The forward was wayward in his finishing at times in the win over Aston Villa but his equaliser underlines his importanceWith 13 minutes played at Anfield, Mohamed Salah was presented with a chance to score for Liverpool after a glaring error by Tyrone Mings but, with only Emiliano Martínez to beat, he poked his shot wide.With 51 minutes played at Anfield, Mohamed Salah was presented with a chance to score for Liverpool following a pass by Georginio Wijnaldum but, despite having a reasonable amount of time and space inside the area, he dragged his shot and, via a deflection, saw it dribble out for a corner. Related: Alexander-Arnold’s late winner caps Liverpool comeback to sink Aston Villa Related: Top-four tussle:...
Phil Foden should be central for City and England, neutrals should root for Brighton and Celtic seek a long-term planPhil Foden must start. Whether it is Manchester City’s most important matches, or for England at a European Championship, he must start. City’s win over Borussia Mönchengladbach was confirmation of this, and while his midfield mates Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gündogan took the headlines for their goals, Foden put in an imperious performance at the tip of City’s midfield, providing a sumptuous no-look assist to take his goal contributions this season to 20 (from 36 appearances). There are others that could play this position for both City and England, but on current form it would be a huge shame not...
Luke Shaw needs England reward, Aubameyang shining at right time and Barkley’s Villa strugglesIt has been two and a half years since Luke Shaw last featured for England, in a 2-1 defeat to Spain. The left-back, however, is probably Manchester United’s most in-form player at the moment, consistently producing the goods. In defence he has looked assured all season, lifting his game since Alex Telles’ arrival from Porto in the summer finally added much-needed depth to a squad where many were sleepwalking into the side. On Sunday Shaw was again diligent against a high-on-confidence Riyad Mahrez, who struggled to make an impression for Manchester City, but things got even better with his superb run and composed finish at the other...
United cross town to City for a Manchester derby, while there’s a big old meeting of strugglers on Sunday lunchtimeIt’s been a bad week for Steve Bruce. Saturday’s draw with Wolves means Newcastle have won just two of their last 15 league games, and are now hovering just above the drop zone. Bruce’s post-match comments – “unfortunately Matty didn’t get the directions on quick enough” – appeared to blame substitute Matt Ritchie for not passing on tactical instructions shortly before Wolves’ equaliser, which led to a training-ground argument between the pair this week. Ritchie has since apologised but morale seems to be low, particularly with mounting injuries. Callum Wilson, Miguel Almirón and Allan Saint-Maximin have scored more than half of...
Fulham continue to struggle in front of goal, Leicester threatening a second collapse and West Brom play by the rulesAt the start of Scott McTominay’s United career, his place in the team seemed predicated in José Mourinho’s antipathy towards Paul Pogba, his receipt of the manager’s player of the year award the nearest Mourinho could get to presenting it to himself. Since then, though, McTominay has improved by several orders of magnitude, contributing power, tenacity and personality – skills that have been crucial in helping United improve from sixth to second. They still struggle to dominate, however, and when Pogba is absent the entirety of the creative burden rests with Bruno Fernandes, who had an off-day at Stamford Bridge. To...