It’s probably fair to say that this has been the worst week of Arne Slot’s Liverpool tenure. The Dutch manager stepped into Klopp’s shoes with remarkable grace, making minor adjustments as he guided Liverpool to the league title in his first season.
Liverpool lose three in a row in catastrophic week
The Reds leveraged that victory, going gung-ho in an uncharacteristically extravagant transfer window. It appears that blunderbuss approach may have come at a cost to the harmony of the team unit. The Reds were hanging on a by thread in the opening salvos of the season, collecting late winners that obscured their new-found defensive frailties. But the dam wall broke at Palace, with Nketiah giving the Reds a dose of their own medicine with a 97th minute winner. Liverpool then went down in midweek European action at Galatasaray (though the unique atmosphere at RAMS park would probably make USA Ryder Cup fans blush). They were caught out by last-gasp action again this weekend, with Brazilian wunderkind Estavio Willian sliding in at the back post to convert Marc Cucurella’s cross in the 95th minute. It was a crazy moment that capped a wonderful seesaw victory for Chelsea. The Blues went ahead through a Caicedo cracker before the underrated Gakpo equalized in the 2nd stanza. But Esatvio’s winner was no less than Chelsea deserved, resigning Slot to some deep introspection (especially with Arsenal climbing to the top of the table with a comfy 2-0 win at home to the Hammers).
Bayern on collision course with history
This Bundesliga campaign is fast descending into a procession. Die Roten were at their methodical best this weekend, taking down Eintracht Frankfurt 3-0 to maintain their flawless start to the season. In fact, the win saw Kompany’s men become the first side in the history of Europe’s top five leagues to win their first ten matches of the season. Wow! Luiz Diaz gave the visitors the lead in a moment that typified Bayern’s efficacy, bundling the ball in at the back-post to give Die Roten a lead within 15 seconds. Dino Topomoller’s men thought they had found a way back into the match, only for VAR to rule Bahoya’s effort out due to a handball in the build-up play. Kane settled any lingering nerves, scoring his 18th goal of the season with a rasping drive from outside the box. Diaz added gloss to proceedings with a 3rd in the 2nd half. With Dortmund only managing a draw at home to Leipzig this week, Kompany’s men have now opened a four-point lead atop the Bundesliga standings. Having said that, Kasper Hjulmand’s Bayer Leverkusen gave arguably their most complete performance since Ten Hag’s shock departure, dominating possession and suffocating Union Berlin in a 2-0 win.
Barca surrender La Liga lead to Real
This looks set to be one of the more interesting La Liga races in recent memory, with both Barcelona and Real Madrid displaying major vulnerabilities in these early weeks of the season. Still smarting from that midweek Champions League defeat to PSG, Hansi Flick’s Barca looked as flat as I can remember. Needing victory to reclaim top spot from Real, Barca couldn’t find any rhythm in attack, going down 4-1 to register their worst result against Sevilla since a 4-0 defeat in 1951. Marcus Rashford was one bright light in attack, firing home a sweet left-footed volley to pull Barca within one on the stroke of halftime. But they just failed to connect in the 2nd half, with Lewandowski looking somewhat antiquated in the face of Sevilla’s merciless pressing. By contrast, Los Blancos were full value for in their 3-1 home win over Villarreal, creating 26 shots to the Yellow Submarine’s nine. Vinicius Jr was at his talismanic best, wrestling away the spotlight from Kylian Mbappe with a kinetic all-action performance, giving Real the lead in the 47th minute before doubling the advantage from the spot in 69th. Villarreal pulled one back, but their cause was hobbled by a somewhat ridiculous 2nd yellow card (Vini Jr didn’t cover himself in glory with that play-acting). Mbappe would get his obligatory goal, capitalizing on some unselfish play by Brahim Diaz.
Napoli reclaim top spot in Serie A
AC Milan and Juventus ended yesterday’s Italian glamour tie 0-0, doing wonders for the stereotypical perception of Italian football in the process. The home side dominated possession and created the better chances, with Christian Pulisic inexplicably blasting his penalty chance over the goal. Rafel Leao created some havoc when he came home but the Bianconeri held firm, ensuring they sit 5th in the standings in 12 points. Milan sit 3rd on 13, surrendering top spot to Antonio Conte’s gritty Napoli side. If there ever was a team created in the image of their manager: it’s Napoli (although Diego Simeone may have something to say about that). Napoli rotated heavily after their European outing and it showed, with Jeff Ekhator giving the visitors a surprise first-half lead.
Conte must have given his team the old hairdryer routine, as they came out in with much more intent in the 2nd stanza. Energetic midfielder Frank Anguissa was a driving force for the defending champions, equalizing with a powerful header. For 74 minutes of the match, Rasmus Hojlund looked much like the directionless striker who haunted Old Trafford these past few seasons, getting involved in off-the-ball shenanigans while scuffing his opportunities. But he was clutch when it mattered most, reacting quickest after Leali’s thunderbolt was saved. It was a morale-boosting fightback that augers well for Napoli’s Scudetto defence.
Player of the Week- Vini Jr
This comes as little surprise. Vini Jr completely ripped the Villarreal side to shreds. scoring the opener, before winning and converting a penalty (he had Mourino on toast all night). He made six key passes and completed six dribbles. It was the performance of a man who wanted to remind the world that Real Madrid was doing just fine before Kylian Mbappe rolled into town.
