News

Last Weekend: Monumental Manchester derby, Napoli batter Juventus and more

Share

We are approaching the midway point of the 2022/23 season in most major winter leagues, so things are starting to really heat up now. Across Europe, there were some massive top-of-the-table clashes this weekend, many of which had the added twist of being local rivalries. We will be going over some of those, as well as a number of other consequential results in this edition of Last Weekend.

By Neel Shelat

🇮🇹 Italy: Napoli 5-1 Juventus

Serie A got its big game in early, as Napoli took on Juventus on Friday night. This was a match between the top two, but seven points separated the hosts from the Bianconeri prior to kick off.

Juventus did come into this game on a superb run of form, though. They had won each of their last eight league games, all with clean sheets to boot. Napoli, meanwhile, suffered their first defeat of the Serie A season a week and a half ago, so this was being built up as a crunch fixture for both.

In recent history, Juventus have always tended to win these big games by hook or crook, whereas Napoli have a bit of a reputation for choking at such times. For that reason, this result was nothing short of seismic.

Napoli did not just beat Juventus; they completely blew them out of the water. Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia were simply too hot to handle all game, and they both returned three goal involvements. Besides them, defender Amir Rrahmani and substitute Eljif Elmas got on the scoresheet for the Partenopei.

There was a lot of talk about Juventus’ aforementioned clean sheet record prior to this match, but a quick look at the data made it clear that it was bound to end sooner rather than later. Prior to this match, they had conceded well under half the amount of goals their xGA projected, and their defensive stats still show a massive overperformance.

Napoli, on the other hand, are the best side in league in terms of goals scored and xG, and second-best in the division in terms of goals conceded and xGA. Clearly, their 10-point lead at the top is very deserved, and they are well on course to win their first league title since 1990.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England: Manchester United 2-1 Manchester City

It is hard to recall an English weekend in recent history with title-defining derbies of the proportion and impact that we saw over the last couple of days. On Sunday, Premier League leaders Arsenal visited the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in a huge North London Derby, just a few hours after their clubmates were involved in a table-topping WSL derby against Chelsea.

Perhaps the most meaningful derby result came the day before those matches. Second-placed Manchester City visited United with four points between the two sides, but a noteworthy gap to Arsenal. Quite simply, this was a must-win game for both teams, not that there ever are any other options in such a derby anyway.

The first half was not the best from an entertainment point of view, but it featured a gripping tactical battle. The home side did fairly well in their 4-2-1-3 high block with player-marking through midfield which generated some good counterattacking opportunities, but their final action was not always on point. City controlled proceedings for the most part, but they too looked sloppy in the final third.

A couple of tactical tweaks at half-time seemed to give Pep Guardiola’s side the edge in the second period, so they looked to be on course to pick up all three points when substitute Jack Grealish turned in Kevin De Bruyne’s cross on the hour-mark. Out of seemingly nowhere, though, Manchester United equalised in very controversial fashion with just over 10 minutes to go when Bruno Fernandes slotted home Casemiro’s through ball. The Manchester City defence was passive since the clearly-offside Marcus Rashford made a run towards the ball, but he did not touch it, and in accordance with the laws of the game, did not interfere.

Perhaps the nature of that call and, of course, the timing of the goal completely shifted the game’s momentum. A Manchester United winner looked inevitable, and it came in the 82nd minute when the electric Alejandro Garnacho set up Rashford for his eighth goal in the last seven games (with at least one in each). With that, a seemingly comfortable win for City turned into absolutely nothing in a game of fine margins.

Manchester United will definitely feel that they too are now in the title race.

🇪🇸 Spain: Real Madrid 1-3 Barcelona

The first Clásico of 2023 was not played in Spain, but in Saudi Arabia, which hosted the Supercopa de España. Both Real Madrid and Barcelona needed penalties in midweek to advance past Valencia and Real Betis respectively and set up a date against each other in the final on Sunday.

When the day arrived, it was Barcelona who sprung a bit of a tactical surprise. They adopted a very aggressive player-to-player defensive approach which really unsettled their opponents, switching to more of a 4-2-3-1 formation in the process. 

In possession, Xavi set his side up in their usual asymmetrical system, which sees the left-back advance far forward while the right-back stays deep. In midfield, both Pedri and Gavi were quite advanced, and they really stole the show.

