We’re inching closer to Christmas, and that makes sense, as the European soccer weekend gave us plenty this weekend. In the big Premier League game of the weekend, Tottenham turned a 2-0 lead into a 4-3 defeat at home to Chelsea in a game that showed the promise of Enzo Maresca’s Blues and the self-destructive ways of Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs side. We got another Manchester United home defeat — this time to Nottingham Forest — and the exit of sporting director Dan Ashworth in the aftermath. Barcelona let more points slip from a winning position, taking a 2-0 lead at Celta Vigo and turning it into a 2-2 draw that pulled Real Madrid to within two points of them at the top of LaLiga with a game in hand.
Elsewhere in Europe, another ugly performance by Juventus is putting pressure on manager Thiago Motta, Jamie Gittens lifted Borussia Dortmund to another impressive result, and Antoine Griezmann turned in another performance for the ages as Atletico Madrid rallied from 3-1 down against Sevilla to win 4-3.
So, let’s get to it. Here are Gab Marcotti’s reactions to the most memorable moments of the weekend.
Enzo Maresca is right to say Chelsea aren’t ready as Tottenham self-destruct
Having spent a little bit of time with Enzo Maresca, I feel fairly confident that he believes what he’s saying when he insists that Chelsea “are not ready” and “are far from [Arsenal, City and Liverpool].” He’s not just being coy — he’s stating fact.
Whether it’s the lack of a credible alternative to Nico Jackson (Christopher Nkunku is a great player, but a very different one), doubts over Robert Sanchez in goal or youth (Chelsea are one of the youngest squads in Europe) and inexperience, a Cole Palmer dependency that’s waning (but still there), depth in midfield, the perpetual chaos that envelopes the team’s owners, or the fact that four points with a game in hand and more than a third of the season gone is still a sizable lead — there are plenty reasons to think Chelsea won’t be in the title race in 2024-25. That said, this team is growing in both output and confidence.
Coming back from two goals down in a derby as they did in the 4-3 win against Spurs Sunday is significant by any measure. Tottenham made it a whole heck of a lot easier for them, of course, with the two needless penalties they gave away (and which — who else? — Palmer converted) and the way they asked Yves Bissouma to play one-man-gang in the middle of the park.
At this level, any time you squander a two-goal lead at home, fingers will be pointed, and rightly so. But Chelsea have a definite upside that leaves you thinking there’s more to come. And Maresca is showing both flexibility and creativity.
Reinventing Moises Caicedo as a right-back when you already have two of them — one is your club captain (Reece James), and the other (Malo Gusto) was arguably one of your best players last year — is a bold move. It’s not something that’s necessarily sustainable every week because it means leaving out one of your better players and only works if Romeo Lavia is fit (which, thus far, hasn’t been often), but it’s another option allowing you to transition to a 3-2-4-1 scheme in possession. The way he has used his wingers — the most fungible part of his set-up — tends to ensure that whoever players is fresh and matches up well with the opposition. And Jackson’s movement — even when his finishing boots aren’t on, like Sunday — has improved exponentially. Chalk that up to good coaching.
Sure, it would take a cataclysmic collapse from Liverpool for Chelsea to properly challenge this season, while Arsenal and Manchester City are far more battle-tested. But, unlike those other three sides, Maresca doesn’t have to deal with the Champions League, and there’s a certain luxury to being so far ahead of the curve. Ask him again in a month’s time. Maybe by then he’ll review his opinion.
As for Spurs, I’m all for the concept of playing your own game and making the opposition adjust to you, rather than the other way around. But Tottenham take this to an extreme, and when you’re not imposing yourself on the match, playing your “own game” (which on Sunday simply meant chucking guys forward without worrying about transitions) simply means playing into the opposition’s hands. Sometimes you’ll run up the score, like they did when they spanked City); other times you’ll put yourself into too many situations where a single mistake will cost you a goal.
Ange Postecoglou’s substitutions are also tough to figure out. If you’re determined to take off Timo Werner for Brennan Johnson, why not do it at half-time? (Some might suggest you shouldn’t do it at all given Werner’s limitations.) And was it really necessary to wait a whole six minutes after going 3-2 down to send on James Maddison? Bravery and organized chaos can work, and they make a refreshing change in modern football with its repetitive pressing patterns. But if you’re going to turn the game into a spectacle, you either need to be lucky or have substantially players than your opponents (like he had at Celtic). If not, you’re always going to be more vulnerable than you should be.
