We might look back at this midweek round of fixtures at the end of the season and realise just how decisive it was. The leaders dropped points while both Liverpool and Chelsea lost ground in the race for a top-four finish. We take a look back at some of the statistical standouts and the biggest talking points.
At a glance, Liverpool’s attacking numbers this season are impressive. The Reds find themselves ranked first for shots on target (109), fourth for goals (34) and third for Expected Goals (31.5).
However, when you look a little closer, things aren’t that pretty for Jurgen Klopp’s side. Their conversion rate of 8.4% is significantly down on Arsenal, Spurs and City – all of whom convert over 11% of their chances. Furthermore, the Reds top the charts for big chances missed with 42 – nine clear of those in second.
Liverpool just aren’t clinical and it hurt them against Brentford in a 3-1 loss. Klopp watched on as his side missed two of the three big chances they created. The defeat sees them seven points off a top-four spot.
Newcastle United – the Atlético Madrid of England
According to multiple outlets, the ball only remained in play for 51 minutes and 23 seconds, just over half a match, during Arsenal’s clash with Newcastle United. The hosts were left frustrated as they dropped points at home for the first time this season. Newcastle have been criticised for their approach in these matches, it was the same against Liverpool, but Eddie Howe’s men are successful in executing it, so why should the onus be on them to change anything?
Teams need to figure out how to beat them.
The Magpies ultimately deserved their point. They forfeited possession and instead looked to dominate the space and actually finished with an xG of 1.06, just 0.06 off the Arsenal total in what was a deceptively brilliant showing.
Everton’s defensive woes continue
Earlier in the season, the Toffess had the best defensive record in the Premier League and Frank Lampard was boasting about it. Now though, they’ve conceded 24 times, with 12 of those breaches occurring in their last five English top-flight matches.
Brighton ran riot at Goodison Park, romping to a 4-1 win. The Seagulls racked up an xG of 2.17 and created four big chances on the night to Everton’s one.
Lampard has tried different systems and different players but a clean sheet eludes him. Their last one was in October.
Fulham’s form
At the start of the season, many tipped Fulham for the drop. They hadn’t made many signings, the manager wasn’t impressed with the board and their previous stints in the top flight over recent years had been brief.
Yet as we head into the second half of the campaign, Fulham find themselves level on points with Liverpool and ahead of Brighton. Their 1-0 win over Leicester City saw them open up a three point lead over neighbours Chelsea. The match-winner was, of course, Aleksandar Mitrović with his 11th goal of the campaign in just 15 outings.
Potter’s magic has worn off
The honeymoon period for Graham Potter at Chelsea was brief. The Blues lost for the fourth time in their last six Premier League outings last night with Riyad Mahrez, rumoured to be a Chelsea transfer target in the summer, netting the winner for Chelsea.
Potter has now watched his side win just one of their last eight in the English top-flight and they find themselves in 10th position, 19 points off the top and 10 off the top four places.
It was yet another disappointing attacking performance as a team. City were deserved winners with an xG of over two at Stamford Bridge. The visitors created three big chances while the hosts didn’t create any.
(Images from IMAGO)
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.
Years may change but some things remain the same, such as copious amounts of football to watch, every weekend. We had some big matches and results through new year weekend in Europe and beyond, so let us go through some of those in the first 2023 edition of Last Weekend.
The first match of the Scottish Premiership in 2023 was the big one — the Old Firm derby.
Celtic made the short trip to Ibrox with a nine-point lead at the top of the table, so Rangers knew that this was already a must-win if they were to realistically keep their title hopes alive. However, they got off to the worst possible start as a dangerous turnover allowed Daezen Maeda to go through on goal in the fifth minute, and the Japanese international took his chance very well.
Out of possession, Rangers sought to impose themselves on their opponents by adopting a 4-3-1-2 high press against Celtic’s 4-3-3 formation. This didn’t quite go to plan either, as the visitors were able to play around this narrow structure by using their full-backs and central midfielders.
Nonetheless, Rangers did create some good chances of their own. Ryan Kent had a shot tipped onto the post and Alfredo Morelos missed a couple of free headers from corners towards the end of the first half.
The Gers then came flying out of the traps in the second period, equalising within a few minutes as Kent found the top corner with a curling finish. A couple of minutes later, they won a penalty as Fashion Sakala had his foot clipped in the box. James Tavernier stepped up and converted it emphatically to score the 100th goal of his senior career.
It was Celtic’s turn to push for a goal thereafter, but they couldn’t create too many big chances. That was until the 88th minute, when a decisive opportunity fell to the feet of Kyogo Furuhashi just in front of goal, and he found the back of the net with a controlled finish.
So, the spoils were shared at the end of the match. Rangers would have been left feeling they should have come away with more, not just because their deficit to the league leaders has remained unchanged, but also because they created more and better chances than their opponents.
This result also saw Rangers drop points for the first time in Michael Beale’s tenure after four wins in his first four matches.
The big Ligue 1 match of the weekend pitted the top two against each other. Lens managed a goalless draw against Nice when they returned to competitive action in midweek but PSG came away with a dramatic 2-1 win over Strasbourg thanks to Kylian Mbappé’s stoppage-time penalty, so the gap between the teams was seven points heading into this fixture.
The visitors were not only without Lionel Messi for this game, but they were also missing Neymar as he was shown a red card against Strasbourg and was consequently suspended for the following match. Still, Christophe Galtier stuck to the 4-3-1-2 system he has been using of late, bringing in Hugo Ekitiké and Carles Soler in the places of the two major absentees.
Lens looked to use their wing-backs to overload the opposition back-four, and that trick worked just five minutes in. Massadio Haïdara was found free on the left, and his cross was palmed away in the path of Przemysław Frankowski, who turned in calmly. PSG responded very quickly, though, as Ekitiké equalised in controversial fashion after seemingly kicking the ball out of the keeper’s gloves, but VAR saw nothing amiss.
Nonetheless, the home side must have been quite pleased with their start as they very much took the game to the defending champions and pushed them all the way with their clever pressing and slick possession-play. They went on to retake the lead in the 28th minute after a lovely counterattack that saw Seko Fofana skip past a couple of challenges in his own half before feeding Loïs Openda, who separately sent both of the PSG centre-backs to the shadow realm before beating the keeper with his finish.
