The main events of Sunday in European soccer.

England: Kane scored in special boots

Things are difficult for both Chelsea and Blue's head coach Graham Potter. The management supports the specialist, but it is not easy for him to cope with the typical pressure of a big club. Potter even admitted that he received emails wishing death to him and his children. Against the background of constant failures turns a vicious circle, from which you can escape only with the help of victories.
And Chelsea does not resemble a hopeless and amorphous team. It beats, tries, but psychologically the Londoners do not look the best. For example, at the end of the first half Ziyesh didn't hold back and after the whistle hit Emerson in the face with his palm. The referee immediately turned on a red light in front of the Moroccan, but the WAR did not agree with him, and after a trip to the monitor the removal was canceled.
It's the little things like that that make up the result. The visitors had plenty of negative moments, like the forced substitution of Tiago Silva. However, Tottenham also have enough of them, with his assistant in charge during Antonio Conte's treatment. And nothing - Skipp, who got his chance in the absence of the injured leaders, right after the break seized on Joao Felix near the penalty area and curled the ball spectacularly under the crossbar. Everyone should be scoring their first goals in the APL like that! In the end, Chelsea were late with their substitutions. While Potter was giving instructions to Mudrik and preparing Obameyang's appearance, Christian Stellini had already released Son Heung-min. And it was just the Korean who took a corner kick, and Dyer dropped the ball to Kane, who just couldn't help but score in the special boots made to mark Harry's status as the best sniper in Tottenham's history.
It is the striker's 268th goal, his side are already four points ahead of fifth-placed Newcastle, and although the forty are two games behind, they still need to win. As for Chelsea, Todd Boely's patience with such results could be running out. Potter's resignation is definitely getting closer.

Spain: Surprise from the underdog

Barcelona's exit from European competitions is, on the one hand, a failure, but on the other hand, an opportunity to focus on domestic tournaments, where the blue-granatas are aiming for the Spanish treble. The reduced workload is relevant against the backdrop of the Catalans' losses, who, following Dembele and Pedri, lost Fatih, who was injured in training.
But all this did not seem critical when away to Almeria, who were in the relegation zone. Nevertheless, the hosts were leading by halftime, orchestrating an excellent counterattack after a tough tackle from Gavi and a failure by Christensen, who was simply subdued by Toure. The forward provided a surprising result as Almeria had not won any of their 13 games against Barça, conceding an average of three goals per game.
Now Javi's team was left on a starvation ration, while the hosts got even for 2-6 at Camp Nou. "Almeria" got out of the basement of the table, and the Blue Granatas should be worried after a terrible week. Already on Thursday is the first part of the confrontation in the cup semifinals with Real Madrid.

Italy: the return of Zlatan and the anniversary of Pioli

Napoli are 18 points clear of second place after this round, so the only way they will miss out on the Scudetto is if they withdraw. The Neapolitans are perfect in terms of results, while Inter are strikingly unstable. You only have to look at how the Nerazzurri have performed since the 2022 World Cup.
After defeating the only defeat of the season by Napoli, it was followed by a draw against Monza. A brilliant success in the Supercup derby was followed by a 0-1 home defeat to Empoli. Simone Inzaghi's team managed two rivals (AC Milan and Atalanta), but spoiled everything with a zero draw with relegation zone side Sampdoria.
The loss in Bologna, which was preceded by a good start in the Champions League playoffs, was from the same series. Leaving a gaping hole in the center of defense, which Orsolini took advantage of, it was not the first time Inter had let their guard down. Back in the first half, the visitors' goal was saved by the crossbar, and Barrow's goal was cancelled out because a Bologna player who had been caught offside was on the line.
Perhaps the game with a direct rival was the most qualitative in recent times for AC Milan. And the first goal, recorded as an auto-goal by Atalanta's goalkeeper Mousseau, was very beautiful. Both Giroud's pass and Hernandez's shot from the summer were great. And the rebound off the bar into the goalkeeper's back just added more pace to the episode.
There is certainly nothing to blame Mousseau for. Rather, he should be praised for saving the intrigue when he stopped Giroud's one-on-one challenge at the end of the hour. But it was difficult to talk about Bergamo's chances as they failed to score by halftime for the first time in almost twenty years. But the Rossoneri tried to be perfect in the 800th match in Stefano Pioli's coaching career.
The coach delighted himself by substituting Ibrahimovic, who has not played since last May, for the excited roar of the San Siro. And in the meantime Meninho, who had missed exactly five months, returned to the goal. By the decisive part of the season, life in Milan is clearly getting better. 

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