Man United collapse at Man City, Milan take Serie A lead over Napoli, lucky Liverpool, Bayern's woes continue

The weekend of drama in European soccer brought a crushing defeat for Manchester United at their rivals, Manchester City, but that was nothing compared to the scenes in Serie A, where Milan took down Napoli to seize the league lead and keep the title race buzzing with intensity. There were some good fortune and bad fortune for the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid, as well as bad fortune and poor fortune for other teams.

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Milan go top of Serie A, Nice beat PSG again, Camavinga leads Real Madrid, and more.

Man City are in rude health, Man United collapse in second half

The Manchester derby on Sunday offered a varied landscape if you can separate performance from result.

In the first half, United's 4-2-2-2 formation, with Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes through the middle, blunted City to some degree and generated a couple of chances in transition.

It was giving United something to work with. In the context of the match, they were not getting overrun because they were missing their preferred options. This despite some really poor defending from Harry and the others.

It might get better after the break. You assumed that both Pep and Rangnick would try to adjust. We might have a close game.

The space they enjoyed before the break was denied by City, who sent their central defenders to pick up Bruno and Pogba in deeper areas. We didn't see it because they stopped pressing, failed to recover the ball with any consistency and didn't muster a single shot on goal after the break.

Things seemed to get worse when Rangnick made a substitution. Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford didn't contribute much, preferring to be stuck in the drabness of their teammates. City ran out 4-1 winners as Riyad Mahrez scored two more goals.

The United-verse is looking for bad guys again.

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Manchester United lost to Manchester City.

It is understandable that Rangnick is getting less blame than his predecessors. He is an interim manager, he has no real power beyond the tactics, he was missing three strikers and half his starting back-four, and you have the impression that the decision-makers at the club don.

The focus is now on the players. Not just over quality, but over effort, lack of leadership, and the constant leaks from the training ground, how funny it is that Chris Armas sounds like Ted Lasso.

There is a lot of work to be done there. A lot of money, a lot of wear and a lot of being a punchline of Phil Jones. You can either support him internally or not. He has been getting support and it isn't working. You make a difficult decision.

Then there is Rashford. He is the golden boy, a young man who is universally admired for his maturity and intelligence off the pitch, and his willingness to speak out on issues like child poverty as well as address them directly. He should be the face of United, even though he can't get into the starting lineup when three other forwards are out.

He missed a penalty in the Euro 2020 final and was injured early in the season, but he wasn't playing at his best last season. He was more productive at the age of 20 than he is now. He becomes a free agent in 15 months, so getting him back to his levels should be a club priority.

Let's not forget him either. He missed training on Friday and Saturday because of a hip flexor problem. He was criticized for not showing up to support his teammates. I don't have a problem with that, he knows his body best and if he feels he can heal better at home, so be it, United let the story spin out of control. All they had to do was say thatRonaldo has a hip injury, he is working to recover, and then tell us where he is. They could have left it at that and left the room for rumour to be stirred.

The point is that there are issues of harmony and messaging that need to be fixed, but there are plenty of other problems here.

When it comes to this sort of thing, United has always operated in a traditional English way. The manager is the face of the club, and we never hear from the director of football or sporting director. Maybe we should be looking for answers because Rangnick has enough on his plate and his power is dulled by his short-term contract. There are a lot of guys in those roles, from Mike Phelan to John Murtough. You would think some of this would be their job. You would think someone would hold them to account. It feels like they are just counting the days until the next person takes the job.

They made it look easy again. I was impressed by Jack Grealish and Phil Foden. Both had issues this year and were dealt with and reintegrated. It wasn't solely down to him, but a lot of the work was done by other people. He has people below him and above him who work on this sort of thing. That is how you run a club.

Milan take three points at Napoli, Serie A gets its third league leader in three days

The stakes were high at the Stadio Maradona on Sunday night, and both Milan and Napoli were ready for it. In tight games, the difference is clear-mindedness.

Victor Osimhen's runs gave Milan fits until he ran out of gas. Milan focused on pressing and waiting. They seized it when Davide Calabria's shot/cross popped up for the Frenchman to stroke home.