Just seconds into the second period, Lens were able to generate a dangerous high turnover thanks to their pressing. Openda stole the spotlight again with a delightful backheel assist in the box for Alexis Claude-Maurice, who doubled his side’s lead with a cool finish. The hosts were comfortably able to hold on to it even as they started to defend deeper in a 5-4-1 block, as PSG really missed their two chief creators.
With that, Paris Saint-Germain suffered their first competitive defeat of the season, meaning there is just one European top-flight club with an unbeaten record in 2022/23 left – Swift Hesperange of Luxembourg.
There were three such unbeaten sides before this weekend with Benfica being the other. However, they too suffered a major league defeat this weekend.
The final Portuguese league fixture of 2022 saw the league leaders visit third-placed Braga. Things did not get off to a great start for the away side at the Estádio Municipal de Braga, as Abel Ruiz put the hosts in front within two minutes.
Benfica have overturned early deficits on a number of occasions this season, so they might not have been too worried after conceding the opener. However, when they found themselves two goals down just after the half-hour mark when Ruiz set up Ricardo Horta, they must have felt they were staring down the barrel of their first loss of the season.
That looked likelier and likelier as the second half progressed. Braga’s compact 4-4-2 defensive block minimised the space available to their opponents between the lines and managed to contain them out wide as well thanks to the wide midfielders tracking back. So, even though Benfica had more possession, they couldn’t make much of it, and the result was all but sealed when Ricardo Horta got his second in the 70th minute.
This was the perfect way for Braga to bounce back after their 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Sporting in the League Cup quarter-final. They have closed the gap to the leaders to six points, but remain a point behind defending champions Porto, who sit second.
The Premier League was not resting for the new year as there was a full round of fixtures between the 30th of December and 1st of January. The following round commenced immediately thereafter with a match on Monday night that saw Liverpool visit Brentford.
Relative to expectations, the two sides were having very contrasting campaigns. Brentford were all the way up in the top half of the table and looking well on course for staying up again, so the mood around the Gtech Stadium was very positive. Liverpool, meanwhile, were well away from the title race and a few points off the top four after a terrible start to the season, so it hasn’t been smooth sailing for them.
Their troubles would only be compounded in London, as the home side got off to a good start and took the lead 19 minutes in after a corner hit the back of the net via Ibrahima Konaté’s leg. Even after going ahead, Brentford looked likelier to score the next goal and celebrated twice after two other corners, but both goals were ruled out by VAR. They did eventually score again before half-time, as Yoane Wissa got third time lucky when his header just crossed the goal line before being clawed out by the keeper.
Jürgen Klopp made three half-time changes as Liverpool turned up the pressure in search of goals, and they yielded near-instant rewards. Darwin Núñez had a goal ruled out for offside just a couple of minutes after the break, but Liverpool halved the deficit soon thereafter through Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s header. The Reds kept streaming forward for the rest of the match, but Brentford’s low block held firm, and the Bees delivered a knockout blow through Bryan Mbeumo in the 84th minute.
As the stats show, the match was very one-sided in terms of possession but not so as far as chances or their conversion is concerned, so Brentford will feel that this result was deserved. They are now up to the dizzying heights of seventh spot, just two points and a place behind their opponents.
La Liga leaders Barcelona returned to action after the World Cup break by hosting city rivals Espanyol in a Catalan Derby.
Things got off to the perfect start for them as Marcos Alonso, operating as a makeshift centre-back, opened the scoring from a corner after seven minutes. That empowered Barcelona to adopt a more conservative approach in possession to protect their makeshift defence while still controlling the match.
It was all going smoothly for the home side until the 71st minute, when Alonso stepped on Joselu’s foot in the penalty area and Espanyol were awarded a penalty. The Spanish striker converted it, scoring with his side’s only shot on target in the match.
After that, it was the Antonio Mateu Lahoz show. The Spanish referee gave Jordi Alba a second yellow card for dissent in the 78th minute, but just moments later, he brandished two red cards to Espanyol players! Vinícius Souza picked up a second booking for a foul so he had to go, but Leandro Cabrera’s direct red card was overturned by VAR.
Even though they had over 10 minutes of stoppage time at the end of the match, Barcelona could not find a winning goal in the 10v10 situation. Xavi unsurprisingly expressed his displeasure at the refereeing performance after the match, but also admitted that his team should have scored a second and put the game to bed when they had the chances.
In spite of dropping points, Barcelona remain at the top of the table in the new year, but only thanks to a better goal difference than Real Madrid.
Our last match in this column is one that did not take place – an awarded win for Wuhan Three Towns on the final matchday of the 2022 Chinese Super League season.
The title race had gone right down to the wire, as Wuhan Three Towers and Shandong Taishan were only separated by goal difference for their last four fixtures. They were due to kick off simultaneously on Saturday night, but COVID-19 outbreaks in both of their opponents’ squads meant both forfeited and the games had to be called off.
With that, Wuhan Three Towns lifted their first-ever CSL title. That marks the culmination of their dramatic rise which saw them win back-to-back promotions in the last two seasons, having only rebranded to their current guise in 2019.
While they have certainly done well to achieve glory so quickly, this achievement has only been realistic by the state of crisis that most of Chinese football is in. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, financial issues coupled with some CFA decisions have left many Chinese clubs in turmoil. This season’s table is a reflection of that, as record champions Guangzhou FC have been relegated after losing all of their foreign players last winter and fielding an all-domestic squad largely comprised of academy graduates. Joining them in the lower divisions will be Hebei FC, who ended the season with a negative points tally having been docked nine points due to unpaid salaries.
The games just keep on coming and the relentless Premier League schedule is now seeing teams drop points in what is shaping up to be one of the most intriguing campaigns ever. A detailed look at the standout talking points from the action this weekend.
After Manchester City dropped points to Everton at the Etihad, all eyes were on Arsenal in the late kick-off against Brighton on Saturday.
A win would see them extend their lead at the summit to seven points. They duly delivered, claiming a 4-2 win over the Seagulls.
What was impressive, however, was just how dominant they were. The away side created chances worth 2.93 xG and all 14 of their shots arrived from within the penalty area. Brighton were powerless to stop the table toppers.
