The Weekly Take, Issue 197: Stumbling Towards the Finish Line

Real Madrid's lead over Sevilla at the top of La Liga was slashed to four points after Real drew 0-0 against Villarreal. What should have been a routine victory for Los Merengues was anything but that. Despite generally being in control of the match, particularly in the second half, Real just could not close it out. Luka Jović and Gareth Bale both had shots strike the crossbar, while Serge Aurier's last-ditch block at the goal line ensured that the score would remain level at the final whistle.

Almost from the beginning of this season, Real have been expected to cruise to the league title, largely due to the struggles of Barcelona and Atlético Madrid - ordinarily their chief rivals. This has not been the case at all, however. Real's lead over second-placed Sevilla is much smaller than what most (including many of Real's fans) would have expected at this point.

Real's recent form in La Liga has certainly been a cause for worry. Real have won just three of their last seven league matches and dropped what ought to have been many easy points along the way. While they remain in the driver's seat as far as the chase for the league title is concerned, they cannot afford to become complacent as they seem to have lately. Sometimes, it almost seems as though Real expect to sleepwalk their way to a league title while exerting minimal effort; this complacency appears to be at the root of their recent slump.

As a matter of fact, the main reason why Real remain in first place in the league right now is Sevilla's own slump. Prior to Sevilla's recent 2-0 victory over Elche, the Andalusian club had drawn their preceding three league matches and thus missed a golden opportunity to overtake Real and put themselves on track for a first league title since 1946.

In any case, with Real's Champions League round of 16 tie against Paris Saint-Germain approaching, the outlook does not favour Real at all. In their current form, an away match against one of the favourites to win it all is exactly what Real did not need. I'd even go so far as to say that Real should regard a close loss in the first leg as a satisfactory result. That's how unlikely a victory seems at the moment.

While Real did have a hot start to the season, they gradually began to take their foot off the accelerator as they pulled further ahead and simply have not been able to rediscover their early-season mindset and form. Though it may be a cliché to say that "winning is a habit", that aphorism certainly seems to be true in Real's case.

There might also be a possibility that Real have been distracted by the ongoing transfer sagas surrounding Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappé, and their likely off-season moves to the Santiago Bernabéu. Borussia Dortmund have not been able to construct a roster which will put Haaland in contention for Champions League titles or permit the Norwegian to be a perennial Ballon d'Or contender., while Real's interest in Mbappé has been something of an open secret for several years now. These were the transfer headlines that dominated the recent January transfer window. Certainly, it wouldn't be surprising at all if that has had an effect on Real's recent lack of form.

Even if Real end up reclaiming the La Liga title which they surrendered to cross-town rivals Atlético last season, this season will likely go down as an unsatisfying one - to those within the club as well as its fans. So much more was expected of Real when this season began, especially considering the fact that Carlo Ancelotti returned to the Real dugout. During the Italian's previous stint as Real's head coach, he led Real to the Champions League title in 2014. Such an outcome, unfortunately, seems unlikely this season.

Claiming this season's La Liga title is a bare minimum for Real. Failure to do so would surely be one of the worst chokes in European football for a very long time. The way that Real have been playing, that scenario is not completely out of the question. Although they should still win the league, nothing is a certainty - especially at this level.

The Weekly Take, Issue 196: Emerging from the Pack

At the beginning of the Bundesliga season, most people assumed that the real question would not be about who would win the title or even finish second. It was generally assumed that Bayern Munich would clinch yet another league title by an enormous margin. Similarly, most expected that Borussia Dortmund would comfortably finish second, well behind Bayern but far ahead of every other team.

That assumption about Bayern has, unsurprisingly, been proven true. The Bavarian powerhouse have a nine-point lead over Dortmund and will win the league barring a collapse of truly historic proportions.

However, although Dortmund are currently in second place, their spot is by no means safe. This is especially so after the most recent Bundesliga matchday which saw Bayer Leverkusen take Dortmund completely apart in a 5-2 victory. Taking advantage of the absence of Dortmund's ace striker Erling Haaland, Leverkusen dominated proceedings from the first moments, scoring their first three goals in an 18-minute first-half span. With the victory, Die Werkself pulled to within five points of Dortmund and could conceivably surpass their fellow northwestern club by the end of the season.

