Football
Gabriele Marcotti, Senior Writer, ESPN FC 4y

Real Madrid's week of reckoning in La Liga, Europe. PLUS: How Chelsea beat Spurs, Ronaldo's latest milestone

Missed any of the action around Europe this weekend? Have no fear: Gab Marcotti is here to catch you up with all the talking points in the latest Monday Musings.

Jump to: A big week for Zidane | Lampard out-thinks Mourinho | Ronaldo's latest 'achievement' | Leipzig keep winning | PSG's Neymar drama | Can Man United build on big win? | Dortmund, Haaland dazzle again | No crisis at Barca | Arteta's Arsenal still confuse | Man City's penalty woes | Lazio aren't done

Zidane, Real Madrid's week of reckoning (or not)

Zinedine Zidane's great stone face talked about how this week was "all or nothing" for Real Madrid after the shock 1-0 defeat at Levante. Real face Manchester City on Wednesday and Barcelona on Sunday: a date with Pep Guardiola, followed by the eternal rival. And both without Eden Hazard, the record signing whose injury-plagued season only got worse against Levante: we won't see him again until late April, at the earliest. (Belgium manager Roberto Martinez believes Hazard is done for the rest of the season.)

That's one way to look at it, of course, and those who have used the word "crisis" to describe the club's current situation -- with Barcelona leapfrogging them in the table and going two points clear at the top -- will no doubt see it that way. But you can also turn it around. You can also argue that it's a golden opportunity to take a definitive step towards the Champions League quarterfinal against a City side that may or may not be distracted by developments on the financial fair play front and, a few days later, pull back ahead of Barca in the Clasico. After all, it's not as if Real Madrid have been playing poorly.

- Real ratings: Hazard hurt, Benzema 6/10 in Levante loss
- FC TV: Has Hazard blown his chances at Real?

Against Levante, they dominated the xG battle, squandering a flurry of chances. And you'd assume Thibaut Courtois would question his timing on Jose Morales' shot. It's not dissimilar, in fact, from what happened the week before against Celta, when they dominated for stretches and then conceded on individual errors from their center-backs.

As for the injuries, Hazard had featured in 10 league games this season. He began the campaign injured, got hurt again in November and is now once again sidelined. You'd rather have him than not, of course, but it's not as if he's been central to their plans this season. You can make a similar argument for Gareth Bale, who was left out of the squad entirely this weekend for "technical reasons." Between them, the pair have scored twice since Sept. 1 in all competitions.

It doesn't mean that everything is fine at Real Madrid: far from it. Karim Benzema's goals (one in his past nine Liga games) seem to have dried up. For all the quality in the side, we've had further evidence that they need Ferland Mendy and Federico Valverde in the XI against better opponents. The "revolving door" approach to player combinations in the final third means there's still a lack of chemistry and fluidity.

Yet it's also worth putting things in context. Zidane wasn't talking about how their season is over if they lose the next two games. (And guess what? It won't be anyway). You'd imagine he was referencing how the next seven days can quickly get Real Madrid's season back on track and also give a better sense of who they really are.

At least, that would be a far more rational way of looking at it.

Lampard outshines Mourinho in Premier League duel

I have no idea if Frank Lampard is going to become a successful manager in the long term. I do know Jose Mourinho has been one, and might be one again. What is pretty clear is the two have very different attitudes towards risk. In a match that could prove crucial in the race for the fourth and final Champions League spot (awarded to fourth or fifth place in the Premier League, depending on what happens with Manchester City's ban), Lampard made a number of huge calls that could have boomeranged against him.

He stuck with Willy Caballero ahead of Kepa Arrizabalaga in goal: if it's some sort of disciplinary thing, he's really driving the point home because while the Spaniard has been up or down, Chelsea have committed massive resources to him. He put his faith in Olivier Giroud, who had played all of 23 minutes since November and hadn't scored from open play in the league in 10 months. And he drew up a hitherto unseen 3-4-2-1 formation, with Reece James and Marcos Alonso as wingbacks and the Mason Mount/Ross Barkley tandem operating in the space behind Giroud.

Consider those five names for a minute. James turned 20 in December and played in League One last year. Mount also had never played in the Premier League before this season and was coming off a rough patch in December and January. Barkley missed two and a half months due to injury and looked, when fit, as if he had no natural role in this team. Alonso had started one league game in the past four months and looked on his way out. And then there's Giroud, whom the club tried to shift unsuccessfully in January.

