This felt like a monumental weekend for both of this season’s chief title protagonists. Guardiola’s City faced Newcastle on Saturday, knowing that a victory would provisionally leave them just two points behind table-topping Arsenal.
City and Arsenal win in pulsating title race
This felt like a monumental weekend for both of this season’s chief title protagonists. Guardiola’s City faced Newcastle on Saturday, knowing that a victory would provisionally leave them just two points behind table-topping Arsenal. But Newcastle’s pace on the counterattack was always likely to threaten a City side that struggles in transition. Interestingly, all the scoring was done in the first half hour. Nico O’Reily ended up playing a starring role in the heart of midfield, showing determination and poise to blast City into the lead in the 14th minute. Their lead barely lasted ten minutes, as Lewis Hall’s long-range effort took a wicked deflection before settling in Donnarumma’s net. But Nico O’Reily would reestablish City’s lead, heading in after some tremendous build-up work by Erling Haaland (who now has seven assists to go with his 22 league goals). City had several gilt-edged chances to bury the game but weren’t made to pay by a Newcastle side clearly jaded from their European odyssey to Qarabag. Pep knew the significance of the victory, running onto the field to celebrate with his players in scenes befitting a cup triumph.
Arsenal have suffered these past few weeks, losing their ironclad grip on
the title race following turgid back-to-back draws with Brentford and Wolves. Any slip-up in the North-London derby would have challenged even the most ardent Artetasexual’s allegiance. But let’s be honest: there was never any doubt about this result. If they had a choice, Arsenal would probably play this fixture every week. Arsenal blew away an injury-ravaged Tottenham side, playing with the type of carefree abandon that Arsenal fans have been screaming for. The decision to start Eze immediately told me that Arteta was opting for a more attacking mindset, sensing the weakness in a Spurs side that look like legitimate relegation contenders. To their credit, Spurs showed some gumption in the first half-hour, clearly drawing inspiration from the supercharged atmosphere. Eze shattered that optimism with a close-range finish in the 32nd minute. Spurs bounced back almost immediately, with Muani pouncing on some loose play from Declan Rice to restore parity. But the 2nd half was an embarrassing procession, as Gyokeres and Eze starred for the Gunners. Gyokeres scored a long-range stunner to make it 2-1 and they never looked back, finishing the game 4-1 winners (with Gyokeres and Eze bagging braces). Arsenal rediscovered their ruthless streak in that 2nd stanza, setting a template for how they should approach the rest of this title run-in. Let’s just hope that Aretea grasps the moral at the centre of yesterday’s victory: stay positive.
Bayern hang on while Dortmund falter
Bayern hung on for dear life this weekend, overcoming Eintracht Frankfurt 3-2 despite an uncharacteristically sloppy 2nd half showing. That result, combined with Dortmund’s 2-2 draw at Leipzig, means that we are unlikely to get the nail-biting Bundesliga finish that we all wished for. Even if Dortmund were to triumph in next week’s Klassiker, they would still trail Die Roten by five points. Bayern appeared to be cruising at the Allianz Arena, taking a 3-0 lead into the final 20 minutes of regulation play. Pavlovic gave Bayern the 16th minute lead, squeezing his long-range home through a crowd of Frankfurt defenders. It then turned into the Harry Kane show. The English superstar doubled Die Roten’s lead with a cleverly glanced header in the 20th minute. He then appeared to put the result beyond doubt, placing a 68th minute left-footed shot into the side-netting with surgical precision (Kane must be the deadliest finisher in world football right now). But Kompany’s side did their best to sabotage their seemingly impregnable lead. Kane started the mini-implosion, giving away a penalty that was duly converted. Kim Min-jae then fell victim to Frankfurt’s high press, blasting an attempted clearance into Kalimundo and into the net. Bayern managed to whether the late storm, but I am starting to worry about their Champions League chances. They look sloppy at the back and vital utility midfielder Joshua Kimmich looks a bit jaded.
Real no-show in Pamplona
This year’s La Liga title race has the narrative whiplash of a WWE clash, with Barca and Real switching momentum on almost a weekly basis. Real were in action first, travelling to Osasuna on Saturday as they looked to extend their impressive eight-match La Liga winning streak. But they were unusually flat throughout, perhaps jaded from their controversial trip to Benfica. Osasuna took the lead in the 38th minute, as Budimir converted a penalty after Courtois had overcommitted inside his box. Mbappe gave one of his worst performances of the season but did manage to find the back of the net, only for the effort to be ruled out for offside. Real did eventually equalize, as Fede Valverde’s driving run and cross led to a smart finish from Vini Jr. The Brazilian winger was easily Real’s biggest threat on the evening, showing admirable courage after the despicable treatment he received in Portugal last week. But the lacklustre Real side capitulated in the final moments, as Raul Garcia danced through Real’s weak right-hand flank to finish with the assuredness of Kylian Mbappe. It was a chastening defeat that opened the door for Flick’s Barca.
Barca return to top of La Liga with emphatic win over Levante
Barca responded brilliantly to Real’s underwhelming defeat at Osasuna, cruising to a stress-free home win over Levante that augers well for the rest of the campaign (especially with Pedri and Gavi close to returning). Joan Cancelo was revelatory on that left-hand side, creating an assist while causing general mayhem with his movement and speed of thought. Defensive midfielder Marc Bernal gave Barca the lead, tapping in from close range after some positive movement on the left. Frenkie de Jong doubled their advantage, converting a juicy Cancelo cross to make it 2-0 going into the break. Barca bossed proceedings in the 2nd half, wearing Levante down with their obsessive control of the football. But Barca would have to wait till the 81st minute to add a 3rd, as Fermin blasted in a trademark long-range effort to punctuate Barca’s dominance. It was the type of anxiety-free victory that Flick had become accustomed to prior to that awful Copa del Rey match against Atletico.
Inter have one hand on Scudetto
Cristian Chivu needed a response after a humiliating Lapland defeat to Bodø/Glimt. The runaway Italian leaders faced a tricky trip to Leece, knowing that victory would temporarily open a massive ten-point Serie A lead. And they dominated from the off, creating a myriad of opportunities in the first half. They thought they had taken the lead through Federico DiMarco just six minutes after the break, but VAR interjected, rightfully finding Thuram offside in the buildup. Inter’s obvious superiority paid off in the final 15 minutes, as Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Manuel Akanji powered the leaders to a 13th league win in 14 matches. Dimarco was once again the architect extraordinaire, picking up his 14th and 15th assists of the season (he needs just two more assists to break Papu Gomez’s 2019/2020 record). It was a vital victory that took Chivu to 64 points in his first 26 games in charge, making him the 2nd best debutant manager in Serie A history at this stage (Carlos Carcano has the record with 65 points with Juventus 1930/31). More importantly, Parma caused one of the shock upsets of the season, beating AC Milan 1-0 at the San Siro. Allegri’s side just ran out of ideas in a dire showing that has essentially gifted their neighbours the title.
Player of the Week- Viktor Gyokeres
It basically came down to a choice between Eze and Gyokeres. And Eze was magnificent, giving Arsenal the creative edge that has been sorely lacking in recent outings. But for me, Gyokeres was the true difference maker. He led the line magnificently, using his physicality to bring the entire Arsenal forward line into play. His first goal was a rocket, giving Arsenal a 2-1 lead while setting the tone for their 2nd half dominance. He then added a well-deserved 2nd in stoppage time, underscoring what was arguably his most complete performance in an Arsenal shirt to date.
