Page 62 – The Pulse of Football

Feb

2023

This Weekend: Madrid in Club World Cup Final, part two of Leeds vs. Man Utd and more

The best matches to follow this weekend

Friday

🇮🇹 It’s fair to say that Milan don’t go in to tonight’s game against Torino in the best of form. Winless in seven – across all competitions – and with a record of scored two, conceded 13 in their last four. That run also includes what was then seen as a shock home defeat against tonight’s opponents in the Coppa Italia. The reasons why the defending champions find themselves in such a mess since the turn of the year is a topic discussed regularly in our weekly Serie A column and you can dive in to that by clicking here.

Stefano Pioli will be looking for something, anything, from his side to give them encouragement ahead of the Champions League knockout stages which begin on Tuesday with Milan hosting Tottenham Hotspur in the opening fixture.

Saturday

🏆 The headline game in tomorrow’s schedule comes in what FIFA would like to be the biggest club tournament in the calendar, the Club World Cup, currently being played in Morocco. European champions Real Madrid meet Saudi side Al Hilal in the final of the 2022 edition, supposedly the last in the competition’s current format.

Al Hilal are only present as representatives of the AFC with last year’s Asian Champions League yet to be completed so perhaps it is time for a rethink and a look at where the Club World Cup falls in to FIFA’s wider plans? Anyway, the Saudi giants have impressed; coming from behind to beat African champions Wydad, and then knocking out Copa Libertadores holders Flamengo in the semi-finals. Madrid came to Morocco missing a number of key players but shook off their recent poor form to put four past Egypt’s Al Ahly in their semi-final on Wednesday night.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Back to domestic action and it’s shaping up to be another busy day in the Premier League. Ahead of next week’s showdown with Manchester City (due Wednesday), Arsenal host in-form Brentford at the Emirates. The Bees are unbeaten in nine league games and up to seventh while the Gunners will no doubt want to prove last weekend’s defeat at Everton was just a blip. With both Manchester clubs playing on Sunday, a win would increase their lead at the top of the table to eight points.

There’s another all-London tie in the lunchtime kick-off with Graham Potter’s Chelsea heading to West Ham United. The hosts might be thinking they’ve turned the corner with just one defeat in their last five but they still find themselves one place and one point outside the relegation zone. For their part, Chelsea sit ninth, unbeaten in three. But with a record of three goals scored in seven games since the turn of the year, their fans will be looking for more, especially after their recent exploits in the transfer market.

With that Champions League game against Milan coming up fast, Tottenham Hotspur may be without their manager Antonio Conte in the dugout for their fixture at Leicester City. The Italian coach returned to the training ground following surgery on his gallbladder this week but perhaps the rigours of the touchline will come too soon?

In the late kick-off, Eddie Howe returns to Bournemouth with Newcastle United. The Cherries are another side seriously lacking in goals and their former manager could leave them further in the relegation mire should the Magpies come away with the win that current form suggests.

🇫🇷 PSG will still be smarting from Wednesday’s defeat to Classique-rivals Marseille in the Coupe de France and they face a tough looking fixture at the weekend too, with a trip to fourth placed Monaco. The reigning champions boast a eight point lead in Ligue 1 but probably can’t afford to rest any of their superstars with Tuesday night’s all-important Champions League clash with Bayern Münich also on the mind of coach Christophe Galtier.

Second placed Marseille have been in good form of late – last weekend’s defeat to Nice was their only setback in 12 games since their own Champions League campaign came to an end back in November. Mid-table Clermont Foot are their weekend opponents, a side with something of a reputation for punching above their weight – they’ve beaten Lyon and Rennes and drawn with Lille and Nantes in 2023 alone.

🇩🇪 The Bundesliga provides six fixtures for our entertainment on Saturday and with a compact top six separated by just six points, none of the top sides will want to slip up now.

Last weekend, Bayern played last and needed a 4-2 win at Wolfsburg to re-take top spot from Union Berlin, who’d beaten Mainz on Saturday. Now, Bayern face relegation threatened Bochum, a side who enjoyed their biggest win of the season in their last league fixture (5-2 vs. Hoffenheim) but were brought back down to earth by a midweek defeat in the DFB Pokal (2-1 vs. Dortmund).

Union feature in the day’s headliner, against fourth placed RB Leipzig. Three points divide the two and after wins in their last two meetings, perhaps Union are better placed than most to upset Leipzig, who boast the best home record in the division.

Third placed Dortmund also feature, with Edin Terzić’s in-form side going to Werder Bremen, where they’ll need to be wary of the league’s top scorer, Niclas Füllkrug.

Sunday

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Leeds and Manchester United renew hostilities on Sunday with a quirk in the Premier League calendar meaning these two cross-Pennine rivals play each other for the second time this week.

Having removed coach Jesse Marsch from his position on Monday, the Yorkshire United impressed on Wednesday, and were two goals up shortly after half-time thanks to Wilfried Gnonto and an OG from Raphaël Varane. But facing embarrassment on home soil, Manchester United rallied to earn a share of the spoils – levelling the game with goals from Marcus Rashford and a seemingly rejuvenated Jadon Sancho.

With Leeds hovering one point outside of the drop zone and Erik ten Hag’s side looking up the table from third, neither will want to lose out in this one.

The day’s other game features Manchester City, against Unai Emery’s Aston Villa. City created chances but didn’t look like ending their recent hoodoo, going down to another defeat at Spurs last weekend, so they’ll be hoping Erling Haaland can get back to doing what he does best against a side that they haven’t lost to since 2013.

🇪🇸 While Madrid are distracted by the pursuit of another trophy in Morocco, Barcelona have another opportunity to stretch their already sizeable lead at the top of LaLiga. Thanks to last Sunday’s win against Sevilla combined with Madrid’s slip-up at Mallorca, that lead currently stands at eight points.

But Barça will have to overcome sixth placed Villarreal to do that. The Yellow Submarine started 2023 in impressive form but after back-to-back defeats to Rayo Vallecano and Elche, who hadn’t won any of their previous 19 games prior to that, this could be a good time to visit.

Elsewhere, Atlético Madrid face a tricky trip to Celta Vigo. The Galicians have struggled this season but are on the rise after beating top half stalwarts Athletic Club and Real Betis in their last two fixtures.

