What a weekend of action in Europe’s top soccer leagues! The Premier League’s title race feels like it’s taken a decisive turn thanks to Liverpool’s 2-0 win at Manchester City and Arsenal’s 1-0 home defeat to West Ham. Real Madrid and Barcelona picked up wins to share top spot in LaLiga, with Atletico Madrid just one point behind.

In Serie A, Napoli’s latest misstep — this time at Como — drops them out of first place as Inter Milan won 1-0 at home to Genoa. Elsewhere, there were talking points galore around Arsenal’s lack of firepower, Vincent Kompany’s brave coaching in Bayern Munich’s big win, and Man United’s continued slide.

Here are musings and reactions to the most memorable moments of the weekend.

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Liverpool take a giant step towards the title as Man City and Pep Guardiola still search for answers

I don’t think Liverpool have quite wrapped up the Premier League. My rule of thumb is that when the points lead is greater than the number of games remaining — net of head-to-head clashes — you can feel pretty good about yourself. We’re not there yet. If Arsenal win their game-in-hand and the six-pointer at Anfield on May 10, maybe Liverpool won’t win their first title in 30-plus years in front of their own fans (given that the last one was won during COVID).

If that happens, Arsenal would have to make up five points in 10 games, which is difficult –especially with Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka out — but not impossible. The problem: that’s a ton of “ifs.” You really have to convince yourself that Mikel Arteta’s side are going to magically improve and that fatigue and injuries are going to catch up with Liverpool. So yeah, Arne Slot’s title in his debut season is pretty darn close.

But more than the numbers, it’s the vibe Liverpool give off that makes you confident, and it was evident in the 2-0 win at Manchester City. Here, Slot deserves a ton of credit.

Coming off two draws, and two games in which they looked a bit leggy, he redesigned the team, dropping a forward and adding Curtis Jones to a de facto 4-2-2-2, with Luis Díaz and Mohamed Salah starting wide. Jones effectively formed the “box” midfield, with Dominik Szoboszlai alongside him, and the Ryan Gravenberch-Alexis Mac Allister tandem shielded the back four. The result was a ton of sterile possession for City, a better foothold in midfield for Liverpool and an easier time protecting Trent Alexander-Arnold whenever Jérémy Doku dribbled past him, which was often.

I’m not big on body language, but the calm Virgil van Dijk & Co. exuded at the back as City turned their 66% possession into a measly 0.65 expected goals told you all you needed to know.

Slot outcoached Guardiola on the day, and it’s a credit to him. But take a step back and, as I’ve written in the past, you get a better sense of his achievement.

He had never worked outside of the Netherlands. He was replacing a club legend in Jurgen Klopp. His one summer signing — Federico Chiesa — has played 28 minutes of league football this season. He changed the formation to a base 4-2-3-1. He changed the approach from Klopp’s percussive press to a more pragmatic and flexible style. He transformed a promising (if erratic) 22-year-old with 12 Premier League starts under his belt, Ryan Gravenberch, into a deep-lying playmaker and a model of consistency. Oh, and he did all this with three of his biggest stars — Virgil Van Dijk, Alexander-Arnold and, of course, Mohamed Salah — on the brink of free agency.

Don’t be surprised if Liverpool hit a road bump between now and the end of the campaign. He has rotated relatively little in key areas, fatigue was a component in their last two draws and, you imagine, some guys who have been over-performing will come back to Earth. But … so what? He’s on the verge of winning the title, he’s in the League Cup final and he dominated the Champions League group stage.

As for Manchester City, you can’t fault Pep Guardiola, who’s clearly still looking for answers and trying solutions. The enforced absences of John Stones and Erling Haaland weighed heavy for different reasons. When three of your back four is made up of Rico Lewis, Abdukodir Khusanov and Nathan Aké — at least in their current iteration — it’s going to be a rough ride. When Haaland is out, you have to redesign your entire attacking scheme, because whether it’s Omar Marmoush or Phil Foden, their skill sets will be totally different. Jeremy Doku, making his first start in more than a month, did his job out wide, but there were no answers coming through the middle.

Back-to-back comprehensive defeats — this one and the one at the Bernabeu in midweek — can have a lasting impact and further the sense of drift in this team. Pep can’t let this happen. Stress and pressure led him to twice try to walk away when he was at Barcelona — when they were winning everything in sight and he had a guy named Lionel Messi working for him — that’s unlikely to happen now. But he needs help, if only in terms of the messaging coming from the club. City have plenty to play for and things can go south very quickly.

Four games without a win and Napoli slip to second, not just for the reasons you think

Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at Como means Inter leapfrog Napoli at the top of Serie A and Antonio Conte was glum post-match, blaming “mentality.” Three points out of 12 from your last four games, when you’re not playing midweek, is a major slide if you’re trying to win the title.

