Home truths for Napoli after “hard stop” against Atalanta , who rarely fail to amazeAfter the 3-0 home defeat, Napoli boss Antonio Conte said “Atalanta are a better team, they’ve been on a journey for years…” He’s probably right on both counts, but it’s worth noting that the “journey” that he talks about is more about the club and the mentality than the personnel. Half the XI who resoundingly won at the San Paolo weren’t at the club just 18 months ago, and yet they look as if they’ve been working in Gian Luigi Gasperini’s system for years, mainly because, yes, he’s a great coach at a very well run club.
Five top-five finishes in the past six years — plus the Europa League victory over mighty Bayer Leverkusen last season — both feats against better resourced opponents speak to a club and coach who are very much in sync and who simply make better choices than the competition. And consistency engenders belief and buy-in, which is why it’s easier for Gasperini to get his message across. Or, as he did on Sunday, drop Serie A ‘s leading goalscorer, Mateo Retegui , to the bench. Unorthodox? Sure. But who is going to question him when he’s got that much cred?
There’s a parallel there with Conte, of course, in the sense that he comes in with the big rep from day one and this season has earned that buy-in with his results (at least before Sunday, when Napoli had but together nine wins and one draw in their previous 10 games). It’s just that what Gasperini builds over time, he has to build in a few months, and he never really builds over time because, well, after getting out of the gates quickly, he tends not to stick around very long.
The warning signs were there for Napoli, despite their impressive run of form. They beat Milan without dominating in midweek and before that, had a couple 1-0 wins (one deserved, one less so). Conte has the luxury of no European football and, broadly, getting the players he wanted in the summer. But you hope he’s the first to realize that his team aren’t where he wants them to be. That won’t happen until Romelu Lukaku starts producing, until Billy Gilmour can fill Stanislav Lobokta’s shoes (or Lobotka returns), until David Neres can live up to his fee.
Big talking points still to come around noon ET/5pm GMT: More Marcotti! Thoughts on Man United 1-1 Chelsea , Barcelona’s latest big win and more…
Quick hits Bayern Munich roll on, the Barca debacle behind them: That’s three wins on the spin, 12 goals scored, nine conceded. And on Saturday, the 3-0 win came against Union Berlin, hardly pushovers as evidenced by the fact they were joint third going into the game. Harry Kane bagged two (and is on pace for a 40-goal season), Jamal Musiala showed (again) why this team is nowhere near as good when he’s not there, but most encouraging I thought is how some of the more criticised players — central defenders Min Jae Kim and Dayot Upamecano , Alphonso Davies out wide and the man in the middle, Joshua Kimmich — are all clicking nicely.
Juventus win, but we might as well get used to them being inconsistent for a while:Parma in midweek and now good agai in a 2-0 away win at Udinese . They looked good in spots, Kenan Yildiz showed (again) that he’s a player-and-a-half, Teun Koopmeiners started and Khephren Thuram had his best game in a Juventus shirt. The flip-side? Udinese were poor (Kenan Davis aside), possession was too often sterile, Lorenzo Lucca hit the woodwork and Michele Di Gregorio had to make a big save. The upshot? Up-and-down performances are normal for young sides missing key players and with a newly installed coach who sees the game differently than his predecessors. Nothing wrong with that.
play 1:42
How Arne Slot has revitalised Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool
Gab & Juls discuss Arne Slot’s start at Liverpool after inheriting Jurgen Klopp’s squad.
Liverpool show signs of wear, but come back to beat Brighton and go top: Arne Slot himself complained about how poor they looked in the first half, when Brighton scored one and could have had more. Blame it on a combination of Brighton being a tough out, some individuals having an off day (Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai spring to mind) and the accumulated fatigue of Champions League football for a side that doesn’t rotate much. Some oomph off the bench, a bit of luck on Cody Gakpo ‘s goal and some magic from Mohamed Salah turned it around. Slot and Liverpool enter the week on top of the Premier League table. It’s understandable that he hasn’t rotated much thus far, but to stay top down the stretch, he’ll likely need to do it far more.
Milan grind out a 1-0 win at Monza , but this doesn’t feel like a Fonseca team: I say this because he made his name with sides that were dynamic and possession-oriented. This Milan side are dynamic but too often incapable of doing much with the ball, especially against opponents who sit tight like Monza did. Their best work — and Tijjani Reijnders ‘ goal — came in transition. Sure, Rafael Leão was on the bench again (he came on and delivered a moment of fruitless magic) and Youssouf Fofana needs to find his feet as a playmaker but right now so much of the difference-making moments in this team come from individuals: like Mike Maignan ‘s save off Pedro Pereira or Theo Hernández turning on the afterburners or Christian Pulisic running himself into the ground. That whole value-add thing isn’t there yet, and Real Madrid are next up midweek in the Champions League…
Wasteful PSG held to one goal by 10-man Lens as it’s Marco Asensio ‘s turn to audition up front: Ousmane Dembélé broke the ice early on and you were hoping for an open, competitive game between Paris Saint-Germain and Lens. Instead it was one-way traffic, with Luis Enrique’s team piling up (and missing) their chances and Lens flailing (other than Brice Samba ‘s heroics in goal). Lens going down to 10 men early in the second half obviously didn’t help matters. After trying Kang-In Lee and Dembele in the role, we saw Marco Asensio get the nod at centerforward. He’ll get criticism for the missed chances, but if you’re going to insist on a “false nine,” he’s probably a better option than the other two. Or, you could just keep it simple and give poor old Randal Kolo Muani — you know, the guy PSG paid €75 million in transfer fees for 15 months ago — a run of games? He has just two starts this season and was an unused sub this weekend.
play 1:04
Leboeuf on EPL title: ‘Burying City will be a big mistake’
Frank Leboeuf isn’t ready to count Manchester City out of the Premier League title race despite their 32-game unbeaten run coming to an end.
Man City’s unbeaten league streak ends at 32 with deserved defeat at Bournemouth: First off, hats off to Bournemouth and Andoni Iraola because in their last three games, they beat Arsenal and City and got a point away to Aston Villa . Saturday’s win over City was comprehensive, especially in a first half in which the defending champions notched zero shots on target and mustered an xG of only 0.18. (Even with Erling Haaland ‘s late close-range double misses, Bournemouth still won the xG battle, 2.04 to 1.56.) Obviously you question Pep at your peril — he has the record to back it up — but his squad management is, sometimes, curious. He started Kyle Walker , who apparently had all of six minutes of training and had a rough game and left him on for 90 minutes. This, despite having Rico Lewis on the bench. Despite being 2-0 down and creating close to nothing, his only two changes were sending on Lewis with 17 minutes left and Jérémy Doku with five left. Savinho stayed rooted to the bench, as did Kevin De Bruyne (who hasn’t played in six weeks, but presumably can hit a dead ball). Sure, injuries bite, but on this occasion I’m not sure Pep made things better.
Tap-ins still to come around noon ET/5 p.m. GMT: Thoughts on Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund vs. RB Leipzig , Atletico Madrid, and Tottenham vs. Aston Villa…
