I thought I would wait until some of the mid week games were finished before discussing this week’s football, and I’m glad I did. Let’s get straight to the point and talk about the biggest talking points from the week.
Bundesliga – Leverkusen back on track. Bayern finally drop points
It’s no secret that both Leverkusen and Schalke started the new season in terrible both, with both sitting in the relegation zone last week, and while Schalke remain in their rot, Leverkusen are on the way up. Leverkusen have a very good side, with Leon Bailey getting plenty of plaudits and Havertz looking like a real prospect. They have won their last two games, beating both Mainz and Dusseldorf. Their win against Mainz was close, they were quite lucky to come out of their most recent win over Dusseldorf with the victory. Expected goals had the game in the home sides favourite, with it in favour of Dusseldorf. But with their drop at the moment, getting the wins is what matters. They need to get back in the groove of winning. In their last win, it was Kevin Volland who helped the side win. The German scored two to put them over the line. While his goals got the win, it was the performance of their defensive midfielder, Dominik Kohr that deserves the most credit. He won 11 tackles and interceptions, made 2 key passes and got an assist. It was a very gritty performance from Leverkusen and might be a deserved win, but they showed their quality on the day.
Bayern have had a very mixed week. They beat rivals Schalke after a James Rodriguez winner. But they followed that by drawing 1-1 with Augsburg. The game, from a performance level, was very close, with expected goals putting the game at 1.43 to Bayern and 1.33 to the away side. But just watching the game it was clear Bayern should have put that game to bed. Renato Sanches had so many chances to end any chance Augsburg had if only he put it away. The midfielder had 5 shots and only 2 on target. Bayern drew the game because of their lack of precision and a mistake from their captain. Neuer came out to catch the corner ball, but failed and the ball was then gifted to Felix Gotze, who then was gifted the easiest chance of his career. Bayern did rest players in this game, with Alaba, Ribery, Rodriguez and Lewandowski all not starting the game. Kovac thought he could take it easy for the home game but will wish his side was more ruthless on the day. After Borussia Dortmund’s 7-0 beating of Nuernburg. The pressure is on now to keep an in form Dortmund side from catching up.
La Liga – Barca and Real lose!
By far the most interesting story of the week. Both Barcelona and Real Madrid have lost a game on the same day for the first time since 2015. Both did not go into their defeats in good form, with Real scraping a 1-0 win and Barcelona drawing 2-2 with Girona at home. Let’s start with Barcelona. The league leaders started the game comfortably, with Coutinho scoring an excellent volley to put them into the lead, but 69 seconds of terrible defending left Barcelona getting their first defeat of the season. The reason for that complete failure in defense falls onto Gerard Pique. He was at fault for both goals. For the first, he was in no man’s land, and left Umtiti on his own to deal with both players. While Vermalean also failed to keep up with El Zhar, Pique should be better there. The second goal was a pure error, giving the ball to Oscar Rodriguez and gifting him the goal. Pique is a very good defender who doesn’t get the credit he deserves sometimes, but he has these games where he just loses his ability to read the game. Barcelona can call themselves lucky though. Their rivals Real Madrid also lost so their defeat is not as bad as it could be. They have Bilbao at home next, which is a must win. Both Madrid clubs play on Saturday and if Barca can an advantage over one of them, it’ll make the title race much easier.
Madrid finally showed the vulnerability that I knew they had, when they lost 3-0 to an entertaining Sevilla side. Madrid were simply caught out 3 times in the game, and it resulted in them conceding 3. They just gave the ball away and were correctly punished for it. Marcelo miss placed a pass in his own half and let the Sevilla forwards hit them back. The issue with Madrid is they struggle to deal with counter attacks. While Ramos and Varane are the best around, they play quite a highline and it leaves them easy to get by when attacked with numbers. Kroos is very poor in a defensive sense (as I mentioned when talking about why Germany failed at the world cup). Modric is still not up to scratch yet, after his phenomenal world cup performance. He is usually so good at watching the space Kroos and Marcelo can leave, and can help deal with it. Sevilla were just the perfect team to beat them, and it’s worrying to see if they draw a team like Liverpool in the champions League, because they could struggle against their pace and quick attacks. A poor day at the office for Madrid, and with their local rivals being the next side they play, they must bounce back and keep pressure on Barca.
Ligue 1 – PSG dominating. Lyon Vs Marseille
While Ligue 1 is looking like it’s usual on horse race, Paris have just became the fourth side to win their first 7 games in the league’s history. They have been efficient as ever in the league, putting teams away like they are from another planet. While I do think there are huge holes in side, mainly the full backs and in defensive midfield, they just have so much talent in the final third that it makes it impossible for them not to score. One players return has been an absolute blessing for Tuchel’s side. He keeps thinks ticking in midfield and his presence means that Neymar, Mbappe and Cavani do not have to drop so deep to receive the ball. His different could easily be seen with their 4-1 win over Reims. He had 138 touches of the ball, the most on the pitch. He also made 125 passes. He was the only player to complete over 100 passes on the pitch. He is so important for Paris will be needed in the big Champions League games. Other than that, it was a usual Paris win. Let’s hope they show more of this in the Champions League, after their poor showing against Liverpool.