🇮🇹 Serie A’s main action takes place on Sunday, as is traditional. And we’ll get the spectacle of top vs. bottom as Napoli play Cremonese. The latter are the only side remaining in Europe’s top five leagues without a league win to their name but this will be a revenge mission of sorts for the leaders. Just last month, Napoli suffered a penalty shoot out defeat to Cremonese in the Coppa Italia having lead the game 2-1 until the dying minutes.

Juventus, who remain in lodged in eleventh pending appeal against their 15 point deduction, face thirteenth placed Fiorentina. Typically, Dušan Vlahović was finally back in the goals in Juve’s win at Salernitana on Tuesday so the visitors may be dreading the prospect of coming up against their former star striker.

🇧🇪 We’re still a couple of months away from the all-important split in the Belgian Pro League season that’ll see the top four play-off for the Championship but this weekend will give us another indication of just how well placed Genk, the runaway leaders, are in terms of the wider campaign.

Reigning champions Club Brugge currently hold fourth place and they feature in the Friday night against Union St. Gilloise, who sit second. After that, all attention will be on Sunday’s game between Genk, who have a seven point lead on Union, and Royal Antwerp, who sit third, a further seven points back.

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

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

Cover Image from IMAGO

Feb

2023

LaLiga Review: Barça in pole position as Madrid jet off to the Club World Cup

With Madrid set to join the action at FIFA’s jamboree of continental champions this week, they signed off with another surprise defeat. That gave Barcelona the chance to move further ahead in the title race while there were interesting results across the league.

By Ben Hayward, LaLiga expert

Madrid beaten ahead of Club World Cup

Already missing Karim Benzema and Éder Militão for their trip to Mallorca in Sunday’s early game, Real Madrid lost Thibaut Courtois in the warm-up at Son Moix and his replacement in the XI, Andriy Lunin, could only watch as the ball rebounded off the head of team-mate Nacho Fernandez – under pressure from Vedat Muriqi – and into the back of the net after 13 minutes. Unlucky for some.

That goal was fortunate for Mallorca but turned out to be the winner after Marco Asensio saw his penalty saved by Predrag Rajković on the hour. Asensio, who came through the youth system at Mallorca, held his head in disappointment. It was not a happy homecoming for the Palma-born midfielder.

Real never truly found their rhythm and that was partly because Mallorca committed 29 fouls over the 90 minutes – more than any team in LaLiga this season. Vinicíus Juníor was given particularly rough treatment by the home side’s defenders and was also targeted with racial abuse by some in the crowd. Such behaviour remains all too common in Spain and needs to be stamped out.

Already five points behind Barcelona at kick-off, Madrid’s defeat saw them fall eight back after the Catalans beat Sevilla 3-0 at Camp Nou later on Sunday. It is a long way back for Los Blancos.

But before Real flew out to the FIFA Club World Cup on Monday, coach Carlo Ancelotti was defiant. “Now we have the [Club] World Cup, which we want to win,” he said. “After that, we will come back to fight LaLiga until the end. We’re not finished yet.”

Barcelona move eight points clear

It took a while for Barcelona to get going against Sevilla at Camp Nou on Sunday night, but the goals eventually arrived in the second half as Xavi’s side ran out 3-0 winners and moved eight points clear at the top.

Barça knew what was at stake before kick-off, but they had to wait until the 59th minute and inspiration came from an unlikely scorer too as Jordi Alba popped up at the far post to slot home following a Franck Kessié through ball.

Gavi later made it 2-0 with a tap-in following a clever pass by Raphinha and the Brazilian scored the third himself with 11 minutes left after he was set up by Alba to round off an emphatic win for the Blaugrana in front of their own fans.

“Look at the way we’re playing at the moment, the confidence, the result, many games unbeaten,” Xavi said. “The players’ work is immense.” But he refused to rule out Real Madrid. “They can still win LaLiga,” he said. “We can’t let our guard down.”

The one negative for Barça was an injury to Sergio Busquets, who is expected to be sidelined for two to three weeks and is likely to miss the Europa League play-off first leg against Manchester United.

Elche finally win, Betis beaten by Celta in a thriller

At the bottom of the table, Elche finally won a match! The verdiblancos had gone 19 matches without a win, but beat Villarreal 3-1 to end that sorry streak as Pere Milla scored a hat-trick at the Martínez Valero (including two penalties). Unfortunately for Elche, he then went off injured with a fractured collar bone and will be out for some time.

In Seville, Real Betis lost out to Celta Vigo in a seven-goal thriller on Saturday as the Galicians moved up to 12th place in the table. Celta are now four points above the drop zone. But Valencia, beaten 1-0 by Girona, are only one clear of the bottom three.

And on Monday night, Rayo Vallecano continued their fantastic form with a 2-0 win over Almeria at Vallecas. Rayo have one of the smallest spending budgets in LaLiga, but are up to fifth in the table under Andoni Iraola. Amazing.

Real Sociedad stay in third despite defeat at home to Real Valladolid on Sunday. Chances came and went for the Basque side at the Reale Arena and Cyle Larin’s late header claimed an important win for the visitors. Valladolid are up to 13th.

Meanwhile, fourth-placed Atlético Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Getafe on Saturday. Bizarrely, Ángel Correa saw an effort ruled out and then subsequently awarded by VAR in the second half, by which time he had been substituted and was mobbed by his team-mates on the side of the pitch. Getafe levelled through a penalty from Enes Ünal late in the game, but Atlético saw a good appeal of their own turned down and are the only team in LaLiga without a spot-kick to their name this 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.

Feb

2023

Serie A Review: Milan suffer more misery in the Derby as Lazio continue to impress

This week we discuss what’s going wrong with Milan as Inter inflict another defeat on their city rivals and look at how Sarri-ball is beginning to work out for Lazio. Plus we introduce the wider world to a cult hero at Lecce.

By Matteo Bonetti, US Serie A expert

Milan’s dark abyss

Milan’s dreadful 2023 shows no signs of slowing down. The club is now winless in their last seven matches in all competitions, having conceded 18 goals in that stretch. We keep asking when this team will show a response, battle back from adversity; but the situation seems to be getting more dire as the weeks go on. Less than a month ago, we were asking if Milan had half a chance of challenging Napoli’s Scudetto hopes. Now, we’re wondering if this club can even get into the top four. They’re currently sixth place in the standings, in what will undoubtedly be one of the tightest races for a Champions League spot in recent memory.

