Monday’s round of matches saw another good day for Inter, who were one of the biggest winners of the weekend despite failing to beat their rivals
Winners
Inter
Napoli and Roma drew, Lazio lost on Monday, and the Nerazzurri did not lose either away to Juventus. The perfect weekend for Inter, who maintained their lead at the top of Serie A with a solid 0-0 away at Juve. Yes, the Bianconeri showed they were the better side against Luciano Spalletti’s men, but Juve did not take their chances, and overall Inter defended in the best way possible, leaving little space against the quality of Juventus. Inter remain unbeaten.
[fve]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZylTHHOwLMk[/fve]
Manchester City
Simply unplayable at times. Pep Guardiola flies 11 points clear at the top of the Premier League, equalling Arsenal’s 2002 record of 14 wins in a row, ready to make it 15 midweek. And he does it by outclassing his biggest personal rival in charge of his club’s biggest rivals. What a squad he’s assembled, with quality across the board and a team ethic that is simply fantastic. The Premier League already seems over: can anyone realistically catch City?
AC Milan
Finally, a win. This is all that matters. The Rossoneri suffered at home to Bologna, but this time no goalkeeper scored a last minute equaliser. Gennaro Gattuso got his first win as Milan coach and took the first step to try and catch up with the leading clubs in Serie A and build a team out of all the players brought in during the summer. The determination of the Rossoneri legend was translated onto the pitch, that’s the first step. Now he’ll have to work on tactics and technique.
Losers
Chelsea
What happened to the champions? Yes, it would have been difficult to see the Blues replicate last season, without investing much in the summer and having to waste energy and time in the Champions League as well. But to see a team like this is simply not right. Just not in the style of Antonio Conte. That determination that made a difference last season is lacking almost every week.
Borussia Dortmund
Peter Bosz sacked, 13 points behind Bayern, a disaster in the Champions League. It’s one of the worst moments for Borussia Dortmund in recent years. And all of this after one of the best ever starts to the Bundesliga, with six consecutive wins. An illusion. The attacking style was never supported by the right team balance, and now it will be tough to put the season back on the right track.
Manchester United
The alleged fracas in the tunnel shows just the tensions around Jose Mourinho and his team following this kind of defeat. City were in control, and despite the Red Devils being also quite unlucky at times, it is fair enough to see the Citizens 11 points clear at the top. And considering the transfer window, and the expectation on Mourinho’s Manchester United to be so far away at this stage of the season is almost a disaster.