The 18-year-old Spanish international proved to be the difference-maker in the first half, as he got a goal and assist along with Robert Lewandowski to put Barcelona two goals to the good going into the half-time break. The second half was all about controlling the match, but Pedri got a third in the 69th minute, putting the result beyond doubt. Karim Benzema did get on the scoresheet late on, but that was just a consolation goal.

So, Barcelona lifted their first trophy in Xavi’s tenure as a manager, and also their first since the departure of Lionel Messi. They should no doubt celebrate this achievement, but must also refocus quickly on greater and grander ambitions, such as winning La Liga.

🇳🇱 Netherlands: Ajax 0-0 FC Twente

While Barcelona seem to be on the up again, Ajax are rather slumping as their four-season streak of Eredivisie titles is under real threat this time out.

After going down to 10 men in the first half, they could only manage a goalless draw against FC Twente. That was their fifth consecutive match without a win in the league, and the first time they failed to score in their last 38 Eredivisie games. Perhaps most concerningly, though, this was just their first clean sheet in the last 10 league games.

That leaves Ajax in third place, five points behind league-leaders Feyenoord, as we approach the midway point of the season. AZ are a point above them, while PSV have the same points tally but an inferior goal difference.

Twente are just one point and two spots behind the defending champions in what is turning out to be a brilliant campaign for them, although they will also be disappointed with this result as they missed the chance to leapfrog them in spite of having a numerical advantage for the majority of the match. Still, for a side last promoted as recently as four seasons ago, that is a great position to be in.

The upcoming weekend could prove to be pivotal in the Eredivisie title race, as Ajax visit the leaders in the first Klassieker of the season.

🇨🇱 Chile: Colo-Colo 1-1 Magallanes (3-4 pens)

Football is back in Chile for the 2023 season, and its return was marked by the Supercopa. It featured the country’s most successful club and Primera División holders Colo-Colo, and Deportes Magallanes.

Magallanes’ story is quite fascinating. Formed in 1897, they have one of the richest histories in the country, having won the first three Chilean top-flight titles back-to-back in the 1930s. However, they have been fallen giants in recent history, as their last Primera División match was in 1986, and they were down in the third tier as recently as 2010.

2022 was incredible for them, as they not only won the Primera B and secured their return to the big time, but also went on an unforgettable run in the Copa Chile which saw them win their first major trophy since 1938 and also qualify for the Copa Libertadores as well as this match in the process.

Of course, they were still the clear underdogs in the Supercopa, and it seemed they would get a taste of reality in the top flight when they conceded the opener 22 minutes in. Magallanes took just four minutes to equalise, though, and then held on till the full-time whistle.

Having won two of their last three cup ties on penalties, they were well-prepared for what was coming up next. Colo-Colo went first and missed, but they were right back in it when Magallanes’ third effort was saved. Their last two takers delivered under great pressure, while Gastón Rodriguez saved the fifth penalty to help his side start 2023 with more silverware.

🇵🇹 Portugal: Rio Ave 0-1 Paços de Ferreira

The main match in Portugal this weekend was the Derby de Lisboa, which ended in a 2-2 draw between league-leaders Benfica and Sporting. Naturally, therefore, we will be focusing on the club at the other end of the table.

That team is Paços de Ferreira, who are having a really torrid time this season. 15 matches in, they had just three points, not a single win, and not even a clean sheet! That was a pretty shocking return for a club that qualified for Europe just two seasons ago and finished a respectable 11th last time out.

Unsurprisingly, they have changed head coaches in the middle of the campaign. César Peixoto was the man who was leading the team last summer, but he was told to pack his bags in October. His replacement was José Mota, who had played close to 200 matches for the club between 1987 and 1996 and had also managed them for almost 300 games in two separate stints in the 2000s.

This time, though, Mota just got seven matches – four league defeats and a winless elimination from the group stage of the League Cup – before losing his job. His replacement? You guessed it: César Peixoto.

Two games into his second tenure, the 42-year-old head coach is unbeaten and has tripled Paços de Ferreira’s points tally with a draw and a win. They also finally managed their first clean sheet of the season en route to three points against Rio Ave, who were no pushovers having started the match in the top half of the table.

Of course, Paços are still rooted to the bottom of the table and have a long way to go if they are to escape relegation, but they seem to finally be heading in the right direction.

