European Football Weekend Round-Up By Zach Lowy

The final day before the October international break served up one of the finest matches of the season, as Liverpool and Manchester City served up an instant classic at Anfield in a nail-biting 2-2 draw, but it also produced a treasure trove of thrilling upsets. Ajax lost their first league match since December 5, 2020, as Ajax loanee Quinten Timber came off the bench and set up Django Warmerdam’s winning goal for Utrecht. Bayern Munich lost their first official match under Julian Nagelsmann as Filip Kostić set up Martin Hinteregger’s opening goal and scored the decisive second to lead Eintracht Frankfurt to a comeback victory at the Allianz Arena. One week after defeating Roma in the Derby della Capitale, Lazio suffered a humiliating 0-3 loss to Bologna, whilst bottom-placed Saint-Ètienne held Lyon to a draw in the Derby Rhône-Alpes thanks to a 95th-minute penalty from Wahbi Khazri.

RB Salzburg & Napoli Retain Thier Perfect Records

Three teams in Europe’s top six leagues entered Sunday perfect in league play, and two of those fell to defeats. After securing a victory against Manchester City at the Parc de Princes, Paris Saint-Germain lost 0-2 to Rennes thanks to goals from Gaëtan Laborde and Flavien Tait, whilst Benfica failed to build on their dominant win against Barcelona and lost 0-1 to Portimonense. It means that only two teams in Europe’s top ten domestic competitions have won every single match thus far: Red Bull Salzburg and Napoli.

After a shocking 2-3 loss to Spartak Moscow in the Europa League, the Partenopei maintained their two-point lead over Milan atop Serie A after erasing Fiorentina’s early lead and winning 2-1 via goals from Hirving Lozano and Amir Rrahmani. Napoli narrowly missed out on Champions League football on the final day of the season after drawing to Hellas Verona, prompting Gennaro Gattuso to receive his marching orders and be replaced by Luciano Spalletti. What followed was a summer of cost-cutting measures and frugal spending: Elseid Hysaj and Nikola Maksimović departed on free transfers, with Juan Jesus replacing the two after the expiry of his contract at Roma. Tiemoué Bakayoko departed after the end of his loan spell from Chelsea, with Napoli again returning to West London to sign a former Ligue 1 midfielder on loan: André-Frank Zambo Anguissa.

Spalletti Getting the Best Out of Osimhen

Spalletti has moved away from Gattuso’s 4-2-3-1 and instead implemented a 4-3-3 formation with Zambo partnering Piotr Zieliński and Fabián Ruiz in midfield. This switch has seen Fabián enjoy his best form yet in Italy, playing ahead of the injured Diego Demme and Stanislav Lobotka and operating as the midfield director, the link between defence, midfield, and attack, and whilst he has been shifted into a deeper role, he has the freedom to advance into the edge of the opposing team’s box without leaving his team exposed defensively, as noted by his two goals and two assists.

After two years of inactivity, Spalletti has returned to coaching and has Napoli clicking on all cylinders, comfortable enough to retain possession in the opposing third and pin their opponents deep into their own half, whilst not conceding many dangerous chances. The back four of Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Amir Rrahmani, Kalidou Koulibaly and Mário Rui has been solid as ever, whilst David Ospina continues strong in goal at 33 years of age. They have found the right balance in attack as well with Hirving Lozano and Lorenzo Insigne operating on the flanks, but perhaps no one has been more important in the team than Victor Osimhen.

After an injury-plagued 2020/21 season, the Nigerian forward is finally living up to the club-record fee that Napoli splurged on him last year to sign him from Lille. His four goals are only surpassed in Serie A by Edin Džeko, Lautaro Martínez, and Ciro Immobile, and even though he failed to get on the score sheet against La Viola, he made his presence felt as is customary. His physicality and aerial prowess allow him to come out on top in the majority of duels he faces, he is a restless presser who forces the defence to build out from the back carefully and slowly to avoid turning over possession, and his passing and efficiency in transitions have been a godsend for the Partenopei. Luciano Spalletti has worked wonders with the likes of Aleksandr Kerzhakov, Mauro Icardi and Francesco Totti, and Osimhen is the next striker to reap the rewards of the 62-year-old manager.

Spalletti has put together a phenomenal CV across his three decades coaching in Italian football, although his only league titles came during his spell at Zenit. While it’s still early days in the season, Napoli are dreaming of their first league title since 1990 — when Spalletti was playing in Serie C with Spezia.

Granada’s Struggles

Two years after miring in the Segunda’s mid-table positions, Granada enjoyed a historic campaign that saw them finish 7th in La Liga and narrowly lose to Athletic Club in the Copa del Rey semifinals. The following year reaped similar rewards for Diego Martínez’s side, who finished 9th in the league, lost in the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey, and defeated the likes of PSV and Napoli before losing to Manchester United in the UEFA Europa League quarterfinals — their first-ever participation in European competition in the club’s 90-year history.

This season, however, has not been as kind to the Nazaríes. Martínez departed the club at the end of the 2020/21 season following a legendary three-year spell, with former Monaco and Spain manager Roberto Moreno being appointed as his replacement. The club lost important cogs Yangel Herrera, Dimitri Foulquier, Kenedy, Roberto Soldado and Rui Silva — the latter of whom departed on a free transfer to Real Betis. Granada elected to fill Silva’s void between the sticks by signing his compatriot Luís Maximiano, who arrived on a four-year contract for an initial fee of €4.5 million.