Leverkusen have also begun to move clear of the chasing pack and solidify themselves in third place in the league. Even if they do not end up ahead of Dortmund in the final standings, a third-place league finish would be Leverkusen's best result in six years.

Of course, it must not go unmentioned that Leverkusen's surge this season has been aided by several external factors; the most noteworthy of these are the departure of former RB Leipzig head coach Julian Nagelsmann to Bayern Munich as well as the ongoing uncertainty surrounding Haaland's future at Dortmund. At some point, Haaland is expected to leave Signal Iduna Park for Real Madrid; this has proven to be a major distraction during Dortmund's current season.

That being said, none of this takes away anything from how impressive Leverkusen have been this season, especially relative to expectations. Leverkusen's greatest strength was on full display in their victory over Dortmund - their formidable attacking unit. Leverkusen have arguably one of the most underrated groups up front in European football. With players such as Moussa Diaby, Karim Bellarabi, Patrik Schick, and Florian Wirtz who at just 18 looks like an all-time great in the making, Leverkusen have been scoring at an elite rate this season. Their 54 goals in 21 league matches ranks them joint third alongside Dortmund in goals per match among all clubs in Europe's four major leagues.

Returning to the point about Wirtz and his potential, it could very well turn out to be the case that Leverkusen's fortunes over the next five years are contingent on Wirtz's development. It isn't often that a generational talent falls into a team's lap just like that. Now, Leverkusen find themselves in such a fortuitous situation with Wirtz and must thus make the most of their window of opportunity - especially because at some point down the line, it is highly likely that Wirtz will leave Leverkusen to join a bigger, more iconic club. That being said, if Wirtz develops into the player he seems capable of becoming, the sky is the limit for Leverkusen for as long as the German starlet remains at the BayArena.

Head coach Gerardo Seoane was not a well-known figure outside his home country of Switzerland when he accepted the position at Leverkusen at the start of this season. However, with more than half the season gone and Leverkusen looking stronger than ever, Seoane deserves plenty of credit. While this could be a case of a performance boost caused by the arrival of a new man in the dugout, what Seoane has been doing appears to be sustainable. What might be most impressive is that in spite of his general lack of experience, let alone experience coaching in a major European league, Seoane seems to have a solid grasp about what makes this team tick and how to maximize his players' abilities.

All things considered, Leverkusen's emergence from the chasing pack to challenge Dortmund should not be seen as something too far out of the ordinary. This had been building for a while now. Certainly, the real challenge lies ahead, though - that of not only maintaining their spot, but also potentially finishing second in the league ahead of Dortmund while also making a deep Europa League run.

The Weekly Take, Issue 195: A Mere Husk of His Former Self

At the conclusion of the 2021-22 mid-season, transfer window, it should be obvious that the most noteworthy signing made was the transfer of Dušan Vlahović from Fiorentina to Juventus. Juve's acquisition of the rising star from Serbia might be exactly what they need to revitalize their floundering season. At just 22 years old, Vlahović already possesses remarkable goalscoring prowess. With 38 league goals over the past one-and-a-half seasons, Vlahović appears likely to emerge as one of the best strikers of his generation. The Bianconeri's payout of €70 million to Fiorentina already seems like a remarkable bargain.

However, another notable transfer - this one on the other end of the spectrum - took place on the final day of the transfer window. Barcelona acquired Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Arsenal by way of a free transfer. Considering the Gabonese striker's stunning decline since the beginning of the 2020-21 season, it should not have come as a surprise that Aubameyang was deemed surplus to requirements at the Emirates Stadium.

The fact that Aubameyang's play has completely fallen off a cliff should not come as a surprise. At 32, the fact that Father Time has caught up to him is certainly not unusual in any way. The part which is truly shocking, however, is just how abrupt and sudden Aubameyang's decline turned out to be.

