Damien Kayat looks back at this past weekend’s football action as United come back from the dead, Gini Wijanldum suffers injury heartbreak and the North London gears up for title tilt.
Miracle in Manchester
I’m not exactly sure which animal has been sacrificed or whose soul has been offered, but the Glazers could not have dreamt for a more perfect three days.
The pressure was building on the American owners after a dreadful start to the season. Rumours of fervent protest jumpstarted them into action as they signed Real Madrid behemoth Casemiro.
Much of the United fanbase rebuffed this as too-little, too late. They were ultimately going to lose to arch-rivals Liverpool, right? Right? Erik Ten Hag’s side defied all rational expectations with a wonderfully spirited display against a slightly stuttering Liverpool side.
There were echoes of Solskjaer’s classic counterattacking efforts in this energized display. Martinez and Varane gave the best performance by a United central-defensive pair since the days of Rio and Vidic.
Unless United are playing away against a physically imposing team like Palace; I don’t see how Maguire plays in this side.
Let’s not kid ourselves: Liverpool still dominated huge portions of that match. But they weren’t really able to create too many clear-cut chances.
Liverpool’s midfield looked woefully ill-equipped to deal with the counterattacking threat that United offered. There was something very Liverpool 2020 about their line-up. Henderson, Milner and Firmino are undeniably legends of this Klopp era. But it just feels slightly jaded.
I think it’s time that the bright Fabio Carvalho gets a chance to just bring something different to the mix. Klopp perhaps underestimated how much he would miss Mane, thinking Diaz was a readymade replacement.
Diaz was a passenger against a United defence that offered no space. Mane had that inalienable ability to occupy pockets of space that completely bamboozled defenders. He was an offbeat target man when Liverpool were in desperate need of an out-ball.
It's end-to-end stuff now at Old Trafford as Rashford increases United's lead 🔥
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) August 22, 2022
📺 Stream #MUNLIV live: https://t.co/0BMWdeEYT3 pic.twitter.com/rl8EGk1BoF
North London title charge?
I know it’s early, but could this year be the year that the Premier League title heads to North London? Arsenal and Spurs have been largely periphery figures in recent Premier League seasons, reserving their best football for their seismic derbies.
But Mikel Arteta and Antonio Conte seem to have fostered something special at their respective clubs. Arsenal have been electrifying at the start of the season, playing the type of swaggering possession-based football that is associated with Pep.
Jesus and Zinchenko have brought City’s winning mentality into an already exciting blend of players. I have been hyper-critical of Arteta in the past (I honestly don’t think many top-flight managers would have been given the amount of rope that he has).
It will be interesting to see what happens when the fixtures start to pile up. I still get the heebie-jeebies when I see a bench with names like Nketiah, Elneny and Holding. What’s going to happen when the inevitable Xhaka ban arrives?
Spurs have gone about their revolution in a far statelier manner. They haven’t been spectacular this season, introducing their new roster of talent in piecemeal fashion.
I would personally have Bissouma starting over Bentancur (I think they could do with a bit of extra thrust in midfield). But the acquisition of Perisic looks like it could be a masterstroke. He just has that little bit of cutting edge that Spurs have lacked in the fullback positions.
But they just look extremely compact in defence. Look at what Conte has done with the likes of Ben Davis and Eric Dier. That is what a coach does. He takes the tools at his disposal and crafts them into something he can use.
I think Spurs are going to be extremely dangerous in the Big Six games this season (they did the double against City last year and drew twice with Liverpool).
There’s still a slight concern that they may struggle to break down the low block from time to time. That’s where Richarlison’s more direct approach could prove pivotal.
🗣️ "Hopefully he stays in the Premier League, he stays at Tottenham and he breaks Alan Shearer's record."
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) August 20, 2022
Tim Sherwood and Owen Hargreaves reflect on Harry Kane becoming the player with the most goals for a single club. pic.twitter.com/dAKLbi9xbQ
LaLiga Race is On
I think this weekend gave us the template for the upcoming LaLiga title race. Real and Barcelona are going to be exchanging blows while Atletico potentially fade from relevance.
