The Weekly Take, Issue 346: "El Cholo" Does It Again

Having surrendered first place in La Liga to cross-town rivals Real Madrid after losing 1-0 against Leganes, Atlético Madrid entered their Champions League match against Bayer Leverkusen not only seeking to bounce back, but also to tighten their grip on their position in the top 8 and move a step closer to automatically qualifying for the tournament’s round of 16.

Atlético did indeed pick up the win in the penultimate matchday of the tournament’s league phase, putting them in fifth place with just an away match against the already eliminated Red Bull Salzburg remaining. However, the match didn’t exactly get off to the smoothest of starts for Atlético. Pablo Barrios was sent off in the 25th minute after a harsh tackle on Nordi Mukiele. Barrios had initially been shown a yellow card; however, a subsequent VAR check revealed that the foul was more severe than what the officials had initially assumed.

Leverkusen would go on to take advantage of having an extra player on the field. In first-half stoppage time, Mukiele sent in a cross which was finished off by a Piero Hincapié header to put the German club ahead going into the interval. Atlético would then score the equalizing goal less than seven minutes after the break via Julián Alvarez before Leverkusen themselves would be reduced to 10 men. In the 76th minute, Hincapié picked up his second yellow card after fouling Giuliano Simeone on the edge of the penalty area.

Atlético’s winning goal came in the last minute of regulation time. Substitute Ángel Correa set up Alvarez who then rounded Leverkusen goalkeeper Matěj Kovář before putting the ball into the empty net to finish off the 2-1 victory. It was Atlético’s fourth consecutive Champions League win and put them in a very strong position with just one matchday of the league phase left.

It has often been said that more than any other top team in European football today, Atlético embody their head coach’s tactical philosophy. This was on full display against Leverkusen as in front of a passionate home crowd, Diego Simeone had Atlético playing as the fullest expression of his inimitable (and somewhat divisive) strategic approach. Atlético had just 30% of the possession and took only five shots throughout the match; they also completed well under a third of all the completed passes played by either team.

Admittedly, Atlético once again carried out their share of the “dark arts” - but this has, somewhat controversially, always been a core tenet of this Atlético team under "El Cholo". Despite opposing teams and fans railing against it every now and again, Simeone has always been unapologetic about it. Time and again over the years, Atlético have essentially psyched out and harassed their opponents into a loss - and this was, in several ways, what again happened in the match against Leverkusen.

Ever since taking over at Atlético in 2011, Simeone has taken the club to its most successful era ever and from day one has instilled a tactical setup involving deep defending and counter-attacking play - almost the exact opposite of the free-flowing, visually appealing football advocated by many other coaches. To some neutrals, this has made Atlético almost unwatchable; however, the results speak for themselves and this was once again the case against Leverkusen as Simeone’s opposite number Xabi Alonso, for all that he’s already achieved in his short yet impressive coaching career, had absolutely no answer for the Argentine.

To prevail over Simeone’s Atlético team, it’s not enough to merely have the personnel and the tactics. This is a team which deliberately sets out to get into opponents’ heads - and against the unprepared, this often works. While certainly frustrating to play against and for many, to watch as well, there’s no question that it clearly works.

Whatever one may think of him, Diego Simeone again proved why he’s one of the greatest coaches of the modern era. Now in his 14th season at the Metropolitano, Simeone has achieved a level of success at Atlético Madrid that very few could ever have - and the reality is this: if he had never come in with the approach that he always has, Atlético would never have emerged as the clear third-biggest club in Spain, only behind Real and Barcelona.

The Weekly Take, Issue 345: A Missed Opportunity - Perhaps a Definitive One

 AC Milan’s away match against Juventus represented an opportunity for the Rossoneri to claw back some of their deficit to fourth place in the race for the last Champions League spot from Serie A; it also gave Milan a chance to deal a blow to their opponents’ chance of making the top four and thus qualifying for next season’s Champions League.

Instead, Milan succumbed to a 2-0 loss against the Bianconeri. Both of Juve’s goals came within a five-minute span in the second half. In the 59th minute, Nico González set up Belgian winger Samuel Mbangula whose shot bounced off the foot of Milan full-back Emerson on its way into the back of the net. Not long after that, Milan midfielder Youssouf Fofana lost possession in midfield, granting Khéphren Thuram to put substitute Timothy Weah through on goal with just Fikayo Tomori to beat - and the American did just that before putting his shot into the bottom corner and clinch the win for Juve.

After having fired previous head coach Paulo Fonseca on December 29 and hiring Sérgio Conceição the next day, many might have expected the usual upturn in form that usually comes with a new coaching hire. This, however, has so far not even been close to what has happened. Despite winning the Supercoppa Italiana - which isn’t even a major title - Conceição’s coaching debut in Serie A after having been at the helm of Porto for seven seasons has been off to a slow start.

