Damien Kayat looks back at the weekend's European football action which saw another Klopp vs Guardiola classic, Arsenal sufferd another top-four setback and more!
Points shared in match of the season0
What an advertisement for the English Premier League. Jamie Carragher came in for some stick midweek when he suggested that this City-Liverpool rivalry was the greatest of the Premier League era.
But I think there is a glimmer of truth to that claim. Sure, this match doesn’t have the primal hatred that fuelled the United-Arsenal saga. Football has changed. This is no longer the era of pre-match tunnel bust-ups and flying hairdryers.
Can you imagine Patrick Viera and Roy Keane hugging it out in the aftermath of one of those early 2000’s potboilers? But was there ever a time when two sides played better football during the same Premier League era?
You can’t help but marvel at City’s class in that first-half. Then you also have to give props to Liverpool for a second-half fightback that demonstrated all of Klopp’s signature passion.
Kevin de Bruyne was the best player on the field, continuously penetrating Liverpool’s slightly static midfield. With Mo Salah in something of a goalscoring dip, the Belgian is certainly making a late-season surge for Player of the Year consideration.
The point maintains the status quo (which is obviously advantageous for City). But I think that Klopp will be secretly satisfied with a result that keeps the league title in arms reach.
Manchester City and Liverpool go toe-to-toe in a thrilling 2-2 draw at the Etihad. The gap between the two remains one point 🤏#MCILIV | #PL pic.twitter.com/co7LJugQaR
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) April 10, 2022
Arsenal outgunned
This has been undoubtedly the worst week in Mikel Arteta’s tenure (and that’s saying something). They went from de facto top 4 favourites to a club in crisis in the blink of the eye.
Sometimes you can accuse the Arsenal Twitter mob of being somewhat reactionary. But I think that they have every right to be outraged this week. I don’t fully understand the cult of personality that powers the Arteta fanboys.
His devotees embrace him as some messianic figure who has achieved wonders. Did I miss something? Sure, he won a FA Cup. But he has also finished eigth in successive seasons.
I do admire the way he cleared the decks in the January transfer window. I also have a grudging admiration for the ruthless manner in which he dealt with the Aubameyang affair.
But to not replace the maverick striker is a decision that is coming back to haunt Arteta. One bright spark: Lacazette’s conversion to CDM has been a terrific success. But in all seriousness, no team should be this devastated by two key injuries.
They don’t have the burden of European football. But why put Xhaka at left-back? In the absence of Partey, Xhaka is your most established midfield presence. Poor Sambi Lokonga looked like Bambi Lokonga- a deer in the headlights of Brighton’s energetic midfield engine.
North-London rivals Spurs are now beating teams with authority, heaping more pressure on the already beleaguered Arteta.
Stop itttttt, @EnockMwepu45. 🥜🤤 pic.twitter.com/ARbSxLGKxS
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) April 10, 2022
Spanish giants come up trumps
It was a weekend of contrasts for Spain’s two most successful clubs. Real strolled to a comfortable 2-0 victory over Getafe, barely getting out of first gear throughout the match. It was the perfect warm-up for their 2nd leg clash with Chelsea this week.
They were able to rest the pair of Modric and Kroos. Last week’s European hero Karim Benzema had a much quieter outing this weekend. It was really Vinicius Jr that caught the eye this week.
He delivered a wonderful outside-the-boot cross for Casemiro’s goal. He also had a few wonderful dribbles and two cheeky nutmegs. He almost makes the pursuit of Kylian Mbappe slightly redundant.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Xavi’s resurgent Barcelona were forced to dig deep at Levante, with Luuk de Jong scoring a stoppage-time winner in a breathless, end-to-end encounter.
Aubameyang rubbed salt into Arsenal’s festering wound of a week by scoring their 59th-minute equaliser. Pedri then scored a delectable 2nd that underlined his status as Messi’s creative successor. De Jong completed the scoring for the night with a dramatic 92nd-minute header that saw Barca clinch their 7th straight La Liga victory.
It's another routine win for Los Blancos who regain their 1️⃣2️⃣ point advantage at the summit with goals coming from Casemiro and Lucas Vázquez #LaLiga pic.twitter.com/at18BkVXMa
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) April 9, 2022
Italian drama continues
Fiorentina put a huge dent in Napoli’s Scudetto charge this weekend, revealing the first chink in this year’s most engaging underdog story. There is actually some historical precedent for this weekend’s result (Fiorentina ruined Napoli’s 2018 Scudetto push).
Napoli’s relatively thin squad has been devastated by injuries in this home stretch. Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Andrea Petagna, Kevin Malcuit and Adam Ounas missed out due to injury.
The electric Victor Osimhen returned from suspension to score his 25th goal of the season in all competitions. He is actually poised to surpass Obafembi Martins’ African Serie A goalscoring record.
They will at least take some solace from another dire performance by AC Milan. Milan still sit atop the table following their 2nd successive 0-0 draw. Inter took full advantage of this slip, beating Verona to give themselves the edge in the Serie A race (they will go top of Serie A if they win their game in hand).
Juventus also kept their slim hopes of winning the title alive with a comeback victory at Cagliari. Dusan Vlahovic showed his class by netting the 75th-minute winner. It was his sixth goal in 13 appearances for his new club.
And to think, Arsenal actually thought they had a chance of signing him in January. Such delusions of grandeur.
Dušan Vlahović nets his 2️⃣2️⃣nd #SerieA goal for the season and earns his side a crucial win in their bid for a top-four finish 🟡🔵
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) April 9, 2022
FT | Cagliari 1-2 Juventus pic.twitter.com/GQyq4oKQ7B
Player of the Week- Son Heung-min
Son Heung-min must be the most consistently underrated player in the Premier League. I think he has been a victim of Harry Kane’s goalscoring feats and Spurs’ general volatility. But you can’t deny his output.
His hat-trick against Aston Villa took his Premier League tally to 87 goals. That saw him move past Chelsea’s Eden Hazard in the all-time goalscoring stakes. Hazard scored 85 goals in 245 games for Chelsea.
Son moved past Hazard’s mark in 20 fewer games than the flying Belgian. These are hugely impressive figures for an out-and-out winger. It’s really amazing that he only sits three goals behind Salah in the Premier League Golden Boot race.
Who could have envisaged that a month ago?
Son Heung-min 🎯🎯🎯
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) April 9, 2022
His hat-trick helps Spurs to a crucial 4-0 victory over Villa and opens up a 3️⃣-point gap over fifth-placed Arsenal #AVLTOT pic.twitter.com/SObMpMqmuP
