European soccer news: Chelsea hit new low, Atletico keep Madrid at bay

We kick off February with one other weekend of Europe’s finest soccer. While there was some consideration targeted on the latter phases of the Africa Cup of Nations and the Asian Cup, this is not to remove from the drama we noticed all throughout the continent. In Germany, Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen acquired essential wins as they proceed to battle for the Bundesliga title. In Spain, Barcelona snatched a victory towards Alavés whereas shock bundle Girona didn’t win for the primary time in practically a month because the LaLiga race heats up. In France, PSG triumphed towards Strasbourg as they put together for the return of the UEFA Champions League.

On Sunday, Chelsea reached one more all-time low because the Stamford Bridge trustworthy booed the Blues off the pitch following a 4-2 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers. In Spain, Real Madrid appeared primed to make the most of Girona’s dropped factors by main Atlético Madrid in second-half stoppage time, just for Los Blancos academy graduate Marcos Llorente to equalise for Los Rojiblancos within the 93rd minute and keep LaLiga’s title battle rumbling on.

Here’s what else you missed in European soccer this weekend.

– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga & more (U.S.)

SUNDAY REVIEW

The lead: Chelsea discover a new nadir

Stamford Bridge hasn’t been house to many nice reminiscences for the Chelsea trustworthy since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital took over the membership in May 2022. And but, amid 20 months of turmoil, Sunday’s 4-2 defeat to Wolves would possibly simply be the nadir of this undertaking — to date.

Cole Palmer, the lone brilliant spot of this marketing campaign for the west London membership, opened the scoring at 19 minutes. After that, all of it went downhill for the hosts.

Matheus Cunha equalised simply three minutes later, an Axel Disasi personal purpose put Wolves in entrance at half-time, and Cunha accomplished his hat trick — the primary customer to take action at Stamford Bridge since Sergio Aguero in April 2016 — from the spot within the 82nd minute. A Thiago Silva comfort purpose did little to console the few followers who caught round for the whole 90 minutes.

Chelsea gamers had been vociferously booed at the full-time whistle. Earlier within the match, a foul-mouthed chant orchestrated by the Wolves supporters, telling the hosts simply how poor they had been, was adopted by the vast majority of the house followers, too.

“I think we are all not good enough,” supervisor Mauricio Pochettino mentioned after the match, along with apologising to supporters for his facet’s efficiency. “At the moment, this is the reality. Myself, also. What we are showing today is we are not good enough.

“At the second, we aren’t matching the historical past of the membership … that’s true. We want to simply accept and be crucial. We won’t hand over.”

Boehly and Clearlake were meant to oversee a forensic reimagining of Chelsea, a process that would restore the club to the summit of English football. Instead, they’ve spent more than £1 billion on transfer fees and sacked two full-time managers, with nothing to show for it.

Every dropped point takes them further away from the European football that the club so desperately needs to finance its lavish spending. With Chelsea now 11th in the Premier League table and Pochettino showing few signs that he can navigate a route back to the top, it’s becoming easier to imagine the club’s leadership adding a third full-time manager to the pile of collateral damage — even if it’s a fate Pochettino might not necessarily deserve. — Austin Lindberg

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Sunday talking points around the leagues

Díaz shines but Atlético keep Madrid from running away with LaLiga

Brahim Díaz wasn’t supposed to start the Madrid Derby.

In fact, when Vinícius Júnior’s back pain forced him out of the Real Madrid starting XI during the warmup at the Santiago Bernabeu, Díaz wasn’t even the obvious alternative. Centre forward Joselu, who scored twice against Getafe in midweek, was first expected to come in as a last-minute replacement to face Atlético Madrid.

Instead, coach Carlo Ancelotti opted for Díaz. He was rewarded with a man-of-the-match performance, including the early goal that put Real Madrid up 1-0 and in the driver’s seat, a position they looked to be holding onto until Marcos Llorente’s added-time equaliser saw the game end 1-1. The decision to start him was proved right, although Ancelotti’s subsequent move to withdraw Díaz with 20 minutes left will come under scrutiny given how the game ended.

Díaz’s goal was the highlight of the first half. When the ball fell to him inside the Atlético box in the 20th minute, he kept his head, controlling before coolly finishing past Jan Oblak in the Atlético goal. From that moment, Real Madrid were on top, Atlético on the back foot. Still, there was time for drama at both ends. Atlético had a Stefan Savic headed goal disallowed for offside, Saúl Ñíguez interfering with goalkeeper Andriy Lunin’s view. Jude Bellingham had a penalty appeal turned down.

