Hansen since the beginning of last year. After moving from Klepp to Brann (then known as Sandviken) in Norway’s Toppserien, Hansen was named captain, won the league, went 35 league matches unbeaten, and became a regular in the national team.

It’s a trajectory Hansen attributes not only to improvements in fitness due to becoming a full-time professional with Brann, but also to the environment cultivated by former Brann manager Alexander Straus (recently named head coach at Bayern Munich).

Feedback at the Bergen club is direct, but effective, and there is complete focus on the next task at hand, no matter the broader circumstances. Straus wouldn’t even say the Norwegian word for “title” until it was secured. It has created a demanding, but tight-knit group.

“I can only see one game ahead now. It’s kind of disturbing because people are asking me like, ‘Who are you meeting? And where are you playing?’ And I’m like, I have no idea! I haven’t thought about the Euros. I have Arna-Bjørnar in the cup on Wednesday, I need to win that!”

With Norway, Tuva has made an impact on the collective as a relative newcomer, bringing Brann’s mentality with her.

“Coming in there, especially when I have my teammates with me too [five Brann players were named in Norway’s squad], we build that winning mentality and that culture of nagging each other in training.

“I don’t think people are used to it on the national team. At Brann, it’s different. We’re not, ‘Nice girls.’ So when we come to the national team we get a bit of ‘What are you telling me?’” Hansen says with a laugh. “But we need this competition in our team. It’s so important to have that winning mentality, and just sort of beat each other up in training.”

In tandem with the demands the Brann-mentality brings, Hansen says they’ve fostered the camaraderie that comes along with it.

“We kind of make the same environment there as we have at Brann. There are so many different aspects to a team that people maybe don’t think are important – they think it’s only football – but it’s also every other hour of the day. Everyone needs to feel good, to feel included in the group. There are so many things you can do to optimize performance.”

It’s this combination of mindset, with some of the world’s biggest offensive threats in Ada Hegerberg, Caroline Graham Hansen, and Guro Reiten, that makes Norway a true wildcard this summer, says Hansen.

“We have the x-factor. We have so many good offensive players who just need to fit together, and then it’s going to be fucking awesome.

“But you’re also going to see players who work for each other. You’re going to see the nation, our values. Sterkere sammen [The team motto, Norwegian for ‘stronger together’]. We work on this in every single camp. It’s so important for us to show the world that this is genuine.

“Expect the unexpected.”

(Images from IMAGO)

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

Jul

2022

Last Weekend: Philadelphia Union win big and France get off to a flying start at the Euros

There were some huge results in MLS, the Women’s Euro and Norway over the weekend while things stayed tight at the top of the table in Sweden and Brazil.

We will be covering all of that, along with a couple of other matches from the Americas, in this edition of Last Weekend.

?? MLS: Philadelphia Union 7-0 DC United

It was rivalry week in MLS, so most matches were expected to be tense and closely fought. DC United’s visit to Philadelphia was anything but that as the hosts recorded the joint-largest margin of victory in MLS history.

Looking at the two sides’ recent form makes this result even more incredible because DC United had beaten Orlando City in an eight-goal thriller in midweek while the Philadelphia Union had failed to score in their last two matches. As the scoreline suggests, one-way traffic would be an understatement to describe this result. The final xG tally, 5.64-0.79, indicates that the Union absolutely deserved to win big.

There were only three goal-scorers – young Argentinean forward Julián Carranza, who scored a hat-trick, and Alejandro Bedoya and January signing Mikael Uhre, who bagged two apiece.

This win takes them level on points with Eastern Conference leaders New York Red Bulls – who only managed a draw against the nine men of FC Cincinnati.

The Philadelphia Union started the season incredibly well, winning five of their first six games, but they slowly began to slump, as their xG trendline (which shows a rolling average of a team’s Expected Goals and Expected Goals Against in a range of matches) depicts.

They will hope that this result serves as a catalyst to take them back to their very best.

? UEFA Women’s Euros: France 5-1 Italy

The 13th edition of the UEFA Women’s Euro got underway in England on Wednesday, and by the end of the weekend, the first round of matches had been played in each of the four groups.

The biggest result came in the very last match, which saw France thrash Italy 5-1. The Italians started well but they conceded twice in a four-minute period inside the first 15 minutes. Another blitz from France right before half-time when they scored three goals in the space of eight minutes put the match well beyond Italy’s reach and they could only grab a consolation goal in the second half.

The star of the show for France was Grace Geyoro, who scored her first-ever hat-trick in international football with three well-taken right-footed finishes inside the box.