Losing once again to Inter didn’t help their cause. Even more perplexing were Stefano Pioli’s managerial choices before the game. Pioli has stayed true to a 4-2-3-1 formation since joining the club three years ago, but scrapped that in a panic to go for a more defensively sound and balanced 3-5-2. If the idea was to play a defensive low block and absorb Inter’s pressure while hitting out on the counter, then the omission of last season’s Serie A MVP Rafael Leão is inexcusable. Leão isn’t just Milan’s best player by a long distance, but someone who can change the course of the game every time he touches the ball because of how electrifying and unpredictable his style is. Even if the Portuguese winger has been going through a rough patch, benching him in the derby against Inter is blasphemous.

What’s even more worrying now is Milan has seemingly lost their identity. Before, they were a team that pressed well, defended even better, and looked competent in possession. Now, they can’t do any of those things well. Inter dominated the Rossoneri in the first half and should’ve scored more than just the one goal. In the second, Inter played slightly more passively and the game changed a bit when (surprise, surprise) Rafael Leão came on. Even if Leão isn’t touching the ball, he fundamentally changes the way a defence will line up against Milan. Without him on the pitch, Inter had no fear to send everyone forward and play with a high line in the first half. Olivier Giroud isn’t exactly a pace merchant and Divock Origi is still an enigma.

Milan’s next two games don’t look promising either. They face a Torino side that knocked them out of the Coppa Italia this year and then host Antonio Conte’s Tottenham, who just won against Manchester City in the Premier League. Milan have hardly tasted Champions League knockout action in the last decade, so for them to get out of the group stage but face their round of 16 opponent in perhaps their worst run of form in the 21st century is devastating for the hopes of Rossonero fans.

Can Lazio surprise?

Last summer, virtually no one had Lazio finishing in a top four position. After all, the club is usually very conservative in the transfer market, opting for an approach which is based more on keeping their current stars rather than signing new ones. Their President Claudio Lotito has been known for being a bit tight with the wallet, so the club has hovered around this grey zone where they’re usually the fifth or sixth best side in the league every season. However, something feels different now. Ignoring the fact that Juventus have been taken out of the race with their -15 point deduction, Lazio are playing better in year two under Maurizio Sarri. This is perhaps the biggest difference in their success as a team – adapting to Sarri’s tactics takes a long time. It’s why the manager had to scrap some of his ideals when he was the Juventus boss because winning meant more than anything there, and he knew that they’d be sacrificing their Scudetto chances if he actually went ahead with a complete tactical revolution at the club. Since Lazio don’t have the same trophy ambitions as the Bianconeri, he’s been afforded more time and patience to work his magic.

At their very best, Lazio is second to Napoli in terms of pure aesthetics. The peak of “Sarri-ball” at Lazio was seen with their 4-0 win over Milan last week. Their possession game, quick passing combinations and frenetic pressing is suffocating for the opposition, and even more impressive when you see that they haven’t been reliant on goalscorer, Ciro Immobile. The Italian striker has suffered some injuries, so Sarri has gone with a false nine look which he mastered at Napoli when he turned Dries Mertens from a rotational winger to one of the best goalscorers in Europe. Sarri has plenty of intelligent players to carry out his expectations. Mattia Zaccagni is perhaps the most underrated player in Serie A – the Italian has eight goals and four assists in the league, and does so many things well. Pedro is a high IQ attacker who has been part of some of the best offensive sides of the 21st century, while the midfield is stacked with quality with Sergei Milinković-Savić, Luis Alberto and Danilo Cataldi. The last thing Sarri has done is revolutionise the Lazio defence, which sent away both starting centre-backs and goalkeeper, to sign a brand new unit which has performed a lot better. That’s often a misconception about the manager’s style – that it’s just a great offence. Sarri’s teams have historically had a solid defensive record as well. It’s hard to concede when you’re monopolising possession, but defensively he’s always preached an organised approach and quick transition to a defensive phase if they can’t win possession back right away. Lazio just might finish in a top four position if they’re able to capitalise on both the Juventus point deduction and Milan’s poor run of form.

A new cult hero in the south of Italy

Federico Baschirotto has become somewhat of a hipster icon in Serie A this season. The hulking Lecce centre-back has gone viral with his Mr. Olympia style flexes after goals. What differentiates him from so many other players is a physical trait – he simply isn’t built like a footballer. In all my years of covering the sport, I have a hard time remembering any player who is more imposing from a physical standpoint than him, hence the celebration.

Baschirotto isn’t just brawn though, he’s actually looking like a competent Serie A defender after making his debut in Italy’s top flight this season, aged 26. Last season was only his first in Serie B with Ascoli, after spending his whole career before that in Serie C with household names like Cuneo, Forli and Viterbese. He’s been able to make the most of his meteoric rise up the football pyramid, with solid displays at the back for Lecce where he looks like a true enforcer and aerial threat.

Baschirotto’s name has even been linked with a move to bigger clubs in Italy, so it’s definitely one to remember.

(Images from IMAGO)

You can follow every match from the 2022/23 Serie A season live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage including shot maps, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Feb

2023

Premier League Review: Surprise results, record-breakers and impressive debuts

This was another weekend of shock results in the Premier League. The top two both lost while two of the bottom three claimed victories to help their fight against relegation. So, let’s take a look at the most significant talking points.

By Sam McGuire, Premier League expert

Wolves ravage the Reds

Ahead of the visit of Liverpool, Wolves had scored just 12 goals in 20 matches, an average of 0.6 goals per 90. They had two goals inside of 11 minutes against Jürgen Klopp’s side and captain Rúben Neves added a third in the second half to round off an exceptional performance at Molineux.

Liverpool have now conceded three goals in three of their last four Premier League outings and have scored just one goal in those matches. The Reds are struggling at both ends of the pitch and, as a result, find themselves stuck in mid-table. Luck just isn’t on their side right now and nothing highlights that more than Expected Goals, with Klopp’s men racking up an xG total of 1.96 against Wolves, just 0.07 behind their opponents. The scoreline, however, didn’t reflect that and that has been the case over recent weeks.

Arsenal come unstuck against the Toffees

It was an ideal opportunity for Mikel Arteta’s side to put even more pressure on Manchester City in the race for the title. With a five point lead and an early kick-off, the Gunners could extend their lead to eight points ahead of City’s trip to Spurs on Sunday.

