The festive season might be about giving, but this weekend, football decided to gift us pure drama and spectacular upsets. From City slipping and sliding at Villa Park to United’s Old Trafford horror show, let’s unpack the weekend that had us all yelling at our screens.
‘Emery Christmas for Villa but not for City
Aston Villa 2-1 Manchester City
It’s beginning to look a lot like…chaos for Pep Guardiola as his side endured another humbling, with Aston Villa delivering the latest blow. The Villans were on fire, running the game like the landlords of Villa Park, while City’s defense looked very leaky.
Jhon Durán missed an early sitter but redeemed himself with a clinical finish minutes later. Meanwhile, Josko Gvardiol had a night to forget, gifting Villa the opener with a misplaced pass and then firing a header into orbit when his side desperately needed a goal. Morgan Rogers ran rings around City’s defense, sealing the win with a silky finish.
City managed a consolation through Phil Foden, but with just 1 win in their last 12 games, Pep might be overthinking things again. Perhaps his Christmas wish should be to rediscover his team’s winning ways—before they get mistaken for a mid-table side.
Barça Bottle It Again: Atlético Go Top!
Barcelona 1-2 Atlético Madrid
Just a week after their Leganés humiliation, Barcelona fans were hoping for redemption. What they got instead was Diego Simeone’s Atlético Madrid rubbing salt into the wounds. Pedri’s opener gave the Blaugrana some hope, but Rodrigo de Paul curled in a beauty from 20 yards to level the score, and then, in the dying minutes, substitute Alexander Sørloth delivered a dagger to Barça hearts. With consecutive defeats and whispers of a “bottling campaign” growing louder, Hansi Flick might want to find a Plan B before the title slips away.
United’s Nightmare Before Christmas
Manchester United 0-3 Bournemouth
Oh, United. Just when fans thought it couldn’t get worse, Bournemouth delivered a festive humbling at Old Trafford—again. Goals from Dean Huijsen, Justin Kluivert and Antoine Semenyo left Ruben Amorim looking like he’d been visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future.
With United now sitting in 13th place and it seems like, Old Trafford is becoming a gift shop for visiting teams. Bournemouth, on the other hand, are dreaming of Europe—what a time to be alive for the Cherries!
Spurs 3-6 Liverpool: A Salah Show for the Ages
Over in North London, Liverpool were putting on a masterclass in goal-scoring chaos. Mohamed Salah was the star of the show, bagging two goals and two assists to lead the Reds to a jaw-dropping 6-3 victory over Spurs.
Tottenham’s defense was all over the place and Fraser Forster’s goalkeeping only added to the festive comedy. Even a wonder goal from James Maddison couldn’t save Spurs from the relentless Salah, who became the first player in PL history to score and assist 10 goals before Christmas.
Fan Zone: Let the Banter Fly
- City fans: Can Pep arrest this decline ?
- Barça faithful: Is this a blip or the beginning of the end?
- United supporters: Is your club officially allergic to success?
- Liverpool fans: Are you already planning a trophy parade?
Drop your hottest takes, memes, and festive jabs in the comments—because football is the gift that keeps on giving and this weekend delivered in spades!