Though it’s still very early in his current stint at the San Siro, early signs seem to show that Conceição still doesn’t quite “get it”. The main issue so far has most likely been his squad rotation. While it might be true that Conceição might not have been aware of this quite yet, the fact remains that the recent form decline of players such as Emerson and Fofana can likely be tied to fatigue. Part of Fonseca’s downfall was how he burned out some of Milan’s players by not rotating the squad as regularly as he should have; while there’s still time for Conceição to figure this out, it’s needless to say that this isn’t how things ought to have started for him.

With the January transfer window ending soon, it’s imperative that Milan do something about their squad depth - especially in midfield and up front. As of right now, Milan quite simply don’t have the depth of personnel at the level needed to make a legitimate top-four push. The match against Juve made this fact obvious as all four of Milan’s substitutes were all but completely ineffective, contributing essentially nothing of note.

Beyond that, Milan have to seriously start considering the futures of players such as Fofana, Yunus Musah, Ismaël Bennacer, and Tammy Abraham who are unlikely to be worth keeping around for the long term. It’s become increasingly obvious that none of them are of the calibre needed of squad regulars if Milan are to seriously contend for a Champions League berth next season. Milan have been linked with players such as Saba Goglichidze, Stephen Eustaquio, Marcus Rashford, and Samuele Ricci - certainly not names which move the needle in any notable way. Unless Milan can somehow pull off a significant signing out of seemingly nowhere before the transfer window ends, climbing into the top four by season’s end seems unlikely.

Among the players mentioned, Abraham deserves particular scrutiny. Against Juve, Milan were largely devoid of any output up front, managing just three shots on target. As the starting centre-forward stepping in for the injured Álvaro Morata, Abraham did not even attempt a single shot and was nothing more than a bystander for almost the whole match. The Englishman has become a mere shell of the player who had a breakout season at Roma just three years ago and who appeared to be set for a solid run of at least five to six years as a high-level striker. At this point, Abraham has become a liability and might not even have what it takes to even be a regular substitute.

AC Milan’s window to salvage their season is starting to close - and if they do end up missing out on the Champions League for the first time since, one has to wonder if Conceição will still be in the dugout when next season starts.

The Weekly Take, Issue 344: The Rut Deepens

Any thoughts that Borussia Dortmund might return from the Bundesliga’s mid-season break a completely changed team from the one seen before it - a team which hadn’t shown even the slightest bit of consistency and stability and had thus fallen behind in the chase for a top-four spot and a berth in next season’s Champions League - were swiftly put to rest following their match against Bayer Leverkusen.

Reigning Bundesliga champions Leverkusen raced out to an early 2-0 lead with Nathan Tella and Patrik Schick getting their names on the scoresheet within the first eight minutes of the match. Shortly after, Dortmund would halve the deficit when Jamie Gittens took advantage of Robert Andrich’s misplayed clearance to put it in from close range. Seven minutes later, Schick would score his second, ensuring that Leverkusen’s two-goal lead would be restored heading into half-time.

Dortmund were handed a late lifeline when in the 79th minute, Edmond Tapsoba fouled Julien Duranville in the box. Serhou Guirassy stepped forward to convert the penalty; however, that would be as close as Dortmund would come. With this latest loss, Die Schwarzgelbe have now won just one of their last five league matches and including this one, none of their last three at home.

To be fair to Dortmund, this was always going to be a difficult encounter following the personnel issues they’d experienced. Six players missed the match for various reasons including three of Dortmund’s usual starting back four. That being said, even most of Dortmund’s regular starters certainly looked out of sorts throughout the first half and only began to come to life after the break with players such as Maximilian Beier, Felix Nmecha, and Gregor Kobel having underwhelming showings at Signal Iduna Park. Notably, backup right-back Yan Couto was arguably Dortmund’s best player against Leverkusen - a clear indictment on the rest of the squad’s level of play not just in this match, but in general over the course of the season.

Another point that has to be addressed concerns Gittens. The Englishman is one of world football’s rising stars and at just 20, appears to have sky-high potential. He was one of the relatively few Dortmund players to have a solid performance against Leverkusen and is very possibly already Dortmund’s best player. Gittens’ rise makes it even more crucial for Dortmund to qualify for next season’s Champions League - should they fail to do so, there’s a very real possibility that the Berkshire-born winger will leave the club in the coming off-season. Gittens has already been linked with a move to several major clubs including, much to the dismay of Dortmund’s fanbase, arch-rivals Bayern Munich. That would unquestionably be a nightmare scenario for Dortmund; however, it’s one which might actually be realistic at this point.