Newcastle continue to justify their league position
The Magpies may have been only able to draw against Leeds United but on another day they claim a comfortable win with an identical performance.
Eddie Howe was without Callum Wilson, Alexander Isak and Allan Saint-Maximin, yet his side finished the match with an xG haul of 2.18. They created seven big chances and had it not been for the exploits of Illan Meslier between the sticks – with him making five saves on the day, it is an easy win for Newcastle.
Leeds, on the other hand, could muster efforts worth just 0.38 xG as the hosts limited them to feeding off scraps. It is something they’ve done all season and explains why they have the best defensive record in the league.
Everton land a blow in the title race
Manchester City came unstuck against the Toffees at the Etihad. What should’ve been a routine win against a team who went into the game on a three match losing streak, turned into a game of frustration for the reigning champions.
Despite taking the lead, with Erling Haaland scoring his 21st of the season, and having eight times as many shots as the visitors, City didn’t carve out many high value opportunities.
They allowed Everton to remain in the game. Then, with their only shot on target, Frank Lampard’s men stunned the Etihad. Demarai Gray curled his effort into the far corner. It was a shot with an xG value of just 0.07 but an xG on target value of 0.62.
It was the definition of a smash and grab.
Lucky Liverpool
If you win a match 2-1 with the opposition scoring two own goals, people are going to claim it was lucky. It was, but Liverpool deserved all three points against Leicester City.
Despite falling behind inside of four minutes, the Reds created chance after chance, finishing the match having taken 21 shots to the away side’s seven.
Jurgen Klopp’s men created three big chances and missed them all. They also created chances worth 2.25 xG and this total doesn’t include the two own goals.
They needed that bit of luck to claim all three points but you do create your own luck, and the Reds did just that. By comparison, Wout Faes, scorer of both own goals, had no luck whatsoever.
Spurs lose ground in the top four race
Tottenham are in trouble.
Antonio Conte’s men have conceded two goals in each of their last seven Premier League matches. They may have claimed seven points from these matches but it isn’t a sustainable pattern.
They have now lost four of their last seven in the English top-flight. When Spurs faced off against Liverpool in early November, they had a 10 point advantage over the Reds. Now, however, if Klopp’s side win their game in hand, they leapfrog Tottenham.
Against Villa yesterday, Spurs were out-shot 13-6 and comfortably lost the xG battle (1.04-0.66).
So, the defence is struggling and the attack isn’t clicking. The worst combination possible.
(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.
Spain’s top flight returned with a full round of action played across the last few days of 2022. Here’s our league expert with all the main talking points.
Barcelona finish 2022 and start 2023 as LaLiga leaders, but the Blaugrana are ahead of fierce rivals Real Madrid on goal difference alone following a 1-1 draw at home to Espanyol in the Catalan derby on Saturday.
Xavi’s side took the lead early on through an unlikely combination as Andreas Christensen headed across goal for Marcos Alonso to nod home, but chances came and went after that until Espanyol equalised courtesy of a penalty scored by Joselu with 17 minutes left.
Referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz, heavily criticised for his wayward officiating in Argentina’s World Cup quarter-final win over Netherlands, may have got that one right but he was up to his usual tricks again here as the derby descended into chaos late on.
In total, Mateu brandished 15 cards, including reds (both second yellows) for Jordi Alba and Vinícius Souza, plus a late booking for an exasperated Xavi.
“Today it got out of his hands and I told him that,” Xavi said. “He gave cards out for no reason. He’s a referee who seems to have control, but today he didn’t. But I don’t blame Mateu for the draw, it was our fault.”
Barça were able to field Robert Lewandowski in the end as they appeal his three-game suspension from before the World Cup, but the Pole did not have his best day in front of goal and will wait to hear whether he can face Atlético Madrid in next weekend’s headline game.
Benzema returns to lead the line for Madrid
Madrid had put pressure on Barcelona by beating Real Valladolid 2-0 on Friday night, but their win was not without controversy as it took a questionable penalty for Los Blancos to take the lead at the José Zorrilla.
Defender Javi Sánchez was penalised for handball in the area, a decision which infuriated Valladolid coach Pacheta. “Looking at the image, yes it hits his hand,” he said. “But he has his back turned, he can’t see [the ball]. He’s off balance. I don’t understand anything.” Valladolid’s Sergio León was also sent off for his protests following the decision to award the penalty.
But Karim Benzema, playing his first game since early November and after missing the World Cup through injury, made no mistake from the spot and Real Madrid were on their way. And the French forward added another to rub salt in the wounds late on with a fine finish following a run and cross from compatriot Eduardo Camavinga.
The midfielder earned praise afterwards from coach Carlo Ancelotti. “Ever since he has been here, he has done that,” the Italian said. “He made a difference when he came on.”
Madrid move level on points with Barcelona after 16 rounds of the competition, but are seven goals worse off than the Catalans. They have won the only Clásico played so far this season, though, and it is the head-to-head record which would decide LaLiga if the two teams were to finish level in June.
Atlético get back in the hunt
Atlético Madrid return to the top four after beating bottom club Elche on Thursday, but the Rojiblancos were made to work hard for the three points. Just as he did for France at the World Cup, Antoine Griezmann assumed the role of provider, assisting João Félix and Álvaro Morata for second-half goals after each team had been reduced to 10 men.
Griezmann, with newly dyed-pink hair on his return from Qatar, showed no signs of World Cup fatigue and pumped his fists in a passionate celebration after Félix opened the scoring. Talk before the game had centred on a possible transfer for the Portuguese in January, but coach Diego Simeone said: “What happens doesn’t depend on me.”
Atlético have now won their last two games, either side of the break, and climb a place to fourth after Athletic Club were held to a goalless draw away to Real Betis on the same day.
Athletic and Betis are now fifth and sixth, respectively, but Real Sociedad stay third after a 2-0 win over Osasuna which featured a goal and an assist from Brais Méndez.
Villarreal are seventh after beating Valencia 2-1 on Saturday, thanks to a late winner from Juan Foyth.
At the bottom, Elche look doomed with four points and Sevilla remain in trouble in 18th following a 1-1 draw away to fellow strugglers Celta Vigo.
(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.
