#the turn around from the first game vs Bayern to now I just

[rippledawn]

I am in love with Renee Slegers!!!! Somebody give her a pen yesterday actually, this is fucking incredible

[footy-fictionist]

Championship loss - Julian Brandt

Pairing: Julian Brandt x female reader

Warnings: I'm gonna break your hearts again with the Championship loss, but also a lot of fluff, soft moments, teeny tiny bit of teasing, badly translated German, mentions of Jannis and Jascha

Word Count: 1653

Note: As always, English is not my first language. This one has been on my mind since we lost. Next one should be a Jude one and then I can get to the requests in my inbox. This one just had to come out now. Remember it's fictional, some parts may be alike with real life and some I just came up with. Please do not copy and/or publish my work, reblogging is perfectly fine!

Dortmund vs Mainz. The last game of the season and all we needed to do was win. Win so we could win the league. Win so we could lift the Meisterschale. That was the dream, everything Dortmund had worked so hard for and we didn’t win it. The equalizer from Niklas wasn’t enough because Bayern won their game. And now everything has become a nightmare. She’s watching speechless as she sees the defeat and utter disbelief on everyone’s faces. 

But the one she is worried about most hasn’t come back onto the field again. Julian was subbed out in the 62nd minute and she knows he’s beating himself up. She may not be able to see him from where she’s stood, but she can feel his pain. Pain she also feels because she loves Dortmund, but it’s probably nothing compared to Julian’s pain and the other players. She’s not even surprised that not a single fan has left the stadium, the fans loyal to a fault. She’s still trying to find him when the stadium camera’s zoom in on the bench and there he is. Eyes red and teary, a few wet streaks and Julian just staring into the distance. That’s the moment she started crying too.

She watched as Terzic went to Julian and patted him on the face. The camera’s stopped showing the bench after that and a few moments later Julian stepped back out on the pitch. She watched as he slowly made his way to his teammates in front of the yellow wall. He didn’t really approach anyone, just standing between everyone and she knows he is already closing himself off. The disappointment is clear everywhere and yet the yellow wall sings and they support their players. They clap for the yellow wall, apologizing to the fans and thanking them for their support. 

She watches as Julian crouches down, hand going over his face. She grabs onto Jascha’s arm, who has been standing next to her the whole game. He looks down at her, eyes leaving his brother. He sees the pain on her face, the tears still streaming even if she wipes them every few minutes. He pulls his arm out of her grip and she looks up at him a little panicked. She’s scared that she had upset her younger brother-in-law, only to have him wrap his arm around her shoulders to help comfort her. In return she wraps an arm around his waist. She looks back to where she last saw Julian only to see his deflated form sitting near Nico. 

All she wants to do is go to him, but she can’t. She’ll have to wait till he comes to her. She watches as the team gets up and goes to walk past the fans. The fans comfort the players as they walk by, a few of them giving away their jerseys, Julian included. And even though it really isn’t the time, she can’t help but admire Julian and his physique. She sees him shirtless all the time, but after a game it always hits differently. But it’s not just his physique, it’s the way he takes the time with fans, talks with them and shows them he is as disappointed as they are. And yet he appreciates every single fan. His introverted side is not in sight with the fans. But she knows that’ll change once they’re alone.

She notices that Jascha stopped rubbing her arm and that’s when she notices her tears have stopped as well. She turns to him and thanks him for being a brilliant brother-in-law. She spots Jannis still near the other photographers, he turns that exact moment and they lock eyes. He waves at her and she manages to wave back with a bittersweet smile before he turns back to take more pictures. That’s when Jascha softly squeezes her arm and she follows his gaze to the pitch. And she sees her favourite sweaty blonde walk towards them. 

His head is down, but he walks with purpose.

She already has the boarding digging into her hips before he’s even close. But the second he’s close enough, her arms wrap around his shoulders. It’s as though a weight drops off his shoulders and he wraps his arms around her waist. They hide their faces against each other’s necks. She inhales his scent, a scent that’s pure Julian and she hears him do the same. She can’t help but tighten her grip on him a little and move one hand to his golden locks. He pulls her in a little closer and presses a few small, soft kisses to the nape of her neck. 

“Ich bin so stolz auf dich, Schatzie.” 

“Wofür? We drew the game and lost the title. We bottled it.” 

She immediately pulls away and he looks at her a little offended that she’s pulled away from him so quickly. She immediately makes sure to make it up to him by putting her hands on his jaw and drawing his face closer to hers. His arms tighten around her again as she does so and she presses a few butterfly kisses across his face. 

“I’m proud of you for the good times, the bad times and everything in between. You have given it your all, you all managed to get back from 9 points difference. You battled through an injury whilst being in your prime and you still managed to give Bayern the biggest challenge they’ve had in years. You, Julian Brandt, are one of the best players on this team and if you’d ask me alone, I’d tell everyone you are the best. For your spirit, your passion, your perseverance, your love for the club and the fans. You live and breathe football at this club Schatzie. And I wouldn’t be surprised if you’d end up being like Reus for the fans. You give everything and more Jule and you can’t imagine how proud I am that I get to call you mine.”

As she’s talking to him, she can see a few tears start to gather on his lashes again. He presses his forehead to hers and the smile he gives her is brighter than the sun. She returns the smile and presses a kiss to his lips. It’s sweet, loving and passionate all at once. 

“Ich liebe dich.” He whispers against her lips and she smiles, returning the phrase to him. 

It’s then that they realize where they are and that they’re not alone. Julian presses another quick kiss against her lips before going to hug Jascha, who is giving him a mischievous look. Both Julian and her give Jascha suspicious looks but he just waves them away. They share a look but let it go. Mats approaches them to tell Julian that they have to go inside. Julian nods and turns back to her one more time. He presses another kiss to her lips. 

“Will you wait for me here in the stadium?” She nods at him and presses another kiss to his lips.

As he makes his way to the dressing room, she and Jascha head inside to wait for Julian in the family area. She gets the chance to ask Jascha what his mischievous look was for. He just glances at her and tells her to look at her phone. She gives him a confused look but does as he says. She sees a few messages from him and the second she opens them, she knows why he was acting that way. He took some pictures of her interaction with Julian. And she can’t help but feel happy that he did. It’s clear in the pictures that they clearly love each other very much and she knows she’ll definitely use one as her background and that she’ll hang a few in their apartment. 

“Danke, Jascha.” 

Jascha just shrugs and gives her a wink. They talk for about 20 minutes and during that time Jannis has joined them. He’s showing her some of the pictures he made when some players finally enter the room. Julian makes an immediate beeline towards them, ignoring everyone else and she knows he’s in his own headspace now. He gives Jannis a slap on his back and then moves to wrap his arm around her. He stands close to her, now without the boarding between them. His forehead leans against her temple and she runs a hand through his still partially wet hair. 

They go home soon after that and once home they order some food and crash on the couch. He’s quiet as he hands her the remote for the tv. He makes sure she’s in the corner of the couch and then goes to lie down between her legs, his front pressed against hers, head on her chest. She chooses a series and runs her fingers through his hair as they wait for their food. They don’t talk and she knows Julian isn’t paying attention to the tv. He’s in his own head, thinking of today’s outcome.

They eat in silence once the food arrives and then move to their bed. She knows he needs his own headspace to get over it and she lets him approach her if he needs anything. She’s used to it and she knows it’s what he’s most comfortable with. He’s in bed before her, but the second she gets on the bed he immediately pulls her to him. He pulls her as close to him as he can, her head on his chest this time and the sound of his heartbeat calms her completely. His scent envelopes her again and she sighs in complete content, making Julian smile and press a kiss to her hairline. 

“Danke, meine Liebe. Ich liebe dich.”

"Natürlich, Schatzie. Ich liebe dich für immer.”

This time it’s Julian that sighs in content. He presses one more kiss to her hairline and then they both drift off. 

Ich bin so stolz auf dich, Schatzie: I am so proud of you darling Wofür?: For what? Ich liebe dich (für immer): I love you (always/forever) Danke: thank you Meine Liebe: my love Natürlich: of course

[sharleslecler]

germany nt

since some people evidently care soooooo much about my opinion they wanna write essays about it, here's my essay.

1. marco reus.

why he should be called up you ask. i am subjective and fixated on him because i am a bvb fan you say. he's old and injury prone you say. first of all, although it's probably irrelevant, i became a bvb fan because of marco, not the other way around. i appreciate the player above the colours he wears and i would have the same opinion of him whatever club he played for. now marco had probably the best season of his career at 29 years old with 21 goals & 13 assists in 36 games for bvb. he had no serious injuries that kept him away from the game for the first time in at least 3 seasons. that allowed him to perform consistently. i know he's injury prone, we all do. which is why he never plays 90 minutes for the national team. also, i don't appreciate your irony. everyone loves him for a reason. he's a good player and a respectable athlete. going back to the summer, he scored germany's only goal from open play. going back to march he came on in the 89th minute to assist the winning goal. going back to a few weeks ago he scored in two consecutive games for the first time in years? ever? i'm not even quite sure. he's never been consistently fit or in good enough form to do that before. he IS in good form and that shows on the pitch. combined with his overall ability as a player, the fact that he has something to offer to the national team at the moment is enough to get him a call up. and if he does get injured he simply doesn't get called up. i don't see why you're so arsed about this. furthermore, he contributes to the “experience” you believe is necessary. which brings us to

2. youth vs experience

football is a natural process. you get old, you get replaced. especially in a national team and particularly in a national team with germany's talent where there are a ton of young talented players waiting for their opportunity. and i'm not just talking about the bayern trio. if you actually read my original post you would see that i said i don't agree with the way löw treated them. but at the same time i can't say i care. acknowledging it was wrong and not caring about it are two different things. on the contrary, you were the ones who targeted specific players like khedira and draxler. my criticism applies to all the players. but the reality of it is that there should've been a gradual transition from the older generation to the younger players. the problem is there wasn't and in my opinion that's one of the main reasons the performances were so shit. what löw basically did is play the same core players and switch up an attacker here and a defender there. that doesn't really change anything. there was no creativity in last year's games and that goal drought you're talking about, you can't only blame the strikers (most of whom haven't even gotten that much time for the nt and were still adapting into the team). all of the team plays a part and creativity starts in the midfield. now when you go from that to scoring 8 goals in a game i think it speaks volumes about the intentions of the players and the approach of the game. sure, estonia is not france or the netherlands but there was an effort and that's way more important than the goals themselves. there was none of that before. it was like watching a dead team. i was bored with them. the youth IS important. they are the future. but right now they should be the present. it's healthy to replace your old players and i don't see why you're so against it. yes they'll need time to adapt, yes they're not as experienced. but it needs to happen at some point. you can't put it off forever on the basis of that. at some point the young players turn into experienced players. also, wins bring a different mentality. you win once, you win twice, it raises the team's ethics. of course like i mentioned there should be some experienced players in the squad but eventually you let them go and start over.

3. i didn't say neuer shouldn't be called up?? i just said i want to see ter stegen play. you can't keep your world class keeper on the bench forever because your first choice keeper is your experienced captain. and let's face it, he's definitely not on the same level as he used to be. so why not give someone else a chance?

4. i don't “thirst over the pretty young boys”. that sounds like something a man would say to a woman who watches football. when i like a team i want to see good players in there and that's the end of it. keep the sexist comments to yourself.

5. i don't care if boateng was the best defender two years ago. is he now?? does his current form warrant a call up? just because you used to be world class doesn't mean you're entitled to a spot in the squad forever. someone else who can do the job better than you at the moment might be staying out because of you.

[hayes174sbridget]

PREVIEW: Barça - Liverpool

Liverpool fc barca - Liverpool-Barcelona History | UEFA Champions League |

Danger is lurking for Liverpool fc barca Messi 's Barcelona. And its name is Liverpool. Liverpool fc barca front page of Tuesday's edition of Mundo Deportivowhich is one of Catalonia's two daily sports newspapers, runs with an alarming headline, "Code Red", alongside a picture of Liverpool's coach Jurgen Klopp instructing Liverpool fc barca Salah about his lines of battle. Mundo Deportivo lays liverpool fc barca Liverpool's numerous strengths: Klopp's charisma; the class of Salah and Roberto Firmino up front; Sadio Mane and Virgil van Dijk's impressive form; Liverpool's "asphyxiating" barac their ability to generate danger without the ball and to effectively execute their strategy.

