The Carabao Cup final meant there was just eight Premier League matches to keep tabs on this weekend. There weren’t goals galore but, as usual, it was a deeply entertaining round of matches. So let’s take a look at some of the biggest talking points.
It is ironic that Chelsea spent all that money in January but now can’t buy a win. The Blues have one win in their last 10 matches across all competitions and their last victory in the Premier League was well over a month ago. They are five without a win in the English top flight now and luck is very much against them.
They had more shots against Spurs but the hosts finished with an Expected Goals haul that was almost double that of Graham Potter’s side. It was fairly even poised until Oliver Skipp’s effort from distance rattled in off the underside of the bar having clipped Kepa’s fingertips. After that, Chelsea had a number of speculative efforts but nothing that dangerous before Harry Kane added the second for the home side.
The Gunners continue their title charge
Arsenal’s match against Leicester was not one for the neutral. There weren’t many high-value opportunities for either side – in fact, the Foxes managed just one effort in the entire match and it was a shot from 30-yards out with an xG value of 0.02. But Mikel Arteta won’t mind that at all. The Gunners have now recorded back-to-back wins and kept a clean sheet – their first since the middle of January.
Leicester, meanwhile, are back in a relegation battle following a second successive loss.
Rice, Rice baby
West Ham United are out of the relegation zone following a comprehensive 4-0 win over Nottingham Forest. The hosts scored four times in the final 20 minutes to blow away the visitors. Danny Ings scored twice but the star of the show was Declan Rice.
The skipper put in a dominant display, creating four chances, completing 98% of his attempted passes, recovering the ball on 11 occasions and scoring the third goal. There was talk this week that Rice might be leaving the club at the end of the season but on the evidence of this display, he’s still firmly focused on keeping the Hammers in the Premier League.
That new manager bounce
Leeds recorded their first Premier League win since November as they beat fellow relegation battlers Southampton 1-0 at Elland Road. In what was Javi Gracia’s first mach in charge, the hosts controlled the game, limiting their opponents to an xG total of just 0.38.
It was a new-look side for the home team with Gracia opting to use Brenden Aaronson as part of a three behind Patrick Bamford. Despite having an array of attacking talent on the pitch, it was left-back Junior Firpo who scored the deserved winner with just 13 minutes left to play.
The Toffees become unstuck
Sean Dyche’s first game in charge of Everton was that 1-0 win over Arsenal. They then lost the Merseyside derby but beat Leeds at Goodison Park. If they were going to stay up, Goodison was going to have to become a fortress. Their 100% record there under Dyche came to an abrupt end on Saturday as Aston Villa ran out 2-0 winners.
The game itself was fairly even when looking at the xG – 1.71 to 1.94 in favour of the away side, but they did have a penalty. Everton had more shots on the day (15 to 9) but lacked a ruthlessness to convert these chances. That is an issue which has plagued them all season and will continue to do so until Dyche is able to bring in a reliable centre-forward. The issue for him is this might be when the club is in the Championship.
(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.
🇪🇸 Tomorrow in LaLiga, the Santiago Bernabéu plays host to the latest edition of the Madrid Derby. Hosts Real Madrid have had a brilliant week, returning from Anfield with a 5-2 aggregate lead in their Champions League tie with Liverpool, which is even sweeter when you consider they were 2-0 down after 14 minutes.
They come in to this game against their city rivals having not conceded a league goal since lifting the Club World Cup earlier in the month. And having recovered to beat Atlético in a Copa del Rey quarter-final match as recently as January. That game finished 3-1 to Real despite Atleti taking an early lead but since then, Diego Simeone’s side have gone four games unbeaten, winning three of those by a 1-0 scoreline. And now with the added threat of Memphis Depay linking up with an in-form Antoine Griezmann up front there’s renewed hope for a top four finish this campaign.
Splitting Real (who sit second) and Atlético (who sit fourth) in the table, Real Sociedad also have an intriguing game on Saturday. They travel to a relegation threatened Valencia side who have just one win in their last 10 competitive games and will be plagued by fan protests against owner Peter Lim before, during, and after this fixture.
🇺🇸 This weekend marks the start of the 2023 MLS season. And typically, they’re starting with a bang. Okay, so the first fixture to kick-off features Nashville SC vs. NYCFC, both play-off finishers last season, and there’s also the clash between Eastern Conference holders Philadelphia Union and Columbus Crew. But there’s no denying the biggest game of the weekend: El Tráfico, LA Galaxy vs. LAFC, which is being played at the iconic, 90,000 capacity, Rose Bowl. That’s the stadium that hosted the 1994 World Cup Final, an event which, in turn, led to the formation of the league we know today.
🏴 In the Premier League where the title race appears to swing one way, then the next, each match day there’s games for the two main protagonists. Leaders Arsenal, their lead now down to two points, go to Leicester City, a side who’s recent good form was halted somewhat abruptly by a 3-0 defeat at Manchester United last weekend.
Meanwhile, Manchester City are also on their travels. They visit seventeenth placed Bournemouth, a side they’ve beaten in each of their last 12 meetings with an aggregate goals total of 36 scored to just six conceded.
Elsewhere, Liverpool must raise themselves after their biggest ever home defeat in European competition to continue their rebuild in the league. Back-to-back 2-0 wins against Everton and Newcastle preceded the loss to Madrid but they could be tested by recent draw specialists Crystal Palace – they’ve got a point from four of their last five.
And the bottom two are set to meet as Southampton visit Leeds United. The two sides both sacked their managers this month and they’ll meet with only Leeds having named a permanent replacement – former Watford and Valencia coach, Javi Gracia. The Saints, meanwhile, have given Rubén Sellés their top job, at least until the end of the season. The Spaniard earned his chance having taken charge of last weekend’s victory at Chelsea.
🇮🇹 Fresh from a 2-0 win at Eintracht Frankfurt in their Champions League R16 tie and basking in their current 15-point lead at the top of Serie A, times are good for Napoli. And they’ll be even better if they can continue their six game winning streak at mid-table Empoli on Saturday. They will, however, come up against one of the best rated goalkeepers in the league – Guglielmo Vicario’s save percentage of 70.7% in the league isn’t far behind Napoli’s Alex Meret (75.4%), despite the fact he plays behind a far leakier defence.
