Gabriele MarcottiMar 9, 2026, 09:07 AM ET
It's been a weekend, hasn't it? Europe's top teams, leagues and cup competitions all gave us plenty of fun and plenty to talk about, so let's start in Italy with the Serie A title race and one of the biggest derbies in world soccer. AC Milan won their second derby over Inter Milan this season to close Inter's lead to seven points at the top with 10 games left. Suddenly, the Scudetto doesn't seem like a foregone conclusion, does it?
In England's FA Cup, Arsenal heavily rotated their side ahead of the midweek UEFA Champions League round of 16, and they nearly paid the price in needing to score late and bring on some stars vs. Mansfield Town. In LaLiga, Lamine Yamal again showed why he's the most likely young star to dominate the game for a generation, leading Barcelona to victory over Athletic Club and extending their lead at the top to four points over rivals Real Madrid.
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We also got talking points galore around Juventus (do they really need to offer their manager a contract extension?), Real Madrid (who keep winning unconvincingly), the FA Cup (hail lowly Port Vale!), Chelsea (who spoiled Wrexham's FA Cup story), and much, much more.
It's Monday morning, so what better time for some musings? Let's get into it.
Milan win the derby, Serie A's title race is not over ...
... at least not yet. It's nearly there, but not quite.
Heading into the game, the numbers were fairly straightforward. An Inter win would have put them 13 points clear with 10 games to go. At that stage, the highly unscientific (but often correct) rule of thumb would apply: When the lead is greater than the number of remaining games and there are no head-to-heads left, the title has pretty much been won, barring divine intervention. With seven points however, nobody should be putting the champagne on ice.
Milan shaded the game in terms of quality -- Pervis Estupiñán took his scoring chance, Fede Dimarco and Henrikh Mkhitaryan did not take theirs -- and in terms of narrative, too. By banging home the concept all season long that his objective was simply to get the team in the Champions League, Max Allegri helped relieve pressure on the Rossoneri and painted his own performance as a resounding success.
We can debate whether this is a fair reflection of expectations given that Milan never had European football to contend with, wasn't forced to change managers in the fall (like Juventus), didn't suffer a biblical scourge of injuries (like Napoli) and added highly paid veteran free agents such as Adrien Rabiot and Luka Modric. What's not in doubt is that media -- note the Allegri to Real Madrid rumors rearing their head again -- and (most) fans buy the narrative. One made all the sweeter by the fact they won both derbies in Serie A this season.
The underlying reality of Milan doesn't really change. Rafael Leão has had four different coaches with different styles in three years and still hasn't turned the corner. Luka Modric is 40 years old. Damage limitation seems to be the strategy most games. Other than results -- which are critical, of course, but need to be seen in context -- it's hard to tell how they've grown and, more importantly, how they will continue to grow going forward.
As for Inter, the absences of Marcus Thuram, Lautaro Martínez and Hakan Calhanoglu weighed heavily. Just 12 months ago, it would have been unthinkable that the club could compete in the derby without that trio, but here we are. That's a credit to manager Cristian Chivu in his first full season in charge of any club.
Furthermore, Inter's resilience both in the autumn (bouncing back from the blown treble) and more recently (after the Bodo/Giimt humiliation in the Champions League) shouldn't be overlooked. Nobody is saying Chivu is the next Pep Guardiola, but it's fair to say that he surpassed a lot of people's expectations this season, including my own.
Arsenal risk blowing their shot at the quadruple: Was it really necessary?
2:25
Beckford: Eze's influence on the team is similar to Ronaldinho's
Jermaine Beckford discusses Eberechi Eze and Arsenal's performance in their 2-1 FA Cup win over Mansfield Town.
I get it. The fixture list is congested, Arsenal are competing on four fronts, the squad is deep but not infinite, they have Bayer Leverkusen away in the Champions League on Tuesday night. And yes, they won, 2-1 against third-tier Mansfield Town, so all is well. In fact, Mikel Arteta beamed afterward about how much he "enjoyed" what was a proper cup tie.
I'm OK with rotation and prioritizing competitions, but there are limits. It's not just that Arsenal were level until 24 minutes from time. Or the fact that they gave up 18 shots -- the most since April 2022 -- and 1.99 expected goals to a side 60 places beneath them in the football pyramid. Fielding a back three when you normally play a back four sends a message. So does giving two 16-year-olds (defender Marli Salmon and midfielder Max Dowman) their debuts while asking Gabriel Martinelli and Noni Madueke to play as wing backs.
