The pill does not pass in Marseille
Frustrating 2-1 defeat for the Marseillais who believed in it, especially after Angel Gomes’ equalizer. PSG opened the scoring thanks to a new goal from Ferran Torres who came on just before, the Marseille midfielder equalized in the 72nd minute with a superb sequence, but OM were punished in the process. 2 minutes later, Marquinhos came to score his 3rd goal in 6 Ligue 1 matches and offered the Classic to PSG, a year after his team’s defeat in Marseille. “Sadly predictable“, writing Provence. The defeat was, but the scenario was not necessarily. Almost everyone expected a demonstration, it never took place, we instead had a contested and close Classic on the scoreboard. Marseille’s best on a technical level, Amine Gouiri showed that he could compete in this type of match, he was surely missing a friend as skilled on a technical level, the complete opposite of Neal Maupay who missed two huge chances. “I would like to be like Kane or Haaland“, quipped Maupay in the mixed zone, disappointed by his missed opportunities. Given the situations, it would have been enough to be Kostas Mitroglou to slip at least one to the bottom, but it is the image of Marseille’s performances in recent weeks. Reasons for hope, the game, but defeats which follow one another.
The clash of Madrid coaches gets people talking
Direction Spain where the derby between Atlético de Madrid and Real turned in favor of the Colchoneros. 2-1 success for Atléti thanks to goals from Grimaldo and Jonathan David, it was Antonio Rüdiger who reduced the gap for Real Madrid, insufficient to bring something back from the Metropolitano. No need to dwell on the level of play in this meeting, as is often the case in La Liga, it was the refereeing which took over the football. The two teams but especially the two coaches were much more inspired in the press conference than tactically. Several contentious situations sparked debate, notably fouls by Lee Kang-In and Cristian Romero which deserved a red according to José Mourinho. The Portuguese coach broke down at a press conference, before being taken back by Diego Simeone. A clash which is obviously making headlines in Spain, particularly in the newspaper A.S.which puts a layer on arbitration. “The derby was fraught with infamous refereeing, unworthy of a league that aspires to be the best in the world. And this Ortiz Arias is from Madrid. I would have preferred a Catalan referee. Unfortunate.“, we can read in the editorial of the Madrid newspaper. One more scandal for La Liga!
Alexander Isak’s great return to form
Liverpool are better with a 1-0 victory at Bournemouth thanks to a new goal from Alexander Isak. A year after his XXL transfer from Newcastle, the Swedish striker is finally measuring the expectations of the Reds. Spared by injuries, Alexander Isak has already scored as much in the Premier League as last season. “The main reason to be cheerful is striker Alexander Isak, who won the match here. If he continues like this, Liverpool management will finally get a return on their £125m mega-investment and see the sharp, efficient striker they thought they were buying a year ago. Iraola, too, will have greater scope to succeed with an in-form Isak to rely on.”, can we read in the Daily Mail. Andoni Iraola also spoke about his number 9, he was very complimentary about his performance and overall about his start to the season, while adding a little hint of demand because he knows he can still do better.