🇩🇪 The biggest game taking place in the Bundesliga on Saturday gives Borussia Dortmund the opportunity to temporarily move three points clear at the top of the table.
Going in to the weekend level on points with leaders Bayern and Union Berlin – who play each other on Sunday – Dortmund can make it nine wins on the bounce with victory at Hoffenheim. Elsewhere, fifth meets sixth as RB Leipzig take on Eintracht Frankfurt at the end of a week where both featured in the Champions League – Leipzig drawing with Manchester City while Frankfurt lost that game to Napoli.
Sunday
Sunday is shaping up to be a massive day in the calendar with huge games taking place everywhere.
🏴 Perhaps top of the bill, which historically isn’t always the case, is the Carabao Cup Final. England’s League Cup competition is making waves this season, mainly due to the fact that Newcastle United have made the final – their first under their new ownership and also their first this century! Could we finally see the Magpies lift what would be a first major trophy since 1969?
Their opponents, Manchester United, couldn’t come into the game off the back of a better result having recovered to knock Barcelona out of the Europa League on Thursday evening. There are signs that Erik ten Hag is building something special at Old Trafford and United will start the final unbeaten in nine.
🏴 It’s League Cup Final day in Scotland too, and for the 16th time in the competition’s history, we’ve got a meeting between arch-rivals Rangers and Celtic. This latest battle between the Old Firm comes nearly two months after they last met, at Ibrox in January, when Celtic equalised late on in an entertaining 2-2 draw.
In the league, Celtic currently boast a nine point lead as they look to retain the title but historically speaking, the Gers have the upper hand in the League Cup – winning nine Old Firm Finals to Celtic’s six.
🏴 Back in the Premier League, they’ll be no love lost when Antonio Conte’s Tottenham Hotspur face his former club, and London rivals, Chelsea. The man himself, however, will not be present as he continues to recover from his recent surgery.
The pressure is certainly on Graham Potter, the current incumbent of the Chelsea job, but a win at fourth placed Spurs would at least go some way to earning him a bit of credibility amongst a disillusioned fanbase.
🇫🇷 If it wasn’t for Lionel Messi’s 95th minute free-kick winner against Lille last weekend, we could have been going in to Sunday’s Classique with just two points separating PSG and Marseille at the top of Ligue 1.
Instead, PSG go into this contest against their nemesis in French football with the relative comfort of a five point gap. But with injuries to key players mounting up and the upcoming return leg against Bayern in the Champions League to distract them, L’OM might just fancy their chances. After all, they did defeat their rivals just a matter of three short weeks ago in the Coupe de France and they come in to the game with one competitive defeat in 12 games since the post-World Cup restart.
There are other important games elsewhere in Ligue 1 with third placed Monaco (who are no means out of the title race) facing Nice plus the clash between great Breton or Western rivals Nantes and Rennes.
🇩🇪 As mentioned, Sunday also sees the clash between title rivals in the Bundesliga, with Bayern hosting Union Berlin.
With the leaders losing at Gladbach last weekend, Union drawing, and Dortmund winning we were left with the quirk that all three sit level on 73 points. Bayern’s vastly superior goal difference (+40!) means they’ll start this game as favourites, although they may not be leading the table come kick-off, depending on Dortmund’s earlier result. For their part, Union have nothing to lose – they’ve already exceeded all expectations this season, even qualifying for the Round of 16 in the Europa League, following victory over Dutch heavyweights Ajax in the week. They remain unbeaten in 2023.
The earlier meeting between these two ended in a 1-1 draw back in September.
🇮🇹 The two Milan clubs feature in Serie A, bookending the day’s action, with Inter starting early and Milan headlining.
Inter (2nd), Napoli’s nearest but distant title rivals, travel to eighth placed Bologna unbeaten in six, a run in which they’ve conceded just twice. They also took a vital 1-0 lead over Porto in their Champions League R16 game on Wednesday night, albeit, coach Simone Inzaghi was left ruing the fact that they didn’t score more.
Their title defence now all but over, Milan (4th) need to concentrate on gaining a top four finish and they come up against one of their rivals for that – Atalanta – who currently sit sixth but only three points below them. After a woeful start to the year, Stefano Pioli has steadied the ship and Milan have now won 1-0 in each of their last three fixtures while Atalanta have lost three of their last four.
🇪🇸 In Spain, Barcelona need to shake off any lasting effect of that Europa League defeat at Manchester United and concentrate on what matters most, regaining the league title after a three year barren spell. They start the weekend eight points clear of Real Madrid and they’ll be confident of at least retaining that advantage as they go to Almería, who only sit outside of the bottom three by virtue of a superior head-to-head record against their relegation rivals.
To read more about what’s coming up in LaLiga this weekend, you can read our league specific preview – here.
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It’s been a busy week for Spain’s top teams so join us as we review the mixed fortunes for Barcelona and Real Madrid while also looking ahead to this weekend’s action in LaLiga.
Winning LaLiga this season has assumed even greater importance for Barcelona following another European disappointment. The Catalan club were knocked out of the Europa League by Manchester United on Thursday night following a 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford and will now seek solace from the domestic competition.
“We have to pick ourselves up,” Xavi said after the game. “Tomorrow afternoon, we train. On Saturday, we go to Almería and on Sunday, fortunately, we have a game. We have to react. We are well positioned in Liga, in the Copa [del Rey] and we have to change the chip.”
Barcelona meet fierce rivals Real Madrid over two legs in the Copa del Rey in March and April and in LaLiga, Xavi’s side lead Los Blancos by eight points at the top of the table.
The Blaugrana beat Cadíz 2-0 at Camp Nou last Sunday in a routine win at Camp Nou and will now hope to bounce back from their European disappointment with all three points at 17-placed Almería.
Xavi’s side have conceded only seven goals in LaLiga this season, but let in four over two games against United. “I don’t know why [there is such a difference],” the coach said. “We have played against big teams, really strong rivals. We have competed, but we missed out because of details. We’ll try again next year.”
Barça have not won LaLiga since 2018-19 and a 27th title would still represent a positive season after a period of transition at Camp Nou. Pedri and Ousmane Dembélé remain sidelined through injury.
Real and Atlético get set for Derby Day
It was a far happier week for Real Madrid in Europe. Los Blancos produced an amazing comeback at Anfield on Tuesday night to beat Liverpool 5-2 after finding themselves 2-0 down after 14 minutes in the first leg of the teams’ Champions League last-16 tie.