Rodrygo spurned a great chance to put Madrid up 2-0, shooting wide when he had teammates in more central positions waiting for a pass. After 70 minutes, Díaz fashioned another, glorious chance of his own, dancing past defenders Mario Hermoso and Axel Witsel before his shot drifted wide. He was substituted for Joselu moments later to an ovation from the Bernabeu crowd.

At that point, Real Madrid were on course to extend their lead over Girona at the top of the table. Llorente’s late header meant they eventually had to settle for maintaining a two-point advantage after Girona had also drawn 24 hours earlier.

Díaz has quickly become a fan favourite. He’s different, unpredictable, an old-fashioned dribbler who’s willing to take risks and take on defenders. After a quiet start to the season — when Ancelotti appeared not entirely convinced by the former Milan forward’s ability to contribute — he’s now one of Real Madrid’s most dynamic, incisive players, alongside Bellingham and Vinicius the most likely to change a game with a moment of quick thinking, creative ingenuity.

He has scored seven goals in all competitions, four of them in LaLiga, a respectable figure that becomes impressive when you consider that 10 of his 18 league appearances have come as a substitute. Competition from Vinicius, Rodrygo, Joselu and even Bellingham in the forward line means he might never be a guaranteed starter. But right now, it’s hard to argue that he doesn’t deserve a place in the team, especially after this display. Let’s see if he starts against Girona next weekend. — Alex Kirkland

Liverpool wobble in title slip at Arsenal

Liverpool suffered their first Premier League defeat since September as mistakes by two of their most important players — Virgil van Dijk and goalkeeper Alisson Becker — gifted Arsenal a 3-1 win to keep Mikel Arteta’s team in the title race.

Jurgen Klopp’s outfit had emerged as the biggest threat to champions Manchester City by building a 15-game unbeaten run in the league since losing at Tottenham Hotspur on Sept. 30 — a defeat that ended with Liverpool losing both Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota to red cards. While the Reds remain top of the table after losing at the Emirates, though, Arsenal’s win moved them to within two points of the leaders while City — five points off the pace in third — can now claim top spot if they win their two games in hand, starting with Monday’s trip to Brentford.

Liverpool only have themselves to blame for the loss, however, with all three Arsenal goals rooted in defensive mistakes.

Bukayo Saka opened the scoring for the Gunners at 14 minutes after Kai Havertz’s shot was pushed into his direction by Alisson, but Gabriel Martinelli’s goal at 67 minutes — which restored Arsenal’s lead after an own-goal equaliser by Gabriel — came from a defensive meltdown by Van Dijk and Alisson, who collided on the edge of the penalty area to leave Martinelli with an open goal from 18 yards. Liverpool had dominated the second half until that stage, but Martinelli’s goal gave Arsenal renewed belief, and they made it 3-1 in stoppage time when Leandro Trossard burst down the left before beating Alisson at the near post.

With Dominik Szoboszlai missing after aggravating a hamstring problem and Mohamed Salah still out with the injury suffered during Africa Cup of Nations duty with Egypt last month, Liverpool were without two of their most potent attacking players. Their defeat wasn’t down to attacking shortcomings, though — it was a result of uncharacteristic errors by Alisson and Van Dijk. — Mark Ogden

Inter in control of Serie A after Derby d’Italia win

Is the Serie A title race done and dusted? After Inter Milan beat Juventus 1-0 on Sunday in a top-of-the-table Derby d’Italia, it sure seems like it.

The 2020-21 Italian champions now have a four-point lead over the Turin club, the head-to-head advantage and a game in hand. Inter have been so good this season (only one loss and three draws from 22 games played), it’s hard to see how they could blow their lead. They showed their class against their biggest rivals for the title. Only Juve could realistically stop them going all the way, but the difference between the two teams at San Siro was obvious.

Even if the visitors had a couple of interesting moments, they could not break a very good Inter defence and were lucky to lose by only one goal as the leaders created many chances through Marcus Thuram, Nicolò Barella and Marko Arnautovic. Inter were too strong, too solid, and even if they were a bit lucky with the Federico Gatti own goal that gave them the win, they were worthy victors. Hakan Calhanoglu ran the game from midfield once more while Thuram, who forced the own goal, was decisive again.

Simone Inzaghi and his players, who have already won the Italian Supercoppa and are still in the Champions League, are in command of Serie A. And that was never really in doubt. — Julien Laurens

Arsenal’s title hopes dealt hammer blow

Unbeaten by West Ham United in 10 previous meetings and having kept clean sheets in five of those, Arsenal would have been looking for a routine win away in Dagenham on Sunday, but Rehanne Skinner’s Irons had other ideas. In their early meetings, during West Ham’s first days in the Women’s Super League, the newcomers made life far from comfortable for the Gunners. As the Hammers settled into their new surroundings, though, Arsenal wedged a gap between the two, keeping the Irons at arm’s length, yet the game on Sunday felt much more like those early clashes.