The narrative out there is that Napoli are paying the price for the departure of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in January, and the fact that he wasn’t replaced (or replaced by Noah Okafor, which is kinda the same thing, since Conte only gave him 11 minutes on the pitch). There’s something to that. Obviously they’re better with Kvaratshkhelia than without him, especially in light of David Neres’ injury: had Kvara stuck around, Conte might have kept the 4-3-3 rather than shifting to the 3-5-2.

But that’s also a bit simplistic. Kvaratskhelia hadn’t scored for Napoli since October, and his last appearance was in December; Napoli’s poor results didn’t begin until February. Some of this, certainly Sunday, is on Conte. When you leave André-Frank Zambo-Anguissa on the bench because he’s a booking away from being suspended and you don’t want him to miss the big clash with Inter next week, replacing him with Phillip Billing, you’re not just getting a drop in quality — you’re getting a totally different player. More broadly, this is a team that just doesn’t create very much. They rank seventh in Expected Goals and the patterns-of-play-plus-physicality mantra that Conte preaches isn’t as productive as it once was.

The scudetto is by no means gone, and next week against Inter will be huge. But maybe it’s time to tweak the way Napoli play: less reliance on Romelu Lukaku (who hasn’t been up to par of late), less confidence on outmuscling opponents, more creativity. He has the time to work on it on the training pitch and the skills to make it happen. What he — and Napoli — don’t need are more excuses.

I hate to say “I told you so” when it comes to Arsenal and forwards, but …

Mikel Arteta took responsibility for Saturday’s 1-0 home defeat to West Ham and said he was “very, very angry.” It’s nice to see accountability, but maybe more than responsibility for the performance on Saturday — it wasn’t good: witness the number of times West Ham broke in transition and the fact they managed just two shots on target — he should take a look at how this team was built. I had no problem with Kai Havertz as center-forward — some wanted a £80m juggernaut up front, but that was just unrealistic — but the issue is the lack of alternatives. And now that Havertz is out for the season (as is Gabriel Jesus, who is not a viable alternative as a central striker, but at least has played there before), the proverbial chickens have come home to roost.

Going into the campaign without an insurance policy was evidently a mistake. Not bringing in someone in January, even on loan if you don’t want to (or can’t spend money) is doubling down on that mistake. Evan Ferguson, Mathys Tel, Randal Kolo Muani and Álvaro Morata … heck, even Chuba Akpom and Christian Kouamé — all of the above moved on loan in January, which means they were all in play for Arsenal. Not to start necessarily, just to have an option. They’re not all necessarily good, but they all know how to play center-forward. But, no. And then Havertz — who had started virtually every game this season — gets hurt and you are where you are.

And then Mikel Merino comes off the bench against Leicester, you stick him up front, he scores twice and presto! He’s the new center-forward. Except he isn’t, as we saw on Saturday. Nor can you conjure up some sophisticated “false nine” system: no, merely putting a midfielder up front does not make him a “false nine” because fixtures come thick and fast.

I don’t want to sound too harsh. Arsenal will likely finish second, they have a young team, there’s more to come and yes, if Bukayo Saka weren’t out too you would have papered over some of those cracks. What’s frustrating is that this situation was so freaking avoidable.

All eyes were on Real Madrid given that they’d dropped points after midweek wins in each of the past three weekends and, of course, they recorded another big midweek victory against Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League last Wednesday. Manager Carlo Ancelotti wheeled out a de facto 4-2-4 formation — Vinícius and Kylian Mbappé up front, Brahim Díaz and Rodrygo wide — against Girona, and handed the keys of the midfield to Luka Modric.

Wise choice. Despite Real Madrid’s dominance, things were starting to get a tiny bit nervy as half-time approached, and so it was the 39-year-old who uncorked a long-range sizzler to break the ice, before Vinicius added a second. This game was actually far more one-sided than the 2-0 scoreline suggests, and it felt like Mbappe and Vini could each have had a couple goals more.

It helped too that David Alaba was able to make his first league start since 2023, playing 72 minutes at a good level. I don’t know if we’ll see the Alaba of old — it will take more time, though at 32, he’s by no means done — but in the meantime his presence not only allows Aurélien Tchouaméni to return to midfield where he belongs, but also gives Antonio Rüdiger a much needed breather.

With Alaba part of the defensive corps, Ancelotti has options at every role in the back four: Asencio, Lucas Vázquez and (my choice) Fede Valverde at right-back, Rudiger, Alaba, Asencio and (reluctantly) Tchouameni at centre-back, Fran García and Ferland Mendy at left-back. He can now pick on form and fit, rather than merely on whether a particular player is capable of standing upright.

