Gabriele Marcotti, Senior Writer, ESPN FCSep 23, 2024, 10:41 AM ET
What a weekend! Europe’s top leagues delivered again with a ton of talking points to dissect now that the dust has settled. Conceding a late equalizer will hurt Arsenal in the table, but it’s clear Mikel Arteta & Co. emerged with a moral and psychological victory from Sunday’s trip to Manchester City. Meanwhile, Christian Pulisic scored early as Milan won a typically feisty derby over Serie A champs Inter, and relieved some of the pressure on Rossoneri boss Paulo Fonseca.
Elsewhere, Barcelona surged to another win in LaLiga, but must do without elite goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen after what looks to be a serious injury. Can they sustain this pace without him? There were also talking points galore for Stuttgart (who beat Borussia Dortmund), Man United (who didn’t beat Crystal Palace), Liverpool (who got a goal from Darwin Núñez), and Chelsea (who are getting the best from Nico Jackson), and much, much more.
It’s Monday. Gab Marcotti reacts to the biggest moments in the world of football.
11 vs. 10 is a different sport, but Arsenal come out the better vs. Man City despite conceding a late equalizer
There’s a performance dimension to games like this, and there’s a result dimension. Sometimes they match, sometimes they don’t. And while Manchester City and Arsenal end up drawing 2-2 on Sunday, there is little doubt who emerges with more bounce in their step: it’s Mikel Arteta.
There’s the obvious point that an away draw against probably the best team in the world (and certainly the best in the country) is a huge boost. There’s the resilience shown playing for 45 minutes a man down and only conceding at the very end. And there’s the fact that you did it without arguably your most important midfield piece, Martin Odegaard.
Conversely, if you’re Pep Guardiola you’ll wake up grumpy. Sure, you’re still top of the Premier League, but so what? Your title rivals got the psychological lift, and you lost Rodri to injury too. You conceded one goal in part because your captain switched off, and another because your set-piece defending wasn’t up to scratch. Those 28 shots you took in the second half — 20 of them with an xG of 0.04 or less — were an exercise in repetition and futility, which is exactly what you don’t expect from a Guardiola side. And while hindsight is always 20/20, you might even come to the conclusion that you would have been better off if Leandro Trossard had not been sent off.
OK, that last one may be a bit of a stretch, but what’s evident is how much of an impact that second yellow in first-half injury time had on the game.
