Bundesliga Returns In Style!

The Bundesliga is officially back! The season opened on Friday with the defending champions Bayer Leverkusen traveling to take on Borussia Mönchengladbach. Xabi Alonso’s side would jump off to a 2-0 lead, with goals coming from Xhaka in the 12th minute and Wirtz in the 38th minute. What a hit it was by Xhaka. However, things took a turn as Mönchengladbach pulled one back before the half. The home team would then tie things up in the 85th minute. Leverkusen relentlessly pushed forward looking for a winner. Then, finally, in the eighth minute of stoppage time, Leverkusen received a penalty after extensive review. Florian Wirtz had his initial effort saved which was met by a roar. However, he quickly dispatched tthe rebound to silence the stadium. It is a good start for the champions and it shows they still can find winners late late on. Laterkusen or Neverlusen (whichever you prefer) strike again. 

Around The Premier League…

Chelsea actually looked like a good football club. This comes off the back of their 6-2 against Wolves at the Molineux Stadium. It took just two minutes for Nicolas Jackson to open the scoring. Cunha would respond for Wolves before goals by Palmer and Larsen to end the half a 2-2. However, The Blues took complete control in the second half. Palmer was integral in leading the attack and providing three assists to the same man, Noni Madueke. After a good performance midweek, Madueke came out of nowhere to record a hat trick. New signing Felix would add the 6th to wrap things up. This marks the fifth time in Premier League history that the same player has assisted a player on all three goals of a hat-trick. Chelsea will hope Madueke and Palmer can build from this form and inspire others around them. Palmer being deployed as a number 10 rather than down the right seemed to make a huge difference.

Manchester United lost to Brighton in the early game on Saturday. Brighton would take the lead in the 32nd minute via Danny Welbeck. United would then level things with Amad, who looked electric down the righthand side. Ten Hag’s side thought they had taken the lead in the 70th minute through an Alejandro Garnacho tap in. After review, it became clear that the Argentinean’s shot was touched by the knee of Joshua Zirkzee (who was in an offside position) before crossing the line. Had the new signing just let it run it would have certainly been a United lead and they would likely won the game. Only Manchester United can get an offside with two players in front of the goal and no goalie in sight. This mistake proved to critical as Brighton would go on to win the match in stoppage time via Joao Pedro. It was a questionable bit of defending from United, with five players on Adingra who chipped the ball to the back post where Pedro was waiting to head home. 

Meanwhile, Manchester City and Arsenal both cruised to victory. Arsenal finally beat Aston Villa away with goals from Trossard and Thomas Partey. Arteta’s side were not at their best however they were still able to get the job done. Ollie Watkins should’ve scored, however, David Raya deserves credit as he made a wonderful save. Meanwhile, Manchester City beat Ipswich 4-1. The newly promoted side took a shock lead inside seven minutes to stun the Etihad crowd. Shortly after, a controversial penalty was awarded for City, which Haaland converted to level things up. Shortly after that De Bruyne slotted the ball into an empty net after a goalkeeping error by Muric. Haaland then made it three after another questionable bit of goalkeeping. It was three goals in a span of 4 minutes to bring Ipswich back down to Earth. Haaland would then finish off his hat trick in the 88th minute. This marks a record 10th hat trick with the Cityzens for the Norwegian. The City number nine now has 86 goals in 94 games. These truly are robotic numbers. On the other hand, it is a rough start for Ipswich with a -5 goal differential and 2 losses. However, it is important to note that they played Liverpool and City in the first two weeks, two of the best teams the Premier League has ever seen. Things should get slightly easier as they take on Fulham this coming Saturday. 

Additionally, Tottenham bounced back with a convincing win against Everton. Spurs won 4-0 with goals coming from Bissouma, Son twice, and Romero. Jordan Pickford made an absolute howler on Son’s first goal. It is a brutal start for Everton who lost 3-0 in the opening Premier League weekend. Many were thinking Everton could take a step forward this year, yet that has not been the case thus far. Things should get easier as they take on Bournemouth next week, yet nothing is for certain. Elsewhere in the Prem Liverpool beat Brentford 2-0, Newcastle drew 1-1 with Bournemouth, Fulham beat Leicester 2-1, and West Ham beat Palace 2-0.