Just a season and a half ago, Aubameyang had concluded a season which saw him find the net 22 times in the Premier League while also spearheading Arsenal's victorious FA Cup campaign. He was selected as a member of that season's Premier League PFA Team of the Year as well as Arsenal's Player of the Season.

From the 2015-16 to 2019-20 seasons spanning two-and-a-half seasons at Borussia Dortmund and the same amount of time at Arsenal, Aubameyang scored an extremely impressive 170 goals in 228 matches across all competitions, including 123 in 164 league matches. At that point, it seemed as though Aubameyang could do no wrong in front of goal.

No one could have foreseen the events which were to follow. Last season, "Auba" managed just 10 league goals - his lowest tally in 12 years. He then went on to follow that up with just four in 14 league matches for Arsenal this season before the Gunners decided that they'd seen enough and sent him on his way to Catalonia.

It is exceptionally rare that a player goes from "elite" to "washed" in such a short timespan. Unfortunately, Aubameyang fits that description perfectly. It really does feel like just yesterday that Aubameyang struck terror into the hearts of defenses across the Bundesliga and Premier League as well as in continental tournaments. In his prime, Aubameyang's technical prowess, off-ball movement, and of course, his blistering speed made him one of the world's best centre-forwards for several years. During his time at Arsenal, there were occasions when Aubameyang put the team on his back and dragged some true dumpster-fire teams to unlikely victories.

Sadly, that version of Aubameyang will never be coming back. As one might expect, Aubameyang's speed was the first major element of his game to disappear. However, it was his speed which was the foundation of the rest of his playstyle. His off-ball movement was no longer as fluid as it once had been and he could neither zip past defenders to create that extra bit of space nor leave them in his dust when taking them on one-on-one any longer.

As Aubameyang begins his tenure at Barça and enters the closing stages of his career, there are many questions being asked about how he will fare at Camp Nou. However, based on the evidence on display since the start of the 2020-21 season, the Blaugrana should consider themselves fortunate that they did not spend even a cent to land Aubameyang.

There are some footballers who age like wine and some who age like milk. It should be evident by now that Aubameyang has aged like the lactose-filled beverage. For this reason, Aubameyang will likely be spending a great deal of time on the Barça bench as what seems to be a sad ending to an otherwise excellent career begins to unfold. Now, could it be possible that he may have a sudden revival at Barcelona? It could - but that outcome is highly unlikely.

The Weekly Take, Issue 194: The Empire's Collapse Is Complete

AC Milan and Juventus both dropped crucial points in their respective quests for the Serie A title and a Champions League qualification spot with a 0-0 draw in a crucial league match. It was a match which was reflective of the final score - obvious chances were rare and both teams lacked the killer touch on the offensive end. Juve can count themselves rather fortunate to have escaped San Siro with a point after failing to register even one shot on target.

Nevertheless, the result leaves Juve in fifth place in the league, 11 points behind leaders Inter Milan but having played an additional match. This means that if the season were to end today, Juve would fail to qualify for next season's Champions League. If Juve were to remain outside the top four at season's end, it would be the first time in 11 years that the Bianconeri would miss out on Europe's leading club tournament.

Juve's collapse over the past two seasons has been stunning to witness. During the period spanning the 2011-12 and 2019-20 seasons, Juve won the Serie A title every single time, often by massive margins. They also won four Coppa Italia titles and reached the final of the Champions League in 2015 and 2017, losing to Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively.

The point of origin of Juve's collapse can easily be pinpointed: the firing of former head coach Maurizio Sarri at the end of the 2019-20 season. Juve had just come off an upset loss at the hands of Lyon in the Champions League. In a move that few saw coming, Sarri was forced out of the club the very next day and replaced by Andrea Pirlo. This would prove to be a catastrophic move as in his one season in charge at Allianz Stadium, Pirlo would turn in one of the worst single-season coaching performances of the last decade. Despite inheriting a loaded team, Pirlo somehow managed to take Juve to a highly disappointing fourth-place finish in the league. He also presided over a last-16 Champions League exit and was deservedly fired at season's end.

