This weekend in European soccer had huge games and massive talking points galore. From Real Madrid getting the better of Barcelona in the Clasico to a depleted Liverpool finding a way to beat Manchester City at Anfield in the clash of modern-day rivals, this weekend had everything.
Elsewhere: Serie A’s title race got hotter as Napoli stayed on top, but Milan, Inter and Juventus all got three points to keep the pressure on. Chelsea kept winning under new boss Graham Potter, while Arsenal‘s remarkable start to the season continued with another victory, one that pushed them four points clear atop the Premier League table.
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It’s Monday, and Gab Marcotti reacts to the biggest moments in the world of football.
Jump to: Clasico fall-out | Liverpool beat Man City | Juventus get a win | Arsenal stay red hot | Union Berlin best Dortmund | Spurs formation shift? | Origi issues at Milan? | Man United’s limits | Mbappe walks back PSG exit talk | Atletico go old-school | Chelsea keep winning | Napoli gut it out | Sane stars, Bayern brilliant | Inter back on track
Xavi is right: it’s time for Barcelona to shake things up after Clasico defeat
Real Madrid’s 3-1 win on Sunday saw them move three points clear of Barcelona at the top of LaLiga. More than that, as Barca coach Xavi himself said, it underscored the gulf in maturity between the defending champions and his side.
This goes beyond the old trope of a defensive, counterattacking side filled with veterans outsmarting a fresh-faced, up-and-at-them group such as Barca. (Not least because while Barcelona’s average may be lower, there is no shortage of 30-something leaders, or presumed leaders, on Xavi’s side.) Rather, the maturity extends to the coach and the approach to the game. Xavi has been doing it for three years, his opposite number Carlo Ancelotti for three decades.
And give Xavi credit, he is the first to take responsibility, saying he will never blame players since he picks them, after all, and they go out there following his instructions. So if he’s going to take it on the chin, what should he be doing differently?
Exhibit A, as I see it, is his use of wide players (or non-use, except as a sub, in the case of Ansu Fati). Xavi’s golden years at Barcelona as a player came under two different coaches: Louis Van Gaal and Pep Guardiola. As my colleague Julien Laurens has pointed out, it seems this team is channeling the Van Gaal concepts more than the Guardiola ones. So much of their play goes through Ousmane Dembele on the left and Raphinha on the right to the point that the midfield is often a bit player in terms of offering penetration.
It was fine for Van Gaal, whose wingers were Rivaldo and Luis Figo, among the very best in the world and multifaceted players who were far more than up-and-down wingers. It becomes a problem — and Barca become predictable — when it’s Raphinha and Dembele.
It’s obvious to all that after consecutive defeats — against AC Milan (OK) and Maccabi Haifa (not OK) — and a “ritiro” (a throwback to an archaic Serie A custom whereby players get sequestered in a hotel or a training ground for days ahead of a match), what mattered for Juventus was getting the three points against Torino in the derby.
A Dusan Vlahovic goal in the second half gave them just that, but make no mistake about it, this is still a wounded team. They didn’t even have a shot on goal (let alone on target) for the first 33 minutes (and this was against Torino, not Manchester City) and, of course, the goal came with 15 minutes to go. And while they showed more drive and cohesion after the break, this set-up — with Filip Kostic as a winger in a 4-3-3 — is not the answer. It’s a first baby step on the way back, like putting a towel on an open wound while you figure out what to do next.
As for Max Allegri, his decision to drop captain Leo Bonucci raised eyebrows, and some speculated the veteran defender was ready to move on. The simple fact though is that his options at the back are very limited. Danilo, who started against Torino, is a recycled full-back, Allegri doesn’t seem to be a fan of Federico Gatti and Daniele Rugani is nothing to write home about. These two need each other, at least for now.
Arsenal off to best-ever Premier League start as VAR saves the day vs. Leeds United
It took Tottenham a while to break down Everton, but this game was never really in doubt, other than the odd counterattack from the visitors. Spurs made it eight wins from eight games across all competitions at home and this offers a confidence boost as well after some patchy outings.
Antonio Conte doesn’t usually change systems that work, so it was interesting to note that after Richarlison went down injured early in the second half, he sent on Yves Bissouma and switched to a 3-5-2. With Dejan Kulusevski unavailable and Lucas Moura only just back from his injury, it was the logical thing to do, but equally Bissouma was one of their big summer signings and had featured little thus far, with Conte opting for the Rodrigo Bentancur-Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg partnership.
Bissouma was very effective, and I suspect we may see this 3-5-2 for a while (not just until Richarlison or Kulusevski return). Against certain opponents, especially those who defend deeper, it can be a more effective option.
