a fiery Manchester derby this weekend, and let’s dissect that. Sunday brought the Manchester Derby, and with it, a new benchmark for where Manchester United stands in relation to Pep Guardiola and Manchester City.
Real Madrid returned to Valencia, where last season witnessed a heated altercation with Vinicius that led to both on and off-pitch controversies over a 2-2 draw.
In the Premier League, leaders Liverpool struggled to defeat Nottingham Forest and delayed their table-topping claim, narrowly escaping a controversy-ridden win against Brighton, and Bayern Leverkusen has strengthened their lead in the German Bundesliga with a win against Cologne.
Beyond that, there were talking points aplenty for Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona, Chelsea, Tottenham, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, and much more.
Manchester Derby confirmed what we already know: there’s a gap between them, and Manchester United isn’t closing it.
Following their 3-1 loss, Manchester United’s discrepancy with Manchester City seems evident. I won’t blame Ole Gunnar Solskjaer solely for this loss, “I don’t think so, not at all,” he said. “You can see that we might have problems with injuries, but still, we had a chance.
We could have scored the second goal… when we have everyone on the board, we can be competitive. But City is the best team in the world at the moment. That’s not a secret.”
Do you want numbers? City dominated with 74% possession, outshooting United 27-8 (and 8-1 on target), expecting 2.79 goals from 0.21 for United. United managed a shot on goal only after the 23rd minute—deep into injury time—and their goal came after a mix-up in City’s bad defensive line and Marcus Rashford’s clinical finish from a million miles out.
Tactical acumen and managerial finesse aside, there’s a fine line between it and delusion. Solskjaer has tried various things to jump-start the team. On Sunday, he presented a system with Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho upfront and Bruno Fernandes behind them.
It was intricate and defensive but also limited, especially when City was playing. You can’t fault him for trying, especially as his alternatives were again limited.
We’ve seen both Manchester United strikers (injury-prone Anthony Martial and inexperienced Rasmus Hojland, just 21) struggle this season, and it’s Rashford who’s been central, either ineffectual or kept busy, trying to sustain this new striker-less system. He picked the next one and it didn’t work, but there’s no evidence that the former did either.
Certainly, they’re dealing with injuries. Luke Shaw, Alessandro Martinez, Harry Maguire, and Hojland could’ve sweetened the deal? I wouldn’t say—Not with Solskjaer, anyway, and not in this circumstance.
Undoubtedly, there’s a sporting multiverse where Kyle Walker doesn’t farewell Rashford and where Alejandro Garnacho wins the penalty from Ederson, or where Sofiane Amrabat doesn’t cheaply give away the ball, and Phil Foden doesn’t score the winner. So yes, United could have won this game, but they didn’t, and what we’ve seen predicates a stark reality between these two sides.
For City, Pep Guardiola seemed untouchable. They started their game, and even after conceding a goal, kept playing and took it under their wing—and before halftime Erling Haaland was a “miss of the season” contender. He found it. He knows that as long as you’re creating chances, there’s no need to tinker or deviate: at some point, they’ll get through, especially when opponents do nothing.
If we scrutinize City—and you can be sure that Guardiola is doing just that—it’s likely to be a defensive slip-up: Ruben Dias’ position before the goal, United countering with a few couple plays, details that matter, and when you’re in this form, Rodrigo (again, again) and Foden around, it’s barely important.
Valencia couldn’t engage in any theatrics or banter against Real Madrid, and it didn’t find any in La Liga either… and it wasn’t even close.
Real Madrid and Valencia faced off without any of the previous drama or tension, given the refereeing surroundings of La Liga this season, you’d imagine the league had Javi’s fingers all over it: no verbal jousts with Vinicius and no referee controversies.
That didn’t happen. Valencia fans hurled a lot of sticks—none of which were audible on TV, but sadly, they crossed the line at the stands, as reported by our ESPN Brazil colleague Gustavo Hoffman. It involved a child they’ve nicknamed and threatened because he recorded something on his phone that made it more disappointing if they were right.
Meanwhile, La Liga has started its investigation. Valencia can’t control what their fans do, but when they catch it on camera, they should know what the right thing is: condemn it.
For the authorities, the decision not to let
The game began with a hand-to-hand exchange, bidding farewell to a disgruntled Belingham with a cry of “It’s a — English goal!” Carlo Ancelotti claimed he had never seen anything like it.
Directing the conspiracy theorists:
Was it wise for Gill Manzano to expect Gil Manzano to leave the field or at least for Valencia’s interference? Possibly, but by then we had already surpassed injury time (which was minimal) and he had told the players that he would end the match after the corner kick. So, does “the end of a phase of play” define it, and should we expect it to end the phase of play? Had George Mamardashvili, Valencia’s goalkeeper, not punched it, we wouldn’t have had this conversation.
The truth is there are no hard and fast rules here, just common sense. Perhaps a rule should be in place, especially since it was quite infamous for Brazilian flair in 1978 in the World Cup final. (Actually, it was quite the opposite.)
For the game itself, Real Madrid seemed very determined in the first half, advancing 2-0 due to Valencia’s personal errors before Vinicius Jr. had to be taken off before the end of the first half. Valencia then equalized in the second half thanks to Lucas Modric and some fine work from Brahim, distancing themselves from the incident they had faced from the crowd.