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QUICK HITS

10. Wild card Dani Olmo delivers three big points for Barcelona: His last LaLiga goal was in early November and his last start was in mid-December, which may lead some to wonder whether the expense — and the nonsense with his registration — was worth it, particularly with Gavi and Fermín López hanging around. But Dani Olmo showed he can be valuable to Barcelona, opening the scoring against Las Palmas (Ferran Torres would add a second in garbage time) in a game that proved to be tighter than some had anticipated. He started the move and after an exchange with Lamine Yamal, he finished it with some nifty footwork. Hansi Flick made four changes with the huge Copa del Rey semifinal against Atletico in midweek and, maybe, some were looking past Las Palmas. In situations like these, a guy like Olmo is invaluable. I wouldn’t have spent all that money on him (especially given Barca’s situation), but this is what he can do, perhaps better than any Barca player off the bench.

9. The Martinez boys deliver gritty three points for Inter vs. Genoa: Josep Martínez, filling in for the injured Yann Sommer, came up with some big saves against Patrick Vieira’s well-organised and intense Genoa. Lautaro Martínez showed, again, how his presence in this team is really non-negotiable, notching the only (deflected) goal in a tight game. Simone Inzaghi loves his rotation and if most of his team is still able-bodied at this stage of the season, it probably has a lot to do with it. But there’s an evident gulf between the difference makers (Fede Dimarco, Alessandro Bastoni, Nicolo’ Barella, Hakan Calhanoglou, Lautaro) and almost everybody else. Rotation is great and important in the modern game, but it’s usually your big players who will get you out of jams.

8. No signs of Bayer Leverkusen slowdown after January refresh: Xabi Alonso basically acquired five new players in January. Two were loan signings (Emi Buendia, Mario Hermoso) and three were incumbents returning after long injuries (Amine Adli, Victor Boniface, Jonas Hoffman). The first two aren’t necessarily world-beaters — neither could hold down a starting place at Aston Villa or Roma — and Leverkusen were doing just fine without the latter trio (Adli went down in October, the other two in November). But taken as a group, five new faces at training is a jolt to the system. Some coaches preach stability and don’t want mid-season intrusions unless absolutely necessary, especially on teams who are doing well. Alonso evidently doesn’t see it that way. He presumably knows that everyone is going to contribute, but you can leverage their enthusiasm and desire at this stage of the campaign. All five were in the matchday squad for their comfortable 2-0 win at Holstein Kiel, which saw Adli score the opener.

7. Vincent Kompany’s bravery pays off as Bayern enjoy statement win: He’s had his critics and we all know he wasn’t high on the club’s list to replace Thomas Tuchel, but Kompany showed plenty of personality and boldness on Sunday for the visit of Eintracht Frankfurt. After the humiliating home draw with Celtic in the Champions League, Kompany had the guts to drop Alphonso Davies and Harry Kane against Eintracht (who may have been on a run but were still third in the table). Don’t be fooled by the late goals in the 4-0 win: this was a comprehensive and convincing victory (the xG of 3.89 to 0.53 tells its own story) and he had the confidence to keep going even as it was still 0-0 in first-half injury time and he had to take off the injured Joshua Kimmich. Bayern may not often pass the eye test this season, but being eight points clear with a rookie (at this level) coach and a number of contractual issues to resolve is not something to dismiss.

6. Julián Álvarez proves doubters wrong as Atletico win at Valencia: Doubters like me. I wasn’t overly impressed by his goals total at Manchester City (19 in all competitions, which he has already equalled): they were a dominant team, Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne were the ones feeding you possession, you had Erling Haaland drawing the attention of the opponent. Nor did his World Cup exploits move the needle for me: yes he came up big, but it’s only a couple games and he was alongside that Lionel Messi fella, who is pretty good. Nice player, but not enough to justify the €85 million Atletico shelled out. (In my defence, I’m in good company: I’m pretty sure Pep Guardiola was a doubter too, otherwise he wouldn’t have sanctioned the deal.) Now, I’m not so sure. He could have had a hat-trick in the first half in the 3-0 win over Valencia and has come up big for Atleti on multiple occasions. I still don’t like the price tag, but at the rate he’s going I may change my mind over that too.

5. Not all defeats are created equal, but three on the bounce still hurts: Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca called Saturday’s 2-1 loss at Aston Villa “the toughest of the season” because his team showed a reaction after the Brighton humiliation and played well. I get what he’s saying; I’d just view it differently. It’s less concerning to me when you perform, but are beaten than when you stink it up and are beaten. Chelsea’s foolish decision to embark on the season without a credible alternative to Nico Jackson (who is now injured) is hurting them. With Noni Madueke also out, Maresca invented a set-up with Reece James in midfield, Pedro Neto at center-forward and Cole Palmer wide on the right. They showed plenty of character and fight for much of the game and only lost the game thanks to Filip Jorgensen’s howler. (Though, to be fair, it’s hard to understand how Marc Cucurella got away with pulling down Lamare Bogarde in the box.) There’s enough positives on which to build, and Southampton are next. As for Aston Villa, the Marcus Rashford/Marco Asensio narrative is compelling, let’s see if it lasts. Without question though, they’re in the thick of the battle for a Champions League slot.