🇪🇸 Earlier this week, LaLiga became the third major league to return after the World Cup and Christmas break, following hot on the heels of the Premier League, and Ligue 1. And tonight, we get the prospect of European Champions Real Madrid playing away at Real Valladolid, owned – of course – by Ronaldo, a former Galáctico. Carlo Ancelotti’s side will be eager to get back to it after an indifferent run of form that saw them win just two of their last five competitive games before the break. And a win would take them above Barcelona, at least temporarily.
🏴 The games are coming thick and fast in England now, with two fixtures opening the weekend round this evening, and another game week starting as early as Monday night! In fact, Liverpool feature twice – playing Leicester at home on Friday before heading to Brentford on Monday. No time for New Year’s celebrations in between, you’d imagine.
Liverpool were made to work at Aston Villa on Boxing Day before eventually prevailing with a 3-1 win that saw Mo Salah both score and assist to continue his recent good form. For their part, Leicester were comfortably beaten by Eddie Howe’s Newcastle, who are unbeaten since late August.
Friday’s other fixture sees West Ham take on fellow Londoners, Brentford. The Hammers held their own, for a half, against Arsenal on Monday night but went down to a 3-1 defeat while the Bees threw away a 2-0 lead to draw against comeback specialists, Tottenham Hotspur.
Saturday
🏴 Six fixtures see out the Premier League year on New Year’s Eve – starting with Manchester United’s trip to Wolves, and ending with league leaders Arsenal, who play at Brighton in the evening kick-off. The Seagulls have become something of a bogey side for Mikel Arteta with Brighton unbeaten in the last three meetings – including back-to-back wins at the Emirates in both the recent Carabao Cup tie, and in the League last season.
In between those two headline games, Everton are staring down the barrel of an away fixture against Manchester City, the league’s most prolific attack. And Leeds United are the next side in line to test the meanest defence in the league as Newcastle look to extend their unbeaten run to 12 games.
🇪🇸 LaLiga also saves some top class entertainment for the last day of the year with Barcelona facing city rivals Espanyol. This can be classed as one of those one-sided rivalries – FotMob records show just three Espanyol victories in the time that the app has been running – and league form this season suggests Barcelona should win this one with ease (see graphic). But that’s not what Derby Days are about: Could the first game back after an extended break, and with Robert Lewandowski unavailable through suspension, be the best possible time to play your most hated neighbours?
Real Sociedad slipped to fourth following results earlier in the week but the Basque side will have the chance to move back in to the top three should they beat Osasuna (8th) in another of Saturday’s fixtures.
Sunday
🇫🇷 The top two clash in Ligue 1 on New Year’s Day as unbeaten PSG head north to face Lens. Okay, so there’s a seven point gap between them but for their part, Lens have only lost once all season – the derby against Lille – and both sides have conceded just 10 goals across sixteen rounds.
PSG needed a 96th minute penalty from Kylian Mbappé, the king of late drama, to ensure they kicked off the restart with a win over Strasbourg while Lens drew a blank against Nice on Thursday night.
🏴 2023’s first Premier League action comes at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as Spurs take on Aston Villa in an afternoon kick-off. The two meetings between the sides last season resulted in Spurs wins but with Villa beginning to show an identity under Unai Emery, that run of victories could be in doubt.
That is swiftly followed by Chelsea’s trip to Nottingham Forest. The Blues picked up their first win in six league games when they beat Bournemouth on Boxing Day while Forest’s tendency to give up chances saw them concede three at Old Trafford – a defeat that leaves them rooted in the relegation zone.
Monday
🏴 The first Old Firm Derby of 2023 takes place at lunchtime on Monday afternoon with second placed Rangers hosting league leaders Celtic. This clash, between perhaps the world’s bitterest rivals, comes early in the tenure of new Rangers coach Michael Beale who has enjoyed an unbeaten start in the three games already played since the league’s re-start. Celtic too, have won all three of their games, scoring 10 goals in the process, to maintain their nine point lead in the table.
To cut that deficit, Rangers would need to banish thoughts of the 4-0 defeat they suffered at Celtic Park back in September.
🏴 As previously mentioned, the next round of Premier League action begins on Monday evening as Liverpool and Brentford face off in what will be the third games each side has played in the space of a week.
And down in the English Championship, the league’s runaway top two feature among the day’s seven fixtures with Burnley travelling to Swansea City and Sheffield United visiting QPR.
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LaLiga returns this week for its 15th round of matches. Following an extended break for the World Cup and also the Christmas holidays, top-flight football is back in Spain with three fixtures scheduled for Thursday, four on Friday and three more on Saturday to close out 2022.
Atlético Madrid are one of six teams in action on Thursday and the Rojiblancos will be looking for a win to end the year inside the top four. Diego Simeone’s side are currently down in fifth, level on points with Athletic Club (fourth) and Real Betis (sixth). They are at home to Elche on Thursday and will be expected to win against a team that has picked up only four points in LaLiga this season.
Portugal winger João Félix has been strongly linked with a loan move this January, but will feature against Elche. “If he transmits what we saw in the World Cup, he will be really important for us,” Simeone said. Meanwhile, Atlético are keen to bring in a striker following Matheus Cunha’s move to Wolves, with Betis’ Borja Iglesias a top target.
The two other clubs on 24 points also meet on Thursday as Real Betis host Athletic Club at the Benito Villamarín. Girona (13th) and Rayo Vallecano (eighth) meet in the day’s other match.
Real Madrid welcome back Benzema
Madrid’s 3-2 defeat at nearby Rayo Vallecano on November 7th saw Los Blancos lose their LaLiga lead and the defending champions went into the World Cup break two points behind rivals Barcelona. Carlo Ancelotti’s side travel to Real Valladolid on Friday as their campaign resumes and they will be boosted by the return of striker Karim Benzema from injury. The French forward played no part in Les Bleus’ run to the World Cup final after he was ruled out ahead of the tournament, but will have a point to prove after he was reportedly snubbed for the knockout stages despite a return to fitness. The 35-year-old is expected to start at the Jose Zorrilla.
Midfielders Eduardo Camavinga, Aurélien Tchouaméni and Luka Modrić will all be back with the squad on Thursday after their participation in the latter stages of the World Cup, but are not expected to feature against Valladolid.
