Damien Kayat looks back at an action-packed weekend of European football which saw Man City thump Villa, Napoli extend win run to six, and Real Madrid clinch the Club World Cup!
Arsenal stutter to draw
What a difference two weeks makes. The Gunners’ title quest looked almost assured after their heroic last-gasp win against a resurgent Manchester United. But an away defeat to Everton really exposed some major fragility in their set-up.
And Brentford further exploited this with a typically robust performance at the Emirates. Ivan Toney treated William Saliba with the casual disdain of the playground bully. The Xhaka-Partey midfield partnership has also lost its dynamism in recent weeks.
I feel that Zinchenko is too obsessed with cutting inside and doesn’t provide enough natural width to the side. Maybe it’s time for Tierney to be brought back into the fray. Wednesday night’s clash with Man City has now taken on epic proportions for the Gunners. And there are several little signs that this title push is starting to take its mental toll on the young side.
Arteta’s touchline histrionics don’t seem to be having the galvanizing effect that they had earlier in the season. The side looks impetuous, keen to kick off at even the slightest hint of provocation. Youthful exuberance could easily turn into recklessness if Arteta doesn’t rein in his squad.
Manchester City are chasing Arsenal down 😈 pic.twitter.com/xchUo1uIKH
— GOAL (@goal) February 12, 2023
Man City front up to adversity
It’s fair to say that this has been a precarious week for Pep Guardiola’s chargers. Facing the potential wrath of alleged FFP violations, it would have been easy for City to fold in this crucial juncture of the season.
But the champions rose to the task with a ruthless display against Unai Emery’s Aston Villa. They were 3-0 up at half-time, with Mahrez and Grealish terrorizing their flanks. De Bruyne looked back to somewhere resembling his best after a few uncharacteristically flat performances.
Guardiola will have been disappointed that they conceded in the final 20 minutes. But at that stage he seemed to already be experimenting with line-ups for Wednesday. Haaland was taken off as an apparent precaution ahead of the upcoming fixtures. I wonder if Guardiola may be tempted to bench Haaland this week regardless.
Alvarez’s industry may prove essential against a fairly stoic Arsenal defensive line. It feels like City will need to go for the most energetic line-up possible. This could mean resting the Premier League’s runaway top goal-scorer for arguably the biggest game of the season.
Post-match thoughts from @PepTeam! 💬
— Manchester City (@ManCity) February 12, 2023
🔵 3-1 ⚫️ #ManCity pic.twitter.com/SjywXFHRTD
Real win increasingly pointless Club World Cup
The FIFA Club World Cup has long been regarded as something of a sideshow distraction in the jam-packed footballing itinerary. And that has been doubly true in this post-World Cup environment.
I honestly didn’t even know that Real Madrid were involved in Rabat this week. I think it’s important to congratulate finalists Al-Hilal. They became the first Saudi team to reach the Club World Cup Final. But Real were ultimately too much for the Saudi side, winning their record-extending 5th Club World Cup and becoming the 10th consecutive European side to win the tournament (surprise, surprise).
But in reality, this was a poor weekend for Los Blancos. Xavi’s resilient Barcelona ground out another narrow 1-0 victory at Villarreal. Pedri- certainly their player of the season- scored the only goal in the 18th minute. That temporarily puts them 11 points clear of their great rivals. I also want to give a shout-out to that most mercurial talent: Memphis Depay.
I balked at the idea of him joining Atletico. Diego Simeone’s ultra-pragmatism just doesn’t vibe with Depay’s natural flamboyance. But the Dutch striker came up trumps at the weekend, scoring in the dying moments of the match to hand Atletico all three points against a spirited Celta Vigo.
🙌🏆 #W8RLDCHAMPIONS pic.twitter.com/3y890nVsT8
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) February 11, 2023
Bundesliga race tightens
This is turning out to be one of the most exciting Bundesliga title races in recent memory. After three pedestrian draws, Julian Nagelmann’s Bayern have kicked into gear and won their last three matches in all comps.
Joao Cancelo has fitted in seamlessly to Nagelsmann’s system. What is it now, a 3-1-4-2? Utilizing Coman and Gnabry on the wings really stretched Bochum to breaking point. I also want to give extra credit to stalwart Thomas Muller.
He made his 428th appearance for the club, taking him past the legendary Gerd Muller to become the most capped outfield player in Bayern history. But it wasn’t all Bayern this weekend. The Blacks and Yellows continued their recent momentum with a comfortable 2-0 win against Werder Bremen.
It was Dortmund’s 6th consecutive win and puts them in a strong position prior to Wednesday’s clash with Chelsea. But the performance of the week belongs to surprise package Union Berlin. They fought back with two goals in eleven minutes to win over hosts RB Leipzig.
It was the sort of rousing 2nd half display that has become almost routine under Urs Fischer. It was a chastening defeat for Marco Rose’s in-form Leipzig. How long can Union hang on to this barely believable title charge?
Name a more competitive European league than the Bundesliga at the moment.
— DW Sports (@dw_sports) February 12, 2023
We'll wait. pic.twitter.com/5MYuwu7Arz
Napoli exquisite again
Napoli have got to be the most in-form side in Europe. I am running out of superlatives to describe how amazing Luciano Spalletti’s men are doing.
Their procession towards a first Scudetto in over 30 years continued with a breezy 3-0 win against Cremonese. Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia were once again outstanding, cementing their reputation as arguably the best striking duo currently operating in European football.
I think I have been slightly remiss in my praise of the Georgian. Osimhen has obviously shepherded the bulk of the headlines due to his goal-scoring exploits. But Kvaratskhelia’s sublime 22nd minute finish was his 9th goal of the current league campaign. But those stats don’t really do justice to what he contributes.
He occupies weird pockets of space and drags players out of possession (like Robert Firmino). But he also possesses the pressing tenacity of Gabby Jesus. He is the fulcrum of this Napoli success story.
16 points clear at the top of the table ✅
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) February 12, 2023
Napoli continues to dominate. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Z9DcotQFxQ
Player of the Week – Vinicius Jr
I know I was somewhat disparaging about the FIFA Club World Cup earlier. But you can’t take anything away from the individual brilliance of Brazilian speedster Vinicius Jr. The other clubs simply couldn’t live with him in Rabat.
He won the tournament’s Golden Boot and was absolutely unplayable in the final. He scored a brace and probably should have had a hat-trick. He seemed to enjoy some time away for the La Liga spotlight and this could be the confidence boost he needed.
Vinicius Jr is now the youngest non-Spanish player in history to make 200 appearances for Real Madrid 🌟🇧🇷
— Noodle Vini (@vini_ball) February 3, 2023
200 games 🏟
49 goals ⚽️
49 asissts 🤝
7 trophies 🏆
UCL Final winning goal ✅️
Only 22 years old... pic.twitter.com/wrCOgMifDZ