It all makes up for a stern challenge. It's like encountering a group of wild beasts, something that Barca will have trouble trying to tame," says Ramon Besa, a journalist with El Pais.

Barcelona's encounter with Liverpool in this year's UEFA Champions League semi-final, which begins with a first-leg tie at the Camp Nou stadium tomorrow, is a different animal to last year's final when Liverpool met a Real Madrid side bqrca fancied themselves against a " mentally weak " Liverpool. The Reds re-armed astutely off-season, bringing in the confident goalkeeper Alisson from AS Roma —who knocked Barcelona out in last year's quarter-final—as company website as Naby Keita, Fabinho and Xherdan Shaqiri.

Today Liverpool have a goalkeeper that Messi has not scored against and an exceptional central defender in Van Dijk, so the conditions are very different. Liverpool have learnt from the past. He told BT Sport liverpool fc barca "The whole game.

The whole performance was too much. It was overwhelming. I liverpool fc barca in my life so many football games but I can't remember many like this. I saw James Milner crying after the game on the pitch, it means so much to all of us. There are more important things in the world but creating this kind of atmosphere is so special.

It's unbelievable. Liverpool stunned Ligerpool but this club - and these fans - have liveerpool way of making the impossible seem possible. Adam Bate was at Anfield on a night when, against the odds, belief was in the air from the outset It is the first time that the Blaugrana have been crowned champions at their own ground sincebadca the liverpool fc barca coached by Pep Guardiola bested Valladolid.

Liverpool still have work to do if they are to become domestic champions, as the Liverpoo League title race is set to go down to the wire. They are embroiled liveropol a battle with Manchester City, and Jurgen Klopp's team were able to best Huddersfield in their most recent fixture. He also has a history of goals in semifinals, having bagged a brace against Bayern Munich in and scoring one of the best strikes in the history of the competition to liverpool fc barca eliminate Real Madrid in Ernesto Liverpooll has chosen the following players for the home game against Liverpool: Liverpool fc barca StegenN.

Substitution, Barcelona. Malcom replaces Ivan Rakitic. Liverpool 4, Barcelona 0. Divock Origi Liverpool right footed shot from the centre of the box to the top left corner. Assisted by Trent Alexander-Arnold following a corner. Corner, Liverpool. Conceded by Sergi Roberto.

These comments are now closed. Stream one for your movie night on BBC iPlayer. Find out if so and what barcw they can have liverpool fc barca you. Liverpool Liverpool 4 Barcelona Barcelona 0. Divock Origi's livegpool goal set Liverpool on their way to a remarkable ,iverpool Liverpool are into their second successive Champions League final after overcoming Barcelona with a stunning second-leg fightback liverool an liverpool fc barca night at Anfield.

Line-ups Match Stats Live Text. Line-ups Liverpool Formation 13 Alisson. Barcelona Formation 1 ter Stegen. Attendance: 52, Live Liverpool fc barca. Page 1 of 6.

PREVIEW: Barça - Liverpool

Navigate to the next page next. Comments Join the conversation. To use comments you will need to have JavaScript enabled. Comment posted by Rain on your parade, at 7 May Rain on your parade.

To Liverpool fans and Liverpool fc barca from a Saint. Wow, just wow.

Liverpool-Barcelona UEFA Champions League 2018/19

Many, many liverpool fc barca fans were with you tonight, as they were in To the real deal, I say. Haters and trolls, take a day off. Absolutely delighted for this English team. Declan Rice is sweating over his fitness just as West Ham consolidated their place liverpool fc barca the race for top four.

Who you having? Real Madrid vs Barcelona: A clash of two incredible midfields The biggest rivalry in Spain looms upon us once again. Lionesses: France seal win minutes after post prevents equaliser. Video Klopp backs Mane to turn around 'not great' Liverpool goals tally.

[waldron2313kderek]

Premier League Predictions and Free EXPERTS Betting Tips (Football)

This weekend english premier league predictions - Premier League Predictions & Premier League Betting Tips

Betting Tips Tottenham. Manchester United FC. Our tip : Manchester United FC win. Bet now! Our tip : Arsenal win. Betting Tips Liverpool. Aston Villa. Our tip : Liverpool win the oremier or Aston Villa win the game. This weekend english premier league predictions Tips Crystal Palace. Our tip : Under 2. Website here Tips Burnley. Our tip : Newcastle win. Betting Tips West Ham. Our tip : Draw. Betting Tips West Brom. Our tip : Southampton win.

Betting Tips Brighton. Our tip : Everton win. Crystal Palace. West Ham. Sheffield United FC. West Brom. Check out bookmakers sign up for your bets Find excellent Premier League offers at Bet How to predict the Premier League table The Premier League isn't all about who is going predictios lift the title.

English Premier League: Predictions for the Weekend's Fixtures

Head this weekend english premier league predictions to Bet for all the Premier League odds Betting tips on the Premier League top Scorer Always interesting to try your luck on, the top goalscorer market has become widely popular among fans of sports betting, especially on the Premier League. Bayern Munich Union Berlin. A remarkable ratio considering they needed 85 shots to score their previous five goals which came spread across nine matches. The Baggies have averaged Although factoring key performance metrics is a big part of my analysis process, sometimes the market moves far too in favour of predctions like Brighton that post extremely positive data.

That's happened here. Carlo Ancelotti's team are expertly organised in defence and despite this weekend english premier league predictions creating many chances, they know how to play away from Goodison Park, winning seven of their last 10 Premier League games on the road. Play for free, entries by pm. Search Sky Sports. Premier League predictions: Liverpool to finally win at Anfield?

Leaguf 2 This weekend english premier league predictions 11 View it with Sketch. Saturday 10 AprilUK.

Manchester City vs Leeds, Saturday Saturday 10th April pm Kick off pm. Sunday 11th April pm Kick off pm. Around Sky. That sets the naturally cautious Steve Bruce an interesting dilemma in Lancashire, with Burnley also knowing three points here would effectively quash any lingering doubts over their top flight status.

Results last weekend have conspired to produce a leagje contest in prospect at the London Stadium on Sunday. On the flipside, a Foxes weeken might just leave their rivals with too much work to do to overhaul them in the coming weeks. Bank on predicyions draw then, with both managers likely to be keen to keep their sides ticking over as they maintain momentum for the run-in ahead. The North Londoners are about to embark on their this weekend english premier league predictions important fortnight of the season.

With their top four status looking secure, visiting boss Ole Gunnar Solksjaer might be prepared to shuffle the pack here with their two-leg Europa League tussle with Granada sandwiching this game.

However, with just 14 points to their name, Sheffield Utd could still fill joint-second slot when it comes to the worst Premier League team of all time should leaguw fail to pick up more than a point from their remaining matches.

It weekemd yet more frustration for caretaker Paul Heckingbottom as he endured a frustrating return to Elland Road last weekend in a defeat. The stand-in Blades boss will be hoping to finally get off the mark against an Arsenal team that remain infuriating inconsistent, with the Gunners now winning just three of their last 10 league games following the lifeless home defeat to Liverpool. A Lys Mousset goal was enough to separate the sides in a home win for the Blades in this fixture last season.

His Baggies picked up their best result of the season as they ran riot at Stamford Bridge last week, but their great escape bid remains a high-wire act given they still sit a hefty eight points away from survival with just eight to play. A stirring fightback for the Saints against Burnley took click for more up to 36 points, a tally fnglish should ensure their top flight status for another campaign — and one that might seem them drop their guard here.

Finally, an intriguing round of games ends at the Amex Stadium, with Brighton looking to record that rarest of things: two wins in a row on home soil. With the campaign drawing to a close, the games to come over the following weeks this weekend english premier league predictions be crucial.

The race for the this weekend english premier league predictions, as well as the battle for third and fourth places, are heating up, with the finale of the season-long clashes fast approaching. On top of this, the fight to stay alive at the foot of the table grows more interesting with every passing match. With both of these sides showing questionable form of late, this match will be a tricky one to call.

At the start of the season you could have bet your house on Spurs securing the victory against the then-struggling Black Cats. However, visit their website a rampant surge up the table under new manager Martin O'Neil and a string of awful results for Tottenham, this one is delicately poised. The game unquestionably means more to Spurs, but Harry's men have had a history of choking in big matches.

I see this game being close, attacking and very open, with neither side managing to take it. When the tragic incident involving Fabrice Muamba at White Hart Lane occurred in mid-March, many fans knew it would be the defining moment of the Wanderer's season. Since that black day, Bolton have gone on to bag three straight Premier League victories, taking them a point clear of the relegation zone with a game in weekene. In fact, the world of football should be proud for the way in which it conducted itself in the wake of Fabrice's traumatic experience.

Leicester have put themselves ppredictions an excellent position as they bid to secure Champions League football next season and they can take three points against unlikely this weekend english premier league predictions rivals West Ham. Leicester have been excellent on their travels this their explanation, losing just one league game this weekend english premier league predictions from the King Power and playing on the road seems to suit their counter-attacking tactics.

Betting on a narrow Foxes win on the correct score market looks the best way to play. The finest of margins between success and failure was never better illustrated than in matches featuring these two at the weekend and might give us a clue for a bet. Fast forward half an hour to the final whistle and Spurs had dropped two points after conceding a late equalizer whereas United had turned it around against Albion and had clawed three points back on Manchester City.

Solskjaer the hero, Mourinho Out! You know the story by now. They, of course, have managed to turn that around to some degree by surging into second place in the table and they are still in the Europa League.

In theory, arguably, Spurs should be finishing this match stronger than United though all the evidence suggests otherwise. Incredibly for a team in second place in the actual Premier League table, the Red Devils are 12th in a first-half league table.

While they are continuing to find ways to win, why bet against it? Arsenal was hammered by Liverpool last weekend and although you can original site the Gunners to fire back at Sheffield United it may not be as comfortable as the prices suggest.

A Sheffield United win or a tie would see Asian punters cop, even a one-goal Arsenal win would see stakes returned and that looks a fair bet.

There have been ties against Man Utd and Burnley prexictions a win against Brighton in that run, and their odds look too big against Southampton. Sam Allardyce is better equipped to secure survival in the Premier League more than anyone and you can guarantee that he will have his side motivated to their peak ahead of this winnable contest. Southampton battled back from two down to beat Burnley on Saturday, this weekend english premier league predictions that made it just two wins in their last 12 Premier League matches.

This weekend english premier league predictions Ralph Hasenhuttl does rotate his Southampton team you predictins expect the Baggies to take advantage as they did against Chelsea.

[gadgetsrevv]

Man City aren’t in crisis despite Norwich shock. PLUS: Bayern’s Bundesliga dominance is under threat

There’s lots to talk about in this week’s Monday Musings following a wild weekend. Gab Marcotti is here to recap the big stories around soccer.

Jump to: No crisis yet for Man City | End of Bayern’s dominance? | Fati masks Barca’s issues | Juventus get lucky | Neymar gets rude welcome | Arsenal woe continues | | Neville harsh on Man United? | Chelsea’s youth movement | Dortmund ready for Barca | Odegaard dazzling for Sociedad | Why Firmino’s so special | Conte, Inter keep winning | The sad story of #BlueGirl

Sky isn’t falling for Man City despite Norwich shock

One of the more odd decisions this past summer was Manchester City not replacing Vincent Kompany. “Replace” is perhaps too strong a word. You can’t “replace” him but you can bring in another live body to give you an alternative at centre-back and provide some competition for John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi.

– Ogden: Man City might regret inspiring Liverpool – Miller: Have Norwich shown the league how to beat City? – ESPN’s Ultimate XI: This team would win everything

Many of us pointed this out but hey, it’s Pep Guardiola, so you naturally offer the benefit of the doubt. He must know something we don’t. Maybe Fernandinho (at 34) can fill in too. Maybe Eric Garcia is ready. Maybe Kyle Walker can slide across. Maybe Aymeric Laporte is Iron Man and will never get injured. (Oops: we already know that’s not the case.)