One more thing. Referee Anthony Taylor made two big calls opting not to show a red card for Moises Caicedo’s tackle on Pape Sarr, or Dejan Kulusevski’s elbow on Romeo Lavia. The usual ref watchers (former refs working in media) say there wasn’t enough intensity in either incident to warrant a red. I don’t like to see players sent off any more than the next guy, but I’m not sure that should come into it.
1:29
Is the pressure cranking up on Ange Postecoglou?
Luis Miguel Echegaray questions how long Ange Postecoglou has to turn things around at Tottenham.
The reason you shouldn’t be planting your studs into an opponent’s shin or smacking them in the head with your elbow isn’t just that it’s a foul; it’s also dangerous. (And, in fact, Lavia had to come off at half-time.) You shouldn’t get away with it just because somebody deems it “not intense enough.”
Dan Ashworth’s departure — and how it unfolded — should worry Man United fans more than the home defeat to Nottingham Forest
Neither is good, of course, but to some degree, you can live with Saturday’s performance against Nottingham Forest, even if it ended in a 3-2 home defeat.
The visitors had three shots on target and scored three goals, each of them coming off pretty ham-fisted individual mistakes: Lisandro Martínez allowing himself to be rag-dolled for the opener, whatever André Onana was doing for the second goal, and Martinez misjudging Chris Wood‘s header for the third. Individual errors happen. Neither is a bad player; they’re guys who had bad games, and that can happen.
United weren’t great at the other end, but they scored two, notched 1.60 xG off 17 shots and hit the woodwork. On another day, this is a win. Not so the departure, after just five months, of Ashworth, the sporting director.
1:26
Marcotti brands Ashworth’s Man United exit ‘a really bad look’
Gab Marcotti criticises Manchester United for losing Dan Ashworth so soon after hiring him, amidst the club taking other controversial cost-cutting measures.
Now, it’s not as if Ashworth is some savant, even though Jim Ratcliffe — charged with running the club after buying a 27.7% stake through his deal with the majority owners, the Glazers — described him as “clearly one of the top sporting directors in the world.” Nor is it that Ashworth leaving suddenly leaves United without anyone capable of handling contracts, identifying talent and making signings. Heck, they have a whole gaggle of guys to do that, from chief executive Omar Berrada to technical director Jason Wilcox, to director of recruitment Christopher Vivell, to Ratcliffe’s longtime Ineos sidekick, Dave Brailsford.
Rather, it’s a question of judgment and belief in the guy calling the shots (at least on the sporting side; let us never forget the Glazers control the money, which means they control the club), which is Ratcliffe himself.
Manchester United were so enamoured with Ashworth that they paid Newcastle United compensation to get him. How much? We don’t know exactly; we just know that it’s less than the £20 million Newcastle wanted and more than the £2m United offered. The Times reported it was around £5m.
If, at the same time, you’re pleading poverty by laying off 250 staff and raising ticket prices for the roughly 3% of seats that go unsold from £40 to £66 (while eliminating concessions for kids and older folks), it’s not a good look. United had 11 league home games left when they announced the price hike. Some basic back-of-the-envelope math tells you the increase will bring in less — considerably less — than an extra million, which is a pittance compared to what it cost to get Ashworth and pay him for his five months in charge.
That’s not worth the negative publicity, and it’s hard to get around it.
If Ashworth was a good hire, then Ratcliffe is foolish to drive him out. And if Ashworth was a dud, then Ratcliffe was foolish to spend so much money on him. Sure, there’s another scenario: Ashworth is a good guy, but there’s enough there on the recruitment front that they don’t need him, and it’s better to move him on than deal with personality clashes and the like. If you’re a United fan, you’ll be hoping it’s that. Otherwise, your faith in the guy running the club will again be tested.
1:35
Michallik: There’s just not enough good players at Man United
Janusz Michallik criticises the state of Manchester United’s squad after Ruben Amirom’s men were beaten at home by Nottingham Forest.
