Gabriele MarcottiMar 2, 2026, 08:46 AM ETCloseGabriele Marcotti is a senior soccer writer for ESPN.com. Read his archive here and follow him on Twitter: @Marcotti.Follow on XMultiple Authors
play1:51Are Chelsea in serious financial trouble?ESPN’s Gab Marcotti and Julien Laurens react to Chelsea’s damaging UEFA European Club Landscape report.
play1:16Have Bayern Munich officially ended Dortmund’s Bundesliga title hopes?The ESPN ‘FC TV’ crew react to Bayern Munich’s 3-2 victory over Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga.
play1:17Should Barcelona protect Lamine Yamal more after recent injury scares?ESPN’s Gab Marcotti and Julien Laurens debate if Lamine Yamal is playing too much football for his age.
play2:59Were Man City lucky to claim all three points vs. Leeds?The ‘FC TV’ crew react to Manchester City’s 1-0 victory over Leeds United at Elland Road.
play2:38Nicol: Liverpool didn’t look comfortable vs. West HamESPN’s Steve Nicol believes Liverpool didn’t look comfortable against West Ham despite winning 5-2.
play2:01Will Igor Tudor save Tottenham from relegation?ESPN’s Gab Marcotti and Julien Laurens react to Tottenham’s 2-1 defeat to Fulham in the Premier League
Arsenal beat Chelsea to keep five-point gap atop Premier League, but win raises more questions than answers
Can Arsenal ride set-pieces all the way to the title? (2:04)Shaka Hislop and Steve Nicol wonder if Arsenal are too reliant on set-pieces to win the Premier League title. (2:04)
Are Chelsea in serious financial trouble?ESPN’s Gab Marcotti and Julien Laurens react to Chelsea’s damaging UEFA European Club Landscape report.
ESPN’s Gab Marcotti and Julien Laurens react to Chelsea’s damaging UEFA European Club Landscape report.
Have Bayern Munich officially ended Dortmund’s Bundesliga title hopes?The ESPN ‘FC TV’ crew react to Bayern Munich’s 3-2 victory over Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga.
The ESPN ‘FC TV’ crew react to Bayern Munich’s 3-2 victory over Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga.
Should Barcelona protect Lamine Yamal more after recent injury scares?ESPN’s Gab Marcotti and Julien Laurens debate if Lamine Yamal is playing too much football for his age.
ESPN’s Gab Marcotti and Julien Laurens debate if Lamine Yamal is playing too much football for his age.
Were Man City lucky to claim all three points vs. Leeds?The ‘FC TV’ crew react to Manchester City’s 1-0 victory over Leeds United at Elland Road.
Nicol: Liverpool didn’t look comfortable vs. West HamESPN’s Steve Nicol believes Liverpool didn’t look comfortable against West Ham despite winning 5-2.
Will Igor Tudor save Tottenham from relegation?ESPN’s Gab Marcotti and Julien Laurens react to Tottenham’s 2-1 defeat to Fulham in the Premier League
ESPN’s Gab Marcotti and Julien Laurens react to Tottenham’s 2-1 defeat to Fulham in the Premier League
Bayern win Klassiker, league feels in the bag, but plenty of room to grow
This time, Juventus pull off the comeback in a wild draw at Roma
In Germany, we arguably saw the Bundesliga title race come to an end as Bayern Munich thumped rivals and nearest challenges Borussia Dortmund to open a double-digit points lead at the top with single-digit games remaining. That was fun while it lasted, eh? Meanwhile in Italy, Juventus made an epic comeback against AS Roma to keep their top-four hopes alive in Serie A this season, which will feel good following their UEFA Champions League exit in midweek.
– VAR review: Did Chelsea deserve a penalty in loss to Arsenal? – Arsenal riding corners to Premier League title; Chelsea red cards continue – Dawson: Man Utd up to third thanks to Sesko’s hot streak of crucial goals
The same also applies for William Saliba on João Pedro, which could easily have been a penalty. You’re banking on referees calling things consistently and that’s risky: just ask new Tottenham Hotspur boss Igor Tudor (more on that later).
Raya also made some huge saves against a Chelsea side who, despite not being particularly good, had the upper hand when it came to open play. (Unlucky for them that it wasn’t a big part of this game.) That should be a warning. We know Arsenal can outplay opponents too and if they don’t want the run-in to be a nervy, anxiety-inducing mess with the finest of margins, they need to get back to doing that.
The headline is that it’s pretty much “game over” for the Bundesliga title. Joshua Kimmich — who sometimes gets more criticism than he deserves — struck within four minutes of Daniel Svensson’s late equalizer, making it 3-2 Bayern and creating a statement for the 80,000-strong crowd in Dortmund. The win puts the gap at 11 with 10 games to go, which makes me ready to apply the old rule thumb: “When the points lead is greater than the number of remaining games, you ain’t turning it around.”
