Jurgen Klopp is often credited for bringing a heavy-metal sensibility to Liverpool. Arne Slot feels more like a classic rock option.
He has taken Jurgen Klopp’s exciting young array of talent and added a semblance of real control to the chaos. They barely had to get out of first gear at Old Trafford, cruising to a resounding 3-0 victory.
Luiz Diaz scored a brace before Mo Salah rounded out the scoring in a ominous sign of Liverpool’s title ambitions. But let’s be real here: Liverpool’s ‘brilliance’ is not the major takeaway from Sunday’s heavyweight clash. Erik Ten Hag’s side were frankly pitiful on Sunday, clueless in the face of Liverpool’s dynamism.
I look at Ten Hag’s list of acquisitions and think to myself: do any of these players come within spitting distance of City’s starting lineup? The answer is no. And let’s take a moment to remember the career of Casemiro.
Once a titan in the defensive midfield role, the Brazilian is a shadow of his former self, and his disastrous outing against Liverpool felt like a funereal coda to a once glittering career. I also have no idea what Marcus Rashford has to do to get yanked from this squad (he must be in possession of some compromising material on the manager).
That match was screaming out for the youthful ebullience of Amad. Ten Hag has been at Old Trafford for over two seasons and I still can’t discern a recognizable pattern of play. There really is a feeling of inevitability about this.
City cruise to victory while referee denies Arsenal
Pep Guardiola’s Man City haven’t been the fastest starters in recent campaigns. They tend to find their rhythm as the season progresses, hitting a crescendo in the business end of the season. They have bucked that trend this season, sitting pretty atop the Premier League standings after a comprehensive 3-1 victory at West Ham.
They turned a potentially tricky away visit into a Saturday afternoon canter, with Erling Haaland scoring yet another Premier League hat-trick (his 8th in a smidge over two seasons).
Bernardo was simply sensational in the middle of the park, dictating proceedings with his wonderful range of passing. He occasionally gets lost when he is deployed in that wide-right role but he was instrumental on Saturday.
Arsenal’s 1-1 home draw with Brighton provided the first truly memorable bit of controversy this season. Declan Rice was sent off for a second bookable offense, allegedly kicking the ball away when Brighton were looking to clear the lines.
I have heard some people say that he should have had the professionalism to avoid what happened. I think that is utter nonsense.
I don’t even think the English midfielder was aware that the ball was there. In any event, Rice looked to be a yard off the pace prior to his dismissal and Brighton were full value for a point (fortuitous as the red card may have been).
Leandro Trossard always overwhelms when he is drafted into the starting lineup and I was seriously underwhelmed by Timber on the left.
Arteta will have some interesting selection dilemmas ahead of next week’s North London derby: will he be forced to play Partey and Jorginho in a double-pivot in the absence of Rice?
All good things come to an end in entertaining weekend of Bundesliga action
Xabi Alonso’s heroic Leverkusen finally tasted domestic defeat this action, going down 3-2 at home to RB Leipzig to end a staggering 462-day unbeaten domestic run.
They even know how to lose in style. They seemed to be cruising at the halftime interval, with wingback duo Frimpong and Grimaldo each finding the scoresheet in the first stanza.
But Leipzig showed Leverkusen-esque gumption to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, with Openda netting a brace in an absolutely thrilling 2nd half comeback.
It will be fascinating to see how Alonso bounces back from this, his first taste of authentic league adversity. Bayern Munich took advantage of Leverkusen’s mini blip, comfortably seeing off Freiburg 2-0 at home.
Thomas Muller commemorated his record-breaking 710th appearance for Die Roten with the 2nd goal of the match. The versatile forward has been an incredible servant for the Bavarian giants and will rightly go down as a Bayern legend.
Juventus held by Roma while Inter pick up statement win
Thiago Motta’s unbeaten start to managerial life at Juventus came to an end this weekend, as the Bianconeri were held 0-0 by a resolute Roma side. Juventus had been dynamic in their first two matches but this was more reminiscent of Allegri-ball (whatever that is).
It was a rather stodgy affair that recalled the ultra-pragmatic Italian football in the 80’s and 90’s (there were only two shots on target in the entire match).
Conversely, Inter Milan underlined their status as the best team in Italian football with an emphatic 4-0 win against Gasperini’s beleaguered Atalanta side.
I said a few weeks back that Marcus Thuram was going to be a key player for Inter this season and he was brilliant this weekend, netting a brace and knitting things together for the forward line. His link-up play was particularly impressive and he looks desperate to escape from Lautaro Martinez’s immense shadow.
Mbappe ends goal drought while Barca run riot
Kylian Mbappe’s dream move to Real Madrid hasn’t started in ideal fashion, with Los Blancos surrendering early ground to Barca as he failed to score in his first three matches. And the pattern looked set to continue this weekend, as Real Betis managed to blunt Real’s attacking threat for over a hour.
But Mbappe finally broke the deadlock, slotting home his first goal after a delicious Valverde pass.
He then scored a penalty to make sure Ancelotti’s men go into the international break with some winning momentum. Speaking of momentum, Hansi Flick continued his perfect start to life in Barcelona with a thumping 7-0 win against Valladolid. Raphinha became a forgotten man in the latter stages of Xavi’s rollercoaster reign.
But Flick has put his faith in him and he responded in kind, scoring a brilliant hat-trick in this more advanced role. Lewandowski continued his current scoring form and Barca are starting to look quite intimidating.
Player of the Week – Erling Haaland
It’s funny, I was going to pick Haaland last week but Noni Madueke pipped him to the post after his ballsy showing at Wolves. Not to worry, Haaland was back at it again this week, scoring his eight Premier League hat-trick to propel City to the top of the table.
Haaland’s performance at West Ham actually reminded me of his Dortmund days. He was getting on the shoulder of the defenders and exploiting the space in behind. Just imagine what this City side could do if Guardiola is able to consistently unlock that aspect of Haaland’s game. Scary.
🎥 | This touch from Mohamed Salah was absolutely absurd!😮💨❄️ pic.twitter.com/6GcQk0veEt
— LFC Transfer Room (@LFCTransferRoom) September 1, 2024
