Another weekend of headlines, golazos and unpredictable finishes across Europe’s biggest league is in the bag. From Napoli‘s gritty 1-0 over AS Roma in Serie A, to Liverpool‘s shock loss to Nottingham Forest, there was no shortage of drama.
ESPN correspondents Rob Dawson, Julien Laurens, Sam Marsden, James Tyler and Mark Ogden break down the big stuff you need to know about the weekend.
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Jump to: Talking points | Best goals | Teams in trouble | MVP of the Weekend
Talking points
Dembele turns it on for Barca
Ousmane Dembele delivered a dazzling display to help Barcelona beat Athletic Club 4-0 on Sunday. Dembele opened the scoring with a header, his first for the club, and then claimed a hat trick of assists, setting up goals for Robert Lewandowski, who took his tally for the season to 17, Sergi Roberto and Ferran Torres.
Dembele, 25, has been consistently backed by coach Xavi Hernandez, who was the key to him signing a contract renewal in the summer, and is now repaying that faith on the pitch. What he now needs to do, after receiving some criticism for his performance in last weekend’s loss to Real Madrid, is be more consistent and, above all, make the difference in the biggest games.
– Watch replay: Barcelona 4-0 Athletic Club (ESPN+, U.S. only)
– Marsden: Dembele guides Barca to emphatic win over Athletic
Barca’s win against Athletic concluded a good few days for Xavi’s side after they beat Villarreal 3-0 on Thursday. There was an element of disappointment lurking around the club after Champions League and Clasico setbacks, but two big home wins — Sunday’s was played in front of over 84,000 fans at Camp Nou — has helped lift the mood around the club.
It has also kept things interesting at the top of LaLiga. Barca remain just three points back from leaders Madrid after 11 games. Madrid are still unbeaten after they beat Sevilla 3-1 on Saturday. Barca have lost just once, that reverse to Madrid last weekend. — Marsden
A hat trick of assists and a goal for Dembele!
MOTM performance 📈🔥 pic.twitter.com/FT2bdDBtSn
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) October 23, 2022
Danks a part of the new wave
Steph Curry probably didn’t keep a close eye on events between Aston Villa and Brentford on Sunday, with the Golden State Warriors player more likely to have been preparing for his own encounter with the Sacramento Kings later the same day, but whether he knows it or not, the NBA superstar helped pave the way for Villa caretaker-manager Aaron Danks to win his first game in charge.
Danks is perhaps the biggest unknown ever to take charge of a Premier League team, with even the most ardent Villa supporter unlikely to know too much about the 37-year-old who has been installed as interim boss following the sacking of Steven Gerrard last week.
Having never played the game as a professional, Danks has risen through the coaching ranks in England, initially as academy coach at West Bromwich Albion before becoming head of specialist coaching with the English FA and a stint working with England undder-20s when they won the 2017 U20 World Cup.
It was during his time with the FA that Danks travelled to San Francisco to study the methods of seven-time NBA champions Golden State, shadowing Curry and his individual development coach while working on his three-point shooting.
Danks has since worked alongside Vincent Kompany at Anderlecht before moving to Villa as assistant to Dean Smith and Gerrard, but with Gerrard fired after a disastrous start to the season, he now has the chance to become the latest coach to prove that a big reputation as a player is not required to become a top coach.
Villa are almost certain to turn to a proven coach as the permanent successor to Gerrard, but clubs are now hiring managers who have worked their way up as coaches and Danks is the polar opposite of Gerrard, who was one of the best players of his generation.
The new wave of coaches spend years honing their skills and studying the best in all sports, just as Danks has done with Curry and the Golden State Warriors. — Ogden
Maybe Gab Marcotti’s slogan for Victor Osimhen, “The best is yet to come,” should be the same for Napoli. The Nigerian striker scored the winning goal against AS Roma at the Olimpico on Sunday night, proving once more that this Napoli side is the real deal, both in Italy where they are top of the table, and in Europe where they have been the best team in the Champions League so far.
The game in Rome felt like a real test for Luciano Spaletti and his players. They passed it and even if they didn’t have their usual attacking mojo, they were still solid and efficient. They are still unbeaten this season after having beaten Lazio and AC Milan on the way too.
Napoli’s upcoming fixtures (Sassuolo, Atalanta, Empoli and Udinese) mean that they can definitely stay at the top of Serie A until the World Cup. Sunday night showed that they can do it in different ways: with flair and scoring goals or with grit and defensive cohesion. — Laurens
