Damien Kayat looks back at this past weekend's football as Messi scooped his 7th Ballon d'Or, Juventus slump to new lows and Ralf takes the reins at United.
United Grit?
If Ralf Rangnick had any illusion of the task he has at hand, Sunday’s performance at Chelsea should have rid him of any preconceived ideas. Sure, they managed to salvage a point at the Bridge. But the gulf in quality between both sides was just as seismic as that between the Red Devils and previous title contenders.
23 shots to 3 does not translate to tactical masterclass. Chelsea were particularly wasteful in front of goal and will rue their missed opportunities. United can basically only play one way: on the counterattack. They simply don’t have the midfield cohesion necessary to effectively link play.
And they are a shocking pressing side. Rangnick’s entire gegenpressing philosophy (which is basically hipster code for high-voltage pressing) hinges on workaholic forwards who work their socks off. Can you see Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes pummelling themselves into the ground like Bernardo Silva?
I don’t think that Paul Pogba has ever pressed his shirt before. I just hope that Rangnick is ready to work with possibly the laziest mega-squad in European football.
Welcome to Manchester United, Ralf Rangnick 🔴🇩🇪#MUFC
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) November 29, 2021
Geordie Poor
To be three points adrift of this current Norwich side is a feat in and of itself. Newcastle United are yet to win this season and face the prospect of a gargantuan six-pointer this week against Norwich.
Eddie Howe’s side have certainly shown minor improvement thus far. But is there a chance that this Saudi-backed experiment could be over before it begins? The chance of a 200-million-pound windfall in January just feels like light years away at present.
Not to mention the fact that January is a notoriously difficult time to attract either quality or value. Then there’s the slightly hypocritical view of a possible cold shoulder during the window.
Premier League sides have issued their concerns over the Public Investment Fund’s Bruce Wayne levels of wealth, talking about a possible boycott over players being sold to Newcastle (a bit rich from the likes of City and Chelsea).
In any event, Eddie Howe is going to need to pick up a few wins prior to the January transfer window. It doesn’t help Howe that Dean Smith seems to have extracted some oil from the seemingly dry Norwich well.
Newcastle in the Championship next season with a £500 million transfer budget: pic.twitter.com/YMfVZ26eiS
— FootballFunnys (@FootballFunnnys) November 27, 2021
Kylian who?
Kylian Mbappe seems pretty intent on running down his contract and forcing a mega-move to Spanish giants Real Madrid. But he could do well to be careful considering the recent form of Vinicius Junior.
The Brazilian is starting to add consistency to his bow, scoring a wonder goal in Real’s comeback victory against Sevilla. With many of the financial obstacles facing Spanish clubs, perhaps it would be prudent for Los Blancos to just bet big on the young Brazilian and the evergreen Benzema.
Real are starting to look like proper LaLiga favourites, with Barcelona sitting on the precipice of an almost sacrilegious Champions League exit. Mbappe may be essential if they wish to once again become a force on the European front.
But I just don’t see the desperate need for him at this stage. Atletico are slowly starting to click into gear but I fear that they will fall short when you look at the comparative depths in squad.
A goal worthy of winning any football match! 🤩
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) November 28, 2021
Vinicius Jr stocks at an all-time high 📈 pic.twitter.com/4OOEkZI0vz
Haaland a possible Trump-card
It’s weird to think that Borussia Dortmund may be going into this week’s Klassiker with better juju. Lest we forget, Marco Rose’s miserable Champions League campaign came to an end last week with an ignominious 3-1 at Sporting Lisbon.
Now they have the unappetizing prospect of a playoff match with another 3rd place Champions League finisher (as per new Europa League relegations). But they have one major cause for hope domestically: Erling Haaland.
After more than a month out of action, the Swedish sensation returned to action far sooner than expected. Haaland has now scored 50 goals in 50 Bundesliga matches, netting during their impressive 3-1 victory at Wolfsburg at the weekend.
His form could be a crucial determining factor in deciding this season’s Bundesliga title. Bayern followed up their shock home defeat to Augsburg with a similarly uninspiring 1-0 victory over Arminia.
LE BUT D’ERLING HAALAND POUR SON RETOUUUR VAMOOS LE MEILLEUR ATTAQUANT AU MONDE 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/uBIt8benuU
— Haaland France 🇵🇸 (@HaalandFrance) November 27, 2021
Juventus in Turmoil
Let’s shift our focus away from the admittedly exhilarating Serie A title race for a moment. What the hell is going on at Juventus? The events currently unfolding in Turin look straight out of current Italian melodrama The House of Gucci.
They reigned over Italian football for more than a decade, wrestling control away from a vintage AC Milan behemoth. But their fortunes- both on the pitch and of the pitch- seem to be going from bad to worse.
Their Champions League defeat to Chelsea was borderline humiliating, highlighting the extent to which this particular dynasty has fallen. This was only exacerbated by their 1-0 home defeat to Atalanta at the weekend (a defeat that incredibly left them 14 points behind table-topping Napoli).
But that’s only half the story. In a depressingly commonplace occurrence within Italian football, Juventus’ club offices were raided by police, seizing documents pertaining to player transfers and financial accounts. It’s all eerily reminiscent of the Calciopoli scandal that saw the club demoted to Serie B in 2006.
Juventus 'could be RELEGATED to Serie B and STRIPPED of their last Serie A title' https://t.co/vf3ECCTuIn
— MailOnline Sport (@MailSport) November 29, 2021
Player of the Week- Lionel Messi
It just had to be Messi after the Argentine won the Ballon d’Or for an incredible 7th time. More than that, Messi is starting to look far more intrinsic to any possible success at PSG.
He broke his league duck last week and set up three exquisite assists at St Etienne this weekend. With Neymar out for up to eight weeks due to ankle ligament damage, this is really the perfect time for the diminutive Argentine to establish himself in the French capital.
Sidenote: those matching suits he and his sons wore to the Balllon d’Or ceremony were hideous.
What a night for 𝙇𝙚𝙤 𝙈𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞 🥇#BallonDor pic.twitter.com/eSmP0Y3FYE
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) November 29, 2021
