Manchester United enlisting one of the traiblazers of hard pressing adds spice to a meeting with his thriving protegeEd Woodward always gets his man. Or at least, Ed Woodward always gets a man. Give Manchester United’s chief executive his due. People definitely keep turning up.There is probably some kind of method in the decision to replace Ole Gunnar Solskjær with Ralf Rangnick: the leap from a managerial style based around vibes, DNA and warm feelings to Europe’s most unforgiving 63-year-old process trainer. Continue reading...
A brilliant clearance from the 37-year-old was backed up by goals and the movement of Reece James and N’Golo KantéWith 28 minutes gone and Chelsea deservedly a goal to the good on a thrilling evening at Stamford Bridge, Thiago Silva could be seen racing back towards the Matthew Harding Stand, his eyes fixed on the ball as he prepared to pull off a piece of defending that would have left most men of his age vowing never to try anything so ridiculous again.It should not have been possible. For once Chelsea’s imperious defence had been caught out. Alvaro Morata must have thought he was about to silence the taunts from the home fans after reaching Manuel Locatelli’s pass a split...
Liverpool stepping up their title charge, Manchester United old boys scuppering Solskjær and Brighton letting it slipIt is a footnote to the weekend’s biggest story, but the final nail in Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s coffin was partly hammered in by four players who were at various points deemed not good enough for Manchester United. Ben Foster, Craig Cathcart, Tom Cleverley and Joshua King all made vital contributions to a Watford performance that brimmed with energy, intent and endeavour. United’s class of 2021 lacked all those qualities, and plenty more. They were simply overrun and, while Solskjær’s departure was both inevitable and correct, they might wonder whether a better engagement with the basics might have helped their old manager’s cause. After the...
Arsenal might fancy their chances at Anfield and three new managers begin survival bidsThis will be the fourth meeting between Leicester and Chelsea this calendar year, clubs of differing resources whose fortunes nonetheless seem tangled together. Leicester went top after beating Chelsea 2-0 at home in January, James Maddison scoring the second goal before cheerfully claiming: “We knew they switched off at set pieces,” an observation that felt terminal to Frank Lampard’s employment. Having played some part in Thomas Tuchel’s arrival, Leicester won the FA Cup final against him in May, before league defeat at Stamford Bridge three days later helped to ensure the Foxes would narrowly miss out on the Champions League yet again. Chelsea are now European champions...
Nuno seems scared of his Spurs bench, Manchester United players must stand up and Joshua King haunts Goodison ParkSubstitutions have been permitted in English league football since 1965, but maybe nobody told Nuno Espírito Santo. The Tottenham manager has been curiously reluctant to use his well-stocked bench in recent weeks, and even as his side sleepwalked to defeat at West Ham, he waited until the 84th minute to make changes. Even if the likes of Dele Alli and Steven Bergwijn have hardly sparkled of late, a worrying gulf is opening between the first XI and the rest. Meanwhile, Nuno’s continuing stubbornness – “The game was under control,” he explained curtly – is hardly likely to endear him to the fanbase....