Every Monday, I’ll wrap up what happened over the weekend in the top leagues across Europe, and I’ll share what I think are some of the most insightful soccer reads on the web from the past week.
CAN ANYBODY CATCH BARCA?
Second-place Atletico Madrid was held to a 1-1 draw at home by Girona on Saturday, while third-place Valencia was upset by relegation-threatened Las Palmas on the same day. That opened the door wide open for Barcelona to extend their lead atop La Liga, which the Catalans duly did by earning a 5-0 win away to Real Betis on Sunday.
As is stands, Barca now leads the Spanish first division with 54 points, and is still unbeaten, with 17 wins and three draws. It’s increasingly difficult to see how Atletico (43 points) and Valencia (40) can close the gap on the blaugrana, even with a little less than half of the season remaining.
More on La Liga: Friday roundup || Saturday roundup || Sunday roundup
Worth a read: Many glowing tributes were written about Ronaldinho after the Brazilian announced his retirement last week. But Sid Lowe’s column in The Guardian, titled Ronaldinho: a player so good he made you smile, hit the nail on the head:
“Watching Ronaldinho was fun, it made people happy. Those may be two of the most simple, childish words of all but they are the right ones. Football stripped right down to its essence: happy, fun.”
RONALDO-MESSI WATCH
Lionel Messi bagged a brace in Barca’s destruction of Real Betis to take his league-leading tally to 19 goals, four more than teammate Luis Suarez.
But it wasn’t his two goals that stood out the most in what was another masterful performance from the Argentine. In the ultimate sign of respect, Betis fans applauded Messi for this lovely bit of skill:
Betis fans appreciating the greatness they're seeing before their very eyes. pic.twitter.com/zwdb0VL2rt
— Voninho (@AtomicMessi) January 21, 2018
Cristiano Ronaldo bagged a brace in a 7-1 win over Deportivo La Coruna on Sunday, but it was an injury to the Real Madrid star that blew up Twitter.
Ronaldo, who had not scored in La Liga since Dec. 9, was kicked in the head after scoring his second goal and began to bleed on the field. As the Portuguese star walked off the pitch, he was handed an iPhone by the team doctor in order to check the damage. Of course, a flood of memes on social media ensued.
NAPOLI STILL KING OF THE HILL
Serie A resumed on Sunday following a two-week break, with league leaders Napoli securing a 1-0 win away to Atalanta as Dries Mertens found the back of the net to end his long scoring drought (he had gone 908 minutes in Serie A without a goal).
It was an impressive and important win for Napoli, having lost three of their last four games against Atalanta. It also allowed Maurizio Sarri’s side to create some daylight between them and second-place Juventus – Napoli now enjoys a four-point lead over Juve, who host Genoa on Monday night.
More on Serie A: Sunday roundup
Worth a read: Sportsnet contributor Peter Galindo wrote this terrific feature for These Football Times on the history of South American players in Italy.
The influence of stars from South American has been immense in Serie A, including at Inter Milan, as Galindo writes:
“Inter have a deep and illustrious history with international players, hence the club’s official name of Internazionale. South Americans have been an especially vital part of the club’s pedigree. From Jair in the 1960s to Javier Zanetti, they have greatly contributed to some of Inter’s most notable achievements.”
BAYERN KEEPS ON ROLLING
Manchester City and Barcelona aren’t the only teams running away in the title race in their respective leagues. Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Mueller both scored a pair of goals in Bayern Munich’s 4-2 win over Werder Bremen on Sunday, a result that allowed the Bavarians to build a 16-point cushion over Bayer Leverkusen and Schalke, who are tied for second place.
Mueller is the fifth Bayern player in history to score 100 Bundesliga goals, after Gerd Müller (365), Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (162), Roland Wohlfarth (119) and Dieter Hoeness (102). Incredibly, Bayern have never lost a league match in which he’s scored: 74 wins and four draws.
More on Bundesliga: Friday roundup || Saturday roundup || Sunday roundup
Worth a read: Author and renowned German soccer pundit Raphael Honigstein offered his view on the breakdown in the relationship between Borussia Dortmund and Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyag, who looks set for a transfer move to Arsenal.
Honigstein writes:
“What had once been swept under the rug comes out into the open, as the club seeks to explain its decision to fans and the public. It’s fair to say the divorce of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Borussia Dortmund is fast heading for precisely that PR endgame. While the Gabon striker has so far been careful not to lay blame at his employers’ door, the flurry of indiscretions detailing his unprofessional behaviour has been telling.”
LYON SINKS PSG WITH LATE GOAL TO CLOSE GAP
In what was one of the best games of the weekend on the entire continent, Lyon upset Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 in France’s Ligue 1 courtesy of an injury-time strike from Memphis Depay.
PSG had defender Dani Alves sent off in the 57th minute, but they looked set to leave Lyon with a point. Coming on as a second-half substitute, Depay cut in from the left after taking a pass from fellow forward Nabil Fekir, and then unleashed a blistering strike from 25 yards out into the top left corner. The loss was only PSG’s second of the season, and it allowed Lyon to leapfrog Monaco and Marseille into second place. PSG tops the table with an eight-point cushion on Lyon.
More on Ligue 1: Friday roundup || Saturday roundup || Sunday roundup
Worth a read: Jerome Pugmire of The Associated Press looked at the recent renaissance of Mario Balotelli, and how the Italian’s return to form has helped Nice climb up the table in Ligue 1.
“Balotelli is a player transformed, sharp and hungry for goals. The temperamental Italian, renowned for his antics on and off the field, now appears fully focused on his career.”
THE ARSENAL OF OLD RETURNS
You can check out my Premier League weekend review, including on how Arsenal exploded for four goals in the opening 22 minutes of a 4-1 home win over Crystal Palace, a display that was reminiscent of “the Arsenal of old” when Thierry Henry was around.
Also, Richard Buxton was at Turf Moor and filed this report for Sportsnet on Manchester United’s win over Burnley, and how Anthony Martial might have sent a warning to manager Jose Mourinho.
The Sportsnet panel of James Sharman, Craig Forrest and Danny Dichio also recapped Saturday’s action:
ALSO WORTH READING
Not a single Canadian player was taken at last week’s MLS SuperDraft, marking the first time that’s happened in six years. How come? The Toronto Star’s Laura Armstrong investigates.
Yahoo Sports columnist Leander Schaerlaeckens’ piece on Atlanta United FC’s signing of Ezequiel Barco, the most expensive transfer signing ever in MLS.
Also from Yahoo Sports, Jack Lang penned this wonderful item on what he called the best penalty in history – Hélder Postiga’s waist-high chip against England for Portugal at Euro 2004.
Tom Scholes of the Football Italia website opines on the transfer rumours linking AS Roma’s Edin Dzeko with a move to Chelsea and what the ramifications would be for all the parties involved if the Bosnian returns to the Premier League.
ESPN.com’s Jeff Carlise sat down with goalkeeper Tim Howard, who said he doesn’t think the problems with the United States national team run deep.
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