Pep Guardiola’s side looked vulnerable in Saturday’s shock defeat at Norwich but there’s still a lot of time left for them to get their balance back.

It’s not that Otamendi and Stones are bad defenders, it’s that the way City play can leave them vulnerable, which is pretty much what happened against Norwich in their 3-2 defeat. There’s a price you pay for choosing to play a certain way and evidently, for City it’s one worth paying. The problem is this is a low-scoring sport. Scoring goals is difficult and ideally, you want to make conceding them as difficult as possible for the opposition. With those two back there and this setup, it’s that much easier for them.

Updated Luck Index: Man City continue to be unfortunate

No, the sky isn’t falling. Even in this game, Man City could have grabbed the three points with a bit more luck. Nor will they always face someone as motivated and as intense as Daniel Farke’s crew who, severely depleted by injuries, went all out with nothing to lose. But the reality is that the gap separating them from Liverpool is already at five points, and the last time that happened was back in January.

Is time running out on Bayern’s Bundesliga dynasty?

Is this the year someone in the Bundesliga topples Galactus (read: Bayern)?

Leipzig had their audition on Saturday, holding the champions to a 1-1 draw. The result keeps Julian Nagelsmann’s crew top of the league with Bayern fourth, two points back. But other than the usual drive and running you’d expect from Leipzig — and, after the break, the character that wasn’t always there last season — I’m not sure we quite saw enough to predict they’ll prevail over the marathon that is a whole season.

Thomas Muller, right, and Bayern were forced to settle for a point vs. RB Leipzig thanks to some familiar flaws that manager Niko Kovac has yet to fix.

In fact, a lot of it had to do with Bayern’s deficiencies. Having gone ahead early thanks to the age-old Thomas Mueller-Robert Lewandowski connection, they failed to capitalise on their lead despite having the upper hand for much of the first half. Joshua Kimmich in central midfield alongside Thiago Alcantara gave them a bit more control against the press, but they were sterile in the final third. Leipzig deserved their equalizer after a bad error from Lucas Hernandez (the sort that prompts you to say “He cost how much?”) and while late chances meant it could have gone either way, there wasn’t too much separating these two.

The difference? Well, you try to imagine how they can get better and you can see far bigger margins for growth at the Bayern end. Nagelsmann can conjure up some more tactical voodoo, Emil Forsberg might last 90 minutes, Kevin Kampl might be fit again and maybe they’ll get something out of Patrik Schick. But it’s slim pickings.

As for Bayern, Nico Kovac lost David Alaba to injury in the warm-up. But he still has Philippe Coutinho, who only came on with two minutes to go, and Ivan Perisic, who stayed rooted to the bench: presumably both were signed for a reason. The question, really, is how much faith you have in Kovac.

Fabulous Fati obscures Barca’s issues

Ansu Fati, already the third-youngest goal scorer in the history of La Liga, got his first start for Barcelona on Saturday against Valencia and set the Camp Nou alight inside 10 minutes. He scored with a confident, accurate finish, set up a goal for Frenkie de Jong and came close to scoring two more times. Oh yeah, in case you didn’t know, the kid doesn’t turn 17 until Halloween.

His emergence, and that of Carles Perez, means that Lionel Messi (who was in the stands) and Luis Suarez (who came on and scored twice) can come back into the team in their own time. But equally, despite the gaudy scoreline (5-2) and the excitement over Fati, there is still plenty for Ernesto Valverde to work on.

Valencia are a mess right now (thanks, Peter Lim!), having sacked Marcelino and replaced him with Albert Celades. And they still stayed in the game thanks to Kevin Gameiro, falling apart only after Jasper Cillessen‘s mistake for the third Barca goal. Suarez, looking sharp and hungry (no, not in that way), later added two to put the game out of reach.

Defensively, Barca looked far from solid, not just at the back but also in midfield; the fact that it was the first choice trio of De Jong, Arthur and Sergio Busquets doesn’t bode well.

Juventus get lucky vs. Fiorentina

There’s a ton of ancient bad blood between Fiorentina and Juventus. Throw in the enthusiasm that new owner Rocco Commisso has engendered within the Viola organization, the fact that it was Maurizio Sarri’s official post-pneumonia debut and especially the fact that the visitors lost Douglas Costa, Miralem Pjanic and Danilo through injury during the match (and the first two are especially key to the way they play) and perhaps Juve should be happy with a point.

Why? They were poor for much of the game against an opponent who treats the match as if it was the Champions League final and “Avengers: Endgame” rolled into one. Sarri later blamed the heat of a mid-afternoon kickoff, which is a bit hard to stomach since presumably Fiorentina felt just as hot. It might have been better to just take it on the chin, be grateful for the point and move on.

PSG fans will take time to welcome Neymar back

Neymar made his first appearance of the season for Paris Saint-Germain at the weekend and was greeted, predictably, with boos and insults. It’s what you expect when, after pledging your loyalty to the club, you go out of your way to force a move back to Barcelona. So what did he do? Easy, he scored a “worldie” deep in injury time to secure the three points against Strasbourg.

– Laurens: The definitive story of the Neymar saga

“I expected it, but in the end I forced them to applaud,” he said afterwards, adding that every game will now feel like an away match.

He made his bed, he can lie in it now and won’t get much sympathy. But at the very least, he deserves recognition for the professionalism he showed Saturday. Whether he’ll ever get love from the Ultras given what happened is unclear but that doesn’t mean they can’t reach some mutually beneficial relationship.

What’s obvious is that if you’re Thomas Tuchel, you’re glad he’s back.

Arsenal’s issues are self-inflicted

The statistics say Arsenal conceded 23 shots on goal in the second half against Watford on Sunday. That’s one every two minutes and it’s frankly hard to do. It’s especially tough when you go in at half-time with a two-goal lead, one which, based on what we saw in the first half, was likely more than generous. And yes, they ended up settling for a 2-2 draw.

You can focus on individuals — Matteo Guendouzi, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, David Luiz — all you like and there’s another statistic floating around that says that since the start of last season no team has made more errors leading directly to opposition goals than Arsenal. But this is a team issue.

If you have error-prone players, you design tactical systems that protect them and don’t expose them. That’s just basic. And that’s on Unai Emery.

Real nearly throw it away before PSG trip

It’s a sign of Real Madrid’s current state that even after playing well, creating plenty of chances and racing to a 3-0 lead at home to Levante, they still required a last-ditch save from Thibaut Courtois to retain their three points. In the cold light of day, you’d look at this performance, note Madrid’s domination, the fact that the goals conceded were against the run of play and chalk up the 3-2 scoreline to the randomness of football. And you might even celebrate Eden Hazard‘s debut and look forward to what is next.

Instead, it’s all fraught nerves ahead of the trip to the Parc des Princes to face Paris Saint-Germain in midweek. Context matters, possibly because we’re in mid-September and we have no real idea what Zinedine Zidane has in mind.

Neville a bit harsh on Man United?

Manchester United squeezed out a victory over Leicester City, but I was struck by Gary Neville’s comments suggesting Ole Gunnar Solskjaer should get at least three more transfer windows “to clean up the trash in the dressing room, because there is trash in there.”

I have a lot of time for Neville, but I was wondering to whom he’s referring given a summer of significant departures. Of the guys who are most frequently targeted as “trash” (or “weeds,” to use another of his terms), Eric Bailly, Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo haven’t played this year. Fred has been on the pitch for 24 minutes, Nemanja Matic has started one game. Who does he mean? Paul Pogba? Anthony Martial? Juan Mata?

I’m also not sure about the comparisons with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool and how it took him time to produce. He reached a Europa League final after taking over in October and finished fourth the following year. Plus, he had a rather more credible résumé than Solskjaer did. By all means, give him time, but set credible targets and deadlines too.

Why Chelsea’s youth movement feels different

Chelsea’s 5-2 away win to Wolves brings their seasonal goals total to 11 and all of them scored by Academy graduates. Fikayo Tomori, Andreas Christensen, Tammy Abraham and Mason Mount all started at Molyneux and all look poised to play a big part in Chelsea’s season. With more homegrown players — Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Callum Hudson-Odoi, possibly Reece James too — set to return from injury, there could be as many as seven of them in Frank Lampard‘s XI at some point.

What sets this group apart, though, is the fact that apart from Christensen, who joined at 16, the others have all been affiliated with the club since before they were 10 years old. We often play fast and loose with the homegrown label since so many clubs (including Chelsea, of course) cherry-pick top talent from elsewhere at 16, stick them in the Academy for a year or two and then count them as “club-trained.” Technically, that’s true but with these guys, it’s different.

Dortmund look ready for Barcelona

“Bouncebackability” isn’t a real word, but it applies here. Borussia Dortmund had a whole international break to stew over the humiliating 3-1 defeat to newly promoted Union Berlin and with Kai Havertz and Bayer Leverkusen rolling into town, the potential for aftereffects was still high. Instead, we got one of the most dominating Dortmund performances in recent memory. At the attacking end, Marco Reus got his mojo back, Jadon Sancho popped up with his usual two assists and Paco Alcacer scored in his eighth consecutive game, including internationals.

Roll on, Barcelona, this Tuesday.

Odegaard continues to dazzle

Martin Odegaard made his international debut for Norway at 15 years of age and moved to Real Madrid six months later. Too much, too soon? It felt that way to many, given he failed to establish himself at youth level and later spent two years on loan. But players develop at different speeds, and having rocketed to the international stage, he was due a breather.

This year, he’s on loan at Real Sociedad, where he’s already scored twice and, on Saturday night against Atletico Madrid, was arguably man of the match. He doesn’t even turn 21 until December, but it feels as if this could be the year it all comes together for him. Watch this space.

Meanwhile, for Atletico, the 2-0 defeat reinforces what we already know: losing four or five starters in a summer is tricky to metabolize and there will be days like this when Diego Simeone’s tinkering leads nowhere.

Why Roberto Firmino is so unique

My former colleague Matthew Syed, writing in The Times, made the point that Roberto Firmino appears to have 360-degree vision, a bit like those owls, whose heads seem to swivel all the way around. It’s not hard to see why, given his performance in Liverpool’s 3-1 win over Newcastle.

Some see him as a prototype of a modern center-forward, the “false nine” who is more creator than finisher. That certainly fits with Firmino’s strengths though another, equally formidable strength is the intensity and intelligence of his pressing game. But I’m not sure he’s a prototype of anything.

Most of Europe’s top teams — from Barcelona to Manchester City, from Tottenham to Real Madrid, from Bayern to Juventus — still have a genuine centerforward rather than a “false nine” (to use another hipsterish term). In other words, Firmino is not a trend as much as he has a nearly unique, extremely rare skill set, which comes as a result of his past as an attacking midfielder.

Conte keeping expectations down at Inter

Antonio Conte is playing that age-old game straight out of Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War” — “when you are weak, appear strong and when you are strong, appear weak.” Following Inter’s third win on the bounce (one-nil against Udinese) he said, “We know the game. They build us up now to knock us down later. For us to win the title, other clubs would have to have disastrous seasons.”

– Schoenfeld: Romelu Lukaku talks about his Inter mission

It’s pretty transparent what he’s doing. And yes, Inter aren’t title favorites but he has the strike force he says he wanted (Romelu Lukaku, Lautaro Martinez, Alexis Sanchez), he has two of the best young midfielders in the league (Stefano Sensi and Nicolo Barella) and arguably the best center-back corps. There’s no reason to hide. Own the responsibility.

What needs to happen beyond #BlueGirl

The harrowing tale of Sahar Khodayari, the 29-year-old Iranian woman who set herself on fire (and later died from severe burns) after being sentenced to six months in prison for disguising herself as a man to attend a football match between her team, Esteghlal, and the UAE’s Al-Ain last March, shocked the world.

Like many such stories, it’s more complicated than it appears. There is no written law barring women from entering Iranian stadiums, so she was sentenced for not fully adhering to Islamic hijab laws and covering her head. But equally, since the Islamic revolution 40 years ago, women have been unofficially banned from watching men’s games with very few exceptions, like last November’s Asian Champions League final.