And despite dominating the ball and having more shots on the day, Arsenal couldn’t handle the hosts. Under new manager Sean Dyche, the Blues finished with a higher xG, limited the Gunners to just 0.91 xG and created four big chances at Goodison Park. It was a masterclass in how to control space on the pitch and will no doubt be a staple of the Toffees under the former Burnley boss.

It was Everton’s first win since October.

Harry Kane, record-breaker

Kane netted his 267th Tottenham Hotspur goal to become the club’s leading scorer. His strike in the first-half proved to be the winner against champions Manchester City and those three points lifted Spurs back into contention for a Champions League spot next term.

The defeat extended Man City’s poor run away to Tottenham. In five trips across all competitions to Spurs’ new ground since it opened in 2019, City have lost all five matches and failed to score a single goal. They created chances yesterday but weren’t anywhere near as dangerous as their hosts.

Leicester City’s new-look attack

The Foxes may have failed to add Jack Harrison to their attacking ranks in January but they did manage to bring in Tetê. The deal for the 22-year-old may have gone a little under the radar but everyone will be keeping a close eye on the Brazilian now after his memorable debut.

His 8.5 rating could only be bettered by Kelechi Iheanacho (8.7) but the former Manchester City man did score and assist twice. Tetê scored, completed six of his seven dribbles and recovered the ball on 10 occasions to round-off one of the best debuts for Leicester in recent memory.

Brighton continue to impress

Brighton remain in sixth position following a 1-0 win over Bournemouth. Kaoru Mitoma was again the match winner and he’s now scored in three successive matches. The 25-year-old also has five goals and an assist since football resumed following the World Cup break.

He was the highest-rated player (8.1) against Bournemouth, finishing the game with a goal, an Expected Assists tally of 0.54 and he completed 75% of his dribbles.

Mitoma is quickly rivalling Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo as the player clubs are going to be courting in the summer.

Fernández makes his debut

Chelsea versus Fulham wasn’t necessarily one for the neutral. The Friday night clash finished 0-0 but it did give people to watch Enzo Fernández. The Blues paid a British transfer record to pry him away from Benfica and many wanted to see how he’d cope with the rigours of the Premier League.

He answered it, rather emphatically. Enzo won eight of his 12 ground duels, recovered the ball on 10 occasions, won five of his six tackles and finished the game with a pass completion of 85%. Only João Palhinha (8.1) could boast a better FotMob rating (8).

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every match from the 2022/23 Premier League season live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage including shot maps, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Feb

2023

Premier League Team of the Week – Round 22

FotMob TOTW – Round 22

Not many debutants put in as memorable a performance as Tetê did for Leicester against Villa. And Brentford and Wolves are represented by 3 players each as the former extended their unbeaten run to 9 and the latter beat Liverpool.

Who had the best weekend? Let us know in the comments.

Feb

2023

Last Weekend: Inter pile on the misery, Dyche arrives at Everton, Senegal’s CHAN success and more

We had another weekend packed with football all over the world, so now it is time to wrap up all that action. As ever, we will do that by picking out six of the weekend’s biggest matches and results from six different competitions for our weekly column.

By Neel Shelat

🇮🇹 Italy: Inter 1-0 Milan

The two big Milan clubs were on opposing trajectories when they faced off in the Derby della Madonnina on Sunday night. Inter have been revitalised since the World Cup break as they became the only side to beat runaway leaders Napoli in the league this season and went on to win all but two of their subsequent matches, including the Supercoppa.

Milan were the side who lost that match, as well as their two league games after it. In fact, they were on a six-match winless run heading into this fixture, prior to which they had dropped points to Lecce and Roma in the league and been knocked out of the cup by Torino.

Stefano Pioli decided to match the opponents by switching to a 3-5-2 formation in a bid to help his defence keep their first clean sheet since the restart. They did look a little more assured defensively (certainly better than last week when they shipped five against Sassuolo), but the lack of Rafael Leão meant that their attack was very blunt.

While they did not concede from open play, Milan did not manage to keep that clean sheet as Lautaro Martínez headed home from a corner just after the half-hour mark. That is all Inter needed to complete a pretty comfortable victory.

With that result, Milan have slumped to sixth place in the Serie A standings but will likely not drop any deeper as Torino are eight points behind. Inter, meanwhile, stay second but remain 13 points behind champions-elect Napoli.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England: Everton 1-0 Arsenal

Everton fans are probably enduring the worst season of their life supporting the club. There are major boardroom-level problems at the club which have been built upon years of mismanagement, and they are finally having an impact on the on-pitch performances too. Going into this weekend, the Toffees found themselves second from bottom and therefore in real danger of suffering their first relegation since 1951.

Their last few performances made it quite clear that a change of manager was needed, and that finally came after the loss to West Ham. Frank Lampard was made to pack his bags, while Sean Dyche was hired to take his place and steady the ship. His first task in charge came against league leaders Arsenal, who had only dropped points three times in the league.

The Gunners were coming into this game on the back of a loss to Manchester City in the FA Cup last weekend, but they were in fine form in the league having won four of their five games since the World Cup. Their attack seemed capable of blowing any side away on their day, and it would have certainly struck fear into a relegation-threatened defence.

However, Dyche had a plan to contain them. Everton defended very well starting with a 4-4-2 high block which collapsed into a 4-5-1 deeper, and there were clear imprints of Sean Dyche’s work as every player gave their all. Crucially, though, they also posed a significant threat on the counter and looked good from set-pieces, scoring the only goal of the game from a corner at the hour mark.

Even though they kept well under a third of possession, this was an entirely deserved win for Everton as they created by far the better chances and defended their box like their lives depended on it. With just their fourth win of the league season, they have moved up to 18th place and now are just a point from safety.

🇪🇸 Spain: Elche 3-1 Villarreal

Before this weekend, there were just two clubs in the big five European leagues that had failed to register a league win this season. One of them were Coppa Italia semi-finalists Cremonese, and the other were Elche.

The Italian side have extended their unwanted record, but the Spaniards have finally broken their duck. They have not taken a scalp of weak opposition either, as they beat top-four contenders Villarreal on Saturday. Pere Milla was the star of the show, as he doubled his league goals tally for the season with a hat-trick.

His early opener at the end of a cutback was cancelled out by Gerard Moreno, but the 30-year-old Spaniard put his side in a commanding position with two strikes from the penalty spot on either side of half-time. Unfortunately, he suffered an injury soon thereafter and had to come off on a stretcher, but his teammates saw out the win.

