What a crazy week. Both the Bundesliga and La Liga being mental, let’s get straight into it.
Bundesliga – Bayern Embarrassed, Dortmund’s Dramatic Win
Before the season started, I thought the only way the Bundesliga could be dramatic, would be if Favre could get Dortmund winning again, and if Kovac did the opposite, and surprise surprise, that is happening. Bayern were absolutely humiliated at home against Borussia Munchengladbach. They were beaten 3-0 by Dieter Hecking’s side, and it was definitely a deserved victory. Bayern looked so lacklustre and laid back in this game. The first goal came from Yan Sommer, and the ball was carried by the team, until Plea put the ball away with a great finish. The Frenchman has been a great signing for Mönchengladbach. He is just such a well rounded forward, being an excellent finisher, and is able to help in build up play. He already has 5 goals and an assist this season. He could really help drive his side to a top four spot. The issue with Bayern in this game was their passiveness. The first goal showed this. Mönchengladbach were able to play right around them. None of their players were showing desire to retrieve the ball, or even put in a tackle. The second goal was even worse, with Thiago making a very out of character mistake and giving the ball to Plea, who then gifts it to Stindl, who scores excellent goal. The German had a very good game, scoring the second goal, putting in 3 tackles, completing 2 dribbles and won two aerial duels. It was a very hardworking performance from the forward. It seems Bayern find it difficult to deal with forwards who don’t play as traditional target men. Bayern found it extremely difficult to deal with Tadic in the Champions League, because how often he would move away from the middle and make it hard for Bayern to track him. Kovac needs to learn how to deal with this problem. I am still very unsure if he is the right man, but this is the first risk appointment and Bayern need to follow through with it. Let’s hope for a young manager’s sake, he can turn this around.
Now to talk about the league leaders, Borussia Dortmund got a dramatic 4-3 victory over Augsburg. Dortmund continue their unbeaten run this season, and have looked great. Their attack has looked great so good, and have been rotating players pretty effectively. Sancho is leading Europe in assist, yet this game was his first start of the season. It’s very good to see Marco Reus finally put a long string of games together as well. Even though he is starting to get on, he has been fabulous so far this season. He has already contributed to 6 goals in 7 games, showing just how well he has adapted to life under a familiar face in Lucien Favre. However the star of the show against Augsburg was Paco Alcacer. The Spaniard now also has 4 goals this season, thanks to his hat trick in this game, including a delightful free kick in the last minute to win it. He didn’t even start the game either. He came on with only half an hour to go. In his short time on the pitch, he managed 6 shots in only 22 touches. It shows how forward Dortmund were playing in the latter stages of the game, and with Alcacer given plenty of changes. A great game from a player who finally seems to fulfilling his potential seen at Valencia. Another stand out performer was Dan-Axel Zagadou. Dortmund now have 3 excellent young center backs, and it’s now Zagadou’s turn to show his quality. He came into this game after a great performance in the Champions League, and continued his form. He won 7 aerial duels, which is impressive considering the player he was facing, Finnbogasan, is a very big threat in the air. The Frenchman is starting to look like a very good prospect. Dortmund are currently overseeing another golden generation. With experienced players like Witzel, Reus, Burki and Pitzchek blending very well incredible young talents, like Akanji, Diallo, Sancho, Dahoud, Larsson and now Zagadou. They will give Bayern a very good challenge this season.
La Liga – Atletico’s Big Win. Valencia vs Barcelona
La Liga is a mess right now, but it makes it very entertaining. Valverde still doesn’t know how to correctly manage his squad and Madrid can’t score goals at the moment. Atletico could finally win it again, but it’s still too soon to tell at the moment if they can finally do it. What shows how much of a mess La Liga is at the moment is Sevilla are currently at the top, being the only side to win 5 games this season. While Madrid losing is a massive talking points, we’ll actually talk about their rivals. Atletico Madrid got a classic Simeone win with a 1-0 victory over Real Betis. This is an impressive victory because Betis have been a very good side since last season, having a solid back line and are very difficult to beat. This wasn’t the most eventful game you’ll see, but there are still things to talk about. First was Atletico’s selection. Lucas Hernandez, Nikola Kalinic and Juanfran all came in for the game, and performed fine. Lucas Hernandez was especially good. He won 3 aerial duels, 4 tackles and completed 6 long balls, the most for his side. He hasn’t featured much this season, so it is good to see him return with a good performance. Rodri was another who had a good game. He is really starting to show why Atletico saw him as the replacement for Gabi. He completed 4 tackles and had a 94% pass accuracy. He keeps possession very effectively for his side. However it was Angel Correa who scored the winner. The forward has been used all over the pitch for Simeone, used more as a versatile player to fill in different positions. He put a real shift when he came on, making 4 tackles and scoring the winner. It was a needed victory. With Barca and Real dropping points, it keeps pressure on for the rest of La Liga.
