It's advantage Liverpool as Man City and Arsenal played to a goalless draw, while Brentford increased the scrutiny on Man United's Erik ten Hag.
Liverpool take huge advantage in Premier League title race
Jurgen Klopp’s world-famous Cheshire Cat grin must have been on full display following City’s limp 0-0 draw with wannabe usurpers Arsenal. Liverpool held on for dear life to claim all three points against a typically lively Brighton side. But neither City nor Arsenal could really muster the courage to go for a game that was really there for the taking. Both sides essentially started with four central defenders and it showed, with barely any width created throughout the entirety of the match.
There were numerous games of midfield ping-pong as players struggled to find any space in the congested central areas. City monopolized possession to little or no effect, with Erling Haaland expertly shepherded by the physically robust central defensive partnership of Gabriel and Saliba (my men of the match). I have to lay some criticism at Pep Guardiola’s feet. It was a must-win match for the Citizens and he should have sacrificed a modicum of pointless control to offer more penetration. The introduction of Jeremy Doku caused Arsenal all sorts of issues and I really think he had to start that game. Matteo Kovacic is a really tidy, metronomic player but he lacked the vision to open up a game such as that.
Perhaps Guardiola could have rolled the dice and started Mattheus Nunes in the middle of the park. In any event, the match turned out to be a massive damp squib that has given Klopp’s Reds a massive boost in this year’s title race.
Saliba named MOTM and he deserves it , but for me Big Gabii has been incredible perfect performance , look how Pep and Haaland surrounded him after final whistle … no doubt Saliba and Gabii the best duo in the world right now
— Basem 🇸🇦 (@Arsenal047) April 1, 2024
pic.twitter.com/YuuJTi8PY0
The Ten Hag renaissance a non-starter
United’s FA Cup triumph over Liverpool wasn’t the resurrection that some United fans had hoped for. Lest we forget, this is a United side that has already lost a stunning eleven league matches this season. That Liverpool result- remarkable as it was- was a chaotic ‘Hail Mary’ pass that papered over some major cracks. Harry Maguire marauded forward, instructing Bruno to cover for him because he was so scared by the counterattacking pace of Liverpool. And they reverted back to type this weekend, snatching a point from the jaws of victory in a frankly embarrassing display at Brentford.
They honestly made the Bees look like prime Barcelona this weekend. In fact, Thomas Frank’s side needed just three more touches in United’s box to break City’s league record of 87 touches in the opposition box. Brentford also had a whopping 31 shots throughout the course of the match. Mason Mount gave United a late lead that bordered on the sacrilegious. Ajer thankfully restored some cosmic balance with a last-gasp equalizer that laid bare the frailties that underpin this entire United dinosaur.
Erik ten Hag on if he is concerned by shots faced: "As long as we get results, no... We lost many second balls and then you have to defend the box and that's what we did quite well and we had a great goalkeeper... We concede shots but we don't concede many goals." [@mjcritchley] pic.twitter.com/n6OI7EPWtx
— United Zone (@ManUnitedZone_) March 30, 2024
Real take one step closer to La Liga title
Real Madrid won’t be quivering in their boots following City’s anaemic 0-0 draw with the Gunners (they host Guardiola’s men in a little over a week at the Bernabeu). Ancelotti’s men were in cruise control this weekend, taking down Athletic Club 2-0 despite the suspension of the talismanic Vinicius Jr. Jude Bellingham was absolutely swamped in midfield and he couldn’t dictate the tempo of the match as he would have liked. Fortunately, Ancelotti has another electrifying Brazilian winger in his repertoire. The criminally underrated Rodrygo scored a match-winning brace and threatened with his pace throughout.
Guardiola simply needs Walker to be fit if they wish to contain the pure kinetic energy of their fearsome Brazilian striking duo. FC Barcelona made it eleven games without defeat after a pretty comfortable 1-0 victory over ten-man Las Palmas. Xavi’s men were wasteful in front of the goal and should have put the ten-man side to bed well before they did. But Joao Felix provided the spark after coming off the bench, providing a beautiful lob for the in-from Raphinha to finish off. Xavi’s men have been ridiculed for large portions of the season but their recent form suggests a growing maturity as they gear up for a crunch European tie with PSG.
