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EURO WRAP: Liverpool outfox City, Real pip Barca in Clasico and more!

Damien Kayat looks back at the weekend’s football action as Liverpool shocked Manchester City at Anfield, Barcelona were beaten by Real Madrid and more!
Salah scores against Manchester City

Damien Kayat looks back at the weekend’s football action as Liverpool shocked Manchester City at Anfield, Barcelona were beaten by Real Madrid and more!

Two women looking excitedly at cellphone

Liverpool outfox City to give Gunner’s title momentum

Arsenal extended their lead atop the Premier League standings to four points courtesy of a nail-biting 1-0 away win at Leeds. Am I the only person who finds their Dead Poets Society-style group huddle after every goal somewhat nauseating?

In any event, Arteta’s men had to win ugly for the first time this season and will undoubtedly draw plenty of confidence from that level of grit. But it was Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side who stole the headlines, ending City’s unbeaten record with a curious 1-0 victory at Anfield.

I think Guardiola’s men should take plenty of heart from their overall performance. They dominated large portions of a game at a venue where it’s very hard to dominate.

Foden looked slick as anything but couldn’t get enough change out of a dogged James Milner.

I don’t buy this notion that Klopp pulled off a tactical masterstroke. City were just really poor in the final third. Haaland was uncharacteristically wasteful while De Bruyne couldn’t quite get enough quality possession.

Liverpool were occasionally devastating on the counterattack. Mo Salah took Joao Cancelo to the cleaners on a few occasions and scored a typical tearaway counterattack.

Could this be the result that sets Liverpool off on one of their imperious runs? Time will tell. 

Real outmuscle Barcelona

Many were expecting Barca to bounce back from their Champions League disappointment in the season’s first ElClasico. But Xavi’s men were outmuscled and outclassed by a well-oiled Madrid machine.

Barcelona just couldn’t get any foothold in the midfield area. Sergio Busquets looked utterly prehistoric in this match, unable to keep up with the marauding Toni Kroos and Luka Modric.

Kroos has often been outshone by his remarkable Croation midfield partner. Even Casemiro seemed more vaunted when he was still a Real player. But Kroos has just operated under the radar and was in devastating form this weekend.

He created the first goal, recovered the ball eight times and completed five successful tackles. You also have to give a shout-out to Brazilian Eder Militao. 

He was on shaky ground towards the end of last season but has probably been one of their most consistent performers of late. He absolutely slammed the door on Lewandowski and is slowly turning into an absolute defensive beast.

Bayern find their rhythm while Dortmund falter

Edin Terzic’s Dortmund just can’t seem to find the balance between their Champions League and Bundesliga commitments. Their 2-0 defeat to surprise leaders Union Berlin sees them languishing in eighth place in the Bundesliga standings.

Janik Haberer’s first-half brace was enough to see off a very fatigued Dortmund outfit. It didn’t help matters that keeper Kobel had a bit of a nightmare.

Jude Bellingham looked particularly jaded and is starting to suffer from bearing all the creative weight in midfield areas.

Meanwhile, Bayern were back to their scintillating best and are now hot on the heels of Union Berlin. They annihilated SC Freiburg 5-0 in one of their most complete performances of the season.

It was somewhat diluted by the depressing news that Leroy Sane is out with a hamstring issue. The German winger has been in arguably the best form of his entire career.

Luckily, Bayern have attacking options to spare and should be able to make due while Sane is away.

Italian Serie A is a lottery

This season’s Serie A is turning into an absolute free-for-all. Napoli have fast become one of the great entertainers in European football. Their 3-2 victory against Bologna showcased their flamboyant brand of end-to-end football.

Victor Osimhen returned to action with another goal. Let’s just hope that Spalletti’s men can finally sustain their momentum towards the end of the season.

Dusan Vlahovic is just always going to be one of those strikers who thrills and frustrates in equal measure. He was a virtual non-entity in last week’s big match against Milan but came up with the winner this week as Juventus edged past Torino.

He has been a bit of a flat-track bully his season and needs to start performing on the bigger stages. But the likes of Roma and Atalanta are keeping themselves in the hunt in a season that could really deliver a surprise Scudetto champion.

Player of the Week- Antoine Griezmann

Antoine Griezmann endured a torrid spell during his initial Atletico departure, unable to firmly establish himself in a Barcelona side absolutely bursting with talent.

And he has essentially returned to Atletico with his tail firmly between his legs, vowing to win back the hearts of die-hard Atletico fans who felt he abandoned them.

And he took a giant step towards regaining their love by scoring his 100th goal for the club at San Mames stadium. That victory means that they now sit just three points behind Barcelona and Griezmann could be a vital cog in their quest to compete for top honours.  

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