Phil Foden starred for Manchester City in their comeback win over rivals Manchester United, as Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen continued their march towards the Bundesliga title.
City overwhelm United in Manchester derby
City’s 3-1 comeback victory over United not only helped them keep within striking distance of a rampaging Liverpool side, but it also served as yet another reminder of the enormous gulf that currently separates Manchester’s premier footballing dynasties.
And it all started so swimmingly for United, with the much-maligned Marcus Rashford scoring an absolute screamer to give the Red Devils an early lead. United looked like a real threat on the counter-attack in the first stanza, exposing City’s inherent vulnerability in quick transitions.
But that all changed in the second half as City’s hold on possession simply wore United down. Phil Foden has become a talisman for City this season and his brace underlined his status as arguably the best player in the league right now.
Haaland conspired to miss an absolute sitter in the first half but made up for it with the third and final goal, adding some gloss to the score-line that City richly deserved. City have now managed to secure 21 points from losing positions this season and they will feel confident ahead of a crunch trip to Liverpool next weekend.
But where do United go from here? They could only manage three shots on target throughout the match in comparison to City’s 26. That is a damning indictment of the supposed ‘style’ of football that Ten Hag has implemented. Ten Hag apologists like to prattle on about his style and a more possession-based approach to football matches. Rubbish. This is Ole Gunnar Solskjaer counter-attacking football if I have ever seen it. Casemiro and Mainoo were only there for ornamental value as United’s midfield was completely bypassed. Honestly, United’s inability to string together five or more passes was pretty disturbing.
Scott McTominay has no place in a match of that tempo. Playing him as some sort of auxiliary support for Rashford stank of Sam Allardyce, route-one desperation. Sure, they have suffered more than most with injuries this campaign. But a fully fit United side would have suffered the exact same fate as that yesterday, let me assure you of that.
He is him. 🌟 pic.twitter.com/k4SUzsas6E
— Manchester City (@ManCity) March 3, 2024
Leverkusen march towards inevitable title
Bayer Leverkusen look almost assured of claiming the Bundesliga title this season, stretching their league lead to ten points after another desperate weekend for Thomas Tuchel.
Let’s start with Tuchel’s hapless Bayern. They dropped yet more points in what was ultimately a thrilling 2-2 draw at SC Freiburg. There is some hope for the future, with youngsters Mathys Tel and Jamal Musiala scoring beauties for Die Roten. But the system looked as disorganized as it has all season while Kane cut an increasingly disconsolate figure up front.
Tuchel has tinkered with too many formations this season and he needs to rectify this in his managerial appointments going forward. Leverkusen never missed a beat this weekend, winning comfortably 2-0 at FC Koln. It was yet another sparkling advertisement for their sensational wingbacks, with Grimaldo and Frimpong scoring a goal in each half. Alonso has cultivated the most incisive wingback duo since Alexander Arnold and Robertson.
It is rumoured that Alonso is more interested in the Bayern job than the Liverpool one. And I understand why. It’s going to be a tough ask for anyone to follow in the footsteps of Jurgen Klopp. The only way is up after Thomas Tuchel’s disastrous tenure as Bayern manager.
𝗙𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 ⏸️
— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en) March 3, 2024
DERBYSIEGER!!!!!
10 Points Clear!!!!
🖤❤️BAYER 04 LEVERKUSEN 🖤❤️
90+3' | 0-2 | #KOEB04 #Bayer04 pic.twitter.com/lg7bVTLwQD
Barca fail to capitalise on Real Madrid controversy
That must have been one of the wildest endings I have ever seen in a football match. Let’s go back to the beginning. Real Madrid travelled to Valencia with Jude Bellingham back in the starting eleven. But they looked uncharacteristically lethargic in the first half and Valencia capitalised, taking a 2-0 lead into the second half of the match.
That seemed to jolt Los Blancos into action and they looked far more determined in the second stanza. The incomparable Vinicius Jr showed little sentiment on his return to the Mestalla, bagging a brace to throw Real right back into the match. And they looked to have secured all three points after Bellingham headed in the dying seconds of the game. But did they? The ref abandoned commonplace footballing protocol by blowing the final whistle while the cross was midair!
This led to a titanic furore, with the combustible Bellingham getting sent off in the ensuing melee.
But they had little to fear, as Girona went on to lose and Barcelona missed their chance to bring themselves into an unlikely title race. Barcelona had a chance to avenge their Copa del Rey exit at the hands of Athletic Club but they just couldn’t get out of first gear.
Injuries to Pedri and Frenkie de Jong didn’t help but it was quite telling that Xavi’s men couldn’t get themselves up for this one. Raphinha was brilliant last weekend but he was utterly anonymous this time around (the story of his Barcelona career). And Andreas Christensen really looked like a central defender playing in the heart of midfield.
An unprecedented refereeing decision prevents Real Madrid from winning at Mestalla.#ValenciaRealMadrid
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) March 2, 2024
Napoli take down Juventus to end title race
Inter Milan’s dominance of Italian football continued this weekend and they didn’t even kick a ball (they host Genoa tonight). Napoli beat Juventus 2-1 to put to bed any lingering hopes that Allegri’s side could dismantle this Inter juggernaut.
Napoli have essentially been MIA this season (though they do have a crucial Champions League 2nd leg match against Barcelona to look forward to). But their league form has been pretty uninspired, with the duo of Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia failing to reach the grandiose heights of last season.
But Georgian winger Kvaratskhelia looked back to his best this weekend, scoring the all-important deadlock-breaker in this match. Juventus found a way back into the match through the marauding Cheisa but it was ultimately Napoli who deserved all three points.
They had over 70% possession in the match and Raspadori’s late winner was exactly what they deserved. Saying that Dusan Vlahovic probably missed the more gilt-edged chances and Inter now have a chance to extend their lead to a staggering 15 points.
𝗝𝗔𝗖𝗞𝙋𝙊𝙏 🎰
— Official SSC Napoli (@sscnapoli) March 3, 2024
💙 #ForzaNapoliSempre pic.twitter.com/V4Mcdgs5VX
Player of the Week- Phil Foden
The ‘Stockport Iniesta’ has really become the fulcrum of City’s attacking unit this season. The versatile, silky midfielder has 26 goal contributions in all competitions this campaign.
That’s pretty amazing for a player who very seldom plays in the same position in consecutive matches. I prefer when he plays through the middle (there is no one better in world football at the moment on the half-turn).
But he looked quite devastating playing principally off the left this weekend, scoring a wonderful brace to underline his billing as possibly the most gifted English footballer of his generation
Your chance to win a signed shirt from our Man of the Match, @PhilFoden! 💫
— Manchester City (@ManCity) March 3, 2024