Cover Image from IMAGO

Last Weekend: Monumental Manchester derby, Napoli batter Juventus and more

We are approaching the midway point of the 2022/23 season in most major winter leagues, so things are starting to really heat up now. Across Europe, there were some massive top-of-the-table clashes this weekend, many of which had the added twist of being local rivalries. We will be going over some of those, as well as a number of other consequential results in this edition of Last Weekend.

By Neel Shelat

🇮🇹 Italy: Napoli 5-1 Juventus

Serie A got its big game in early, as Napoli took on Juventus on Friday night. This was a match between the top two, but seven points separated the hosts from the Bianconeri prior to kick off.

Juventus did come into this game on a superb run of form, though. They had won each of their last eight league games, all with clean sheets to boot. Napoli, meanwhile, suffered their first defeat of the Serie A season a week and a half ago, so this was being built up as a crunch fixture for both.

In recent history, Juventus have always tended to win these big games by hook or crook, whereas Napoli have a bit of a reputation for choking at such times. For that reason, this result was nothing short of seismic.

Napoli did not just beat Juventus; they completely blew them out of the water. Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia were simply too hot to handle all game, and they both returned three goal involvements. Besides them, defender Amir Rrahmani and substitute Eljif Elmas got on the scoresheet for the Partenopei.

There was a lot of talk about Juventus’ aforementioned clean sheet record prior to this match, but a quick look at the data made it clear that it was bound to end sooner rather than later. Prior to this match, they had conceded well under half the amount of goals their xGA projected, and their defensive stats still show a massive overperformance.

Napoli, on the other hand, are the best side in league in terms of goals scored and xG, and second-best in the division in terms of goals conceded and xGA. Clearly, their 10-point lead at the top is very deserved, and they are well on course to win their first league title since 1990.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England: Manchester United 2-1 Manchester City

It is hard to recall an English weekend in recent history with title-defining derbies of the proportion and impact that we saw over the last couple of days. On Sunday, Premier League leaders Arsenal visited the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in a huge North London Derby, just a few hours after their clubmates were involved in a table-topping WSL derby against Chelsea.

Perhaps the most meaningful derby result came the day before those matches. Second-placed Manchester City visited United with four points between the two sides, but a noteworthy gap to Arsenal. Quite simply, this was a must-win game for both teams, not that there ever are any other options in such a derby anyway.

The first half was not the best from an entertainment point of view, but it featured a gripping tactical battle. The home side did fairly well in their 4-2-1-3 high block with player-marking through midfield which generated some good counterattacking opportunities, but their final action was not always on point. City controlled proceedings for the most part, but they too looked sloppy in the final third.

A couple of tactical tweaks at half-time seemed to give Pep Guardiola’s side the edge in the second period, so they looked to be on course to pick up all three points when substitute Jack Grealish turned in Kevin De Bruyne’s cross on the hour-mark. Out of seemingly nowhere, though, Manchester United equalised in very controversial fashion with just over 10 minutes to go when Bruno Fernandes slotted home Casemiro’s through ball. The Manchester City defence was passive since the clearly-offside Marcus Rashford made a run towards the ball, but he did not touch it, and in accordance with the laws of the game, did not interfere.

Perhaps the nature of that call and, of course, the timing of the goal completely shifted the game’s momentum. A Manchester United winner looked inevitable, and it came in the 82nd minute when the electric Alejandro Garnacho set up Rashford for his eighth goal in the last seven games (with at least one in each). With that, a seemingly comfortable win for City turned into absolutely nothing in a game of fine margins.

Manchester United will definitely feel that they too are now in the title race.

🇪🇸 Spain: Real Madrid 1-3 Barcelona

The first Clásico of 2023 was not played in Spain, but in Saudi Arabia, which hosted the Supercopa de España. Both Real Madrid and Barcelona needed penalties in midweek to advance past Valencia and Real Betis respectively and set up a date against each other in the final on Sunday.

When the day arrived, it was Barcelona who sprung a bit of a tactical surprise. They adopted a very aggressive player-to-player defensive approach which really unsettled their opponents, switching to more of a 4-2-3-1 formation in the process. 

In possession, Xavi set his side up in their usual asymmetrical system, which sees the left-back advance far forward while the right-back stays deep. In midfield, both Pedri and Gavi were quite advanced, and they really stole the show.

