The mesmerising dominance of Pep Guardiola’s side made a talented team look like a bunch of choreographed patsiesThe critical passage of this game, you felt, arrived around an hour in, when Borussia Mönchengladbach – 1-0 down and having just enjoyed a rare shot on goal – threw on two attacking players in attempt to wrestle back control. On came Marcus Thuram and Valentino Lazaro, jogging onto the pitch with vim and purpose, pointing in various directions for no reason, in the way that substitutes often do.At which point, with Ederson in possession, Manchester City simply walked the ball up the pitch and scored. Ten passes in total, broken only by a desperate sliding clearance from midfielder Florian Neuhaus by his...
With Liverpool stuttering, RB Leipzig’s bright young acolyte of the German press must see Tuesday’s Champions League game as a chance to claim another major scalp Football, Brian Clough used to complain, is not a world that ever lets you enjoy your success. There’s always another match, another season, another threat. The past three seasons at Liverpool have been a story of remarkable achievement: a Champions League final, then Champions League success, then the end of the 30-year league title drought. But the fireworks had barely dimmed in the sky over Anfield before Jürgen Klopp found new opponents rising against him. Related: RB Leipzig v Liverpool relocated to Budapest due to German Covid rules Continue reading...
Coaches whose ideas were considered almost extinct have re-emerged as teams battle fatigue and a lack of training timeFor football, this was the year evolution went backwards. It began with further victories for the high press, with Hansi Flick’s Bayern Munich surging to the Champions League and the Bundesliga, and Jürgen Klopp’s side giving Liverpool their first league title in 30 years, but it ended with a widespread reversion to a more cautious style.A dozen years ago, Pep Guardiola led the rise of press-and-possess football; recently, the pressing element has come to be prioritised – and then Covid-19 arrived. There are those who will dismissively point out we had pressing in the 80s. And we did – we’ve had it...
The manager appears to be feeling the strain and it will be hard for him to continue if his team go out of the Champions League “Yeah, yeah, for sure,” Zinedine Zidane said and then a familiar, knowing smile returned to his face after a few weeks in which it hadn’t been seen. Real Madrid’s coach had just been asked if this was the most difficult moment in his career. “For sure,” he continued, “but it’s like always: there have been bad moments, criticism, and today’s the same. Maybe more than before, but no problem: I’m not thinking about that. I feel like the players are going to do it on the pitch. Tomorrow is an opportunity to show that...
The irresistible bloom of this wonderful, maddening footballer fired PSG towards an emphatic victory at Old TraffordOh, Ole. As the second half kicked off at Old Trafford there were three possible outcomes confronting Ole Gunnar Solskjær as he surveyed his midfield.First, Fred would be sent off almost immediately for a second yellow card. Second, Fred would be sent off almost immediately for a straight red card. And third, Fred would be sent off a bit later for any combination of the above. Related: PSG cut Manchester United down to size with Neymar double and Fred's red card Related: I thought about replacing Fred at half-time, admits Ole Gunnar Solskjær Continue reading...