The return of Massimiliano Allegri to the Juve dugout at the beginning of this season temporarily brought some optimism. However, it soon became clear that the problems at Juve extended far beyond the identity of the head coach. Juve stumbled out of the gates this season, dropping cheap points left, right, and centre. Despite topping their Champions League group, their upcoming round of 16 tie against Villarreal will by no means be straightforward.

Allegri's tactics in his second stint in charge of Juve have also been questionable on many occasions. His decision to deploy Adrien Rabiot as a winger has been a real head-scratcher, while his midfield pairings in his 4-4-2 formation which combine any duo of Weston McKennie, Manuel Locatelli, Rodrigo Bentancur, and Federico Bernardeschi are clearly not working. It can even be argued that the very fact that Allegri favours a 4-4-2 formation is suspect; this formation is considered to be outdated and obsolete by most.

Additionally, Juve made an inexcusable error in the transfer window of the previous off-season by failing to account for the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo. This left them with Álvaro Morata, Paulo Dybala, and Moise Kean as their primary strikers. As was so clearly shown against Milan, Juve have unsurprisingly struggled up front all season long. With the two-thirds mark of the season approaching, the Turin club have found the net a meagre 34 times over 23 league matches. To put this figure in perspective, Juve score fewer goals per league match than do clubs such as Leicester City, Valencia, 1. FC Köln, and Eintracht Frankfurt - not exactly the most distinguished of company.

It's still too early to write the obituary on Juve's season, of course. However, the way things are going, the future does not look good for Juventus at all. This doesn't just apply to the rest of this season - it could be years before Juve are once again a genuine contender for domestic or continental titles. There seems to be no end in sight to their woes.

The powerhouse that was built over so many seasons has clearly been brought down in just one. A long, long rebuild seems likely.

The Weekly Take, Issue 193: Back to Haunt Them Again

Manchester City's almost-complete dominance of the Premier League continued when they beat Chelsea 1-0 during the most recent league matchday. This time, it was a player once rejected by Chelsea who came back to strike another blow against his former club.

Kevin De Bruyne scored the only goal of the match to clinch the victory for the Citizens. City's victory extended their lead at the summit of the Premier League to 11 points. On the other hand, the Blues' loss saw them surrender second place in the league to Liverpool, who beat Brentford 3-0.

Even to this day, it remains almost inconceivable how Chelsea managed to let a generational talent like De Bruyne slip through their fingers. The Belgian's first season as a Chelsea player in 2012-13 was spent on loan at Werder Bremen. While in northern Germany, De Bruyne clearly established himself as a star of the future. The Belgian was named the Bundesliga's Young Player of the Year after almost single-handedly saving the club from relegation at the age of just 21.

Inexplicably, Chelsea took absolutely no notice of this and almost never fielded him after his return to Stamford Bridge. De Bruyne would feature in just three league matches during the first half of the 2013-14 season before being signed by VfL Wolfsburg for €22 million in January 2014. It would be at Wolfsburg where De Bruyne would emerge as a bona fide superstar. He was selected as the Bundesliga's Player of the Year in 2014-15 after leading Wolfsburg to second place in the league - their best finish since their astonishing league triumph in 2008-09. De Bruyne was also the driving force behind Wolfsburg's first-ever DFB-Pokal title in that same season.

Not long after, City came for De Bruyne's services and signed him for €75 million. The rest, as they say, is history. Almost seven years later, De Bruyne has now become a true City legend - easily one of the Manchester club's five best players ever with an argument for #1. He is rightly recognized as one of the best playmakers in the world not only today, but also of all time. To top it all off, De Bruyne has even arguably surpassed former Chelsea teammate Eden Hazard as the greatest Belgian player ever.

Chelsea's failure to retain De Bruyne is absolutely inexcusable. After being presented with the evidence of what he'd done in his one season on loan at Werder, it should have been obvious that De Bruyne was "that guy". For some reason, however, Chelsea chose to ignore the proof and left him behind Oscar, Willian, and André Schürrle in the pecking order. None of those players ever ended up being even close to De Bruyne's level. Undoubtedly, Chelsea's decision to give up on De Bruyne in 2014 has to go down as one of the all-time transfer fails.

