European Football Wrap

Liverpool underlined their 2024/2025 superiority with a jarringly comfortable 2-0 win at Pep Guardiola’s rapidly declining Manchester City side. Arne Slot’s side executed their gameplan to perffection, surrendering possession of the ball and punishing the Citizens with typically penetrative counterattacks. Dominic Szoboszlai and Mo Salah were especially incisive, each scoring a goal and creating another as Liverpool stretched their Premier League lead to eleven points (though Arsenal have a game in hand). I honestly think that Slot hasn’t got the credit he deserves this season. Sure, City have fallen off a cliff and Arsenal have made a few suicidal decisions regarding their squad management. But Slot must be commended for his uncomplicated approach to managing the bountiful resources left to him by Jurgen Klopp. He never went all Elon Musk, gutting the squad and attempting to recreate it in his own narcissistic image. He recognized that the talent was there and made small little tactical tweaks to get the best out of it. Generally speaking, he has used a 4-2-3-1 formation that emphasizes more control over the ball than the ‘heavy-metal’ stylistics of Klopp. Having said that, he has also shown the flexibility to change when the situation demanded, reverting to a more counterattacking philosophy against a toothless City attack.

Arsenal’s lack of ambition in the transfer market has turned this year’s title ‘race’ into little more than a damp squib. They ideally should have acted in the summer (the Kai Havertz striking experiment was never going to be the long-term, title-winning solution). But to not reinforce the striking options in January (when they knew Havertz and Jesus were injured) was borderline criminal. Arteta- lost in the Sesko hype-train- refused to go above and beyond to secure the services of Ollie Watkins in January. It would be one thing if they had been twelve points adrift at the start of January. But they weren’t a million miles away (and Arne Slot has never been in the pressure-cauldron atmosphere of a Prem League title run-in before). This was as good an opportunity as they are likely to get for some time (Man City aren’t going to be sitting idly by next year). William Saliba is apparently Real Madrid’s number one summer transfer target (and his recent performances seem to suggest that he is more than aware of it). I just think that a more ruthless club could have turned this into something resembling a title challenge.

Spanish giants win as three-way title challenge blooms

La Liga is building up to a crescendo this season, as all three title protagonists picked up crucial victories this weekend. Diego Simeone’s side really threw down the gauntlet yesterday, winning 3-0 at Valencia to take the provisional lead atop the standings. Simeone’s side have ninjaed their way into a brilliant spoiling position this campaign (they are set to meet Barca in the Copa del Rey semis and Real in the next round of the Champions League). And Julian Alvarez kept their title hopes alive this weekend, scoring a brace as Atletico romped to an impressive 3-0 victory. Barca responded with a 2-0 win at Las Palmas (though they were far from their best in their trip to the Canary Islands). Substitutes Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres did the job in the 2nd half, showing that Hansi Flick’s side

do have a plethora of options at their disposal. Real Madrid were the final giants to have their say this weekend, as they eased past Girona 2-0 in the Spanish capital. Real dominated the first stanza but had to wait till just before half-time to take the lead, with the evergreen Luka Modric scoring a screamer from distance. Real went into cruise control in the 2nd half, with Vini Jr finally getting his name on the scoresheet in the final ten minutes. I must admit, I was impressed with the way Los Blancos nullified Girona’s counterattacking threat in that 2nd half (especially in the way of Atletico and Barca’s earlier victories).

Bayern starting to purr, reassert eight-point Bundesliga lead

Vincent Kompany’s Bayern Munich were at their swaggering best this weekend, seeing off Dino Toppmöllers’s high-flying Eintracht Frankfurt 4-0 at the Allianz Arena. Frankfurt started the game well, matching Die Roten’s 4-4-2 formation and putting them under pressure with some incessant man-marking. Defender Hiroki Ito showed some rust and coughed up a chance for Frankfurt in the 6th minute. But Bayern gradually took a foothold in the game, with Jamal Musiala dropping into dangerous little pockets of space while Herr Muller conducted traffic going forward. Joshua Kimmich had to leave the field injured, with Goretzka coming on to join his midfield partner Pavlovic. The change seemed to destabilize Frankfurt and Michael Olise would slot home just minutes before the break. Bayern would run rampant in the 2nd stanza, scoring three more goals while Harry Kane got a crucial bit of gametime following his recent injury. Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen side did what they had to do, taking down Holstein Kiel 2-0 in a thoroughly professional away performance. But let’s be real: Leverkusen’s entire season now hinges on their ability to upset Bayern in that mouthwatering Champions League round of 16 clash.

Napoli shocked in huge shakeup in Scudetto race

What has happened to Antonio Conte’s Napoli? They are now winless in four matches after a shock 2-1 defeat at Cesc Fabregas’ newly promoted Como. A late winner from Assane Diao sealed the points for Como in what was a rather shambolic showing from Conte’s would-be champions. The loss of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to PSG has just taken all their attacking impetus away. Inter Milan now lead Napoli by one point going into next week’s crunch top of the table clash in Naples. Inter weren’t at their elite best on Saturday, playing with a similar sluggishness to Napoli as they toiled to a 1-0 home win against Genoa. Lautaro Martinez was once again the difference maker, sneaking into the six-yard area to head home the winner in the 78th minute. That’s what having a world class striker does for you Mikel Arteta- you can win games that you shouldn’t. Speaking of strikers making a difference, the erratic Dusan Vlahovic kept Juventus’ top four hopes alive with a 12th minute winner as Juventus held on a 1-0 win at Caligari.

Player of the Week- Julian Alvarez

I must admit, I was bit surprised that Julian Alvarez opted to leave City at the beginning of the season. Tired of playing second fiddle to Haaland, Alvaraz took a bold move and joined Diego Simeone’s Atletico (so often the forgotten bridesmaids of Spanish football). He was in predatory mode this weekend, scoring a brace to propel Atletico to a comfy 3-0 win at Valencia. The Argentine has now matched his goal tally from City last season (19). He just perfectly embodies everything

that Simeone wants in a footballer- he is a tireless worker who doesn’t mind the nitty-gritty stuff. He isn’t just a poacher and likes to take part in intricate link-up play. Already a fan favourite in Madrid, I can see Alvaraz gradually dropping back into the Griezmann quarterback role as time progresses.