Amorim takes Man United heat; Spurs in trouble, more: Marcotti recaps the weekend

Another European soccer weekend is in the books, and as always, we have plenty to unpack. Manchester United turned in another brutal home performance in defeat to Brighton, a result that prompted Ruben Amorim to take the criticism for a team whose problems run much deeper. Did he really need to do that? Meanwhile, in Serie A, Antonio Conte shrugged off the January exit of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia as Napoli wrapped up an impressive win over Atalanta that has them in pole position to win another league title.

Elsewhere, Tottenham’s injury crisis wasn’t helped by some baffling tactical choices by the under-fire Ange Postecoglou, and Barcelona‘s LaLiga slump continued with a tough draw at Getafe that means they need to be perfect from here if they’re to remain in the title race. Oh, and we’ve got plenty to talk about when it comes to Darwin Núñez, Arsenal, Juventus vs. Milan, Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen and Phil Foden, to name just a few.

Let’s get to it. Here are musings and reactions to the most memorable moments of the weekend.

Ruben Amorim holds himself accountable … but did anyone ask him to?

Sunday’s 3-1 home defeat to Brighton was pretty brutal for Manchester United. Take away Bruno Fernandes‘ penalty and the xG was 0.69 (to Brighton’s 1.93) with zero shots on target.

But guess what? So was their previous outing, Thursday night’s 3-1 win over Southampton, a game they were losing until Amad Diallo’s hat-trick beginning in the 37th minute of the second half. If you grade on a curve — based on the fact that Brighton are battling for Europe, while Southampton are on pace to have the fewest points of any team in Premier League history — that one was just as bad.

I get that, but I’m not sure it was necessary for Amorim to go all doom-and-gloom after the Brighton match, saying his was “maybe the worst team in the history of the club,” that they “need to survive” and that he’s “not helping [his] players in the moment.”

It’s not because they are nowhere near the worst team in United history — that would be the 1933-34 team, who avoided relegation to the third flight on the last day of the season. Rather, it’s because nobody is calling for his head right now, nobody is accusing him of scapegoating others, and nobody think he’s deluded. United fans — and neutrals who frankly miss them as a serious club — simply want him to keep working and see if he can turn the club around.

Lack of accountability is a thing, sure, but not with Amorim. However, too much accountability isn’t a great thing.

Most observers understand that Amorim had three things to do when he took over: assess the players and figure out who may need to be replaced, teach them his brand of football (and they obviously have a ways to go in that department), and move the club up the table so they can get the revenue they’ll need to strengthen in the summer (he’s not getting it done in this department).

But nobody is calling for his head. Nobody is blaming him — not yet, anyway, and given how long the club put up with Erik Ten Hag and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (and given how expensive it is to fire someone) that won’t happen for a while. All he has to do is say, “Yes, we all need to do a better job, but we’ll get there.”

4. Lautaro Martinez hits form at the right time as Inter keep pace with Napoli: It’s no secret that the first half of the 2024-25 season hasn’t been kind to the Inter forward. So it’s encouraging that since Christmas, he has notched four goals in six games and his performances have picked up too as he showed in Sunday’s 3-1 win over Empoli. Inter’s goals came in the second half, but they were solidly in control throughout. And with Marcus Thuram coming off the bench and scoring (he’s now up to 14 on the season), Simone Inzaghi has his strike partnership back. Just as important, the win allows them to stay second, three points off the top and with a game in hand over leaders Napoli.

3. Atletico shouldn’t worry about the Leganes trap ending their streak: The 1-0 defeat against relegation-threatened Leganes ends their winning streak at 15 games and Real Madrid‘s victory means they’re no longer top of the table, but Diego Simeone is right when he says his team did enough to win and simply did not get the breaks. Antoine Griezmann missed his first penalty for Atletico in eight years, Clément Lenglet laid an egg for the Leganes goal, they put together an xG of 2.42 and failed to score. On another day, it’s three points, easy. The worst thing that Simeone could do is second-guess himself here. I don’t think he will.

2. Finishing is still an issue for Bayern despite a 3-2 win: Regular readers will know that I’m more concerned with creating good chances than finishing, since the latter is more linked to variance and randomness. But here I’m making an exception. Bayern put together an xG of 3.07 and scored three goals in the 3-2 win against Wolfsburg, so at first glance you’d think everything was fine. Except their first two goals were low-percentage, long-range efforts (the latter with some help from keeper Kamil Grabara), and the third was a collective snooze off a free kick from the Wolfsburg back line. Kingsley Coman devoured a couple clear-cut opportunities and Harry Kane, despite seven shots, still hasn’t scored from open play in two months. Meanwhile, the usual defensive wobbles meant Wolfsburg pulled it back to 3-2 and an unnecessarily nervy ending. There was good news, too: midfielder Leon Goretzka had his best game in ages and Bayern showed they are less dependent on Jamal Musiala than some thought (he only played the last 15 minutes). But there’s work to do.

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Will Arsenal cope without William Saliba?

Gab Marcotti and Julien Laurens discuss whether Arsenal will cope without William Saliba for their upcoming fixtures.

1. About that William Saliba-shaped hole in the Arsenal back four: Two seasons ago, when Saliba suffered his season-ending injury, the Gunners were five points clear at the top of the table. They would end up losing the title to Manchester City by five points. According to reports out of France, his injury — this time, a hamstring — is not as serious, but Arsenal’s 2-2 draw against Aston Villa served as a reminder of just how critical he is. At 2-0 up following Kai Havertz‘s goal, you figured Arsenal could just see out the game; at that point, Villa’s xG was 0.12 off three shots. But just as you needed to hunker down, cracks appeared. Youri Teiemans improbably pulled one back after mistakes from Thomas Partey (deputising at rightback) and Mikel Merino. Then, with the back four in chaos, Tielemans hit the post and moments later, Ollie Watkins made it 2-2 after more unsteady defending. Sure, Arsenal had chances at the end too, including a disallowed winner, and it’s not a given that Saliba’s presence and leadership would have prevented those goals. But the ghost of 2023 is real. Somebody needs to step up or, with Bukayo Saka out too, things could go South real quick.