The defending from the hosts was tireless; Honoka Hayashi, Hawa Cissoko and winter signing Katrina Gorry ran themselves into the turf over the course of the game as West Ham frustrated the title chasers. Having struggled against tight defences all season, the Gunners grabbed a surprising goal late in the first half when Alessia Russo was left unmarked to nod a parried effort home, and there was a question about the floodgates opening after the break.

However, the hosts hit the ground running at the restart and soon had a penalty that Viviane Asseyi stroked home less than 10 minutes before Cissoko volleyed a sublime effort into the back of Manuela Zinsberger’s net. Then it was all about the strength of West Ham’s defence and their ability to repel Arsenal’s better efforts, the Gunners again causing their own problems with a lack of dynamic movement and an unwavering predictability about how they wanted to play.

The frustrations from Arsenal heightened by the referee waving play on after a sloppy challenge on Cloe Lacasse in the box, the second penalty shout for the Gunners of the game. The visitors will have a fair gripe with the officiating but the blame for their dropped points will land at their own doorstep.

The warning signs have been there all season for Arsenal, the team unconvincing in their wins over Aston Villa, Manchester City, Everton and even Bristol City. As it is, the Gunners lose pace on Chelsea and City at the top of the table as West Ham take a step away from the drop zone.— Sophie Lawson

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Americans abroad: De la Torre powers Celta past Osasuna

Luca de la Torre scored his first purpose in LaLiga on Sunday, as Celta Vigo beat Osasuna 3-0 at El Sadar. The 25-year-old midfielder additionally assisted on Celta’s opener, giving him his sixth and seventh purpose contributions since transferring to the Spanish prime flight in the summertime of 2022.

In England, Gio Reyna made his extremely anticipated debut for Nottingham Forest. The 21-year-old playmaker on mortgage from Borussia Dortmund got here off the bench within the 78th minute, changing Anthony Elanga, because the Midlands membership drew 1-1 at AFC Bournemouth.

There was a Concacaf conflict in Serie A, as Canada worldwide Tajon Buchanan’s Inter Milan prolonged their lead over Juventus atop the desk with a 1-0 win. Weston McKennie went the complete 90 minutes for the Bianconeri whereas Timothy Weah performed the ultimate 24 minutes.

In the Bundesliga, Kevin Paredes went 90 minutes for VfL Wolfsburg whereas John Brooks did the identical for TSG Hoffenheim as these two drew 2-2. Brenden Aaronson appeared within the ultimate quarter-hour of Union Berlin’s 2-0 defeat at RB Leipzig. — Lindberg

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News of the day

• Mikel Arteta has mentioned he believes Arsenal are firmly within the Premier League title race and vowed to be taught classes from final season after beating leaders Liverpool 3-1 at Emirates Stadium. “We are there, that’s for sure,” Arteta mentioned. “We want to continue to be there. We’ve been really consistent all season, if not you aren’t where we are today.”

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And lastly, on Sunday …

It was clear to Arteta: if Arsenal had been going to beat Liverpool, they had been going to wish assist. He needed the backing of the Gunners trustworthy, he needed to copy the environment of Anfield, a cauldron of noise and intimidation, and ship it right down to north London.

It wasn’t one thing he simply hoped for, although. He set about making it occur. Sources instructed ESPN’s James Olley that Arteta was integral within the manufacturing of a prematch hype video to get pulses racing on Holloway Road.

“That’s the best atmosphere I’ve seen all season,” Arteta mentioned after the match. “We are connecting with our people. We tried to produce a video to tell them how much we need them. [The fans] got the best out of every player today.”

Perhaps Arteta can relaxation simple within the information that, ought to he ever tire of this soccer lark, there is a profession ready for him in movie manufacturing.

SATURDAY REVIEW

The lead: Leverkusen, Bayern proceed neck and neck for Bundesliga title

A sigh of aid swept by the Allianz Arena following Bayern Munich’s hard-fought 3-1 win over Borussia Monchengladbach. The guests employed an identical strategy to final Sunday after they secured a goalless draw with the Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen. This time, the group managed by Gerardo Seoane even managed a purpose within the first half, because of Nico Elvedi intercepting a Manuel Neuer go meant for Thomas Müller. Elvedi initiated a fast one-two with USMNT participant Jordan Pefok earlier than beating Neuer with a wonderful strike.