Real now host Atlético in the Madrid derby at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday, a fixture Diego Simeone’s side won both times during Carlo Ancelotti’s first spell in charge. Atlético went on to win at the Bernabeu in 2015-16 as well to record three consecutive derby wins at their rivals’ stadium for the first time ever, but they have not won there since.
Madrid beat Osasuna 2-0 away from home last weekend, while Atlético were 1-0 winners at home to Athletic Club at the Metropolitano in a game which was also notable for their tribute to the Basque side. Atleti were founded by three students from Bilbao in 1903 as a branch of the Basque club and in the year of Athletic’s 125th anniversary, the Madrid side wore orange at home to allow the visitors to play in red and white.
There will be no such grand gestures against Real Madrid, whose fans will remember how Atlético refused to give Los Blancos a guard of honour in LaLiga last season. Atlético released a statement to say the guard of honour was no longer a sign of respect, as it had been previously intended, but “an attempt at ridicule” and “an exaggerated, artificial controversy.”
While Madrid need a win to stay in the title race, Atlético are now just two points behind Real Sociedad in third and will also look to consolidate their place in the Champions League positions. The Rojiblancos are currently four ahead of fifth-placed Real Betis.
Valencia and Villarreal need to turn it around
Valencia remain in big trouble after a 1-0 defeat at Getafe on Monday night. New coach Rubén Baraja was unable to stop the rot as the club fell to their seventh defeat in eight games and against Real Sociedad at Mestalla this weekend, there will be more protests against unpopular owner Peter Lim.
“I respect opinions, but we think that, through hard work and making the players believe that the situation can be turned around, we can do it,” Baraja said after the loss to Getafe.
Valencia face a difficult run of fixtures, with Real Sociedad, Barcelona and Atlético in their next four games.
Nearby Villarreal are also struggling and coach Quique Setien is under pressure after four consecutive defeats. The Yellow Submarine are at home to Getafe on Monday.
The latest round of matches gets underway tonight, with Real Betis in action at bottom club Elche, still with just one win to their name in LaLiga all season.
(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.
What is frightening about this run of form is that the England international hasn’t just racked up impressive figures in a single match to skew the numbers. He’s scored or assisted in all but two games. Right now there is an air of inevitability about the Manchester United No.10.
All things considered, it has been a meteoric turnaround. Last season, Rashford finished with just four Premier League goals. Granted, he was plagued by a shoulder injury for a significant part of the campaign and then utilised in various roles as Ralf Rangnick tried to put his stamp on things during his time as interim manager. The majority of his minutes arrived on the right side of the pitch for the Red Devils.
By comparison, the majority of his minutes have arrived from the left post-World Cup, though he did start the match against Leicester City as a centre-forward. Rashford is much more comfortable when allowed to cut inside, so the left-wing berth suits his game and skill set.
Erik Ten Hag has managed to get Rashford back on track after a difficult two-year spell. Having scored a career-high 17 Premier League goals during the 2019/20 campaign, he managed just 15 across the next two seasons.
“He has so many skills, such high potential and I think there can be even more. When he works well, he will even score more goals because he can score with his left, right and his head.”
Speaking after Rashford netted a double in the 3-0 win over Leicester to take United to within three points of neighbours Manchester City, Ten Hag heaped praise on his prolific attacker, saying: “He has so many skills, such high potential and I think there can be even more. When he works well, he will even score more goals because he can score with his left, right and his head.”
The club are reportedly working on a new deal for the academy graduate with his current one expiring after the 2023/24 campaign comes to an end. They will be desperate to tie him down to see exactly how he can develop under the former Ajax manager.
United have worked on a system to get the versatile forward much more involved this term. For example, last season, Rashford finished the campaign with an Expected Goals per 90 average of just 0.23. He was attempting 1.6 shots – fewer than a number of United players including Paul Pogba – and significantly behind the four racked up on a per 90 basis by Cristiano Ronaldo.
When the legendary Portuguese forward returned to Old Trafford, everything was geared towards him and it meant others, like Rashford, suffered. It is no coincidence that since his departure, the United No.10 has seen his averages spike.
His Expected Goals per 90 average has almost doubled (0.43) as have his shots per 90 (three up from 1.6). Simply put, he is now much more of a threat and United are reaping the rewards. Rashford has a clean striking technique and is one of the purest finishers in the Premier League when he’s confident. This is backed up by the numbers too. His Expected Goals haul for the Premier League season is 9.9 but his Expected Goals on Target (xGOT) total is 12.2. The latter stat takes into account where the shot hits the target and assigns a value to that as opposed to assigning a value to where the shot is taken from.
If a player’s xGOT is higher than their xG, their shot placement is adding value to the efforts. Given we’re 24 matches into the season, you can confidently say this is more than just a purple patch.
So Ten Hag is giving his best finisher more opportunities. It doesn’t take a genius but the Dutch tactician deserves plaudits for creating an environment for Rashford to flourish. A consequence of this is United find themselves in a title race and still competing for all four trophies in February.
(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.
This week we focus on contrasting seasons for Simone Inzaghi’s in-form Inter Milan and the goal shy Fiorentina class of 2022/23. And with Milan now boasting three clean sheets in a row, German centre-back Malick Thiaw has been catching the eye.
Inter have been in fine form domestically having only lost twice in their last 15 league games. They’ve now emerged as the clear number two in the league behind Napoli, who are currently 15 points above second place. What the Nerazzurri have done so well under Simone Inzaghi this season is battle adversity. Consider that the club has only gotten two goals from star striker Romelu Lukaku and has seen their best midfielder Marcelo Brozović miss a large chunk of the season. On paper, these two issues should’ve had a bigger effect on the club, but the replacements have stepped up in stunning fashion. Most notable, Hakan Çalhanoğlu has completely redefined his game under Inzaghi. An inconsistent player who alternated between left wing and attacking midfield at Milan, he’s become a much more solid player in a deeper role at Inter. He’s been especially impressive filling in for Brozović in that deep lying playmaker role right in front of the defence, so much so that Inter have hardly missed the Croatian during his time on the sidelines.