4. Spurs win at Ipswich, but it’s still not clear who they are or what they’re building towards: I don’t mean tactically, because there we have enough of a sense of what Ange Postecoglou is trying to do. Some like it, some don’t. There were headlines on Sunday about celebrating their third straight league victory away to Ipswich (4-1) thanks to the injured players returning. Technically, that’s correct, but it’s also misleading. The run began with a win at Brentford (in which they were battered for most of the game) and continued with humiliations away to Liverpool in the League Cup semifinal (0-4) and a comprehensive defeat at Aston Villa in the FA Cup (1-2). They then beat Manchester United (for what that’s worth these days) before the Ipswich game, a match that could easily have taken a different turn. It’s not a knock on Ange, it’s just that when you still have key players out hurt (like your starting central defenders and your centerforward, who is being replaced by a guy on loan with a totally different skill set) it’s hard to assess where you are. Given they have little to play for the rest of the campaign, that sense of drift will likely continue until everyone returns. Then Ange and Spurs can properly be assessed, one way or the other.

3. Dusan Vlahovic starts and delivers for Juventus … more of this, please: Yes, they probably overpaid for him and whoever thought it was a good idea to give him a contract with a balloon payment this season made a huge mistake. But it beggars belief that this was only his third start of 2025 when he’s been fit throughout. He showed in Sunday’s 1-0 win away to Cagliari (which saw Juventus move into the top 4) just what he can do when used properly, with the right pieces around him. OK, so Thiago Motta wanted to play with his shiny new Randal Kolo Muani toy, but Vlahovic is a real center-forward. Fourteen goals in 25 starts this season tell their own story, especially on a team that has played as poorly as Juventus have. Who fits around him? I liked what he did with Kenan Yildiz and Kolo Muani, but sure, that raises the question of what to do with Chico Conceicao and Nico Gonzalez, who cost the club a lot of money last summer. That’s for Thiago Motta to figure out.

2. Manchester United’s horror show continues at Everton and could have been worse: Yup, it could — arguably should — have been their 13th league defeat of the season. That it wasn’t is down to the fact that the VAR called for an on-field review after referee Andy Madley awarded a penalty for Mathijs De Ligt’s shirt pull on Ashley Young. It wasn’t a major tug and Young threw himself to the ground, but it was a stonewall penalty. Yet Madley overturned his original decision (possibly because it appeared he only saw one angle) and it finished 2-2 away to Everton. Add it to the laundry list of refereeing snafus we’ve seen in the Premier League this season and be grateful that in the grand scheme of things, it won’t impact matters: neither team is going down. That said, the decision, while infuriating for Everton fans, shouldn’t overshadow just how poor United were. Ruben Amorim said his team “did not exist in the first half,” a 45-minute spell in which they cobbled together two shots — neither of them on target — for an xG of 0.04. It wasn’t much better in the second, as United’s goals came via a Bruno Fernandes free kick and a Manuel Ugarte hit-and-hope. I’ve argued before that Man United should just focus on the FA Cup and Europa League since they won’t achieve enough in the Premier League. If they keep playing like this, the Premier League is all they’ll have left.

1. When it rains, it pours for Milan after another self-inflicted defeat: After getting bounced out of the Champions League last week, Milan fell away to Torino, 2-1, which means the screws are turning on manager Sérgio Conceição. However, you do have a bit of sympathy for the guy. Torino’s opening goal came after Mike Maignan’s clearance hit Malick Thiaw and ended up in the net. Christian Pulisic had his penalty saved by Vanja Milinkovic-Savic: his fourth saved spot kick of the season, which is a lot. Milan dominated, but couldn’t score — not until João Félix finally came off and Tijjani Reijnders found the space for the equalizer. Then, after they fell asleep on a Torino free kick that was taken quickly, Gvidas Gineitis notched the winner. Conceicao complained that they were unlucky and it was “not normal” that they didn’t win the game. Maybe so: luck, happenstance and randomness had a lot to do with this one. It doesn’t change the fact that it’s unclear how he’s helping. Rafael Leão continues to regress, Joao Felix continues to cramp Reijnders’ style (and is showing no signs that he’s been “fixed”), Youssouf Fofana is still on the bench and Theo Hernández is still out there.