Gabriele MarcottiMar 3, 2025, 10:30 AM ET
What a weekend in European football! The FA Cup took center stage in England as the Premier League enjoyed a couple of days off, with holders Manchester United dumped out of the competition by Fulham on penalties as the highlight of the fifth round. Meanwhile, in LaLiga, Real Madrid dropped more points thanks to a raft of lineup changes with the Champions League looming in midweek, giving both Barcelona and Atlético Madrid an edge in a very tense title race.
In Italy, Napoli and Inter Milan shared the spoils in a top-of-the-table clash that will leave one set of fans feeling happier than the other, and there were talking points galore around Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, Paris Saint-Germain, and much more.
Here are musings and reactions to the most memorable moments of the weekend.
It's not FA Cup elimination that should worry Manchester United, it's the sense of drift
Sure, losing at home on penalties to Fulham leaves just one trophy -- the Europa League -- still at stake (and, just as important these days, one pathway back into Europe). And that stings. But this wasn't a debacle and it's unlikely to have lasting consequences, unlike the general sense of going nowhere that is slowly enveloping the club. That goes beyond Ruben Amorim, into a world populated by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and rodent infestations, Financial Sustainability Rules and layoffs, the Glazer family and leaky roofs.
Amorim had said things would get worse before they get better, and he asked for trust. I get the impression that, by and large, he still has that trust, if only because supporters are exhausted by coaches who get extensions for no apparent reason (like his predecessor, Erik ten Hag) and executives who get hired at great expense, only to be let go a few months later because the minority owner, Ratcliffe, realizes they don't align with his vision.
Fulham are five places and nine points better off than United in the Premier League table, and there's a reason for that. They are a better drilled side with, for now, just as good a Portuguese coach in Marco Silva. They didn't necessarily outplay United; instead, they took the lead following a collective brain cramp off a corner kick and then generated some decent chances in extra time before prevailing on penalties, which could easily have gone either way -- just as they went United's way against Arsenal in this same competition a couple of rounds ago.
I'm not suggesting Amorim is a genius for getting his team to hang in there until spot kicks, but rather I don't know how much more he could have done. At the final whistle, the only substitute options left to him on the bench were Hubert Graczyk and Will Murdock, backup goalkeepers unfamiliar to anyone but their close relatives. Other than Alejandro Garnacho, the subs he brought on were either guys who have their bags packed and are ready to leave the club (Victor Lindelöf and Casemiro) or teenagers (18-year-old Ayden Heaven was making his first-team debut, while 17-year-old Chido Obi had all of 22 minutes under his belt.)
What are you going to criticise him for: Ditching the 3-4-2-1 system that got him the job for something more functional?
You can debate whether Garnacho should have started in lieu of Christian Eriksen, but that's about it and, frankly, it's not hard to see why he opted for Eriksen. Leaving aside some of Garnacho's disciplinary issues, he obviously expected Fulham would sit and let United have the ball; Garnacho is less effective when there's no space in which to run.
Amorim doesn't get a pass in perpetuity, but right now he's the least of United's concerns and relative to their previous outings, there was evident progress. More worrying is what's happening upstairs and around the club.
Increasingly, it's unclear what Ratcliffe is trying to do, other than lower costs via mass layoffs, often crudely done and talk nonsense about a "Wembley of the North." That confusion is what undermines faith. Supporters are smart enough to look at the team, look at the players who are there (and, crucially, those who are unavailable) and understand Amorim can't yet be judged.
I'm not sure the same can be said for Ratcliffe and his sidekick, Dave Brailsford. Did they appoint the right guys in Omar Berrada, Jean-Claude Blanc, Jason Wilcox and Christopher Vivell to the executive level? We'll find out soon enough. Because if they don't ride to the rescue, Amorim's job gets that much harder, and it becomes that much less likely that he can succeed.
1:50
Garcia slams Real Madrid for showing 'no conviction' in defeat
Luis Garcia criticises Real Madrid's lack of desire in their 2-1 defeat to Real Betis in LaLiga.