Her Paris Saint-Germain teammate Marie-Antoinette Katoto also contributed with a goal and assist, and Lyon’s Delphine Cascarino netted the second from outside the box.

This certainly was a statement victory for on of the tournament favourites.

?? Norway: Molde 5-1 Tromsø

We have spoken of Lillestrøm’s unsustainably high xG overperformance previously in this column and they have now been knocked off their perch at the top of the Eliteserien. Their last-gasp loss to Viking played an important part in that but Molde’s win over Tromsø with a four-goal margin was crucial as although the sides are level on points, it took Molde’s goal difference to +15, just greater than Lillestrøm’s +14.

Tromsø did dare to score first but Molde were in front by the 20th minute and took a two-goal lead into the half-time break. A quickfire double just after the hour-mark saw the scoreline move to 5-1, after which, the hosts could coast home with all three points comfortably.

The man of the match was Molde’s teenage striker David Datro Fofana, who scored two goals and got an assist – taking his tally up to six goals in nine Eliteserien matches this season. Unsurprisingly, he has the most goal involvements in the league among his teammates, and all of those have come in his last six appearances.

?? Sweden: Mjällby 1-2 Häcken

Allsvenskan leaders Häcken completed a second-half turnaround against Mjällby to stay at the top of the table. Viktor Gustafson put the hosts in front a few minutes before half-time but Häcken equalised on the other side of the break and scored the winner in the 81st minute.

As the shotmap from the match shows, Mjällby will be disappointed to not have taken any points away from this game as they had over twice as many shots as their opponents and a notably greater xG tally, but Häcken deserve credit for making the most of their chances.

They may have gone against the will of the xG Gods on this occasion but Häcken have closely matched their xG over the course of the season by scoring 27 goals from an xG tally of 27.2 – both of which are league-highs. They also have the league’s top-scorer Alexander Jeremejeff, who may have blanked in this match, but has played a part in over half of his side’s goals with 12 goals and three assists.

We are not halfway through the season yet but Häcken look set to be one of the protagonists in the title race.

?? Brazil: Corinthians 1-0 Flamengo

The Copa Libertadores is the main showpiece of South American football at the moment but the domestic leagues are no less entertaining. In Brazil, one of the bigger games of the weekend saw Corinthians host Flamengo after both sides progressed to the quarter-finals of the Libertadores in midweek – where coincidentally they have been drawn against each other.

That tie is in August so they can afford to restore full focus to the league again now. Flamengo have to recover from a poor start to the season which has left them some way off the top of the table while Corinthians are trying to keep step with league-leaders and main rivals, Palmeiras.

This match itself was relatively uneventful but the decisive moment came early on in the second half when Rodnei made an absolute hash of dealing with a cross to the far post and turned it into his own net. Corinthians had a couple of chances to double their lead thereafter but there were no more goals scored.

With Palmeiras dropping points to bottom-club Fortaleza later in the night the gap at the top has come to down just one point.

?? Argentina: Racing Club 1-0 Independiente

We had the Avellaneda derby in Argentina between Racing Club and Independiente this weekend, two sides whose home stadiums are just a few hundred metres apart.

Most of the drama in the match happened early on. Gabriel Hauche gave the hosts the lead with a bicycle kick following a corner in the ninth minute, and about ten minutes later, Joaquín Laso gave away a penalty. Enzo Copetti, who had scored in each of his last three games, had the chance to double Racing’s lead but his effort rattled the post and came right back in his direction.

Independiente fired a fair few shots but never really managed to generate a clear-cut opening so Racing Club emerged victorious in a match where the two sides were very closely-matched.

?? Mexico: Toluca 3-2 Atlas

Matchday 1 of the 2022/23 Liga MX season was explosive as we saw last week, and the second round of fixtures was no less entertaining as it saw 27 goals scored, just two fewer than the opening weekend.

Among the most eventful matches was Toluca’s win over defending champions Atlas, who are yet to win in any competition this season. They were blown away early on in this game as the hosts scored thrice in the first quarter of an hour. Atlas had tons of chances in the second half, but they could not salvage anything from this match.

With this win, Toluca have shot up to the top of the table and are among just three teams who have both of their league matches so far – with the other two being Puebla and Pachuca.

Written by Neel Shelat.

Cover Image from IMAGO

Jul

2022

Euro 22 Quiz: Matchday 1

How many can you get right?

What’s your score? Let us know on Twitter!

