Mikela Arteta finally defeats Pep in the League as City fall. Belllingham continues his dream start to life in Madrid. Bayern and Dortmund score wins and more in this week’s European Football Wrap!
Super-sub Martinelli downs lethargic City
That was certainly not the high-quality encounter that many envisaged. Still, Arsenal’s last-gasp win against Pep’s all-conquering City feels important. Arteta finally managed to get one over his former boss, essentially nullifying City as an attacking threat in what turned out to be quite a soporific encounter.
There were shades of the George Graham-era Arsenal yesterday (boring, boring Arsenal and all that jazz). Declan Rice was an absolute colossus in the midfield, intercepting at will in another towering display. I wish Rodri had not been suspended (just to see how he would have fared against the talismanic Englishman.
I still have some minor reservations about this Arsenal unit. I am not convinced that David Raya is the ball-playing dynamo that he is being made out to be. He invites far too much pressure and seems one second away from calamity at all times. He is going to cost Arsenal if he doesn’t learn to stay in the moment.
What can I really say about City? They were pretty dreadful yesterday, with Erling Haaland relegated to spectator status for much of the match. Kevin De Bruyne’s absence was keenly felt yesterday. His ability to switch things up and go direct gives City a much more multi-faceted threat.
They currently look a tad one-dimensional, monopolizing possession but really going nowhere with it. Their quest for an unprecedented 4th successive title is by no means over. I think Pep will be secretly pleased with the upcoming two-week international break.
It gives him a chance to sit back and reassess, perhaps allowing him to tinker with his formation in search of some solutions. But there is no denying that Mikel Arteta has truly emerged from Pep’s shadow, gaining a massive psychological edge in this year’s title race.
Bayern and Dortmund flex their muscles
The Bundesliga currently has a rather surreal look to it, with Bayer Leverkusen and Stuttgart currently occupying the top two spots. But that isn’t going to hold if Bayern and Dortmund continue with their current from. Bayern’s 3-0 win over Freiburg was one of the most stress-free outings you could possibly imagine.
They relegated Freiburg to just two shots in a suffocating display, with Leroy Sane absolutely eviscerating poor Merlin Rohl. Harry Kane just drops deeper and deeper every week, essentially playing the quarterback role for Thomas Tuchel. The combination of Kane’s footballing IQ and Sane’s pace is one of the most delicious unions currently operating in world football.
And Dortmund finally delivered the type of performance that they have become famous for over the last decade, coming back from behind to secure an insane 4-2 win against Union Berlin. Evergreen Marco Reus orchestrated proceedings, creating two goals in a virtuosic midfield display.
Dortmund have now won four consecutive league matches and they have shown that they can win matches in different ways. Could this be the year that they finally usurp this Bayern juggernaut?
Bellingham shines again!
Real Madrid cemented their place atop the La Liga standings with a dominant 4-0 victory against a hapless Osasuna. Ancelotti got creative, playing the versatile Tchouameni in a makeshift central-defensive role. This allowed Camavinga to play in the DM role while Modric roamed forward at will.
But it was once again Jude Bellingham who stole the show, ghosting into the box and scoring yet another brace. I also want to make quick mention of Vini Jr. He scored a goal and netted an assist and he will only get better as he recovers from his recent injury. On the other hand, Barca were put through their paces at Granada, forced to come back from a two-goal deficit to rescue a point against likely relegation-fodder.
They incredibly went behind after just 20 seconds as Zaragoza netted the first of his excellent brace. Let’s take this moment to applaud the superlative efforts of Lamine Yamal. He got Barca’s first goal at the weekend, becoming the youngest player to score in La Liga history. With all the off-field drama currently engulfing Barcelona, Yamal is the one shining light that Barca fans can truly celebrate.
Olivier Giroud’s goalkeeping heroics keep Milan top of Serie A
What a wild weekend it was in Italian football. Inter seemed to be cruising at home to Bologna, leading the mid-table outfit 2-0 after just 20 minutes. But Simone Inzaghi’s normally stoic defensive unit imploded in front of their home fans and they were forced to settle for a draw.
Napoli’s title defence has got off to a rocky start and they were once again anemic this weekend, losing 3-1 at home to Fiorentina. Juventus were without both Vlahovic and Chiesa for their home match with Torino. Allegri shuffled his deck and managed to pull off a pretty comfortable 2-0 victory. But the craziest scenes of the weekend had to be at lowly Genoa.
AC Milan ground out a steely 1-0 victory, with both sides relegated to ten men in the final moments. AC Milan keeper Mike Maignan was sent off and Oliver Giroud was forced to go between the sticks. The striker pulled off a spectacular save to secure all three points. In fact, Giroud was officially made a goalkeeper by the club to honour his absolute heroics in the last line of defence.
Player of the Week – Jude Bellingham
I’m almost running out of verbiage to describe Jude Bellingham’s sensational start to life as a Real Madrid player. He has this inalienable ability to ghost into the box ala Frank Lampard but he also possesses the dribbling ability of a world-class winger. He has a cocksure swagger that borders on arrogance. But that’s exactly the sort of attitude necessary for the midfield pivot of such a gargantuan club. This Real Madrid side is looking ominous and Bellingham’s presence could be key in their quest for European glory.
