If you thought the recent surprises in the Premier League were just a blip, this weekend proved the up-is-down feeling is here to stay for a while longer.
Manchester City lost again, this time to Brighton; Manchester United actually looked kind of good in a win over Leicester; and Arsenal had to settle for a draw with Chelsea. When this season started, who would’ve thought that’s where we’d be 11 matchdays into the campaign?
Meanwhile in Spain, a comfortable win for Real Madrid came at a brutal cost and the reigning Champions League title-holders may be staring at an injury crisis. And in Germany, the downward spiral continues for Dortmund, who now sit seventh on the Bundesliga table.
Elsewhere, there’s been plenty of drama — Roma are already looking for their third coach of this Serie A campaign, Jose Mourinho is making waves in Turkey as only he can, and much more.
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: Another defeat for Man City and more questions for Guardiola
For the first time in his sparkling managerial career since 2008, Pep Guardiola has led a team to four losses in a row in all competitions.
Manchester City suffered a shock loss at Brighton on Saturday (2-1) in the Premier League, following a league defeat against Bournemouth (2-1), a Tottenham loss in the Carabao Cup (2-0) and a loss to Sporting CP in the Champions League (4-1).
Saturday’s loss started well enough for Man City — the team led and controlled the first half — before losing focus, shape and energy. The way the reigning Premier League champions let this game go is just as much of a worry as the long list of players injured or not fully fit. However, Guardiola’s decision to take off Savinho, his best player in the second half, was strange.
Now, the Citizens are now 5 points behind the leaders Liverpool. The international break probably comes at the right time for them although when the players return, they will face Tottenham at home and Liverpool away.
Best match: Brentford 3, Bournemouth 2
It’s rarely dull when Brentford play this season. We saw it against Ipswich two weeks ago and we saw it again on Saturday with another GTech stadium special. Twice behind, the Bees came back to win thanks to a brace from Paris-born-and-bred Yoane Wissa.
Best goal: Aina vs. West Ham
Ipswich won away at Tottenham on Sunday and no one associated with the club will forget it. Not just because it’s their first league victory of the season, but because of the beautiful overhead kick scored by the Tractors’ forward Sammy Szmodics.
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Echegaray: Tottenham’s Ipswich defeat the ‘most Spurs-y thing possible’
Luis Miguel Echegaray struggles to understand how Tottenham can go from demolishing Aston Villa to losing to Ipswich Town in the space of a week.
MVP of the weekend: Mohamed Salah
As is always the case, there were a few contenders to be named the weekend’s best player, like Bruno Fernandes, Yoane Wissa or Joao Pedro. But the MVP trophy this week goes to Mo Salah for an involuntary assist and a great goal in transition in Liverpool’s win against Aston Villa. Salah’s numbers this season? Eight goals and six assists in 11 Premier League matches. — Julien Laurens
Top takeaway: Injuries mar Real Madrid’s big win
Real Madrid’s 4-0 win over Osasuna had plenty for fans at the Santiago Bernabéu to cheer about: a hat trick for Vinícius Júnior, a goal finally for Jude Bellingham, and rare minutes for Endrick and Arda Güler. But a trio of first-half injuries — one of them serious — took the shine off an otherwise important victory.
Madrid can cope without Rodrygo and Lucas Vázquez for a month, just about. But Éder Militão’s season-ending ACL tear — his second in two years — is another matter. Madrid were already short at centre-back, having opted to gamble on getting through this season with just Militao, Antonio Rudgier and David Alaba — the latter not yet back from an ACL tear himself — as their only elite options in the position.
Now they’re without Militao, and Alaba isn’t fully fit yet. Back-up Jesús Vallejo isn’t good enough, and Aurélien Tchouaméni, who coach Carlo Ancelotti often picks at centre-back when needed, is injured too. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that Dani Carvajal is out for the season at right-back, and now his replacement Vazquez is missing too. At least Ancelotti has the international break now to think it all over.
Back to the positives. Bellingham’s goal, his first for his club in six months, felt significant. He looked genuinely touched by the ovation he received from the crowd when he was substituted. And yes, Kylian Mbappé was unable to score from his five shots, but the fans are still behind him, too. Twice, they chanted Mbappé’s name after misses, letting him know they’re still backing him to deliver.
Best match: Real Betis 2, Celta Vigo 2
This game might not have quite lived up the hype — Celta, in particular, have been one of LaLiga’s most fun-to-watch teams this season and Betis are a talented if inconsistent side — but it still saw Celta go ahead twice, only for Betis to fight back, including a 95th minute equalizer from Marc Bartra. Celta coach Claudio Giraldez was honest enough to admit post-match that they hadn’t deserved to win, anyway.
Best goal: Ilias Akhomach vs. Alavés
Vinícius and Bellingham both scored superb goals, but let’s celebrate Ilias Akhomach’s strike in Villarreal’s 3-0 win over Alavés, turning and curling home from the edge of the box in one, fluid movement. Villarreal later confirmed that winger Akhomach, 20, was yet another victim of an ACL tear when he was forced off before halftime.