It's not the eight changes away to Real Betis, but the performance that doomed Real Madrid
It's tempting to blame Real Madrid's 2-1 defeat on injuries and the upcoming Champions League clash with Atletico. You win away to Real Sociedad in midweek and of that XI, only Vinícius, Aurélien Tchouaméni and Antonio Rüdiger start your next game (also, Tchouameni moves from central defence into midfield). Obviously there will be a knock-on effect.
But that's a bit misleading because the midweek lineup -- with Arda Güler, Fran García, Endrick and Eduardo Camavinga starting -- wasn't exactly Madrid's first-choice XI either. And it's not as if Real Madrid dominated against Real Sociedad either. Yes, the absence of Jude Bellingham (suspended in the league) weighed heavy, but on the flip side Thibaut Courtois, Kylian Mbappé and, erm, Ferland Mendy were back.
A simpler explanation is that Betis are in good form right now, whereas Real Madrid seemingly curled up in the fetal position after 20 minutes or so. Prior to that, everything looked rosy, with Brahim Díaz opening the scoring after some delightful build-up work from Mbappé and Vinicius. But from the 17th minute until the 52nd, Real Madrid did not have a single shot on goal, whether on target or not.
Maybe it was his dental work, but Mbappé turned in arguably his worst game since joining the club (somehow ending up with zero shots) and Vinicius Jr. wasn't far behind; David Alaba struggled at the back, Rudiger gave away a penalty to Jesús Rodriguez and Luka Modric looked his age.
Credit Betis for getting Real Madrid to turn the ball over no fewer than 27 times in the first half alone, a stat so extreme Carlo Ancelotti cited it in his postmatch news conference. He called it a "bad game" and he wasn't kidding. Serve up this sort of fare against Atleti, and you're going out of the Champions League before the quarterfinals. Oh, and you won't be able to blame the eight changes...
Two points dropped for dominant Napoli at home to Inter, who may not be as deep as Inzaghi thinks
Given they were top of Serie A and on the road, and it was first vs. second, you assume Inter are happy with the 1-1 draw away to Napoli despite the fact that they were leading until three minutes from the end. If not, they're deluded, because Napoli had their way with them and this was one of their worst performances of the season.
The numbers tell their own story. Inter took the lead through a magisterial Federico Dimarco free kick after 22 minutes and then did very little, especially in a horror show of a second half that saw them record zero shots. Credit Napoli, of course, who found the intensity that Antonio Conte demands, and who could have scored plenty more of Romelu Lukaku and Giacomo Raspadori were better at sorting out their feet. Conte's decision to replace the unavailable André-Frank Zambo Anguissa (one of his best players this season) with Billy Gilmour raised a few eyebrows (if only because Gilmour is a totally different player), but it worked, giving Napoli a second deep playmaker alongside Stanislav Lobotka.
But more than one thing can be true. And it's equally accurate that Inter looked jaded and weary. Whether sitting and playing on the counter after taking the lead was Simone Inzaghi's (misguided) call or whether it happened organically matters little. It proved to be disastrous. In the modern game, you can't invite pressure like that, least of all away from home, least of all against a Conte side.
Injuries didn't help either. With three wide options (Carlos Augusto, Matteo Darmian and Nicola Zalewski) sidelined, losing Dimarco after 51 minutes meant a weird tactical tweak that saw Denzel Dumfries redeployed on the left. Hakan Calhanoglu, clearly not fit, also lasted just 51 minutes and why Joaquín Correa (who again, contributed nothing) came on for the banged up Marcus Thuram (instead of Mehdi Taremi or Marko Arnautovic) is another mystery.
Suddenly, Inter don't appear quite that deep. Or maybe it's more accurate to say that Inzaghi is a master of substitutions and getting impact off the bench when he's the one deciding when to make the changes. When they're forced on him, it's a different story.
The gap now is a single point, and it's very much "game on" for the Scudetto.
QUICK HITS
10. Luis Enrique's vision is coming to fruition at Paris Saint-Germain: Yes, he's different, he's unorthodox and when things don't work, it often looks really, really bad. But Luis Enrique is a genius (however flawed) and little by little, he's made his mark on Paris Saint-Germain. He got the players he wanted, shipped out the ones he didn't want (like Randal Kolo Muani) and was strong with his squad when necessary (ask Ousmane Dembélé). Now, they're flying: PSG have 10 wins in a row and are undefeated since November (their only losses this year came against Arsenal and Bayern away). Sure, the test will be in the Champions League, starting with Liverpool this week, but they're in a good place right now. A very good place.
