Well, Europe’s big leagues gave us another big batch of talking points lot to enjoy, dissect and digest this weekend! From Chelsea‘s and Liverpool‘s chastening defeats — though for different reasons — to Napoli‘s latest big win and Barcelona‘s great escape against Valencia, and from Real Madrid‘s shocking 1-1 draw with lowly Girona to mighty Bayern Munich‘s 6-2 win that didn’t put them top of the Bundesliga, the weekend had it all.
Elsewhere, there was lots for Man United, Arsenal, Juventus and PSG fans to process.
– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, more (U.S.)
It’s Monday, and Gab Marcotti reacts to the biggest moments in the world of football.
Chelsea reality check as Potter’s side thrashed at Brighton
Let’s remind ourselves that Graham Potter has been in charge for less than two months, that he has his own approach to the game, and while he’s closer to his predecessor, Thomas Tuchel, than, say, Sean Dyche or Diego Simeone in terms of his football philosophy, he’s not particularly close and it was never going to be a seamless transition. That he walked into Chelsea in September without the benefits of a preseason, without a technical director, without a recruitment guy, without a number of scouts — all positions the club is working to fill — and with a club engulfed in the sort of transition that happens when there’s an ownership change after nearly two decades. That the previous summer’s recruitment with an “interim sporting director” who is not a sporting director and comes from a wholly different sport.
Remind yourself of all that, and maybe Saturday’s 4-1 trouncing away to Brighton isn’t that surprising. Potter blamed unforced errors and sure, that played a part, but it doesn’t fully explain Chelsea’s wretched performance.
The fact of the matter is that since Potter took over, Chelsea have ranked below the league average in categories such as shots, expected goals and expected goals conceded. In other words, they haven’t been particularly good. And while there has been an ever-so-slight improvement in results (both Tuchel and Potter were in charge for six league games, with Tuchel gaining 10 points and Potter gaining 11), that’s also offset by the fact that, other than Manchester United (which finished in a draw), Chelsea haven’t faced any top sides.
So where are we? We have the textbook definition of a “team in transition,” hence why Chelsea seem to change formation and personnel almost every week.
Potter has explained that the concepts remain the same, but they are testing different set-ups. Fine. It’s what you would normally do in preseason and at the training ground, but he has the luxury of neither: He was appointed in September and Chelsea’s demented fixture list means he gets very few training sessions to actually work with the players, something he had at his previous gig since Brighton didn’t play in Europe.
I don’t have an issue with him trying things out and sure, the injuries, especially at the back (Reece James, Wesley Fofana and Kalidou Koulibaly were all sidelined) forced his hand a little, but right now it’s extremely difficult to assess what kind of progress Chelsea are making. (I’m saying that based on what we see in the games, as training may be another matter). And when progress on the pitch isn’t evident, all you have left are results, which haven’t been scintillating.
I still think Potter, while a gamble, was an intelligent gamble, but he needs time — and lots of it — to get to where he wants to be. And my concern would be the patience of an ownership group that is diffuse and whose moves thus far don’t exactly fill you with confidence. Having committed to Potter, you need to stick Potter even if it means, maybe, not returning to the Champions League next season.
As for Brighton, this was De Zerbi’s first win, and he was beaming like a little boy at the end. He’s not a carbon copy of Potter, but as Brighton pointed out when they appointed him, he was a very natural fit with what Potter tried to do and a better fit with the squad he inherited. Certainly more so than the grab-bag of talent that landed at Stamford Bridge last summer.
The penalty against Real Madrid was bogus, but Ancelotti is right: it’s not a good moment
On Sunday, it looked as if the fairytale was going to end. Union Berlin were a goal down against Borussia Moenchengladbach and Bayern had beaten up Mainz the day before to move ahead in the Bundesliga table. But then Kevin Behrens pulled one back and in the seventh minute of injury time (which was kind of odd, since the graphic on my TV suggested there was only a single minute to be played), Danilho Doekhi, of all people, chose this moment to grab an improbable headed winner.
The fairy tale will end at some point. It has to. This defies logic. But it didn’t happen on Sunday, and long may it continue.
