Saturday’s FA Cup final was the best possible advertisement for the power of the January transfer window, with Marc Guehi and Antoine Semenyo shining in the Citizens’ 1-0 victory.
City outlast Chelsea in unremarkable FA Cup final
City have now completed this year’s domestic cup double and will have one eye on backdooring a treble (though Arteta’s men have that firmly on their racquet). The final was largely forgettable, with Guardiola’s superior City side frustrated by Chelsea’s compact unit. Calum McFarlane was weary of City’s obvious threat in wide areas, opting for a 3-5-2 formation that essentially worked as a back-5. But City never looked particularly threatening in the first stanza, with the bizarre decision to start Omar Marmoush ahead of Cherki looking like another one of those epic Guardiola overthinks. Guardiola wisely made a change at the break, bringing on Cherki to offer a bit more subtlety on the edge of Chelsea’s crowded box. But it was Antoine Semenyo who would finally break the deadlock in the 71st minute, flicking in Haaland’s pass with mischievous relish. The goal triggered a late flurry of chances for both sides, but City would hold firm, securing Guardiola a 3rd FA Cup triumph. Xabi Alonso, who was confirmed as Chelsea’s new boss shortly after their defeat, desperately needs to help this squad form some kind of footballing identity.
Kane underscores dominance while Stuttgart secure Champions League clash
Harry Kane was certainly in celebratory mood on Saturday, scoring a wonderful hat-trick as Bayern trounced Koln 5-1 at the Allianz Arena. It left him with 36 goals for the campaign, cementing his status as England’s greatest ever goalscorer. He has also become the first man in German football history to win the top scorer award in each of his first three seasons. I think the real story of the week is Hoffenheim’s epic last-day implosion. I mean, wow. Christian Ilzer has done wonders since taking over in late 2024, raising Hoffenheim from relegation candidates to genuine European contenders. But they crumbled in embarrassing fashion on Saturday, losing 4-0 at Monchengladbach to squander their Champions League dreams. Stuttgart could only manage a 2-2 draw at Frankfurt, meaning the ‘Hoffe’ would have joined Europe’s elite with a final-day victory. I can only imagine what must have been going through the minds of billionaire businessman Dietmar Hopp, who has invested hundreds of millions of Euros into the project.
Juventus endure nightmare weekend
Despite turbulent recent form, the Bianconeri were well positioned ahead of this weekend’s fixtures. Saturday was a massive day in the race for European football, with just three points separating the 2nd and 6th teams in the table. But Juve had a chance to create a bit of a buffer with a juicy fixture against struggling Fiorentina (who only recently secured their survival). But the afternoon soon devolved into a familiar tale of goal-mouth inefficiency, as Spalletti’s men failed to convert once from 24 shots. By contrast, Fiorentina struck with their first shot on target, as Ndour smashed it through an unconvincing Di Gregorio to make it 1-0 in the 33rd minute. Juve pushed for an equalizer but were met by an immovable object in Fiorentina keeper David de Gea. The former United stalwart took a dip in the Hot Tub Time Machine on Saturday, producing a performance that wouldn’t have looked out of place in his vintage United days. Juve briefly appeared to have drawn level when Vlahovic ghosted in at the far-post in the 70th minute. VAR put an end to the Juventus Stadium’s celebrations, adjudging Vlahovic to have strayed slightly offside (how unusual for him). Fiorentina made Juve pay, with Mandragora scoring a late firecracker to leave Juve’s Champions League hopes in tatters. With all the other Champions League protagonists securing victories this past weekend, Juve require a minor miracle to reach the European promised land. Shambolic.
Girona on brink of relegation
Girona stand on the brink of relegation following a dispiriting 1-0 loss at Atletico Madrid. Lookman scored the only goal of the match, converting after wonderful work from Greizmann in the 21st minute (a fitting send-off for the Frenchman in front of the home fans). The result means that Girona sit in 18th place on 40 points, two points clear of Elche and Osasuna with just one match remaining. One silver lining: they play Elche at home in their final match. Victory in that match will secure another season of La Liga football. The downfall of Girona has been one of the more depressing examples of footballing mismanagement in recent years. Owned by the City Football Club, the Catalonian club has been forged in the image of Guardiola and his beloved tiki-taka style. Michel took a side with limited resources and turned them into a competitive European unit, guiding them to Champions League qualification back in 2023/2024. But poor recruitment has been an issue after losing the likes of Savinho and Dovbyk, . They were also victims of their own success, struggling to deal with dual European and Spanish responsibilities.
Sidenote: Barca’s 3-1 win over Real Betis made them the first team in La Liga history to win every single one of their home matches in a season. Flick has turned the Camp Nou- or Spotify Camp Nou- into a fortress.
Player of the Week- Harry Kane
It’s easy to become desensitized to some of today’s goal-scoring assassins (perhaps years of Messi and Ronaldo prepared us for this). But the era of Haaland, Mbappe and Kane is a gift that keeps on giving. Kane was sensational in Bayern’s win over Koln, scoring a few speculator goals en route to an 11th Bundesliga hat-trick! That’s his 11th Bundesliga hat-trick in three seasons. To put that into context, Henry only managed eight in his entire Arsenal career! This is the remarkable standard that these modern-day goal plunderers have set.