- Ogden: VAR farce overshadows Giroud, Chelsea's win
- Kuper: Chelsea must trust Ziyech to improvise
- FC TV: Should Giroud or Batshuayi lead Chelsea's attack?

Chelsea were vindicated in their 2-1 win, but contrast this with Jose Mourinho's approach. He was missing his two best attackers, Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son, so his options were limited. But he compounded the matter with a conservative lineup that was all about damage limitation and hoping Lucas Moura and Steven Bergwijn could snatch something at the other end. If Mourinho left out Dele Alli as some sort of punishment for his grumbles after the Leipzig game, then fine, but why send him on with 12 minutes left and your team down 2-0? You can make the same point for Serge Aurier, who got to enjoy a whole 11 minutes.

As for Giovani Lo Celso, who has arguably been Tottenham's best player over the past few weeks, if you're going to play on the counter and he's going to be your only real passing/creative threat, why not give him licence to find his position rather relegating him out on the center-right of midfield? Unless, of course, you want to use him as an auxiliary fullback.

One final word on VAR and Lo Celso: yes, it should have been a straight red for the stamp on Cesar Azpilicueta. How the video assistant referee, David Coote, missed this is extraordinary. Equally, how the two guys sitting either side of him at Stockley Park missed it is extraordinary. The PGMOL called it "human error." Fine, mistakes happen. But it's one thing for a single guy to miss it, quite another for an entire VAR crew to miss it.

Ronaldo dazzles, but let's stop the 1,000-game nonsense

I guess round numbers are an easy way to push ideas, but the hype over Cristiano Ronaldo's 1,000th game Saturday felt a bit over the top. Not that it matters particularly, but it's only his 1,000th game if you add up all his club matches in all competitions (836) and all his senior international appearances for Portugal (164). Which is sort of a weird thing to do to begin with, not least because you're counting friendlies for Portugal, but not for his clubs. And you're not counting his competitive games for Portugal at U20, U21 and U23 level. I'd imagine some marketing person somewhere came up with this nonsense and Ronaldo doesn't need this.

Especially not when he does stuff like he did Saturday when Juventus traveled to face SPAL, scoring a goal and hitting the woodwork in the 2-1 win. It marked the 11th consecutive Serie A game in which he scored, equaling a record held by Gabriel Batistuta and Fabio Quagliarella. He has already scored as many league goals (21) as he managed last season.

Without the injured Miralem Pjanic, Juve weren't exactly dominant against the league's bottom club, but there were other bright spots. Aaron Ramsey did well in a midfield three, suggesting afterwards that this is where he'd rather play (and not in the hole). Giorgio Chiellini returned unscathed from injury, and Paulo Dybala showed that the "false nine" option remains alive and well for him.

Leipzig continue to impress

Remember that wobble Leipzig had after that defeat away to Eintracht? Remember Julian Nagelsmann calling his players out and some suggesting it was the beginning of the end and Bayern would run away with the title? So much for that notion.

Since then, they held Bayern to a draw away, beat up Werder Bremen, won at Spurs in the Champions League (1-0 but it could have been substantially more) and this past weekend, beat up Schalke on the road, slapping them down 5-0. Bayern, who won on Friday, remain a point clear, but this Leipzig side keep finding new gears.

PSG's Neymar drama continues vs. Bordeaux

Sunday night offered another chapter in the long-running telenovela otherwise known as Paris Saint-Germain. The French league is wrapped up, it's all about Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, Bordeaux are a mid-table team: this should have been easy-breezy. It was anything but, as the 4-3 scoreline attests.

Dropping Keylor Navas for Sergio Rico did nothing for the latter's confidence as he gifted the opponents a goal. The marking for Bordeaux's opener was absurd. The final minutes were a frenetic mess, and then Neymar got himself sent off for a needlessly wild challenge.

I have no idea what goes through that guy's mind. Maybe it means he'll be better rested for the Champions League return leg, his side down 2-1 after the trip to Germany. Either way, this was supposed to be the season that didn't end up like the last three -- i.e. with Neymar out or ineffective in Europe -- and now, all of a sudden, you're not so sure.

Can Man United build on recent momentum?

Manchester United's 3-0 win over Watford means their quest for a top-four spot is very much alive. Bruno Fernandes is already a leader. Mason Greenwood scored a great goal, which hints at what he can achieve regularly as he matures, and Anthony Martial's brilliant chip for United's second on Sunday is a reminder of what he ought to be doing regularly now.

