Another European soccer weekend is in the books, and we have lots to talk about. Real Madrid gritted out a win ahead of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal, second leg, vs. Arsenal, though Kylian Mbappé‘s reckless challenge (and deserved red card) shows that all is not well with Los Blancos. In the Premier League, Manchester United were thumped 4-1 at Newcastle in a result that shows how lost they are, while Liverpool rallied to beat West Ham and remain on course for the title.
Elsewhere, Bayern Munich and Vincent Kompany learned a lot in an entertaining Der Klassiker draw with Dortmund, and we have plenty to unpack from Barcelona‘s narrow win at Leganes, Arsenal’s draw with Brentford, the Rome derby and much more. Here are some musings and reactions to the most memorable moments of the weekend.
Kylian Mbappe loses it and Real Madrid are stretched, but survive
This is when you’re tempted to put on your amateur psychologist hat and offer some thoughts on Mbappe.
On Tuesday, he (along with his Real Madrid teammates) was humiliated by Arsenal at the Emirates losing their Champions League quarterfinal first leg, 3-0. On Thursday, his lawyers filed a raft of lawsuits against his old club, Paris Saint-Germain, in an effort to recover the €55 million ($60m) in unpaid wages and bonuses he believes he’s owed. And on Sunday, probably frustrated at the way his game was going, he earned himself a straight red with a horrendous tackle that even his coach — Carlo Ancelotti’s son, Davide, in this case since dad was suspended — said was “a clear sending off.”
Elite athletes often operate in a finely tuned equilibrium of ego and confidence, and that’s a lot for anyone to take on. How he responds to this week will have a huge impact on the rest of Real Madrid’s season not just in whether they bounce back against Arsenal on Wednesday, but also in their run at another LaLiga title and the Copa del Rey. It’s a run that sees them keep pace with Barcelona following the 1-0 victory at Alaves on Sunday, which leaves them four points back.
Truth be told, things don’t look great and not just because Mbappe will now be suspended for two games. Sunday was their first clean sheet in nine games, and their last five wins have all come by a single goal. It was the usual mixed bag of individuals doing something special (Eduardo Camavinga‘s goal, the customary Thibaut Courtois saves) and individuals contributing very little — Arda Güler (though, to be fair, Mbappe’s red card forced him to play more a striker, which is clearly not his jam) and Rodrygo (who is really having a rocky time of late) spring to mind.
Newcastle United didn’t just defeat Manchester United 4-1 because they have something to play for — finishing high enough in the table to qualify for the Champions League — whereas United’s only meaningful games (in terms of results, anyway) the rest of the way will come in the Europa League (and, depending how things turn out Thursday night vs. Lyon, it might just be one more game). On the day, they had a better goalkeeper, better central defenders, better wingbacks, better midfielders and a better centerforward, so yeah, there was that too.
But you can’t strip enthusiasm and purpose out of the football equation. I argued several months ago that they should focus on cup competitions because the league was entirely irrelevant to them as anything other than a classroom to learn Ruben Amorim’s football. That, plus professional pride, should be motivating enough. But — and it’s only human — it’s hard to test a machine when key elements in that machine aren’t going to be around.
Saturday’s affair ended 2-2 and if you’re a Debbie Downer type, you might conclude that it wasn’t a great weekend for Bayern since they ended up dropping points and failed to beat a mid-table Borussia Dortmund still smarting from the midweek hiding at the hands of Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League. Take a step back, though, and this was pretty good all-around for Kompany given the circumstances.
Sure, if Pascal Gross’ late chip had been a little more precise, they could have actually lost the game, but on the run of play they were probably the better side. And while it’s true that Dortmund were coming off a big defeat in the Champions League, psychologically losing at home to Inter when you top the Bundesliga is as tough a blow (if not tougher). Yes, it would have been nice to win this and get the chance to wrap up the title next weekend, but in truth Bayer Leverkusen‘s 0-0 draw at home to Union Berlin means Bayern are one step closer to the inevitable.