Also on Friday, struggling Sevilla will hope to climb out of the relegation zone. The Andalusians are down in 18th place ahead of their trip to Celta Vigo (in 17th), having failed to revert their situation since the sacking of Julen Lopetegui and the arrival of Jorge Sampaoli in early October.
Getafe (15th) face Mallorca (11th) and Cadíz (19th) host Almería (14th) in Friday’s other fixtures.
Barcelona host Espanyol in Catalan Derby
The Catalan derby is the pick of the games on Saturday as LaLiga leaders Barcelona host city rivals Espanyol. Barça have won 12 of their 14 games so far in LaLiga this season and lost just once. Espanyol, by contrast, have found life much more difficult with only two victories to their name in 2022-23. The Pericos are down in 16th ahead of this match, which will be officiated by controversial Spanish World Cup referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz. You might remember him from the Argentina-Netherlands game in Qatar.
“Winning the derby is key for us to get into a good dynamic,” Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen said this week. And Espanyol coach Diego Martínez told Marca: “It would be amazing to win it.”
Barça boss Xavi has welcomed back Jules Koundé to training following his World Cup exploits with France, but striker Robert Lewandowski sits out the first game of a three-match ban after he was sent off against Osasuna prior to the break. Forward Memphis Depay is expected to be made available for transfer in January and could be playing in his last game for Barcelona on Saturday.
Third-placed Real Sociedad are at home to Osasuna (seventh and just three points back) in an all-northern affair later in the day, with another regional derby bringing the matchday – and the year – to a close as Villarreal (ninth) welcome Valencia (10th) on Saturday evening.
(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.
There was plenty of football to feast on over the festive period as the Premier League returned. It didn’t feel as though there had been a break, with teams and players picking up where they left off. Here we take a look at some of the biggest talking points.
With his double against Leeds United, Erling Haaland became the fastest player to reach 20 Premier League goals. The Manchester City hitman needed just 14 matches to achieve this landmark, smashing the previous record of 21 – set by Kevin Phillips.
The 22-year-old is well on course to beat his previous season’s best of 27 goals and the Premier League record of 31 goals in a single campaign looks likely to fall.
It is the eighth time the Norway international has scored at least two goals in a single game this term and, in truth, he should’ve had a hat-trick against Leeds having attempted eight shots on the night, seven of which arrived inside the penalty area.
Tip-top Trippier
Kieran Trippier was a standout performer for Newcastle United in their 3-0 win over Leicester City. The England international created four chances for teammates and even finished with an assist – his fourth of the campaign. He looks odds on to beat his career-best haul of five.
The 32-year-old racked up a stunning 8.8 rating on the FotMob app and is currently ranked third across the Premier League with an average rating of 7.95 this season. He’s ahead of Kevin De Bruyne in the list and only Erling Haaland (8.19) and Rodri (7.98) can boast a higher rating than the former Atlético Madrid full-back.
Boxing Day blues for Southampton
Southampton fell to a 3-1 defeat to South Coast rivals Brighton on Boxing Day and are now bottom of the Premier League table following Wolves’ win over Everton.
However, Nathan Jones will be encouraged by their showing. While the hosts may not have had much of the ball (34%), they were the more dangerous of the two teams. They had double the number of efforts that Brighton had and a significantly higher Expected Goals haul – 1.91 to 0.64.
The more often they can post those sorts of numbers, the more points on the board they will rack up.
Table toppers
The pressure was on Arsenal heading into their match versus West Ham United. They topped the table at Christmas but lost Gabriel Jesus to injury. A key cog in the Mikel Arteta system, all of the talk prior to kick-off was centred around how this could be the beginning of the end for their title bid.
They did fall behind to a first-half penalty but their response was as emphatic as it could be. Buyako Saka, once again, found the back of the net before Gabriel Martinelli added a second. Eddie Nketiah added a deserved third as the Gunners extended their lead at the top prior to Manchester City’s game against Leeds.
Martin Ødegaard was the star of the show though. The Arsenal captain created five chances and finished with two assists. It was a performance that got him into the FotMob Team of the Week with a 9.2 rating, a score no other player could better.
Life without Ronaldo
Manchester United romped to a 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest in their first Premier League outing following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo. Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial both scored in what was a comprehensive victory for the Red Devils. Erik Ten Hag’s men created three big chances and finished with an Expected Goals total of 2.5 while limiting Forest to chances worth just 0.71.
The win means United are now just a single point behind Spurs in the race for a top-four finish.
(Images from IMAGO)
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After the end of the Men’s World Cup, club football is slowly getting back in to full swing. We did get a day off in most places on Sunday to celebrate Christmas, but there were fixtures galore on Boxing Day. So, this week’s column is out on Tuesday, recapping the action from the last four days.
After just over six weeks away due to the World Cup, the Premier League returned with a bumper fixture list on Boxing Day. The last of the day’s matches was a London derby between league leaders Arsenal and West Ham United, who were just hovering above the relegation zone.
The visitors got off to a decent start, keeping their opponents at bay in a 4-4-2 mid block and looking to pose a threat on the counter. They got the opener in the 27th minute after Jarrod Bowen was clipped by William Saliba in the box, allowing Saïd Benrahma to score from the penalty spot. They remained in the lead at half-time, but the pressure on them was increasing as their defensive block sunk deeper.
Unsurprisingly, it cracked pretty quickly in the second period. Less than 10 minutes in, Martin Ødegaard dragged a long-distance shot wide but only to the feet of Bukayo Saka, who coolly slotted it past the goalkeeper. Five minutes later, Arsenal were in front as Gabriel Martinelli made a bit of room for himself and fired in a near-post finish from the left, although Łukasz Fabiański must be blamed for letting it in.
Eddie Nketiah was starting up front for the Gunners in the absence of Gabriel Jesus, and he eventually got on the scoresheet in the 69th minute. He did so with a lovely turn and finish after a superb team move. Arsène Wenger was watching on at the Emirates Stadium for the first time since leaving his job as Arsenal’s manager, and he would have surely been reminded of the glory days by that goal.
It was a very convincing second half performance in all departments from the Gunners, so they sealed a thoroughly deserved win to mark their return to action.
