Arya News - It was a wild weekend of drama around the major European leagues. From the Premier League to Germany’s Bundesliga and La Liga, here are the most notable takeaways.
Given the way both teams have been playing recently, Sunday"s London derby between table leader Arsenal and third place Chelsea promised to be a thrilling affair, but after Moises Caicedo’s red card in the 38th minute, Enzo Maresca’s men were forced to reconfigure their strategy. As a result, the game’s narrative also changed. Caicedo was reckless in his foul on Mikel Merino, but it was also Chelsea’s seventh red card of the season, which points to the overall philosophy of the club under Maresca. It’s an all or nothing approach, which is commendable when it works but when it doesn’t, errors such as Caicedo’s can occur.
But wouldn’t you know it, the irony of this game is sometimes too delicious to ignore and despite playing with a man less, Chelsea took the lead thanks to a header from Trevor Chalobah after a corner in the 48th minute. The set piece expert Arsenal was given a taste of its own medicine and Chelsea led 1-0.
But Arsenal is Arsenal for a reason and 11 minutes later, Merino became more of a villain on the day by scoring the equalizer for Mikel Arteta’s side, thanks to a wonderful cross from Bukayo Saka.
The rest of the evening was Arsenal’s intent to control the ball and score a second as the Blues held on and they did it in heroic style, defending and protecting with the hopes of hitting Arsenal on the counter and whenever it managed to earn a set piece.
Chelsea goalkeeper Roger Sánchez performed admirably, especially in the latter stages when he stopped an effort from Merino. After the initial save, he collided with Viktor Gyökeres, who was going for the ball after the rebound but eventually clashed with the Spanish stopper.
In the end, the game ended 1-1 with Chelsea clearly concluding the evening as the happier team. Manchester City and Pep Guardiola, who are in second, will also share a smile as the Cityzens are now five points behind the Gunners.
Hansi Flick frustrated despite Barcelona’s win over Alaves
After losing heavily to Chelsea in the Champions League on Wednesday , the Catalan club redeemed itself Saturday with a comeback victory vs. Alaves thanks to a brace from Dani Olmo and an opener from Lamine Yamal. Barça didn’t play particularly well nor did it fully have the three points secure until stoppage time when Olmo scored the third goal but the game ended with a visibly upset Flick on the bench and needing Raphinha to console him.
The German manager was disappointed with the performance but also the officiating, which saw red cards being given to two members of his coaching staff for protesting several decisions. Flick was also upset at a penalty not being given for a foul on Yamal in the first half, but overall, he knew that Barcelona won but was not at its best.
The Brazilian Raphinha had to console him. “After the end of the match, Raphinha was telling me the same thing I said last time: ‘We will improve. We will be much better in the upcoming matches,’" said Flick, speaking via DAZN. Sometimes, even the manager needs support from his players.
"Chaotic" Luis Díaz continues to shine for Bayern Munich
It was obvious that the Bavarians clearly missed the Colombian against Arsenal on Wednesday in the Champions League and Saturday’s game against St. Pauli was a great example of why. Bayern looked certain to settle for a point as it was 1-1 in stoppage time at Allianz Arena but Díaz rescued Vincent Kompany’s team with a 93rd-minute header before Nicholas Jackson sealed the three points with a third goal four minutes later. The former Liverpool attacker has 12 goals in all competitions so far for his new club and it was also his inventive assist that helped Raphael Guerreiro score the 44th-minute equalizer after the visitors opened the scoring:
“Lucho has got a kind of ‘chaotic creativity,’” said Kompany after the game . “He can always do something in chaos … as a defender, I always found it uncomfortable to play against such players because you never know whether you have the ball under control or he has it.”
Bayern won 3-1 and now remain top of the Bundesliga table by eight points over RB Leipzig.
Serie A’s title race is extremely tight
If you want to follow a major European league where the race for the champion is a highly competitive affair, then look no further than Serie A. This weekend, AC Milan and Christian Pulisic won 1-0 against Lazio, Inter came out victorious with a 2-0 win over Pisa whilst Juventus and Como — managed by Cesc Fàbregas — also ended the weekend with wins.
Milan was top of the table Sunday before Roma’s big game against Napoli thus further placing an even more dramatic conclusion to the day before Bologna’s home game against Cremonese on Monday. Before Roma’s fixture, the difference between first and seventh (Juventus) is five points. Hold on to your hats, everyone. The battle for the Scudetto will remain a multi-horse race for the rest of the year.
Around the world
In Lima, Perú, we saw the seventh straight all-Brazilian Copa Libertadores final where Flamengo won 1-0 over Palmeiras thanks to a goal from Danilo (formerly from Real Madrid, Man City and Juventus) while MLS Cup has been set as Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami destroyed NYCFC 5-1 to secure its first ever appearance in the final. Messi will now face Thomas Müller’s Vancouver Whitecaps at Chase Stadium on Saturday.