It wasn’t Ancelotti’s best performance, especially since Belingham seemed particularly frustrated (and possibly carrying a grudge). But with both Barcelona and Girona dropping points, as long as Belingham’s red card is rescinded, no real harm has been done, which is only fair.
Liverpool limps on, with more drama, late victory in Forest
Nothing is straightforward or easy for Liverpool these days. The list of faults: a fixture, which remains unchanged despite turmoil, and an attack, which may be thin but still isn’t firing on all cylinders.
After snatching the League Cup a week ago and then being defeated by Southampton in the FA Cup in the middle of the week by the same team (extended by others), we’ve seen a hybrid side – one that’s gotten bigger – win, with players like Alexis MacAllister, Andy Robertson, and a mix of center-backs – Liverpool defeated Nottingham Forest thanks to Darwin Nuñez’s winner in the 9th minute of injury time.
It wasn’t without controversy, so let’s find out what happened.
Referee Paul Tierney controversially stopped play for a head injury (although he checked it with VAR) and resumed with a dropped ball, restarting with an uncontested throw. Article 8, “The Laws of the Game,” paragraph 2 seems quite clear: if the ball is not in the penalty area (or the last touch was in the penalty area),
you give the uncontested drop ball where the last touch occurred. In this case, it was quite clear that play was stopped when Forest’s Callum Hudson-Odoi was in possession on the left flank. Tierney, however, restarted play with a dropped ball for Liverpool’s goalkeeper Kelleher. Two minutes later, MacAllister lifted Nuñez to victory.
Players make mistakes, referees make mistakes, the media makes mistakes, we all make mistakes: I get it. But when it’s in defiance of a cardinal rule of the game, we’re in a completely different category. Like Juventus’ rejected goal by Dusan Vlahovic.
It’s not a matter of not having some observations or explaining some mistakes incorrectly. It’s disregarding a fundamental law of the game. It’s a third umpire not knowing a professional order, or an Elvis impersonator not knowing a “suspicious mind.” It might not. Forest was unlucky, as you might expect, and we’ll never know how much the overturned victory affected Nuñez.
For Liverpool, they’ve prepared well – especially in the second half of extra time – but to say they look like Liverpool and give credit to the absentees, especially in midfield, is arguable. What Jurgen Klopp can do now is keep things together and find a result, one way or another, while waiting for reinforcements for his wounded army.
The good news is that Nuñez and Dominic Solbaskai were fit enough to come off the bench. Both were much needed from the start, especially when Curtis Jones, Mohamed Salah, and Ryan Gravenberch were much further away. Until then, Klopp’s weekly mini-miracles will be needed.
Perhaps no favor will be given to Juventus for playing well because they fell to Napoli, whose Champions League dreams have returned.
Juventus gifted Napoli a 2-1 victory on Sunday night, presenting them with a reality check despite their best performance of the season. The worst thing that could happen is for manager Max Allegri to realize that they are good and slow and cautious and that waiting for a late goal is better than rushing it, as they have won their last batch of games. at least, this season.
No, the blueprint we’ve seen, especially in the first half: intensity, flair, and creativity. And the fact that they did it without two-thirds of their starting defense and without Weston McKennie and Adrien Rabiot means it could be done.
If Dusan Vlahovic hadn’t missed a few big chances, this game would have been different. (If you want to blame Vlahovic, then accept that a position to finish like his is half the battle and he’s much better at finishing than he’s given credit for.) If you can bottle this version of Federico Chiesa (big question), I know), and play the same way, Juve won’t just end the second half – they’ll end
It’s astonishing what you can achieve when you simply believe in yourself and recreate what you’ve done before just for your team and the players’ modest confidence. Game by game, it feels like Walter Mazzarri’s return is like waking up from a bad dream.
A big win for Dortmund, but Ademi’s return seems to have transformed the team like a personal endeavor. Their 2-0 victory over Union Berlin provides three crucial points, propelling them ahead in the top four race, leaving Leipzig trailing. That’s the good news. The flip side is that the win creates a paradoxical situation where individuals’ pep-up efforts rather than any cohesive game plan or control.
Three individuals stood out, each contributing in their own way to why this team is so underestimated. One was goalkeeper Alexander Meyer, who made some huge saves for Gregor Kobel (let’s contribute here for Kevin Vollands) but, of course, he’s a backup.
Another was Jan Matzsen, who stole the ball during injury time and found the goal while lying on the bed. The problem is he’s on loan from Chelsea, and Dortmund might struggle to keep him for €35 million.
Then there’s Karim Ademi, who scored a belter. Surprisingly, it’s his first league goal in nearly 10 months: amidst injury and poor performances, he’s become an MI(A).
For Barcelona, it’s a nostalgic draw, though losing Pedri, missing out against De Jong.
Barcelona’s trip to Athletic Bilbao probably aimed at leapfrogging Girona to second place. And why not? On Thursday, Bilbao played, and manager Ernesto Valverde made seven changes. Plus, they lost to Real Madrid and drew with Valencia, which meant a chance to overtake their rivals and maintain an optimistic pace towards the Champions League’s 16th round, second leg, against Napoli on March 12.