In spite of this victory, Elche’s situation in the relegation picture remains dire. Even if you doubled their current points tally, they would remain last in the table. It will take a real miracle if they are to stay up from this point.

🇩🇪 Germany: Bochum 5-2 Hoffenheim

The Bundesliga title race is seemingly heating up, but we will not be getting our hopes up too much for fear of having them dashed by Bayern putting a 10-match winning run together. So, for this week, let us turn our attention to the bottom of the table.

Hoffenheim’s visit to Bochum might be described as a bit of a relegation six-pointer, which is quite surprising given how well their season started. After winning four of their first six league matches, André Breitenreiter’s side have gone on to come away with all three points on just one subsequent occasion.

That has seen them slip from the top four to the fringes of the drop zone. Their opponents this weekend were relegation-battlers Bochum, who started the match in the relegation play-off spot. The hosts raced to a three-goal lead by half-time and both sides only exchanged a couple of goals in the second period, so Bochum kept all the points.

Thanks to that, they have climbed out of the relegation zone and are only behind Hoffenheim on goal difference now.

Having lost four of their five matches after the restart, Hoffenheim have decided to act to change their terrible form. As of Monday morning, Breitenreiter has officially been relieved of his duties as head coach and rumours of who his successor might be are already doing the rounds.

🏆 CAF African Nations Championship: Algeria 0-0 Senegal (4-5 pens)

The African Nations Championship – loosely defined as a tournament for international teams composed of domestic based talent, has been the continent’s biggest ongoing sporting event since mid-January, and it finally drew to a close this week. After Madagascar got the better of Niger in the third-place play-off on Friday, all eyes turned to the big one on Saturday.

Hosts Algeria made it to the final after a spotless campaign that saw them top their group with three 1-0 wins before putting five past Niger in the semi-final. Senegal made things a little harder for themselves by losing the opener, but got through as group winners in the end and edged Madagascar out in their semi-final.

Based on that as well as the fact that the vast majority of the fans at the 40,000-seater Stade Nelson Mandela were supporting Algeria, it was clear who the favourites for this game were. However, Senegal did very well to impose their game plan so both sides were restricted to very few presentable chances.

After a goalless 90 minutes, Algeria seemed to get slightly more threatening in extra time but failed to show that on the scoresheet, so the match went to penalties. Senegal were first to falter with their third attempted, but Algeria missed their last two (including a disastrous hop technique attempt that rolled to the keeper’s arms) to throw away the title.

So, it was Senegal who celebrated their first-ever CHAN victory, while Algeria have fallen short on penalties in the knockouts again in their second attempt.

🇦🇹 Austria: Salzburg 1-1 Sturm Graz (4-5 pens)

After a fairly long winter break, Austrian football was back with the quarter-finals of the cup. There were a couple of matches on Friday night, including a visit to league-leaders RB Salzburg for second-placed Sturm Graz.

The gap between them in the league table is six points, so Sturm will need to do something quite special to end Salzburg’s nine-season stronghold on the league title. In the cup, though, all it takes is one night to end a campaign, and that is what the visitors set out to do.

Their plan got off to a good start as Jusuf Gazibegović gave them a first-half lead on the back of an impressive performance. Salzburg grew more threatening in the second period, and after having an equaliser ruled out by VAR, they got one that stuck in the 77th minute. There were no more goals in normal time or extra time, so we went to penalties.

Manprit Sarkaria had the very first attempt of the shoot-out saved, but his teammates remained faultless thereafter. Maurits Kjærgaard failed to convert Salzburg’s fourth effort, so it was do or die thereafter. Nicolas Capaldo was the first to falter after Sturm Graz scored twice, so the defending champions went out of the cup.

For just the second time in the last decade, a side other than Salzburg will lift the Austrian cup. Sturm Graz were the ones who broke their streak in 2018, but Rapid Wien, Ried and LASK will be looking to prevent them from repeating the trick.

Cover Image from IMAGO

Feb

2023

This Weekend: The Milan Derby, FIFA Club World Cup and the return of the Premier League

The best matches to follow this weekend

By Bill Biss

Friday

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 After a brief hiatus for the latest round of FA Cup games, the Premier League returns with tonight’s South West London Derby between Chelsea and virtual next door neighbours, Fulham. This game comes less than a month after the last meeting between these two saw Fulham end a 16 year wait to get one over on the Blues. Goals from Willian and Vinicius came either side of an equaliser from Kalidou Koulibaly in a 2-1 win for the home side.

Since then, Graham Potter’s side have beaten Palace and drawn with Liverpool while Fulham lost consecutive games against Newcastle and Spurs before drawing with Championship side Sunderland in the Cup. The Cottagers sit seventh in the table, two points clear of Chelsea down in 10th.

Saturday

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 To make up for lost time, seven Premier League games take us through Saturday, starting with Sean Dyche’s debut / baptism of fire as the new boss of Everton as they take on leaders Arsenal at lunchtime. These two proud sides have spent more consecutive seasons in England’s top flight than anyone else and Dyche’s number one task is maintaining that status for a club that last suffered relegation back in 1951. He might just have to concentrate on the games that follow this clash against the Gunners who are currently unbeaten in 13 league games.

Everton’s next opponents are city rivals Liverpool (Monday 13 February) who find themselves in a relative crisis of their own. The Reds face a trip to Wolves, the only team they’ve beaten in a run of six competitive games – that win coming in an FA Cup replay played last week after an initial 2-2 draw in the first of what has turned out to be three meetings in a little over four weeks between these two.

Games involving sides higher up the table include third placed Newcastle United‘s home game at West Ham United and fourth placed Manchester United‘s clash with Crystal Palace. The St. James Park faithful will no doubt give their heroes a raucous reception following the midweek semi-final win in the Carabao Cup that secured Newcastle’s first major final of the 21st century but perhaps that won’t be the case at Old Trafford after United went on to win the other semi-final on Wednesday night. That’s just what they expect for a club of United’s stature!

🇩🇪 The Bundesliga has got off to an exciting start since German football resumed last month – thanks, in the main – to leaders Bayern dropping points across three successive draws. And with the Munich giants not playing until Sunday, that gives two in-form sides the opportunity to leapfrog them in the table, should they win their respective games.