2:00
Archie says Xabi Alonso's Leverkusen side make him 'develop feelings'
Archie Rhind-Tutt discusses Bayer Leverkusen's big win over Frankfurt with manager Xabi Alonso.
9. Bayer Leverkusen hit the right notes even amid the Emi Buendia-Victor Boniface fight: It was second vs. third (sort of: Eintracht had won just one of six games and look to be on the slide) and it was a veritable beatdown from Bayer Leverkusen on the road en route to a 4-1 win. Even with an eye on the big Champions League clash with Bayern Munich, Leverkusen looked in control throughout as they raced to a 3-0 lead after 33 minutes. Everything is clicking, and I don't even mind the late spat between Buendia and Boniface -- which resulted in a full-fledged melee -- after they got in each other's way. Some may see indiscipline: I see hunger and commitment between two subs who both want to be a part of it. I imagine Xabi Alonso sees it that way too.
8. A bit of good fortune helps Barcelona into first place: This doesn't mean they don't deserve it, of course, but there's no question that Aritz Elustondo's red card after just 17 minutes was a huge boost, as were the two deflected off Marc Casadó and Robert Lewandowski in a big victory over Real Sociedad. (Did he mean to poke it past Álex Remiro? Given it's Lewa, you're tempted to say yes, but it's still a guy sticking out a boot on a teammate's shot.) Elustondo's dismissal forced Imanol Alguacil to take off Jon Olasagasti and effectively cede the midfield. Dani Olmo, Pedri and Lamine Yamal did the rest, on their way to a 4-0 win. Hansi Flick even had the luxury of rotating some players, and you really couldn't ask for a better weekend heading into the Champions League midweek.
1:47
Laurens: A different ball shouldn't be an excuse
Gab Marcotti and Julien Laurens react to Pep Guardiola's comments about the FA Cup ball following Manchester City's 3-1 win over Plymouth Argyle.
7. Plymouth Argyle run out of miracles against Manchester City, and Pep Guardiola complains about the ball: Having knocked Liverpool out of the FA Cup already, you wondered if lightning was going to strike twice when Maksym Talovierov put Plymouth (second-bottom in the EFL Championship) ahead vs. City. It turned out to be a blip. City had dominated until that point and went on to dominate the rest of the game, with Nico O'Reilly bagging two goals. I'm all for romance, but I also want to see teams who play better win and that's what happened. On another note, Guardiola complained about the FA Cup ball postgame, much like Mikel Arteta did about the League Cup ball when Arsenal were knocked out in January. I tend to side with the coaches here, but it's worth noting how silly the FA's response was, with a spokesman noting that "more than 350 goals" have been scored with this year's ball. Talk about out-of-context, meaningless numbers. Is that a little? Is that a lot? If they played with a tennis ball and ended up scoring 1,000 goals would that be OK?
6. Atletico gut out trap game for huge win over Athletic Club: Fourth in the table and sandwiched in between Barcelona in the Copa del Rey and Real Madrid in the Champions League, Athletic Club were classic "trap game" fare, and even without arguably their biggest threat (Oihan Sancet), they still had Atletico on their back foot, hitting the woodwork three times and forcing Jan Oblak to do Jan Oblak-type stuff. But few managers use their substitutions as effectively as Diego Simeone and when the posse of Conor Gallagher, Marcos Llorente, Julián Álvarez and (a few minutes later) Ángel Correa came on, it forced Athletic to readjust. Llorente and Alvarez combined for the game's only goal and Simeone, again, looked like a genius (though we ought to remind ourselves that Athletic came close multiple times after that). Luck? Sure. That's part of football. Doesn't mean they didn't earn their luck.
