Who would have thought that Calum McFarlane would be involved in this year’s Premier League title chase?
McFarlane vs Guardiola
Who would have thought that Calum McFarlane would be involved in this year’s Premier League title chase? The Chelsea U21 coach was thrust into the spotlight this week, appointed as the club’s interim manager in the wake of Enzo Maresca’s shock departure. McFarlane faced a daunting proposition in his opener, tasked with taking down title-hunting Man City at the Etihad. In the opening stages, City’s extremely narrow shape played into the hands of a defensively rigid Chelsea side. Bernardo and Foden drifted inside and Chelsea’s congested midfield dealt with them easily (Reece James was excellent throughout). But City’s relentless possession would ultimately pay off, as Tijjani Reijnders’ incisive run and rasping left-foot finish gave the Citizens a 1-0 halftime lead.
Enzo puts dent in City’s title hopes
The 2nd half was an entirely different story, as an early injury to Josko Gvardiol changed the complexion of the match. The ball-playing central defender was replaced by the more pragmatic Khusanov and City couldn’t rediscover that strong first-half foothold. With every passing minute, a little more doubt crept in. Honestly, you could feel that sense of impending doom in the stadium (it felt like a self-fulfilling prophecy). Chelsea gradually started to win the 50/50 midfield battles, leading to some dangerous counterattacking scenarios. Pep was caught in two minds, unsure of whether to go full-send for the 2nd or to shut up shop. And that lack of killer instinct would come back to haunt them in the 94th minute, as Hugo Gusto danced past Nico O’Reilly too easily before sending a dangerous ball across the face of the box. A scramble ensued, and Enzo was able to scrape the ball home at probably the 3rd time of asking. The last-gasp equalizer was a dagger to the heart of a visibly crestfallen Guardiola, who knew his team could ill afford to drop points after their midweek draw with Sunderland.
Declan Rice returns with a bang
Arsenal couldn’t have written a much better script this past week. First, they nonchalantly dealt with upstart title challengers Aston Villa, thrashing them 4-1 at the Emirates. And they backed that up with an enterprising showing at the Vitality, holding off a spirited late charge from Bournemouth to win 3-2. This match had a bit of everything, veering from the sublime to the absurd with regularity. Gabriel went from villain to hero in the early stages for the Gunners. He inexplicably gifted the Cherries a goal in the 10th minute, calamitously passing straight to Evanilson. He soon made up for it, levelling matters with a well struck left-foot drive. The 2nd half belonged to returning midfield titan Declan Rice. He showed off his Lampard-esque ability to drift into scoring positions, striking twice in 17 minutes to give the Gunners a seemingly unassailable lead. But Junior Kroupa had other ideas, firing in a long-range screamer in the 76th minute to set up a nervy finish. The Gunners held on, establishing a six-point lead over Villa and City. Victory over reigning champs Liverpool on Thursday night will feel like a changing of the guards for Arteta’s men.
Barcelona leave it late at Espanyol
Barcelona temporarily opened a seven-point lead atop La Liga after beating Espanyol 2-0 on Saturday. Hansi Flick’s side were far from their fluid best in their return from the Christmas break, relying on substitutes Dani Olmo and Robert Lewandowski to secure all three points in a gritty Catalan derby. Hosts Espanyol started the brightest, exposing Barca’s comically high defensive line on several occasions. Joan Garcia- Barca’s unsung hero of the night- was more than up to the task, bailing out the champions with some brilliant last-ditch keeping. He made one sensational save to ensure that Barca went into the break 0-0, somehow tipping over a postage-stamp header from Fernandez. Rashford was horrendous in that first half, surrendering possession on countless occasions (I wonder if he was in Dublin on New Year’s Eve). Hansi Flick rung the changes in the 2nd half, bringing on the trio of Olmo, Lopez and Lewandowski. And the trio made Flick look like a savant, linking up to score twice in the final ten minutes. Dani Olmo made something incredibly difficult look ludicrously easy in the 86th minute, slotting home expertly after some deft attacking play by Lopez. Lewandowski then went on to secure all three points, finishing at close range after yet more exemplary play from Lopez. Hats off to you Mr. Flick.
No Mbappe, no biggie for Real Madrid
Xabi Alonso will be hoping that 2026 brings a few more of these performances. Real Madrid returned from their hiatus in fine fettle, dispatching a hard-working Real Betis side 5-1 (and all without the injured Kylian Mbappe). Xabi Alonso put faith in the youngsters and they delivered, with Gonzalo Garcia starring with the sought-after ‘perfect’ hat-trick. Garcia opened the scoring in the 20th minute, scoring a nice meat-and-potatoes header (his first La Liga goal). If that was meat and potatoes; his 2nd was fine dining. He collected a long ball on his chest in the 50th minute, then expertly swivelled and struck it home with his right foot. Asencio thumped another header home in the 56th minute before losing his runner defensively, allowing Cucho to make it it 3-1. Garcia then completed his collector’s item in the 82nd minute, adroitly flicking the ball into the net with his left foot. Fran Garcia added a bit of razzmatazz with a goal deep into injury time. This is exactly what Alonso needed to keep the wolves from the door.
Serie A turning into three-horse race
Serie A has felt like a real Royal Rumble this season, with new title contenders announcing themselves every few weeks (there have probably been about eight teams that have flirted with the top of the standings). But the crowd is thinning and it looks like it may come down to three chief title protagonists: the Milan giants and Napoli. Allegri’s AC Milan side were up first this weekend, emboldened by the knowledge that a victory at Cagliari would temporarily vault them to the top of the Scudetto race. Rafael Leao proved the difference maker, returning from injury with an emphatic 2nd half strike to give the Rossoneri a 1-0 victory. Not to be outdone, reigning champions Napoli pulled within one point of Allegri’s side following a combustible 2-0 victory at Lazio. Leonardo Spinazzola and Amir Rrahmani got on the scoresheet in the first half, but the game will be remembered for its ill-tempered finale. Three players were sent off in the final ten minutes, with Napoli’s Mazzocchi and Lazio’s Marusic separated by Napoli head coach Antonio Conte. But the team that led at the beginning of the weekend led at the end of it, as Chivu’s Inter swatted aside Bologna 3-1 at the San Siro last night. The Martinez-Thuram partnership is blossoming at just the right side for Cristian Chivu.
Player of the Week- Gonzalo Garcia
I never exactly buried the lead on this one. Young Spanish striker Gonzalo Garcia enjoyed a dream night at the Bernabeu last night, scoring the perfect hat-trick to keep Barcelona honest in this year’s title race.
