In the Premier League, Liverpool extended their lead at the top of the table, while Arsenal and West Ham United played out a goal-fest, Cole Palmer struck again for Chelsea, and Manchester United made easy work of Everton under new manager Ruben Amorim.
In LaLiga, Barcelona slipped up against Las Palmas to make the title race a bit more interesting, with Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid right behind the Catalans. Kylian Mbappé also notched a much-needed goal in Madrid’s win over Getafe.
In the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich sit four points ahead at the top of the table after a draw against Borussia Dortmund. Meanwhile, RB Leipzig are ringing the alarm bells after losing 5-1 to Wolfsburg extends a worrying run of form.
What else did you miss around Europe this weekend? ESPN’s Julien Laurens, Alex Kirkland and Constantin Eckner recap all the action in this edition of ESPN’s Weekend Review.
Top takeaway: Amorim’s United positive start continues
Ruben Amorim and his new-look Manchester United team will have much tougher tests ahead, starting with a trip to Arsenal on Wednesday, but on Sunday they did what they had to do by beating Everton at Old Trafford for the new manager’s Premier League home debut.
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You can only beat what’s in front of you (and who is in front of you). and Everton are not a good team. Still, his was a decent performance with four goals scored, none conceded and a strong feel of control (555 successful passes with 90% passing accuracy and 60% possession).
Like against Bodo/Glimt last Thursday in the Europa League (3-2 win), Sunday’s display was not perfect either and the efficiency (the four goals came from an xG of 0.73) showed a lack of creativity. But that will come later. For now, winning and for the players to understand the manager’s structure and the 3-4-2-1 formation are the priorities.
Best match: West Ham 2-5 Arsenal
Seven goals in the first 45 minutes, an impressive Arsenal attacking display, a wonderful Emerson direct free kick, Bukayo Saka man of the match with a top performance and an awful West Ham all made for a wild afternoon at the London Stadium. It might have been an unforgettable one for the Gunners, but not for the Hammers.
Best goal: Cole Palmer vs. Aston Villa
Cole Palmer is so good that even when he is not having a great game, like on Sunday against Aston Villa, he is still decisive for Chelsea. His goal, a wonder strike in the top corner, was brilliant and came after his assist for Enzo Fernández. Cold.
MVP of the weekend: Kevin Schade
Not sure if the German forward will ever be our weekend MVP again, but he deserves it this week for his wonderful performance (three goals and one assist) in Brentford‘s 4-1 win against Leicester. — Laurens
Top takeaway: Barça’s slump blows title race wide open
Barcelona celebrated their 125th anniversary on Friday, but — as the newspaper Diario AS put it — “Las Palmas ate their birthday cake” a day later. Barça’s 2-1 defeat at Montjuic was their third league game in a row without a win, after a loss to Real Sociedad and drawing with Celta Vigo.
It’s a run of form that has allowed both Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid back into the title race, squandering Barça’s early-season advantage. Yes, Barça had some valid excuses for another bad day. Lamine Yamal only got off the bench in the second half, Dani Olmo wasn’t fit enough to contribute at all, Marc Casadó was suspended, and Alejandro Balde was forced off through injury. There’s also the suspicion that opponents have started to figure out how to target their high defensive line.
Coach Hansi Flick spoke about a “disconnect” in the team post-match, suggesting the team is less compact, and less committed. But credit too to Las Palmas, whose transformation under Diego Martinez has been radical. When he took charge in October, they were winless in nine league games, the worst team in LaLiga. Since then, they’ve won four out of six.
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Moreno: Barcelona have given Real Madrid life in LaLiga title race
Alejandro Moreno reacts to Barcelona’s 2-1 loss to Las Palmas in LaLiga.
Best match: Villarreal 2-2 Girona
Any match that included a 97th-minute equalizer would be a contender for game of the weekend, but this wasn’t just any equalizer. Ladislav Krejcí‘s first-time, dipping volley from distance earned Girona a 2-2 draw at La Ceramica, a result which looked highly unlikely when Villarreal had taken an early 2-0 lead. It’s a setback for top-four contenders Villarreal, and a reminder that there’s life in last season’s surprise contenders Girona yet.
Best goal: Antoine Griezmann vs. Real Valladolid
Atletico Madrid have been enjoying themselves lately — this 5-0 win at Valladolid made it 11 goals scored in just four days — and Griezmann’s second-half strike at Valladolid was a genuine goal-of-the-season contender. Griezmann collected Julián Álvarez‘s pass on the turn, flicking the ball through his own legs, before applying the finish. It was so good, even the Valladolid fans ended up applauding.