Jul

2022

This Weekend: Women’s Euros, MLS Derbies and the Scottish Restart

The best action to follow this weekend

Saturday

? The Women’s European Championships started with England’s narrow win over Austria on Wednesday night but now, as we look ahead to the weekend, it’s time for some of group stage’s biggest games.

In Group C, 2017 winners Netherlands face a crunch match-up with Sweden, Olympic runners-up in 2020, and ranked number two in the world by FIFA. That game should dictate how the rest of the group plays-out so the other sides who meet on Saturday – Portugal and Switzerland, will see their fixture as their best chance of picking up a win at the tournament.

?? It’s a busy few days in the MLS calendar with a number of key match-ups set to follow Friday’s night big derby between Western Conference leaders LAFC and LA Galaxy. One such game is the longer-running rivalry between Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers – a battle that’s been raging since the days of the NASL in the 1970s. Last season, the Sounders won two of their three meetings but the Timbers did have the last laugh – winning at Seattle in August 2021. They do however go in this game with no win in their last eight away fixtures.

Elsewhere, Eastern Conference leaders New York Red Bulls travel to face Cincinnati whilst current MLS Cup holders NYCFC have a tough looking home game against the New England Revs.

??????? Scottish football returns to the app this weekend with the group stages of the League Cup getting the new season underway. Everyone bar the country’s five representatives in UEFA competitions are involved and that means games for the likes of Hibernian – who face League One side Clyde on Saturday, and Aberdeen, who travel to Peterhead on Sunday afternoon.

?? Life in other European nations also starts to look a little more normal with football returning around the continent. Of particular interest will be Croatia’s Eternal Derby – with Dinamo Zagreb and Hajduk Split meeting in the Super Cup.

?? 29 goals were scored over the opening round in Mexico’s Liga MX last weekend so if you’re looking for attacking action, the league might be the place to look over the next fews days. Saturday’s headline games see Monterrey clash with Club América and recent Supercopa winners Cruz Azul play Pachuca.

?? Two of Argentina’s five grandes (or Big Five), San Lorenzo and Boca Juniors go head-to-head in Buenos Aires. In truth, both have started the league campaign poorly with just four wins between them in the opening six rounds so a result here could kickstart either side’s season. Boca also suffered a penalty shoot-out defeat in the Copa Libertadores during the week and consequently sacked coach Sebastian Battaglia.

?? Finally, Fluminense fans will be bidding a fond farewell to Fred, their old warhorse of a striker. The 38-year-old is hanging up his boots after their game with Ceará at the Maracaña, calling time on a 19-year pro career that has included nearly 40 caps for Brazil. Fred stepped off the bench to score his 199th goal for the club last weekend so what odds on him netting his 200th in his final game!?

Sunday

? Sunday’s action at the Women’s Euros comes from Group D and there’s another heavyweight match-up on the cards as France take on Italy. Les Bleues are right up there alongside the likes of Spain and hosts England in terms of the bookies favourites for the tournament but this might be the stiffest test of the group stage for the side ranked number four in the world.

Two evenly matched sides, Belgium and Iceland meet in the day’s earlier kick-off.

?? Five of the clubs from Brazil’s top division qualified for the quarter-finals of the Copa Libertadores – South America’s biggest tournament during the week and four of them are back in domestic action on Sunday.

League leaders Palmeiras have perhaps the easiest assignment with a trip to bottom side Fortaleza whilst reigning champions Atlético Mineiro play São Paulo in a battle between the sides sitting third and seventh in the table. Palmerias and Atlético will meet each other in the Libertadores quarter-finals later in the year.

Corinthians vs. Flamengo is another all-Brazilian tie set for the last eight in that tournament and we’ll get an early taster of that when the two face each other on Sunday.

?? At home in Norway’s Eliteserien, we have two attractive games to keep us busy on Sunday. Since their only hiccup of the season at Godset in late June, table topping Lillestrøm have won their last two and they’ll be defending a three-point lead going in to their game against third-placed Viking – a side who’ve failed to win any of their last six league matches.

Molde are the team who sit between those two in the table and they’ll be in action against Tromsø who, despite being well off the pace in 11th, are currently unbeaten in six on the road.

?? And finally, in Argentina, we’ll be keeping an eye on one of the most local of local derbies as Racing Club take on Independiente on the block that the two clubs share in Avellaneda.

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

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

Cover Image from IMAGO

Jul

2022

? Play FotMob’s Euro 2022 Predictor

Make your predictions, create leagues, compete against friends.

Our popular predictor game is back for UEFA Women’s EURO 2022. Predict who will get out of the groups, progress through the knockouts, and take home the trophy.

