Another weekend, another defeat for Tottenham Hotspur. How much longer will Ange Postecoglou remain in charge of the north London club?
The title race in LaLiga isn’t quite over yet, as Real Madrid showcased some grit to eke out a narrow win on Sunday.
And in the Bundesliga, Saturday marked the 137th league edition of Der Klassiker, but it wasn’t an occasion that either Bayern Munich nor Borussia Dortmund will remember particularly fondly.
All that and more in this edition of Weekend Review as Julien Laurens, Alex Kirkland and Constantin Eckner look across Europe for the big takeaways and highlights from the weekend.
Top takeaway: Europa League hope keeping Ange in Spurs job
Of course, there is still the UEFA Europa League quarterfinal second leg at Eintracht Frankfurt to come on, but Postecoglou’s second season in charge of Tottenham is turning into an absolute nightmare. He and his players embarrassed themselves and humiliated the club and their fans in their 17th league defeat of the season, falling 4-2 at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday. It was a pathetic display marred by individual mistakes, clueless management and unacceptable attitudes.
Since April 13, 2024, one calendar year ago, Spurs have lost 22 Premier League games — more than anyone else among the teams present in these two seasons.
While there’s no doubt that the north London club endured an injury crisis earlier in the campaign, Postecoglou can’t even blame his side’s malaise on that anymore as all his players are now fit. He’s continually messing up his teams and his substitutions, getting his game plans wrong. The players have lost faith in him, the fans too, and the club is already looking for who will come next.
Only the Europa League is keeping him in the job, but that could change as soon as Thursday.
Best match: Man City 5-2 Crystal Palace
Manchester City are not what they used to be and neither is Kevin De Bruyne, but there is still a bit of life and genius in the old Premier League champions and in their soon-to-be former playmaker. From 2-0 down at home, City rallied to a superb 5-2 victory featuring five different goal scorers, with De Bruyne at the heart of everything. It was just like the good ol’ days.
The beautiful game lives here. Stream top leagues, tournaments and teams.
SUNDAY, APRIL 13 (all times ET)
• Bay FC vs. Chicago Stars (7 p.m.)
MONDAY, APRIL 14 (all times ET)
• Atlético vs. Valladolid (2:30 p.m.)
SATURDAY, APRIL 19 (all times ET)
• West Ham vs. Man United (WSL) (6:55 a.m.)
• Heidenheim vs. Bayern (9:20 a.m.)
• RB Leipzig vs. Holstein Kiel (9:20 a.m.)
• Barcelona vs. Celta Vigo (10:05 a.m.)
• Las Palmas vs. Atlético (2:50 p.m.)
SUNDAY, APRIL 20 (all times ET)
• Dortmund vs. Gladbach (11:20 a.m.)
• St. Pauli vs. Leverkusen (1:20 p.m.)
• Real Madrid vs. Athletic (2:50 p.m.)
Best match: VfL Wolfsburg 2-3 RB Leipzig
These two opened the matchday on Friday, with Leipzig’s attack running roughshod over Wolfsburg in the first 50 or so minutes. It looked like a comfortable win for interim manager Zsolt Lőw, only for Wolfsburg to get back into the game with two goals, but eventually the Volkswagen-backed club suffered their fourth consecutive loss.
Best goal: Waldemar Anton at Bayern Munich
Yes, Anton scored the goal, but what made it so spectacular was Guirassy’s ability to defend the ball from Eric Dier following a corner kick. He shielded the ball with his back to Dier and the goal, before then launching a shot that goalkeeper Jonas Urbig managed to repel, only for Anton to sweep in the rebound.
MVP of the weekend: Xavi Simons, RB Leipzig
Not only did the Netherlands midfielder score twice against Wolfsburg, but he also creaated a lot of chances for his team. “He has taken a huge step; his performance was absolutely perfect today,” Lőw said. The only thing Simons should have avoided was getting booked for complaining, which means he is suspended for Leipzig’s next game. — Eckner
What else you missed this weekend
Championship promotion races takes another unexpected turn
Only a week ago, it looked like Leeds United would lose out on the two top spots that grant automatic promotion to the Premier League, as they were held to their third consecutive draw. With two wins over Middlesbrough and Preston North End in the span of five days, though, Leeds are suddenly back on top of the Championship. They beat Preston 2-1 at home on Saturday in a one-sided game in which all three goals were scored within the opening quarter of an hour. It has helped Leeds that manager Daniel Farke recently decided to replace error-prone goalkeeper Illan Meslier with Wales international Karl Darlow.
Meanwhile, Sheffield United, previously top of the table, have lost three in a row, including a 2-1 loss at Plymouth Argyle, the last-placed team, on Saturday. Only a few weeks ago, Chris Wilder’s team seemed a safe bet for one of the two promotion spots, but after all, it might actually be Leeds and Burnley getting directly promoted and Sheffield, who were deducted two points due to defaulted payments to other clubs two years ago, having to play the promotion playoffs. — Eckner