There was a bit of a managerial merry-go-round in the Belgian Pro League through this de facto winter break, so there were four managers making their league debuts for their new clubs (or return to be more accurate in the case of Felice Mazzù at Charleroi). Among them was Bernd Storck at Kortrijk, who started off by facing one of his former clubs – the runaway league leaders, Genk.
After a defeat on the opening day of the season, Genk went on to win 15 of their remaining 16 games in the first half of the campaign, dropping points just once in a goalless draw with STVV. This helped them amass a double-digit lead at the top of the table before the break, so their chances of a first title in four years were looking good.
Kortrijk, on the other hand, were in the relegation zone and just a point off the foot of the table, so they were staring at a battle for top-flight survival in 2023. That’s why Storck had been brought in, and his tenure got off to a perfect start. He watched his side go toe-to-toe with the best team in the country and come away with a win that cannot be called undeserved thanks to an 83rd-minute winner from Felipe Avenatti.
In spite of this win, Kortrijk remain in the bottom three but are just two points off safety now, and only four behind 13th-placed Eupen – the side that sacked him in October.
The Turkish Süper Lig has returned to action, continuing across the weekend as most other European leagues paused. The headline fixture of this round was the last one on Christmas Eve, as defending champions Trabzonspor hosted league leaders Fenerbahçe.
Jorge Jesus has primarily used a 4-1-3-2 formation since taking over at the start of the season, but he switched to a 3-4-2-1 for this game. That seemed to pay off in the first half, as Fenerbahçe looked impressive on the ball, created a few good openings and even hit the woodwork once, all while restricting Trabzonspor quite well.
Their failure to make this count on the scoreline would prove costly. The turning point came just before the hour mark when Miguel Crespo was sent off after receiving a second yellow card. The home side wasted no time in making the most of their numerical advantage, taking the lead through Maximiliano Gómez just a few minutes later.
The 10 men of Fenerbahçe couldn’t really pose a substantial threat for an equaliser even after they switched to a back-four, so the then-inevitable result was sealed deep into stoppage time when Djaniny made it 2-0 to Trabzonspor.
This was the first time in over 14 years that Trabzonspor kept a clean sheet and won against Fenerbahçe in the league, closing the gap to their opponents down to three points.
This result also gave Galatasaray the chance to dethrone their arch-rivals Fenerbahçe from the top of the table, which they took with a win over İstanbulspor.
In the previous edition of the column, we covered a Melbourne derby that turned very sour amidst what already was a tough time in Australian football.
There was another derby scheduled on Boxing Day, featuring Victory again as they took on Western United in the Westgate derby. This game looked a lot different, as Melbourne Victory supporters were technically banned from attending this game, while their active end was closed. The first few rows of Western United’s active end were tarped off as well, and only their club members or those who had purchased a ticket before 23 December were allowed to enter the stadium. There was a strong police presence at the match too.
These are just a few interim measures that have been taken as Football Australia’s investigation of last week’s events continues and looks sure to result in sanctions for supporters of both Victory and City. As a result, we might have to get used to watching matches at AAMI Park such as this one, where the stadium was hardly a quarter-full with so quiet an atmosphere that you could hear the players and coaches shouting on TV.
The match itself was not particularly pulsating either, as United came away with a narrow 1-0 win after a first half goal from a corner by right-back Joshua Risdon. They should be quite pleased with their performance, though, as they played a man short for about an hour after Nikolai Topor-Stanley was sent off.
This result makes it back-to-back victories for the defending champions, who are now level on points with Victory and well within touching distance of the top six after finding themselves at the foot of the table a couple of weeks ago.
Perhaps their title defence is properly getting started now.
Ligue 1 returns on Wednesday, but Ligue 2 did resume this weekend with a full round of matches played on Boxing Day. The headline fixture saw the top two collide as Le Havre hosted Bordeaux.
Le Havre are one of the oldest French football clubs and were the first non-Parisian side to win the top flight title when they did so in 1899, but after successfully defending their crown in the following season, they have failed to reach those heights again. They remained Ligue 1 regulars in the latter half of the 20th century, but have been in the second tier since their most recent relegation in 2009.
As the French top flight is being trimmed to 18 teams, there will only be two sides going up from Ligue 2 this season, so the promotion battle is even tougher than usual. Still, Le Havre seem to have a very good chance of returning to the big time at the end of this season, as they went into the World Cup break with a four-point lead at the top of the table.
That advantage was extended at the end of this fixture, as Amir Richardson’s early strike enabled the home team to take all three points from this fixture even though they spent the last half-hour or so down to 10 men.
Le Havre’s lead at the top is only up to five points, though, as Sochaux have moved into second after beating Quevilly-Rouen later that night.
We are back in the UK for our last match of this week, which features a very unique story from Wales.
Airbus UK Broughton, once the works team of a factory which makes wings for Airbus airlines, have played 16 matches this season, which means they have reached the halfway stage of their league campaign. Yet, their points tally reads -2, making them the only European top-flight club with a negative points tally this season.
The reason behind that is that Airbus fielded an ineligible player in one of their league matches in early September, which they went on to lose anyway. Still, this drew a three-point deduction in accordance with the Cymru Premier rules.
Points deductions are not particularly unique, but the trouble for Airbus is that they have been really struggling this season. They have lost all but one of their matches – a 4-4 draw in late September – meaning they still have not recovered to a points tally of zero. They are 13 points adrift at the bottom of the table and 20 from safety, so relegation seems an inevitability at this stage.
That would not be something new for the Wingmakers, as they have become a bit of a yo-yo club of late. They finished last in the 2019/20 season of the Cymru Premier, but came back up this year after winning the Cymru North.
What they will want to avoid, though, will be finishing on a negative points tally. We dug through the archives, so to the best of our knowledge, the last European top-flight team who did so were Chernomorets Burgas Sofia in the 2006/07 season of the Bulgarian A Group, who were also docked three points and managed just one draw all season.
Our weekly preview column returns with a special edition to cover all the best action taking place over the weekend, through to the Premier League’s return on Boxing Day, and beyond!