Then, create leagues and compete against friends.

You can find the Predictor in the More tab in the app, and on desktop at https://predict.fotmob.com/weuro/.

Jul

2022

Last Weekend: Derby Day in Stockholm, a rare defeat for Palmeiras and RBNY rise to the top

Although we are still a long way way from the end of the season in the summer leagues, there were some big results in the title races in Scandinavia and Brazil. Elsewhere, Liga MX’s 2022/23 season got underway, while MLS and the Argentine Liga Profesional continued to entertain. Additionally, a couple of important youth tournaments drew to a close in Europe and North America.

We will be recapping all of that in this edition of Last Weekend.

?? Sweden: Djurgården 1-0 Hammarby

We covered Hammarby’s comeback against league-leaders Häcken in the previous edition of the column and they had another big game this time out with city rivals Djurgården their next opponents at the Tele2 Arena – the Stockholm stadium that they share. Ahead of kick-off both sides were also locked on the same number of points in the table.

The match was entertaining from start to finish, as both sides looked quite dangerous when attacking, and neither seemed to back off at any point. Hammarby kept more possession (69%) but Djurgården posed a serious threat when counterattacking, which they did frequently.

There were no goals in the first half but an inspired double-substitution from Kim Bergstrand altered the course of the match. He sent Gustav Wikheim and Emmanuel Banda on in the 65th minute and shortly after the Zambian midfielder set Wikheim up to score with his first touch after coming on.

Hammarby pushed hard for an equaliser and came quite close in stoppage time when they hit the crossbar on two separate occasions. The xG scoreline of 2.19-1.53 paints a better picture of how entertaining the game was as it could easily have seen a couple more goals scored.

With these three points, Djurgården jump up to second and move ahead of their other local rivals AIK, who lost to Mjällby on Saturday. The pair are just a point behind Häcken who were held to a 1-1 draw by Elfsborg.

?? Brazil: Palmeiras 0-2 Athletico Paranaense

Back-to-back Copa Libertadores champions Palmeiras are currently one of the strongest sides in South America but they have not won their domestic league since 2018. They are however, on a mission to change that this year and they went in to the weekend sitting at the top of the Brazilian Serie A with 29 points.

It was then, something of a surprise, that they tasted defeat for just the second time this season as Athletico Paranaense beat them by two goals. The hosts were comfortably the better side as they kept over 70% of possession and outshot their opponents 35 to 13 but they simply failed to find the back of the net.

Vitor Roque and Vitor Bueno got the goals for Athletico, who are enjoying a very good season under their vastly experienced coach ‘Big’ Phil Scolari. They are now on a 13-game unbeaten run in all competitions and during the week confirmed reports that Fernandinho has rejoined his boyhood club after leaving Manchester City.

That unbeaten run has seen them climb up to second in the league with just a two-point deficit to Palmeiras, who will now be looking over their shoulder with the top-six are separated by just five points.

?? Norway: Odd 3-2 Bodø/Glimt

Bodø/Glimt have won the Eliteserien in each of its last two seasons but their title defence is in trouble less than halfway through the current campaign as they already trail league-leaders Lillestrøm by 11 points.

The gap widened this weekend after they were defeated by Odd in an exhilarating 3-2 game with both sides playing an expansive brand of football that entertained viewers throughout the match. Odd had a 2-1 lead at the hour-mark and looked on course to hold out for the win but a red card in the 84th minute spelt serious trouble and Glimt eventually equalised in the seventh minute of stoppage time. There was more drama in store for us, though, as Odd won a penalty immediately after the restart. They duly converted that chance for a 99th minute winner.

This is a very disappointing defeat for the defending champions because it comes at a time when they seemed to be getting into gear having won their previous four. The good news for them, though, is that their underlying numbers look quite healthy so it should just be a matter of time before the results follow suit.

The above scattergram shows the xG (Expected Goals) and xGA (Expected Goals Against) per game for all 16 Eliteserien teams with Bodø/Glimt highlighted and we can see they have the second-best attack and third-best defence in the league based on these metrics. Combine this with the fact that Lillestrøm are wildly overperforming relative to their xG, as we discussed last week, and you can see why things are not all bad for Glimt.

?? Mexico: Tigres 2-3 Cruz Azul

The 2022/23 Liga MX season got underway this weekend and it was back with an absolute bang! Puebla defeated Mazatlan 4-2 in the opener and Santos prevailed over Monterrey in a seven-goal thriller last night. Our focus, though, is on the winners of the inaugural Supercopa de la Liga MX Cruz Azul and their win over Tigres.