That message, whether intentional or not, is: "Hey guys, enjoy running around out there and being put into positions you'll never actually play in the first team because we're not actually taking this seriously." I suspect Arteta himself realized this in the 38th minute, when he sent on defender Piero Hincapié and switched to a back four. (You know, the formation they actually use in practice.)
Whatever benefit he got from resting the players who'll start against Bayer Leverkusen was surely outweighed by the risk, however minimal, of this blowing up in his face and getting the inevitable sanctimonious nonsense about "disrespecting the Cup" thrown in his face from the commentariat, along with doubts about whether they're "mentally tough enough" to get over the line. Eyes on the prize, Mikel.
1:31
Hislop: Dowman plays like he is on a school playground
Shaka Hislop discusses Max Dowman's performance in Arsenal's 2-1 win over Mansfield Town in the FA Cup.
Lamine Yamal to the rescue, and the comparisons are getting harder to stop
With Barcelona clearly fatigued after their unsuccessful Copa del Rey comeback attempt against Atletico Madrid in midweek and a big Champions League trip to Newcastle coming up, Hansi Flick opted to mix things up, resting Pedri, Fermín López and Raphinha. Guess who didn't rest? Yamal, the guy who has, in fact, started 14 of Barca's last 15 games in all competitions.
It was a good thing, too: Away at Bilbao, against an opponent that was also fatigued (they too played in the Copa del Rey, a day later than Barca) in a game that was scrappy, it was none other than Yamal who popped up with a gorgeous goal-of-the-season contender to take the three points. (Give some credit here to halftime sub Pedri, who delivered a delicious assist.) Three big points, as they keep the lead over Real Madrid at four with 11 games to play.
The game had offered relatively little in the way of chances -- other than a spectacular attempted backheel from Ferran Torres and some Joan García saves because, you know, high line and all that -- but when you have two guys like Pedri and Yamal, sometimes that's all you need.
1:56
Leboeuf compares Lamine Yamal to Pele & Lionel Messi
Frank Leboeuf praises Lamine Yamal's achievements at 18-years-old and compares the Barcelona "megastar" to Pele and Lionel Messi.
Between this goal and his hat trick last weekend, the hype machine for Yamal is in overdrive. Local media note that Yamal has now scored 50 goals (six for Spain, the rest for Barcelona) as a senior professional, and he's only 18 years and 237 days old. Lionel Messi hit 50 at 20 years and 315 days, Cristiano Ronaldo at 21 years and 297 days. It feels unhelpful to make comparisons, but you can blame Yamal for that: That's the magnitude of what he's achieving so far. You only hope his body allows him to continue.
Quick hits
10. Juventus cruise to victory vs. Pisa, but does Luciano Spalletti really need a contract extension right now? There's reason to be bullish about Juventus right now. Their comebacks against Galatasaray and Roma showed the players aren't throwing in the towel, Kenan Yildiz is a baller, Bremer is fit, and the midfield is working. Dusan Vlahovic is also back in training, which no doubt makes the Jonathan David haters happy. On Saturday, against a Pisa side who parked the bus (as you'd expect), they were patient and created chances, opening the floodgates after the break en route to a 4-0 win.
Amid all this, there's talk of Spalletti getting a new deal, though I don't see what the rush is. He has a contract through the end of the season, which automatically renews for another two years if Juve qualify for the Champions League. Sure, he has done a great job, and there's no doubt his people would argue that Juve may want to keep him even if they don't finish among the top four. Plus, a show of faith would strengthen his position. But Juve would be wise to remember why they gave him that conditional contract in the first place. The basic reality: Spalletti is very expensive, and if they don't qualify for Europe and get that additional revenue, he might be a luxury they can't afford. Cross that bridge when you get to it.
9. It wasn't convincing, but Real Madrid get a much-needed three points heading into the Champions League: There's a school of thought that says when your squad is decimated (Dean Huijsen and Franco Mastantuono suspended, Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham, Éder Militão, Dani Ceballos, David Alaba and Rodrygo injured), results matter more than performance as you wait for better times. I get the logic, but if you don't realize you haven't played well, then you might not try to fix what's going wrong. And next time around, you may not be so lucky.
