After the recent round of domestic cup matches across Europe, league soccer returns with exciting performances and surprise results happening in the Premier League, Serie A, LaLiga, Bundesliga and Ligue 1.
On Saturday, we saw Chelsea edge Fulham 1-0 after Cole Palmer put away a penalty while Manchester City delivered a 3-2 comeback victory against Newcastle United. Elsewhere, Bayer Leverkusen beat Augsburg to retain their hold at the top of the German league.
Meanwhile in the Women’s FA Cup, Aston Villa‘s woes continued after suffering a 3-0 defeat to Everton. And finally, in Italy, Napoli won their first game since Dec. 16 and are a far cry from their title-winning heroics last season.
Here is your look back at yet another rollercoaster weekend in European football.
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SATURDAY REVIEW
The lead: Leverkusen win ugly and stay top
The old adage is you need to win ugly in order to win championships. And league leaders Bayer Leverkusen snatched a last-gasp win at FC Augsburg on their return after the Bundesliga restart, retaining their four-point lead over perennial champions Bayern Munich.
Leverkusen had received a potentially crushing blow a few days before the resumption with the news that star striker Victor Boniface had suffered a serious adductor injury. Initially expected to be absent for only a few weeks to play at the Africa Cup of Nations, the Nigerian who has scored 10 goals in 16 league games, will now likely remain on the sidelines until early April.
BAYER LEVERKUSEN WIN IT IN STOPPAGE TIME 😱
THEIR INCREDIBLE SEASON CONTINUES 👏 pic.twitter.com/g0ANSklJnq
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) January 13, 2024
Manager Xabi Alonso opted for a two-man strikeforce with Czech internationals Patrik Schick and Adam Hložek, while Florian Wirtz remained on the bench until the 62nd minute due to a niggly injury. Following Bayern Munich’s comfortable 3-0 win against TSG Hoffenheim on Friday evening, Leverkusen aimed to replicate their success but struggled to find the net despite numerous chances. In the second half, a resolute FC Augsburg nearly capitalized on a break, but Augsburg captain Ermedin Demirović missed a crucial opportunity that could have handed Leverkusen their first defeat of the season.
Instead, in the fourth minute of added time, Alejandro Grimaldo found Exequiel Palacios in the box. Palacios, an uncommon presence in that area, capitalized on being unmarked, taking enough time to shift the ball onto his left foot and slot a precious winner past goalkeeper Finn Dahmen. The resounding cheers from the Leverkusen players echoed through Augsburg’s WWK Stadion. Alonso’s unwavering emphasis on his team’s need to perform at their peak to stay atop the Bundesliga table was unquestionably validated by their hard-fought victory in Augsburg. — Constantin Eckner
Saturday talking points around the leagues
Where would Chelsea be without Cole Palmer?
Chelsea secured their third consecutive Premier League victory on Saturday with an unconvincing 1-0 win over Fulham at Stamford Bridge. No prizes for guessing who made the difference. Cole Palmer‘s stoppage-time penalty is his 18th goal involvement (11 goals, seven assists) in all competitions this season, the third-highest tally for a player 21 or younger across Europe’s top five leagues. Only Real Madrid‘s Jude Bellingham (22) and Bayer Leverkusen’s Wirtz (20) have had a greater influence.
When Palmer misfires, as he did in midweek against Middlesbrough, Chelsea tend to struggle. Here, he was the brightest spark in another largely laborious display which ended with some frantic defending against a team that had not won at Chelsea since 1979. There will be some concern over how reliant the Blues currently are on a 21-year-old, but at the same time he provides hope a team can yet emerge from Chelsea’s expensively-assembled parts.
The game was also notable for a bizarre PR stunt in which seven identically dressed men stood up at various times near the dugout to either read a book, clean their teeth or check their watches. It was all designed to help promote a film involving a company connected to Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly, who was in attendance to watch such strange activity taking place a few yards away from Pochettino. The Chelsea boss afterwards said he was aware of the incident but it didn’t detract from the performance. In fact, he wants an invite to the premiere. The lead actor will do well to replicate Palmer’s star quality. — James Olley