Union Berlin are best placed, sitting second and one point below the leaders. They are at home to Mainz and will be looking to extend their unbeaten start to 2023 having won all three of their league games plus this week’s R16 tie in the DFB Pokal. RB Leipzig also progressed in the cup this week and they’ll be waiting in the wings for any slip-ups as the third placed side travel to FC Köln. In the day’s other big game fourth meets fifth as Borussia Dortmund and Freiburg face off.

🏆 FIFA’s delayed 2022 Club World Cup tournament got underway in Morocco this week with CAF representatives, and indeed, African football’s most successful club, Al Ahly beating OFC Champions League holders Auckland City in the opening play-off game. That means that the Egyptian giants have set up a tie with Concacaf Champions League winners Seattle Sounders on Saturday evening.

The Sounders, famously, are the first MLS side ever to participate in this tournament with the North and Central American place usually reserved for sides from Mexico due to their dominance in the federation’s largest club competition.

In the day’s other game, current African champions, and local representatives Wydad Casablanca take on Saudi club Al Hilal. The winners of that tie then go on to face Copa Libertadores winners Flamengo, of Brazil on Tuesday while the winners between Al Ahly and Seattle must play the might of Real Madrid.

❓Back in Europe’s big five leagues, we’ll be keen to see whether either of the teams still awaiting their first win of the season can finally break their duck in their respective games being played on Saturday.

Elche have gone 19 games without a win in LaLiga, scoring just 12 goals and amassing six points so far. They face a Villarreal side who sit fifth in the table but have only won two of their last five, albeit one of those wins did come against Madrid!

Things looks slightly rosier for Cremonese, who appear to be playing themselves into form in Serie A. Okay, so there record reads P20 W0 D8 L12 but they have drawn with Bologna in recent weeks and have made it to the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia after unlikely victories over Napoli and Roma! Now, they face Lecce at home.

Sunday

🇮🇹 The main event in Serie A on Sunday is the Derby della Madonnina, the Milan Derby, between Inter and AC Milan. And frankly, it’s scheduling is terrible timing for the ‘visitors’ with the defending champions having failed to win any of their last six matches. That runs includes a very poor performance in the Supercoppa, which was won 3-0 by Inter back in mid-January.

For their part, Inter have lost just once since the turn of the year and now sit second in the league behind runaway leaders Napoli. Their defence of the Coppa Italia is also going well having beaten the free-scoring Atalanta in midweek to reach the final four.

This weekend, Napoli will look to defend their 13 point lead in the title race when they go to Spezia in a lunchtime kick-off on Sunday. The home side have lost their last three, conceding nine goals in the process, so Luciano Spalletti won’t accept any slip-ups from his high-flying Partenopei.

🇪🇸 Before they jet off to Morocco to represent Europe in the Club World Cup, Real Madrid must first stop off in the Balearic Islands to play Mallorca. A win will – at least – maintain the current five point gap between them and leaders Barcelona after both sides completed the first half of the current campaign with midweek wins.

Marco Asencio and Vinícius Juníor were on target as Madrid beat Valencia on Thursday, maintaining a five-game unbeaten run since returning from their last international trip where they suffered defeat to Barcelona in the final of the Supercopa.

Barça have made hard work of their consequent fixtures since lifting that trophy, recording three back-to-back 1-0 wins while Robert Lewandowski sat out through suspension. Their Polish top scorer returned to score their winner in a hard thought 2-1 victory over Betis on Wednesday and he’ll be available again for Sunday’s clash with Sevilla, who are still working their way out of trouble after a slow start to the season.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Back in the Premier League two remaining games wrap up Round 22 on Sunday. With both sides active (or very active) in the transfer window ahead of Tuesday’s deadline, Nottingham Forest and Leeds United fans will be looking forward to seeing which, if any, of their new signings feature as the two clash at the City Ground.

And fifth meets second as Tottenham Hotspur host Manchester City later in the day. The last two meetings between these two have produced 11 goals – a dramatic 3-2 win for Spurs last February, and Manchester City’s 4-2 win just a few weeks ago in January. Spurs took a 2-0 lead in to the break in that game before City regrouped and stormed back in the second period. Pep Guardiola was particularly angry with his sides’ shortcomings during that match but will perhaps have been soothed by the consequent wins against Wolves, and Arsenal, in the FA Cup.

🇩🇪 As mentioned above, Bayern München’s form post-winter break has not been impressive in the Bundesliga, not by their own high standards. Julian Nagelsmann even went so far to call it a ‘crisis of results’ but his side did at least stop the run of three successive 1-1 draws by blasting Mainz away in the DFB Pokal during the week. Choupo-Moting, Musiala, Sané and Davies were all on target in that one and they’ll be looking for more of the same during Sunday’s game at Wolfsburg. The hosts smashed 11 goals in their first two games back but have since lost to Werder and been knocked out of the cup so they start the weekend outside of the top six.

🇳🇱 It seems like we give the Eredivisie a shout out every weekend at the moment but with one of the most interesting title races anywhere in Europe at present, the big games just keep on coming. This weekend sees leaders Feyenoord take on third placed PSV. The hosts have built themselves a slender two point lead but with the top five separated by just six points, the games between them become increasingly important – something Feyenoord can testify to after playing out cagy 1-1 draws with Ajax and Twente in recent weeks.

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

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

Cover Image from IMAGO

Feb

2023

LaLiga Review: The state of play at the halfway stage

Title rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid both played in midweek, completing the 19th round of games and therefore, the first half of the 2022/23 campaign.

By Ben Hayward, LaLiga expert

Barcelona strike first

Barcelona reached the halfway point in LaLiga with 50 points after a 2-1 win at Real Betis on Wednesday night. Raphinha had a fine header ruled out for offside after 33 minutes, but the Brazilian did open the scoring in the second period as he tapped home at the far post from an Alejandro Balde cross following a quickly taken free-kick.

Robert Lewandowski scored the second with 10 minutes left to mark his return to the side with a goal, having missed the last three matches due to suspension. Without the Polish striker, Barça won all three games by the same scoreline: 1-0. But his return brought an additional strike and it was needed too after an own goal from defender Jules Koundé, who chested the ball into his net when trying to clear with five minutes left.

“We played a great game,” Xavi said. “Our play was excellent. I’m happy with the result and with the way we played. We improved in relation to the Girona game.

