Soccer Monday: EPL returns, Napoli 'melts' in opener and Leagues Cup semis set
Kick the week off with all the news from this past weekend
Good morning and happy Monday!
Four of Europe’s top five leagues returned this past weekend. The Bundesliga was the only exception and slated to kick off this coming Friday.
That meant the Premier League, Serie A, La Liga and Ligue 1 were all back to the delight of many who missed rooting for their clubs after a summer loaded with international tournaments.
Here are the major storylines from this past weekend:
3. Man City, Arsenal and Liverpool all win
The Premier League returned this past weekend and little changed from what we saw at the end of last season.
Defending champions Manchester City — highlighted by Earling Haaland’s 100th appearance for the club by netting the game’s first goal — defeated Chelsea 2-0 on Sunday with the aim of winning a fifth straight league title.
Haaland scofred in the 18th minute and Mateo Kovacic added a second from just outside the area in the 84th.
Meanwhile, there were also wins for Liverpool and Arsenal, two other teams that can contend for the title. Liverpool opened on Saturday with a 2-0 victory over promoted side Ipswich.
Arsenal, runners-up in the league the past two seasons, also won 2-0 at home at Wolverhampton thanks to goals by Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka.
2. Napoli sinks in Conte’s Serie A return
Verona defeated Napoli 3-0 at home on Sunday in Serie A’s opening weekend, handing new manager Antonio Conte a crushing defeat.
“We melted like snow in the sun after the first goal,” Conte told reporters. “We should apologize to the Neapolitan people, who follow us with passion. I am the coach and it is right that I take full responsibility. In the second half there was an unacceptable performance.”
Conte is Napoli’s fifth coach in two years since Luciano Spalletti left the club after guiding the team to the league title.
On Saturday, Marcus Thuram’s brace was not enough to let Inter Milan kick off its title defense with a win as a late penalty helped Genoa draw 2-2. Inter’s rivals AC Milan, playing at home, could only salvage a 2-2 draw with Torino.
Lazio, meanwhile, managed a 3-1 victory at home in Rome against newly-promoted Venezia.
1. Leagues Cup semifinals an all-MLS affair
The Leagues Cup is marketed as “three countries, two leagues and one crown.”
Instead, this summer’s League’s Cup between MLS and Liga MX teams will feature an all-American final.
Call it “one country and one crown.”
The tournament’s four remaining teams all hail from MLS after the Colorado Rapids downed Club America 9-8 on a penalty-kick shootout following a 0-0 draw on Saturday.
On the same day, the Philadelphia Union did the same against Mazatlan, eliminating the Mexican side 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw. This all sets up Wednesday’s semifinals when the Columbus Crew SC host the Union and the Colorado Rapids travel to Los Angeles to take on LAFC.
In other news: Defending champion Real Madrid couldn’t manage more than a 1-1 draw at Mallorca in Kylian Mbappe's first Spanish league match on Sunday. In his second game with Madrid after debuting midweek, Mbappe failed to break through. The France great had scored in Madrid’s 2-0 win against Atalanta in the UEFA Super Cup last Wednesday. … Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain got its post-Mbappe era with a win on Friday by beating Le Havre 4-1 in its Ligue 1 opener. The scoreline was more comfortable than the performance suggested. PSG’s last three goals were scored in the final five minutes. … Patrik Schick equalized in the 88th minute to secure a 2-2 draw and Leverkusen went on to defeat Stuttgart 4-3 on penalties in the German Supercup on Saturday. Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso sent on Schick, Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong to boost his team’s attacking threat for the final 15 minutes. As so often last season, his move paid off when Schick tied the score two minutes from time.