Once again, the elephant in the room has to be addressed as well: for how long will Dortmund persist with Nuri Şahin in the dugout? Ever since accepting the position as Dortmund’s head coach this past off-season, the Turk has shown almost nothing but sheer incompetence. Once again, he fumbled the tactical setup and substitutions; with just about anyone else coaching, this could easily have been a winnable game.

At this point, it’s obvious that Dortmund’s ownership and front office are only keeping Şahin around for sentimental reasons - as a player, he was a club icon who spent ten and a half seasons at Dortmund, making 223 league appearances for the club. However, the fans in general ran out of patience months ago - it’s obvious by now that the longer Şahin stays in the position, the worse things will get for Dortmund. It’s long past time for the club to rip off the bandage, fire Şahin, and reset.

This isn’t yet an unsalvageable season for Borussia Dortmund, though. They still do have a realistic chance of making the top four in the league; they could also finish in the top eight of the league phase of the Champions League, allowing them to go straight into the round of 16. However, the way this season has gone so far, it isn’t particularly likely that either - let alone both - will end up happening. There can be no question that right now, Dortmund are headed in the wrong direction.

The Weekly Take, Issue 343: Alexander-Arnold the Not-so-great

Entering their match against arch-rivals Manchester United, Premier League leaders Liverpool were primed to take all three points and further extend their massive lead. The Reds had seen all their closest challengers drop cheap points in recent matchday while Liverpool themselves had been picking up win after win, taking steps towards reclaiming the league title they last won in the 2019-20 season. Additionally, United arrived at Anfield having lost their last three league matches and had slid all the way down to 14th place. This appeared to be a golden opportunity for Liverpool not only to tighten their stranglehold over what seemed to be a league title that was all but theirs, but also rub it in United’s faces while doing so.

This, however, turned out not to be so as Liverpool only managed a 2-2 draw against the Red Devils. Shortly after half-time, Lisandro Martínez broke forward and received a pass from Bruno Fernandes before firing it in off the underside of the crossbar to put United a goal ahead; however, Cody Gakpo scored Liverpool’s equalizer just seven minutes later. Liverpool would later take a 2-1 lead after Mohamed Salah scored a penalty after Matthijs de Ligt’s handball. Then, in the 80th minute, Amad Diallo - as he did against Manchester City - came up huge for United down the stretch, netting United’s second goal and ensuring that they’d leave Merseyside with a share of the points.

Almost immediately after the match, one Liverpool player was understandably singled out for criticism: Trent Alexander-Arnold. The English right-back had a dismal showing against United and was largely unable to deal with whatever United threw at him. Completely outplayed by his opposing counterparts Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot, Alexander-Arnold lost all five of his one-on-one duels and thus handed United a huge amount of space from which viable goalscoring chances could’ve been created.

On top of that, Alexander-Arnold’s positional play was an absolute disaster. On multiple occasions throughout the match, Alexander-Arnold allowed United to attack the penalty area from out wide even if he wasn’t dribbled past by a United player. His below-par situational awareness and frequent misreads capped off a performance to forget.

There can be almost no question as to why Alexander-Arnold played so poorly against United: it almost certainly has to do with the recent speculation linking Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid. Real have made it clear that they’re highly interested in landing the Merseysider either in the ongoing January transfer window or in the off-season. As of right now, Alexander-Arnold commands an expected transfer value of around €75 million - a figure well within Real’s means.

This then begs the question: has Alexander-Arnold mentally checked out? Does he himself actually want to leave Liverpool for the Santiago Bernabéu? If such is the case, that would go a long way towards explaining his showing against United. If a recent report in Marca were to be believed, Alexander-Arnold might not only be actively seeking a move to the Spanish capital but might even have already informed Liverpool of such. The report went on to claim that the chances of Alexander-Arnold renewing his contract at his hometown club where he’s spent all of his nine-season career to date are slim to none.

A mid-season departure might just end up derailing Liverpool’s season and shrinking their lead on top of the Premier League - perhaps even causing them to fall from first place. In addition to the obvious personnel hole which the departure of a player on the level of Alexander-Arnold would leave behind, the nature of his potential departure and all the buzz around it can only be highly disruptive to Liverpool’s season.

Up until now, it’s been plain sailing all season long for Arne Slot’s team. This is the first major adversity they’ve faced - and how they deal with this will not only determine if they have what it takes to stay the course domestically and claim the league title, but also perhaps if they are to make a serious push for the Champions League title as well.

If this is the end for Trent Alexander-Arnold at Liverpool, it’s been an absolutely tremendous nine years with the Reds; he will no doubt leave as a club icon. However, if his departure is indeed impending, the question has to be raised - has he already mailed it in, or will he actually take the rest of the season seriously?