With the international break coming up, let’s look at how each of the leagues are looking going into this break.
Bundesliga – Wolfsburg Win Another. Dortmund Drop Points
As Bayern win another game, beating Stuttgart away from home, let’s look at another side, being Wolfsburg. They won 3-1 away from home against a young Bayer Leverkusen side. Besides winning away from home, this victory looks even better, because they also beat last year’s runners up, Schalke, by 2 goals to 1. Ever since the departure of Kevin De Bruyne, Wolfsburg have dropped from 2nd to 8th, and since 2016, have been fighting relegation. It’s just crazy to see a team that nearly knocked out Real Madrid, now struggle to stay in their own league. But this good start against tough opponents must be a positive for their fans. Besides Roussillon, a solid full back signed from Montpellier for only €5m. Their signings have not been great. Ginczek and Weghorst are both signed to add reinforcements upfront, but both did not score enough goals to justify singing them for a combined €25m. Wolfsburg were very good against Leverkusen. However it has to said that Leverkusen were not great in the slightest. Their back line of Weiser, Wendall, Tah and Dragovic only managed 6 tackles and interceptions between the 4 of them, while Wolfsburg’s back four managed 11. In an attacking sense, the away side were easily better. Weghorst, in particular, was very good for his side. The Dutchman managed 3 shots on target and ending his game with a goal. Wolfsburg’s front line in general worked extremely hard for this result. Leverkusen are a side who are difficult to play, because of their speed and the rawness in their side. Their forward line of Steffan, Weghorst and Brekalo managed 8 tackles between them. It was a result that was fought for and definitely earned.
Dortmund dropped their first points of the season, by drawing 0-0 with Hannover. They were not good on the day, and a loss of 2 points was definitely deserved. My worry with Dortmund playing under Favre is these games, where they need to blow teams away, but instead struggled. He continued playing the same midfield again, which is a mistake. He should have taken out Delaney, and brought in Gotze or Guerreiro, to add a bit of more drive or quality in that area. Favre also left his substitutions very late, not bringing on Sancho until the 78th minute. It makes you think why did he persist with Wolf, Philipp and Reus, when they only managed a single shot on target between them. If the forwards were having such an off day why not make a change. On a positive side, Dortmund still have Alcacer to come in, who will definitely help lead the line. On a defensive side, Dortmund were very solid. Piszczek was brilliant. He made 9 tackles and interceptions, while also winning 5 aerial duels. With Bayern already looking like carrying on where they left off, Dortmund cannot drop points against teams they should be beating, if they ever want to put pressure on the champions.
La Liga – Atletico’s Poor Start. Real Win Another
After Barcelona’s absolute demolition of newly promoted side Huesca, there’s look more into their rivals. Beginning with the red and white side of Madrid, they lost 2-0 to Celta Vigo away from home. It’s putting even more pressure on Atletico, since their big spending over the summer was thought to push them over the line. With their rivals winning all of their games so far, Atletico needed to continue winning games. They did not deserve anything from this game in the slightest. Rarely would I say that a Diego Simeone side was poor on both ends of the pitch, but it’s true. Celta bettered Atletico in almost every department. They had more shots on target, 4 compared to 0, completed more dribbles and had a better pass accuracy. While Atletico’s attackers deserve so much criticism for not managing a single shot on target, but one player in particular was a liability, and that being Steffan Stavic. The ex Fiorentina man was just awful in this game. Not only did he defend that second goal dreadfully, he also got himself sent off, by putting in a bad challenge on Pione Sisto, and a very high leg on Iago Aspas. Even looking at his stats, it was clear he offered nothing. He didn’t make a single successful tackle or interceptions, and only won a single header. Easily the worst individual performance all season. Atletico need recover, and with Arias possibly being included, it could be brighter for the next games.
While Atletico Madrid lost, their rivals won again. Madrid were excellent against Leganes. They have continued their winning run by securing a comfortable 4-1 win. As usual, Madrid dominated this game. They and 77% possession, had 17 shots, won more tackles, completed more dribbles. They deserved to win this game. Another game, another goal for Benzema and Bale. The duo have been brilliant so far this season. In 3 games, they’ve contributed 8 goals between them so far. They have both seriously stepped up since the departure of Ronaldo. I’ve already spoken enough about those two and Carvahal, so let’s at least put a spotlight on the best defender around, Sergio Ramos. I love Ramos as a player. He is the perfect leader to have in your team and can singlehandedly win you games and trophies. A commanding presence who would be brilliant in any side. He was brilliant in this game as usual. The Spaniard actually made the most touches in the game, a crazy 123. It says how important the defenders are to Lopategui, but does say how great Ramos is. He also had a 95% pass accuracy, only bettered in the game by pass master Toni Kroos. He is also taking penalties for Madrid now. If nothing else says how important he is, I don’t know what else there is.