Barça was unbeaten in seven matches, and every reason to believe. But half-time shattered everything with Pedri and Frankie de Jong’s injuries, and if anything happened, Javi scoring a point made them feel better.
It was a nervy game from both sides, but you can’t really criticize a team in such circumstances. It was truly a bad spell, and the sight of Pedri crying on the bench was heart-wrenching. Gavi’s already sidelined due to injury, the additional time lost him a chance. It’s Ilkay Gundogan (who warms and cools) and Farmin Lopez who holds a fantastic responsibility, starting six top-flight games already and just 20 years old.
Warner – both good and bad – hints at Tottenham’s much-needed return.
Crystal Palace’s hot pursuit against Tottenham Hotspur revealed an Ibérico gem in a free kick in front of the aggressive front. It was spot on as Prasad saved until Eze’s strike just before the hour mark made sense. But football is such that you can try the same thing over and over again, and after a while, it might just work.
Take Timo Werner. He had a Werner-esque game: busy under pressure, always available, streaking under the sidelines, and yes, missing the open opportunity. But until the end, he brought parity, leading Tottenham to a 3-1 victory.
Werner is someone you can’t judge by his goal tally alone, as he’s given you so much more. As long as he keeps doing it, you can survive on his perennial goal-oriented outlook.
Moreover, the three points again demonstrate Spurs’ ability to react in adverse circumstances. The goal turned “Spursy” afterward; instead, they stuck to the game plan and emerged victorious.
Morata finishes it for Atletico Madrid… finally
I’m a Morata guy — always have been — and I can tell you that he brings the heat and chill wind. On Sunday against Betis, he didn’t score but left the field twice in nine games. And when he missed a penalty that could’ve put it 2-0 — missed four consecutive attempts after putting it on the crossbar – I thought, will he be cursed again? No: Morata pops it up to 2-0 (even with his missed goals, he’s already equaled his best season) and it looked like Atleti was in control.
Just … from there.
Nowadays, Atleti doesn’t prefer to make life easier for themselves without a struggle. A long-range William Carvalho strike made it 2-1 within half an hour, and Diego Simeone, by replacing both forwards with central defenders and Jan Oblak’s miraculous save onto the post, sealed the match’s end.
It’s their second win in the last eight. Atleti isn’t playing well, though Antoine Griezmann’s absence isn’t the sole reason.
In Bundesliga, Bayern Leverkusen’s bandwagon clears 10 points.
When you remain unbeaten in all competitions throughout the season – heck, when you’ve won 43 out of 47 games – and on top of that, you get a bit lucky, then the opposition truly doesn’t stand a chance. On Sunday, Bayern Leverkusen saw it when Cologne winger Jan Thielmann unceremoniously bid goodbye to himself for 15 minutes.
Here is the English translation of the provided text:
“Leverkusen was already the favorite against their opponents, who were fighting to avoid relegation, though with a human touch, they were out of sight. (It was a symbolic moment after Jeremy Frimpong surpassed Javi Alonsos’ challenge and refused to bring Koln back to equality) It’s already 2-0 and that’s how it stayed.
– Highlights: Koln 0-2 Leverkusen (US only)
Their league lead from defending champions Bayern Munich now stands at 10 points with 10 matches remaining. My rule of thumb is that you can put champagne on ice when your lead exceeds the number of games left. And it could happen as early as next weekend.
Chelsea draws and Pochettino searches for answers, abusing Böhli
It’s never a good sign when a manager changes a formation to a three-fourth one mid-season. Mauricio Pochettino did it twice in five days – setting up a set against Leeds United’s 3-2 win in the FA Cup and then changing it to a 2-2 draw at Brentford on Saturday.
At least the Leeds setup was forced due to injuries, though it seemed a role that Michaël Mourik should never have played. The 3-5-2 formation against Brentford was a tough one to swallow for your head around backline of three, with one of them, Trevoh Chalobah, starting his first Premier League game in over nine months.
Ahead, Nico Jackson looked vulnerable again, missing a sitter and then able to lead Chelsea. And then they fell, turning the game around 2-1 against Brentford and showing Chelsea’s normal defensive failure, along with an inability to create much after Mason Mount’s gift to Brentford’s defender Mark Fleckin.
Throughout the game, Pochettino has been guilty of much abuse, though co-owner Todd Boehly has suffered even more. Was it fair? Good or bad, they’re the club’s face at the moment, and it’s a club that has done very little to show that it’s anything but a lost season.
Zenobia has already been knocked out, they lost to Mallorca
Am I being too harsh? Okay, it’s hard to pull any other conclusions when you’ve picked up just four points in your last five games, especially when you’ve lost 1-0 to Mallorca.
Business changed after the break, but by then they’d taken their eye off the ball and it had often seemed that what had seemed so easy before suddenly became much harder. Their manager, Michel, has made as many mistakes as possible from this team, and they cannot afford to overlook the fact that they’re already making history.”
This translation captures the essence of the original text in English. If you have any further questions or need clarification on any part, feel free to ask!
