Free Flowing Football Issue 1 - Gabbia's Dream Goal

I just decided that I wanted to write again so I did.

Here goes

The Big Match 1 – Stuttgart Strong, Dortmund Stutter

Stuttgart 5 (five)- Borussia Dortmund 1

(xG 3.4 – 0.7)

While everyone else was watching 10-man Arsenal’s heroic yet ultimately futile rear-guard defence of a 2-1 lead at Manchester City, I was watching Borussia Dortmund’s moderately encouraging start to the season getting completely dismantled by Stuttgart. The home support was absolutely magnificent from minute one. The Neckarstadion has a capacity of 60,000, most of whom were fully behind the home team.

The Bundesliga runners-up lost several key players over the summer, some of whom were central to their extraordinary season. Two of them went to Dortmund. Serhou Guirassy was given a pass, but former skipper Waldemar Anton was mercilessly eviscerated every time he touched the ball. Borussia have visited numerous difficult venues over the past year and prevailed, but they completely collapsed in the febrile atmosphere and after they went 1-0 down from an early goal by Dennis Undav.

And the Swabians got their noses in front, they were relentless, while Dortmund essentially caved. I say "essentially" because they did grab a consolation: Guirassy followed up his first goal for the club against Brugge in the Champions League with his first Bundesliga goal to make it 3-1. But it was way too little, far too late. Undav scored a brace, but the best player on the pitch was Enzo Millot. The left-sided midfielder scored one and assisted two.

Sebastian Hoeness has done wonders keeping his team on track after a difficult summer, and they look one of the better teams in the Bundesliga that I’ve seen so far. Dortmund, meanwhile, need to be patient with their new coach, Nuri Sahin.

The Big Match 2 – Gabbia’s header for the ages

Inter 1 – AC Milan 2

(xG 0.7 – 1.7)

With Milan coach Paulo Fonseca already under immense pressure after a poor start to the new Serie A season and Inter as the red-hot favourites to win the derby, the Rossoneri pulled off a dramatic and emotional win at the San Siro on Sunday evening. Christian Pulisic pounced on a loose ball and surged into the box to give Milan the lead after just 10 minutes. Federico Dimarco equalized for his hometown club after 27 minutes, and for a while, it looked like the current Scudetto holders would reassert themselves. However, the underdogs held firm until halftime, and the game remained finely balanced in the second half.

The winner came from an imperious header by defender and lifelong Milan fan, Matteo Gabbia, in the 89th minute. The goal was set up by a beautiful free kick from Tijjani Reijnders. That’s now two straight wins in Serie A for AC Milan, providing some much-needed breathing space for the coach.

The Big News – A Rodri for his own back

After speaking out against the number of games elite players are required to play and raising the possibility of strike action, Manchester City’s Rodri finished the week by tearing his ACL, almost certainly ending his season. This is a major setback for City in their relentless pursuit of multiple titles. It also throws his earlier concerns about player welfare into the spotlight, even though there is no way to know if the Spaniard’s injury is directly related to excessive game minutes.

The difficulty in reflecting on these issues is that not all players face the same high-pressure schedule as those at the top clubs. Additionally, a critical mass of players have contract values directly or indirectly linked to the number of games they play. You only need to look at the upper layers of the Championship to find players who certainly earn decent money but not necessarily enough to set them up for life. For these players, more games means more money.

In a way, Rodri is a victim of his own brilliance. City almost never lose when he’s in the team, and despite the vastness and profound depth of their squad, the club needs him to keep playing. And so, I imagine, does his national team.