Speaking of Barcelona, they dropped points again. They drew 1-1 with underachieving Valencia, thanks to an early goal from Garay, and an equaliser from Messi (who else?). While in the grand scheme of things, a point against a team that finished in the top 4 last season isn’t bad at all, but context is always important. Valencia have been at the start of the season, only managing 2 wins so far, with this game being their 6th draw. Barca have to see this as 2 points dropped. They have shown again this season how they struggle when a goal down, as seen against Bilbao too. It could come down to the mid week game, but it has to be more than that. The goal they gave away was just a mess. Vermalean was at fault for the goal. He got a slight touch on the ball, which gave it directly to Garay. It still amazes me how he still starts for that club, with Lenglet, a player who is definitely good enough to start, is stuck on the bench. Even when Barcelona got back into the game, it wasn’t a vintage attacking performance. Besides Messi, the rest of the side just weren’t pulling their weight. Barcelona only managed 10 shots in the game, a game they were trailing for 88 minutes. You expect a side to do more when they’re behind so early, yet they just didn’t do enough. Messi had 6 of those shots too, showing just reliant they still are on their record scorer. There is nothing wrong with relying on the best player to ever play the game, but in the rare circumstance that an opponent can take him out of the game, it would leave Barcelona without any sort of way of attacking. Even with all the money spent and the players brought in, it seems they still struggle in games. They will definitely need improve, and most of all play Dembele.
Ligue 1 – Kylian Mbappe on Fire. 2nd vs 3rd.
Ligue 1 might not be so interesting at the moment, with Paris already 8 points clear. Let’s begin with the league leaders, who disposed of one of their tougher opponents in a very dominant display, beating Lyon 5-0. It was a game that just highlights how much better Paris are than the rest of the league. Lyon are already not so great defensively (and going down to 10 men didn’t help), but the manner of which PSG beat them was just astonishing. Before going into the main performer of the game, let’s look at another player who performed very well. Marquinhos was excellent as a defensive midfielder in this game. While I still do not think this is his best position, credit has to be given when he is performing so well in a position he does not know well. He completed 5 tackles, 2 interceptions, 4 aerial duels, and even got an assist for one of Mbappe’s many goals. Speaking of Mbappe, the young Frenchman was absolutely brilliant in this game. After Cavani came off in the first half, it was up to Mbappe to lead the line, and to extend the lead, thanks to an early goal from Neymar. To say he did well is an understatement. He just put in, by far the best performance of an attacking player this season. He had a monsterous 9 shots, with 6 being on target. Those are numbers that Ronaldo would only average in a handful of games. Mbappe was just in the right place at the right time with a couple of the goals, with isn’t a criticism. You want your forwards being in the right place when the ball is in the opposition’s box. However the first and third goal were great finishes, with the latter very reminiscent of one of his goals against Manchester City back in his first season at Monaco. A great day for Paris, as they now extend their lead even further from one of their toughest opponents. The league could already be done and dusted for the Champions.
When saying 2nd vs 3rd, the assumption would usually be discussing one of Lyon, Monaco or Marseille. However with this season just being so strange, it is actually Lille vs St Etienne. This was a big game for both, as it would allow Lille to extend their further ahead in second, and it would allow St Etienne to overtake their opponents. It was Lille who earned the victory in this game, with a comfortable 3-1 victory wrapping up 3 points for the home side. Lille have just been so fun to see this season, and for the sake of entertainment, I really hope they keep up their great run of form. Finding more players to discuss for Lille, other than Bamba and Pepe, is becoming difficult. They are the driving force behind the counter attacking style of football that Lille play. Whenever Lille receive the ball, their first thought is to give to one of their two wingers. They are too important. Bamba was absolutely brilliant in this game. From his usual left wing position, he had 3 shots with 2 on target, made 2 key passes and scored Lille’s first two goals. This was a performance he needed to show in front of his former club, who let him go on a free. Bamba is now on 7 goals this season, as many as Eden Hazard and 3 more than Ronaldo. He has to start being discussed as one of the signings of the season. He was brought in on a free transfer, and is now an important player in Lille’s revival. What a brilliant piece of business from a side who have made many mistakes over the years. Both teams are having good seasons so far, but Lille do look like they could take a European spot at the end of the season.
Premier League – Arsenal Strengthen Top 4 Chances. United Comeback
With Manchester City travelling to Liverpool turning out to be not the game we all expected, let’s look at two other eventual games, first being Arsenal’s 5-1 win over Fulham. It was an excellent performance from the Gunners, who are finally starting to find their rhythm in the attack. Emery hasn’t had an instant effect, but there are things being established. Firstly being the most covered, and that is the goalkeeper more involved with play. I still think that Leno is a bad goalkeeper, but he is good when it comes to using his feet. He will help maintain the ball and distribute it effectively. Moving the ball back to the goalkeeper gives an opportunity for the defenders and midfielders to find a better position to find the ball. Leno was very good on the ball against Fulham, with the German having a 76% pass accuracy. Considering he also attempted 14 long balls, it does show how much of an improvement he is in this area. The attack does seem to be finally clicking. Arsenal were horrendous defensively last season, however in attack, they were brilliant. Aubamayeng hit the ground running, and Lacazette scored 15 in the league. A good return for his first season. Both were excellent against Fulham, with both scoring 2, and Lacazette winning the man of the match. He was particularly good on the day. He was great in link up play, and his moments of individual magic were what put Arsenal in a comfortable position. What helped Arsenal the most was how poor Fulham were in both departments. In defense, Jokanovic decided to change to a 3-5-2, to accommodate the limited amount of players he had in defense. It didn’t work at all. The wing backs left a lot of space out wide and it let Iwobi and Bellerin plenty of space out wide to stretch the rest of the defense. In attack, they were just so wasteful. Fulham had 21 shots in this game, yet only managed a single goal. This was because of how wasteful Andre Schurrle is. The German managed 7 shots, and most were just not good shooting opportunities. Fulham really could struggle to stay up, if they do not find a consistent line up and system.
