Domestic Football Is Back!
- Aug 23, 2024
- 7 min read
Manchester City vs Chelsea, Real Madrid off to rough start, Saka and Salah shine
As the sun set and the seats filled at Old Trafford the Premier League got underway for the 2024/25 season. The excitement and energy in the air was almost palpable. Manchester United started well, dictating possession and play. However, Fulham would have several chances in the early going, including a good cross from Traoré after he beat several United defenders. Ten Hag’s side had a lot of the ball in Fulham’s half but failed to create any real chances. Bruno Fernandes played as a makeshift number nine and his lack of experience at the striker position showed as he missed several chances in the first half. United made some questionable substitutions in the second half when they subbed on defenders in a game they should be winning. The frustration at Old Trafford was starting to become more evident. Just as it seemed it would be the first 0-0 draw in the Premier League opener for the first time in more than 10 years, in the 87th minute sub-Garnacho put a cross into the path of new signing Joshua Zirkzee who did enough to direct the ball into the back of the net. United would see out the last 3 minutes plus stoppage to notch an opening-day victory. Ten Hag’s side should take a lot of positives from the game but the fact that they struggled so much in the final third could be cause for concern against stronger opposition.
Around the Premier League
On Saturday the Premier League got into full swing with five matches. Liverpool beat Ipswich 2-0 in the early kickoff with goals from Jota and Salah. The Egyptian’s goal should bring relief to many Liverpool fans as he ended last season on a sour note with Jurgen Klopp. It is important to note Trent had a brilliant game and deserved an assist. Later Arsenal would get their title chase off to a good start with a 2-0 win over Wolves at the Emirates. Goals came from Kai Havertz and Havertz. Both scorers assisted the other. Saka was brilliant all day and took his goal nicely. He even drew comparisons with Lionel Messi after the game by his manager.
Brighton got to a good start with a 3-0 victory over a 10-man Everton side. van Hecke and Mitoma were both brilliant for the seagulls in the dominant display. Over at St. James Stadium Newcastle battled Southampton in Russel Martin’s side's return to the Premier League. Just 28 minutes in Fabian Schar was sent off controversially for a headbutt on Ben Brereton Diaz. This came after Brereton Diaz checked the Swiss center back. Schar then retaliated by pushing his head into the Southampton attacker, who went down rather easily. Upon watching the replay it looks like a clear dive from Brereton Diaz. He was subsequently booed by the fans almost every time he touched the ball following the incident. Despite being diminished to ten men Newcastle would breakthrough via a Joleiton goal early in the second half. They would defend a Southampton surge through the final 40 minutes to secure the 1-0 victory. Aston Villa then beat West Ham 2-1 in an intriguing game with goals from Onana and Duran. The quality of both teams was on display, especially from new signing Onana, who I have touted as the signing of the season. Nikolas Fullrkug and Sumerville both made cameos for Lopetegui’s side. It is a good start for Villa which they will hope to build on.
On Sunday, it was the big match between Manchester City and Chelsea. For City, it was an early test, and for Chelsea, a key match to see where they stand for the season. City was missing some of their best players with Foden, Walker, and Rodri all absent and Savinho, Rico Lewis, and Kovacic starting in their places. It took Erling Haaland all of 18 minutes to open his account on the season after driving through several Chelsea players in the box before chipping Sanchez. Chelsea tried to level things and played surprisingly well and created some chances. In particular, the blues had a good period at the end of the first half and the start of the second following the introduction of Pedro Neto. However, they seemed to lack the quality in the final third and Nicolas Jackson was very poor. He had a goal called back for offside which is indicative of his struggle to hold runs. Meanwhile, Pep’s side seemed comfortable absorbing the Chelsea pressure and they never felt threatened. Then in the 84th minute, Mateo Kovačić cruised through the Chelsea midfield and fired the ball home from outside the 18. The goal capped off a wonderful performance from the Croatian who took the place of Rodri in the starting line-up.
La Liga and Serie A
Over in La Liga, things are not off to a good start for Real Madrid and Kylian Mbappé. After getting a goal in his Los Blancos debut in the European Super Cup, Mbappé struggled to get into the game against Mallorca. Despite an early goal from Rodrygo and Madrid dominating they failed to get the all decisive second goal and allowed Mallorca to level things in the 53rd minute. Despite a strong push Los Blancos could not find a winner and ended up drawing 1-1. Madrid were in control but failed to convert their possession (67%) into worthwhile opportunities and ended up with the same shots on target as Mallorca at the end of the 90. Meanwhile, Madrid’s main title contenders Barcelona beat Valencia 2-1. Valencia took the lead in the 44th minute through Hugo Duro. Lewandowski would respond in the 6th minute of first-half stoppage time on a ball from starlet Lamine Yamal. Barcelona would then take a lead through a Lewandowski penalty in the 49th minute. The Polish striker’s two goals should bring relief to Barca fans who have been concerned by his age and failure to have an impact in some games. This was also a Barcelona team missing Dani Olmo, and Gavi, among others. In fact, they started Bernal and Casadó (17 and 20 respectively) in the middle of the park. Elsewhere in La Liga, Atlético Madrid drew Villarreal 2-2 and Athletic Club drew Getafe 1-1.