It was a Premier League weekend seemingly characterized by goalkeeping errors. Ederson really should’ve saved the shot leading to Ipswich’s goal, Muric made two errors leading directly to City goals, and there was then of course Jordan Pickford. 

La Liga /Ligue 1/ Serie A

In La Liga, Real Madrid picked up their first league win of the season. Los Blancos beat Valladolid 3-0 with goals from Valverde and subs Brahim Diaz and Endrick. The Brazilian youngster could not hide his excitement after scoring his first Madrid goal and described it as a surreal experience. This highlights the true depth of this Madrid team. Even when the big guys aren’t clicking they have plenty of options on the bench. A frustrated Mbappé was subbed off early. The Frenchman created some chances but failed to have any impact in front of goal. He also missed a pretty clear cut chance. It is truly a mediocre start for the Mbappe in the Spanish capital. Most fans aren’t panicking yet as they know there is a learning curve. Well, this Madrid side is obviously a super team on paper it seems they are still getting used to playing with one another and have yet to truly hit their stride. Barcelona also picked up a win against Athletic Club, (Nico Williams’s team). Yamal scored in the first half and Levandowski in the second to solidify a 2-1 win. Atletico Madrid also won 3-1 against last season’s surprise in La Liga, Girona.

Over in France PSG continued their electric form with a 6-0 win over Montpellier. The Parisians spread the wealth with five different scorers. Bradley Barcola continued his excellent start with two goals. Despite not getting on the scoresheet Joao Neves would record two assists bringing his total up to four on the season. This is already half of what Dembele accomplished last year in a full season. It is fascinating to see the contrast between Real Madrid's (with Mbappe) side yet to realize its true potential and a PSG side firing on all cylinders. PSG finally moved away from the Galatico approach with the sale of Mbappe this summer (and Neymar and Messi in the prior summer). Meanwhile, Madrid has embraced it with open arms with Vini, Bellingham, Mbappe and Rodrygo. The direction of these two teams could set a precedent in football in regards to how to build a team.

Over in Serie A, AC Milan lost to Parama 2-1, Inter stayed unbeaten with a 2-0 win over Lecce, Lazio lost 2-1 to Udinese, and Napoli bounced back with a 3-0 win over Bologna. Antonio Conte will feel relieved after an atrocious display by his side last week to open their Serie A campaign. Napoli’s stars were critical to this victory with marque performances from Kvaratskhelia and Di Lorenzo.

Bundesliga Giants

In the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund both got their campaigns underway. Bayern took on Wolfsburg on Sunday and jumped out to an early lead with a goal from Musiala. Despite seeming to dictate the play Bayern would go on to concede two goals from Kajer in the second half. Wolfsburg would jump out to a brief 2-1 lead before an own goal by Kaminski in the 65th minute tied things up. Bayern eventually found a winner through Serge Gnarby in the 82nd minute. Despite dominating possession and having the majority of the opportunities Vincent Kompany’s side looked vulnerable and open at times and still needed a late winner to beat a seemingly mid table side. Borussia Dortmund faced a tough test in Eintracht Frankfurt in their opening match. Despite dominating they failed to find a goal for much of the match. However, that changed after the introduction of Jamie Bynoe-Gittens. The 20-year-old English winger made an excellent move to beat a defender and pulled out a beautiful finish. Gittens featured a lot for Dortmund last year yet failed to really contribute. If his performance this past weekend is any indication of what he is capable of then Dortmund could have another English star in the making. This goes to show just how amazing the Dortmund talent pool is. Even when big clubs constantly snatch up their players, they continue to produce some to churn out incredible young talents.

Transfer News

It was a busy week in the transfer window. Ilkay Gundogan completed his move back to Manchester City and was on the bench for the Cityzen’s win at the weekend. Joao Felix also officially signed for Chelsea and was in action versus Wolves, even recording a goal. Meanwhile, Gallagher went the other way to Atletico Madrid. Arne Slot has finally made a signing by bringing in Federico Chiesa for around 10 million. At only 26 the Italian winger could still be a top player for the Reds. If he put his knee injuries behind him this could look like a bargain signing. Talented Portuguese fullback Joao Cancelo has made a move to Al Hilal for an estimated 25 million. At times Cancelo looked like he could be one of the best left-backs in the world. After being forced out of City by Pep he seemed to eventually find his place in Barcelona. However, they were not able to hold onto him and Al Hilal jumped to get his signature. Arsenal has completed the signing of Spanish international Mikel Merino for around 37.5 million. The midfielder showed glimpses of brilliance at the Euros including scoring the late winner against Germany. Throughout the years Spain has produced some incredible midfielders. At 28 years old Merino is more of a reinforcement, he could still offer a lot to this Arsenal midfield. Raheem Sterling and Jadon Sancho could also be on the move before the end of the transfer window.