The thing is, even if the game had remained 2-2, the race was probably over, given that making up eight points with less than a third of the campaign left and no more head-to-heads would have been a Herculean feat for anyone, let alone this star-crossed Borussia Dortmund team. But Bayern wanted to make sure and properly shut the door. That’s the Bayern way. It’s also not insignificant given their recent outings, and it would have pleased Vincent Kompany.
Have Bayern Munich officially ended Dortmund’s Bundesliga title hopes?
Only a week ago, against Eintracht Frankfurt, they nearly threw away two points after dominating the game. Against Hamburg SV a month ago, they did just that. Kompany’s side is just so man-for-man dominant domestically that the biggest danger often comes when it ends up hurting itself, either through complacency or distraction. Or, as happened to some degree against Dortmund, by letting the game get away from the team and turning it into a sloppy, end-to-end affair.
That shouldn’t have happened because, lest we forget, Dortmund were coming off UEFA Champions League elimination midweek, whereas Bayern had seven days to prepare. Not to mention the fact that this was Dortmund’s eighth game in February to Bayern’s fifth. And yet, physically, it was a wash and very much the sort of game that suited Nico Kovac’s crew more than Bayern: turn it into a sloppy mess and Bayern’s technical advantage is blunted.
It’s not clear that, right now, Bayern can control games in the same way. Not when there are defensive issues, not when the midfield doesn’t impose itself as it should, not when they squander chances at the attacking end.
Am I nitpicking? Sure, maybe a little bit. Michael Olise, Luis Díaz and Harry Kane are as fearsome a trio as you can face in the European game, and that’s before you factor in one of Serge Gnabry, Jamal Musiala or Lennart Karl as a fourth musketeer. Kimmich is hitting his stride again, and for all the stick the back line gets, when things are clicking up the pitch, matters will get a whole lot easier for them.
On Sunday night, in a pulsating game against Roma, Juventus were again staring down the barrel. They were 3-1 down with 12 minutes to go, with the real prospect of finding themselves two places and seven points away from a Champions League place next season (with all the implications that carries). Somehow they found a way, and with two highly improbable game changers.
10. Lamine Yamal has one of ‘those’ games: You know, the ones that leave you pretty sure that he’ll be in the GOAT conversation one day. He scored a hat trick in Barcelona’s 4-1 win over Villarreal on Saturday that saw them put the pressure back on Real Madrid (who play Monday night). But more than the scoring, it’s the movement, the ease, the calm confidence and the technique that leaves its mark.
My favorite goal? His second, which saw him cut in from the right, beat one defender, beat another defender and deliver a vicious diagonal swallowed up by the goalmouth just inside the far post. But hey, pick your poison.
As ever, it was a day of highs and lows for Hansi Flick’s Barça. The high line gives up chances that Joan García has to snuff out. Set-piece defending leaves a lot to be desired (as evidenced by Pape Gueye’s goal), and Ferran Torres needs to finish better if he’s going to keep taking Robert Lewandowski’s minutes. But you can’t argue with the results, can you?
Should Barcelona protect Lamine Yamal more after recent injury scares?
Dimarco opened the scoring with a ridiculous strike that reminded you how positions and roles are somewhat subverted in the modern game. He has six goals (all from open play) and a Serie A-leading 14 assists this season. His 20 goal involvements — excluding penalties — make him sixth overall in Europe’s big five leagues. Ahead of him are Kane, Erling Haaland and Olise (all with 26), Diaz (23) and Yamal 21. Kylian Mbappé is just behind at 19. That’s pretty good company to keep.
The ‘FC TV’ crew react to Manchester City’s 1-0 victory over Leeds United at Elland Road.
With an eye toward the Copa del Rey return leg in midweek against Barcelona (they’re 4-0 up, but hey, you never know), Simeone made seven changes, including the entire back four. Too much? On paper, no: We know how deep his squad is. In practice, however, you have to wonder whether rotation is part of his skill set.
Manchester United’s penalty call sparks big debate on ESPN FC
Moments like those remind us these footballers we watch are people, not AI-powered robots. And it’s on the human front that Conte is going to succeed or fail this season, given the way injuries have ravaged his club. Napoli were poor, again, at Verona — you can’t keep spotting the opposition half a dozen regulars — but the three points were both huge and deserved.
Nicol: Liverpool didn’t look comfortable vs. West Ham
ESPN’s Steve Nicol believes Liverpool didn’t look comfortable against West Ham despite winning 5-2.
3. AC Milan create plenty in 2-0 win, but also waste plenty: Don’t get too excited by the whopping 3.64 xG. When you don’t actually score your first goal until the 89th minute, and when your top scorer only finds the net deep in injury time, you still have a problem. Especially when — even against a side like Cremonese — you still play at a plodding pace and rely on counterattacks and individuals to create chances.