When Rodrygo celebrated his first goal vs. Athletic Club, Fede Valverde reminded him to celebrate with Jaime Salom, Real Madrid’s physio.
— B/R Football (@brfootball) April 1, 2024
Rodrygo dedicated the goal and win to Salom whose mother recently passed away 🤍 pic.twitter.com/oRCZ3yNwTC
Leverkusen close in on footballing immortality as Bayern embarrassed again
The whole world was left in a state of shock when Xabi Alonso announced his decision to stay on as Leverkusen manager next season (Liverpool fans in particular). I wonder if Alonso could live to regret this decision. Football is a cutthroat business and promising young managers can become forgotten fads in the space of two windows (just look at Potter and Ten Hag). Perhaps he didn’t like the idea of following in the formidable footsteps of Klopp.
But don’t let all that distract you from the enormity of what Leverkusen could achieve this season. Die Werkself did it the hard way again this weekend, coming from a goal behind to beat Hoffenheim and extend their extraordinary unbeaten run to 39 games. They now sit 13 points clear of a beleaguered Bayern side as they go in search of an unprecedented treble. Bayern seem to have put all their Easter eggs in one basket this season (forgive the silly seasonal pun). They were utterly toothless, slumping to a 2-0 home defeat to bitter rivals Borussia Dortmund. Harry Kane was uncharacteristically profligate in front of goal while I still can’t fathom why the Bayern intelligentsia thought that Eric Dier would be a good fit for Die Roten. Thomas Tuchel will need to win a 2nd Champions League title this year if he doesn’t want his Bayern tenure to go down as a complete travesty.
🚨🚨 BREAKING! Xabi Alonso: “I had a good meeting with Bayer Leverkusen and I informed them that I will STAY and continue at the club”.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 29, 2024
“After lot of talks about my future, I used the break to reflect and make my decision”.
“This is the place to be for me”. ⚫️🔴 pic.twitter.com/QM4fzyQp14
Inter one step closer to Scudetto
Simone Inzaghi’s Inter Milan seem to have put their recent Champions League heartbreak behind them, easily seeing off Empoli 2-0 to edge closer to an inevitable Serie A title. Federico DiMarco opened the scoring, getting on the edge of yet another Bastoni assist. Substitute Alexis Sachez- remember him- sealed all three points after tapping in from a pinpoint Dumfries cross. Inter now just need eleven points in their last eight matches to guarantee a 20th Serie A crown. Juventus were absolutely abysmal this weekend, going down 1-0 at Lazio in a dire dress rehearsal of this week’s Coppa Italia first-leg clash between the same sides. I really think it’s time for the Juve hierarchy to consider moving away from Allegri.
His stubborn refusal to change with the times and become more progressive is holding the Bianconeri back. He has enjoyed amazing success at Juventus but Napoli and Inter have conquered Italy playing a brand of football that I don’t think Allegri has the tools to emulate.
Good night, everyone! 🥰#ForzaInter #InterEmpoli pic.twitter.com/zBXExtJI0V
— Inter (@Inter_en) April 1, 2024
Player of the Week- Rodrygo
No Vini Jr, no problem. Rodrygo helped to elevate a fairly drab Real performance this weekend, scoring a brilliant brace to maintain Real’s eight-point La Liga lead. His first goal had shades of Vini Jr against City last season. He cut in from the left and unleashed an unstoppable right-foot curler into the top left-hand corner. His 2nd was a bread-and-butter counterattacking goal that showcased his incision and speed of thought. Probably the most underrated attacking player in European football, Rodrygo could prove instrumental in Madrid’s quest to regain that coveted European crown.
Rodrygo scored some insane goals since the start of last season!@RodrygoGoes 🇧🇷🔥pic.twitter.com/ds8AjeWgwE
— MadridistaTV (@madridistatvYT) April 1, 2024