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Monday
🏴 Just eight days after one of the most dramatic World Cup Finals of all time, arguably the world’s biggest domestic league returns to action. Boxing Day is always a significant day in England’s football calendar and that’s only intensified in the Premier League this year as we’re effectively starting all over again for the second ‘half’ of the 2022/23 season.
As it stands, Arsenal hold an impressive five point lead on reigning champions Manchester City, and it’s the Gunners who round off a day filled with seven Premier League games. Mikel Arteta’s men face West Ham at the Emirates, who despite languishing down in 16th, are unbeaten in four away games.
Three other top six sides are also involved on Monday. Newcastle, who along with Arsenal have the best defensive record in the division, go to Leicester City. Both sides won their respective Carabao Cup games in the week before Christmas so will have perhaps shaken off some of that ring rustiness ahead of this one.
Fourth placed Spurs, and possibly their returning World Cup stars – Harry Kane, Hugo Lloris and Son Heung-min – to name just a few, have a short trip across London to face Brentford while Liverpool play at Aston Villa. That’s a fixture that Jürgen Klopp’s side haven’t lost since that memorable Jack Grealish-inspired 7-2 mauling back in 2020.
The day’s other games see Crystal Palace play Fulham in another London Derby, Everton and Wolves meet in what could already be described as a six-pointer, and Southampton entertain high-flying Brighton.
Further down the English pyramid, we’ll have one eye on the Championship game between Sheffield United and Coventry City. Having recently signed up to become the Blades’ official livescore partner, we’re excited to see what they can do in the second half of the season – and three points on Monday would move them level with Burnley at the top of the table.
🇧🇪 Elsewhere, Europe’s next biggest league in play is the Belgian Pro League. Runaway leaders Genk, who are unbeaten in 16 games since the opening day of the season (W15, D1), go to relegation threatened Kortrijk. And three-time reigning champions Club Brugge are at home to OH Leuven, who sit eighth.
🇮🇹 Italy’s Serie B might not be a league you pay much attention to, but with so many famous old sides involved, not to mention a smattering of former World Cup managers in the dugouts – Filippo Inzaghi at Reggina, Fabio Cannavaro at Benevento and Daniele De Rossi at SPAL, you might want to make an exception for the rest of the season.
Six points separate the top four and two of those – Bari and Genoa – go head-to-head on Boxing Day. Bari were a Serie A regular in the 1990s but haven’t featured in the top flight since 2011 while Genoa were only relegated last season after a 15-year spell at the top.
Tuesday
🏴 On Tuesday, which is also a Bank Holiday in the UK, there’s two further Premier League fixtures to look forward to.
Chelsea will want to shake off a worrying a run of form that saw them lose four of their last five competitive games before the World Cup when they play Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge. And Manchester United begin the post-Ronaldo era with a home fixture against Nottingham Forest.
United lost recent friendlies against LaLiga sides Cadíz and Betis but bounced back to life with a solid 2-0 win over Vincent Kompany’s Burnley in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night. And perhaps crucially, returning World Cup stars Marcus Rashford and Christian Eriksen were both on the scoresheet.
Wednesday
🇫🇷 Stretching the premise of this column, as far as we possibly can, Wednesday will see the return of France’s Ligue 1. Unbeaten league leaders PSG feature in one of six top flight games taking place, as they face lowly Strasbourg. At the time of writing, we’re yet to find out exactly how many of their World Cup superstars will be on the team sheet. But we do know that Kylian Mbappé, at least, is back in training after he, alongside Lionel Messi, were the main protagonists in that memorable final.
This graphic perhaps best illustrates how important that front two, along with the likes of Neymar and Hakimi are to coach Christophe Galtier’s plans.
🏴 The one remaining Premier League game in the first round back will see Jesse Marsch’s Leeds United come up against Manchester City on Wednesday night. City will, of course, boast a well-rested Erling Haaland as they look to continue their run as the league’s most prolific scorers against a side who are without a clean sheet in their last 10 games.
And judging by Thursday night’s 3-2 win over heavyweight rivals Liverpool in the Carabao Cup, you won’t have to worry about Pep Guardiola’s side taking some time to get going – they’ve already hit the ground running. Not least, Kevin De Bruyne, who put the disappointment of Belgium’s World Cup campaign to one side and delivered a 9.0 rated performance that featured assists for Haaland and Nathan Aké.
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Everyone’s focus was understandably on the Men’s World Cup final this weekend, but there was a lot more going on in the world of football as always. So, here is our weekly column recapping some of the action, including the good, the bad and the ugly.
You’ll never see a World Cup final quite like this again.
Argentina and France battled it out in an epic climax to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which was ultimately decided by a penalty shoot-out.
Before that, it was La Albiceleste who started the game on top. After a dominant first-half display, they went into the half-time break with a two-goal lead thanks to Lionel Messi’s penalty and Ángel Di María’s finish, while France couldn’t even fashion a single shooting opportunity. They continued to look terribly flat as the second half kicked off, but with just over 10 minutes left to play, the drama properly began.
Les Blues were rather gifted a penalty which Kylian Mbappé gladly converted, and just over a minute and a half later, he scored again with a brilliant first-time volley from the edge of the box, even though he was off balance. The 23-year-old striker very much struck out of the blue, taking the game to extra time.
There were many missed chances in that half an hour, but crucially, two goals were scored. Messi struck first in the 108th minute by turning in a rather scrappy rebound, but just as Argentina thought they were within touching distance of the World Cup trophy, France were awarded another penalty. Mbappé took it again, and scored again, extending the match to a shoot-out.
Led by Messi, the Argentines, who had recently experienced such a situation against the Netherlands in the quarter-finals, were faultless from the spot. Mbappé did find the back of the net from 12 yards out for the third time on the night, but the two players after him missed, with Kingsley Coman’s effort saved by Emiliano Martínez and Aurélien Tchouaméni sending his shot wide. So, Gonzalo Montiel stepped up to take a potentially decisive kick, and he won it for Argentina.
La Albiceleste celebrated their first World Cup title since 1986 when a certain Diego Maradona was the star of the show. This time, the Golden Ball went to one Lionel Messi, who can finally claim to have won every major trophy he has competed for in his glistening career.
Image via Imago
He had previously said that this would be his last World Cup, although he gave mixed signals after getting his hands on the trophy. If this was the last time he has taken to the pitch on the biggest stage, though, he has enjoyed a fairytale ending, as have his millions of supporters.
