Damien Kayat looks back at an action-packed weekend of European football which saw Napoli triumph in Serie A, Bayern and Dortmund win and Arsenal held by Liverpool.
Liverpool breathe new life into title race
Wow! I don’t really know where to begin discussing that match between Klopp’s floundering Liverpool and Arteta’s title-chasing Arsenal. It feels like I would have to write a novel if I really wanted to capture all the minutia of that epic.
Arsenal needed all three points to maintain their title advantage against a surging City side. Wins for Newcastle, United and Spurs meant that nothing short of a win would really suffice for Liverpool in their pursuit of top four football. And both sides played like teams possessed in one of the best Premier League matches I have ever seen.
Arsenal looked their usual selves in the first 30 minutes, casually racing into a 2-0 lead. But Liverpool clawed a goal back before half-time and then unleashed an absolute blitzkrieg upon the Arsenal goal in the second half.
I feared the worst for Liverpool after Salah failed to convert a slightly soft penalty call. But the unrelenting Reds- no doubt fuelled by the mythical Kop- managed to level proceedings through the departing Roberto Firmino (Arsenal’s old nemesis).
From the penalty spot, Mo Salah misses a golden opportunity to level matters at Anfield.
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) April 9, 2023
Big moment in the match and in the title race 👀#LIVARS pic.twitter.com/hsqZrBFJsq
The final moments of the match felt like a mini cup final compressed into five minutes. Both teams could have won as the swashbuckling encounter started to resemble a basketball match.
Now, was it a point gained for Arsenal or two points dropped? The more I think on it the more I think it was a point gained. I don’t think there are many teams in world football who could have withstood that absolute barrage in the second half (City were beaten here earlier this season).
The general consensus is that the league is now in City’s hands. I don’t see any reason why the Gunners can’t go to the Etihad and impose their will on the match. Still, I was left a bit baffled by Arteta’s substitutions.
He almost seemed to invite pressure in the final 20 minutes. Odegaard would have been the perfect man to have on the field to piece together one last clinical counterattack.
Oh, and did I mention that a lineman threw an elbow at Andy Robertson? That would surely be the headline news from any ordinary match. But it just makes for a surreal footnote in what was a nerve-shredding evening at Anfield.
Jurgen Klopp with the midas touch 🔮
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) April 9, 2023
His substitute - Roberto Firmino, levels things late at Anfield 😬#LIVARS pic.twitter.com/0TOtbKDKEo
Napoli return to winning ways – barely
Napoli returned to winning ways after that horrendous defeat to Milan last week. Scudetto champions-in-waiting, Napoli showed another facet of their game with a 2-1 win at Leece. They have been serene this season, regularly dismantling their opponents with ease.
But Luciano Spalletti’s side were far from their fluid best this weekend and just had to grind out a result. They are still without the injured Victor Osimhen (who is a major doubt for this week’s Champions League quarterfinal clash with Milan). Elsewhere, the two Milan giants stuttered to draws, handing the Champions League initiative to Lazio and Roma.
Jose Mourinho’s side are an interesting proposition. I would have been happy to write off their top four hopes a month back. But back-to-back wins has suddenly thrown them into a strong position to secure a top four spot. Their 1-0 win at Torino was the absolute epitome of Mourinho-ball.
He has started to realize the best form of attack is defence with this current squad. There’s something wonderfully old-fashioned about this approach and it can’t help but make you feel nostalgic for the Italian football of the 90’s.
Giovanni Di Lorenzo's header for Napoli against Lecce.
— ⚽ (@ElijahKyama_) April 7, 2023
The ball he scored with will be sent to an auction for charity. pic.twitter.com/ops4E4X4FC
Real Madrid turn attention to Champions League
It really feels as if Los Blancos have drawn a solid line under their 2022/2023 La Liga campaign. The gap between them and table-topping Barcelona now stands at a whopping 13 points, with Real losing at home to an inspired Villarreal.
Nacho was particularly awful as an inspired Chukwueze completely rinsed him time after time. This is arguably the most unconvincing Real defensive line for some time. The always-committed Antonio Rudiger is an accident waiting to happen and their full-back positions are essentially a lottery.
It will be interesting to see exactly how they plan to line up in next week’s Champions League quarterfinal fixture against Chelsea. They will ALWAYS represent a threat going forward. Benzema scored a hat-trick in last week’s Copa Del Rey Clasico while Vinicius Jr is arguably the most consistent winger presently operating in world football.
But there are holes in that defence that a beleaguered Chelsea side could look to exploit. For their part, Barcelona could only manage an insipid 0-0 home draw with Girona in response.
See how Samuel Chukwueze take Yakata Real Madrid.
— Charly Boy Area Fada 1 (@AreaFada1) April 10, 2023
Listen to the commentator, the goal was more interesting for him mouth.
The Youths are the only people representing Nigeria well. Let’s drive all our old yeye criminals out of town biko. pic.twitter.com/F2QC11Yx9G
German giants bounce back
Both Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund were under significant pressure this weekend following disappointing DFB Cup exits last week. Thomas Tuchel’s Bayern had the chance to immediately avenge their cup exit to SC Freiburg.
And they were made to toil by a defensively sound Freiburg side. Bayern ultimately emerged victorious 1-0, with Matthias De Ligt scoring the decisive goal. Tuchel will feel slightly frustrated with their poor finishing.
Still, he will be happy with the clean sheet ahead of their crunch Champions League tie at the Etihad. Borussia Dortmund bounced back from back-to-back domestic losses with a solid 2-1 win against an expansive Union Berlin side.
Donyell Malen gave them the early lead before Union forced an equalizer. They actually showed a lot of character to come back in the game (especially in the wake of last week’s disastrous capitulation against Bayern).
18-year-old wunderkind Youssoufa Moukoko came off the bench for his 50th Bundesliga appearance and scored the winner, showing great anticipation before neatly rounding the keeper and passing it into an empty net.
If they hadn’t have picked up all three points they would have felt a crushing sense of inevitably start to set in. This win keeps them within one Bayern disaster-class of winning a Bundesliga title.
Matthijs de Ligt's brilliant strike gave Bayern Munich victory at Freiburg and kept them top of the #Bundesliga. #BBCFootball
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) April 8, 2023
Player of the Week- Aaron Ramsdale
It isn’t often that I bestow Player of the Week honours on a goalkeeper. But Arsenal shot-stopper Aaron Ramsdale is fully deserving of the plaudits this week. He made three remarkable second-half saves to ensure the Gunners left Anfield with a point. It started with a trademark one-on-one stop against the rampaging Darwin Nunez.
He then showcased De Gea-esque acrobatics with a Superman style save. But the real standout was that remarkable save to deny Konate in the final minutes. He somehow managed to claw the ball back from behind himself in a remarkable bit of anticipation that echoed Arsenal legend David Seaman. Could Arsenal look back at this performance as one of the defining moments in a title-winning season?
🔴⚪️ Ramsdale saving Arsenal 💯⚪️🔴 pic.twitter.com/pObHhQ89lY
— GoonerNick (@nickvann1987__) April 10, 2023