Astonishingly, just a few months after De Bruyne's departure, Chelsea would repeat the same error with his compatriot. Over the preceding two seasons, Romelu Lukaku had established himself as a legitimate goalscoring threat in the Premier League. Lukaku had just finished a season on loan at Everton, where he had amassed double figures in the goals column for the second time. Nevertheless, Chelsea deemed him to be surplus to requirements and made his spot at Everton a permanent one. Lukaku would later go on to become one of the world's best centre-forwards, culminating in a victorious Serie A campaign with Inter Milan in 2020-21. Ironically, Lukaku has since returned to the London club, only to enter the worst slump of his career to date.

To be fair to Chelsea, they are run much better today than they were three or four years ago. It is much less likely that the Chelsea of today would have failed to see De Bruyne's potential the way that the Chelsea of back then did. However, every new page that De Bruyne continues to add to his story only serves to rub it in even more - the only two words that come to mind are "what if".

There are some mistakes that never truly leave a club because of how utterly monumental in scope they are. Despite what Chelsea have already accomplished in the years since De Bruyne's departure, no one can dispute that every time he comes back to haunt them, it was entirely of their own doing.

The Weekly Take, Issue 192: Fizzling Out After a Hot Start

Napoli began the 2021-22 season in molten-hot form, winning their first eight Serie A matches and surging into first place in the league. At that point, it somewhat felt as though Gli Azzurri were fated to win their first league title since 1990, given the fact that this was their first complete season since the tragic death of Diego Maradona just over a year ago. The Argentine was not only arguably the greatest player of all time; he was also by far Napoli's greatest and most iconic player. As such, one might have expected the team to become more driven than ever before to "win it for Diego".

However, since then, their blistering early-season form has petered out. This was evidenced in a 1-1 draw against Juventus, a result which extended a dismal run of form in the league. Dries Mertens put Napoli ahead midway through the first half, but Federico Chiesa's equalizer ensured that the Bianconeri would put yet another dent in their Campanian rivals' league title bid.

With that result, Napoli now lie six points behind league leaders Inter Milan despite having played one additional match. Even more alarmingly, over their past nine league matches, Napoli have collected just two wins and amassed a mere nine points, allowing both Inter as well as AC Milan to overtake them and almost certainly guarantee that the Scudetto will stay in the city of Milan barring a remarkable turn of events in the following months.

Napoli's form in European competition has also been less than stellar. Drawn into what should have been a relatively simple Europa League group containing Spartak Moscow, Leicester City, and Legia Warsaw, Napoli could only finish second in Group C. They lost out on top spot to Spartak on head-to-head record and thus missed out on a direct round of 16 spot. This also means that in what would be a significant shock, Napoli could very well end up exiting the tournament in the round of 24. They have been drawn against Barcelona in that round; despite Barça's struggles this season, they will nevertheless prove to be difficult opposition for Luciano Spalletti's team.

It will only get more difficult for Napoli in the coming weeks. Three of the club's players have departed for Cameroon to represent their countries at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations. Crucially, two of them are among Napoli's most important players: Senegalese defender Kalidou Koulibaly and Cameroonian midfielder André-Frank Zambo Anguissa. In the duo's absence, Napoli will have to find some way to rediscover their early season form; Atalanta and Juve are nipping at Napoli's heels in the chase for the final two of Serie A's four Champions League qualification spots. Any further slip-ups will almost certainly be punished.

In the ongoing January transfer window, Napoli should seriously consider acquiring a proven goalscorer. At the halfway point of the current Serie A season, Dries Mertens is Napoli's leading goalscorer with six league goals as of this post. This is worrying for two reasons: 1) it is alarmingly low figure for a club's leading scorer at this point of the season and 2) Mertens is 34. The attacking players who are in their prime have not been racking up the goals as one would expect. This lack of firepower up front has become increasingly evident in recent weeks; Napoli have scored just two goals over their last four league matches.