Real Madrid were fortunate to claim a 2-1 win at Celta on Friday, getting the three points in injury time thanks to a deflected goal from Fede Valverde. Prior to that, we saw a couple of Thibaut Courtois wonder-saves and Iago Aspas hitting the post. Trent Alexander-Arnold (again) showed his limits one-on-one for Celta's goal. Vinícius Júnior -- asked to effectively carry the attack on his own with Gonzalo García on the bench -- also hit the woodwork in what would have been a stunning goal. Bright spots? Well, Alvaro Arbeloa started Thiago Pitarch, and all three subs were academy players. But before we get overly excited, let's remember that Arbeloa had few other options, and chucking in the kids when you're struggling is a tried-and-tested way to garner both good will and avoid boos. It doesn't look great heading into the Manchester City clash, but then again, you go against Real Madrid in knockout competitions at your own peril.
8. The proverbial 'Magic of the Cup' lives on at Port Vale: They're the bottom club in League One, sitting 11 points from safety. Weirdly, they've won more games in cup competitions this season (seven) than in the league (six), and they only advanced to this round on Wednesday, after beating Bristol City. (Yeah the FA Cup is a bit odd when it comes to scheduling.) And still, little Port Vale knocked out Premier League midtable side Sunderland on Sunday. Oh, and on a weekend when so many clubs fielded weakened sides or fiddled with formations (or both, in the case of Arsenal and Chelsea), Sunderland were pretty close to their best XI of available players.
Let it be a reminder that, for all the chatter about players and tactics and wage bills, once you cross that white line on the pitch, it's 11 vs. 11, mano a mano, and the weird and wonderful and random not only can happen, but often does happen. That's the Magic of the Cup.
0:46
How Port Vale caused FA Cup upset over Sunderland
Take a look at the numbers behind League One side Port Vale's 1-0 win over Sunderland in the FA Cup.
7. The good news for Paris Saint-Germain is that they won't be playing Monaco again until next season: PSG played them four times this season and the upshot is one win, one draw and two defeats, including Friday night's 3-1 loss at the Parc des Princes. Lucky for Luis Enrique that the two games they did not lose against Monaco came in the Champions League, where nonetheless they did not play well, and they had the benefit of playing with an extra man for most of the second half in both games.
There's no question that PSG are not in a good place right now, even with the return of Ousmane Dembélé, who came on in the second half. The worrying bit for PSG -- heading into the Champions League clash with Chelsea and now just a single point clear of Lens in Ligue 1 -- is that other than Fabián Ruiz and João Neves, they were pretty much at full strength, yet could manage just one shot on target in the first half. It's true they were underwhelming for the first six months of last season too, only to turn it on in the spring, but that's not much of a game plan. And given the goalkeeping downgrade (though Marat Safonov did make some impressive saves against Monaco) and current form of guys like Désiré Doué and Willian Pacho, this year feels different.
6. A win for Borussia Dortmund as Julian Brandt confirms he won't be back: It ended up basically overshadowing Dortmund's 2-1 victory at Cologne, as Brandt and the club have agreed to part ways when his deal expires at the end of the season. Brandt turns 30 in May and from a numbers perspective, it makes sense to rebuild and reload with younger players. Especially since he didn't exactly appear central to Nico Kovac's plans this season: He has been in the Bundesliga squad for 20 games and started just 13 of them. From an emotional perspective, well, seven seasons and 300 odd appearances do matter, and on the right team, in the right context, he may yet get the last laugh.
As for the game itself, the three points are big because the gap over fifth place remains a hefty eight points. The performance? Well, it was somewhat Dortmund-esque. They took the lead in the first half while conceding more than they should have and, against 10 men (Cologne had a man sent off in first half injury time), took their foot off the gas after going 2-0 up only to have a nervy ending after giving up a goal with two minutes to go. Some habits, evidently, are hard to break.
5. This time, squad players give Diego Simeone something to think about: Atletico Madrid have one of the deepest squads around, and on Saturday, it came up big against Real Sociedad. Both sides rotated heavily following the midweek Copa del Rey exertions -- they'll face each other in the final -- but it was Atleti's second stringers who made all the difference. Nico González, returning from injury, came off the bench to bag two goals in the 3-2 win, but Atleti were dominant and productive on the ball in the first half as well, with veteran José María Giménez, right back Nahuel Molina, midfielder Rodrigo Mendez plus, of course, The Only Living Sorloth in Captivity (Alex, who scored the opener) all making big contributions.
