Three Things To Note From Football Weekend

Liverpool Win Big While Others Drop Points

Following the fallout from the Merseyside Derby and the injury of defender Virgil van Dijk, many have already started to question Liverpool’s chances of retaining the title this season as they will play the rest of the season without the Dutchman. They were able to beat Ajax in the Champions League and continued with a 2-1 win over Sheffield United at Anfield on Saturday. Goals from Roberto Firmino and Diogo Jota were enough for the Reds to cancel out a Sheffield United penalty from Sander Berge in the 13th minute. It became better for Jurgen Klopp’s side as their rivals drop points as Manchester City were unable to break West Ham down leaving with a 1-1 draw, Chelsea and Manchester United shared the points after a goalless draw while Everton lost for the first time this season from a 2-0 defeat against Southampton on Sunday. It’s still early days into the season but Liverpool looks to be back on track but with games in the Champions League and the Premier League to come before the international break, Klopp knows that getting points now will be essential for their title credentials.

Madrid’s Experience Topples Barca’s Youth

Real Madrid against Barcelona or El Clasico was played at an empty Camp Nou on Saturday. Both teams were going into the game without nothing much to write about, particularly Madrid after they experienced back to back home defeats against Cadiz and Shakhtar Donetsk. Los Blancos responded well, defeating their arch-rivals 3-1 with goals from Federico Valverde, Sergio Ramos, and Luka Modric. The game still reflects where both clubs are at the moment with Barcelona still have a lot of work to do before getting back to a high level while Real Madrid is still the best team in Spain. The game also showed the importance of Sergio Ramos in Real Madrid. Zidane’s side has struggled whenever their captain is unavailable with Raphael Varane and Eder Militao unable to form a strong partnership. On Saturday, he showed he is the man for Madrid keeping the likes of Lionel Messi and Philippe Coutinho quiet, and even scoring from the penalty spot. This is Zidane’s first win at the Camp Nou and made it successive wins against Barcelona for the first time since the 07/08 season.

The Massive Gap Between Schalke and Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund against Schalke 04 is known as the Revierderby was played on Saturday at the Westfalenstadion. No surprise, Borussia Dortmund beat their rivals 3-0 with goals from Manuel Akanji, Erling Haaland, and Mats Hummels. For Schalke, it continues a horrific start to the Bundesliga season with only a point from their five games played. They already started manager David Wagner and appointed Manuel Baum at the VELTINS-Arena. So far, there has been no new manager bounce to get Schalke up and running and the rot continues as a successful season for them will be staying in the Bundesliga. Performances have not been great either conceding the most goals with 19 and scoring the least with a measly two goals. As for Dortmund, they have left their close town rivals behind and are looking to mount a serious title challenge this season. Haaland continues to score, they kept hold of Jadon Sancho and so far, their defence has performed well with only 2 goals conceded. Now the question is, can it be sustainable for the whole season against Bayern Munich? Time will tell.