City showed rare vulnerability for a super-club but recovered to win the Premier League and send their fans into rapturesThe greatest lie in sport is that winners embody strength and character, that losers embody frailty and brittleness. That victory is the inevitable function of mental fortitude and warrior spirit, and defeat its opposite.Manchester City’s eighth English league title was clinched at their moment of greatest weakness, in one of their worst performances of the season, from a place where all hope had deserted them. And it felt perfect. Continue reading...
The midfielder, something of a forgotten man at Anfield on occasion, has found his place this season and his energy has helped to drive Jürgen Klopp’s sideBy the end, Alisson was trying to waste time. Sadio Mané was listlessly dribbling the ball into the corner in an attempt to burn away a few more seconds. Deep into injury time Naby Keïta started rolling around on the turf in apparent agony. Was it a cruciate? A broken leg? A debilitating muscle tear that would put him out for the season? Happily, as a victorious Keïta disappeared into the embrace of his teammates just a few seconds later, we have to conclude that he may just survive the night.Curiously, given his famously...
Phil Foden is a valuable set-piece deputy, Mike Jackson’s Clarets keep on moving, plus a defence of the retiring refereesSteven Gerrard prefers to vary his attacking shape to keep opponents guessing and has switched from using a midfield diamond to 4-2-3-1 to 4-3-3 in his first six months in charge at Aston Villa. The manager was in full agreement that his team looked better once Danny Ings came on as a substitute to join Ollie Watkins as split strikers, with Philippe Coutinho then playing between them, as a false 9 or as the attacking tip of a diamond depending on your interpretation. Both strikers scored in the victory that relegated Norwich and were also instrumental when Villa went on a...
A stress test for John Stones, a big opportunity for Burnley and a chance for Arsenal to bounce backThe slightest flaw could help the other win the supposed title-decider at the Etihad and the absence of Rúben Dias will be a worry for Manchester City. John Stones will almost certainly replace him for Liverpool’s visit. He spent most of Tuesday night in Atlético Madrid’s half as City were not forced to defend against a side who failed to have a single shot at goal. Liverpool will be the polar opposite on Sunday and Stones, alongside Aymeric Laporte, will need to maintain concentration against the most prolific attack in the Premier League, who have seven more goals than City this season....
Harry Maguire can build on England display, N’Golo Kanté plays against the league’s best ball-winner and Everton face a character testWith Trent Alexander-Arnold injured, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané still physically and emotionally recuperating from Tuesday’s World Cup qualifying playoff in Dakar – complete with extra time, penalties and laser beams – various South Americans making late returns from distant internationals and the first leg of a Champions League quarter-final to come on Tuesday, there could hardly be a better time for a plucky underdog to turn up at Anfield. But even allowing for the massive advantages the division’s leading clubs hold over the upstarts, Watford’s record at their grounds is abysmal: in all competitions since 1990 the Hornets have...