Another player who has benefited from the injuries has been the 34-year-old Henrikh Mkhitaryan. “Miki” was brought in last summer to give Inter a more offensive midfield weapon off the bench after the departures of Arturo Vidal and Matias Vecino, but he’s been a regular in the lineup playing alongside Çalhanoğlu and the box-to-box Nicolo Barella. There were questions about Mkhitaryan’s salary given that he should be entering the twilight of his career, but his intelligence and tactical awareness has given Inzaghi’s 3-5-2 a more technical look in midfield.
While Inter were favourites to win the Scudetto last season, they’ve taken a backseat along with everyone else in the league to a historic Napoli side that is currently dominating the league. Even without a Scudetto, you could argue the Nerazzurri season has been a success. They demolished their rivals Milan to hoist the Italian Super Cup, got out of the Champions League group stage, and will face Juventus in the Coppa Italia semi-finals.
Fiorentina’s poor season
23 rounds in and Fiorentina are creeping dangerously close to a relegation spot in Serie A. A sluggish 1-1 draw to Empoli over the weekend has continued their meek form. They’ve been perhaps the biggest disappointment of the season in Italy. From a Conference League finish last season under the exciting manager Vincenzo Italiano, to this disappointment of a campaign that’s seen them pick up only two points from a possible 18 in 2023. The problems are evident and quite simple to identify – goalscoring.
Simply put, Fiorentina has not been able to replace the stellar form of Dušan Vlahović, who was sold to rivals Juventus a year ago. Since then, they’ve been sputtering up top in a system that should be beneficial for a striker. Italiano’s Fiore have some of the best possession and passing statistics in the league. They’re a team that plays with a high defensive line and wants to keep all of the possession in the opponent’s half of the pitch.
The issue is that they force teams into a low block and have no one who can score on the endless amount of crosses they send into the box. Luka Jović has been a disappointment so far – three goals in 20 appearances (with an xG of nearly 5).The other strikers haven’t fared much better. Arthur Cabral was signed for €14m from Basel where he was terrorising the Swiss League, but hasn’t been able to get anywhere near his goal scoring totals at his old club, having only found the back of the net six times in 32 league matches. Compare this to Dušan Vlahović’s form at Fiore – 17 goals in 21 matches in his final season in Tuscany, and the team’s struggles in the league become easy to understand.
The Viola also have three very quick and tricky wingers in Jonathan Ikoné, Riccardo Sottil and Nico González. The problem for them is they have no space to run into. Teams playing Fiorentina are essentially pinned back into their own final third, which creates no room for these wide players to operate in. This wouldn’t be nearly as glaring an issue if they had someone finishing off all of the chances, and it would probably highlight things Fiorentina do well, like their passing and strong midfield play.
The President Rocco Commiso isn’t shy about voicing his opinion, and you’d expect wholesale changes if Fiorentina end the season near the drop zone.
The rise of Malick Thiaw
Milan’s nightmarish start to 2023 has finally ended and they’ve now won three consecutive games with a 1-0 scoreline, including the all-important first leg against Spurs in the Champions League. The new constant? Thiaw started from the first minute in each of those three clean sheets.
The 21-year-old German centre-back needed some time to finally be trusted by coach Stefano Pioli. He hardly saw any minutes in the first half of the season, but injuries to Fikayo Tomori and the inclusion of a three man back-line meant there was suddenly space for the youngster to show off his ability. Thiaw had considerable experience before joining Milan – he played an entire season in the German second division with Schalke as well as 18 games in the Bundesliga. Milan took advantage of Schalke’s relegation woes by signing him last summer for a measly €7m, a fee that now looks to be a bargain with how well Thiaw has answered the call and slotted into Milan’s new look defence. What’s even more impressive with him is how comfortable he looked in his Champions League debut against Tottenham. Thiaw not only looks intelligent from a positional standpoint and imposing in the air, but he’s also confident on the ball. It was the centre-back’s long pass down the flank to Theo Hernández that set up the only goal of the game.
As it stands, Thiaw seems to be following a path similar to that of Pierre Kalulu last season. Kalulu only got his starts after Simon Kjaer went down with a serious injury, and quickly did well partnering Fikayo Tomori and leading Milan to their first Scudetto in more than a decade. Now, we may see both Tomori and Kalulu welcome a new impressive young defender in Thiaw to play alongside them.
(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.
The pressure had been building over the last few months, but now we have a fully-fledged title race in Germany. Dropped points, extraordinary runs and top gears. Strap in, the Achterbahn is mid-loop.
That’s right, we’ve gone from a two-way scrap to a three, the end of Matchday 21 saw Bayern lead the way at the top of the table, but only by virtue of their better goal difference.
Borussia Dortmund and Union Berlin are keeping tabs on the record champions as the three clubs are locked on 43 points each. Freiburg are fourth on 40 and don’t rule out RB Leipzig just yet – Marco Rose’s side sits fifth on 39.
Out of the five sides which make up the breakaway bunch at the summit, it is Dortmund who raised eyebrows the most with a stunning set of results – the Schwarzgelben are now on an eight-game winning streak, which includes a robust performance in the UEFA Champions League against Chelsea as the Round of 16 got underway.
Beautiful Borussia
Dortmund’s ascendancy over the last few weeks has been down to their versatility and goals from all areas on the pitch. Sébastian Haller continued his tremendous recovery by bagging his first Bundesliga goal in front of the Yellow Wall on World Cancer Day.
Karim Adeyemi did his best Roadrunner impression, leaving Chelsea with a European headache, but these are areas in which you’d expect Dortmund to be scoring from. However, it is their spread of goals which has seen them bring a challenge to Bayern München more seriously this season.
The departure of Erling Haaland has meant Edin Terzić has had to adapt, and that is just what the head coach has done, with 33 goals from eight different players and from all three outfield areas, they are no longer relying on one pair of boots to deliver their wins.
Gladbach might be a little further down the table, they might have lost their number one goalkeeper to Bayern, but Daniel Farke’s men are still the Bavarain’s bogey-team.
A 3-2 win at home against Julian Nagelsmann’s side means The Foals are unbeaten in their last five matches against their old foes, but this particular iteration left the Bayern head coach apoplectic, for reasons explained later.
But as it is, Borussia Mönchengladbach created the storm that now sees the title race well and truly on!
The Midfield
Starting slightly below the midfield of the table, well rock bottom, are Schalke. The Gelsenkirchen side are without a doubt the most boring club to watch. In their last 360 minutes of football they have neither scored or conceded a goal, a run of four 0-0 draws continues to mark them out as German dishwater, favourites for the drop to 2.Bundesliga, they need a miracle once again to stop their all-but-certain descent down.