De Gea comes up big to save three points for uninspired Man United
Erik Ten Hag made a big call in dropping Antony to the stands and Jadon Sancho to the bench against West Ham, as Cristiano Ronaldo was restored to the starting lineup in the Premier League. The resulting 1-0 win against West Ham raises more questions than answers because after a solid first half, things got rather jittery towards the end and David De Gea had to make some big saves off Kurt Zouma and Declan Rice to preserve the win.
It suggests several things. First, that United struggle to put in a 90-minute performance when they’re not at full-strength. (There were bright spots, like Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez and Marcus Rashford, who scored his 100th goal for the club, but that second half was a tough watch.)
– Rashford focusing on top four chase, not World Cup
– Ten Hag: Man United to assess De Gea’s contract during World Cup
– Reaction: Man United look like a contender again
Second, that Ronaldo, at this stage of his career, needs not just a certain type of service, but regular playing time to get the best out of him. Otherwise, you start to get diminishing returns. It’s further evidence that it may be best for all if he can find a new home come January.
Bayern Munich hitting stride in 6-2 win, but it’s about the back four
Bayern Munich are on one of those runs that mean we end up taking them for granted. Six wins in a row in all competitions and 25 goals scored says it all. No, they’re not top of the table — thank you, Union Berlin, for retaining first place with a last-gasp win over Borussia Monchengladbach — but it feels like only a matter of time.
Saturday’s 6-2 win over Mainz saw them display quality all over the pitch: the exception, maybe, was goalkeeper Sven Ulreich, deputising for Manuel Neuer, though he did save a penalty. Sadio Mane was devastating out wide, Serge Gnabry showed he was on his way back, Jamal Musiala keeps going from strength to strength and Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting scored in his fifth consecutive game. But, for me, what could be most significant is that Julian Nagelsmann has found his defensive balance, with Noussair Mazraoui and Alphonso Davies shining out wide and the Dayot Upamecano-Mathijs De Ligt tandem continuing to build chemistry.
Arsenal needed a big win … and they got it
Valencia away was the classic “trap game” for Xavi and Barcelona. Rocked by Champions League elimination and financial uncertainty (Joan Laporta only has so many levers left) in midweek, they traveled to take on Valencia at Mestalla.
Already without some key players at the back, with 15 minutes to go it was still 0-0 and they had lost both central defenders (Jules Kounde and Eric Garcia) to injury. They’d had bad luck (hitting the woodwork) and good luck (Marcos Andre’s marginal handball in the build-up caused Samuel Lino‘s goal to be disallowed), but you could feel the fear setting in, before Robert Lewandowski‘s 93rd minute winner led to a huge collective sigh of relief.
– Highlights: Lewandowski lifts Barcelona to late win (U.S. only)
– Reaction: Barcelona move on from Champions League fiasco with big victory
I thought Barcelona played reasonably well throughout the game, and the xG (1.80 to 0.10) bore this out. Ansu Fati, getting the nod down the left, showed why he may be the most exciting teenager around, albeit missing a couple gilt-edged chances. Barca showed initiative and drive, albeit mixed in with a bit of chaos and insecurity. Still, Xavi got the reaction he wanted and they got the points too. And now they’re a single point off the league lead.
Defensive woes cost Milan as they fall to Torino and slip to third
We may have seen Milan’s worst performance of the season against Torino (worse still than the debacle against Chelsea). It finished 2-1 thanks to some craven defensive errors, but Torino could have scored more (and Junior Messias‘ goal probably should not have stood).
The old trick of making wholesale changes after the break to turn a game around didn’t quite work this time either, and Stefano Pioli has to take it on the chin. Are they running out of steam? Were they looking ahead to the crucial Champions League clash with Salzburg? Or was it just a wretched day at the office? I’d lean towards the latter, but Stefano Pioli is best placed to figure this out and take the appropriate steps. Whatever the case, a few more performances like this and top four becomes a question mark as well…
No, Man City are not dependent on Erling Haaland … chill out
Borussia Dortmund got a huge 2-1 win away to Eintracht Frankfurt and yes, there was a huge slice of luck about it. Edin Terzic’s crew were outplayed for long stretches, goalkeeper Gregor Kobel made some massive (and improbable) saves, and referee Sascha Stegemann admitted afterwards that Eintracht should have had a penalty when Karim Adeyemi felled Jesper Lindstrom.
