Kvara-mania rolls on as Napoli win at Lazio and Sarri goes system error 404
I have no idea if Khvicha Kvaratskhelia can continue playing at this level, but few young newcomers this side of Erling Haaland have had such an immediate impact on a league. He and Victor Osimhen ripped Lazio to shreds on the road and the young Georgian displayed his full repertoire of pace, technique, intensity and physicality, all in a compact package.
Lazio boss Maurizio Sarri had a meltdown after the game and made some serious comments about the match officials. He was angry that Mario Rui wasn’t sent off for an elbow on Mattia Zaccagni (fair enough, it should have gone to VAR) but then he doubled down saying it was either “incompetence or bad faith” and talking about how somebody told him in the tunnel pregame that the referee was going make Lazio “pay” in this game.
It seems pretty obvious that Sarri’s comments need to be investigated. You can’t make accusations like that without being able to back them up. Next time, rather than talking about mystery figures who appear in the players tunnel brandishing threats, how about ensuring you put together more than 0.37 xG at home?
Sarri is, in some ways, a coaching genius. But he let himself down badly with his postgame words.
Atletico settle for a point, but Griezmann “load management” is grotesque
Atletico Madrid turned in one of their better performances of the season in the away draw to Real Sociedad. It was very much a “trap” game against an opponent that can blow hot and cold, but is often a tough out at home. Both sides had chances, but Atleti had the better ones and will rue not killing off the game after taking an early lead through Alvaro Morata.
That said, the Antoine Griezmann situation is a sad reflection on the state of the game and the club (and the folly of the previous Barcelona regime). You may recall that Barcelona, in a desperate effort to get Griezmann and his salary off the books in the summer of 2021, sent him to Atletico Madrid on a two-year loan. But there’s a rider: if he plays more than a certain proportion of minutes, then the deal becomes permanent and Atletico have to pay Barcelona €40 million.
– Report: Atletico held to draw as Griezmann’s minutes are limited
The exact conditions haven’t been disclosed and reports vary on what those conditions are, but it seems pretty evident that the club are actively limiting his minutes. After all, Atletico don’t want to have to pay Barcelona €40m for a guy who’ll be 32 next summer (and will have another year left on his hefty contract). If they keep him, they’d much rather negotiate a fee with Barca, one which will almost certainly be far lower than €40m.
The “victim” in all this — especially in a World Cup year — is Griezmann himself. He’ll be rested come November, but how match-fit he’ll be remains a question mark.
#BASDOSTWATCH
Bas Dost started for Utrecht and scored in their 4-3 away victory against Fortuna Sittard. He now has four goals in five appearances for Utrecht and is on pace to score 38 goals in the Eredivisie. This concludes this installment of #BasDostWatch.