Bayer Leverkusen and Werder Bremen are locked in the mid-table positions and continue to flatter to deceive.
Xabi Alonso’s pharmaceutical-backed Werkself played out a nailbiter of a fixture in their Europa League knockout first leg against AS Monaco, but were left deflated by Axel Disasi’s 90+2 minute 3-2 winner. They then fell by the same score – in almost the exact same way – to Mainz, Marcus Ingvartsen with a late penalty to heap on the misery.
Werder find themselves 11th but oddly enough have the Bundesliga’s top scorer in their ranks, Niclas Füllkrug tops the charts with 13 goals. However, the 30-year-old hasn’t found the net in his last three matches, and his nearest rival Christopher Nkunku came back from an injury lay-off to assist a goal in Leipzig’s 3-0 win in Wolfsburg.
Refereeing Spotlight
It’s not something we’re that used to in the Bundesliga, controversial decisions – certainly not to the frequency seen in other leagues across Europe, but we have seen a few the last two weeks.
Firstly there was a small uproar in Bochum as Jamie Bynoe-Gittens was adjudged to have deliberately handled the ball in the box during the Bochum Dortmund DFB Pokal match. The penalty was converted but Dortmund won so the afters were quickly forgotten, but Matchday 21 saw a cracker – or not, depending on your viewpoint.
Bayern felt harshly treated in their defeat to Gladbach after Dayot Upamecano was dismissed just eight minutes into the match, denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity for Alassane Pléa.
The touch from Upamecano on Pléa was so slight that many, including the Bayern head coach, thought it was not at the threshold considered a foul, namely normal football contact. One man didn’t and that was Tobias Welz who defended his decision on German TV the day after.
“Of course, it was a very close call. There are arguments for both sides. The contact on the shoulder was the decisive argument for me” Weltz said, Naggelsman didn’t agree and now faces a charge from the DFB after storming the officials’ changing room after the match, for which he later apologised.
As we say goodbye for another few weeks, what awaits us next? Will Union continue their heroics in both the Bundesliga and Europa League, will Dortmund go a bit Dortmundy after all, and can Bayern be toppled? We’ll just have to wait and see.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
You can follow every match from the 2022/23 Bundesliga season live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage including shot maps, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.
There seems to be an ever-increasing amount of football every weekend as new competitions keep popping up while ongoing ones are only heating up, so we are getting spoilt for choice in terms of matches to pick for our weekly column. Once again, we have managed to whittle our list down to six, including a Women’s World Cup qualification playoff.
After their defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League in midweek, Paris Saint-Germain had to turn their focus back to domestic proceedings as they hosted an impressive Lille side who were sure to provide a tough test.
Paulo Fonseca’s side did have the best of starts to the season, but the Portuguese tactician managed to find a successful formula from an asymmetrical 4-2-3-1 formation that saw Lille lose just one of their 11 matches post-World Cup. That run propelled them up from seventh during the break to the European spots, but Rennes remained hot on their heels.
A trip to the Parc de Princes is always tough, especially when PSG have each of their three attacking superstars on display. Kylian Mbappé was making his first start since his recent muscle injury, and he stole the show early on by bulldozing past the Lille defence on their right before squeezing his finish in at the near post. A few minutes later, Neymar made it 2-0 at the end of the nice team move, and the hosts seemed in control.
Set-pieces would prove to be their undoing, though. Bafodé Diakité pulled one back from a corner in the 24th minute, and in the early stages of the second half, Marco Verratti gave away a penalty from a similar situation, which Jonathan David scored. The Italian midfielder was also at fault for the third goal as he lost the ball in midfield, which ultimately led to Jonathan Bamba going through on goal and finding the back of the net.
At this point, PSG looked in real trouble. They were on course for their fourth-consecutive defeat which would cut their league lead down to a couple of points ahead of Le Classique next weekend, which in turn would provide Marseille with the chance to leapfrog them. Worse yet, Neymar had gone off with a nasty-looking ankle injury which could well keep him out for a few weeks.
But, the defending champions still had a couple of world-class players on the pitch, and they turned the match around late on. Mbappé equalised in the 87th minute before Lionel Messi won a free-kick in a dangerous position deep into stoppage time. Obviously, he was going to take it, and what happened next seemed inevitable.
Performance-wise, there still should be a lot of questions asked of PSG, but this late turnaround could be season-changing. Their five-point buffer at the top of the league has been maintained, so they have a bit of breathing room that could prove crucial in being able to rest players ahead of the all-important second leg against Bayern Munich.
It’s barely been a couple of months since the 2022 World Cup ended in Qatar, but it is already time to look forward to the next one. We already know 29 of the 32 teams that will be competing in Australia and New Zealand this year, so all that is left is to decide the three remaining contestants.
That is being done through an inter-confederation playoff tournament, which kicked off this weekend. The 10 contestants have been into two groups of three and one of four, each of which will see one winner through one-off knockouts. In Groups A and B, Chile and Portugal have been given byes to the final, so Group C is the only one that had two semi-finals. Both were played on Sunday at the site of the World Cup.
The first one pit Chinese Taipei, commonly known as Taiwan, against Paraguay. The former have one Women’s World Cup finals appearance to their name from the inaugural edition in 1991 and were the highest-ranked side in this group. Their opponents have never made it to the World Cup in the past, but they were a side on the up having finished fourth in the latest Copa América.
Paraguay seemed to be in for yet more disappointment as they conceded within a quarter of an hour, and went two down with 15 minutes left. They came roaring back thereafter, though, scoring twice in the space of two minutes to take the game to extra time.
After a goalless half-hour, we seemed on course for penalties until the VAR invited the referee to take a look at a potential penalty incident in favour of Taiwan. It was given, so Hsin-hsuan Pao stepped up with a chance to take her nation through to the playoff final, but she blazed it over.
She would also have her spot-kick saved in the shoot-out after a teammate failed to convert an earlier attempt, meaning Paraguay advanced to the final. They will face Panama, who got the better of Papua New Guinea later that day.
There was a top-of-the-table clash in the Eredivisie this weekend as the top two squared off, but neither of the sides were called Ajax or PSV. Instead, it was Feyenoord who welcomed AZ to Rotterdam with a two-point gap separating the sides before kick-off.