It might have been different if Osimhen had been given a penalty for contact with Fikayo Tomori, but I thought Milan were worthy winners on the balance of play.

Forgoing a No.10 for a trio of Sandro Tonali, Ismael Bennacer and Franck Kessie gave them the necessary platform to survive. He resisted the temptation to send Zlatan Ibrahimovic in too early because he wanted to give him time to recover from his injury.

Inter have the game in hand and are two points behind. Just three back, and just as importantly, not out yet either. It is a treat for neutrals to see Serie A go down to the wire.

Nice lean on Thuram Jr, Kluivert Jr to treble over PSG

We can say that we have found Paris Saint-Germain's nemesis: Christophe Galtier. He coached Lille to the Ligue 1 title. He knocked them out of the French Cup in January, after he beat them at home and away in the league.

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The winner, Andy Delort, came late. The 4-4-2 formation of Nice was superior to the 4-3 formation of Paris. Yes, they are thinking ahead to the Real Madrid and theChampions League because they were unavailable. This was a team that takes the title for granted and that often mails in performances domestically.

In the first half, Georginio Wijnaldum only got nine touches. That is difficult when you are playing in the middle of a team that has the majority of the possession. It is hard to believe that this is the same guy who was so important to the club for so long.

Liverpool stretched by West Ham, but three points keep them in the title hunt

It wasn't the best performance, that was a lie. He might have described the victory over West Ham as a dirty win, like he did earlier in the season. West Ham created too many clear-cut chances, the two best of which fell to Antonio and Lanzini. You do wonder if they have lost a bit of sharpness at the moment. If it is something they can wheel out every game.

It is important that you praise them for being determined and tough in the face of adversity. The way they have dismantled opponents in the past has not been consistent. They have had to rely on guts and resilience more than they have in the past, but they still have 11 wins in the past 12 and 12 in the past 12.

Bayern Munich's woes continue, but Manuel Neuer is on his way back

The February blues followed them into March, as shown by the home draw against Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday. They scored five before the half-time break last time they played them. In the absence of Corentin Tolisso and Leon Goretzka, there is more of an issue in the middle of the field, where there are square pegs in round holes.

Muller's bizarre own goal leads to a draw.

This was a side without their top scorer, Patrik Schick, and all it took was for them to attack via Amine Adli and Mouse Diaby in wide areas. It was enough for the spaces to be blocked and the chances to be stopped by the quiet game of Wirtz.

When they get Kimmich help in central midfield, when someone other than Richards plays down the left, and when Neuer returns between the posts, business will pick up. You wouldn't expect a keeper to have such an impact further up the pitch, but when it's Neuer. That is a different story. At least that is what they are telling themselves.

Camavinga comes of age as Real Madrid extend LaLiga lead

It is easy to forget that Eduardo Camavinga doesn't even turn 20 until November, but he has been a starter since before the Pandemic. It may take him a little while to adjust to his new surroundings, even if he is a 40 million dollar signing.

Real Madrid moved eight points clear with a big win.

The kid showed that he belongs. After Real Sociedad had taken the lead from the penalty spot, he showed his maturity and intelligence by replacing the absent Toni Kroos. After a fine goal from Modric, Real Madrid never looked back, adding two more late to win 4-1 and extend their lead over Sevilla to eight points with 11 games remaining.

This was a front-foot Real Madrid, who pressed high and created chances, while limiting danger at the back. Ahead of the second leg of the last-16 game against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, Carlo Ancelotti wants to see that. They can win on the counter, but they can also take the game to the opposition. We haven't seen that aspect of Madrid often enough this season, and we need to see more if they are going to succeed in Europe as well.

Arteta vindicated as Arsenal jump into top four

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Mikel Arteta has turned into a team that is competing for the top-4, according to Janusz.

You could find fault with some aspects of the team if you were strictly a Mikel Arteta fan who insisted on seeing the glass as half-empty. You might wonder how much of the goals are down to patterns of play and chance construction, rather than individual quality, because they were stunning. You should not allow chances and a late goal to make things nervous at 3-1 up against a team that is fighting for their lives.