Hansi Flick’s best-laid plans blow up in his face … but it’s not just about the substitutions
There’s a simple narrative here that some will use to bash Hansi Flick following Barcelona’s 2-2 draw at Betis. Having sent out arguably his strongest current lineup and sitting on a 1-0 lead at the hour mark, he took off Dani Olmo and Raphinha (for Frenkie de Jong and Ferran Torres) and after Betis equalised, he removed Robert Lewandowski and Pedri as well (for Pau Víctor and Gavi).
Barcelona did score to make it 2-1, only for Assane Diao to notch the equalizer in injury time. (Wrong) conclusion? Flick (who, incidentally, also got himself sent off) made the wrong subs, and it cost Barca the game.
I think that’s a simplistic reading. Yes, his substitutes (other than Torres, who scored from a brilliant Lamine Yamal assist) did not play well, but they’re not bad players, and frankly, many of us have been calling on Flick to use his whole squad now that he actually has the luxury of live bodies on the bench. Frustrating as it may be for De Jong to concede a penalty or his subs to give the ball away late, at some point a coach has to trust his players.
And besides, it’s not as if Barca had been scintillating to that point. Against a free-falling Betis side who still hasn’t won since October in LaLiga, Barca could have been a couple of goals down early as Vitor Roque and Abde went close, and they were leaking chances again early in the second half.
1:00
Moreno credits Betis for never letting Barcelona get comfortable
Ale Moreno praises Real Betis for refusing to let Barcelona dominate the game in their 2-2 LaLiga draw.
The broader issue, as I see it, remains the high line and the way Barcelona defend, which is simply too feast-or-famine. That’s on Flick, more than his changes.
Juventus booed off pitch despite late equalizer against Bologna … is it time to get off the Thiago Motta bandwagon?
I have to ask the question, despite being a huge Thiago Motta booster until now. Juventus are sixth in Serie A, but just seven points back, and they’re midtable in the Champions League. For a club that was radically changed in the summer — from the new signings to the push for youth to Motta himself — isn’t terrible in terms of results. So what’s the problem?
The football — that’s the problem. It’s ugly to watch, it’s conservative and it’s predictable, all things many of us (including yours truly) criticised Max Allegri for in the past.
Motta has plenty of mitigating circumstances. He’s radically changing their style of play, he has one of the youngest teams in Serie A, and he’s had to deal with a host of injuries (Gleison Bremer and Nico Gonzalez above all, while Douglas Luiz is MIA). But the style of play — other than a stubborn insistence on the wings — is nothing like what Motta delivered so well at Bologna last season.
What’s more, the players themselves seem subdued and fearful of making mistakes, which only makes the situation worse. Motta is supposed to bring excitement and growth; we’ve had a bit of the latter, but none of the former. I’m willing to give him more time, and the club should too, but given the weight of Juventus’ history, you wonder how much more time he’ll have.
Motta, who also got himself sent off (though he did later apologise to the referee), said the responsibility was all his, while praising his players for their fightback. But the fact is, Allegri could get away with stuff like that, and Motta can’t. Not at this stage of his career, anyway.
Quick hits
10. Kylian Mbappé bounces back from penalty misses: You assume Mbappe is keenly aware that he has missed his past two penalties (and if he isn’t, you can be sure there are plenty happy to remind him). That’s why it was so important that he shake off the negativity with a commanding performance on Saturday at Girona, which is what he did. He wasn’t perfect — far from it — but he got his goal and was confident and direct, as if the misses at Anfield and against Bilbao had never happened. After a rough first half-hour, Real Madrid settled in nicely en route to a 3-0 away win, with big performances from Jude Bellingham, Arda Güler and, rolling back the years, Luka Modric. Carlo Ancelotti says “they’re back” while Mbappe might say he never went away … mistakes don’t faze him.