It shouldn’t take the tragic death of a vulnerable person for the world to take notice. The hashtag #BlueGirl is great to raise awareness but it can’t end there, particularly since there has been so much outrage and support for change, even in Iran.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has pushed Iran on this matter before and the stock answer has been that the “infrastructure” was not yet in place to allow women in on a regular basis. (What infrastructure? Women’s toilets? Surely they have port-a-potties in Iran…) That argument is nonsense as evidenced by the fact that women have been allowed in before. FIFA’s statutes are very clear when it comes to equality and access. They have the power to withhold development money and suspend the Iranian FA.

It’s time to take action and, given the support such action would have within Iran — from much of the population and virtually the entire football world — it feels like a no-brainer.

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[seatsbythepit]

Arseblog | Santi forlorn + Mesut’s form:

Anyway, onto matters Arsenal and it looks, not unexpectedly, as if Santi Cazorla won’t play again until next season. According to reports last night he’s given up on featuring again during this current campaign because of the ongoing, chronic Achilles problems he’s been suffering. He’s had a couple of surgeries since December, a little setback here, a little setback there, and all in all it’s enough to ensure his season is over.

I don’t think there’d be too many people surprised by that. Even with the ‘Oh it’s Arsenal’-ness of it all when it comes to injuries, this is a 32 year old player who has been struggling with his Achilles for 12-18 months now. When he did his knee ligaments against Norwich last season, his comeback was delayed because of the Achilles, not the knee, and he was out from November 29th until May 15th when he played on the final day against Aston Villa.

This season the injury was aggravated when he took a kick against Ludogorets at home in the Champions League, and talk of his return became more and more vague. A few weeks turned into a few weeks more and then that developed into an ‘I don’t know’, and here we are in mid-February with him seemingly being ruled out until August, assuming he has recovered by then.

Of course, in the meantime we have taken up the option of extending his contract for another year. I’m curious how people feel about this. On the one hand, it seems particularly harsh to not show a player support during what is a difficult time for them, especially one as popular and important as Santi Cazorla has been. I think it’s something the club has always tried to do, find the balance between the business and the human, and we do give a player every chance of making it back – even if they sometimes don’t make it.

On the other hand, is there a need to be more ruthless as a football club? To say, ‘Sorry this happened to you, Santi, but needs must. We have to go a different direction’? It’s a tough one. Human vs Player. Man vs Very Well Paid Professional. To me it seems like extending the contract is the decent thing to do, but then there are those who will say that decency doesn’t help win you trophies.

Elsewhere, Mesut Ozil has been given some time off to help him recover from ‘back spasms’. He’s currently in Turkey and while I do think ‘back spasms’ or an ongoing issue with his back might go some way to explaining his recent poor form, my suspicion on this one is that he’s been given permission to help with his mind as much as anything else.

The story last week from his agent about how he felt scapegoated was an interesting one. You’d hope it was a reaction to what’s being said in the media rather than backlash from fans or perhaps even teammates, and Arsene Wenger has been known to indulge the German in the past when it comes to things time off.

And look, that’s the way it goes. Some players need the arm around the shoulder, others a good boot up the backside, and Ozil is most certainly the former. Now, there might well be an argument that a bit of an arse-kicking is due, just for variety, but again we come back to the human element and how players are likely to react.

I’ve said it here a couple of times, but Ozil looks like a man carrying a bit of a weight on his shoulders at the moment, above and beyond the struggles he has for form. I suspect Arsene Wenger has given him some time to clear his head, with the hope that it will have a positive effect on him when he’s on the pitch again. And when you look at the schedule – our next two games are Liverpool and Bayern Munich – you can understand why.

He needs him, and he needs the Ozil of the first half of the season, not this shadow of himself we’ve seen in recent weeks. Will it work? I guess the proof of that will be in the Mugsmasher-Munich pudding. Let’s hope it’s delicious pudding and not a gloopy, overcooked mess.

[x]

[sportsleague365]

In the executive lounges at the Allianz Stadium on Wednesday, there were naturally a few knowing looks and wry smiles between officials of Manchester United and Juventus about this week’s spate of Football Leaks stories, and how most of them focused on Manchester City. It was actually a fitting coincidence that the Old Trafford club were facing the Italian champions at this exact time, ahead of the derby and with all of these headlines, since the Serie A club are one of the examples United have specifically looked to follow as they attempt to keep pace with City. How things have changed. With executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward looking to finally install proper football expertise between the boardroom and the manager’s position, former Juve CEO Giuseppe Marotta and current sporting director Fabio Paratici have already been spoken to . United sources specifically talk about how this could be a way to just wholesale import a successful technical department, “in the manner City did with Barcelona” a few years ago. It is the ambitious plans of those Catalan executives like football director Txiki Beguristain and – above all – CEO Ferran Soriano that formed such a central part of Der Spiegel’s engaging and often damning series on the English champions this week, plans that have provoked Soriano to write of concerns that they could be “pointed out as the global enemies of football”. The repeated message from some close to City’s hierarchy is that the reality of these stories is a lot more “complicated” than all of the leaks have made it look but, whatever the truth of that, it’s undeniable that this whole story has been less complicated for the club than many might have expected. Ferran Soriano’s role has come under the microscope this week (GETTY IMAGES) A lot of the details regarding how they approached Financial Fair Play are eye-opening and damaging – particularly the evasion of rules they signed up to – but it is still a complicated subject that leaves many cold, and there doesn’t exactly appear much heat from football’s authorities to punish them. The justifiable debate about the very merits of FFP, and how it protected football’s old money, only further muddies the discussion. Watch moreWhat cannot be muddied, however, is City’s new attitude. It is an attitude of “we can do whatever we want”, the words literally written by club executive Simon Pearce. That is something that feels far more relevant than the past issue of FFP, because of the concerns it throws up for the future of the game. It goes hand in hand with quotes attributed to chairman Khaldoon al Mubarak about just paying whatever it takes to get the best lawyers in the world. This is what City are now, unprecedented levels of money with almost unstoppable levels of ambition, and supremely intelligent focus. The best money can buy. Manchester City’s behind-the-scenes battle with Uefa has exploded into public view this week (Getty Images) Many at the club might dispute the idea they have political power, but that’s what such wealth brings, as it has already afforded them a central founder’s place on documents about a potential European super league and seen Soriano warned – in leaked emails – about the need to “avoid at all costs the perception of a cartel”. Whether they like it or not, though, City are now a part of the cabal. They are what their fans railed against for so long. They are up there, with United, and certainly ahead of United in performance. There’s also a sobering thought. This has probably been City’s worst week since the 2008 takeover, and yet it looks like they’re going to go unpunished, and with the actual team completely unruffled. Pep Guardiola’s side continue to batter everyone in sight, having scored six goals in each of their last two games. What crisis? leftCreated with Sketch. rightCreated with Sketch. 1/12 Manchester City vs Manchester United combined XIWho makes a Manchester derby combined XI? The Independent 2/12 David De GeaManchester United Getty 3/12 Kyle WalkerManchester City Getty 4/12 John StonesManchester City Getty 5/12 Aymeric LaporteManchester City Getty 6/12 Luke ShawManchester United Getty 7/12 David SilvaManchester City Getty 8/12 Paul PogbaManchester United Getty 9/12 Kevin De BruyneGetty 10/12 Raheem SterlingManchester City Getty 11/12 Marcus RashfordManchester United Getty 12/12 Sergio AgueroManchester City PA 1/12 Manchester City vs Manchester United combined XIWho makes a Manchester derby combined XI? The Independent 2/12 David De GeaManchester United Getty 3/12 Kyle WalkerManchester City Getty 4/12 John StonesManchester City Getty 5/12 Aymeric LaporteManchester City Getty 6/12 Luke ShawManchester United Getty 7/12 David SilvaManchester City Getty 8/12 Paul PogbaManchester United Getty 9/12 Kevin De BruyneGetty 10/12 Raheem SterlingManchester City Getty 11/12 Marcus RashfordManchester United Getty 12/12 Sergio AgueroManchester City PA It is no coincidence City are coming into such sensational form now, but instead a consequence of complete design. Guardiola’s physical conditioning is planned so his sides hit peak performance around November and April. It is what was strategically started at Barcelona, and what City’s expensive sports science infrastructure have allowed him to further hone. These are the allowances of a super club. It was indeed at this time of year that Guardiola enjoyed perhaps his career performance, and his greatest victory over Jose Mourinho, as Barcelona humiliated the Portuguese’s Real Madrid 5-0 in November 2010. His City side are in similar form now, as the Catalan renews another club rivalry with Mourinho. Because, at the end of all this, there’s of course some actual football to be played. There’s the derby. Jose Mourinho’s week suggests he’s not ‘finished’ but Pep Guardiola always provides a test (Getty) Mourinho meanwhile goes into it in good form of his own, and not just in terms of results, although the two are obviously connected. As regular wins have returned, so has the sense of endearing mischief to the Portuguese. That had been replaced by a more tedious sourness for most of his time at United. Now there are proper smiles, not least when asked about the Football Leaks revelations. Read more“I have thoughts from a few years ago,” Mourinho responded on Tuesday. “But I keep the thoughts to myself.” He did reveal some of them in 2017, mind. “The FFP authorities, they have big work to do,” the Portuguese said then. “Big work to do, because probably there are some strategies of disguise but I have to believe that the FFP [authorities] are going to have difficult work to do.” United have difficult work to do on Sunday, but that will at least be fortified by the confidence and assurance that comes from three consecutive wins and especially the nature of that latest victory over Juventus. The extreme fragility of a month ago is gone, replaced by a serious resilience, and a result of the squad deciding to come together. It is understood a sense of professional pride really came into play for United. They realised they were letting so much from outside affect them in the way they shouldn’t after a difficult period. leftCreated with Sketch. rightCreated with Sketch. 1/6 Jose Mourinho’s summer of miseryA difficult few weeks for Manchester United took a turn for the worse on Sunday when they were beaten 3-2 at Brighton in the Premier League. Manager Jose Mourinho has cut a frustrated figure as his team have laboured through pre-season and the opening weeks of the new campaign. Here, we a look at a summer of discontent at Old Trafford. AFP/Getty Images 2/6 Window WoesMourinho had hoped to strengthen his squad significantly during the summer transfer window, but it ended without the arrival of the commanding defender he had wanted. Despite being linked with the likes of Raphael Varane, Harry Maguire, Jerome Boateng, Diego Godin and Yerry Mina, United added only Fred, Diogo Dalot and Lee Grant to the mix. Speculation persists that relations between Mourinho and the club’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward are strained. AFP/Getty Images 3/6 World Cup waitThe manager was less than impressed after having to start pre-season without some of his biggest names after France, England and Belgium enjoyed extended stays at the World Cup finals and severely depleted his resources. Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku, Marouane Fellaini, Ashley Young, Jesse Lingard, Phil Jones and Marcus Rashford were all missing, although most answered Mourinho’s call to cut short their post-tournament breaks. Man Utd via Getty Images 4/6 Pitch battleIf things have been tetchy off the field, they have been little more relaxed on it. United stuttered through pre-season as they lost to Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, and were little more than functional in a 2-1 victory over Leicester in their Premier League opener. However, they turned in a dreadful display to go down 3-2 at Brighton on Sunday with the scoreline flattering them somewhat. Man Utd via Getty Images 5/6 Martial War?Anthony Martial found himself in the firing line after leaving the club’s US tour to attend the birth of his second child. Mourinho made little secret of his displeasure at the Frenchman’s failure to return to the fold as quickly as he had expected, but 22-year-old Martial insisted his family would always come first. Getty Images 6/6 The problem with PogbaPaul Pogba has been something of an enigma since his club record £89million switch from Juventus in August 2016. His form on the pitch has been patchy to say the least, and rumours of a fractious relationship with his manager have refused to go away. Pogba did little to stem the speculation when he replied, “There are things that I cannot say otherwise I will get fined” when asked if he was happy at Old Trafford, but Mourinho, who has made the Frenchman his captain, has repeatedly insisted there is no issue. Getty 1/6 Jose Mourinho’s summer of miseryA difficult few weeks for Manchester United took a turn for the worse on Sunday when they were beaten 3-2 at Brighton in the Premier League. Manager Jose Mourinho has cut a frustrated figure as his team have laboured through pre-season and the opening weeks of the new campaign. Here, we a look at a summer of discontent at Old Trafford. AFP/Getty Images 2/6 Window WoesMourinho had hoped to strengthen his squad significantly during the summer transfer window, but it ended without the arrival of the commanding defender he had wanted. Despite being linked with the likes of Raphael Varane, Harry Maguire, Jerome Boateng, Diego Godin and Yerry Mina, United added only Fred, Diogo Dalot and Lee Grant to the mix. Speculation persists that relations between Mourinho and the club’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward are strained. AFP/Getty Images 3/6 World Cup waitThe manager was less than impressed after having to start pre-season without some of his biggest names after France, England and Belgium enjoyed extended stays at the World Cup finals and severely depleted his resources. Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku, Marouane Fellaini, Ashley Young, Jesse Lingard, Phil Jones and Marcus Rashford were all missing, although most answered Mourinho’s call to cut short their post-tournament breaks. Man Utd via Getty Images 4/6 Pitch battleIf things have been tetchy off the field, they have been little more relaxed on it. United stuttered through pre-season as they lost to Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, and were little more than functional in a 2-1 victory over Leicester in their Premier League opener. However, they turned in a dreadful display to go down 3-2 at Brighton on Sunday with the scoreline flattering them somewhat. Man Utd via Getty Images 5/6 Martial War?Anthony Martial found himself in the firing line after leaving the club’s US tour to attend the birth of his second child. Mourinho made little secret of his displeasure at the Frenchman’s failure to return to the fold as quickly as he had expected, but 22-year-old Martial insisted his family would always come first. Getty Images 6/6 The problem with PogbaPaul Pogba has been something of an enigma since his club record £89million switch from Juventus in August 2016. His form on the pitch has been patchy to say the least, and rumours of a fractious relationship with his manager have refused to go away. Pogba did little to stem the speculation when he replied, “There are things that I cannot say otherwise I will get fined” when asked if he was happy at Old Trafford, but Mourinho, who has made the Frenchman his captain, has repeatedly insisted there is no issue. Getty Hence they will be far better primed to take on a prolific City than they would have been a month ago. And there is suddenly the growing feeling that United are in a good position to unsettle the champions, and inflict their first defeat of the season – in the same way they ruffled Juventus on Wednesday. There is a spikiness there again. It is funny how things turn out. Then again, you only have to look at the wider recent history of the Manchester clubs. United’s historic power, from the luck of having Sir Alex Ferguson on top of his game right at the start of the Premier League and the explosion of money in the game, has afforded them the highest paid squad in football but no longer one that is at the very top of the game. City’s new power, from the luck of being selected for takeover by the Abu Dhabi Group in 2008, has afforded them one of the most lavishly sensational sides the game has seen. All of this has led to a week in Manchester with more storylines than any other – and it still hasn’t had an ending. Follow the Independent Sport on Instagram here, for all of the best images, videos and stories from around the sporting world. Source link The post Manchester City vs Manchester United: Sunday’s derby to provide fine crescendo to week of rising pressure appeared first on 10z Soccer. #ManchesterCity #ManchesterUnited #JoseMourinho