50 points at the halfway stage means the Blaugrana are on course to equal the record points total in LaLiga, set by Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid in 2012 and equalled by Tito Vilanova’s Barcelona the following year.

“We’re leaders, we’re solid in defence, we’re working well,” Xavi said. “The work is paying off. The players are competing. I think today they played one of their best games of the season. I’m very satisfied.”

Betis, meanwhile, were unhappy that Barça were awarded a free-kick in the build-up to the opening goal when they believed it should have been given to them and also that it was taken ahead of where the foul took place.

“The first goal is quite conflictive because it was a clear foul on Aitor [Ruibal] and it wasn’t given,” Betis coach Manuel Pellegrini said. “[Instead] they get a free-kick and they take it 20 metres further forward…”

Betis are sixth despite the loss, level on points with Villarreal in fifth and three behind fourth-placed Atletico Madrid. “In general terms I would say it has been a good first half of the season,” Pellegrini said. “31 points which allows to be in the European spots. We have the dream and the ambition to qualify for the Champions League.”

Real Madrid strike back

Real Madrid beat Valencia 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabéu on Thursday night in the other fixture still outstanding following the recent Supercopa de España played in Saudi Arabia.

Los Blancos started the day eight points behind Barcelona, but closed the gap back to five at LaLiga’s halfway stage following second-half goals from Marco Asensio and Vinícius Juníor. Both were spectacular: Asensio fired home from distance with a fierce left-footed drive; Vinícius ran down the left flank and cut inside to finish with a low effort into the corner.

Karim Benzema assisted both goals, but was forced off with an injury on the hour mark. “It’s very slight,” coach Carlo Ancelotti said afterwards.

Ancelotti, who now has 150 wins as Madrid boss across two spells, praised Dani Ceballos after the midfielder impressed again. “He’s doing really well and we all recognise that,” the Italian said. “There’s a contract issue that they have to look at. It won’t be a problem if he keeps playing like that…”

At left-back, midfielder Eduardo Camavinga also caught the eye. “He doesn’t like playing there,” Ancelotti said. “But we like him playing there.”

At the end of the first half, Antonio Rüdiger had seen a goal ruled out and it was a fairly comfortable win for Madrid in the end against a Valencia side with Voro as interim coach following the departure of Gennaro Gattuso earlier in the week.

Valencia also had defender Gabriel Paulista sent off for a cynical foul on Vinícius after 72 minutes. They drop to 14th and are just a point above the drop zone after 19 rounds of matches. “He was frustrated and he lost his head,” Voro said. “The Bernabéu is so difficult with 11 men, let alone playing with 10.” And he added: “We have to lift ourselves up.”

This weekend’s action

This weekend, Barcelona are at home to Sevilla at Camp Nou on Sunday, with signs of improvement from the Andalusians in the last few weeks, but big question marks over their away form still.

Madrid, meanwhile, are away to Mallorca on Sunday ahead of their trip to Morocco for the Club World Cup next week. Also on Sunday, third-placed Real Sociedad are at home to Real Valladolid. And on Saturday, Atlético Madrid face Getafe in a local derby at the Metropolitano.

At the bottom, Elche are without a win after 19 games and will look to avoid the worst league run in their history by beating fifth-placed Villarreal at home on Saturday. Don’t bank on it, though.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every match from the 2022/23 LaLiga season live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage including shot maps, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Jan

2023

FA Cup Review: Wrapping up the fourth round

The FA Cup, once again, delivered. We had genuine upsets, surprise results and a number of eye-catching individual performances. We’re going to round-up the biggest talking points in this bumper review.

By Sam McGuire

The Seagulls continue to soar

Was this a cup upset? In previous years, Brighton defeating Liverpool would’ve been a shock but Roberto De Zerbi’s men claimed a 3-0 win over the Reds just a fortnight ago and sit three places above them in the Premier League.

This time, it was different. The hosts fell behind to an early Harvey Elliott goal as the visitors controlled the first half with their new look shape. However, a fortunate deflection via Lewis Dunk’s right foot restored parity and gave Brighton a platform to build on after the break.

A last-minute winner was needed but what a goal it was, with Karou Mitoma showing great composure to fire emphatically past Alisson having taken Joe Gomez out of the game. It was just rewards for an impressive showing in which Brighton limited Liverpool to an xG of just 0.04 in the second half.

Samba magic at the Madejski Stadium

When Manchester United parted with £60million to bring Casemiro to the club, they did so to shore things up in midfield. The Brazilian destroyer had been a black hole for opposition attacks during his time with Real Madrid and many expected it to be the same in the red of United.

What they didn’t expect to see was the 30-year-old bursting into the penalty area to latch onto a pass before clipping the ball over the keeper. Yet that is exactly what happened against Reading as Casemiro stole the show with two goals. He earned himself a FotMob rating of 9.1 having made five ball recoveries while winning two of the three tackles he attempted.

The former Madrid man now has three goals and three assists in his last seven appearances.

FA Cup drama at the Racecourse Ground

Is it possible for Wrexham to be involved in a dull game of football this season?

Ryan Reynolds was in attendance to see his side concede after only two minutes. The hosts struggled to break down a resolute Sheffield United side in the first half and created chances worth an xG total of just 0.59. Things changed after the break though. In fact, Wrexham’s second half xG of 1.64 was more than the Blades managed in the entire match (1.01).

The hosts scored twice in a 10-minute window only for Sheffield United to level things almost immediately. Paul Mullen, who else would it be, thought he’d won it in the 86th minute but the Championship side, sitting in second position right now, struck in added time to set up an undeserved replay.

An unlikely hero

Manchester City named a strong side for their match against Arsenal. With the two teams battling it out for the Premier League title, now was not the time to give Mikel Arteta any encouragement.

The Premier League leaders, however, made a few changes to their usual starting XI. Despite this, it was a fairly even game with very few chances of note. City managed just eight shots in total and had an xG of 0.51. Arsenal managed five shots and created chances worth 0.35 Expected Goals.

Pep Guardiola had loaded up his attack with Jack Grealish, Riyad Mahrez, Erling Haaland and Kevin de Bruyne all starting. However, the winner arrived when left-sided centre-back Nathan Ake found himself free in the penalty area before managing to curl a right-footed effort into the far corner.

These two teams do it all again pretty soon in the Premier League.

