European club football is coming back to life after the international break. We’ve seen a couple of big Premier League derbies – Arsenal beat Tottenham Hotspur and City of Manchester Funeral Manchester United — while Barcelona now sit down Real Madrid in the LaLiga standings. Meanwhile, Liverpool and Internazionale are all types.
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Here’s what you need to know about the weekend from Europe’s biggest leagues.
Move in: Communication skill | Best goal | Teams in trouble | MVP of the weekend
Communication skill
Manchester United not convinced with Casemiro?
There are many problems to solve for Manchester United later A humiliating 6-3 loss in the derby to Manchester City at the Etihad, but what only Erik ten Hag can answer is his continued reluctance to use Casemiro in the center of midfield.
The Brazil international arrived at United for £60m from Real Madrid in August and is believed to be the answer to the team’s problems in the defensive midfield area.
But the 30-year-old is yet to start a Premier League game for his new side after being named to the bench in the clash with Man City. Casemiro was finally brought on in the 59th minute as United were trailing 4-1 and in full damage limited mode.
His 31 minutes on the pitch have reduced his Premier League minutes for United to just 82 minutes since arriving from Real following a 4-0 loss at Manchester United. Brentford in August. Despite his world-class background, Casemiro has only started once – against Real Socieded in the Europa League – since leaving the Santiago Bernabeu.
Ten Hag wants of Barcelona Frenkie de Jong this summer, and when United finally gave up that pursuit, they managed to strike a deal for Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot before switching to Casemiro.
So the question that Ten Hag had to answer was whether he really wanted Casemiro or if he was the best option at the time.
Based on how much time using him so far, it seems Ten Hag is still convinced of Casemiro’s value to the team. – Mark Ogden
Barca rose to the top of Spain as Clasico countdown begins
There is a new leader in LaLiga after Barcelona beat Mallorca on the Saturday before Real Madrid started the season 100% victory ended by Osasuna on Sunday.
Barca didn’t have their best form away from Mallorca but did enough in both boxes sealed a close victory 1-0 to go ahead of Madrid thanks to a superior goal difference. Robert lewandowskiHis 12th goal of the season in all competitions, a stellar solo effort, enough to preserve the score, coupled with two excellent saves by the keeper. Marc-Andre ter Stegen in a different ending.
Ter Stegen, who hasn’t conceded a goal in 534 minutes in LaLiga, said: “We did the bare minimum, but it was a big win against a really tough streak.
Madrid lost Thibaut Courtois injured but welcome back Karim Benzema this weekend and look ready to recapture their spot at the top when Vinicius Junior gave them the lead in the first half randomly. However, Kike Garcia’s header equalized Osasuna at the Santiago Bernabeu before Benzema shot over the bar with a late penalty.
Madrid are still level with Barca by 19 points, but their 100% record is now gone. Both sides remain unbeaten and the countdown is on for the Clasico, with the two teams meeting at the Bernabeu over two weekends. Before that, the host Barca Celta Vigo and Madrid travel to Getafe – Marsden
The Bundesliga title race is finally in favor of Bayern Munich
We had hoped for a real title race in Germany after nearly a decade of Bavarian dominance, but the end of the international break has brought a heavy dose of the status quo as leaders Union Berlin lost, Borussia Dortmund lost 3-2 at FC Cologne (let’s give credit to Dejan Ljubicic to the winner of his elegant twist) and Bayern Munich dodged a string of unsettled domestic form to claim their first Bundesliga win since August 21 to defeat eternal hopes Bayer Leverkusen 4-0.
Julian Nagelsmann’s side opened fire early and often on Friday and seemed to send a message to the rest of the league with their comfortable victory. Leroy Sane and Jamal Musiala scored under slight duress in the opening game 20 minutes ago Sadio Mane adding a third before half-time really snuffed out any hope of a competitive game. Mane, a former Liverpool striker, was disallowed for the second time due to a foul, but Thomas Muller will round out the easiest game. – James Tyler
Inter Milan is in for a joy
4 defeats in the first 8 Serie A games this season: Inter Milan are experiencing their worst season since 2011. Their loss was before AS Roma and Jose Mourinho (who was suspended and watched from his truck outside on the ground!) happened again after Nerazuri scored the first goal. Their inability to defend the lead, which has happened time and time again under Simone Inzaghi, was on display again on Saturday.
They led 1-0 but let the Roman team come back up Paulo Dybala (who was heavily linked with Inter in the summer) and then Chris Smalling On one front, it’s also a weakness for Inter. They have many problems, among them are Romelu Lukaku has not yet returned from injury and Samir HandanovicTheir goalkeeping ability has decreased as we saw in the first goal.