Napoli's lack of activity in the off-season transfer window has also come back to bite them. The only money they spent on transfers last summer was on Anguissa when they brought him in from Fulham; even that money was merely one of the requirements of a loan deal. While Napoli aren't necessarily as loaded with cash as are some of the other leading Serie A clubs, the absolute pittance they spent on transfers is inexcusable for a club at this level which intends to compete for domestic and European silverware.

There's certainly still time for Napoli to turn it around. However, considering the facts that this season's Serie A was poised to have one of the most open and hard-fought title races ever and that Napoli were among the favourites to win the Europa League, it's starting to feel as though after their blazing start, Napoli might just find themselves experiencing something of a "lost season".

The Weekly Take, Issue 191: An Extremely Costly Loss

The battle for the last two of La Liga's four Champions League qualification spots could scarcely be more hotly-contested. As of this post, nine teams spanning from Real Betis in third place to Espanyol in 11th are separated by just seven points. Two of these nine teams faced off during the most recent La Liga matchday, with Atlético Madrid snapping a four-match losing streak by beating cross-town rivals Rayo Vallecano 2-0. Ángel Correa's brace was enough to help Atlético leapfrog Rayo; the win put Atlético on 32 points to Rayo's 30.

With half of the season having already elapsed, Rayo are on course for the most successful league campaign in the club's history. Their previous best league finish was eighth; this occurred in the 2012-13 season. This fact is especially impressive given the fact that Rayo were only just promoted from the Segunda División at the end of last season after beating Girona in a two-legged playoff final.

Rayo's surge up the league table this season has also come without anyone even close to being a true superstar. By far the biggest name on their squad is Radamel Falcao. The Colombian veteran arrived at the Campo de Fútbol de Vallecas via a free transfer from Galatasaray during the off-season. However, he is the biggest name in fame only; this is backed up by the fact that he only has four league starts thus far this season.

The key figures behind Rayo's success this season have been players such as Óscar Trejo, Isi Palazón, Stole Dimitrievski, Alejandro Catena, and Santi Comesaña. They have proven to be able to give anyone a tough match on any given day; this was most clearly shown back in October when they beat Barcelona 1-0.

Rayo have also turned their stadium into a veritable fortress. Of the nine league home matches which Rayo have played up to this point, they have won eight. The only one which they did not win was a goalless draw against Celta Vigo. Rayo are not merely beating opponents at home; they are crushing their opposition. They are winning their home matches by an average of two goals.

That being said, this unexpected success has forced Rayo to re-evaluate their objectives for this season. Rayo now find themselves right in the midst of a highly competitive race for the top four. With this in mind, this was a match which they absolutely could not afford to lose, especially given the fact that reigning league champions Atlético were in an alarming slump prior to the all-Madrid clash.

It should also be noted that the corollary of Rayo's incredible home form is their dismal away form; it is the reason why they are only in sixth place in the league at the moment. Their loss against Atlético meant that from the 10 away matches they have played thus far, Rayo have collected a meagre five points. If Rayo end up failing to qualify for next season's Champions League, it seems more than likely that their poor play on the road will be the main culprit.

Rayo's lack of experience in this situation might also go on to be their undoing. As was mentioned, never in the club's history have Rayo been this close to Europe's leading club competition. Some of the other clubs involved in this dogfight include Atlético and Barça who are usually title contenders but are having down years this season. Also in the hunt for Champions League spots are Valencia, Villarreal, and Real Sociedad - all teams with considerable experience in top-four chases. Thus, it should not come as all that much of a surprise if the pressure were eventually to make Rayo crumble.

None of this, of course, should take anything away from what Rayo have already accomplished. In the first half of this La Liga season, Rayo have been successful beyond even what their most devoted fans could ever have imagined.

However, now that Rayo Vallecano know where in the league they truly stand, they now have to gird their loins for an almighty push for a Champions League spot. Unfortunately for them, their loss to Atlético was not only highly costly in the moment; it might signify the moment when their top-four challenge began to unravel. That being said, it's still clearly up for grabs; however, Rayo are by no means likely to clinch a historic Champions League berth.