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EUROPEAN FOOTBALL WRAP: United in Crisis, Chelsea for Sale and more!

United in Crisis, Chelsea for Sale and three in a row for Barcelona – Damien Kayat looks back at an action-packed weekend of European football.
Image copyright - Steve Haag Sport

United in Crisis, Chelsea for Sale and three in a row for Barcelona – Damien Kayat looks back at an action-packed weekend of European football.

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United in Crisis

I think it’s fair to say that United’s best chance of playing Champions League football next year lies in lifting this year’s European Cup. So, I think it’s fair to say that they won’t be playing Champions League football next season. Their heavy defeat to City laid bear all the issues that have haunted United this year. City suffocated United with their characteristically demonic press, sticking to United like overzealous mall cops. Fernandes has been a statisticians dream since arriving at United. But when things don’t quite click it’s like watching a day-care toddler in full tantrum mode. McFred were completely anonymous as De Bruyne and Silva decimated the midfield area. If it wasn’t for De Gea, United could have shipped eight. The gulf between City and United is almost farcical at this point. Whoever takes charge of this mob will need to oversee a drastic overhaul at the end of this season. City needed this performance to offset Liverpool’s current sugar-rush of momentum.

Chelsea for Sale

Roman Abramovic’s decision to put Chelsea up for sale will have major permutations for the country’s most successful club in recent history. Abramovic’s money helped propel the Blues from cosmopolitan nearly-rans to European royalty. But the entire Ukraine fiasco has put a major target on the backs of prominent Russian oligarchs. And now you have the inevitable procession of Chelsea fans in full virtue signaling mode, ‘we don’t want this awful man in control of the club’. I’m sure there are plenty of skeletons in Abramovic’s closet (perhaps even one or two literal ones). But these same Chelsea fans didn’t care one iota about the provenance of Abramovich’s wealth when they were winning. The Russian has been sports washing since his arrival at the club. I just think it’s become convenient to label Abramovic as some satanic figure. Of all the owners in recent memory, have any shown as much true devotion to their club as the embattled Russian? His investment in youth has come to fruition in a big way, with a conveyor belt of amazing academy talent coming through. His cutthroat, mercenary model has been a blueprint for incredible success. Will the new owners abandon that style? This could prove to be a seismic moment in the history of this great London institution.

Italian title shake-up

The Scudetto yoyo continued this weekend with another series of fascinating results. The pressure was on after Inter destroyed bottom-dwelling Salernitana. Lautaro Martinez scored a hat-trick while veteran Dzeko bagged a brace. It was a weekend for grizzled veteran strikers, with Olivier Giroud scoring what could prove a crucial winner away at Napoli. Alvaro Morata did likewise for Juventus, keeping them in touching distance of an unlikely title bid with a dour 1-0 home victory against Spezia. You also have to admire the plucky grit that Jose Mourinho’s Roma have shown in recent weeks. Their quest for a top 4 berth has been aided and abetted by some slip-ups in and around them. And they took advantage this weekend, with the deadly Tammy Abraham scoring his 20th goal in all competitions. Looking back with the aid of hindsight, I wonder what Thomas Tuchel would give to exchange the laborious Lukaku for this dynamic young English striker?

Three in a row for Spanish giants

When was the last time that all three Spanish mega-clubs won three consecutive matches? Atletico and Barcelona have left it too late to catch Real this season. Los Blancos were at their efficient best against Sociedad, with Luka Modric lighting up the Bernabeu with a commanding midfield display. That was just the tonic they needed ahead of their crucial Champions League fixture against PSG this week.

You can’t help but admire the job that Xavi has done since he took the reins of a Barcelona catastrophe. The club was in financial crisis, still reeling from the unexpected departure of bona fide legend Lio Messi (one of the root causes of the financial catastrophe). But he has somehow managed to rediscover Barcelona’s unique identity with a team comprised of youth and Premier League castoffs.

Aubameyang was deemed surplus to requirements at Arsenal while City couldn’t find a spot for Ferran Torres. Adama Traore confounded Wolves supporters on a weekly basis, unable to find end-product despite wide-receiver pace and linebacker size. Xavi has let him run loose down the wing and he is no longer just a freak curiosity. Even Ousmane Dembelle- a regular recipient of boos from the Nou Camp faithful- is finally starting to show some consistency under Xavi.

Bayern leave the door slightly ajar

Dortmund’s title hopes looked in tatters after their disappointing draw against Augsburg last week. Reports of a dressing room bust-up between Jude Bellingham and Alex Witsel did little to dispel those fears. But Bayern failed to capitalize this week, drawing 1-1 with Leverkusen and keeping Dortmund in the conversation with a game in hand. Lewandowski had an uncharacteristically quiet afternoon as Bayern gear up for a crunch Champions League tie on Tuesday. Perhaps that European fixture prevented the German giants from fully committing to this Bundesliga clash. Upamecano had another disastrous outing in the heart of the defence. That must be a slight concern for Nagelsmann has the business end of the season approaches.

Player of the Week – Kevin de Bruyne

De Bruyne is firmly entrenched as one of the greatest midfielders in English Premier League history. So much so that you can sometimes lose sight of just how amazing the Belgian is. And he was at his imperious best against United yesterday, surging from midfield with all the buccaneering penetration of Steven Gerrard in his pomp. He scored twice and assisted another in a match that he dictated from the kick-off. With crunch European games approaching and Liverpool breathing down their neck domestically, De Bruyne seems to be peaking at the right time for the Citizens.

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