The 18-year-old Spanish international proved to be the difference-maker in the first half, as he got a goal and assist along with Robert Lewandowski to put Barcelona two goals to the good going into the half-time break. The second half was all about controlling the match, but Pedri got a third in the 69th minute, putting the result beyond doubt. Karim Benzema did get on the scoresheet late on, but that was just a consolation goal.

So, Barcelona lifted their first trophy in Xavi’s tenure as a manager, and also their first since the departure of Lionel Messi. They should no doubt celebrate this achievement, but must also refocus quickly on greater and grander ambitions, such as winning La Liga.

🇳🇱 Netherlands: Ajax 0-0 FC Twente

While Barcelona seem to be on the up again, Ajax are rather slumping as their four-season streak of Eredivisie titles is under real threat this time out.

After going down to 10 men in the first half, they could only manage a goalless draw against FC Twente. That was their fifth consecutive match without a win in the league, and the first time they failed to score in their last 38 Eredivisie games. Perhaps most concerningly, though, this was just their first clean sheet in the last 10 league games.

That leaves Ajax in third place, five points behind league-leaders Feyenoord, as we approach the midway point of the season. AZ are a point above them, while PSV have the same points tally but an inferior goal difference.

Twente are just one point and two spots behind the defending champions in what is turning out to be a brilliant campaign for them, although they will also be disappointed with this result as they missed the chance to leapfrog them in spite of having a numerical advantage for the majority of the match. Still, for a side last promoted as recently as four seasons ago, that is a great position to be in.

The upcoming weekend could prove to be pivotal in the Eredivisie title race, as Ajax visit the leaders in the first Klassieker of the season.

🇨🇱 Chile: Colo-Colo 1-1 Magallanes (3-4 pens)

Football is back in Chile for the 2023 season, and its return was marked by the Supercopa. It featured the country’s most successful club and Primera División holders Colo-Colo, and Deportes Magallanes.

Magallanes’ story is quite fascinating. Formed in 1897, they have one of the richest histories in the country, having won the first three Chilean top-flight titles back-to-back in the 1930s. However, they have been fallen giants in recent history, as their last Primera División match was in 1986, and they were down in the third tier as recently as 2010.

2022 was incredible for them, as they not only won the Primera B and secured their return to the big time, but also went on an unforgettable run in the Copa Chile which saw them win their first major trophy since 1938 and also qualify for the Copa Libertadores as well as this match in the process.

Of course, they were still the clear underdogs in the Supercopa, and it seemed they would get a taste of reality in the top flight when they conceded the opener 22 minutes in. Magallanes took just four minutes to equalise, though, and then held on till the full-time whistle.

Having won two of their last three cup ties on penalties, they were well-prepared for what was coming up next. Colo-Colo went first and missed, but they were right back in it when Magallanes’ third effort was saved. Their last two takers delivered under great pressure, while Gastón Rodriguez saved the fifth penalty to help his side start 2023 with more silverware.

🇵🇹 Portugal: Rio Ave 0-1 Paços de Ferreira

The main match in Portugal this weekend was the Derby de Lisboa, which ended in a 2-2 draw between league-leaders Benfica and Sporting. Naturally, therefore, we will be focusing on the club at the other end of the table.

That team is Paços de Ferreira, who are having a really torrid time this season. 15 matches in, they had just three points, not a single win, and not even a clean sheet! That was a pretty shocking return for a club that qualified for Europe just two seasons ago and finished a respectable 11th last time out.

Unsurprisingly, they have changed head coaches in the middle of the campaign. César Peixoto was the man who was leading the team last summer, but he was told to pack his bags in October. His replacement was José Mota, who had played close to 200 matches for the club between 1987 and 1996 and had also managed them for almost 300 games in two separate stints in the 2000s.

This time, though, Mota just got seven matches – four league defeats and a winless elimination from the group stage of the League Cup – before losing his job. His replacement? You guessed it: César Peixoto.

Two games into his second tenure, the 42-year-old head coach is unbeaten and has tripled Paços de Ferreira’s points tally with a draw and a win. They also finally managed their first clean sheet of the season en route to three points against Rio Ave, who were no pushovers having started the match in the top half of the table.

Of course, Paços are still rooted to the bottom of the table and have a long way to go if they are to escape relegation, but they seem to finally be heading in the right direction.

Cover Image from IMAGO