Smart PR people know how to space out good news.
Late last week, we had the announcement that free agent-to-be Mohamed Salah had extended his deal through 2027. I imagine we’ll get club captain Virgil Van Dijk, also out of contract in June, to make a similar announcement this week. (The way, when asked whether he knew anything about it, he smiled and said “he didn’t, but he did” is a dead giveaway.) And then, the following week, after Tottenham Hotspur at home on April 27, roll on the title celebrations.
Jurgen Klopp’s crown, in 2019-20, was historic because it was the first since 1990, but that one was in the COVID-19 era. This one will feel different if only because the fans will be a huge part of it.
Following Sunday’s 2-1 win over West Ham, Liverpool are 13 points clear. Like a lot of their recent outings, it was far from flawless. They started well, took the lead and then fell away, going through a rough patch and eventually conceding a freak (but deserved) equalizer. Then it was Van Dijk, fittingly, who headed home the winner.
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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.)
3. Simone Inzaghi rotates his team, Marko Arnautovic devastates and Inter Milan stay top in Serie A: The first bit isn’t a surprise: making five changes from the midweek win over Bayern is the sort of thing Inzaghi has been doing all season long. The second part is a nice bonus, though, as Arnautovic opened the scoring, thundering through the area before smacking it into the roof of the net and his no-look around-the-corner assist for Lautaro Martínez was a gem too, as Inter won 3-1 against Cagliari. Arnautovic is now 35 and anyone who has followed his career knows that you rely on him at your peril, because he can be maddeningly inconsistent. But his skill set (size, strength and creativity) is a nice complement to Inzaghi’s other options — Mehdi Taremi‘s workrate and whatever it is Joaquín Correa offers — off the bench.
2. Chelsea come back to snatch a point at home vs. Ipswich, but dependency on Cole Palmer is still a big issue: At half-time, 2-0 down, they were booed off the pitch. In the end, it finished 2-2 and Chelsea might have won if not for two huge Alex Palmer saves. (But then, so could Ipswich if Liam Delap’s finishing had been better.) The draw leaves Chelsea sixth, one spot outside Champions League qualification. They can still turn it around, but it’s striking how much this team looks for Palmer at every turn. The back four (at least the one that played on Sunday) aren’t much of an attacking threat, so he’s the one who has drop deep to collect the ball. The wingers (other than Jadon Sancho who scored a stunning equalizer after coming on) tend to slow things down, and their crosses disappear into a throng of bodies in the Ipswich box. Nico Jackson, probably still not fully fit, struggled against two big central defenders, which meant Palmer had to end up taking more shots on goal than anyone. We can blame youth all we like, but this remains a poorly constructed squad (relative to the resources spent) and one that will only get better when it weans itself off of Palmer. Productive as he is, he’s only 22 and he can be much more effective if the parts around him are working as they should.
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Robson: ‘Mole gate’ is the least of Postecoglou’s problems
Stewart Robson believes that news leaking from the Tottenham Hotspur camp is the least of Ange Postecoglou problems after suffering a 4-2 defeat to Wolves at the Molineux Stadium.
1. Tottenham’s problems are leaks at the back, not to the media: Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou set himself up for it when he complained about injury information and the like finding its way into media reports and vowing “to deal with the mole.” Sure, dressing room trust is a thing and when it’s violated things can get very bad, very quickly. But that’s not what appears to have happened here and, believe it or not, news of Wilson Odobert‘s calf pain is not hugely relevant in the grand scheme of things. The more pressing concern is Tottenham’s defending, which was all over the place in a 4-2 defeat to Wolves. Postecoglou rightly mixed things up with a view towards the Europa League return leg against Eintracht Frankfurt this week, but some of the worst culprits on the day — like Cristian Romero and Guglielmo Vicario — are likely to start in Europe, so you can’t even blame that.