Serie A also began this week with Inter Milan and AC Milan both drawing their opening games 2-2 against Genoa and Torino respectfully. AS Roma also drew 0-0 with Cagliari in what was a disappointing week for big Italian teams. These results were nothing compared to Napoli being battered 3-0 by Verona (who finished 13th last year). Antonio Conte’s side were good in the first half but particularly abysmal in the second half when they conceded all three goals. Antonio Conte said Napoli “melted line snow in the sun” and apologized to their supporters. This comes as many have back Napoli as second favorites for the title behind Inter. Juventus beat Como 3-0 with the newly promoted side failing to register a single shot on target.
Transfer News
Napoli not only need to worry about their form on the pitch but the future of their star player. The Victor Osimhen saga has continued to heat up as the Nigerian has reportedly submitted a transfer request. Chelsea are leading the way for his signature as Lukaku could go the other way. However, Arsenal are allegedly still interested in Osimhen. In other transfer news, Chelsea has officially signed João Félix with Connor Gallagher heading to the Spanish capital. İlkay Gündoğan reportedly wants out of Barcelona and is very close to rejoining Manchester City on a free at the time of writing.
The PFA award also took place this week on Tuesday with Phil Foden taking home PFA Player of the Year and Cole Palmer winning PFA Young Player of the Year. The PFA Also released their team of the year with five players from Arsenal and four from Manchester City. (below)
Player of the Week
Bukayo Saka:
Saka recorded a goal and assist as Arsenal opened their title chase at the Emirate with a 2-0 win over Wolves. The England winger was consistent and dependent down the right, constantly giving Wolves defenders something to think about. He always was a threat to cut inside which was evident in his goal.
Elsewhere
PSG opened their title defense strongly with the dominant 4-1 victory over Le Havre. It would take just three minutes to open the scoring as Lee Kang-in opened PSG’s account on the season. Although there were PSG. Le Havre would level things in the 48th minute which made for some nervous moments in the second half for PSG. However, they would end up getting the job done through an 84th-minute goal from Dembélé. They would then add two more via Barcola and Kolo Mulani. It was a really strong performance by the Parisians easing concerns about how they will fare without Kylian Mbappé.
Tottenham battled Leicester at the King Power on Monday in Leicester’s return to the Premier League. Tottenham would open the scoring via a Pedro Porro header but failed to add more despite dominating the game. This opened the door for Jamie Vardy to equalize in the second half where the score would stay at 1-1. This result will have Postecoglou demanding more and give Leicester with a new belief that they can stay up.
Manuel Neuer has officially announced his retirement from international football. The longtime Bayern shot-stopper represented Germany for 15 years as their number one keeper and won the World Cup in 2014. Neuer’s retirement means he is the last player from 2014 World Cup winning squad to retire from the team.
Tidbit
It is safe to say that Haaland and Cucurella do not have the best friendship. Over the summer Cucurella sang his chant following Spain’s Euro win. The chant for those unfamiliar goes: "Cucu, Cucurella, he eats paella, Cucu, Cucurella, he drinks Estrella, Haaland you'd better tremble as Cucurella is coming," Haaland ran through the Spaniard on the opening City goal and later walked right by him as he went down with an injury. Haaland was asked about Cucurella following the match and said:
"The guy asked for my shirt last season and now he's singing bad stuff about me. He can do what he wants, I couldn't care less. It was an interesting song from that guy. I don't have much more to say."
It is safe to say there is no love lost between these two.
Question of the Week
Do you agree with the PFA team of the Year?
Yes, they got it right
No, this is disgraceful
Next Week…
Bayern open their season on Sunday against Wolfsburg and the pressure already seems to be mounting on Vincent Kompany.
Manchester United will battle a strong Brighton side who dominated Everton 3-0 on the opening match-day.
Aston Villa take on Arsenal who they lost to TWICE last season. This will be an early test for Mikel Arteta’s side who got off to a good start in the title chase with a 2-0 win last week.
Victor Osimhen is still being actively pursued by Chelsea and could soon be heading over to London if Todd Boehly and co have their way.
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