5. Borussia Dortmund win two consecutive league games for the first time in nearly a year: I don't want to be unkind here, but that stat pretty much illustrates how inconsistent, mismanaged and chaotic this club has been. And yes, take this with a pinch of salt: the 2-0 win over St. Pauli came against a side that had lost three straight games. While the performance was better, it still feels like manager Nico Kovac is holding auditions (see: Gio Reyna in the No. 10 role) and there are still a ton of question marks. But at least they looked solid, Karim Adeyemi showed us just why some folks still believe in him and Serhou Guirassy continues to score (11 goals in his last 11 games.) They're in the bottom half of the table, but the Champions League is six points away: it's a realistic target.
4. Two points dropped for Atalanta, but it doesn't mean it can't be a three-way race: We can all do the math. Had Atalanta beaten second-bottom Venezia on Saturday, they'd be second in the table, level on points with Napoli and one behind Inter. The numbers say they haven't won any of their last five home games -- and could have lost this one if Alessio Zerbin had made better decisions late in the game -- and it's true that teams with poor home records tend not to win titles. But Atalanta dominated this game, hitting the woodwork twice and putting together and xG of nearly 2.0. The fact that they're out of Europe (unlike Inter) and are willing and able to rotate their team (unlike Napoli) is a feature, not a bug, between now and the season. Don't count them out.
3. Lyon's Paulo Fonseca loses it at the worst possible time: Not that there's ever a good time to get in a referee's face, lose control and come within millimetres of a head-butt, but this one was especially bad. It was deep in injury time, his Lyon side were 2-1 up at Brest and the previous week had been marked by plenty of public sympathy for referees, following the 15-game ban meted out to Marseille executive Pablo Longoria for his "corruption rant." What drew Fonseca's ire? He thought referee Benoit MIllot was going to award a penalty against Lyon, which, in fact, he did not do and had no plans of doing. Fonseca is a decent man and has already apologised. Given the climate post-Longoria though, it's hard to see how he's going to escape a hefty ban.
3:22
Marcotti: Zlatan struggling in his role for AC Milan
Gab Marcotti explains how Zlatan Ibrahimovic could be doing a more effective job as a disciplinarian for AC Milan.
2. Milan are a dumpster fire right now as fans go on the war path: It wasn't great before kickoff, with the club's Ultras only entering in the 15th minute as a sign of protest, it got progressively worse during the game, with owner Gerry Cardinale being loudly urged to sell the club. The 2-1 defeat to Lazio may have come late -- Mike Maignan's ill-advised decision to come off his line on Gustav Isaksen, leading to a penalty converted by Pedro in the eighth minute of extra time -- but it was thorough and it was deserved.
There's a ton of blame to go around here, and maybe fans would have been less livid if it had been a simple 3-0 defeat than the illusion of the late comeback. Milan manager Sérgio Conceição -- the cigar-chomping, dressing-room dancing, Mr. Motivator tough guy -- now looks like someone throwing stuff against the wall and seeing what sticks. He switched back to a 4-3-3 formation and finally dropped João Félix, only to bring him back when he substituted Yunus Musah in the 37th minute (way to humiliate the guy). He opted for the more attacking Álex Jiménez on the right, only to swap him for the more defensive Kyle Walker at half-time when he was a goal down. We even had a late Luka Jovic sighting instead of Tammy Abraham. Now there's talk of an in-house solution, like resident legend Mauro Tassotti (currently an assistant with the youth side). Conceição is clearly a net negative and while he's by no means the only one, he's the easiest to replace. That won't fix Milan, but it might lower the temperature, placate the fans and give them some mental runway to figure things out for next season. That we're even talking about this just two months after his appointment shows how Cardinale has been talking to (and trusting) the wrong people.
1. RB Leipzig are still in darkness ... is Jurgen Klopp going to step in? They take the lead at home within a minute against Mainz (who are having a great season, but still, it's Mainz) and then throw it away with some absurd defending. Stop me if you've heard this one before. Leipzig are a mess right now. They've won just two league games in 2025 and are as close to the bottom half of the table as they are the Champions League. It may or may not be manager Marco Rose's fault, but it's obvious things aren't working for a team this talented. I've heard things about Klopp's role within the Red Bull organisation as "Global Head of Soccer," and some suggest it's really just a glorified ambassadorial role. I hope that's not the case. He needs to diagnose and address this issue. If that's not part of the remit, he ought to rethink taking money from Red Bull.