MVP of the weekend: Vinicius Junior
It’s now four goals in two games for Vinicius since missing out on the Ballon d’Or, three of them coming against Osasuna on Saturday. This was a display of ruthlessly efficient finishing, the highlight coming with his second goal, which came on the counterattack thanks to a quick-thinking punt upfield from goalkeeper Andriy Lunin. — Alex Kirkland
Top takeaway: Dortmund suffer yet another loss on the road
Borussia Dortmund’s season has been the perfect example of a rollercoaster ride. Following wins over RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga and Sturm Graz in the UEFA Champions League, the Schwarzgelben slumped to defeat against lowly Mainz on Saturday. Their 3-1 loss marked their fourth straight away defeat in the league, with Dortmund always finding new ways to lose on the road.
This time, captain Emre Can committed a violent and unnecessary foul on Lee Jae-Sung and was subsequently sent off by referee Florian Badstübner. In the aftermath, Dortmund conceded two sloppy goals before half-time and once after the interval, sliding down to seventh in the Bundesliga standings.
The situation would be even gloomier, if it wasn’t for Dortmund’s perfect home record with five wins in five games. Sources indicate that the club’s higher-ups fully bought into the idea of promoting Nuri Şahin to head coach and allow him to rebuild the team. It seems the former midfielder’s job is still relatively safe despite the repeated setbacks and disappointing losses.
Best match: Stuttgart 2, Frankfurt 3
Stuttgart were unlucky in their home game against Frankfurt, as they lost 3-2 despite looking like the better side for large stretches of the game. Frankfurt scored three goals in the first 62 minutes, including a beautiful free kick by Omar Marmoush. Stuttgart staged a late comeback with two goals shortly before the end of regulation. And the potential equalizer by Chris Führich in the seventh minute of stoppage time was ruled offside after a VAR review.
Best goal: Jamal Musiala vs. St. Pauli
The 21-year-old standout, who is expected to extend his contract with Bayern Munich, scored the only goal of the game in Bayern’s narrow win at St. Pauli. Musiala won the ball about 35 yards from goal, took a few steps, and then unleashed a powerful strike that flew past St. Pauli’s goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj and in off the crossbar.
MVP of the weekend: Oliver Burke
The Scottish forward might not qualify for what a MVP should traditionally represent, but think for a moment about his career path. Burke is currently trying to make a splash in the Bundesliga for the third time. He didn’t fulfill the hopes that RB Leipzig had for him when signed from Nottingham Forest for £13 million ($17.3 million) in 2016. Burke returned to England after only one season but decided to give it another try in 2022 when he signed with Werder Bremen on a free transfer.
However, only six months later Werder loaned him out to Championship clubs Millwall and later to Birmingham City. Back in Germany once again, it is now or never for the 27-year-old Scot. Only a substitute for Bremen in recent weeks, Burke came on for the final 12 minutes against Holstein Kiel. And he managed to score his first goal of the season when he jumped high in the air to convert a Keke Topp cross for Bremen’s game-winning goal shortly before the end.
Perhaps this could prove the start of Burke’s breakthrough in Germany. However, Bremen need to figure out how to use the Scotsman’s outstanding athletic abilities while also limiting his involvement in possession plays since Burke’s footballing skills are below average at best. — Constantin Eckner
What else you missed this weekend
Roma fire coach Juric after Bologna defeat
It’s only mid-November, and Roma are already looking for their third coach this season.
Club legend Daniele de Rossi was hastily fired in September, just four games into the Serie A campaign. Now Ivan Juric has been dismissed. Sunday’s 3-2 home defeat to Bologna was the last straw, the latest poor result in a dreadful run. Roma have lost four of their last five league games, conceding 12 goals in that time, including a 5-1 thumping at Fiorentina.
The 3-2 scoreline, and Stephan El Shaarawy’s second goal in the 82nd minute, made the game with Bologna look closer than it was. By that point, the fans at the Stadio OIimpico had already made their feelings clear, whistling the team, Juric and — most importantly — the board.
Who will replace Juric? The Italian press are talking about a move for Roberto Mancini, who recently stepped down as coach of Saudi Arabia, or even a return for De Rossi. Whoever takes charge will have a tough job on their hands, with Roma 12th in Serie A, 11 points off European qualification. — Kirkland
José Mourinho antagonizes Turkish federation
José Mourinho is back to being his grumpy and provocative self after joining Fenerbahçe in July.
The 61-year-old former Chelsea and Inter boss already had to watch the UEFA Europa League between his side and AZ from the stands, because he was serving a one-match ban after his red card against Manchester United. On top of that, Mourinho had to serve a one-match ban on Sunday, as Fenerbahçe trounced Sivasspor. Mourinho celebrated Fenerbahce’s late win over Trabzonspor the previous weekend with an attempted knee slide in front of opposition supporters.
After Trabzonspor had been awarded two penalties, he said his team had played “against the VAR and against the system” and that VAR official Atilla Karaoğlan was “drinking Turkish tea” instead of following the game. The attempted knee slide was deemed by the Turkish Football Federation to be “unsportsmanlike conduct.”
Mourinho’s side currently sit second in the Turkish Süper Lig, five points behind leaders and rivals Galatasaray. Let’s see what the Portuguese eccentric will do next in Istanbul. — Eckner