This week was seemingly a massive one for goalkeepers. Firstly Aaron Ramsdale has officially signed for Southampton for 25 million. You have to feel for the English net minder who played extremely well 2 seasons ago for Arsenal but was slowly phased out by Arteta in favor of new signing David Raya. Liverpool have also signed a Georgian goalkeeper by the name of Giorgi Mamardashvili for 25 million. He will remain in Valencia for the coming season as Liverpool have loaned him out. Former Manchester United shot-stopper David Dea finally returned to the game after a one-year hiatus by joining Fiorentina on a one-year deal. He struggled tremendously in his debut in the Europa Conference League qualifiers where he conceded two poor goals as well as a penalty. He was then subsequently benched in Fiorentina’s opener. Another big keeper, Thibaut Courtois,  came out and said he would not play for Belgium under Tadesco. This comes after controversy before the Euros with Courtois being dropped from the roster altogether, despite seemingly being healthy. 

Chelsea was an action in the Europa Conference League Qualifiers last week and won 2-0 nothing against Swiss Super League side Servette. It was an unconvincing display from the Blues as they struggled against the team that only managed 3rd in the regular season of the Swiss Super League last year. New signingMarc Guiu from Barcelona produced one of the worst messes I’ve ever seen, in the second half. The initial opportunity (below) had a 94% chance of a goal.

He not only missed that but also the rebound. He will be hoping to put this past him and avoid such instances in the future, so as not to join a long list of Chelsea strikers, who are infamous for missing easy chances. (Jackson, Lukaku, Werner, Morata)

Player of the Week

Noni Madueke: Chelsea

Who else would it be? The winger had his best-ever performance in a Chelsea shirt and helped create the first goal in addition to obviously scoring three of his own. Madueke provided a great outlet down the right-hand side and seemed to present a threat every time he touched the ball. Chelsea has a plethora of wingers, maybe they just need one to get into good form.

Elsewhere

La Liga featured a midweek match-day this week. Barca came from behind to win while Atletico drew 0-0. Dani Olmo made his debut (and scored) after finally being registered by the Catalan club. However, the highlight of the midweek games in La Liga action was Villarreal facing off against Celta Vigo. The match was a thriller from start to finish with 18 shots on target. After 60 minutes things were all square at 2-2. Villarreal would then take the lead via an own goal in the 64th minute. Celta Vigo would get one right back in the 80th minute to level things at 3-3. Both sides then pushed for a winner in an exhilarating last ten minutes. Finally 10 minutes into stoppage time Villarreal was awarded a penalty. Dani Parejo had his initial effort saved but covered the rebound. (just like Wirtz) The game was eerily familiar to the Bundesliga season opener except for the fact it featured 2 more goals!

Tidbit

Cristiano Ronaldo can officially add YouTube Star to his long list of accomplishments. The Portuguese international announced his channel via Instagram over the past week and he shattered several YouTube records including the fastest channel to 1 million subscribers and 20 million subscribers. The channel features a wide range of content ranging from discussions with Rio Ferdinand to challenges with Cristiano Jr. At the time of writing he has published 15 long-form videos in just 7 days and has reached 51.3 million subscribers.

Question of the Week

Are Chelsea a threat in the Premier League?

• Yes, they looked good and are back
• No, they still have a lot to prove

Next Week…

Manchester City faces a motivated West Ham team in what could prove to be a big test for the reigning champions.

Manchester United battles Liverpool in a huge clash. United have been up and down while Liverpool has looked the same side under Slot as they did under Klopp. As big a rivalry as it gets, this game will be massive for both.

Real Madrid face their toughest test yet in Real Betis. Due to the current situation in the Spanish capital, this feels like a very big game early into the campaign.

The transfer window closes for most leagues on August 30th. So there could be some last-minute transfers in the works to look out for.

There are also some BIG matches in Serie A this coming weekend.

Inter vs Atalanta (Friday)

Lazio vs Milan (Saturday)

Juventus vs Roma (Sunday)