With the entire world celebrating Christmas on Monday, football fans were treated to some epic action over the weekend, and the icing on the cake was the 1-1 draw between Liverpool and Arsenal.
The winter transfer window is also approaching in Europe and top European clubs will look to reinforce their squads for the second-half of the season. We could see some big changes in Manchester United, who are currently in a state of crisis. Meanwhile, the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City will look to increase their squad depth.
Here are the top-five highlights from the weekend:
1. Liverpool vs Arsenal in top-of-the-table Premier League clash
Both sides played out an entertaining 1-1 draw at Anfield on Saturday. Arsenal took the lead after only four minutes as Gabriel Magalhaes rose highest to meet Martin Odegaard’s free-kick, guiding it past Alisson.
Liverpool responded in the 29th-minute as Mo Salah latched onto a Trent Alexander-Arnold long ball, before cutting in and shooting home to level. The hosts then twice hit the woodwork in the search for a winner, with Harvey Elliot getting close off the bench before Alexander-Arnold hammering a great chance off the crossbar. The result also sees Arsenal in pole position at Christmas, with a one-point lead over second-placed Liverpool.
2. Roma edge past nine-man Napoli
Jose Mourinho’s Roma sealed a crucial 2-0 win against nine-man Napoli, at the Stadio Olimpico. The first-half was goaless but Roma had the better chances. In the second-half, Politano’s red card in the 66th-minute proved to be the catalyst. 10 minutes later, Lorenzo Pellegrini scored a stunning volley to put Roma ahead and then Osimhen was also sent-off for a second yellow card in the 86th-minute.
In stoppage time, Natan was forced to go off due to a shoulder injury, with Napoli having only eight men on the field and Romelu Lukaku punished them with a goal in the final minute. The result sees Roma overtake Napoli into sixth place, three points off the top four.
3. Spotlight on Manchester United
On Sunday, British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe completed a deal to buy a 25 percent stake in Manchester United. Furthermore, he pledged to invest 300 million dollars into the Premier League side.
The deal will see Ratcliffe’s INEOS group take over management of the club’s operations from majority owners, the Glazers family. “As a local boy and a lifelong supporter of the club, I am very pleased that we have been able to agree a deal with the Manchester United Board that delegates us management responsibility of the football operations of the club,” Ratcliffe, 71, said in a statement.
“Whilst the commercial success of the club has ensured there have always been available funds to win trophies at the highest level, this potential has not been fully unlocked in recent times.
“We will bring the global knowledge, expertise and talent from the wider INEOS Sport group to help drive further improvement at the Club, while also providing funds intended to enable future investment into Old Trafford.”
4. Victor Osimhen signs new Napoli deal
Over the weekend, Victor Osimhen signed a new contract with Serie A club Napoli, ahead of the winter transfer window. The new deal goes until 2026, and has a 120-130 million Euros release clause, according to Sky Sports.
Osimhen was the target of top European clubs and reportedly unhappy with treatment in Italy. But this development will be bad news for the likes of Chelsea, who had him in their radar. Osimhen signed for Napoli in 2020 and has featured 95 times, scoring 57 goals. Meanwhile, he has also scored 20 goals for Nigeria, in 27 matches.
5. Manchester City quintuple champions
On Friday, Manchester City won the Club World Cup to become quintuple champions, having also clinched the Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup.
They sealed a 4-0- win vs Fluminense in the Club World Cup final, courtesy of a brace from Julian Alvarez and a goal from Phil Foden. Meanwhile, Nino scored an own goal.