On Atletico- you can never count Diego Simeone out. But their 2-0 home defeat to Villarreal featured some disturbing signs. Mario Hermoso confronted Atletico ultras in the post-match warm-down after they were allegedly haranguing Antoine Griezmann.
I know this is a club that thrives on tough love and adversity (from inside and out). But to see a player actively having it out with their supporters. It speaks of a broader disunity that has slowly crept into the club over the past few years.
Despite everything that Simeone has achieved, city rivals Real can’t stop winning European titles. And Barcelona are on the brink of a new chapter in their fabled success. I just feel like Simeone may have gone as far as he can with the comparatively limited resources he has at Atletico. Maybe it’s time for him to find a new challenge (Chelsea, anyone?).
Speaking of Spain’s traditional heavyweights: Real and Barca looked brilliant at the weekend, both picking up comfortable 4-1 away victories. Ancelotti’s side look like they are going to be just fine without the industrious Casemiro.
Camavinga and Tchouameni look like they could fuel the Madrid engine room for a decade to come. But it was the evergreen Modric- 37 next month- who stole the show, scoring an absolute screamer and picking up a typically majestic assist.
He is the only player who can rival De Bruyne for the title of world’s best midfielder.
Barca’s new recruits are also starting to look pretty formidable. Andreas Christensen had his 2nd consecutive solid showing for the Catalan giants while Raphinia looked far more assured. And elite striker Robert Lewandowski did what he does best, scoring a brace to announce his arrival at Barcelona.
But it was teenage sensation Ansu Fati who truly turned the tide. The effervescent Spaniard came on at the hour mark, scoring a goal and assisting two others.
Sidebar: Frenkie de Jong had an absolute shocker, failing to link defence with attack and gifting away possession in the leadup to Real Sociedad’s goal. You have to wonder where his head is at in this present moment.
Luka Modric has still got it 🥶🚀 pic.twitter.com/jBLPQdeOyF
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) August 20, 2022
Wijnaldum out of World Cup
Speak about a roller-coaster career trajectory. Georginio Wijnaldum was plucked from Newcastle by Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, thrust into a starring role in their Premier League and Champions League success.
He then decided to head to greener pastures at PSG. But things just didn’t work out for the Dutchman in the ego-driven culture of the Parisian giants.
A loan spell at Roma seemed like a logical move in a World Cup year. But the Dutchman’s season has ended in tragedy, with a training ground tackle by Felix Afena-Gyan ensuring that he will almost certainly miss this year’s World Cup.
It will be particularly frustrating for Jose Mourinho as his Roma side have won their opening two matches in typically pugnacious style. Two 1-0 victories represent vintage Mourinho and the Dutch midfielder could have helped them sustain a more realistic Serie A title push.
I also want to give a shoutout to Roma’s total stylistic contrast: Napoli. They have won their first two games at an aggregate of 9-2. Here’s to hoping Luciano Spalletti’s swashbuckling side can look past the end of last season and mount another spirited Serie A stack. We would all be the better for it.
Bad news for Gini Wijnaldum. New AS Roma midfielder fractured his tibia today, just two weeks after joining the club on loan from PSG. 🇳🇱 #ASRoma
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 21, 2022
“Following an injury sustained during training, Gini underwent medical that confirmed the presence of a fracture to the tibia”.
Player of the Week: Neymar
It seems as if Mbappe and Neymar have buried the hatchet (at least for now). PSG ran poor Lille riot this weekend, beating the would-be Ligue 1 challengers 7-1 in a dominant display that underlines the disparity in this league.
For goodness’ sake, this is the same Lille side that won the league in the 2020/2021 season. You have to feel sorry for the always industrious Jonathan Davids.
Neymar was truly sensational, netting a brace and picking up a hat-trick of assists. It seems as if the Brazilian realises that he isn’t a 21-year-old playboy anymore.
There’s a ruthlessness to his play this season that could be the difference in their perennial quest for European glory.
Neymar vs. Lillepic.twitter.com/hLRNVtc8WY
— ّ (@LSVids) August 21, 2022
