European Football Wrap: Arsenal grind out ugly 1-0 win at Anfield , Please put Carrick out of his misery

Arsenal grind out ugly 1-0 win at Anfield

Yesterday felt like a coming-of-age moment for Arteta and his squad, who summoned all their trademark grit and resilience to record a suffocating 1-0 win on Merseyside.  The match started evenly before much-maligned Arsenal marksman Kai Havertz gave the Gunners a 16^th minute lead, tapping in at the far post after sloppy play from Allison afforded Arsenal the space to move the ball quickly down the right.  Declan Rice made one of his typical forward runs before playing a delicious ball for a grateful Havertz.  The goal activated Liverpool and they threw everything they had at the Gunners for the remainder of the half.  Raya and co looked momentarily rattled but soon settled into their defensive shape.  Despite all their possession, Liverpool barely created anything of substance (though Timber was probably fortunate not to concede a penalty for a blatant pull on Isak).  The Gunners defended narrow, with Guimares and Rice shoring up all possible avenues to Isak.  This forced the Reds wide, playing right into Gabriel and Konsa’s wheelhouse.  Kerkez eventually got the delivery right only for McAllister to horrible miscue their best chance.  Konsa and Gabriel revelled in the physicality of the battle, and I don’t think Liverpool would have scored if they were still playing right now.  With City dropping points against Brighton and looking down the barrel of a probable points deduction, I struggle to see any other time topping the table this season. 

Please put Carrick out of his misery

The situation at Manchester United is starting to resemble one of Jigsaw’s elaborate torture devices from the Saw franchise, with Michael Carrick the unfortunate victim of unfathomable pain and cruelty.  Honestly, why are INEOS turning this into such a spectacle?  It’s as if they need Carrick to be their own personal sin eater.  The funny thing is that United looked as good as they have the whole season during the first half at Stamford Bridge.  The sides traded offside goals but United looked compact overall (Bruno, Cunha and Amad all had great chances).  United hit the self-destruct button in the 2^nd half, capitulating to hand Carrick a 7^th defeat in 13 matches.  In fact, their winless streak of nine matches is the club’s worst since 1988!  Yikes.  Morgan Rogers started the rot, sauntering past Maguire and Martinez like he was wearing Harry Potters’ Cloak of Invisibility.  Rogers finished beautifully to give the home side a barely-deserved 1-0 lead.  The Man United fandom turned Lisandro Martinez into a martyr after he publicly denounced the United hierarchy a few weeks back.  He was the pantomime villain on Saturday, conceding a penalty and reducing United to ten men after inexplicably forearm smashing Wesley Fofana in the face.  Palmer duly converted the resultant spot-kick, taking Chelsea to an unassailable 2-0 lead against a faded United dynasty. 

AC Milan blow up title race with win in Derby della Madonnina

Yes, I know it’s way too early to be talking empathically about the title race.  But Cristian Chivu’s Inter- who won by eleven points last season- have the capacity to run away with this title.  With that in mind, AC Milan’s 3-1 derby-day win over Inter felt like a monumental result.  Inter have not only surrendered their lead to high-flying Lazio, but they have also allowed Roma and Como to pull within one match of leapfrogging them in the Serie A standings.  Diego Moreira was the chief destroyer for the Rossoneri, tormenting Inter breakout star Carlos Augusto in that hybrid right wingback role.  He cooked Augusto in the 4^th minute of the game, teeing up Pulisic to head Milan into a shock early lead (Pulisic comes into his own on derby day).  Moreira added his 2^nd assist just six minutes later, as Adrian Rabiot cheekily chipped in a well-rehearsed short-corner routine.  To be fair, Chivu’s men fought back valiantly, pulling one back through Bastoni before forcing Maignan into a slew of great saves (that point-blank one to deny Spence was the stuff of legend).  But Moreira reestablished the two-goal lead just before the break, hammering home a peach of a free kick to underline his Man of the Match status. 

Kane missed penalty costs Bayern

Bayern Munich clearly chose the trick option on Halloween night, somehow conspiring to draw 2-2 with Dortmund despite an absurd xG advantage of 4.18 to 0.63.  The Bavarians dominated possession, forcing Kobel into a few great saves while hitting the crossbar three times.  So, I would hesitate to call this a blip on Bayern’s part: it was just one of those nights.  An excellent Konrad Laimer opened the scoring for Die Roten, picking up his own rebound in the 38^th minute.  The turning point of the match came in the 56^th minute, when Bayern were awarded a penalty after Nmecha was adjudged to have handled the ball inside the box.  Recently crowned Ballon d’Or winner Harry Kane stutter-stepped before crashing the ball against the crossbar.  Dortmund must have felt fate was on their side.  Sethou Guirassy pulled Dortmund level against the run of play, neatly finishing off an incisive counterattack.  Upamecano kept up his red-hot goal-scoring form, bundling a Harry Kane knockdown into the net to restore the Bavarian’s lead.  But 2^nd half substitute Fabio Silva would have the final say, swivelling adroitly in Bayern’s box before thundering home a last-gasp equalizer. 

Yamal dazzles in sulk mode as Barca bounce back against Alaves

Let’s hope that time gives Lamine Yamal a bit more perspective.  By all accounts, the Spanish World Cup winner was devastated by his Ballon d’Or snub.  He campaigned relentlessly for the top honour and didn’t look best pleased when Harry Kane’s name was read out on Monday.  Barcelona needed their star man to bounce back after a momentum-killing Clasico defeat last week. And bounce back he did, as Yamal was one of the spearheads in Barcelona’s crushing 6-1 win over hapless Alaves.  Barca were at it from the start, as the brilliant Fermin Lopez played in Raphinha to score in just the 8^th minute.  The first half turned into a free-flowing massacre, with Yamal, Raphinha and Lopez guiding the Blaugrana to a 4-0 halftime lead.  Barca went into cruise control in the 2^nd stanza, cantering to a morale boosting 6-1 win.  I can’t wait for next week’s grudge trip to Atleti (who just can’t stop winning, by the way). 

Real Madrid go from strength to strength

You get the feeling that last week’s El Clasico win could go down as a seminal moment in the La Liga campaign.  Real Madrid appear to have rediscovered their ruthless streak, easily seeing off Racing Santander 3-0 following a first-half blitz at the Campos de Sport de El Sardinero.  Kylian Mbappe kicked off the scoring in the 10^th minute, winning a dubious penalty before thrashing home his first goal post-Ballon d’Or disappointment.  Real Madrid played with incredible verve and intensity and were rewarded with a 2^nd in 22^nd minute, as an inch-perfect Arda Guler pass unleashed Bellingham to double the lead.  Yan Diomande then completed the scoring in Yeboah-like fashion, volleying home with stunning ferocity from the edge of the box.  This was grownup football by a grownup team and grownup manager.  Real understandably took the foot off the gas in the 2^nd stanza, dominating possession with Arda Guler pulling all the levers.  Real and Mourinho are starting to purr. 

Player of the Week- Diego Moreira

Ruben Amorim’s decision to play Diego Moreira at right wingback proved to a real masterstroke in the Milan derby.  The Belgian nullified Inter’s recent saviour Carlos Augusto, pegging him back with his penetration and trickery.  Provided two assists before scoring a wonderful free kick.  Turned the biggest derby in Italian football into his own personal playground.