Eddie Howe’s Newcastle thrashed Aston Villa 4-0, settles in Champions positions and now has eight games without losing
The Newcastle thing is serious. After the poor start to the season by Leicester and West Ham, the Magpies are postulated as the only team capable of sneaking into the big six this season. They have only lost one game in the entire campaign, against Liverpool, and they are the team with the fewest goals conceded in the Premier League with ten goals conceded. Their start was timid and they added too many draws, but in recent games they have picked up cruising speed. After a prestigious victory last day against Tottenham, this time his victim was Aston Villa, still without Unai Emery on the bench. The Magpies are a very collective team, but one individual must be highlighted, the Paraguayan Almirón, a player of immense quality, but, until now, erratic in front of goal. This season, however, he is uncovering himself in this facet, and he has scored six goals in the last six games.
In the rest of the day on Saturday, Brighton’s victory stands out. The Seagulls still hadn’t won since the arrival of Roberto de Zerbi and they chose the best moment. They received Chelsea, trained by their previous coach, Graham Potter, and thrashed some disoriented blues 4-1. City, with Haaland injured, narrowly beat Leicester with a spectacular free-kick from Kevin de Bruyne. It was not the best game for Guardiola’s men, against some combative foxes who have improved a lot in recent days.
Conte’s Tottenham also won with suffering, after coming back from 2-0 against Bournemoth. Bentancur scored the final goal in the last minute, to the delight of the Italian coach. Liverpool, meanwhile, suffered a shock home defeat at the hands of Leeds. Jesse March’s men arrived at the worst moment of the season, but they achieved a fundamental victory at the last minute, which ends the streak of Virgil Van Dijk, who had never lost at Anfield -70 games- since his arrival at Liverpool in 2018.
Yesterday the day closed with two meetings. The leader, Arsenal, received the bottom team, Nottingham Forest, and Arteta’s men showed no mercy. Perhaps wanting to get even for the last two setbacks (in the Premier and Europa League) they put a hand on Steve Cooper’s team and regained the lead, which Manchester City had provisionally taken from them.
And what did United do? Well, he defeated West-Ham 1-0 with a goal from Marcus Rashford in a match in which Cristiano was once again a starter after his punishment in the last Premier match. The Red Devils overtake Chelsea and move within a point of fourth place, with a game in hand against Newcastle.
A league:
In Italy, Napoli continue their triumphal march. After beating Rangers midweek in the Champions League, he did the same against Sassuolo (4-0) with a Victor Oshimen hat-trick. Spalletti’s men have not yet lost a game this season and remain leaders for another week.
Juventus also won (0-1) with a solitary goal from youth squad Fagioli. Allegri’s men faced the duel with important casualties -Vlahovic and Locatelli- and after the disappointment in the Champions League against Benfica. Despite this, they achieved an important victory, the third in a row, and are close to the European positions.
Inter closed the day on Saturday beating Sampdoria 3-0. The first game on Sunday was that of Atalanta, who visited Empoli. Gasperini’s men won (0-2) and remain in Champions League positions.
The only team that lost from those above was Lazio, 1-3 against Salernitana, who surprised at the Olympic. Sarri’s men missed the opportunity to place themselves in second position because the one that occupied that place, Milan, lost to Torino in the match that closed on Sunday. Tough defeat for Pioli’s men (2-1), which leaves them six points behind Napoli. Mourinho’s Roma will play tomorrow, with the opportunity to place themselves in Champions League positions.
In Germany, the star duel of the day pitted Eintrach Frankfurt against Borussia Dortmund. The triumph was taken by those from the Ruhr basin, 1-2, a result that places them fourth. Bayern also won 6-2 against Mainz with a new goal from Choupo-Moting, who has scored five consecutive games. The Cameroonian striker arrived quietly in Munich and before Lewandowski’s departure he is establishing himself as the team’s starting striker. The result placed Bayern provisional leader, who after a difficult start has already won four games in a row. But the joy lasted just one day for the Bavarians, because on Sunday Union Berlin regained first place. They were hosting tough opponents Gladbach and the match turned uphill for them when the visitors took the lead in the first half. However, the Union was proud; tied in the 79th minute and scored the winning goal in the 97th minute, prolonging the dream of seeing themselves as leaders for one more week.
The fifth team in discord in this Bundesliga, Freiburg, visited Schalke. Those from the Black Forest obtained a new victory (0-2) that puts them back in the third position that they had momentarily lost in favor of Dortmund.
Ligue 1:
The day in France opened on Friday with a victory for Lens (3-0) against Toulouse. Since its promotion two seasons ago, the northern club has obtained two meritorious seventh places, remaining at the gates of Europe. It seems that this campaign may be the definitive one; right now they are second to five points behind PSG. The Parisians also won, although they suffered more than expected against the humble Troyes (4-3), with a goal from each member of the trident, Mbappé, Messi and Neymar. Marseille for its part continues its losing streak. He saw how Strasbourg tied him in the last minute (2-2), together with his defeat during the week in the Champions League. Although they still depend on themselves to qualify for the next round, the European competition is taking its toll on Igor Tudor’s men, who have added just one point from the last twelve. Quite the opposite happens with Rennes, who beat Montpellier 3-0 and have accumulated five consecutive victories.
The victory of the Breton team places them third, overtaking Lorient, who lost their match against Nice (1-2). After a great start, the merlus have deflated and have not achieved victory in the last three games, losing their place in the Champions League. In the match that closed the day, Lyon defeated Lille 1-0 with a goal from Lacazette, in the second consecutive victory since the arrival of Laurent Blanc.
