Sarri is heading into Chelsea danger zone, Martial is showing up Mourinho’s poor judgment and is Mee ready for England?Maurizio Sarri is heading into the shark-infested waters that did for Luiz Felipe Scolari and André Villas-Boas, who were sacked midway through their first seasons in charge of Chelsea. They were removed by Roman Abramovich once his team’s place in the following season’s Champions League was endangered and this weekend ended with Manchester United in fourth spot. Villas-Boas lost his job on 4 March 2012 while Scolari departed on 9 February 2009. At least Sarri has now lasted longer than the Brazilian, but ‘Sarriball’ has lately looked as poor a fit for Chelsea as his laissez-faire attitude and Villas-Boas’s overly methodical...
The manager’s majestic coaching skills are the guiding hand behind the spectacle produced by the striker against ChelseaSomething strange happened 12 minutes into the first half of what was, all things considered, a pretty strange kind of game. First there was a hush around the Etihad, then a gurgling sound, followed by an oddly sensual purr in the stands as the big screens showed the first replays of Sergio Agüero’s first goal in this 6-0 shellacking of ChelseaAgüero had just put Manchester City 2-0 up and in effect killed the game. The moment stood on its own, though. Football crowds don’t often gasp. But then, they don’t often get to see goals like this. Taking the ball in a deep...
Sean Dyche cannot wait for VAR, Higuaín and Hazard lift Sarri and the Pogba-Rashford combo looks good for UnitedSergio Agüero’s hat-trick, scored from a collective distance of 10 yards, was not achieved by accident but thanks to his instincts and endurance. At times City looked sloppy against Arsenal but Agüero made the difference, repeatedly finding himself in the crucial position to jab the ball home with any available limb. All of City’s attacking midfielders know where the Argentinian wants to be once they break into the area and Agüero’s improved fitness under Pep Guardiola helps him get there. Superior fitness was one of the things that made the difference as Arsenal wilted while Agüero and City thrived. The striker is...
Chelsea want to keep the forward despite his request to join Bayern, but why not let a talented player develop in Europe?Callum Hudson-Odoi’s decision to lodge a transfer request this week after Bayern Munich’s £35m bid is a sign of changing times and a growing trend for young players at big Premier League clubs. Hudson-Odoi is trying to follow the path that has taken a lot of young English players abroad in recent years thanks to the success of Jadon Sancho at Borussia Dortmund and club partnerships with European sister clubs.Three or four years ago it would have been rare for a young player at a top Premier League club to request a transfer to go to a European club....
Ole Gunnar Solskjær is proving his tactical ability every week but Accrington’s manager could not see the magic of his Cup tieIt was a pity John Coleman saw fit to savage Jon Moss, stealing the headlines when his players’ tremendous performance against Derby deserved more attention. The referee did not get everything right but the Accrington manager was wrong to describe his decisions as horrendous, particularly as his supposedly worst call only led to the corner that resulted in the goal. Frank Lampard was on safer ground talking of the magic of the FA Cup. “We had 2,500 fans here and I thought it was great, it felt like a proper game,” the Derby manager said. “I’ve played in Cup...