In this week’s edition of the European Football Wrap, Damien looks at Brighton’s impressive win over Arsenal, City and Ilkay Gundogan’s great season, wins from the Bundesliga’s big boys and more!
‘Juggernaut’ rolls on at Goodison Park
I think that the media has been slightly dismissive of City during this unprecedented Treble attempt. They like to use words like machine or juggernaut, as if there’s something inevitable about their rise to the top.
And I think it fails to fully encapsulate the gritty character of this squad and the genius of the man who conducts it. Guardiola has got to be the master of dressing-room politics. Every player in the City squad- regardless of minutes- seems utterly sold on his vision.
That is why he is able to extract world-beating performances out of men that only play 20% of total minutes. Just look at the way that Foden has been seamlessly been reintroduced into the squad. This is an area where Mikel Arteta needs to improve. You get the idea that the core 13 or 14 players are crucial to Arteta.
He might not even recognize Emile Smith-Rowe if he bumped into him at the grocery store. City turned what looked like an ugly afternoon at Goodison into a Sunday stroll. Gundogan once again showed his big-match mettle while the Erling Haaland machine rolled on.
Full time at Goodison Park 🤝
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 14, 2023
Man City move 4 points clear at the top of the table 🏆 pic.twitter.com/g5F6mYAvoJ
Arsenal humiliated by classy Brighton
How did Arsenal go from arguably their best away performance against Newcastle to that snooze-fest at home to Brighton? And I’m not buying into the nonsense that the City result sent ripple effects throughout the squad.
A psychologically weak side would never have been able to get up for the trip to St James Park last week. The truth is this: Arteta fumbled the ball this week. This was always going to be a transition-heavy game and Jorginho should have made way for Partey in the starting line-up.
Partey – for all his faults- still has that inalienable ability to sniff out danger at source. Also, there seems to be almost a contractual reluctance on the part of Arteta to keep Saka on the pitch. Maybe he doesn’t want to antagonize the North-London ‘star-boy’ in the midst of protracted contract negotiations. But he needs to be willing to make strong calls like this in order to consistently challenge the hegemony of Pep.
Arsenal fans also have to embrace this title collapse and stop hiding behind the fact that they are the youngest team in the league. They are the youngest team it the league by design.
Arteta flushed out the ‘bad’ actors and settled on a young, malleable dressing room that rode their emotions like a roller-coaster. Edu also has to accept the fact that inactivity in the January transfer window had a part to play in this.
Arsenal weren’t willing to meet Moises Caicedo’s transfer fee in the January window. It was fitting that the versatile Brighton star was the best player on the field, absolutely poleaxing Martinelli in a depressing curtain-call for the Gunners’ title hopes.
A brilliant performance from Brighton leaves Arsenal's title hopes hanging by a thread 🧵 pic.twitter.com/56Z0PT91Rp
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 14, 2023
Italian top-four picture starts to take shape
Just last week I was saying that there were six teams embroiled in an intense top-four battle in Italian football. Now there is a bit of breathing room between 4th placed Lazio and a stuttering Milan.
What has happened to Stefano Pioli’s side in recent weeks? AC Milan were humbled in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against city rivals Inter. They then thought they could get a nice confidence boost at relegation-threatened Spezia this weekend.
But they were humbled 2-0 and now stand on the precipice of missing out on Champions League football. You seldom encounter a side whose entire attacking threat is contained in one player. That’s Milan. You take Leao out that side and you effectively nullify them as an attacking threat.
Moving to Inter now, Romelu Lukaku has given Inzaghi some real food for thought with another brilliant display this weekend. He scored a brace as Inter solidified their grip on Champions League football with a 4-2 home win against Sassuolo.
Lukaku has rediscovered that potentially lethal partnership with Lautaro Martinez. The Belgian has scored five goals and set up three in his last six matches. It poses an interesting selection dilemma on the eve of the Champions League semi-final 2nd leg, with Inzaghi potentially tempted to drop Dzeko in favor of the powerful Belgian striker.
Jose Mourinho's Roma side are now 3rd in Serie A, ahead of Milan and Inter.
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) April 8, 2023
They haven't finished in the top four since the 2017-18 season.
The Special One ✨ pic.twitter.com/hNbpv225MZ
Bavarian giants reign supreme
I have been ultra-critical of both Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund at various points in the season. But you can’t deny that both teams seem to have found their groove as the Bundesliga approaches its climax.
I was never fully on board with the sacking of Nagelsmann and Tuchel’s subsequent appointment. But Bayern absolutely crushed Schalke 6-0 this weekend, with Kimmich dominating the midfield and Gnabry ripping Schalke to absolute bits.
I have expressed my concerns that the defensive pragmatism of Tuchel makes him a poor fit for a Bayern squad bursting with attacking talent (maybe that could still prove the case). But he has loosened the shackles in recent weeks and simply allowed this squad to express themselves.
And Dortmund produced a vintage Dortmund-type display at home to Mochengladbach. Terzic’ side were at their swashbuckling best, looking vulnerable on transition but having the firepower to go toe-to-toe with the opposition.
Sebastian Haller had arguably his best performance in a back-and-yellow jersey, scoring a brilliant brace and providing a wonderful focal point for the Dortmund attack.
1. Bayern—68 points
— B/R Football (@brfootball) May 13, 2023
2. Dortmund—67 points
Two matchdays left to decide the Bundesliga title ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/9YqEdwzqQR
Barcelona secure 27th La Liga title
Barcelona have secured their first La Liga title since 2019 courtesy of an entertaining 4-2 victory at crosstown rivals Espanyol. There’s a bit of a bizarre vibe at Barca at present.
An early Champions League exit and ongoing financial insecurity have almost eclipsed their domestic dominance this year. And it has been a dominant season on the domestic front. They have held off European champions Real Marid and a resurgent Atletico to claim this title.
And their season has really been defined by defensive stoicism. Remarkably, they have only conceded 13 goals the entire campaign! And therein lies a part of the problem. Barcelona is one of the few clubs in world football where winning isn’t enough. The fans demand that you win with a certain panache.
And Xavi has leaned heavily in favour of pragmatism, and I don’t think the Nou Camp faithful are overly enamoured by that. Robert Lewandowski will be happy that he has found some form towards the end of the season. The Pole broke an uncharacteristic scoring duck last week and he scored another brace this week.
He has now managed 30 goals in all competitions for the 8th consecutive season. That’s pretty serious business.
Barcelona celebrate their 27th LaLiga title with an open-top bus tour around the city ⚽🏆 pic.twitter.com/VUaA0FtpGE
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) May 16, 2023