- Dawson: Fernandes sparking Man United at crucial time

Except with United, the old mantra still applies. We know there are talented individuals here. What we don't know is whether the club can put other talented individuals around them who will add up to more than the sum of their parts. We don't know if this is the right environment for players like Greenwood to develop. We don't know if Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has the charisma to bring it all together. In other words, we still don't know what the grand vision is, much less whether they have the people in the front office to deliver it.

Dortmund, Haaland keep rolling

It took Borussia Dortmund a while to get going away to Werder Bremen, owing in part to the weather and some, perhaps, to their midweek exertions against Paris Saint-Germain. After the break, though, a 2-0 win followed that was more practical than gaudy. Still, it was only their second clean sheet on the road since August in all competitions for their much-maligned back line.

- Okwonga: Haaland profiles like few other strikers

Erling Haaland started and scored and for those keeping track at home, he's now up to 40 in all competitions this season and a whopping 12 since joining Dortmund. If you haven't had enough of absurd Haaland-related stats, here's another. He's the 10th leading goal scorer in the Bundesliga this season -- and he's only been a Bundesliga player for seven weeks or so.

Messi, Barcelona end the "crisis" narrative

While generally playing well and dishing out assists, Lionel Messi had gone four games without scoring. Cue the "crisis wagon." And so, the best way to respond was what he did on Saturday, bagging four goals in Barcelona's 5-0 win over Eibar. It's a good thing too, because folks talking about Messi's quadruple means there will be less focus on the negativity surrounding the club. Like the protests directed at club president Jose Maria Bartomeu and the calls for him to resign. Or the fact that Bartomeu's anointed successor, Emili Rousaud, now wants to bring the election forward one year, to 2020.

- Connelly: There's no crisis at Barcelona
- Lowe: What Braithwaite will bring to Barca attack
- Barca ratings: Messi 10/10 for four goal spree vs. Eibar

Throw in the fact that Luis Suarez is still out, that Ousmane Dembele is gone for the season and a Clasico at the Bernabeu next Sunday, and the situation is as uncertain as ever. The only certainty here is Messi. And the fact that Real Madrid's slip-up propels Barcelona to top spot in the table. That's not nothing, as the saying goes.

So many unknowns around Arteta's plans for Arsenal

I'm still no further forward in understanding Mikel Arteta's grand plan for Arsenal. Once again, we saw Dani Ceballos and Eddie Nketiah in the starting lineup, with Lucas Torreira and Alexandre Lacazette in the stands. Maybe it was fallout from the Olympiacos game or maybe it's part of his casting call for next season.

- Williams: Are Arsenal turning a corner under Arteta?

Either way, Sunday's 3-2 win over Everton is a positive, as were some of the individual performances from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Bukayo Saka and (apart from the second Everton goal) Bernd Leno. You still get the feeling that the 2020-21 version of Arsenal will look very little like this one in terms of personnel.

What's the deal with Man City and penalties?

A sparkling performance by Riyad Mahrez against his old club and a late Gabriel Jesus score gave Manchester City a 1-0 win over Leicester. It doesn't mean much for the table -- it may mean even less if the Court of Arbitration for Sport upholds the two-year European ban -- but it leaves little doubt as to who the second-best team in the Premier League is.

- Miller: Man City tune up nicely for Champions League

More of a concern, perhaps, is that City missed another penalty, this time from Sergio Aguero. They've only converted three of seven this season in the league. Nobody else has missed more than they've scored. Guardiola jokes that Ederson is his best penalty-taker but maybe it's time to let him follow in the footsteps of Jose Luis Chilavert, Rogerio Ceni and other great South American keepers who were also designated penalty-takers.

Lazio remain firmly in Serie A title race

Like acne on a pimply teen, Lazio aren't going away. Their 3-2 win at Genoa leaves them a single point behind Juventus, and while there were a few jitters in the end, they were largely in control without playing brilliantly.

- FC TV: Is it time to believe in Lazio's title contention?

Ciro Immobile is now up to 27 league goals (and is on track to beat the single-season record), Danilo Cataldi scored a brilliant free kick and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic continues to grow as a player, which is exactly what you want down the stretch. If and when Immobile stops scoring, between Milinkovic-Savic, Joaquin Correa and Felipe Caicedo, it looks like there's enough there to pick up the slack.

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