The hosts went into this fixture on a 13-match unbeaten run in all competitions, and they knew that they would remain at the summit of the standings if they managed to preserve that. Things did not get off to a good start, though, as AZ drew first blood 17 minutes in when Javairô Dilrosun diverted a corner into his own net.
That proved to be a wake-up call that the league leaders really needed, as they dominated proceedings thereafter. Alireza Jahanbaksh equalised on the stroke of half-time, but his side would be frustrated in the second period as they created loads of chances but failed to change the scoreline as the end of the match grew ever closer.
In the last month, Feyenoord have scored some decisive late goals, including against PSV in the league and versus NEC Nijmegen to stay alive in the cup. They needed to repeat the trick here, and did just that thanks to a deflected left-footed effort from right-back Marcus Pedersen, who could not have picked a better occasion to score his first goal for the club.
That late winner could prove to be crucial in the title race come the end of the season, as it enabled Feyenoord to pull five points clear of their opponents. Their main rivals definitely seem to be Ajax, though, and the three-time defending champions are now three points below them.
The concept of bogey teams is a bit of a puzzling one to explain, but it definitely is a thing. Bayern volunteered to reinforce that this weekend, as they came up against a Borussia Mönchengladbach side that they had failed to beat in their last four encounters – with two draws and two losses.
The reverse fixture in the league this season ended 1-1 thanks to an absolute masterclass between the sticks from Yann Sommer, who made a whopping 19 saves and prevented about three more goals based on the xGOT (Expected Goals on Target) model. He took to the field for this match too, but in Bavarian colours having switched allegiances in the winter transfer window. With that, Bayern would have hoped that the curse would be broken.
Clearly, it runs deeper than that because the decisive moment of the match came just eight minutes in when Dayot Upamecano got sent off for tripping Alassane Pléa, who was otherwise through on goal. Gladbach took the lead through Lars Stindl five minutes later and would have been expected to comfortably see out the win, but that was not to be.
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting equalised ten minutes before half-time, so the hosts needed to retake the lead in the second period through Jonas Hofmann. They only really seemed comfortable after Marcus Thuram added a buffer in the 84th minute, which proved to be crucial since Mathys Tel pulled one back in stoppage time but could not change the result.
This result ended a 20-match unbeaten run in all competitions for Bayern, but more importantly, it made their lead assailable. The next day, Union Berlin took on Schalke with a chance to go two points clear at the top, but they could only manage a goalless draw. Borussia Dortmund beat Hertha Berlin later to make it three teams level on points at the top of the table.
Atlético Madrid got the better of Athletic Club in a close match between two European contenders on Sunday night in LaLiga. This was a match of very few clear-cut chances, decided by a smart run and finish by Antoine Griezmann in the 73rd minute.
That maintains Atlético’s four-point buffer in fourth place, while Athletic Club missed the chance to capitalise on Rayo Vallecano’s slip-up against Sevilla and move into the top six. The reason we decided to discuss this match has little to do with that, though. In fact, it has little to do with the match itself, except for the fact that Atlético were wearing their third kit at home.
The reason behind that was that Atlético were honouring the 125th anniversary of Athletic Club’s foundation (which is technically in July). Indirectly, this was a big occasion for them too since they were initially founded as a subsidiary of Athletic Club in Madrid by a few Basque people studying in the city.
That is the reason why the two clubs’ home strips look so similar. Until they split, Atlético obviously wore the same kits as Athletic, so when the latter changed from a blue and white strip to a red and white strip (which rumour has it has something to do with the club president going to buy shirts in England, failing to find Blackburn Rovers’ kits and returning with Southampton’s instead), they followed suit.
In the present day, the two clubs have had a bit of a rivalry but maintain close relations for the most part, as was evident in the pre-match tribute to Athletic Club at the Wanda Metropolitano this weekend.
Speaking of bogey teams, Tottenham Hotspur are a curious case study. They famously seem to have Manchester City’s number, but then struggle against West Ham. In three of the last four seasons, they have been defeated in the league by the Irons. Earlier this season, they only managed a draw at the London Stadium, which makes them the only big six club other than Chelsea that West Ham have taken points off this season.
David Moyes’ side surprisingly find themselves in the midst of a relegation battle this season, and they started the match in the drop zone after slipping down as a result of wins for Everton and Bournemouth earlier in the weekend. Their form was decent, though, as they had beaten Everton, advanced in the FA Cup and taken points off Newcastle United and Chelsea prior to this fixture.
Tottenham, on the other hand, endured a tough week as they shipped four to Leicester City in the Premier League before losing the first leg of their Champions League tie against Milan at San Siro. They had the chance to come away with a positive after Newcastle’s loss to Liverpool opened a door to the top four for them.
In the first half, it seemed they would be squandering this opportunity. Neither side managed to create a clear-cut chance so they went in level at the break. Moyes would have been pleased to see that as it meant his decision to switch to a 5-3-2 shape out of possession had paid off.
Spurs would find a way to break through it about ten minutes into the second half, when both their wing-backs made runs into the channels. Ben Davies ran onto a through ball, which he squared for Emerson Royal to score. A little bit later, Son Heung-min came off the bench for just the second time in the league this season and scored again, putting the result beyond doubt.
Ultimately, this was a deserved win for Tottenham which takes them into the Champions League spots – at least until Newcastle play their game in hand. The relegation battle is very real for West Ham, though, so they need to start getting more points on the board.
There were more twists in the title race this weekend and a number of surprise results across the entire Premier League. Here, we look at the more significant ones.
Manchester City put on a finishing clinic against Arsenal during the mid-week clash between the two title challengers. It felt as though they were about to go on one of their yearly winning runs but their finishing deserted them at the City Ground.
City missed more big chances (5) than Nottingham Forest had shots (4). Yet for all of their domination, the away side couldn’t claim all three points. Bernardo Silva opened the scoring just before the break but the visitors couldn’t build on that. Kaylor Navas made five saves on the day as on-loan Newcastle United striker Chris Wood found an equaliser with the home side’s only shot on target.
Pep Guardiola’s side are now two points off the top having played a game more.
The resolve of future Champions
Arsenal were winless in four heading to Villa Park and found themselves behind after just five minutes. Buyako Saka equalised but they weren’t level for long, with Philippe Coutinho putting the hosts ahead yet again just after the half-hour mark.