[nishantwap]

Man United, Mourinho must fix style, Chelsea's post-Conte future

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Man United, Mourinho must fix style, Chelsea's post-Conte future

Winning the FA Cup on Saturday will have absolutely no bearing on whether or not Antonio Conte sticks around as Chelsea manager. In that sense, the “oldest cup competition in the world” is even less relevant than usual, which doesn’t mean it was a fruitless exercise. We learned something, too, getting further confirmation that he can match tactical wits in a war of attrition against almost anyone and come out on top, especially if his team gets the early goal, which they did.

Jose Mourinho twisted himself into a pretzel of backhanded compliments after the match. First he complimented Chelsea, because it’s about winning and then saying that “only one team tried to play football” (his team, obviously) and that he’d love to know what the media would have said if United had played (or not played, in this case) the way Conte had his team play.

I can’t speak for the “media” as a whole, but if that had been Marcus Rashford winning and converting a penalty early on, and then United parking the bus while looking to play on the counterattack, I’d have said: “Well done. You played to your strengths and your plan worked.”

Good football doesn’t necessarily mean attacking football or entertaining football. It is football that works and does what it is supposed to do: create as many good chances as possible while conceding as few good chances as possible. The reason I, like many others, was so effusive in praise for Manchester City is that they created a ton while conceding little and achieved tremendous results along the way.

Manchester United have finished second under Jose Mourinho this season, and that’s progress, but they’ve also turned in some unbelievably turgid performances at times (Sevilla being Exhibit A), which is why Mourinho has been criticised at times.

It’s simple, really.

Mourinho did what Mourinho does following a high-profile defeat, lashing out at others and offering back-handed compliments to Chelsea. Chris Brunskill Ltd/Getty Images

Chelsea went into lock-down mode a little early, and against a different team, one that is comfortable in possession in the final third and doesn’t do the bulk of its scoring on transitions and counters, might have paid a higher price for it. As it happened, with Romelu Lukaku on the bench — by the way, the whole “he says he isn’t fit” thing from Mourinho was befuddling: how about sticking up for your star striker who scored 27 goals this season? — and with Alexis Sanchez having an off day, it was always going to be hard to break down Chelsea. United did create chances and on a different day might have equalized. They did not. That’s football.

Mourinho can’t blame Conte for opting to play on the counter, not when he contributed to United’s own first-half woes by deputizing Ander Herrera to man-mark Eden Hazard. It may have worked in the past, but against a three-man midfield, it simply meant Nemanja Matic and Paul Pogba were a man down in the middle of the park.

As ever, there’s a middle ground when it comes to United. There has been evident progress since Mourinho’s arrival and it goes beyond the silverware he has won. Equally, he’s not where he’d like to be — or where many of us expected him to be — after two years. Not so much in terms of results, but in terms of building a side that plays the way he wants them to play.

He will need to remedy that this summer.

What’s next for Conte and Chelsea?

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Despite winning the FA Cup this season, the FC crew agree Antonio Conte has likely coached his final match for Chelsea.

Conte’s future looks like a game of chicken, with neither side wanting to blink first. If Chelsea sack him, they need to pay up the final year of his contract: that will cost them north of $10 million. For a club that received no Champions League revenue a year ago and won’t be getting any next year, it matters because those are funds that would otherwise go to strengthening the team.

Equally, if he resigns, he leaves that money on the table. If Conte found another club at which to land, one that would pay him a comparable amount, then it would be less of an issue. But that hasn’t happened yet, and equally, his people need to be careful about pitching for other jobs since he’s still under contract.

Compounding matters is the fact that this is a fraught time on the Chelsea end. Roman Abramovich’s visa has expired and as of right now, it has not yet been renewed by British authorities. There is no indication whether it’s a technicality, he’s a victim of Anglo-Russian relations or if it will all get sorted soon, but clearly not being physically present complicates matters.

Another person who isn’t physically present is Chelsea’s director of football, because the club haven’t had one since Michael Emenalo’s departure just before Christmas. None of these hurdles are insurmountable, although they do make everything that little bit more difficult.

Could inertia set in and Conte stick around?

It’s unlikely, but perhaps that scenario is not as far-fetched as it may initially sound. Conte’s relationship with some members of the squad isn’t great (witness Willian’s Instagram feed) but the ones with which he’s fallen out aren’t the guys who are likely to play a big part in Chelsea’s future. If anything, they’re pawns who could be sold to finance a summer transfer campaign.

Conte has the support of the bulk of the fans, and not even his harshest critic would suggest that if he sticks around, he’ll simply mail it in: it’s just not in his nature to do so.

Unless Chelsea have a master plan they’ve kept totally under wraps rather than rushing into an appointment and chucking money at the transfer market, without the filter of a director of football, perhaps it makes sense to wait a year and do it right.

Lazio vs. Inter delivers the drama

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Gab Marcotti explains how Inter’s big decision in the summer proved decisive to securing Champions League football for the first time since 2012.

Inter captured fourth place — and a return to the Champions League for the first time since 2012 — in the most dramatic way, twice coming from behind to win 3-2 away to Lazio. They were outplayed by an injury-weakened opponent for much of the game, and at 2-1 down with 12 minutes to go, it looked all over. Then Stefan De Vrij (who, of course, is joining Inter on a free transfer in the summer) gave away a penalty, which Mauro Icardi converted before Matias Vecino flicked home the winning header.

In other circumstances, the De Vrij situation would have looked sinister, but it’s as much a reflection of the modern game as anything else. Deals are done well in advance and the only question is whether to make them public. Had this not been announced, it would still have leaked. And even if it didn’t, when he showed up at Inter in the summer folks would cycle back to the penalty he gave away.

In my opinion, it’s a non-story. If De Vrij had wanted to favour his new club, there were plenty of other occasions to do it. On this one, he simply mistimed a tackle he had to make. He was an utmost professional until the end, much like Nico Kovac, who robbed his future club Bayern of the German Cup just 24 hours earlier.

Needless to say, this is huge for Inter. They gambled in the summer by hanging on to their sellable assets (Ivan Perisic, Marcelo Brozovic, Icardi) and appointing Luciano Spalletti. The football wasn’t always great, and Spalletti (at least for now) didn’t prove to be the savant some had hoped he would be, but in the end, they got over the line. Now, the challenge is building on it and being ready for Europe.

As for Lazio, you feel for them. This has been an incredible season and you’re left to wonder what might have been if not for those late season injuries to Ciro Immobile and Luis Alberto. De Vrij likely won’t be the only one to depart — Sergej Milinkovic-Savic has plenty of suitors — but it’s critical that whatever money comes in be reinvested wisely.

Who knows, they may yet have another mini-miracle in them next year…

Kovac upsets his new club in German Cup final

Niko Kovac might not be great for Bayern in the long run but he showed he can win the big game when asked. Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images

I have no idea if Niko Kovac is ready to manage Bayern for the simple reason that I’m not sure anybody is ready to take over the Bavarians right now. After all, this is a club still marked by the Pep Guardiola Era two seasons after his departure, where there are no fewer than 16 or 17 starter-calibre players who expect to play, where expectations are sky-high and where there are two, sometimes conflicting, bosses at the very top.

Two years spent at Bayern fifteen years ago, when it was a very different club, aren’t really going to move the needle in that regard. But what’s evident is that he’ll be a little more prepared than he was last week after Eintracht Frankfurt’s 3-1 win in the German Cup final. Silverware commands respect, and delivering Eintracht’s first trophy in 30 years matters. (It matters possibly more than it should: taking Eintracht from 16th to 11th to eighth in the Bundesliga ought to be a better indicator of his work.)

Kovac needed the rub of the green against his future club, but then so does everybody when they play Bayern. His opponents hit the woodwork several times and had a strong penalty appeal turned down (even after VAR). But the fact that Eintracht were right there to take advantage of the breaks, and that he was in no way fazed by the occasion, speaks volumes.

As for Bayern, between this and the semifinal with Real Madrid, their season ends with a whimper. It’s not as if they didn’t do enough to succeed in both clashes; it’s just that the bar has been set so high that anything other than tangible trophies feels a little empty.

Even when you win the league by 21 points.

Iniesta’s place in Spain’s “best-ever” discussion

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After Andres Iniesta’s last game for Barca, the FC crew assess his place among Spain’s greats and whether he can go out on top at the World Cup.

Philippe Coutinho scored a peach of a goal as Barcelona downed Real Sociedad, but it was all about Andres Iniesta on Sunday as he played his final for the club he joined as a kid 21 years ago. Nine La Liga titles, six Copas del Rey, four Champions Leagues, two European Championships and a World Cup — scoring the winner in the final, no less — speak for themselves.