Manchester United completed a dramatic comeback over 90s rivals Newcastle, with the home side earning a 3-2 win after conceding 2 goals in the first half. The whole game summed up United under Mourinho. They were poor, slow and lacking desire in the first half, and in the second half it was completely different. Pogba took the game and was the main reason why United won that game. Many have been criticising the Frenchman this season, and many are quite unjust. While his comments off the pitch can definitely be questioned, he has comfortably been the best player for United, excluding Luke Shaw. He has been one of the only players who shows a desire to win the game, and has always added the quality needed. He was excellent against Leicester, Wolves, Young Boys, Watford and now Newcastle. He has been at his usual excellent self. This was actually the first time United have conceded 2 goals in the first 10 minutes at home. It was a shambles, with Ashley Young letting Muto straight past him as if he didn’t even have to try. But it all changed in the second half. To Mourinho’s credit, bringing off Bailly as early as he did really made a statement, that it was going to be all or nothing for the rest of the game. While Fellaini didn’t make much sense, Sanchez definitely did. The ex Arsenal forward scored the winner in the last few minutes of the game, which was his first goal of the season. While it was a commendable effort from United, it doesn’t change anything. They have still been very poor this season, and can call themselves lucky that Newcastle couldn’t put the ball away. The Red Devils need to get rid of Mourinho as soon as a plan is in place. They cannot keep persisting with this style and with his arrogant, dividing way of managing a team.
Serie A – Mauro Icardi and Gonzalo Higuain Finding Their Feet
Serie A didn’t have any surprises or big scorelines, so let’s talk about two of the most prolific Argentine strikers in Italy, Mauro Icardi and Gonzalo Higuain. Both play for rival teams and have started their season pretty well. Let’s start with Icardi’s Inter, who won away at SPAL by 2 goals to 1. It now puts into in 3rd, with only 2 points behind Napoli. Inter had a very poor couple of games, but seemed to finally find their grove. Icardi is the main reason for that. He is by far one of the most underrated players in the last 4 years. He has been as consistent as Harry Kane, but plays as much more of a poacher. In fact his goal against Spurs in the Champions League was his first goal from outside the box for Inter. It just shows how good he is at getting on the end of chances, and at finding space. He was at his usual self against SPAL. While he was lucky for this first goal, thanks to a deflection from Djourou, his second was Icardi at his best. He made a run towards the ball and received it with no one around him, and put the ball away so comfortably. Icardi had 3 shots, 2 on target, and won 4 aerial duels. He is arguably the best finisher in Europe, with the chances he gets being just perfect for any forward to put away. While Icardi was the man of the match, credit has to be given to Ivan Perisic. I included the winger in my world cup team of the tournament, because of his excellent performances for Croatia in Russia. He has continued that fine form into the new season, reminding the league why he is one of the best wingers in Italy. He got the assist for Icardi’s second, and has been a real boost for Inter since his late start. This is a big season for Inter. After their big spending and their first season in the Champions League for 7 years, they need to show how they can remain consistent. Napoli are a mess defensively, so second place is definitely up for grabs for the Nerazzurri.
Let’s move on to their rivals. Milan disposed of Chievo with relative ease, with a 3-1 victory. It now puts Milan in 10th. It might sound underwhelming, but they are only 3 points behind Lazio, who are in 4th. Higuain was great in this game. Like his fellow Argentine, he also scored a brace. I was a very small minority of people who did like the Higuain signing. I thought he would give them guaranteed goals for the short term, and would give Cutrone a player who has plenty to teach him. Higuain has been everything they could ask for. He already has 4 in 5, and is taking 4 shots a game this season, already showing numbers similar to his time at Napoli. He is another who seems to be severely underrated by many fans. While he has had a reputation of not performing on the biggest stage, his consistency in a 38 game season cannot be criticised. There many players in Europe who are as good in the league as Higuain. He had a very good game against Chievo, getting 4 shots, 2 key passes and has a 92% pass accuracy. While Higuain was good, he wasn’t the best player on the pitch. That honour goes to Suso. It amazes after the changes of owners, managers, players and systems, Suso keeps performing. He got a mental 8 key passes in this game, which led to him getting 3 assists, which means he now has the joint most assists in Europe. Milan also have a big season on their hand. They are competing with both Roma and Lazio for that 4th spot. There are still questions on whether Gattuso is the right man for the job (I really don’t think he is), but the risk could pay off.
Football Lane 