El Clasico demolition, PSG humiliated – Damien Kayat looks back at what was a massive weekend of football on the European front!
FA Cup Blockbuster
Liverpool and City will contest a mouth-watering FA Cup semi-final that could prove hugely significant in the context of both club’s seasons. Liverpool actually have a realistic shot of winning a quadruple after drawing Benfica in their Champions League quarterfinal clash.
City also have an outside shot of matching United’s fabled 1998/1999 treble-winning season. This as the Premier League title race approaches its crescendo, with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool biting at the heels of table-topping City. Liverpool had to grind it out, with the prolific Diogo Jota nicking a 1-0 away victory for the Reds at giant killers Nottingham Forest.
In the other last-four clash, cup behemoths Chelsea will take on Patrick Viera’s impressive Crystal Palace. Viera’s men heaped the pressure on Frank Lampard with a thumping 4-0 victory against Everton. Chelsea ran out pretty convincing 2-0 victors against Middlesborough. But Palace will be at a huge disadvantage in this semi-final clash, with Chelsea’s on-loan Connor Gallagher set to miss out due his parent club’s participation.
Gallagher has been an absolute revelation this season, emerging as a potential successor to Frank Lampard in the midfield goal-scoring stakes.
OFFICIAL: The 2021/22 FA Cup semi-final draw:
— Squawka News (@SquawkaNews) March 20, 2022
◉ Man City vs. Nottingham Forest / Liverpool
◉ Chelsea vs. Crystal Palace#EmiratesFACup
El Clasico demolition
Mikel Arteta will be praying that Arsenal hang on to 4th spot this year. They are currently in a decent position with crucial matches against United and Spurs on the way. But his decision to let Aubameyang go could have huge ramifications if they flub their remaining lines.
The embattled Aubameyang has been nothing short of electrifying since joining Barcelona, scoring 9 times in 11 appearances for the Catalan giants. He was superb as Xavi’s Barcelona thumped Real Madrid 4-0, breaking a five-match El Clasico losing streak against Ancelotti’s table-topping Real. They could have won by more, absolutely dominating Real in every facet of the match.
Karim Benzema missed out due to a calf injury. But I don’t think that the talismanic Frenchman would have helped them one iota in this particular clash. The pace of Barcelona’s attack overwhelmed Real. Aubameyang, Torres and Dembelle looked like they could penetrate at will, with Pedri dictating proceedings with a ventriloquist’s sleight of hand.
Barcelona had only scored three goals collectively across their previous five league matches against Real Madrid under Ronald Koeman, Quique Setien and Ernesto Valverde.
— Razio Barca (@barcarazio) March 21, 2022
Xavi's rocked up to his El Clasico in La Liga as manager and Barcelona have scored four. @WhoScored pic.twitter.com/mtf9vGrJKV
Bayern re-establish six-point lead
Just when you think Dortmund are back in the mix. Marco Rose’s side were infuriatingly held by Koln at the weekend, with star striker Erling Haalnd failing to make any significant impression on the game. In truth, Dortmund were probably fortunate to take a point away for this game.
Their midfield was regularly exposed by Koln’s energetic movement. Even if Bayern were to slip up a few times in the coming weeks, this Dortmund side lacks the consistency to mount a realistic title bid. Bayern were in cruise control this week, easily disposing of Union Berlin 4-1. Lewandowski scored yet another brace in a commanding centre-forward performance. The Pole is yet to be offered a new contract by Bayern, leading to rampant speculation about a possible summer departure.
Man United and Liverpool are said to be the frontrunners should a new contract not be forthcoming. The word around the campfire is that Lewandowski has expressed displeasure at not feeling appreciated enough. This coming from a guy who earns nearly 370, 000 pounds a week. Notwithstanding his ridiculous goal-scoring exploit, which side is going to realistically increase his wages at present? He will be a 33-year-old striker entering a brand-new league. He should maybe read the room a bit.
And people wonder why Bayern have been at the top for so long and why we’ve fallen since we signed a certain Spaniard… pic.twitter.com/MCgaTpfYmi
— Deanoooo 🇪🇸 (@DeanoSeason) March 20, 2022
PSG humiliated
PSG looked absolutely apathetic at the Saint Louis II, going down to Monaco in a tame 3-0 drubbing. Watching Mauricio Pochettino’s reign go down in slow-motion almost fills one with voyeuristic guilt. This Monaco defeat will only give more impetus to the growing call from PSG ultras to sack sporting director Leonardo and president Nasser Al-Khelaifi.
Lest we forget, PSG still enjoy a 15-point lead in Ligue A and will almost certainly equal St-Etienne’s record of 10 French league titles. In any ordinary European footballing league, this season should be considered a rip-roaring success. But the nearly demonic obsession with Champions League glory has pretty much rendered Ligue A redundant in the eyes of the Parisian faithful. To make matters worse, Kylian Mbappe looks almost certain to leave PSG for Madrid in the summer.
The Messi experiment hasn’t worked and I feel like Neymar’s time in Paris may be grinding down to a halt. It makes you wonder if the window for European Cup glory is temporarily closed for the French monopoly.
25’: Monaco 1-0 PSG
— Squawka News (@SquawkaNews) March 20, 2022
68’: Monaco 2-0 PSG
84’: Monaco 3-0 PSG
Mauricio Pochettino’s side suffer their third league defeat in their last five games. 😳 pic.twitter.com/6FOTOhFR90
Juventus fighting till the end
Massimiliano Allegri’s Juventus have left it late this season. Probably a little too late. But you have to admire the way they have not given up on an unlikely Serie A title.
The Dusan Vlahovic acquisition has injected Juventus with a renewed potency. This was once again evident in victory against table-propping Salernitana. Vlahovic scored a towering header to make it 2-0 after a returning Paulo Dybala scored the opener after just five minutes. The victory moves them just one point behind 3rd placed Inter, who could only manage a disappointing 1-1 home draw against Fiorentina (Juventus will host Inter in their next match).
Milan and Napoli picked up narrow victories that kept them in 1st and 2nd spot respectively. Victor Osimhen’s brace for Napoli made him the first Nigerian to hit double figures in consecutive seasons in Serie A. That will no doubt offer some solace for fans of the Super Eagles following their poor Afcon showing earlier this year.
🚨 Paulo Dybala is set to leave Juventus on a free transfer this summer after failing to agree to a new contract with the club.
— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) March 21, 2022
(Source: @FabrizioRomano) pic.twitter.com/cPnE4imksA
Player of the Week- Tammy Abraham
If Chelsea had the ability to bend space and time: would they have kept Tammy Abraham and let Romelu Lukaku be? Abraham really came to the fore under the tutelage of former manager Frank Lampard. But his chances were limited under Thomas Tuchel and it became clear that he was surplus to requirements.
But he had a fan in Jose Mourinho and soon found himself leading the line in Rome. And it has been a season of unmitigated success for Abraham. He scored a brace this weekend, leading Roma to a dominant 3-0 victory in the Derby della Capitale against Lazio. It took his tally to 23 goals in all competitions, breaking Roma’s record for highest scorer in a debut season. This was a record previously held by Stadio Olimpico icons Vincenzo Montella and Gabriel Batistuta.
Tammy Abraham is the first English player in the top 5 European leagues to score 20 goals across all competitions this season 🎯
— International Champions Cup (@IntChampionsCup) March 6, 2022
The Mourinho effect 🪄 pic.twitter.com/8tJhgWK0RO