Truthfully, the hosts were the better side in this match. They controlled proceedings with close to two-thirds of possession and fired thrice as many shots as the visitors. But they still ended up losing. As the xG timeline of the match shows, Tigres consistently posed a goal threat, but Cruz Azul made the most of their limited chances to take away all three points.

If the rest of the season in Mexico is half as entertaining as this weekend then we are in for a proper treat.

?? MLS: Sporting KC 0-1 New York Red Bulls

The lead in MLS’ Eastern Conference has changed hands in the last week and the New York Red Bulls are on top for the first time since the second matchday of the season after beating Atlanta United on Thursday night and Kansas City at the weekend.

Two common denominators in those matches are that NYRB won by a one-goal margin and Lewis Morgan was on the scoresheet on both occasions. The Scottish international has entered double digits for goal involvements in MLS this season and has scored or assisted in five of his last eight matches in all competitions – with NYRB failing to score at all in the other three.

Morgan has been used as a winger, inside forward, and wing-back by Gerhard Struber as he has switched between back-four and back-three systems this season, but the ex-Celtic man has consistently delivered. His ball-carrying ability and directness have been crucial to his side’s counterattacks and he has the highest xG as well as xA tally in the squad.

Morgan cost the Red Bulls a transfer fee of just €1.1 million when he joined from Inter Miami before the start of the season and he clearly has been worth every penny.

?? Argentina: Boca Juniors 0-3 Banfield

Boca won the Copa de la Liga, the precursor to the current league season in Argentina but they have not had a good time of it since and they now sit outside the top 10 after six matchdays. That Copa win may have seen them qualify for the 2023 edition of the Copa Libertadores but they will surely struggle to lift their fourth domestic title in six years should their domestic form continue on their path.

In truth though, their focus seems to be elsewhere, as their defeat at the hands of Banfield indicates. Sebastián Battaglia put out a second-string line-up with the key men rested ahead of their Libertadores Round of 16 tie against Corinthians – which is hanging in the balance after a goalless first leg on Tuesday night.

The young centre-back pairing of Gabriel Aranda and Gastón Ávila were making their first starts of the season but they did not have a great time of it as Banfield’s first two goals came from crosses they failed to deal. And second-choice keeper Javier Hernán García ended the game with more goals conceded than saves made.

Young midfielders Cristian Medina and Aaron Molinas did perform well as they helped Boca keep 66% of the ball, creating three chances between them, but neither could summon up a goal. Both may hope to feature in that vital second leg against Corinthians but the likes of Sebastián Villa, Dario Benedetto, Exequiel Zeballos, Marcos Rojo and Frank Fabra will surely be back in the starting line-up.

? Slovakia: Israel U19 1-3 England U19

The final of the Under-19 Euro was played in Slovakia on Friday, and it featured the tournament’s surprise package Israel, who were taking on a very talented England side.

Israel certainly did not boast the best squad in the competition but they really impressed with their direct style of play marked with intense counterpressing and dangerous counterattacks.

They beat one of the favourites, France in the semi-final and were on course to repeat the feat in the final when they took the lead just before half-time. The man who scored the goal was Oscar Gloukh, arguably the standout performer of the tournament.

England had, however, come from behind in their semi-final against Italy and they did so by scoring twice from set-pieces. They used that trick again here, equalising early in the second half through Callum Doyle but that was how it stayed for the rest of the 90.

A frantic extra time period saw both sides fashion presentable scoring chances but England prevailed thanks to goals from Carney Chukwuemeka and Aaron Ramsey (no, not that one). It isn’t all bad news for Israel, though, as they have secured a spot in next year’s FIFA Under-20 World Cup alongside the other semi-finalists and Slovakia, who beat Austria in the play-off.

? Honduras: USA U20 6-0 Dominican Republic U20

Another international youth football tournament also concluded over the weekend as the final of the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship was played in Honduras.

The USA secured their third consecutive title with a rout of the Dominican Republic, scoring three goals in each half. The tournament’s MVP, Paxten Aaronson (whose brother Brandon recently secured a move to Leeds United), was the standout performer in the match as he netted twice and played a key role in the build-up to a couple of other goals.

The Dominican Republic, like Israel, will take away something from this tournament as they too have qualified for the FIFA Under-20 World Cup due to be held in Indonesia next year, as have the other semi-finalists, Honduras and Guatemala. Record champions Mexico, however, will have to leave empty-handed as they were knocked out of the quarter-finals by Guatemala.

Written by Neel Shelat.

Cover Image from IMAGO

Jul

2022

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