Stegemann’s admission is a sign of transparency and being a grown-up: after all, people make mistakes. He said it looked one way to him on the pitch, but watching the replay he realized he should have called the penalty. So where was VAR? Well, Stegemann was in contact with them and he reckons that they didn’t feel it was a “clear and obvious error.” That’s not much consolation to Eintracht fans. And — I say this as a massive VAR proponent — it highlights one of the central issues with VAR.
The “clear and obvious error” standard is one thing, but if you suspect the referee would change his mind if he saw it again, should you not be compelled to let him take a look?
Youth powers Juventus to bounce-back win against Lecce
It’s something you never thought you’d read, right? Certainly not as long as Max Allegri — the man who likes to put players in “categories” like superstars, stars, squad players, second division players, youngsters, raw youngsters, etc. — is in charge. But yes, out of necessity Juventus started two 19-year-olds (Fabio Miretti and Matias Soule) away to Lecce and won the game with a wonder-goal from a 21-year-old (Nicolo’ Fagioli) on an assist from a different 19-year-old (Samuel Iling Junior).
I’m not sure any sort of light bulb has gone off in his head following this result, but the principle of “if you’re good enough, you’re old enough” ought to apply here, because many on this Juve team aren’t good enough or, at least, are no better than the guys Allegri has been starting.
– McKennie injury adds to USMNT’s World Cup concerns
Fagioli is a case in point. He’s an Under 21 international who played a big part in Cremonese‘s promotion from Serie B to Serie A last season. Before Saturday, he had played barely an hour this season. At other clubs, especially in other leagues, kids that age are given chances. At Juve, Allegri seemed to believe they were better off with Leandro Paredes(!) or moving Manuel Locatelli into the playmaking spot (and then lambasting him when he doesn’t perform like a deep-lying playmaker).
Hopefully Allegri learned a thing or two and those lessons will stick.
Tottenham’s fightback bodes well: Now it’s time for some consistency
You always wondered how Atletico Madrid were going to react to their elimination from the Champions League. When they went a goal down inside of 30 seconds away to Celta and Alvaro Morata had to come off injured 10 minutes later, it looked bleak. And it got bleaker still when they went 2-0 down with nine minutes to go. But then Joao Felix — the oft-criticised (often by me) Joao Feliz — who had come on at the hour mark, got them back into it. First by forcing an own goal with a spectacular overhead kick and then by unleashing a long-range rocket to make it 2-2 in the 89th minute.
Old Atleti might have lived to fight another day, figuring a point on the road wasn’t so bad, or tried to nick something on the counter or on the set-piece. This Atleti, however, streamed forward, getting caught on the break and conceding the goal that gave Cadiz the win in the ninth minute of injury time when Ruben Sobrino deflected in Ivan Alejo‘s goal with his belly. When it rains, it pours.
So where does Diego Simeone go from here? Well, there’s a Europa League to play for and, maybe, this was a turning point for Joao Felix (or maybe the umpteenth false dawn). But most of all, there’s a whole lot of thinking and reflecting to do.
Inter Milan make it four wins in a row, but ‘ultras’ shenanigans leave sour taste
Inter made quick work of Sampdoria, beating them 3-0 and looking impressive in all areas. With Nicolo’ Barella playing some of the best football in his career (and scoring spectacular goals), qualification attained to the knockout round in the Champions League and Romelu Lukaku on his way back to full fitness, they’re in a good place right now ahead of next weekend’s huge game against Juventus.
But the sour taste came at half-time, when Inter’s ultras ordered that their section of the ground be evacuated as a sign of respect after the death of a former ultras leader, Vittorio Boiocchi, who was 69, was shot dead an hour or so before kickoff in an incident authorities say was unrelated to football. (He had a string of criminal convictions and had spent a total of 16 years in prison for various crimes.)
Ultras, like “civilian” supporters, ought to be free to mourn whoever they like whichever way they like as long as it does not impinge in the rights of others. And on this occasion, it did. According to reports, they forced everyone who was in their section, to leave the ground, many of them people who had no idea who Boiocchi was. And, to compound matters, police and steward did not re-seat them elsewhere at the San Siro.
An investigation has been opened. Maybe Inter should consider issuing a few bans, just so some people can see what it feels like to be told you can’t watch and cheer on the team you support (and for whose game you bought a ticket).