Inter must react as early as midweek against Bayern Munich in a major Champions League clash. They are currently 9th in the Serie A table, 8 points behind the top team. Naples. Inzaghi is under more and more pressure. – Julien Laurens
Goal
Gallagher opens a Chelsea account with style
One way for Conor Gallagher his first goal Chelsea target. A last-minute goal from 20 yards out against the club he played so well on loan last season. It’s impressive how he managed to find enough self-control to stop himself from celebrating in front of his old team Crystal Palace.
When repeating…#CryChe pic.twitter.com/azXZcMdJb4
– Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) October 1, 2022
Equally important is that Gallagher impresses his new manager, Graham Potter. The midfielder is looking to build on his season on loan at Palace and such goals can only give him more chances at Chelsea – Rob Dawson
Riquelme proves there’s more to come
Real Sociedadwin 5-3 away at Girona is the weekend game in LaLiga, and Rodrigo RiquelmeThe goal in the 23rd minute for the losing team – picked up the ball and beat La Real Martin Zubimendi before shooting into the high corner from afar – is an official candidate for the goal of the season.
NUTMEG ➡️ BANGER
What a goal from Rodrigo Riquelme! pic.twitter.com/zTrCAMsTf4
– ESPN+ (@ESPNPlus) October 2, 2022
Riquelme, 22 years old, highly rated Atlético Madrid academy product, who shone on loan at Mirandes in the Segunda Division last season and is excelling, after taking another step forward with another loan at Girona this campaign. This was the creative midfielder’s first great goal, but proof of that, there’s a lot more to come. – Alex Kirkland
Family affection goals at Lorient
Imagine celebrating your 20th birthday on a Saturday, and the next day you score the winning goal, your first Ligue 1 goal in just your eighth appearance – at the club that Your uncle is the manager! That’s what happened to Lorient youth According to Le Bris this weekend. The promising attacking midfielder made his family proud by deciding against Lille.
The dream-like start of the season continues for two Le Bris and Lorient. They are currently third in the Ligue 1 standings, just one point behind Marseille second and third place Paris Saint-Germain at top. – Laurens
Teams in trouble
Liverpool on the brink of crisis
It’s all relative, of course – ask any Leicester City fans right now and they would happily swap their plight at the end of the Premier League for the problems Liverpool are facing – but no team in the Premier League, and arguably in any major league any of Europe, are underperforming like the Red Devils this season. Jurgen Klopp’s side are 11 points behind leaders Arsenal after dropping more points at Saturday 3-3 draw at home Brighton & Hove Albionand hopes of a title challenge are certainly over.
Liverpool won three games all season. One is a remarkable 9-0 win over Bournemouth, the other is a 2-1 win over Anfield Newcastle United Football Club with the winner of eight minutes of injury time and a 2-1 Champions League win at home to Ajax Amsterdamthis time with the winner at the 89th minute.
The positives are two late goals, but Liverpool have conceded the first in seven of their nine games in all competitions this season, and their defence has been awful on a number of occasions. Big summer contract Darwin Nunez struggling to impress, Mohamed Salah is blowing cold rather than hot and, but with five goals and three assists from Roberto FirminoLiverpool would be in a much worse situation.
They are not in crisis yet, but Liverpool’s next two matches are at the home of leaders Arsenal and then at the home of champions Manchester City. There could be trouble ahead. – Ogden
Stuttgart still looking for a win
It’s hard to say how much is expected from VfB Stuttgart This season, especially after finishing 16th in the Bundesliga last year, has been followed by a modest transfer window. (Gone their two best players, midfielders Orel Mangala and forward Sasa Kalajdzicgo to the Premier League and have some modest replacements like the failed Arsenal Constantine Mavropanos and defenders like that Dan-Axel Zagadou.) However, they are still looking for their first win since July 29, coming painfully close on Saturday only to lose a goal in the last minute. VfL Wolfsburg.
You have to feel how they are when they’re fighting a better team, taking the lead within a minute through Sehrou Guirassy’s close-range finish before conceding twice and leveling the score in the minute. the end of the first half with the Mavropanos. Top. However, they lacked the composure to see through everything, and after some desperate defense in the second half, Yannick Gerhardt had a header to open the scoring to take all three points and continue to maintain Stuttgart’s futile form.
Stuttgart is perhaps wise to persist in using Pellegrino Matarazzo as manager because of the Bundesliga’s culture of coaching swapping, but you have to wonder how long they will continue this field in the absence of clear results. – Tyler
Weekend MVP
Fabulous Foden in Manchester City derby win
There were many excellent performances for Manchester City against Manchester United, but Phil Fodenis the best in the group. Combined with Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish, he helped tear United apart, especially in the brutal first 45 minutes. The score was 4-0 at half-time, but it could have been 10 quite easily. Foden has never hit 10 Premier League goals in a season but has managed to get five in just eight games. His talent has never been in doubt, but this could be the year when he starts hitting a lot of goals and assists – Dawson
