Discussion points on European football: Real Madrid's disturbing performance, Chelsea's weakness and more



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It was as usual business this weekend when the best European football leagues woke up from the sleep induced by the break. But unfortunately for the last undefeated group of Europe – Chelsea – it was a Gameweek to forget as he suffered a humiliating defeat against his London rival Tottenham Hotspur. Arsenal, Liverpool and Premier League heavyweights Manchester City capitalized on Chelsea's failure. All the teams got three valuable points, but in different styles. In Liga, it was a day to forget for Real Madrid, European champion, who produced his worst performance of the season, losing 3-0 against Eibar, while the German giant Bayern did not have much better beaten in the Bundesliga. Draw 3 to 3 against Fortuna, to get further away from leader Borussia Dortmund.

Here are four arguments in favor of an exhilarating Gameweek action

One does not hide Real Madrid

  The problems of Real Madrid were exposed after a fight 3-0 in the hands of Eibar. AP

Real Madrid's problems were left exposed after a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Eibar. AP

Real Madrid had a hot match against Eibar. Yes, they lost a football game. But this is only part of the story. The starred players took second place just about everything that happened on the pitch against Eibar. The complete defeat recalled problems that led Julen Lopetegui to be sacked only four months after taking office. Players seemed confused about their tasks and lacked captain figurines to motivate them.

Gareth Bale is certainly on a tightrope in Madrid, Welshman's performances certainly do not guarantee the status of first team. But the problem exceeds Bale for Madrid. Raphaël Varane and Sergio Ramos often make mistakes frequently.

New recruit of Chelsea, Thibaut Courtois, also did not see the day to life in Madrid, conceding numerous and numerous goals. showing the shape that helped him win the Golden Glove Award at the recent World Cup. The absence of Casemiro did not help the new manager, Santiago Solari, with very little depth in the post. Against Eibar, he played against young Dani Cabellos as midfield presenter, but his decision was overturned by the Eibar attackers who easily overtook Cabellos. The coach is clearly not talking about Marcos Llorente or Fede Valverde, both specialists of the post, which means that Real will have to spend money in the transfer counter in January to save the season.

The Reality for Chelsea

In some respects, the defeat was long overdue for Chelsea. On Saturday, Mauricio Pochettino's Spurs showed the world how to expose Maurizio Sarri's Chelsea by putting pressure on their midfield lynchpin Jorginho. The Italian midfielder was out of space and constantly harbaded by midfielders and Spurs forwards, allowing them to shoot directly at Chelsea's defense, led by David Luiz, who once again demonstrated his ability to be a handicap for the team. The Spurs scored for their approach, but they were helped by a set of Chelsea players who showed no motivation to play. Alvaro Morata was back to his best thrill, falling into the trap of offside and struggling to keep the ball. Eden Hazard was the victim of the game by Serge Aurier, who probably beat his best game for Tottenham after leaving PSG.

For much of the match, this team was reminiscent of Chelsea's Antonio Conte last season – predictably, a dimension and lack of desire. Sarri is going to have to think, slightly alter the midfield by reinforcing the defense of N 'Golo Kante and quickly resolve his problems in case of a confrontation if he wants to maintain Chelsea's positive momentum.

The Liga wide open

Real Madrid certainly looking to compete for the title of the Liga, many are waiting for the season to be a two-horse race between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid. So, of course, both teams were very attentive this weekend.

And it was Atletico who dominated the match, taking the lead in the 77th minute with Diego Costa ahead of Rafinha and leading his team. head after Marc-André ter Stegen. That said, Barcelona has significantly improved their defensive play against Atletico. Samuel Umtiti is back in the lineup after an injury when Sergi Roberto moved into the middle of the field.

Ernesto Valverde chose to pack his bags for the match against Sergio Busquets. Arthur, Roberto and Arturo Vidal, with the idea of ​​protecting the Barca's defense. Unfortunately, even an unusual gesture from Barcelona did not pay off as Barcelona conceded, resulting in 11 consecutive uninterrupted matches. The Catalunya have conceded 19 goals in 13 games, more than twice as much as Atletico.

All of this means that La Liga is wide open and that all the best teams show that they are beatable.

We must complain. Valverde though. He lost his two-backs in the match against Atletico, Rafinha having apparently torn his ACL. Their substitute in the match and the eventual scorer, Ousmane Dembele, want to get away from Barcelona this winter, which means that it will not only be Real Madrid that will leave in January.

The title to be taken for Dortmund

While Bayern Munich recoil after a 3-3 draw against Fortuna, the Bundesliga is starting to look like a horse race. Borussia Dortmund continued their lead in the German league by imposing 2-1 this weekend against Mainz, thanks to goals from Paco Alcacer and Lukasz Piszczek. Dortmund are five points ahead of Borussia Monchengladbach, second, while the men in yellow are nine points clear of Bayern. It's still early in the season, and Dortmund has sometimes shown that it's not flawless, but a nine-point lead is nevertheless a comfortable place. His biggest challenge will be to add different dimensions to his attack because sooner or later the teams will surely find a way to defeat Lucien Favre's attack formation 4-2-4

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