European Football Wrap: FA Cup 4th round action, Dortmund and Bayern cruise with Klassiker on the horizon

Liverpool rediscovered their winning touch with a comprehensive 3-0 win over Brighton (Mo Salah seemed to have rediscovered a yard of pace down that right-hand side). Pedro Neto put his indifferent form on the backburner, scoring an excellent hat-trick as the Blues sauntered to a 4-0 win at Hull. And City laboured somewhat at home to Salford City, with Marc Guehi scoring his first goal for the Citizens in a stodgy 2-0 win. Ebrahim Eze rediscovered his form against 3rd tier Wigan, running the show as the Gunners cruised to a 4-0 home win. And we got one significant upset, with Premier League strugglers Burnley embarrassed by 3rd tier Mansfield Town. All in all, it was an unremarkable weekend of cup action. But I wanted to use the FA Cup to make a point to those who have called for the dismantling of VAR. Did you guys by any chance catch that Villa-Newcastle match?

VAR came under renewed scrutiny in the aftermath of the recent City-Liverpool match, with plenty of pundits- myself included- feeling that it was threatening to turn into a bit of killjoy. But I have never been in favour of completely abandoning the system. And the level of officiating in that Villa-Newcastle match vindicates the entire VAR process. Honestly, Chris Kavanagh and his team should be banned for the foreseeable future. Can you imagine the drama if Newcastle had lost? Tammy Abraham gave Villa the lead, though replays suggested he was well offside. Lucas Digne was given a yellow card for an agricultural tackle that could have easily been a red. But the piece de resistance came in the 2nd half, when Lucas Digne clearly handled the ball inside the area. Chris Kavanagh ruled it a handball, but then inexplicably pointed to a free-kick a few feet outside the box. It hit Digne a good meter-and-a-half inside the box! That was honestly one of the worst refereeing decisions that I’ve ever seen, on par with some of Steve Bucknor’s peak umpiring sins. Now I know that VAR will come into play from the 5th round onwards. I just wanted to take this opportunity to state that this is why VAR is here to stay.

Dortmund and Bayern cruise with Klassiker on the horizon

You must hand it to Dortmund- at least they have managed to make this into something resembling a title race. Bayern looked almost invincible during the opening salvos of the season, seemingly destined for a record-breaking Bundesliga campaign. But their mid-January stumble allowed Niko Kovac’s side to sneak their way into a backdoor title challenge. Dortmund were on fire on Friday night, blitzing Mainz 4-0 at Signal Iduna Park to apply maximum pressure to Kompany’s Bayern. Creative lynchpin Julian Ryerson was lethal in crossing positions, bagging an eye-watering four assists (though I personally think that the Mainz keeper was a bit AWOL in his area). Guirassy continued his recent goal-plundering form, bagging two close-range headers. Bayern responded in empathic style on Saturday, winning 3-0 at Werder Bremen to reestablish their six-point lead. Lennart Karl invoked Leo Messi once again, jinking in and out of a few Bremen defenders before clumsily being brought down in the box. Kane stepped up and applied the finishing touches to give Bayern a 1-0 lead in the 22nd minute. Kane doubled the lead from 25 yards while Goretzka picked up a 2nd half goal to make it look a little sexier at 3-0. Let’s hope that both clubs are at their best when they meet in two weeks’ time.

Inter beat Juve in five-goal thriller

Cristian Chivu’s Inter Milan underlined their title ambitions with a contentious 3-2 win over Spalletti’s resurgent Juventus. The result means they are still eight points clear of city rivals Milan, who picked up an epic late win at Pisa on Friday night (Modric doesn’t look a day over 28). Inter took the lead in rather fortunate fashion, with Henrique’s shot diverted into his own net by Cambiasso. The Italian midfielder made up for his faux pas less than ten minutes later, guiding home a well-worked Juve equalizer. But referee Federico La Penna took centre stage in the 42nd minute, sending off Pierre Kalulu for his 2nd bookable offence. If the first yellow card was a bit soft; the 2nd one was downright scandalous. Bastoni clearly embellished the situation, diving to excise Kalulu from the game. And VAR isn’t applicable in 2nd yellow card scenarios. To their credit, Juve acquitted themselves manfully from that point on. It wasn’t until the 76th minute that Inter would take the lead, as Esposito benefited from yet another pinpoint Dimarco delivery (you can set your watch by them). But Spalletti’s men showed great heart to draw themselves back into the game, with Locatelli squeezing one in from distance to make it 2-2. But Inter again showed their ruthless edge, as Zielinski- arguably the most improved player in Serie A this season- blasted in a 90th minute winner.

Real Madrid pile pressure on vulnerable Barcelona

With Barcelona only in action tonight (and still smarting from their Copa del Rye shellacking at the hands of Atletico), Real Madrid had the chance to apply real pressure in their Saturday clash against Real Sociedad. And Los Blancos took full advantage of the scheduling, easing past Sociedad 4-1 to temporarily leapfrog their mortal enemies. Trent Alexander Arnold made his first appearance since suffering a hamstring injury on December 3rd. And the English fullback revitalized a somewhat lacklustre right-hand side, playing through Gonzalo Garcia to give Real a 5th minute lead. Mikel Oyarzabal briefly levelled matters, converting from the spot-kick in the 21st minute. Los Blancos had the chance to retake the lead just four minutes later, as man of the match Vini Jr danced his way into the box before being brought down. The Brazilian duly converted the spot-kick and Real wouldn’t look back. Valverde struck a peach in the 31st minute, hitting the ball with the power and placement of prime-Kroos. Vini then produced another piece of fleet-footed wizardry in the 48th minute, bamboozling the Sociedad defence before winning (and scoring) another penalty. Vini Jr shone in Mbappe’s absence, proving that Los Blancos are far from the one-man show that the media tends to portray them as.

Player of the Week- Julian Ryerson

Earlier, I alluded to the fact that Dortmund were allowed far too much freedom in Mainz’s small box. Still, it’s not every day that you pick up four assists in a single match. Reyerson was superb for the Black and Yellows, using his wand of a right foot to exploit Mainz’s soft underbelly. Also, it doesn’t hurt to have the physically imposing Serhou Guirassy to aim at.