Two weeks ago, Australian football was experiencing one of its greatest highs as the Socceroos qualified for the World Cup knockouts for just the second time in their history. They bowed out in the Round of 16 against Argentina, but only after putting up a spirited fight.
Some even called that the start of a golden era for Australian football, and understandably so since things were looking quite positive at the time. A lot has changed since then, though, largely thanks to the APL’s decision to hold the A-League Grand Finals in Sydney for the next three years.
That decision was unanimously opposed by fans of all sides across the Men’s and Women’s top flights alongside many clubs, broadcasters and some players as well. The APL did not budge under this pressure, so a number of fan groups decided to protest by staging walkouts in the 20th minute of this weekend’s matches.
Things went pretty smoothly until the Melbourne derby on Saturday. In this match, flares were thrown onto the pitch around the 20th minute, but one of those that came from the Victory supporters landed close to City goalkeeper Tom Glover. He picked it up and lobbed it away, but back towards the stand with the fans. That sparked an angry reaction from a few supporters, who stormed onto the pitch and assaulted Glover.
The players quickly left the pitch, including Glover who suffered a cut across his face and a likely concussion. After a little bit of waiting, the fans in the rest of the stands heard the decision they were all expecting – the match was abandoned.
Even under these circumstances, the fans who came onto the pitch acted in a way that absolutely cannot be justified, and in the process, soured what otherwise have been peaceful and poignant protests. Only time can tell where Australian football goes from here, but it seems that it has taken more steps backwards than forward this month.
The Men’s World Cup semi-finals put us in the unique position of getting Women’s Champions League action on a Friday night, so we will gladly cover that in this column.
Group A had the most pivotal match of the day, as Paris Saint-Germain took on Real Madrid. The hosts had a two-point advantage over the visitors going into the match, where they were essentially directly competing for the second spot in the group. That was because Chelsea sealed progression to the knockouts with a routine win over Vllaznia in the early kick-off, effectively winning the group in the process.
PSG’s final group match was against the WSL champions, so Real Madrid could count on a favour from them. Therefore, they might have taken a draw from this game, but a loss would spell the end of their Champions League campaign.
For such a high-stakes affair, the game got off to an absolute flyer as the woodwork was struck at both ends in the first 10 minutes. It was the French side who took the lead a little later, as Élisa de Almeida scored following a corner. That rather took the sting out of Madrid’s performance, as their attacking threat waned thereafter.
The second goal of the game was scored 15 minutes into the second half, when Kadidiatou Diani converted a penalty that was rather gifted by a needless sliding challenge from Olga Carmona. Las Blancas finally began to show some urgency in their attacks a little later after a raft of changes, but they could only pull one back through Athenea del Castillo in the 81st minute.
That proved to be a case of too little too late, so Real Madrid suffered their first group stage exit in what was their second Champions League campaign. Of course, that means PSG are through, but only as runners-up, unless they manage to win by a significant goal margin at Stamford Bridge next week.
The Scottish Premiership returned to action with Rangers playing Hibernian on Thursday in what was Michael Beale’s first competitive match in charge of the club. The rest of the fixtures for matchday 17 were scheduled for Saturday, although a couple had to be postponed due to pitch damage caused by cold weather.
Rangers’ crosstown rivals Celtic were in action, though, as they made the trip to Aberdeen. They were faced with a staunch 5-3-2 block from the Dons, who defended with eight players behind the ball even when it was close to the edge of their box. Of course, that meant that the home side could barely fashion a shot at goal, but they did frustrate their opponents.
Celtic kept a whopping 80% of possession in the match and attempted 33 shots, but since Aberdeen always had so many bodies in the box, the majority of those came from outside it. It was clear that Ange Postecoglu’s side were going to need a shot to go in from distance if they were to come away with all three points, and eventually, with three minutes of normal time left to play, captain Callum McGregor found the bottom corner from the edge of the box.
That was Celtic’s 200th goal under Postecoglu, their first-ever non-European manager. Their title bid is looking good at the moment, as this win restored a nine-point lead at the top of the table.
Next we go to Honduras, where the second leg of the Liga Nacional 2022/23 Apertura final was played on Saturday night. The match featured the country’s most successful club Olimpia, who faced the most recent Clausura winners and the second-most successful club in the nation, Motagua.
The two sides do not like each other much, not least because they are both based in the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa where they share the Estadio Nacional. Their encounters are known as the Honduran Superclásico, or the Clasico Capitalino (Capital Derby).
Olimpia took a one-goal lead into this game from the first leg in Comayagua thanks to a stoppage-time penalty. This title decider was held in La Ceiba in front of a packed Estadio Ceibeño, where the crowd watched the Lions score from a corner on the stroke of half-time before going on to seal the result in the 69th minute.
With that, Olimpia lifted the Liga Nacional trophy for the 41st time in their history, which means their tally is now is over two times greater than Motagua’s 20.
We are staying in Central America for our last match of the week, crossing the border from Honduras to Guatemala. The top-flight league here is also called the Liga Nacional, and it too crowned a champion in the second leg of the Apertura final this weekend.
This was set to be a special final, as both of Guatemala’s most successful clubs were not a part of it. Municipal and Comunicaciones, both based in the capital Guatemala City, have 31 titles each in the professional era – as many as all of the other sides combined. They were on opposite sides of the play-off bracket, but both were eliminated in the semi-finals.
Instead, Antigua Guatemala and Cobán Imperial, who finished first and second in the table, were vying for the title. Both sides had previously lifted the title, with Antigua having done so four times in the last decade, whereas Cobán had only done so once back in 2004. After that, they spent 8 seasons from 2007/08 to 2014/15 in the lower tiers of Guatemalan football but returned to the Liga Nacional in the summer of 2015.
Now, they have reconquered the summit of the top flight. There was just one goal scored in about three hours of football across the two legs of the final, so Robin Betancourth’s name will live long in Cobán Imperial’s history. They are the oldest team currently playing in Guatemala’s Liga Nacional, so there are few fans of Guatemalan football who will begrudge their success. Cobán will hope to continue competing for the foreseeable future, especially when they celebrate their 100-year anniversary in 2024.
