Penalties galore in the Premier League, Real Madrid cruising toward LaLiga title and more in this week's European football wrap!
Penalties galore in Premier League
The imperiousness of English football’s top three clubs was put to the ultimate test this last weekend, with City, Chelsea and Liverpool all winning by a solitary goal. Curiously, each of the matches also featured a penalty kick.
Liverpool were probably the most convincing of the would-be title winners (despite Allison’s attempts to add to his growing catalogue of slightly insane moments). City gave perhaps one of their most insipid performances in recent memory, failing to convincingly put away a dogged ten-man Wolves side.
Jack Grealish is simply not the same player he was at Villa. At Villa he was afforded bountiful space to penetrate, often playing on the swift counterattack. He looks somewhat baffled in a City side that dominates possession. And let’s not even get started on how dodgy that penalty decision was.
Speaking of dodgy penalty decisions, Chelsea needed a last-gasp spot-kick to see off Leeds United. This heated encounter ended in a mass brawl that perfectly encapsulated how crucial every single point may prove to be this season. We may never want this season to end.
Ice cool from the spot, @MoSalah 🥶 pic.twitter.com/jMG77AdB1n
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 11, 2021
Arteta vs Aubameyang
You can’t keep the Gunners out of the headlines. They bounced back from their pathetic Everton debacle with an assured 3-0 victory over a hapless Southampton. But the biggest scoop from that encounter has to be the ongoing telenovela that is the Arteta-Aubameyang relationship.
The struggling striker was granted leave to travel abroad just prior to the match. However, it is believed that Spanish disciplinarian Arteta was not best pleased with the lateness of Aubameyang’s return to action. To make matters worse, images have emerged of Aubameyang gleefully receiving a tattoo the day before the indiscretion.
This is just the latest in a series of PR disasters for the ludicrously well-paid Gabon striker. Arriving late to the North-London derby after getting stuck in traffic was a sign of things to come. Aubameyang clearly doesn’t have the requisite respect for the perennially under-fire Arteta. But does Arteta really need Auba?
Sure, he has scored 68 goals in 128 games for Arsenal (a stat I actually pinched from Arsenal superfan and Aubameyang apologist Piers Morgan). But the 32-year-old has always been a player who likes to play off the shoulder of defenders.
He seems to have lost that crucial yard of pace and may be a crossroads in his Arsenal career. It will be interesting to see how the schizophrenic Arsenal fanbase reacts to this ongoing feud.
🚨⚽️ | NEW: Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is not in the Arsenal squad today due to a “disciplinary breach” pic.twitter.com/8XG592M0eN
— Football For All (@FootballlForAll) December 11, 2021
Inter take initiative
Napoli have absolutely fallen off a cliff in recent weeks, losing three of their last five matches just when it looked like they could be credible title contenders. Luciano Spalletti’s 1-0 home defeat to Empoli is yet another sign that Champions League qualification will likely be the best they can hope for (I like to think of Napoli as the Tottenham Hotspurs of Italian football).
Simone Inzaghi reached the summit of the Serie A table for the first time in his managerial career as Inter Milan destroyed Cagliari 4-0. Hakan Calhanoglu has been one of the most impressive midfielders in Europe this season and he once again picked up the Man of the Match honours for the Nerazzurri. Hell, even Alexis Sanchez got on the scoresheet.
Milan faltered, with a typically acrobatic Ibrahimovic snatching a late point for Milan. Juventus’ recent mini resurgence was scuppered by relegation-threatened Venezia.
Making matters far worse, Paulo Dybala only managed to survive 12 minutes of their disappointing 1-1 draw, picking up a fresh injury that could hugely impact Juventus’ top four chances (that seems like a surreal statement to make).
⏹️ | FINAL WHISTLE
— Inter 🏆🇮🇹 (@Inter_en) December 12, 2021
Inter dominate the game at San Siro! 🔥🔥
Great stuff, lads🖤💙
Powered by @Moncler#ForzaInter #InterCagliari pic.twitter.com/4g7mqez6bs
Real looking ominous
Real Madrid restored their eight-point LaLiga lead with a workmanlike 2-0 victory over a regressive Atletico side. Funnily enough, Atletico were on top for large periods of this Madrid derby.
But once Vinicius Junior broke away and provided Karim Benzema with the opener, it always felt- despite Atletico’s moments- like the three points would ultimately head in one direction.
Real Madrid won this 10th consecutive match in all competitions and they have started to look far more defensively solid. Is this the beginning of the end for Diego Simeone as Atletico manager?
Just six months ago he was celebrating his 2nd LaLiga title. But it all feels a little stale in the Atletico set-up. Just moments before the end of the match, Atletico supporters were heard screaming ‘Simeone, please stay’.
There is clearly a huge amount of affection between the Atletico fans and their combative manager. But perhaps it’s time for both parties to seek new challenges.
Xavi’s Barcelona now sit an incredible 18 points behind Real Madrid. Their complete emphasis on youth may pay rich dividends in the future. However, they need some of their senior players to wake up and help usher in this new era. Or else we may see the Catalan in the Europa League for two successive seasons.
HIGHLIGHTS | @realmadriden storm to victory in the derby! ⚡️🔝⚡️
— LaLiga English (@LaLigaEN) December 12, 2021
🎬 #RealMadridAtleti pic.twitter.com/m6Rry44Ssz
Player of the Week- Kylian Mbappe
Mbappe netted a brace for PSG as they comfortably saw off Monaco 2-0 at the weekend. Those two goals saw him bring up a century of Ligue A goals- a fairly remarkable achievement for a player who is yet to turn 23.
This makes him the youngest player in Ligue 1 history to bring up 100 league goals. It all feels slightly hollow with the ongoing saga surrounding his new contract negotiations.
It is telling that Neymar’s injury absence has actually seen Messi and Mbappe flourish. Neymar’s much-maligned work-rate issues are probably key to this development.
THE GOAT MESSI WITH AN INTERCEPTION AND RUN AND ASSIST TO MBAPPE 🤩🤩🤩pic.twitter.com/JDT6PLLLnQ
— Ziad is back in pain (@Ziad_EJ) December 12, 2021