Ligue 1 – Germain’s Late Winner. Lyon Lose Another
Marseille put on one great show on Sunday, beating Monaco 2-3, with Germain grabbing the late winner. It was a great game from end to end and it finally ended Garcia’s poor form against the top 3, with this being his first against them. While Marseille were good, there was one negative, and that being Adel Rami. The world cup winner had a real night to forget, with him being responsible for both goals. First with a poor back pass, and the other with a block that resulted in Falcao putting the ball in the back of the net. Excluding that one poor performance, the rest of Marseille were great. Payet was at his creative best, making 4 key passes and completed 2 dribbles. But one decision I can’t understand is starting Sarr and Sakai on the same side. Both play as full backs so starting them both gave a real lack of threat on that side. Sakai did perform well, making 6 tackles and interceptions. Sarr, the more advances player, did not perform as well. He didn’t manage a single shot on target and only made a single key pass. He was replaced in the second half Florian Thauvin, who really made a difference. In his half an hour, he scored and assisted for his team. Thauvin is such a talented player and probably should have moved in the summer. With Inter, Roma and Arsenal all looking for wide talent, it baffles me why he wasn’t even considered by these clubs. After Germain’s late winner, it puts more pressure on Monaco and benefits Marseille. Monaco have now lost two games out of four, and Marseille have just go their second win. It could be the driving force for Marseille, to push for that Champions League spot.
Speaking of losing, Lyon have lost another. They were beaten 0-1 at home to Patrick Viera’s Nice. The game was won by a Marcelo own goal. Lyon can call themselves unlucky here. They were better in most departments. They had more possession, and had 29 shots, bettering Nice’s 8. But Nice can call themselves lucky for one reason, being their goalkeeper Walter Benitez. The Argentine made a crazy 9 saves, which was every single shot on target that Lyon had. It was a heroic goalkeeper performance that will leave Lyon frustrated, that out of all days to face Nice, it’s the day that their goalkeeper decides to have an incredible game. Fekir was a constant threat. He had a frankly ridiculous 9 shots in the game. It just shows how unlucky Lyon were in this game. They can count themselves unlucky, but being this far behind Paris already is not good.
Premier League – Undefeated Watford. Arsenal firing
Watford have been a strange one so far. They came into the season as relegation favourites. With trigger happy owners, a manager who did not impress, and a group of players who are a mix of different manager’s views of how a team should be built. Yet here they are, one of only 3 teams that have won every game so far. Against Spurs, it’s easy to see why. Spurs were very poor on the day. Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen were not at the races at all. It’s a continuous issue with the lily-whites. They seem to turn up for one game, then seem to not show that performance against a weaker opposition. Spurs only had 2 shots on target. They seemed to fail to break Watford down throughout the game. Kane was especially poor. He only had 2 shots and not a single on target. The England forward usually has around 5 shots a game, ever since the start of the season he has just not looked the same. For Watford, they had a few stand out players. Jose Holebas was brilliant. The Greek International was a driving force throughout the game. He got 2 assists in the game and was so important in Watford winning the game. In a defensive sense, both Cathcart and Kabasale defending very well. They made a combined 26 clearances. When they didn’t defend clean, they sure did do the job. Watford have the ability to get far his season. My only issue is what happens if they face a team with more natural wingers. The Hornets seriously lack pace outwide so a good winger could do real damage. However they have been doing this well so let’s hope they keep it up.