Oleksandr Zinchencko levelled it up after an hour and then it was just an Arsenal onslaught. The away side racked up an xG of 3.28 and created five big chances. Aston Villa, on the other hand, created chances worth just 0.51 xG.
Arsenal needed a bit of luck to finally take the lead in stoppage time with Jorginho’s long-range effort cannoning back off the bar before hitting Emiliano Martínez and going in. Gabriel Martinelli then added gloss to the scoreline when he tapped it an empty goal following the Villa goalkeeper’s decision to push up for a corner.
The Gunners came from behind twice before finding a winner in added time. A sure sign of future champions. It was a rather emphatic way to bring their winless streak to an end.
Ending the streak
Newcastle United welcomed Liverpool to St James’ Park looking to avenge their only defeat of the season. The Reds needed an injury-time winner in August to beat the Magpies and following that Eddie Howe’s men had been on a 17-match unbeaten run.
A win for the hosts would’ve seen them open up a 12-point lead over Jürgen Klopp’s struggling team in the race for a top-four place. However, the Toon Army now find themselves just six points ahead of the Merseysiders having played a game more.
The game was over after 22 minutes. Darwin Núñez and Cody Gakpo had both got their names on the scoresheet before Nick Pope was sent off for handling outside his penalty area. It was an odd game after that with both sides having chances, big ones at that, with the Reds not really dictating things despite their one man advantage.
The unlikeliest of scorers
Seamus Coleman scored what turned out to be the winner as Everton leapfrogged Leeds United out of the relegation places. The right-back claimed to have meant it and who are we to say otherwise? His Maicon-like finish was the deciding factor in a game that the Toffees deserved to win.
Sean Dyche’s side had a superior Expected Goals haul (1.47 to 0.54), had more shots and created more big chances (two to one). Managerless Leeds just couldn’t get going and now find themselves just a point off the bottom of the league.
Another defeat for Chelsea
In the 10 games played since the turn of the year, Chelsea have won just one. Defeat to Southampton on Saturday now means the Blues have lost exactly half of their matches in 2023 and find themselves in purgatory. They are 11 points off of the Champions League places but also just 11 points off of the relegation zone.
The deadlock was broken by yet another James Ward-Prowse free-kick before Chelsea spurned a number of opportunities. It has been the story of their season under Graham Potter who now appears to be on borrowed time at Stamford Bridge.
Rashford’s run continues
Another game for Manchester United, another goal for Marcus Rashford. Since returning from the World Cup, the Man United No.10 has 16 goals across all competitions in just 17 appearances. He’s also chipped in with four assists during this period, stepping up to be the main man for the Old Trafford side following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo.
His double against Leicester City now means he’s scored in five successive matches for the second time during this purple patch. He really is unstoppable.
(Images from IMAGO)
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This week we discuss the chances that Napoli could take their domestic form in to the Champions League, how Milan had to change in order to break their bad form and just how bad are winless Cremonese?
Napoli’s Scudetto chances now look like a foregone conclusion. They have a 15 point lead over Inter, they play the best football in the league by a large margin and have shown the ability to deal with injuries because of the strength in depth from last summer’s transfer market.
Now there’s a few whispers about whether they can really pull off the unthinkable: A Champions League victory. They’re heavily favoured against German opposition Eintracht Frankfurt, who currently sit outside the top four in the Bundesliga. It also feels like Napoli have absolutely nothing to lose – they weren’t expected to finish in the top four in Serie A and just getting out of the UCL group stages would’ve felt like a victory to fans before the season. Now they have to be included as one of the teams who can truly cause an upset in Europe’s most prestigious club competition. While they don’t have the overall talent, or wage bill of the state owned super teams, they play a brand of football that is as effective as anyone in Europe. There’s no weaknesses in the team either, they defend well, hold possession even better, and have one of the best attacks in the world with the currently unstoppable duo of Kvicha Kvaratshkelia and Victor Osimhen.
It’s hard to think of a way to stop this attack. If you sit deep in a low block, Osimhen can dominate in the aerial game. If you play a more modern brand of football and bring the defensive line high up the pitch, then the Nigerian striker becomes one of the most feared counter attacking threats. The quality and diversity of the midfield has proven to have the perfect balance in games, with Stanislav Lobotka sitting in front of the defence and organising, while Piotr Zielinski and Zambo Angiussa break up play and join the attack. It would be madness to suggest that Napoli are anywhere near favourites to win the Champions League, but it seems naive to not mention that they have a puncher’s chance in the competition.
Milan finally win with their new look formation
Milan’s new year from hell has been put on pause as the Rossoneri finally broke their seven game winless streak that saw them play some of the worst football in recent memory. Milan were able to beat Torino 1-0, in a display that wasn’t aesthetically pleasing but got an all important result in the tight race for a top four finish. With manager Stefano Pioli increasingly on the hot seat, he was forced to make a drastic switch with the formation to make the team more defensively sound and balanced. The attacking 4-2-3-1 was scrapped for a more balanced 3-5-2.
In hindsight, the move makes sense given that two of the three players behind the striker have been unconvincing. Charles De Ketelaere is still a mystery and Brahim Díaz is too inconsistent to be relied upon as the no.10. At right wing, the situation isn’t any better – both Junior Messias and Alexis Saelemaekers don’t look to have enough quality to hold a spot in Milan’s frontline. The answer to this is to simply remove both positions and play an extra central midfielder. Another play that should theoretically benefit from the tactical change is Theo Hernández. The French full-back is one of the best going forward, but can be caught out defensively. With a back three, the idea is Theo has more licence to do what he does best while knowing he has an extra centre-back behind him to provide cover as he makes his signature coast-to-coast runs into the final third.
The question will now be whether or not Pioli sticks with this new formation. There are massive games coming up for the Rossoneri. A Champions League clash against Tottenham is first on the menu, with Antonio Conte’s side having recently lost 4-1 to Leicester City in the Premier League. This looks like an ideal game to stick with a back three and mirror Conte’s tactics. Spurs have loads of quality in the final third which could’ve been problematic for a Milan defence that suddenly forgot some of the basic principles of defending in 2023. Another bit of good news for Milan is they’re getting two starters back from injury, Ismaël Bennacer and Fikayo Tomori. While Tomori has had a rough start to the new year, his characteristics as a defender could be vital against Tottenham’s attack. He’s very fast and even more aggressive with his pressing, which could make life difficult for Harry Kane to settle the ball with his back to goal. Bennacer is also pivotal to carry out Pioli’s instructions. He’s the best passer in Milan’s team and will be very important in their quest to win the possession game in the midfield at San Siro.
