In this week’s edition of the European Football Wrap, Damien looks at the Bundesliga title race after a hug Dortmund win, David De Gea’s Man United woes, POW Alex Lacazette and more!
Arsenal show bottle
The term ‘bottling’ has been discussed ad nauseum in recent weeks, with Arsenal fans insistent that their side do not fall into the category of Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle United team.
But you can’t deny they somewhat earned the term in the matches leading up the City mauling. But you have to hand it to Arteta; they have found their bottle again. That 2-0 win at the Geordie fortress was surprisingly convincing.
Sure, they had to weather a pretty potent early storm. But they ultimately looked pretty defensively sound and really controlled the tempo of the 2nd half. I’m not a massive fan of this Arsenal side’s histrionic streak. This whole season they have taken the edge out of matches by feigning injuries.
Gabriel did it against Chelsea and Xhaka and Jorginho were guilty at Newcastle. But it does speak to a side that has finally got to grips with the ‘dark arts’ of winning football matches. And it puts a bit of pressure on a City side fully immersed in their upcoming European duel with Real Madrid.
A hard-fought victory on the road ❤️ pic.twitter.com/gUxaU3kHwp
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) May 7, 2023
De Gea puts United in peril
I think the time has come for Erik Ten Hag and co to take a serious look at their goalkeeping situation. De Gea has been an integral part of this United side in the post-Fergie era, arguably keeping them in the top half of the table for a few seasons.
But something has got to give after yet another howler against West Ham. And I’m not even getting into the hipster argument that he doesn’t move the ball well enough with his feet. He is just making too many clangers on top of the distribution issues.
Everyone is carrying on about Arsenal bottling it this season. United are in danger of throwing away Champions League football from a seemingly untouchable position. What has happened to the ‘transformative’ Casemiro?
I think certain segments of the United fanbase were overhyping the former Real Madrid player at one point in the season. It’s not exactly tough to shine in a United midfield that has been blessed by ‘McFred’ for the last three years. The Brazilian was bossed for the 2nd time in a week and is starting to show why Carlo Ancelotti wasn’t too fazed to let him go.
David de Gea 👀
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) May 7, 2023
West Ham lead as the United keeper palms it into the back of the net.
📺 Stream #PL live: https://t.co/Tg69y0EeUL | #WHUMUN pic.twitter.com/v6CjtDyRdY
Dortmund make statement win while Bayern struggle
This Bundesliga title race looks to be going right down to the wire. I really thought that Dortmund had pulled another Spurs and blown it at Bochum last week.
But they roared back to prominence with a commanding 6-0 demolition of Wolfsburg. Jude Bellingham showed his professionalism, putting all the Real Madrid noise to one side while he delivered yet another masterful midfield performance.
This Dortmund side are just a different unit when the English midfield maestro is operating at optimum level. But their player of the match was the absolutely electrifying Karim Adeyemi. The young German international has absolutely everything. He showed physicality and timing to head home for Dortmund’s opening goal.
He then showed a clean pair of heels to set up Haller for the 2nd. He doubled his tally in the 2nd half and actually missed a penalty that would have completed a deserved hat-trick. For their part, Bayern ground out a stygian 2-1 win at Werder Bremen.
Serge Gnabry showed his value for the 2nd time in a week, scoring Die Roten’s first and setting the impetus for their improved 2nd half display.
3 POINTS + CLEAN SHEET ⏹ pic.twitter.com/9x733bN3sQ
— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) May 7, 2023
Osimhen fittingly seals Scudetto title for Napoli
And let the party begin. Technically, Naples has been in a state of pre-title delirium for a few weeks now. But a 1-0 win at Udinese last Thursday confirmed that Napoli has won their first Scudetto since the halcyon days of Diego Maradona.
And wasn’t it fitting that Nigerian marksman Victor Osimhen was the man to deliver the knockout punch? That strike saw him surpass Samuel Eto’o as the highest scoring African player in a single season in Serie A football.
He once again found the scoresheet this weekend as they ran out 1-0 winners at home to Fiorentina. The Milan giants- set to meet in a crunch Champions League tie later this week- have both found domestic form at the right time.
AC Milan put Lazio’s Champions League hopes in jeopardy with an assured 2-0 victory at the San Siro. In turn, Inter have potentially put Jose Mourihno’s future in jeopardy with a 2-0 victory at the Stadio Olimpico. You can still expect plenty of twists and turns as the Serie A European places remain up for grabs.
No African player has scored more goals in Serie A history than Victor Osimhen 🦅🇳🇬 pic.twitter.com/vdEkBtoOlg
— GOAL (@goal) May 7, 2023
Rodrygo brace secures Cope del Rey for Real
Carlo Ancelotti has now won all six trophies available to him during his remarkable 2nd spell at Real, helping Los Blancos win their first Copa del Rey in nearly a decade.
They overcame a spirited Osasuna side 2-1, with Rodrygo scoring a brace while Vinicius Jr wreaked havoc on his wing. It was a professional display by the Galacticos ahead of their megawatt clash with Manchester City.
Curiously, Man City conceded a goal to Rodrigo Moreno at home to Leeds this weekend. Last weekend they conceded a goal to Carlos Vinicius at Fulham. So, Rodrigo and Vinicius were the last two players to score against City. Spelling aside, could that be a portent of things to come this week?
FC Barcelona will probably be secretly hoping that City can pull off a win at the Bernabeu, allowing them to celebrate next week’s potential La Liga glory outside the shadow of their great rivals.
Vini Jr. 🤝 Rodrygo
— B/R Football (@brfootball) May 6, 2023
It only took them 109 seconds to give Real Madrid a Copa del Rey final lead 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/UcJcXA71Ci
Player of the Week – Alexander Lacazette
I think this performance probably says more about the lack of depth in French football than anything else. Still, it’s not every day that you trail 4-1 and win a game 5-4.
Former Arsenal striker Alexander Lacazette was roundly lampooned by Gunners’ fans for having little threat in front of goal (‘lackofthreat’ became his rather hilarious nickname).
But he has found a new lease on life this year, scoring 24 goals and creating four assists in just 31 games for Lyon. Incredibly, Elye Wahi also scored four goals for Montpelier in this match!
But I have to give the title to the Frenchman for having the nerves to slot home the proverbial last-gasp penalty. The win crucially lifts them above Lille and Rennes into the European qualification places.
Alexander Lacazette form in Ligue one. Follow me on https://t.co/jOLKvNETaL pic.twitter.com/R4yXunxFnT
— Kha Zxo Rla 956 (@KhaZxoRla956) April 29, 2023