There were defensive lapses, to be sure, and it's hard to imagine the Atleti of old conceding so readily after scoring, as happened on Saturday. But knowing you have so many options and so much quality has got to be a boost. Especially since they face Real Madrid just before the international break later this month, and -- if they advance past Spurs in the Champions League -- they could face Barcelona three times, plus play the Copa del Rey final, all in the space of 11 days.
4. Manchester City advance in FA Cup, and we learn something about Pep Guardiola: If I had 10 bucks for every time someone told me that Guardiola's erratic behavior is down to him not caring since he's "definitely off" at the end of the season, I'd be wealthy enough not to write this column. Maybe he will walk out -- heck, I have no idea -- but as long as he's still around, he's invested. Otherwise, he wouldn't have lost his cool at the referee, with his side 2-1 up and cruising, not calling a foul when Jérémy Doku was manhandled. (When asked about the ensuing yellow card -- his sixth of the season, which means he'll get a two-match ban -- he joked that he'll go on holiday. Of course he won't: He's a workaholic, which means he'll sit and stew.)
Guardiola made 10 changes against a haggard, tired Newcastle side -- even its manager, Eddie Howe, said "they held something back" -- and, after a bumpy start, went on to win 3-1, dominating for long stretches. He welcomed back John Stones (for how long, who knows?) and witnessed a stunning Omar Marmoush goal. He knows that, in the grand scheme of things, this competition is his lowest priority (and possibly, judging from his postgame words, even lower for Howe) despite the fact that like Arteta, he too is chasing a quadruple (albeit a more improbable one). Like some footballing Don Henley, if he does go, he will not go quietly.
2:25
Why Guardiola won't miss the Carabao Cup final despite touchline ban
Julien Laurens reacts to Pep Guardiola's two-game touchline ban following Man City's FA Cup win over Newcastle.
3. Robert Lewandowski vs. Harry Kane: Bayern played on Friday and thumped Borussia Monchengladbach 4-1. Kane, who picked up a muscular injury, didn't play (Nico Jackson started up front and scored), while Lennart Karl had his moments on the right flank and the returning Manuel Neuer and Jonas Urbig played a half each. The title gap is 11 points with nine games to go, so I'm ready to crown them. More interesting to me is Kane's pursuit of Robert Lewandowski's single-season scoring record of 41 goals.
Lewandowski pointed out that he got his 41 goals in just 29 games, something Kane is highly unlikely to do. I don't mind a bit of pique myself -- Lewandowski could also point out that only eight of his goals were from the penalty spot, while Kane is at 10 -- and I'm pretty sure Kane doesn't either. It's just funny to me how, while folks talk about it being a team sport, individual records still matter. Especially to center forwards.
2. Chelsea spoil "Welcome to Wrexham" dream ending: I try to avoid referencing reality TV whenever Wrexham come up, but it's hard to do so here just because the FA Cup visit of Chelsea threw up so much late unscripted drama that it's hard to see the show ever matching it. Twice taking the lead against Liam Rosenior's team, twice being pegged back, having a man sent off and a goal disallowed in extra time -- there's plenty of material there, but it shouldn't overshadow how well Wrexham played. (Yes, fundamentally, this is a football club, these are real footballers and Phil Parkinson is a really good coach.)
As for Chelsea, I get why Rosenior shuffled his pack and played the second-string like almost every other Premier League club did this weekend in the competition. I'm a lot less clear on why he also switched to a back three -- other than wanting to shoehorn squad players into the team -- as it's not something he would have had time to prepare and not something we're likely to see again. In games like this, you assume that greater quality (even with the second XI) would see Chelsea through. Eventually, it did, but only after João Pedro came off the bench. And, even then, an outcoached Rosenior admitted his team "needed a bit of luck."
1. A reminder of how dire the situation is at Tottenham: No, they didn't play this weekend, because they went out of the FA Cup straight away. But they did play on Thursday, losing at home to Crystal Palace, 3-1. They have four points in their last 11 league games and are one point above the drop zone. And while it's true that you get the same number of points away and at home, there's a reason why the home form -- one league win since opening day -- is relevant: Getting booed by 60,000 people is far harder to ignore than a few thousand traveling fans.
We can leave apportioning blame for another day, because I'd just like to know how Igor Tudor is going to get them out of this -- particularly since both Nottingham Forest and West Ham are grinding out results below them. Their Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid is up next, and, ordinarily it would be a no-brainer to prioritize that. But given how things are going, I'm no longer sure that's the case. After all, they had a big European run last season, winning the Europa League in fact, while stinking it up in the league. How much good did that do them?