An all-Championship affair

Now this one was something of a surprise result. On paper, a 17th placed Championship side knocking out a team in tenth isn’t that shocking. But prior to this clash, West Brom had been in impressive form while Bristol City had won just one of their last six in the league.

Few could’ve envisaged what happened at Ashton Gate on Saturday as Nigel Pearson’s side romped to a 3-0 win over the Baggies. It was a justified scoreline, all things considered, with the hosts carving out four big chances on the day while limiting their guests to an xG of just 0.73.

No Kane, no worries for Spurs

Heung-min Son hasn’t had the best season in front of goal this term. Heading into the game against Preston, he had just one strike to his name since October and that arrived earlier this month in the win over Crystal Palace.

Antonio Conte made changes to his starting XI for this FA Cup clash and without Harry Kane starting, Son was tasked with even more responsibility in the final third. He delivered, too, with a 9.1 rating on the FotMob app.

He created one chance, attempted five dribbles, had four shots and scored twice as Spurs navigated their way past a Preston team who had defended impressively in the first-half.

The magic of the Cup

On paper, the clash between Luton Town and Grimsby Town had only one winner. Luton are riding high in the Championship, currently sit seventh, and their home record has been fairly impressive over recent weeks. Grimsby, on the other hand, are struggling in League Two and find themselves in 16th.

Yet Saturday’s clash at Kenilworth Road was fairly even. Grimsby took the lead just before half-time and then responded instantly when the hosts scored their second.

It may not have been a glam tie but it had everything you want from an FA Cup clash – the genuine threat of an underdog claiming the win.

(Images from IMAGO)

You can follow every match from the 2022/23 FA Cup live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage including shot maps, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Jan

2023

LaLiga Review: Good news for goal shy Barça as title rivals draw a blank

Join us as we assess the current situation heading into a busy week of LaLiga action that will see both Barcelona and Real Madrid play two important games.

By Ben Hayward, LaLiga expert

Barça extend lead at the top

Barcelona wore a new Senyera shirt for Saturday’s Catalan derby away to Girona and came away from Montilivi with all three points. But without the suspended Robert Lewandowski, Xavi’s side struggled to make the breakthrough. And after it finally arrived, they struggled to hang onto their advantage too.

Pedri, making his 100th competitive appearance for Barcelona at just 20 years old, popped up at the far post to poke home the game’s only goal after 61 minutes. Girona goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga should really have cut out Jordi Alba’s cross, but the Argentine made minimal contact with the ball and that mistake allowed Pedri a simple finish.

Girona pressed for an equaliser in the closing stages and substitute Iván Martín missed a glorious opportunity as he side-footed wide from an unmarked position six yards from goal in the 87th minute.

Lewandowski’s three-match suspension is now complete and without the Polish striker, Barcelona have won their last three games by a single goal: 1-0 victories over Atlético Madrid, Getafe and now Girona.

“I’m satisfied,” Xavi said after the game. “But we have to create more in attack.” With Lewandowski back for the game against Real Betis on Wednesday, it should be easier.

The bad news for Barcelona was an injury to winger Ousmane Dembélé, who could be out for a number of weeks. The good news? Xavi’s side extended their lead at the top to five points.

Real Madrid held by Real Sociedad

Real Madrid produced perhaps one of their better recent performances against Real Sociedad on Sunday, but Los Blancos could not find a way through against the in-form Basque side.

Vinícius Júnior saw several good chances come and go as Carlo Ancelotti’s side were forced to settle for a point at the Santiago Bernabéu, which leaves them five behind Barcelona with 18 games played apiece. Real Sociedad are just three further back in third, having completed one more match than the two Clásico rivals.

“We played really well,” Ancelotti said afterwards. “We deserved to win. The team are improving, they are growing.” But so too is the gap at the top.

Madrid had come through a tough derby against Atlético in the Copa del Rey on Thursday night, plus extra time, but Ancelotti was not interested in using that as an excuse. “We played at our limit for 90 minutes, with great intensity,” he said. Thursday’s extra time didn’t show.”

Asked if Real Sociedad could be title contenders, the Italian replied: “They compete really well, but it seems a bit too soon [for them] to win the league.” For his part, La Real coach Imanol Alguacil said: “It’s a point that almost feels like a win. We played a great match.”

Madrid are now at home to Valencia on Thursday as the teams involved in the recent Supercopa make up the matches they missed while away in Saudi Arabia.

Atlético win in Pamplona

Saúl Ñíguez latched onto a ball from deep played by Rodrigo de Paul to score for Atlético Madrid against Osasuna just over 15 minutes from the end of a fiery encounter at El Sadar.

The midfielder’s strike was the only goal of the game, despite chances for both teams, with Diego Simeone’s side probably deserved winners in the end.

It was a positive reaction by Atlético after they were knocked out of the Copa del Rey by city rivals Real Madrid on Thursday night, ending their hopes of winning a trophy this season.

“We’re out of the Champions [League] and out of the Copa [Rey], but the motivation is to play for Atlético,” Simeone said. “As long as I am here, I will demand that.”

The Rojiblancos remain in fourth place, five points behind Real Sociedad and three ahead of Villarreal, beaten 1-0 at home to Rayo Vallecano on Monday night. Betis are also three adrift after beating Getafe with a late penalty at the weekend. The Andalusians have played one fewer fixture than Atleti, but their game in hand is a difficult one – against leaders Barcelona on Wednesday.

Williams’ record run ends, Elche still haven’t won

For the first time since April 2016, Iñaki Williams was not involved for Athletic Club in a LaLiga fixture. The 28-year-old forward missed the trip to Celta Vigo with a hamstring injury, bringing to an end his remarkable run of 251 straight appearances for the Basque outfit in LaLiga. His record may never be broken. Without him, Ernesto Valverde’s side lost 1-0 at Balaidos.

Down at the lower end of the table, Sevilla beat Elche 3-0 at the Sánchez Pizjuán to climb to the relative safety of 13th place in the table. Although still inconsistent, Jorge Sampaoli’s side have won their last two home games and should move clear of danger now. Meanwhile, Elche remain rooted to the bottom with six points and no wins at the halfway stage. It’s a long way back from there.

Valencia were beaten 1-0 by Real Valladolid right at the death on Sunday and worse was to follow as coach Gennaro Gattuso walked out on Monday. The ever-reliable Voro now takes temporary charge for the eighth (!!) time at Mestalla.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every match from the 2022/23 LaLiga season live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage including shot maps, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.