My own Iniesta memory is that of a late scout who raved about him ever since he saw him at a very young age. He’d regularly moan that Iniesta deserved more playing time as a youngster and would lambast Frank Rijkaard for not using him more. It seems weird today, given that future superstars are anointed early, but Iniesta did not become a regular starter until he was 22. With hindsight, you wonder if perhaps being brought along slowly didn’t contribute to his success.

Some were hailing him as the greatest Spanish player of all time on Sunday. I thought of the other candidates, from Ricardo Zamora, Telmo Zarra and Francisco Gento decades ago, to Michel, Xavi, Emilo Butragueno, Raul and Ikea Casillas in more recent years, to maybe Gerard Pique and Sergio Ramos, who have more history left to make. (I’m purposely leaving Alfredo Di Stefano out of the conversation — that’s a can of worms.)

I’m going to sit on the fence here, but there is no question he belongs in the Spanish G.O.A.T. conversation.

What’s next for Buffon?

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The FC crew interpret what Willian’s now-deleted Instagram post says about Chelsea players’ relationship with Antonio Conte and Conte’s future.

The day before Iniesta, Gigi Buffon also made his farewells. After 16 years at Juventus with nine league titles, four Italian Cups and, of course, the 2006 World Cup, the unimportant 2-1 win over Verona was his final game. In his case, there’s a little more mystery over his future, which he says will become clearer this week.

Until recently, Buffon was determined to retire at the end of the campaign. In fact, Juventus president Andrea Agnelli had made an offer whereby he’d be fast-tracked into some sort of front-office role at the club after a period of apprenticeship. He may yet go down that road, but he also revealed there were other opportunities.

What appears certain is that if he does continue playing, it won’t be in Italy and it won’t be (his words) at a lesser club. Media speculation has linked him with Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool (though there are strong counterarguments to each), with perhaps the most fascinating tale sending him to Argentina to play for Boca Juniors.

All will be revealed really soon. Personally, I dig the romantic idea of him playing his final years at Diego Maradona’s old club and experiencing a Superclasico against River Plate.

Tuchel says all the right things

Thomas Tuchel faced the press for the first time as manager of Paris Saint-Germain, just 24 hours after Unai Emery’s final game in charge. He was asked the predictable questions.

Neymar? “He’s an artist … exceptional … any artist gets treated accordingly!”

Transfers, and implicitly the threat of a financial fair play-motivated freeze? “If the transfer window closed today, I would be very happy: I am confident in those who built this squad.”

Philosophy? “When Pep [Guardiola] worked in Barcelona, he introduced a particular mindset and that is what I want to create here.”

Buffon? “I do not want to start speculation … he is an incredible personality and has had an exceptional career.”

All in all, Tuchel said what you’d expect. But how all of this plays out in the real world, remains to be seen. I’m a Tuchelista, through and through. This club, at this time, does not seem a natural fit. I hope he proves me wrong.

How will Real line up vs. Liverpool?

Real Madrid’s trip to Villarreal was meant to be a general tuneup ahead of the Champions League final with the added novelty of Luca Zidane, the manager’s other son (Enzo made his debut last year in the Copa del Rey), getting his first taste of the big time.

Assuming Keylor Navas returns between the sticks, which is a given, Saturday’s lineup offers a hint of what could come in Kiev. It would mean no surprises in the back four, with Casemiro joining Toni Kroos and Luka Modric in midfield and Isco behind Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo. It could all change, of course — heck, nobody has more options in the final third than Zidane — but it’s a testament to Bale’s sparkling form in the final stages of the season.

Guerrero’s ban is a travesty

The fact that Paolo Guerrero, Peru’s captain and top goal scorer, will miss the World Cup is frankly a travesty, and it’s good that FIFPro and others have gotten involved.

In a nutshell, for those who don’t recall, Guerrero tested positive for benzoylecgonine (a metabolite of cocaine) last October. He argued that it came from drinking contaminated tea, and after initially banning him for 12 months, FIFA reduced the ban to six. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appealed FIFA’s decision and the case went to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), who extended the ban to 14 months.

Now CAS agreed with FIFA that Guerrero wasn’t trying to enhance his performance, but they say he bears “some fault or negligence even if it was not significant” basically because he should have been more careful. And because current FIFA rules say that in such cases the ban should be between one and two years, they opted for 14 months.

WADA, no doubt, are happy. After all, when you’re a hammer, you treat everything like a nail. But there’s common sense here, too.

Treating cocaine the same way you treat steroids or EPO is just silly. It may be illegal and bad for you, but it is not a performance-enhancing drug and there is no case of anyone using it for that purpose. This article goes into the issue in detail if you’re interested in the subject.

In the meantime, you have a guy who has already served a six-and-a-half month ban who will miss out on his first, last and only World Cup not because he was trying to cheat, as CAS and FIFA found, but because he was careless (albeit in a “not significant” way, as CAS says) about drinking a cup of tea.

Dost, Sporting end season in a bad way

You may have noticed that for the past two years I’ve run something called #BasDostWatch. It started as a bit of an inside joke and turned into a bit of a tradition, helped along by the fact that Dost himself could not stop scoring. It was a way to celebrate a player who, as much as anyone, got the very best out of a limited and unconventional skill set, making the most of his brains, work-rate and heft.

But like his Sporting teammates, Dost had a wretched end of the season after a group of masked men, possibly club Ultras, burst into the training ground and beat him up, along with a number of teammates. It’s a sinister tale involving a divided fan base and a controversial club president and you can read more about it here.

I wish #BasDostWatch could end on a happier note. (Sporting lost the Cup final to Desportivo das Aves to add insult to injury.). Most of all, I wish this is the last we hear of this criminal nonsense, unless it’s to hear that the armed thugs who did this are brought to justice.

Monday Musings, in its current version, is going on holiday for the summer. Catch you all in August.

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Germany and Spain move away from false nines as World Cup draws near

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Germany and Spain move away from false nines as World Cup draws near

Germany and Spain meet on Friday in a friendly. Ahead of the game, we asked Raphael Honigstein and Sid Lowe to discuss the state of the two teams, with fewer than three months until the World Cup kicks off.

Raf gets the debate going:

Mein lieber Sid,

You’ll be pleased to find that Bundestrainer Joachim Low has shown himself a huge Radiohead fan: There are No Surprises in the 26-strong squad he has picked for the Spain and Brazil friendlies. The underlying message of this conservative approach seems to be that the time for experiments is over and the 58-year-old has a pretty good idea who he’ll take the Russia; only a couple of spaces are still up for grabs.

Having said that, Low purposefully omitted two World Cup hopefuls — for two very different reasons — who have big chances to make the final squad. Marco Reus was left out for his own benefit, to be able to “train and play regularly, to find his rhythm, security and confidence,” as Low explained. The 28-year-old has performed well for Borussia Dortmund since returning from injury in November and, if he can stay fit, is destined to feature for Germany in the summer.

The situation is more precarious for Reus’ BVB teammate Mario Gotze. Low pointedly refused to explain the attacking midfielder’s exclusion, but it can be interpreted as a warning shot and the 25-year-old has to get a move on. Gotze was criticised by BVB coach Peter Stoger after a dismal 45-minute showing in the 0-0 draw in Salzburg last Thursday: “We didn’t see anything from him,” the Austrian said. But the scorer of a World Cup-winning goal in 2014 had a better game in Sunday’s 1-0 win over Hannover and has a lot of credit with Low. I personally believe that Dortmund central midfielder Mahmoud Dahoud might also force his way into the squad by mid-May.

As far as the men who will play in Dusseldorf against Spain are concerned, the main battle is between Bayern Munich’s Sandro Wagner and Mario Gomez of Stuttgart for the centre-forward position. Wagner would seem to have the upper hand and a decent match vs. Josep Lopetegui’s side, or in Berlin against Brazil four days later, would probably seal the deal. Tell Sergio Ramos to get ready for a physical challenge. The days of Low playing a false nine, in a tribute to the La Roja, are over.

Kind regards.

Look out Raf, Mr. Bad Guy is back.

Julen Lopetegui named his squad on Friday and, after nine months, Diego Costa is in again. Which we probably should have anticipated and which, over the last two months, we all pretty much knew would be the case. And yet, not so long ago, you couldn’t help wondering if he would ever play for Spain again.

In the summer, Costa was hanging out in Brazil: He’d fallen out with Chelsea and was refusing to return to London, while holding out for a move to Atletico Madrid that was far from guaranteed. When it did finally happen, he strolled into Barajas Terminal 4 looking a bit, well, podgy: “Profe Ortega will get me in shape,” he said. With Atletico banned from signing anyone, he wasn’t going to be able to play until after Christmas. In the meantime, Alvaro Morata replaced him at Chelsea and in the national team.

Yeah, Costa scored five times in qualification but he had been absent from the decisive games and Morata was scoring regulalry. But here we are, months later: Costa in and Morata very definitely out. The other strikers in Spain’s squad are Iago Aspas and Rodrigo Moreno.

The fact that Lopetegui has thrown Costa straight back in says something about the difference the 29-year-old has made since he started playing (unlike Vitolo, Lopetegui’s big discovery, whose awful season split between Las Palmas and the Atletico subs bench means his opportunity has almost certainly gone). Costa has scored six times in 2018; he’s also been sent off, of course, growling and fighting and being, well, Diego Costa.

His recall also suggests that Lopetegui was waiting for him. Not least because, in his absence, the coach played Morata, Rodrigo, Aritz Aduriz and even Isco as a false nine. (Did you see Isco against Italy, by the way? Woof!)

But don’t expect that this time. Oh no; Costa’s here. And if Lopetegui was waiting for him, Diego’s waiting for the Germans. Poor sods. You think Sergio Ramos has a physical battle in store against Sandro Wagner? What about your defenders? Ouch.

Much love!

Puyol’s goal in 2010 ended Germany’s World Cup run but taught them a valuable tactical lesson. Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images

Hey Sid,

Ah, Diego Costa; I had sort of forgotten about him. I just checked: The first performance of “Beauty and the Beast” musical at Dusseldorf’s Capitol Theater won’t be staged before April 17 but I guess we’ll all get a sneak preview on Friday, when Mats Hummels will make the acquaintance of the Atletico Madrid striker.

Germany will be neatly turned out in the 1990s retro-style green away shirts at the AWD Arena and they have a new logo on their team bus, too: “BEST NEVER REST,” with a golden “V” to symbolise the fifth World Cup trophy they’ll be aiming to win in Russia. The idea is to ramp up the pressure on the nation’s elite players, to ensure that they’ll stay “hungry unconditionally,” as Low put it.

There seems to be an unspoken fear inside the camp that, as holders, they might be tempted to take things just a couple of percentage points easier this time around. That’s why pre-tournament favourites Spain — and Brazil, their opponents next Tuesday — have been chosen specifically to dissuade anyone of the notion that Germany will just have turn up in Russia in order to pick up the trophy for the next celebration with really bad music underneath the Brandenburg Gate.

Indeed, in recent days Low and sporting director Oliver Bierhoff have been so busy warning against complacency and bemoaning the Bundesliga’s pressing-infused emphasis on playing “against the ball,” at the expense of constructive attacking play, that I half-wonder if they wouldn’t secretly welcome a defeat or two, just to drum home the message that everyone must try harder.

Your boys might be happy to oblige. But don’t rule out the home side just yet. We are likely to play our best XI, which should provide some useful pointers as to how Low intends to squeeze his two dozen very good midfielders into the side and construct a team without a proper defensively-minded specialist in front of the back four. Could we perhaps borrow Javi Martinez? Lopetegui doesn’t seem to want him.

Four years ago, a few Nationalmannschaft players admitted that the early exit of Spain — Germany’s bogey team in 2008 and 2010 — provided a huge psychological boost. A good result in Dusseldorf could have a smaller, but similarly beneficial effect. One way or the other, the match will tell us where Low’s men stand, relative to their own expectations with just under three months to go until it really matters.

See you in the semifinal!

Now there’s a man that Spain forgot, Raf.

It’s curious: There’s not much of a campaign for Martinez. And for “campaign for,” read “mention of”. I’d be tempted to take him if I was Lopetegui but, instead, the midfielders added to the usual suspects this time are QPR “legend” Dani Parejo, who gets a call-up many years after Alfredo Di Stefano insisted that he wouldn’t go to the stadium that carries his name if Parejo wasn’t playing.