Milan scrape a win in Verona, but Origi questions remain
Milan hardly sparkled in their 2-1 win away to Verona and, in fact, they seemed to hang on for dear life at the end against a physical, high-energy opponent that man-marked all over the pitch. Sandro Tonali got the winner capping off a nice combination with Ante Rebic and the victory keeps them third, just three points behind Napoli. Given the many absences and the fallout from the midweek spanking at the hands of Chelsea in the Champions League, coach Stefano Pioli will take it.
We did see Divock Origi play the entire second half and, incredible as it may sound, this is his second longest stint on the pitch since 2021. For a club that have been so careful with their signings, going for youth and value, backed up by analytics and numbers, Origi’s pick up always felt strange. Yes, he scored some big goals in big games for Liverpool, but he’s also a guy who started just 13 league games in four years at Anfield.
This was his eighth appearances in all competitions for Milan this season and we’ve yet to see him have much of an impact. That matters, because Milan’s other strikers are Olivier Giroud (who is now 36) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (who is 41 and has yet to play this season). Beyond that, you’re forced to recycle Ante Rebic (who has an entirely different skill set) up front. Which is far from ideal.
Man United show their current limits in scoreless draw with Newcastle
Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille closed out the weekend with an enjoyable game that saw Igor Tudor‘s crew enjoy plenty of possession but PSG carve out the most dangerous chances. And we even saw Kylian Mbappe record his first assist of the season, setting up Neymar for the game’s only goal.
Mbappe also denied reports that he asked PSG to let him go and that signing a new deal at the Parc des Princes was a mistake. He said he was “napping” when the news came out and that his entourage were all watching his brother play in a youth game. I’m pretty sure the entire French media didn’t just make that story up: if they had, you can be sure PSG would have denied it rather than simply hiding behind a “no comment.”
– Mbappe denies PSG exit rumors
I get it: he said what he felt he needs to say and now he doesn’t want the headache, but he’s not helping himself by sending out mixed messages. It would be far easier to simply state: “Guys, I don’t know what the future will bring but right now I’m just focused on PSG and winning the Champions League and Ligue 1. Please don’t keep asking about this.”
Atletico Madrid go old school to get three big points in Bilbao
Following the frustrating midweek draw against Bruges, when they laid siege to Simon Mignolet‘s goal without finding a way through, Atleti followed up with a much tighter, gritty and “Cholista” game away to Athletic Bilbao. Defeat would have seen them four points out of third place and the opposition had taken 10 of 12 points in their previous four outings.
It felt like an old-school victory because the winner came courtesy of Antoine Griezmann and Atleti needed to dig deep to resist the late Bilbao onslaught, with Reinildo channeling his inner Diego Godin. This is the tightrope Diego Simeone continues to walk: the grittiness that made him a legend versus the sort of football most top clubs play. On Saturday it paid off, though the injury to Jan Oblak does not bode well.
Potter tinkers in search of answers, but Chelsea keep winning
Napoli dropped plenty of points at home last season and there was a moment when it looked like the clash Sunday with Bologna was heading in the same direction. They went a goal down in the 41st minute and, given that they had created little in the first half, the fears weren’t illegitimate. But then Juan Jesus scrambled an equaliser just before half-time, Luciano Spalletti made two key changes and everything was turned on its head.
Off came Jack Raspadori and Matteo Politano, on came Chucky Lozano and Victor Osimhen. Lozano put Napoli ahead and, after a mistake by Alex Meret led to Bologna’s equalizer, Osimhen notched the winner.
Twelve of Napoli’s 25 league goals this season have come from substitutes. That speaks not just to the options available to Spalletti, but also to his ability to make the right changes at the right time.
Sane shines as Bayern rampage, Freiburg comes back down to earth
Inter began the month with a home defeat against Roma. It didn’t matter that they played reasonably well; all that mattered was that it was the second loss in a row, which meant the knives were out for coach Simone Inzaghi. The reaction is excessive, but hey, this is Inter: psychodramas are never far away. Since then, they’ve notched two Serie A wins (most recently the 2-0 over Salernitana) and, more significantly, they got the results they needed (1-0 and 3-3) in the virtual playoff home-and-away series against Barcelona in the Champions League.
Romelu Lukaku is still out injured and Marcelo Brozovic too, but the side has very obviously rallied around Inzaghi, and he has done his part by making them that little bit more direct. All of this has suited Nicolo Barella who was back to his very best against Barca and on Sunday. He’s becoming the emotional leader of this side and he has all the qualities to step up.
(Also relevant is the fact that Andre Onana has finally replaced Samir Handanovic as the week-in, week-out goalkeeper… it took forever and it may have been a painful step given Handanovic’s service, but it was necessary.)
