That’s one way to silence the naysayers. City put the entire corruption saga to one side yesterday, dominating Liverpool 3-0 to relegate Iraola to his first defeat as Reds manager.
City run riot against 10-man Liverpool
But context, as they say, is everything. This much-hyped clash between good and evil was finely balanced at the hour mark, with City happy to play in containment mode against the home side. The introduction of Jeremy Doku completely altered the fabric of the game. The Belgian livewire terrorized Liverpool with his astonishing burst of speed and footwork, forcing Ryan Graveberch into a silly foul to prevent a quick breakaway. Gravenberch- who had already been booked- received his marching orders and the match was effectively over as a contest. We have seem Man United struggle against ten men a few times this season. City gave a masterclass in utilizing the advantage, pulling Liverpool this way and that is a ruthless display of kinetic possession. Chief tormentor Doku made it 2-0 with a beautifully curled effort before twinkle-toed Cherki scored an intricately worked 3rd that wouldn’t have looked out of place at Barcelona. Anderson’s ability to manipulate the ball in tight areas is a thing of beauty.
Arsenal return to winning ways
Reigning champs Arsenal returned to winning ways with a hard-fought 2-1 comeback win against Daniel Farke’s Leeds United. Arsenal’s front-three of Saka, Havertz and Madueke looked prehistoric in comparison to some of the vibrant attacking units roaming around Europe right now. Farke’s men frustrated Arsenal for large portions of the match and always looked dangerous on the counterattack. And James Justin underlined that danger when opening the scoring in the 55th minute, doing well to keep his shot down and beyond the sprawling David Raya. The goal sparked the Gunners into life, though it wasn’t one of their main attacking men who would draw them level. Buccaneering fullback Califiori showed the Arsenal attack how its done, gambling inside the penalty box to meet White’s cross and make it 1-1. Substitute Bruno Guimares then sealed all the points with an excellent finish to a sensational team move.
Fireworks in Bundesliga
Footballing neutrals should tune in to the Bundesliga more often: it’s like the Wild West out there. Friday night perfectly set the tone for an insane weekend, as table-topping Dortmund hosted mid-table Werder. The game appeared to be heading for a stalemate until absolute pandemonium hit during the last 15 minutes. Dortmund appeared to have secured the points through goals from Svensson and Scholtterback (in the 80th and 85th minute respectively). But those goals activated Werder, who pulled one back through Reis in the 88th minute before Fullkrug made it 2-2 deep into stoppage time. Bayern were also held 2-2 by Augsburg in a helter-skelter Bavarian derby. Augsburg created history in the match, scoring the quickest ever Bundesliga goal after a generational Manuel Neuer howler allowed in Fellhauer after just eight seconds. Harry Kane never scored but was the architect supreme behind Bayern’s performance, manufacturing two equalizers to keep Die Roten within touching distance of the top of the table. Elsewhere, Leverkusen won 4-3 at Mainz while RB Leipzig slapped Eintracht Frankfurt 6-0. Oh, and Freiburg leapfrogged Dortmund to go top of the table, nabbing a late winner to see off Schalke 2-1 at home. Chaos!
Barca romp to victory
Talk about contrasting wins for the Spanish giants. Hansi Flick’s free-scoring Barcelona machine made it eight wins from eight with an embarrassingly comfortable 3-0 win over Getafe. Flick took the opportunity to rotate his starting lineup, leaving out the likes of Pedri and Cubarsi while Raphinha took some time to recover from his thigh strain. But the Catalans needed less than two minutes to open the scoring, as puckish winger Anthony Gordon wiggled into some room before his deflected shot gave Barca the lead. Gabi Jesus made it 2-0 in the 30th minute, cleverly manipulating space before wrongfooting the keeper with a disguised shot. And the excellent Jules Kounde would complete the scoring in the 2nd stanza, latching onto a peach of a delivery from Yamal to preserve Barca’s five-point lead atop the standings.
Real scrape by Villarreal
By contrast, Mourinho’s ten-man Real Madrid held on for dear life to win 1-0 against Villarreal. Real were looking for a performance to distract from the off-field melodramas of Mbappe and Vini Jr. What they got was a performance that lacked cohesion. Courtois kept Real alive with four saves while Yann Diomande scored his first goal since a mega-money move. But what of their global superstars? Mbappe flattered to deceive, wasting several gilt-edged chances. And Vini Jr was even more frustrating, shown a straight red for pulling Sabila’s hair in the buildup to what would have been Real’s 2nd goal. The entire performance was suggestive of a side struggling to contain its various massive egos (Mourinho, Mbappe, Vini Jr).
Inter brush Parma aside to remain top of Serie A
The Nerazzuri sprinted out of the blocks this weekend, securing all three points with a brutal first-half dismantling of Parma. Cristian Chivu’s side tactically overwhelmed the visitors, pressing high up the field to destabilize Parma’s defensive ranks. Inter took the lead in the 13th minute, as energetic midfielder Petar Sucic took advantage of some kamikaze defending to power Inter ahead. Evergreen midfielder Hakan Calhanoglou made it 2-0 after converting from the spot. Marcus Thuram rounded up the scoring in the 31st minute, expertly applying the finishing touches to a sweeping counterattacking move. It was an authoritative showing that was made all the sweeter as several would-be contenders- Como, Roma, Juve, AC Milan- dropped points this weekend.
Player of the Week- Jordan Henderson
Jordan Henderson wound the clock back nearly a decade on Saturday, scoring two worldies to help guide Chelsea to a commanding 5-1 victory over Bournemouth. Henderson opened the scoring after little more than a minute, torpedoing a Palmer cutback into the back of the net from outside the box. ‘Hendo’ would pick up an assist before capping things off with an exquisitely taken free kick to complete the rout. It’s quite refreshing to see an aging player who understands that he isn’t going to play every single game (and he isn’t 41). Speaking of CR7, Henderson- at 36 years and 115 days- became the oldest player with three goal contributions in a Prem match since Ronaldo did so as a 37-year-old back in 2022.
