Atletico Madrid lost at home for the first time this season to heap further pressure on manager Gregory Manzano. Man City edged a 1-0 win over Arsenal to end the Gunners eight match unbeaten run, while Napoli tasted defeat in front of their own fans for the first time since mid-October. WhoScored focuses on three significant unbeaten streaks that came to an end at the weekend in our regular Monday rundown:
Woeful Finishing Costs Atletico - Match Centre
Given they have acquired a single away point all season, it’s something of an understatement to say Atletico have been overly-reliant on home form to boost their league position. With 5 wins and 3 draws in their opening 8 matches at the Vicente Calderon Stadium, though, Manzano’s side were overwhelming favourites as Real Betis paid a visit.
Only Barca and Real had better home records and had scored more goals in front of their own fans than Atletico and, with Betis arriving on the back of a 6 game losing streak that had seen them score just twice and concede 10, a home win was heavily expected.
Atletico tend to boss home games in terms of possession - their 60% average is second only to Barca - and their 22 shots per match in front of their own fans is the best in La Liga. They surpassed both these averages, with 68% possession and fired off an incredible 31 efforts on goal but failed to find the net in a 2-0 reverse.
Playing on the right of the Atletico 4-3-3, Adrian led the way for attempts. He had 7 shots on goal but only a single effort was on target in a woeful shooting performance. Falcao was also to blame - the centre forward had 4 shots, with just 1 on target, but was also dispossessed 6 times and finished the match with a WhoScored rating of 5.38 - the lowest of any player on the pitch. Gabi created chances aplenty - from 64 passes, he produced 6 key passes for the home side but came away empty-handed due to his team mates’ inability to find the net.
Betis produced a fantastic backs to the wall performance to clinch the victory. They had just 6 shots all game but a brilliant work-rate is demonstrated by 30 tackles compared to their hosts’ 18. Keeper Casto picked up the man of the match award, with 9 saves to defy the frustrated home side, while there were eye-catching defensive performances all over the pitch. Centre-half Chechu Dorado made 1 tackle but also produced an outstanding 7 interceptions and 18 clearances, in addition to wining 3 aerial duels. Alongside him, Antonio Amaya made 3 tackles, 4 interceptions and 14 clearances, while in the centre of midfield, Canas made 3 tackles and 8 interceptions to break up Atletico’s forward moves time and again.
Alex Pozuelo and Roque Santa Cruz showed Atletico how to finish. The former scored with his only effort before being sent off on 72 minutes, while Santa Cruz hit the post and the back of the net with his pair of efforts to secure the unlikeliest of victories.
Arsenal Outgunned at the Etihad - Match Centre
City came into the game in second place, with Man United winning earlier in the day at QPR. Having lost their unbeaten record at Chelsea last Monday, Roberto Mancini’s side produced the perfect response in what proved to be a brilliantly entertaining end-to-end tussle between two of the Premier League’s heavyweight contenders.
Arsenal edged the battle for possession, with 53% of the play - given that City average 56.8% at home; Arsene Wenger’s side’s determination to take the game to their hosts was impressive. Mikel Arteta saw more of the ball than any other player, making 72 passes with a 92% accuracy but produced just a single key pass for the Gunners. Robin Van Persie, in comparison, made 4 and also had 3 shots at goal but the Dutchman was dispossessed 7 times and recorded just 6.03 in the WhoScored ratings - a real off-day.
In terms of shots, honours were almost even; City had 15 to Arsenal’s 14, with both keepers making 6 saves apiece. Sergio Aguero was City’s main goal threat, with 5 shots and 2 on target - stats that were mirrored by Arsenal centre-half Thomas Vermaelen, highlighting the Belgian’s danger from the back. Samir Nasri was another stand-out performer; the former Arsenal man suffered the jeers of the crowd throughout but made 4 key passes, the most of any City player, though he managed just a single shot, which failed to find the target.
The main difference was in each side’s work-rate; City made 33 tackles to Arsenal’s 24, with Pablo Zabaleta, in particular, standing out. The Argentine, only starting due to injuries and suspensions to others, picked up the WhoScored man of the match award with a rating of 8.46. Fielded at left-back, he made a brilliant 9 tackles and 3 interceptions as well as hitting the post. Gareth Barry also demonstrated his importance to City in the middle of the park, with 5 tackles and 8 interceptions.
In the end, it took a scrappy rebounded effort from David Silva to separate the sides as City returned to the top of the table.
De Sanctis Gives Roma a Helping Hand - Match Centre
Having lost 4 of their last 5 on the road, Roma arrived at the Stadio San Paolo as underdogs. Napoli had already seen off the likes of Milan at home earlier in the season and hosted a thrilling 3-3 draw with leaders Juventus a couple of weeks back. Added to their recent qualification to the Champions League knockout stages; the home side were in buoyant mood for Sunday’s showdown.
The game proved to be an evenly matched affair in many respects. The possession was 50-50 and Napoli just edged the shots tally by 18-16, though the visitors proved the more clinical, scoring with 3 of their 4 efforts on target. Pablo Osvaldo, playing on the left of the Roma front three, had 6 efforts - more than any player on the pitch - and scored with the only 1 he had on target. Francesco Totti was the only other visiting player to muster more than a single shot, with 2 of his 3 on target.
Both Juan Zuniga and Marek Hamsik stood out for the hosts. The former produced 4 shots, 4 key passes and 4 successful dribbles from his role on the left of midfield and was fouled 5 times, with Roma unable to deal with his trickery. Zuniga picked up just an assist for his evening’s work, though was rewarded with the WhoScored man of the match award, picking up a rating of 8.66. Hamsik was just as instrumental - he managed 5 shots, with 3 on target, and scored Napoli’s only goal. He also made a key pass and produced 7 successful dribbles, tormenting the visitors throughout.
Napoli also were the most impressive defensively, making 27 tackles to Roma’s 17. Hugo Campagnaro was the stand-out performer - playing on the right of the home side’s back-three, he made 7 tackles and 6 interceptions, as well as winning 2 aerial duels, to blunt the visitors’ attacking threat. Salvatore Aronica, on the left of the back-three, made 3 tackles, 9 interceptions and 6 clearances, but their efforts were in vain in the end, with Napoli keeper Morgan De Sanctis helping the visitors on their way to victory with a third minute own goal from which Walter Mazzarri’s side never quite recovered.