Bayern scored the equalizer on the stroke of half-time when Leroy Sané made a strong run down the wing earlier than discovering Müller within the center, the place the 34-year-old veteran assisted teenager Aleksandar Pavlović. While Bayern appeared extra comfy with the ball than Monchengladbach, supervisor Thomas Tuchel couldn’t have been pleased with how fruitless many spells of possession had been all through the second half. Bayern needed to thank Monchengladbach goalkeeper Moritz Nicolas, who was not capable of clear the ball towards Müller within the seventieth minute, thus permitting Harry Kane to attain from shut vary whereas Nicolas was scrambling on the ground.

Interestingly, at instances, Monchengladbach took extra dangers to create goal-scoring alternatives at the Allianz Arena than they did towards Leverkusen final day trip. As good as Bayern are, they don’t seem to be essentially instilling worry of their opponents at the second. But regardless of all of the criticism in direction of Tuchel and his gamers, Bayern stay solely two factors behind Leverkusen. The Bundesliga leaders comfortably received 2-0 in Darmstadt, with Nathan Tella recording his first brace as a Leverkusen participant. The Arsenal academy graduate was signed from Southampton for €23 million final summer season however had not lived as much as expectations earlier than the winter break.

Leverkusen supervisor Xabi Alonso might be happy that backups resembling Nathan Tella and Josip Stanisic have gotten actual options, particularly with how busy the schedule is in February. Leverkusen host VfB Stuttgart on Tuesday within the DFB Pokal quarterfinals earlier than combating over Bundesliga prime billing with perennial champions Bayern Munich subsequent Saturday. — Constantin Eckner

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Saturday speaking factors across the leagues

Barca defeat Alaves in match with extra referee controversy

In simply 13 minutes, Vitor Roque scored the purpose that earned Barcelona a 3-1 win at Alavés and managed to select up two yellow playing cards, the second incomes him a purple and leaving his supervisor, Xavi Hernández, completely seething, as soon as once more, in regards to the refereeing in LaLiga.

Roque, Barça’s lone January signing, had made a reasonably low-key begin to his profession in Spain. He failed to attain in his first 5 appearances following his switch from Athletico Paranaense, however he has been within the headlines this week. The 18-year-old Brazilian worldwide scored the winner off the bench towards Osasuna in midweek and made an on the spot influence in Vitoria on Saturday, too. Four minutes after approaching, he cooly slotted house to seal the factors for Barça, however his night quickly took a downturn.

On a reserving, an innocuous problem on Rafa Marín led to a second yellow card and a disputed purple, with Xavi moaning Barça are being made to pay for the Negreira case — an investigation into funds Barça made to the businesses of the previous vice-president of Spain’s refereeing physique, José María Enríquez Negreira.

“It’s a refereeing error against us — it’s just an unfair dismissal, if we are being honest,” Xavi mentioned. “I just ask the referees to let us compete in LaLiga. This is another case of clear mistake against Barça. Everyone can see the reality.”

Xavi’s complaints took the main focus away from what was a reasonably comfy win by Barça’s current requirements. Robert Lewandowski and Ilkay Gündogan scored actually good objectives, Andreas Christensen did properly in a new midfield position and kids Pau Cubarsí and Lamine Yamal proceed to impress. That’s two wins in two since Xavi introduced he’ll step down in the summertime. Barça are hanging in there for now and can hope title rivals Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, and Girona will all drop factors as they play one another over the following two weeks. — Samuel Marsden

PSG proceed to prepared the ground in Ligue 1, even with an unconvincing win

How many instances in the previous couple of weeks have we seen the identical situation? PSG win in Ligue 1 however they do not play properly or they do not create a lot, get pegged again, or wrestle defensively?

They normally get the three factors however merely do not persuade. Ten days earlier than the primary leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie towards Real Sociedad at the Parc des Princes, the Parisians acquired one other stuttering 2-1 victory away to Strasbourg on Friday evening. They had been 2-0 up at halftime because of Kylian Mbappé and Marco Asensio however conceded many probabilities with their opponents scoring and hitting the woodwork. Until the top, they had been below strain. It was the identical towards Brest at house final weekend (2-2), and at Lille earlier than Christmas.

Against Lens, they sealed their 2-0 win within the dying minutes however earlier than that, even with 10 males, Lens triggered them bother. Toulouse had 17 pictures at the Parc des Princes towards PSG final month of their 2-0 loss. For all of the management that supervisor Luis Enrique is speaking about and desires his group to have, general, it’s not ok. Paris can rating at any time due to their unimaginable attacking abilities however after they haven’t got the ball, they’re too susceptible.