MVP of the weekend: Jude Bellingham, Real Madrid
Bellingham needed just 45 minutes to be decisive in a 2-0 win over Getafe that put Madrid a point behind leaders Barça, with a game in hand. First, the England midfielder converted a penalty to give Madrid the lead — stuttering his run, and waiting for goalkeeper David Soria to move before slotting the ball the other way — and then, eight minutes later, he provided the assist for Kylian Mbappé to score a much-needed second, giving the forward a timely confidence boost. Bellingham was substituted feeling dizzy at halftime, but he’d already done enough to guarantee the three points. — Kirkland
Top takeaway: Leipzig are in a free fall
On the weekend when many football fans across the globe followed the Klassiker in Dortmund, as the two German giants clashed, some 210 miles east of the Signal Iduna Park, things became grim for RB Leipzig. The energy drink-fueled team collapsed 5-1 to Wolfsburg at home which marked the end of a disastrous month of November during which Leipzig were not able to secure a single win. In fact, they only drew once and lost five games.
Only recently, media reports suggested that Leipzig’s higher-ups were considering the upcoming games an acid test for manager Marco Rose, with the expectation being that the expensive team would bounce back in the UEFA Champions League and also remain on Bayern Munich‘s tail in the Bundesliga. Neither happened. Leipzig’s season is currently falling apart.
Going into November, Leipzig were still on par in terms of points with Bayern but have since dropped to fourth place in the Bundesliga standings. Given how ambitious Leipzig are, despite regularly star players during summer transfer windows, they expect to do much better than that. Despite the loss to Wolfsburg, sporting director Marcel Schäfer still backed Rose, saying, “He has many years of experience, he still has the fire. I believe we will find answers together to get out of this situation.”
Best match: Borussia Dortmund 1-1 Bayern Munich
For all the doubters who thought the German Klassiker had lost its luster, once the game got going on Saturday evening it carried a special magnitude which you don’t often see in football. Dortmund played a tremendous first half, reinforcing once again how strong Nuri Şahin’s team can be at home where they had won all their games this season before Saturday. However, Bayern suffocated the home team during the second half, scoring a late equalizer in slightly controversial fashion.
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Should Bayern Munich have stopped play in the lead up to Musiala’s goal?
The ESPN FC crew discusses whether it was unsportsmanlike from Bayern Munich not to stop play in the lead up to their goal vs. Borussia Dortmund.
Best goal: Jamie Gittens vs. Bayern
The Klassiker was predictably a game of inches, as amplified by Dortmund’s go-ahead goal in the 27th minute. The 20-year-old English winger fooled Konrad Laimer and did not lose any speed while running down on the left touchline at 21.4 mph, per Bundesliga.com. Once Gittens entered Bayern’s penalty area, still a few yards ahead of Laimer, he slammed the ball high past Manuel Neuer‘s head.
MVP of the weekend: Mohamed Amoura
Currently on loan from Union Saint-Gilloise, the talent factory in Brussels, Amoura has been one of the main factors for Wolfsburg’s sudden rise in recent weeks. He might not be the most prolific scorer, even though he found the back of the net twice against Leipzig, but the small-sized striker is perfect for Wolfsburg’s ground game, as hardly any center-back can contain the Algerian for the entirety of a game. Leipzig’s defense led by Willi Orbán learned it the hard way. — Eckner
What else you missed this weekend
Klopp will have his hands full at Red Bull
Leipzig are not the only Red Bull-funded club currently in a slump. Only four days after suffering an embarrassing 5-0 defeat at Bayer Leverkusen in the UEFA Champions League, Red Bull Salzburg had to digest another setback, as the draw with Hartberg in the Austrian Bundesliga. This means Salzburg have only picked up two points in their past four league games, and this is the 17-time champion we are talking about, with 14 of these 17 championships won since the Red Bull takeover in 2005.
While last year’s razor-thin loss to Sturm Graz in the championship race could have been considered a slip, this year’s performances raise questions about Red Bull’s strategic decisions in recent times — something Jürgen Klopp may have to assess once he assumes his role as Head of Global Soccer in January. For years, Salzburg were more concerned about their outings on the European stage rather than at home because they were dominating the Austrian Bundesliga.
Salzburg’s manager is none other than Pepijn Lijnders, who served as Klopp’s assistant for almost the entirety of the German’s tenure in Liverpool. Whether Lijnders is still in charge when his former boss takes over has become somewhat doubtful, as more and more people are questioning the Dutchman’s qualification to be a head coach rather than an assistant. — Eckner