Luis Maxímiano will join Granada for €4.5 million + €500,000 if Granada stay up in the Primera, signing a contract through 2025. Sporting will receive a 10% sell-on clause, per @pedromsepulveda.

Looks like Granada have found their Rui Silva replacement — another Portuguese.

— Zach Lowy (@ZachLowy) August 13, 2021

Portugal’s Long-term Successor for Rui Patrício

Born in Celeirós, Aveleda e Vimieiro, Portugal, Maximiano joined Sporting’s academy in 2012, making his way through the Alcochete youth ranks before making his debut for the first team on September 26, 2019. He needed just two months to overtake Brazilian veteran Renan Ribeiro as the starter, and it seemed that Sporting had finally found a long-term successor for Rui Patrício. 

Instead, Sporting signed 33-year-old Antonio Adán on a free transfer after the expiry of his contract at Atlético Madrid, limiting Maximiano to just five appearances in 2020/21. The Spaniard has been worth his weight in goal under Rúben Amorim, playing a vital role in Sporting’s first league title in 19 years, but nevertheless forced Maximiano to seek greener pastures. A move to Udinese fell through after the Zebrette elected to sign Marco Silvestri to replace the departing Juan Musso, but Maximiano would not have to wait long and joined Granada on August 15.

After starting the season with two draws against Villarreal and Valencia, Granada fell to a 4-0 defeat to Rayo Vallecano, meaning that Maximiano benched Aarón Escandell in the first game after the international break, facing off against his predecessor Rui Silva and losing 2-1 to Real Betis. The following match, however, Maximiano delivered a world-class performance and nearly led Granada to a shock victory at the Camp Nou, only for Ronald Araújo to equalize for Barcelona in the final minutes. He was unable to lead Granada to a point against Real Sociedad as a brace from Aritz Elustondo delivered a 3-2 win to La Real, but he had nevertheless registered 20 saves within his first three matches. Maximiano made four saves in the following match against Celta Vigo, including a penalty save against Iago Aspas, but left the game injured and was unable to prevent Denis Suárez from scoring the late winner in the 94th minute.

As fate would have it, their first victory would come against Sevilla, with Granada taking the lead early on as Ruben Rochina pounced on Diego Carlos’ poor clearance and curled a superb left-footed finish from 30 yards out. Sevilla’s failure to grab an equalizer was more of a product of their ineffective finishing rather than a masterclass in goal from Maximiano, but a win is a win, and this one was enough to lift them out of the relegation zone.

Granada will likely not be dreaming of European nights as they have become accustomed to under Martínez, but their 22-year-old goalkeeper has what it takes to keep them alive in Spain’s top-flight this season. Between him and Diogo Costa, Portugal are spoiled for choice when it comes to finding a long-term successor for Rui Patrício in goal.

Diogo Costa has been given the starting spot in goal for Porto as Agustín Marchesín recovers from an internal meniscus injury, and he's been rewarded with a debut for the Seleção and delivered with a MOTM performance against Sporting.

✍️ for @betcoza.https://t.co/L3ARQdEfak

— Zach Lowy (@ZachLowy) September 15, 2021

Benfica Suffer First Defeat

Benfica have enjoyed a stellar start to the 2021/22 season under Jorge Jesus, eliminating Spartak Moscow and PSV Eindhoven to book a place in the UEFA Champions League group stage, winning their first seven matches in the league, and taking a 3-0 victory over Barcelona, their first win against the Blaugrana since the 1961 European Cup Final. However, they were subdued to their first loss of the campaign as Portimonense took a 1-0 win at the Estádio da Luz. It means that Benfica head into the international break with a slim one-point lead over Porto and Sporting atop the league table, whilst Portimonense sit in fifth place and trail newly promoted Estoril by one point.

Portimonense began their campaign on the right foot as a late goal from Beto, one of the breakthrough stars of last season with 11 goals and 3 assists, which led them to a 1-0 victory over Vitória de Guimarães. Whilst they fell to defeat the following weekend against Gil Vicente, they responded with a 3-0 win against Tondela with Beto opening the scoring once again. Less than 24 hours after the win, Udinese submitted an offer for the 23-year-old striker, which was rejected, prompting the striker to go to social media to demand a transfer and ask to not play in the following match against Paços de Ferreira, which saw Paços win 1-0 via a goal from Douglas Tanque. After a brief, yet ugly transfer saga, Beto joined Udinese on deadline day for a reported fee of €10 million.

Despite the absence of their attacking talisman, Paulo Sérgio’s side enjoyed a productive September with one win and two draws, before winning at the Estádio da Luz for the first time in club history. Benfica were undoubtedly the better side, with 24 shots to Portimonense’s 5, 7 shots on goal to Portimonense’s 3, and 69% possession to Portimonense’s 31%, and they would have surely won had it not been for a heroic performance in goal from Brazilian goalkeeper Samuel Portugal. It wasn’t pretty; they parked the bus, wasted time incessantly, and committed what is known in Portugal as ‘anti-jogo,’ but they nevertheless secured the three points as Lucas Possignolo converted from a corner kick.

Paulo Sérgio admitted after the match: “Do you see Benfica lose at home every week? The reason for the party is justified, but it’s only worth three points. It was very difficult to win these three points. Samuel had four or five fabulous moments, he is a Portimonense player and he is there for that. But he doesn’t win in Luz, especially in the euphoric moment Benfica was going through, after the result against Barcelona, ​​which dignifies our football, without that little bit of luck. Luck is a lot of work. If you ask me if Benfica deserved to lose, I would say no, I have to be honest, but the victory is very good for my players, for what they did.”