It was far too simple for Strasbourg to create probabilities. In Ligue 1, PSG might be wonderful and they’re at the moment 9 factors away from second place Nice. But within the Champions League? The lack of stability and defensive construction and management might be points. Luis Enrique mentioned in December that his group can be a lot better in February. We are in February and Paris usually are not getting higher. La Real will fancy their probabilities on Feb. 14 in Paris. — Julien Laurens

Girona drop factors to Real Sociedad at house

Girona missed the prospect to return to the highest of LaLiga forward of Sunday’s Madrid derby as they had been held to a goalless draw by Real Sociedad at Montilivi on Saturday. In isolation, it isn’t a nasty level towards a La Real facet who will meet Paris Saint-Germain this month within the Champions League and are additionally into the semifinal of the Copa del Rey.

However, in a title race with a relentless Real Madrid group, it might imply Girona finish the weekend 4 factors behind the leaders if Carlo Ancelotti’s facet beat Atlético at the Santiago Bernabeu. Girona then journey to Madrid subsequent weekend, with Daley Blind and Yangel Herrera dominated out of that journey after choosing up their fifth bookings of the season. Despite the shortage of objectives, this was an interesting affair. La Real pressed the house facet tirelessly and it took Girona some time to get going. They thought they’d opened the scoring within the twenty fourth minute however, after a protracted VAR assessment, an offside was given towards Sávio, who had arrange the purpose for Herrera.

There had been 36 seconds between the offside and the ball hitting the web. The stability of the sport continued to shift, with the frenzied tempo offering loads of motion, however neither group might steal the factors. The frustration was all an excessive amount of for Girona coach Míchel, who misplaced prime scorer Artem Dovbyk to damage forward of the match, and he was despatched off late on for protesting.— Marsden

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Americans overseas: Pulisic and Musah the excessive factors on a lackluster day

The American duo of Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah has continued to impress in Italy as each USMNT gamers noticed minutes in Milan’s 3-2 win over Frosinone as they give the impression of being to proceed to place their head within the Serie A race, with Juventus and Inter solely forward of them within the desk. Despite having to sweat it out ultimately because of a Luka Jovic winner, Pulisic was capable of begin the match and play 80 minutes for Stefano Pioli’s facet. In comparability, Musah got here off the bench to play the final 4 minutes however it was sufficient to safe all three factors for the Rossoneri.

Meanwhile, again within the Bundesliga, Pefok was capable of document an help for Elvedi’s opening purpose for Borussia Monchengladbach of their match towards Bayern Munich. Finally, it was extra disappointment for the USMNT contingent within the Premier League as Tim Ream’s Fulham had been unable to beat Burnley and needed to accept a 2-2 draw whereas Auston Trusty’s Sheffield United had been left bamboozled by Aston Villa because the Villans scored 5 previous the promoted facet, who look extra unlikely to flee the abyss that’s the final place spot of the desk, with relegation to the Championship trying extra probably than ever. — Roberto Rojas

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News of the day

• Real Madrid supervisor Carlo Ancelotti says he “won’t sink to the level” of Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández and president Joan Laporta after each accused Madrid of “influencing the competition” with the criticism of LaLiga referees. “I’m a professional, and as a professional, I don’t want to sink to that level, out of respect to Spanish football,” Ancelotti mentioned “Don’t ask me about that anymore. I don’t want to sink [to that]. It isn’t a level for professionals.”

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And lastly, on Saturday …

We noticed an eight-goal thriller within the northeast of England as Newcastle United hosted Luton Town, with each groups coming off large wins towards Aston Villa and Brighton & Hove Albion, respectively. Sean Longstaff was capable of give Eddie Howe’s a 2-1 lead after 23 minutes together with his brace however by the point Elijah Adebayo scored his fourth purpose in two matches, the Hatters had been 4-2 up at St. James’ Park. Nevertheless, Newcastle did not hand over with Kieran Trippier and the just lately returned Harvey Barnes scoring as a fast response to Adebayo’s purpose to offer each groups a degree in a 4-4 draw.

Newcastle and Luton handled us to an absolute thriller at St James’ Park 📊 pic.twitter.com/oiKTzw9Esy

— Premier League (@premierleague) February 3, 2024

It’s secure to say that was definitely essentially the most entertaining sport inside Europe’s prime 5 leagues however it additionally painted a much bigger image of how each groups can reply from this consequence. For Newcastle, it is a case of them making an attempt to construct momentum after failing to do any enterprise within the winter switch window which additionally contains not making an attempt to drop factors at house as they aspire to qualify for a European competitors subsequent season after being eradicated from all of it this season. For Luton, it is a case of them feeling that their possibilities of escaping relegation are in a very good place however that the journey remains to be lengthy with the race to not go down from the Premier League nonetheless getting tighter than ever.