Rodri’s injury a huge blow to Man City’s title hopes; Christian Pulisic continues to deliver for Milan |Max Sporty|

Hello! It may be a slow week ahead, but the action from Europe’s top leagues over the weekend offers plenty to think about as the countdown to next weekend officially begins. I’m Pardeep Cattry with a look back at the weekend that was.

📺 Footy solution

Always American/Oriental

Monday, September 23rd
🇮🇹 Serie A: Atalanta vs. Like, 14:45 ➡️ CBS Sports Network, Most important+
🇺🇸 NWSL: Angel City vs Portland Thorns, 22:00 ➡️ CBS Sports Network

Tuesday, September 24th
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 EFL Cup: Manchester City v Watford, 2:45pm ➡️ Most important+
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 EFL Cup: Chelsea vs Barrow, 2:45 pm ➡️ Most important+
🇪🇸 La Liga: Real Madrid vs. Alaves, 15:00 ➡️ ESPN+

⚽ The Front Line

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 City’s title chances hit with Rodri injury

Manchester City may have salvaged a point in their 2-2 draw with 10-man Arsenal on Sunday, but the dropped points are perhaps the least of their worries. Midfielder Rodri left the game in the 21st minute with an ACL injury that will likely keep him out for a good while, possibly the entire season.

The injury comes just days after he complained of fixture congestion, saying players were “close” to striking out over the packed schedule. It’s a particularly relevant issue for him – he played more than 60-plus games for club and country last season and has averaged 50-plus games a season for City since joining the team in 2019. His match log also reflects his importance to City – he became the most irreplaceable player in a team full of them, arguably the face of their four-year title-winning streak.

City are still top of the table after five games and remain unbeaten, although Sunday’s draw with Arsenal capped their winning streak at four. The game was the first part of a bitter few days for Pep Guardiola’s side, but they were boosted by the controversial second yellow card to Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard before half-time for kicking the ball and delaying the restart. The red card forced Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta to go with an incredibly conservative game plan for the second half. The Gunners went ultra-conservative, conceding 87.6% possession and 28 shots to City in the second half, taking just one shot with 0.07 expected goals as they held on to their tenuous lead.

Arsenal will take some relish in the fact that they restricted City to just 1.4 expected goals despite the flood of shots, but they also delivered some stunning stats at their own expense – few will forget how Jurien Timber and Kai Havertz became the first players in Opta’s records to complete zero assists after playing 89-plus minutes in a Premier League match. The worst thing of all for Arsenal, though? The plan didn’t work – John Stones’ 98th-minute goal meant they left Manchester with one point, not three. City’s Manuel Akanji denounced Arsenal’s approach post-match on more than style points, claiming referees need to protect him and his team-mates more against the Gunners.

• Akanji: “It worked for them, if they’re happy with the one point… Every time we play against them, that’s what they’re looking for: the drama. Going hard in the duels, defending, 11 players in their own box and then. going to throws and try that’s what they’re looking for in the end We have to defend ourselves because in every duel, every free kick, they went to the floor get up, sprint again, go to the floor again, one of their team went to tell the guard to go to the floor and things like this I mean, there’s nothing we can do about it to the referee to control throughout the season, to control these situations, but yeah, we can’t do anything else.”

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🔗 Midfield League Game

🇮🇹 Christian Pulisic leads AC Milan to derby victory

AC Milan came away with a statement-making win in the Derby della Madonnina on Sunday, beating reigning Serie A champions Inter 2-1 and reversing a poor start to the season.

US men’s national team star Christian Pulisic scored his fourth goal of the season to kick things off, although the match was level courtesy of Federico Dimarco’s 27th-minute strike. Milan, however, attacked effectively during the game – they took 14 shots, put six on target and collected 1.34 expected goals. Their attack was particularly effective in the second half with at least three significant chances to score the game-winner, which ultimately came with Matteo Gabbia’s 89th-minute goal. It marked Milan’s first derby win in two years and as Francesco Porzio writes, it was also an important victory for new manager Paulo Fonseca, who was already on the hot seat.

• Portion: “While [Inter manager] Simone Inzaghi tried to revolutionize his side and changed the entire midfield in the second half, Fonseca’s tactics worked well as the Portuguese manager made a tactical change and played with a 4-4-2, with Pulisic and [Rafael] Leo playing on the wings and two central strikers (Alvaro Morata and Tammy Abraham) playing up front. The tactical change worked and confused the Inter coach, who was furious on the bench because his team could not react properly to the AC Milan attacks. AC Milan fans can now finally celebrate their first derby win in two years, but most importantly they can look with positive eyes to their future under Fonseca, who struggled in his first games at the club but the win against Inter can give him a big acceleration for the coming clashes.”

Milan rise to seventh in the Serie A table after back-to-back wins in league play, perhaps now boasting renewed optimism that they can actually build on last season’s second-place finish with much of the season still left to play.

🔗 Top Stories

🍿 City-Arsenal delivers: Here’s more on Manchester City’s draw with Arsenal, which lived up to the hype as the most anticipated Premier League match of the weekend.

⚫🔴 Fonseca’s big win: AC Milan’s victory over Inter could be a turning point for the team and for manager Paulo Fonseca after just one win in their opening five games.

🇺🇸 Weah No. 9?: USMNT winger Timothy Weah came on as a number 9 for Juventus at the weekend, potentially changing the calculus for Mauricio Pochettino as he prepares to name his first squad since taking over the national team.

🔵🔴 Ter Stegen injured: Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen will miss several months due to a knee injury, which could derail the strong season they set out to chart with new manager Hansi Flick.

🌴 Miami tie NYCFC: Lionel Messi played 90 minutes but was largely absent in Inter Miami’s 1-1 draw at New York City FC on Saturday, but “Messi Mania” was in full swing at Yankee Stadium even if the star offered few glimpses of his magic.

😲 Biting incident: The FA has opened an investigation after Preston North End’s Milutin Osmajic allegedly bit Blackburn Rovers’ Owen Beck during a match at the weekend.

💰 The Back Line

💵 Best bets

• EFL Cup: Manchester City v Watford, Tuesday, 2.45pm
  💰 THE PICK: Manchester City to win 3-0 (+500) – This will be Manchester City’s third game in seven days, so expect Pep Guardiola to turn up for his opening fixture of the competition. They will still be the oddsmakers’ favorites in this game regardless of personnel, so expect a routine day at the office for the reigning Premier League champions as they begin their quest for another piece of silverware.
• The League: Real Madrid against Alaves, Tuesday, 15
  💰 THE PICK: Vinicius Junior would score (+105) – Real Madrid may not be off to a perfect start this season, but they are winning more often than not thanks to an attack that is reaching peak form. The team has already scored 13 goals in six La Liga matches this season and plans to add more to the total on Tuesday, likely relying on a handful of goalscorers. That list includes Vinicius Junior, who already has three goals and looks set to play a big role for the team again this season.

For more picks, predictions, expert tips and the latest betting news, don’t miss the CBSSports.com betting homepage.

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