Arsenal are another team that finally put in a good performance, beating newly promoted side Cardiff 3-2. This is only their second victory of the season. Emery has already won as many away games in 2018 as Wenger did, just the one. It was a very indifferent performance overall. The attacking side was great, with Arsenal outperforming their opponent in the final third. Both teams managed a high number of shots, but Arsenal had 11 on target, compared to Cardiff’s 4. On that basis it was clear Arsenal did deserve the victory. When looking at standout performers, Lacazette was by the best player on the pitch. He did everything for Arsenal going forward. He had 3 shots on target, made 3 key passes, and ended the game with a beautiful finish and an assist. It was performance he has been needing, since his starts have been lowering since Aubamayeng’s arrival. But the stats prove he should start more. He has bagged 8 goals in his last 9 starts, proving how he performs when given the chance. Another who performed well was Granit Xhaka. The midfielder gets constant criticism, and sometimes for good reason. He does lack agility and a defensive awareness. However he is still one of the best passers in the league, and made the third most final third passes last season. Many who criticise him do not know much about football to me. Arsenal fans constantly criticise Xhaka and Ramsey, yet never say a bad word about Wilshere, an average player at best. Xhaka was very good in this game. He made 3 key passes and had the most touches on the ball, a massive 120. His involvement and importance cannot be argued at his point. However defensively Arsenal were poor again. Emery has a lot of work to do and it will take a while until they look like a decent defensive unit. They leave space for set pieces and it is also full of average players. Sokratis is still a bad player, Mustafi is a terrible defender, and Monreal is 31 now. It will need a lot of work to fix it. But having Torreira and Guendouzi in front could help. They were troubled by an extremely predictable team which is never a good sign. While they great going forward, they still have a lot of work to do.
Serie A – Napoli Humiliated. Milan’s Big Win
Serie A was very eventful this week. Inter got their first big win, Juventus scraped a win against Parma, and the biggest of all, Sampdoria threw Napoli aside by beating them 3-0. It was a bad day for Carlos Ancelotti’s side, who lost his first game this season. What a way to lose it. Sampdoria just turned up against them. They had 3 shots on target and put all of them away. Napoli on the other hand had 18 shots and only put 4 on target. This could just be a bad day at the office for them, but the home side did definitely deserve the victory. The forward two of Quagliarella and Defrel were both great. Defrel in particular was a great partner for the Italian veteran. He only had 36 touches of the ball, but in those touches, he managed to score 2 in only 2 shots on target. A very clinical performance. A certain mention has to go to Quagliarella, who scored easily the goal of the season so far, with a tremendous back heel volley to seal the game. It wasn’t pretty for Napoli however. Simone Verdi in particular wasn’t great at all. He didn’t manage a single shot on target, and didn’t make a single key pass or a successful dribble. A real passenger throughout the game. However the substitutions were both very effective. Dries Mertens and Adam Ounas made a real difference when coming on. Mertens came on got 3 shots, which was the 3rd most for Napoli. It puzzles me why the Belgian forward isn’t starting more games. He has been a real big player for Napoli and after his late winner against Milan, I thought he would be getting more chances. But it isn’t meant to be so far. Adam Ounas is another who performed when coming on. The young Frenchman completed 5 dribbles, the joint most for the away side. He was only on the field for 45 minutes and came on for Verdi, and showed him what a forward should be doing. Napoli can call this a bad day at the office, but this kind of defeat cannot happen again.
Roma are another who were disappointing. They lost to AC Milan after Cutrone scored the late winner to make it 2-1 to the 3x champions league winners. Roma have been very disappointing so far. They were just able to beat Torino by a great finish from Dzeko. They had to fight from 3-0 down to draw to Atalanta, and now have lost their first game of the season. Di Francesco has not impressed me so far during his time in the capital. They have regressed since their great season under Spaletti. The signing of Malcolm might have been the difference, with the wide areas not being great. But they had enough time to find another option, there must have been another. With Inter, Napoli and now Roma all under performing, it has made Juventus’s season even easier. Milan, however, were very good in this game. They had 26 shots, they dominated the game and had 89% of a pass accuracy. Their first goal was a brilliant show of team play, and speaking of the goal, the scorer, Kessie, was great on the day. The young midfielder excelled. Not only did he score the first goal, he also had a brilliant 93% pass accuracy, 3 tackles and interceptions and scored his only shot on target. Kessie showed a lot of promise at Atalanta. His physical advantages at a young makes it much easier when playing at the top level. He also showed great technical ability, with his solid dribbling and his ability to get into the final third and help the attack. With Milan now having a majority of their players settled, it’s now time for Kessie to step up and deliver on that potential. Even after all of their signings, it’s their young academy players, Cutrone and Calabria. They both had a huge involvement in the match, with Cutrone bagging the winner, and Calabria putting in a man of the match performance. He put in the second most tackles and interceptions in the game (with 6), and completed the second most passes in the game. Milan might be a bit of a mess at the moment, but the future does look bright.
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