And Rodri, the Villarreal midfielder who has been superb this season and will probably be at Atletico next season, is also included. “I watch [Sergio] Busquets,” he said. Saul Niguez looks a guaranteed inclusion in the squad and there’s Thiago, who Germany know well. It would not be a huge surprise if neither started, though; expect Busquets, Koke, Andres Iniesta, Isco and David Silva.

The other position Martinez plays, centre-back, is filled by Ramos and Gerard Pique, plus Nacho and Cesar Azpilicueta. That still feels a bit light to me but then, as mentioned, I’m not Lopetegui. Pique has had flu this week and so hasn’t traine, but at least his knee is not the problem. Ramos, Costa’s best mate when it comes to the national team, despite the fact that he has had reservations about players who may not “feel” Spain quite like he does, will be at the heart of defence. Marcos Alonso will get a game, though maybe not on Friday, when Jordi Alba is likely to start.

Spain have a new shirt — it’s grey-blue, at least to me, but I’m colour-blind; they’re calling it light blue with red details — and they’re taking it seriously, like everything else during this international break which sees many of the top teams meet each other. AS noted that Argentina and Germany, Spain’s two opponents over the next week, could be opponents in Russia. “Messi in quarters, Ozil in semis,” the headline read. The clubs are just desperate that no one gets hurt and as ever, that matters a bit more than the national team; the “FIFA virus,” they call it.

Not long ago, it was pretty clear what Spain’s line-up would be, but that’s be thrown into doubt by the fact that Isco, who seemed set to lead club and country, is no longer a starter at the Bernabeu. Lopetegui seems to have complete faith and has been looking after him the last few days and, who knows, maybe the rest is good for him? But it doesn’t feel that way. The coach will give him all the trust he can and that starts with, well, starting him.

Auf Wiedersehen, pet.

[margartmccray7-blog]

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Arsenal and Emery’s plan badly backfires at Liverpool. PLUS — Griezmann steps up for Barcelona

Gab Marcotti is here to recap a busy, dramatic weekend in soccer. Welcome to Monday Musings.

Jump to: Arsenal’s errors at Liverpool | Real still a mess | Spurs’ Eriksen problem | Refs wreck Fiorentina vs. Napoli? | PSG need Neymar | More Man United woe | Mihajlovic is inspiring | Lewandowski carries Bayern | Griezmann the hero for Barca | Business as usual for Juve | Milan’s epic fail

What Arsenal got wrong vs. Liverpool

Unai Emery’s resume is what will likely get him a pass for what Arsenal fans saw on Saturday. A decade at the highest level with Valencia, Seville and Paris Saint-Germain, often succeeding because of his tactical nous and his ability to read opponents and exploit their weaknesses, means that you want to give the benefit of the doubt. But having watched the approach to Liverpool away at Anfield, it’s a tough thing to do.

It’s not just the midfield diamond that ceded the flanks to Jurgen Klopp’s crew (who, for those not paying attention, have two pretty darn good providers in Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold). Nor was it the decision to try to keep possession without Lucas Torreira, your second-best passer. Nor was it the insistence on playing out from the back against arguably the best high-press team in the Premier League, just a week after another high-press team, Burnley, had given them fits. And, for that matter, neither was it the reluctance to occasionally mix in the long ball (the two times they did it, it worked well) when you have speedy forwards like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe.

It’s that it’s really difficult to figure out what pathway Emery sees towards success at Arsenal.

Emery’s career has earned him some time, but there’s little sense in how he set Arsenal up in Saturday’s defeat at Liverpool.

There’s nothing wrong with adding Dani Ceballos for a season in midfield, but if you’re trying to build something, do you really want everything to hinge so heavily around a guy who’s there on loan? And given that it’s hard to find a natural home for Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the setups he has used this season, is it really wise to write them off at this stage?

Arsenal finished two points away from third place last season in Emery’s first Premier League campaign. They may well hit the target this season, or come close to it, but that has more to do with issues elsewhere. The real goal has to be reducing the 27 points that separated them from Liverpool in second. It’s not clear at all that Saturday did that.

– Weekend Review: Are Tottenham getting stale? – O’Hanlon: Should we be worried about “superteam” Man City? – Jones: Sheffield United prove heart can beat talent

As for the European champions, they played with big-game vitality and intensity as Klopp opted to turn in one of his extreme high-press performances. I’m not sure how often we’ll see that from him this season. It’s extremely taxing on the front men and the midfielders, which is why, incidentally, you should expect more rotation in the middle of the park this year. Not to mention the fact that you’re always vulnerable to the ball over the top or teams with enough quality to break the press wide open.

All that said, in one-offs and for shorter spurts during games, it remains a devastating weapon.

Real Madrid still a mess

Against Valladolid, Real Madrid managed to field not just an entire XI without newcomers, but also one where every outfield player was on the club’s books since at least 2014. Sure, Eden Hazard is injured (and you assume they’ll make room for him when fit) but apart from two Luka Jovic substitute appearances, we haven’t seen any of the four new signings. Instead, we’re seeing plenty of James Rodriguez and Gareth Bale, two guys with giant “For Sale” tags around their necks for most of the summer.

Zinedine Zidane is doing things his way, and to be fair, the Pep Guardiola-style 4-1-4-1 we saw in the first half Saturday is worth revisiting. Less impressive was the late collapse that left two points on the table. And the fact that Valladolid’s equaliser was scored by a guy named Guardiola (Sergi, no relation, although he was once on Barca’s books), makes it hurt a little bit more.

I made this point before but it’s worth making again: no clean sheets and two points dropped after two games does not mean Real Madrid absolutely need to sign Neymar. Their four new signings have played a total of 34 minutes, and they’re already stacked in Neymar’s position. (What’s more, Zidane is getting those guys on the pitch.)

There may be a price/package at which Neymar makes sense, but most likely, there isn’t.

Tottenham’s Eriksen problem

Tottenham knew what they were getting when Newcastle United rolled into town. They were taking on an embattled veteran manager who had lost his first two games and was getting criticised locally. No prizes for guessing what Steve Bruce was going to do: sit deep with a virtual 7-2-1 formation and pray for the best.

So why take the pitch without Giovani Lo Celso and Christian Eriksen, arguably Spurs’ two best creative passers? Beats me.

Mauricio Pochettino’s negativity over Eriksen and his contractual situation — he recently called it “difficult” and said he “didn’t know” if the Dane had played his last game for the club — is understandable to some degree and you can find some sympathy too. But equally, that’s not a reason to bench him or, for that matter, Jan Vertonghen, the guy who was (and maybe still is?) Tottenham’s vice-captain until last season.

You can blame the media for many things but there are legitimate questions to answer about the club’s strategy and the degree of freedom which Pochettino has… or maybe doesn’t have as manager.

Refs ruin Fiorentina vs. Napoli?

After the wild Magic Mountain ride that was Napoli’s 4-3 win away to Fiorentina in Serie A’s curtain-raiser, the last thing you want to do is talk referees. But that crew, particularly with the penalty Dries Mertens “won,” leaves little choice.

You can understand the mistake in awarding it — referees are human and Davide Massa isn’t just human, he’s not particularly good either — it’s harder to accept why VAR didn’t ask him to take another look. The whole crew is likely to sit out the next round (and Mertens, reportedly, could face retrospective punishment), which is encouraging.

On the pitch, Fiorentina’s young ones (who later made way for the golden oldies, Franck Ribery and Kevin-Prince Boateng) were fun to watch and played without fear. It will be a transition season but the future is bright. As for Napoli, the Smurf Squad did its thing and with Arkadiusz Milik and Hirving “Chucky” Lozano added to the mix, this is a side that can beat you many different ways.

PSG might need Neymar after all

Last season it was the teeny, tiny senior squad: a direct result of Financial Fair Play. This year, Paris Saint-Germain have more bodies but they’re dealing with injuries. Against Toulouse they lost Edinson Cavani, Abdou Diallo and Kylian Mbappe in one fell swoop, which rather muted celebrations for their 4-0 win.

None of the injuries looked season-ending, God forbid, and we’ll get an update soon, but with Neymar out of the squad pending the final days of the transfer window, it’s looking like an uphill ride for Thomas Tuchel. What does appear clear (despite the naysayers) is that if the transfer deadline comes and goes and Neymar is still there, he’ll be a professional and quickly slip back into the lineup. For Tuchel, that won’t come soon enough.

What does Solskjaer want Man United to be?

Aside for a few episodes — think the Marcus Rashford missed spot-kick, some strong penalty appeals — Manchester United could easily have beaten Crystal Palace. And while they weren’t stellar, they didn’t play particularly badly either. But they remain a frustratingly one-dimensional team: fine on the counterattack and toothless with the ball, unless Paul Pogba invents something or Rashford picks out that little pass for Anthony Martial that seemingly nobody can cope with.

That’s what is disconcerting here. We know Ole Gunnar Solskjaer can do that reasonably well, but what else can he do? Is there an alternative way of playing — one that actually works — that he can turn to? That bit isn’t clear at all.

It’s not just about personnel (though it’s pretty clear he would have liked a couple more signings) which, to some degree, is out of his control. It’s about what he can affect: the way United play and right now, it seems to be in transition only. That has to change if they’re going to finish top four.

Mihajlovic is inspiring

Six weeks after telling the world he was battling a severe form of leukemia, Bologna coach Sinisa Mihajlovic slipped out of the hospital and took his place on the sideline for his team’s opening fixture, a 1-1 draw at Verona. Doctors had initially advised against it but relented when they saw his mind was made up. And anyone who has followed his career as a manager and a player will tell you that once he’s determined to do something, there’s no stopping him.

The players themselves only found out a few hours before kickoff. He wore a baseball cap and a large bandage on his neck. He was gaunt and had clearly lost a lot of weight. It obviously was a struggle but in case you hadn’t noticed, whatever else Mihajlovic is, this man is a warrior. He’ll fight cancer the way he lived his life: no retreat and no surrender.

Lewandowski keeps carrying Bayern

Robert Lewandowski‘s hat-trick overshadowed Philippe Coutinho‘s debut (he came on as a substitute) on Saturday in Bayern’s 3-0 win over Schalke and it’s as good a time as any to remind ourselves of his everyday brilliance. He has scored every single Bayern goal this season. He has 197 in 246 appearances in all competitions and since 2010, he has missed just 16 league games for Bayern and Borussia Dortmund.

Appearing on the Gab + Jules podcast last week, Jan Aage Fjortoft said “they must go to church every day in Munich praying he doesn’t get injured.” He’s right. He carries the can on his own up front and, for most of his tenure, he’s had no credible back up.

It’s not surprising, then, that Bayern are about to extend his contract by another two seasons, taking him up to 2023. When you’ve been that consistent for that long, doing otherwise would be madness.

Griezmann proves himself for Barca

With Lionel Messi, Ousmane Dembele and Luis Suarez unavailable, Ernesto Valverde conjured up a new front three for the visit of Real Betis Sunday night. Alongside Antoine Griezmann were Rafinha (who had played once since November 2018) and Carles Perez, who had played 35 minutes of top-flight football in his entire career. (He was later replaced by Ansu Fati, who is only the second youngest debutant in the club’s history.)

Having gone a goal down, they stormed back to win 5-2 and a lot of the credit has to go to Griezmann. It wasn’t just his two goals: it was the leadership, drive and personality he gave the side (evidently qualities seared into his DNA after years with Diego Simeone), which, at times, had you forgetting that you-know-who wasn’t there. Critics will fault Rubi’s top-heavy Betis side for failing to manage the lead but the way Barca’s second half unfolded, there was no containing them.

As with Real Madrid, they’ll want to think long and hard about whether they really need/want Neymar…

Business as usual for Juventus

There wasn’t much new or interesting in Juve’s seasonal debut, a 1-0 win over Parma. None of the new signings started and, in fact, the new manager Maurizio Sarri, battling pneumonia, wasn’t there either. Leading the line was Gonzalo Higuain, who resurrected his old Real Madrid partnership with Cristiano Ronaldo.

