What an incredible weekend of soccer, eh? Liverpool put their big rivals, Man United, firmly in check with a historic 7-0 win at Anfield, while Arsenal and Man City picked up very different wins to remain locked in a Premier League title race. In LaLiga, Barcelona snuck a win over Valencia while Real Madrid were frustrated by Real Betis, results that give Xavi & Co. some breathing room at the top of the table. (Oh, and Atletico Madrid scored six -- six! -- against Sevilla.)
In the Bundesliga, Dortmund and Bayern both won to maintain the tension in the title chase, while Serie A saw differing fortunes for Milan and Inter, respectively. Then there's Kylian Mbappe, making history (again) in Paris.
It's Monday, and Gab Marcotti reacts to the biggest moments in the world of football.
It's not about the 7-0 score, it's how you react to it ... for both Liverpool and Man United
Games like Liverpool's 7-0 win over Manchester United on Sunday have different meanings for different stakeholders. It's United's worst defeat since 1931, and for supporters it will be the subject of song and banter for years to come. The more interesting aspect though is what the two managers, Jurgen Klopp and Erik ten Hag, take from it.
And that's not a wholly straightforward question because, until Cody Gakpo's opener in the 43rd minute, the game had been a relatively close-fought affair that felt as if it could have gone either way. Then three goals in the space of 10 minutes either side of half-time basically ended the game as a competitive affair. It's not something you see often and it makes it trickier to interpret, assuming you want to go beyond the banal "Liverpool were great, United were rubbish."
If you're Klopp and Liverpool, it's evidently a massive boost. Win your game in hand and you're fourth in the table, something you would not have taken for granted not that long ago, when they were ninth. Equally, we've been here before. Last season, Liverpool won this fixture 4-0 and, if anything, it was a more dominating performance, with Klopp's team racking up 2.33 expected goals while limiting United to just two shots and xG of 0.08. (They romped home in the reverse fixture, too, winning 5-0 at Old Trafford.)
On Sunday, Liverpool scored their seven goals from an xG of 2.37. They had eight shots on target and scored seven goals. That's not something you see very often either, and it's something you should not take for granted. Many of Liverpool's goals came on the back of defensive errors, several of them unforced, and he'll want to take that into account as well.
0 Comments