9. Serie A is wide open as Lazio win at Napoli, and Antonio Conte gets plenty wrong: Conte made a clear choice: with no European football, he would focus entirely on Serie A and treat every game as a final. So much so that he sent out the B-team in midweek in the Coppa Italia and got spanked by Lazio, 3-1. The plan blew up in his face against Lazio again on Sunday, as — with his 11 starters back on the pitch — he succumbed to a late Gustav Isaksen goal. What’s disappointing here is that the plan seemed to be to keep it tight and wait to nick a goal… except it was Lazio who did that successfully. With a week’s rest before every game, it’s fair to expect more from Napoli especially on the attacking end. And no, you can’t just blame Romelu Lukaku: he’s been poor, but what of the new signings Conte demanded, but who never got on the pitch? Still, for all the criticism of Napoli, you have to give credit to the job Marco Baroni is doing at Lazio. The club has been overhauled in the past two seasons (Adam Marusic was the only starter who predates 2022) with the likes of Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Felipe Anderson, Ciro Immobile and Luis Alberto replaced by cheaper players, Baroni has only been there a few months. However, they’re flying high both in Serie A and the Europa League.
8. Griezmann cues Atletico’s wild comeback, keeping their winning streak intact and title hopes alive: An hour into the game, it looked like one of those days for Atletico Madrid. Three-one down at home to Sevilla (who had basically scored three goals on three shots, two of them marked by individual blunders) and a sense that this wasn’t their day. But then, as it sometimes does, the Metropolitano turned into a cauldron, Diego Simeone chucked in Ángel Correa and Alexander Sorloth off the bench, and Antoine Griezmann reminded us of how special he is. Griezmann bagged two goals — including the winner, deep in injury time — and they stormed back to win, 4-3. Atleti often deliver false dawns, but it’s now eight wins in a row and suddenly they’re three points off the top with a game in hand. Is it going to be a three-way race in LaLiga this year? We should be so lucky.
1:23
Moreno: Bayern’s two-goal Musiala too good for Heidenheim
Ale Moreno credits substitute Jamal Musiala as the difference between Bayern Munich and Heidenheim.
7. Break glass in case of emergency, as Jamal Musiala comes on and changes the game for Bayern: At half-time against little Heidenheim, Bayern (without Harry Kane and with several regulars rested) were an exercise in dominance. One-nil up, 86% possession, zero shots conceded. But then, five minutes after break, Dayot Upamecano, who had scored the opener, had one of his yips moments, and his mistake allowed the visitors to equalize. From there, Vincent Kompany called his version of 911: Musiala. The kid came on and scored straight away to set things right. Another sub, Leon Goretzka, made it 3-1 and all looked right in the Bayern-verse, until Heidenheim pulled another back in transition to make it 3-2. Nervy ending? Possibly, so Musiala scored again in injury time to shut the door. Toni Kroos had said Bayern were “too dependent” on Musiala and Saturday did little to dispel that notion, at least when Kane’s not around.
6. LaLiga may be a stretch, but the Europa League isn’t, and Athletic Club are for real: As I see it, they showed it more in the 2-0 win over Villarreal on Sunday than the midweek win over Real Madrid. The latter is a more prestigious win, of course, but only Real Madrid and Barcelona had beaten Villarreal this season, they’re a direct competitor in the battle for the top four and in Álex Baena, they have arguably the league MVP. (Chill, Barca fans: I said “arguably” because Raphinha has a strong case too.) Ernesto Valverde’s crew showed patience and control and thoroughly deserved their 2-0 win, their fifth on the bounce in all competitions. The narrative is that after winning the Copa del Rey last year, the goal for 2024-25 is to win the Europa League rather than make a push in LaLiga where, let’s face it, the top two are out of sight. The bookies have them as third favourites right now, behind Tottenham and Manchester United. You can certainly make a case that they want it more.
5. Can the M+M boys, Monaco and Marseille, really unseat PSG? Both won this past weekend — Monaco 2-0 over Toulouse, Marseille 2-0 at Saint Etienne — shrinking the gap to PSG, who were held 0-0 at Auxerre, to just five points. It’s true that PSG are undefeated in Ligue 1 and even when they don’t win (or play particularly well), they usually dominate. (That’s what happened at Auxerre, if you’re wondering.) It’s equally true that they need to focus on the Champions League between now and the end of January because they’re in danger of being knocked out: if it ended today, they’d be watching the rest of the competition on TV. And that’s something Marseille don’t have to deal with at all (they’re not in Europe this season) and Monaco can worry about less (they’re flying high). PSG have some tough games coming up (including a trip to Monaco), the club is volatile by nature and by January, the gap could have shrunk further. But is it enough for a legitimate title race in Ligue 1? Neutrals will be hoping so.