Might he end up doing so all season long for Juve? It’s increasingly looking that way, if only by default. Of the club’s three potential centerforwards, he’s the least likely to leave and he’s the one who knows Sarri best.

Milan get a little too creative

Milan boss Marco Giampaolo said that his formation didn’t work in the opening day 1-0 defeat to Udinese. Kudos for honesty, even though he did sound like Captain Obvious following a game that saw his team fail to record a shot on target and his centerforward, Krzysztof Piatek, get just 18 touches.

Giampaolo is an “outside-the-box” type of guy who likes to get creative, so he’s entitled to be unconventional. But playing a midfield three of Fabio Borini, Hakan Calhanoglou and Lucas Paqueta plus Suso in the hole behind the Piatek-Samu Castillejo partnership is waaaaayyyy outside the box.

It’s simply lining up without recognised central midfielders. To paraphrase Billy Joel, do that and you walk away a fool or a king. He was no king on Sunday.

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Arsenal and Emery’s plan badly backfires at Liverpool. PLUS: Griezmann steps up for Barcelona

Gab Marcotti is here to recap a busy, dramatic weekend in soccer. Welcome to Monday Musings.

Jump to: Arsenal’s errors at Liverpool | Real still a mess | Spurs’ Eriksen problem | Refs wreck Fiorentina vs. Napoli? | PSG need Neymar | More Man United woe | Mihajlovic is inspiring | Lewandowski carries Bayern | Griezmann the hero for Barca | Business as usual for Juve | Milan’s epic fail

What Arsenal got wrong vs. Liverpool

Unai Emery’s resume is what will likely get him a pass for what Arsenal fans saw on Saturday. A decade at the highest level with Valencia, Seville and Paris Saint-Germain, often succeeding because of his tactical nous and his ability to read opponents and exploit their weaknesses, means that you want to give the benefit of the doubt. But having watched the approach to Liverpool away at Anfield, it’s a tough thing to do.

It’s not just the midfield diamond that ceded the flanks to Jurgen Klopp’s crew (who, for those not paying attention, have two pretty darn good providers in Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold). Nor was it the decision to try to keep possession without Lucas Torreira, your second-best passer. Nor was it the insistence on playing out from the back against arguably the best high-press team in the Premier League, just a week after another high-press team, Burnley, had given them fits. And, for that matter, neither was it the reluctance to occasionally mix in the long ball (the two times they did it, it worked well) when you have speedy forwards like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe.

It’s that it’s really difficult to figure out what pathway Emery sees towards success at Arsenal.

Emery’s career has earned him some time but there’s little sense in how he set Arsenal up in Saturday’s defeat at Liverpool.

There’s nothing wrong with adding Dani Ceballos for a season in midfield, but if you’re trying to build something, do you really want everything to hinge so heavily around a guy who’s there on loan? And given that it’s hard to find a natural home for Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the set-ups he has used this season, is it really wise to write them off at this stage?

Arsenal finished two points away from third place last season, in Emery’s first Premier League campaign. They may well hit the target this season, or come close to it but that has more to do with issues elsewhere. The real goal has to be reducing the 27 points that separated them from Liverpool in second. It’s not clear at all that Saturday did that.

– Weekend Review: Are Tottenham getting stale? – O’Hanlon: Should we be worried about “superteam” Man City? – Jones: Sheffield United prove heart can beat talent

As for the European champions, they played with big-game vitality and intensity as Klopp opted to turn in one of his extreme high-press performances. I’m not sure how often we’ll see that from him this season. It’s extremely taxing on the front men and the midfielders, which is why, incidentally, you should expect more rotation in the middle of the park this year. Not to mention the fact that you’re always vulnerable to the ball over the top or teams with enough quality to break the press wide open.

All that said, in one-offs and for shorter spurts during games, it remains a devastating weapon.

Real Madrid still a mess

Against Valladolid, Real Madrid managed to field not just an entire XI without newcomers, but also one where every outfield player was on the club’s books since at least 2014. Sure, Eden Hazard is injured (and you assume they’ll make room for him when fit) but apart from two Luka Jovic substitute appearances, we haven’t seen any of the four new signings. Instead, we’re seeing plenty of James Rodriguez and Gareth Bale, two guys with giant “For Sale” tags around their necks for most of the summer.

Zinedine Zidane is doing things his way and, to be fair, the Pep Guardiola-style 4-1-4-1 we saw in the first half Saturday is worth revisiting. Less impressive was the late collapse that left two points on the table. And the fact that Valladolid’s equaliser was scored by a guy named Guardiola (Sergi, no relation, though he was once on Barca’s books), makes it hurt a little bit more.

I made this point before but it’s worth making again: no clean sheets and two points dropped after two games does not mean Real Madrid absolutely need to sign Neymar. Their four new signings have played a total of 34 minutes and they’re already stacked in Neymar’s position. (What’s more, Zidane is getting those guys on the pitch.)

There may be a price/package at which Neymar makes sense but most likely, there isn’t.

Tottenham’s Eriksen problem

Tottenham knew what they were getting when Newcastle United rolled into town. They were taking on an embattled veteran manager who had lost his first two games and was getting criticised locally. No prizes for guessing what Steve Bruce was going to do: sit deep with a virtual 7-2-1 formation and pray for the best.

So why take the pitch without Giovani Lo Celso and Christian Eriksen, arguably Spurs’ two best creative passers? Beats me.

Mauricio Pochettino’s negativity over Eriksen and his contractual situation — he recently called it “difficult” and said he “didn’t know” if the Dane had played his last game for the club — is understandable to some degree and you can find some sympathy too. But equally, that’s not a reason to bench him or, for that matter, Jan Vertonghen, the guy who was (and maybe still is?) Tottenham’s vice-captain until last season.

You can blame the media for many things but there are legitimate questions to answer about the club’s strategy and the degree of freedom which Pochettino has… or maybe doesn’t have as manager.

Refs ruin Fiorentina vs. Napoli?

After the wild Magic Mountain ride that was Napoli’s 4-3 win away to Fiorentina in Serie A’s curtain-raiser, the last thing you want to do is talk referees. But that crew, particularly with the penalty Dries Mertens “won,” leaves little choice.

You can understand the mistake in awarding it — referees are human and Davide Massa isn’t just human, he’s not particularly good either — it’s harder to accept why VAR didn’t ask him to take another look. The whole crew is likely to sit out the next round (and Mertens, reportedly, could face retrospective punishment), which is encouraging.

On the pitch, Fiorentina’s young ones (who later made way for the golden oldies, Franck Ribery and Kevin-Prince Boateng) were fun to watch and played without fear. It will be a transition season but the future is bright. As for Napoli, the Smurf Squad did its thing and with Arkadiusz Milik and Hirving “Chucky” Lozano added to the mix, this is a side that can beat you many different ways.

PSG might need Neymar after all

Last season it was the teeny, tiny senior squad: a direct result of Financial Fair Play. This year, Paris Saint-Germain have more bodies but they’re dealing with injuries. Against Toulouse they lost Edinson Cavani, Abdou Diallo and Kylian Mbappe in one fell swoop, which rather muted celebrations for their 4-0 win.

None of the injuries looked season-ending, God forbid, and we’ll get an update soon, but with Neymar out of the squad pending the final days of the transfer window, it’s looking like an uphill ride for Thomas Tuchel. What does appear clear (despite the naysayers) is that if the transfer deadline comes and goes and Neymar is still there, he’ll be a professional and quickly slip back into the lineup. For Tuchel, that won’t come soon enough.

What does Solskjaer want Man United to be?

Aside for a few episodes — think the Marcus Rashford missed spot-kick, some strong penalty appeals — Manchester United could easily have beaten Crystal Palace. And while they weren’t stellar, they didn’t play particularly badly either. But they remain a frustratingly one-dimensional team: fine on the counterattack and toothless with the ball, unless Paul Pogba invents something or Rashford picks out that little pass for Anthony Martial that seemingly nobody can cope with.

That’s what is disconcerting here. We know Ole Gunnar Solskjaer can do that reasonably well, but what else can he do? Is there an alternative way of playing — one that actually works — that he can turn to? That bit isn’t clear at all.

It’s not just about personnel (though it’s pretty clear he would have liked a couple more signings) which, to some degree, is out of his control. It’s about what he can affect: the way United play and right now, it seems to be in transition only. That has to change if they’re going to finish top four.

Mihajlovic is inspiring

Six weeks after telling the world he was battling a severe form of leukemia, Bologna coach Sinisa Mihajlovic slipped out of the hospital and took his place on the sideline for his team’s opening fixture, a 1-1 draw at Verona. Doctors had initially advised against it but relented when they saw his mind was made up. And anyone who has followed his career as a manager and a player will tell you that once he’s determined to do something, there’s no stopping him.

The players themselves only found out a few hours before kickoff. He wore a baseball cap and a large bandage on his neck. He was gaunt and had clearly lost a lot of weight. It obviously was a struggle but in case you hadn’t noticed, whatever else Mihajlovic is, this man is a warrior. He’ll fight cancer the way he lived his life: no retreat and no surrender.

Lewandowski keeps carrying Bayern

Robert Lewandowski‘s hat-trick overshadowed Philippe Coutinho‘s debut (he came on as a substitute) on Saturday in Bayern’s 3-0 win over Schalke and it’s as good a time as any to remind ourselves of his everyday brilliance. He has scored every single Bayern goal this season. He has 197 in 246 appearances in all competitions and since 2010, he has missed just 16 league games for Bayern and Borussia Dortmund.

Appearing on the Gab + Jules podcast last week, Jan Aage Fjortoft said “they must go to church every day in Munich praying he doesn’t get injured.” He’s right. He carries the can on his own up front and, for most of his tenure, he’s had no credible back up.

It’s not surprising, then, that Bayern are about to extend his contract by another two seasons, taking him up to 2023. When you’ve been that consistent for that long, doing otherwise would be madness.

Griezmann proves himself for Barca

With Lionel Messi, Ousmane Dembele and Luis Suarez unavailable, Ernesto Valverde conjured up a new front three for the visit of Real Betis Sunday night. Alongside Antoine Griezmann were Rafinha (who had played once since November 2018) and Carles Perez, who had played 35 minutes of top-flight football in his entire career. (He was later replaced by Ansu Fati, who is only the second youngest debutant in the club’s history.)

Having gone a goal down, they stormed back to win 5-2 and a lot of the credit has to go to Griezmann. It wasn’t just his two goals: it was the leadership, drive and personality he gave the side (evidently qualities seared into his DNA after years with Diego Simeone), which, at times, had you forgetting that you-know-who wasn’t there. Critics will fault Rubi’s top-heavy Betis side for failing to manage the lead but the way Barca’s second half unfolded, there was no containing them.

As with Real Madrid, they’ll want to think long and hard about whether they really need/want Neymar…

Business as usual for Juventus

There wasn’t much new or interesting in Juve’s seasonal debut, a 1-0 win over Parma. None of the new signings started and, in fact, the new manager Maurizio Sarri, battling pneumonia, wasn’t there either. Leading the line was Gonzalo Higuain, who resurrected his old Real Madrid partnership with Cristiano Ronaldo.

Might he end up doing so all season long for Juve? It’s increasingly looking that way, if only by default. Of the club’s three potential centerforwards, he’s the least likely to leave and he’s the one who knows Sarri best.

Milan get a little too creative

Milan boss Marco Giampaolo said that his formation didn’t work in the opening day 1-0 defeat to Udinese. Kudos for honesty, even though he did sound like Captain Obvious following a game that saw his team fail to record a shot on target and his centerforward, Krzysztof Piatek, get just 18 touches.

Giampaolo is an “outside-the-box” type of guy who likes to get creative, so he’s entitled to be unconventional. But playing a midfield three of Fabio Borini, Hakan Calhanoglou and Lucas Paqueta plus Suso in the hole behind the Piatek-Samu Castillejo partnership is waaaaayyyy outside the box.

It’s simply lining up without recognised central midfielders. To paraphrase Billy Joel, do that and you walk away a fool or a king. He was no king on Sunday.

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