On another note, Marseille were beaten by Lyon by 4 goals to 2. Both Payet and Thauvin were effective in the game as ever, but their problem was Mitroglou. The Greek International has never proven to meet that he should be playing at the top level. He seriously lacks agility and works better when paired (as seen with Jonas at Benfica). He only managed a single shot in the game, and it wasn’t even on target. Both Germain and Mitroglou are good squad players, but they both have failed to convince me that they are good enough to lead a line. Lyon were very good in this game. Both Fekir and Ndombele were excellent in the game, completing a combined 9 key passes between them, with Ndombele getting 2 assists. They were key in exposing Marseille and countering them quickly. But the star man of this game was easily Bertrand Traore. The former Chelsea man has been an important addition to the current crop of talent at Lyon. His pace and ability to beat a man is always good when facing any side. In this game he was absolutely excellent. He gave Amavi constant problems and caught him out over and over, which resulted in one of the midfielders or centre backs having to spilt wide, leaving space for Depay and Fekir. This was shown from Lyon’s attack side map, showing that they made 48% of their attacks on the right side, where Traore was playing. He had an excellent game and capped it off with 2 goals. Just a perfect perfect performance. Both teams shouldn’t have much to worry about, with Lyon now showing some consistency, and Marseille have won three of their games so far, with Payet and Thauvin looking great at the start of the season. With Monaco being awful, it means top 3 could be comfortable for both of them.
Premier League – Manchester City’s 5 goal thriller. United drop points again.
Let’s focus on Manchester this week, where one side showed their quality, and the other showed their lack of it. Let’s start with the blue side, who absolutely walked over newly promoted side Cardiff with a 5-0 win. This is the second time they have scored over 5 in a game so far this season. It keeps them in touching distance of Liverpool, and on equal terms with Chelsea, after their disappointing 0-0 draw with West Ham. City were at their usual best in this game. City were excellent at creating good chances, with 86% of their shots coming inside of the 18 yard box. Their quality was shown in this game. When talking about stand out performers, one has to simply discuss Bernardo Silva. While the Portuguese did have his moments in the first team last season, he was never a consistent choice. However with the injury to Kevin De Bruyne, it has forced Silva to be put in his number 8 position. Pep is a genius for a reason, because he is able to fill the gap with the adequate solution. Silva was excellent in this game, getting a goal and an assist. He made 4 key passes, and even completed 3 tackles, a side of his game I thought he never had. City cruised this game, and it will keep them in the race against a Liverpool side who many tip to beat the Champions.
On the other side of Manchester, the red devils dropped more points at home, with a 1-1 draw against a good Wolves side. It was a very poor performance from United in an attacking sense. They failed (as usual) to create good chances for Lukaku, and were forced to take shots from anywhere, with 67% of their shots being taken from outside of the box. United had more shots, but had less shots on target (United having 6 and Wolves having 8). Expected goals shows this too, with United only having 0.61, and Wolves having 1.10. United had a majority of the ball, yet didn’t show that killer instinct their rivals show. While United did fail to create the right chances, Lukaku was still poor when given the chance to score. He only had 22 touches, and didn’t have a single shot on target. He seemed to look exhausted, and like a striker who was on a long goaless run. He is needed it United want top 4. While United were terrible, Wolves still deserve plenty of credit. Their midfield pairing of Neves and Moutinho showed discipline and caused United problems. Their average position was very close, leaving no space for United to exploit. They will be a problem for the bigger sides, with the newcomers already picking up points against both Manchester teams. Let’s see if they can keep it up.
Serie A – Insigne and Roma scoring.
With teams in Italy having 2 games in a week, it could have been a problem for some of the bigger sides, with the players not given a rest for the weekend and the champions league. However this wasn’t the case, with two sides, Napoli and Roma, both picking up 3 points with plenty of goals. Let’s start with Napoli, who followed their 3-1 win over Torino, with a 3-0 win over Parma. While Napoli haven’t been nearly as impressive as their were under Sarri, they are still playing well and looking competitive for the champions league places. Their star performer this season could only be one guy, Lorenzo Insigne. The Italian has been one of the best players in Europe over the last 3 years, not only being a great creator, but also being able to score plenty of goals. He has been like Hazard has been under Sarri, but over a much longer period of time. He is truly a great talent. He already has 5 goals and an assist this season in only 7 games. He was Napoli’s key player in this game, scoring and assisting. He likes to cut inside and shoot when given the chance, which he showed with having 5 shots in this game. His average position in this game was very close to the striker, showing how often he likes to come central. I’m still so surprised he has not been picked by Barcelona or Real Madrid over the last few years. He has had a great week, and continues to show his class.
Roma were another who scored plenty in the week, with them beating Frosinone 4-0. This wasn’t a difficult game in the slightest, but Roma have had an inconsistent season to say the least. It was important to get a huge win, to keep the players confident and get them ready for the big Rome derby. The attacking players in this game were great, Stephan El Shaarawy. The Italian’s career hasn’t reached the heights we all expected while he was at AC Milan, but has still had a good career so far. He was excellent in this game. He had 3 shots on target, made 2 key passes, completed 2 dribbles and scored a goal. Some of their players were rested in this game, with Dzeko and Florenzi both starting on the bench. They still dominated the game, and go into their huge game against Lazio in confidence.
Football Lane 