4. Jamie Gittens is carrying Dortmund right now: It’s not just the four goals in four consecutive games, including the opener in the 1-1 draw with Borussia Moenchengladbach on Saturday. It’s the fact that when he gets the ball, you get a sense that anything can happen. Between the league and the Champions League, Gittens has nine goals and three assists in around 1,100 minutes. Those are big numbers for a kid who only turned 20 over the summer. It’s not too early to add him to the list of Englishmen who found fortune in Dortmund, following in the footsteps of Jadon Sancho and Jude Bellingham. As for Dortmund overall, they could easily have lost this game, with Gladbach hitting the woodwork late. Coach Nuri Sahin still has plenty to prove.
1:41
Have Arsenal become overreliant on their set-piece prowess?
Luis Miguel Echegaray wonders if Arsenal are offering enough beyond their set pieces to push for the Premier League title.
3. VAR gives, VAR takes away as Arsenal draw with Fulham: You can break this down to two (correctly) applied VAR offside calls. Antonee Robinson played William Saliba fractionally onside for the Gunners equalizer (they had gone a goal down early), while Gabriel Martinelli was just off enough to rule out what would have been Bukayo Saka’s late winner. If both calls had gone Arsenal’s way, they would have had three points and we’d be asking if they could still catch Liverpool. If both had gone the other way, they would have had zero points and Mikel Arteta would be ruing a missed opportunity. A fickle business, eh? Instead, we were left to hear Arteta talk about how his team deserved to win. In some ways he has a point (and numbers back him: 12 shots to 2, 2.03 xG to 0.16). In other ways though, Fulham went a goal up early and shut up shop and, yes “score effects” are a thing. They spent most of the game trying to limit Saka and Martin Odegaard down the right, and they broadly succeeded. You’ll feel better about Arsenal’s chances if and when they find a third source of productivity beyond set pieces and the Saka-Odegaard partnership.
2. I’m not a fan of this minimalist Bayer Leverkusen: Xabi Alonso talked about how “important” the 2-1 win over St Pauli was, coming as it did on the heels of a tough midweek win against Bayern in the German Cup. And, we might add, coming without a recognised striker, as Nathan Tella was forced to play up front in the absence of Victor Boniface and Patrik Schick. Maybe so, but after taking an early 2-0 lead (with Florian Wirtz confirming his genius credentials), it was weird to see a Leverkusen side stocked with midfielders struggle to limit their newly promoted opponents. And while St Pauli’s goal came late, it wasn’t the visitors only chance as evidenced by the xG numbers, with Leverkusen notching 0.88 to St Pauli’s 1.83 (and getting outshot 12-6). The win keeps them third, and you can see how Xabi Alonso is trying to give his team another dimension. The problem is, they’re just not as good playing this way.
1:44
Did Palace’s Glasner reveal the key to hurting Guardiola’s Man City?
Gab Marcotti and Julien Laurens react to more dropped Premier League points for Manchester City, this time a 2-2 draw at Crystal Palace.
1. For the eighth time in nine games, Man City concede two or more goals: And while Pep Guardiola talked about how tough it is to face Crystal Palace away, and how proud he was of his team for battling back twice on their way to a 2-2 draw, you sort of suspect that was manager-speak. Palace may be unbeaten in five games, but the fact of the matter is they are one spot above the relegation zone. They have won just one league game at home all season long, and they’ve managed to score twice against just two teams: City on Saturday and Leicester City, who, of course, recently sacked their manager. Pep knows this, but it’s his job to keep the players positive even when there are plenty of reasons to be negative. Right now, Kyle Walker doesn’t seem like a guy who should be starting. Rico Lewis may be just 20, but he has made 70-odd appearances for Manchester City and knows better than to get himself sent off (and suspended) the way he did. The Stefan Ortega experiment either needs to end, or Pep needs to give a good reason why he’s suddenly ahead of Éderson. Ilkay Gündoğan can pass and shoot, but in the Rodri role, he’s a revolving door. And given he’s twenty-nine and a professional athlete, is Jack Grealish really only capable of giving you four minutes because he started in midweek? Guardiola is right: you’re not going to get out of it with negativity. So maybe it makes sense to big up Saturday in public provided that he faces reality in private.