This is still a young side, and what we are seeing is a collective buy-in to what Arteta wants to do. The young guns behind him, like Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard, deserve a big slice of the credit, too, because they are playing the center-forward role at the service of Alexandre Lacazette. It has to be exciting and encouraging that they are growing together. Even if they miss out on a top-four spot, that will not change.

Barcelona win late and from the penalty spot ... but this team is clicking

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Stewart and Luis suggest that Barcelona should be slightly concerned by the number of missed chances.

You may get the wrong impression if you only watch the highlights. Barcelona had to come from behind against Elche and win thanks to a controversial penalty. I wouldn't have given it for what it was worth. In the second half, Barcelona turned the screws and could have seen a hat-trick from Ferran Torres.

Barcelona overcame misses to beat Elche.

You worry when a team doesn't create chances, because they looked solid defensively as well. The fact that Xavi has the ability to bring on other players, like Memphis Depay, offers another aspect, but they were already in control before that.

They are up to third in the table after four wins and four performances on the bounce. The run is generating good vibes. You could see this team lose its nerve when it missed the early chances. Not now. They were confident that the goals would come. Call it the Xavi Effect.

Havertz and James shine as Chelsea thump Burnley in second half

It took them a while, but even though the goals came after the break, it was still fairly comprehensive.

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Kai Havertz and Reece James stood out. He has been one of the best wingbacks in Europe this season despite his injury. It has been obvious where Havertz fits in since he arrived at the Bridge. Havertz is young and raw, but he gives you size, strength and technical ability. The deployment of him up front has given Chelsea plenty of pressing oomph while maintaining a legitimate threat through the middle.

I think Tuchel will do everything he can to reintegrate him, despite the fact that Havertz has emerged. He is also a long-term asset. You wonder if we might not see the pair together. In the past few years, Havertz has shown that he is more productive in a front two and can also be an assist-man.

Juventus do it their way again, but how much longer can this last?

It was 14 games without a defeat for Max Allegri and the Bianconeri after this weekend's victory. The gap between the top of the table and the bottom is seven points. We are seeing what Sir Alex Ferguson might have called "squeaky bum" performances. The xG was uncomfortably close, until Morata missed the chance to make it 2-0 in injury time.

This is Spezia, a side coming off three straight defeats, and they have half a dozen players missing, including Dybala. This was at home. Since February 6, when Denis Zakaria and Dusan Vlahovic made their debuts, the Bianconeri have not beaten anyone by a margin of two goals or more.

The ethos of the club is results-driven and it is all about hanging in until the end. It is one thing to hang in there the way they did in the glory years of Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci, when they wouldn't concede a shot, let alone a chance.

I think he was due some good fortune. The good news is that he knows how to kick it up a notch. He might need to if the Bianconeri are to mount a challenge on the three sides ahead of them.

Atletico Madrid are alive and kicking ... and leapfrog Betis in the table

The three wins in a row for Diego Simeone's Atleti Madrid was the most important. Despite a weakened squad, they dominated the game and were able to leapfrog them into the top four.

Part of it was that Betis ran out of gas after their game Thursday night, and part of it was Joao Felix scoring the first goal. The Atleti team played with confidence on the counter, without the defensive mistakes that have marked recent games, and with the lightweight front duo of Joao Felix and Angel Correa offering a continuous threat.

This isn't the Atleti that Simeone had in mind in the summer, but it is closer to what Atleti was and may need to be to hang on to the top four. Koke has been out since February 19th, but you almost don't notice. The man who hasn't started since 2001 popped up late to set up Thomas Lemar's goal, but he might come in handy down the stretch. Maybe El Cholo can end this campaign on a high note.

And finally... #BasDostWatch

Bas Dost scored a goal for Bruges. He has 12 goals in 23 Belgian league appearances and is on pace to score 19 in the league. He has 14 goals in 32 appearances this season.

This is the last part of #BasDostWatch.