Cremonese’s Demise
Recently promoted Cremonese are on the path to setting their own record – historically the worst team ever in Serie A from a statistical standpoint. It’s a tough task to match the futility shown from Ancona’s 2003-04 season. Ancona finished that campaign with 13 points in total, going winless between September to April in a stretch that saw them pick up 21 losses and seven draws. Cremonese currently have eight draws and 14 losses, but that’s where the similarities stop with that horrid Ancona team. The Lombard minnows actually play decent football, and recently knocked out both Napoli (a heavily rotated Neapolitan team, it must be said) and then Roma in the Coppa Italia. This improbable cup run makes little sense considering their domestic form, where they try to play their brand of football but are too often let down by the lack of Serie A experience in their squad.
The team has some interesting prospects – right wingback Leonardo Sernicola looks quite tricky going forward and definitely has a future in Serie A, while top scorer David Okereke has already proven last season, with relegated Venezia, that he’s capable enough to lead the line for a top flight team – maybe all he needs is more quality around him to take the next step.
As it stands, manager Davide Ballardini (who is no stranger to being in this position) has a monumental task if he’s to save Cremonese from relegation. They’re currently 11 points from salvation, and look destined to drop back to Serie B, which is where they’ve spent the majority of their time in the 21st century.
(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.
The action continued for the majority of the top clubs in Spain, and there was positive news for most, while Real Madrid were away winning another major trophy. We’ll review all of the weekend’s top stories here.
Barcelona have moved provisionally 11 points clear at the top of LaLiga after beating Villarreal 1-0 at the Estadio de la Cerámica on Sunday night. Pedri’s first-half goal was the winner for the Catalan club as a strong defence once again proved key.
This was Barça’s 16th clean sheet in 21 LaLiga games this season and although there have been some shaky moments, that is an impressive stat, and one which goes a long way to explaining their superiority in the competition.
Pedri’s goal came after a lovely one-two with Robert Lewandowski and the young Spain star has been responsible for 10 points for Barcelona all on his own in LaLiga this season. “He’s at a very high level,” Xavi said.
At the back, Ronald Araújo was also at a high level in perhaps his best-ever game for Barcelona. “He’s an extraordinary defender, a great corrector,” Xavi said. “He has improved on the ball more than anyone else in the team.”
Barcelona created more overall but Villarreal also had a couple of very good chances and saw a late effort ruled out for a clear offside. “I think the fairest thing would have been a draw,” coach Quique Setien said.
Real Madrid win Club World Cup
Real Madrid’s involvement in the FIFA Club World Cup meant there was no LaLiga fixture for Los Blancos at the weekend. Instead, the European champions faced Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal in Morocco and claimed the trophy courtesy of a 5-3 win.
Vinicíus Júnior and Fede Valverde scored two apiece, with Karim Benzema also on target as Madrid made it five FIFA Club World Cups in eight editions. Carlo Ancelotti has been in charge for two of those and this was a ninth trophy in total for the Italian as Real coach.
“We are improving and this title will give us a boost to fight for everything that is left, which is what we are going to do,” Ancelotti said after the match.
The 63-year-old also reiterated his hopes of staying at Madrid, having dismissed reports last week that he will become Brazil’s coach at the end of the season. “I won’t leave here until they kick me out!” he said.
Madrid’s Champions League last-16 first-leg meeting with Liverpool does not take place this week, so Los Blancos will play their outstanding LaLiga fixture at home to Elche on Wednesday night.
Depay off the mark for Atlético with late winner
Memphis Depay’s first goal since signing for Atlético Madrid from Barcelona in January gave the Rojiblancos a smash-and grab victory at Balaidos on Sunday, but Celta Vigo will wonder how they lost it.
The Galicians did everything but score as Iago Aspas crashed a free-kick against the bar and Jan Oblak somehow got back to clear the ball off the line after he had allowed another shot from the Spain striker to slip through his grasp.
Atlético were also on the back foot after a Stefan Savić red card late in the game, but went on to win as substitute Depay span and scuffed an effort into the net after 89 minutes to claim all three points for the visitors.
“We weren’t as precise as we wanted to be, but the team reacted [after the red card] and we played the game we had to play,” Simeone said.
Meanwhile, Celta’s Haris Seferovic summed up the home side’s frustrations. “We played a good game in attack and defence,” he said. “But luck wasn’t on our side.”
Real Sociedad get back to winning ways
After three games without a win (two in LaLiga), Real Sociedad were back on song at Espanyol in the competition’s Monday night match, beating the Barcelona-based club 3-2 at the RCDE Stadium.
The Basques completely dominated for the opening hour or so and went 3-0 up through Take Kubo, Alexander Sørloth and a Leandro Cabrera own goal. That last one was unfortunate for Espanyol, but Real Sociedad could have been out of sight by that point.
Espanyol did pull two back late on through Sergi Darder and Brian Oliván, but many of their fans had already left by then.
Real Sociedad are third, four ahead of Atlético in fourth, with Real Betis another four further back in fifth after beating Almería 3-2. Rayo Vallecano fall a place to sixth after a 1-1 draw at Getafe.
Valencia drop in to the bottom three as fans protest
Perhaps the biggest story of all came at Mestalla, where Valencia fans staged a mass protest outside the ground on Saturday night against owner Peter Lim ahead of their game against Athletic Club.
Thousands of supporters took part in the demonstration and fans inside the stadium later voiced their discontent as well following a series of catastrophic seasons under the ownership of the Singaporean businessman.
Valencia took the lead against Athletic through Samu Castillejo, but goals from Nico Williams and Oihan Sancet saw Athletic clinch victory and condemned the home side to a sixth defeat in seven matches.
The other game in that sequence was a draw, meaning Valencia have just a point from 21 since the World Cup break and that run leaves the club in the drop zone, with relegation now a very real threat.
“I feel strong,” interim coach Voro said after the match. “I’m clear about what the team needs.” Meanwhile, Valencia are reportedly set to appoint a new full-time manager this week. Tough job.
(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.
