At Anfield the Chelsea manager again favoured a 3-5-1-1 formation but while it provided solidity it did not expose Liverpool’s vulnerabilitiesTo stand still, as Peter Reid once observed, is to move backwards. There is need for permanent revolution, constantly to be battling the twin demons of familiarity and complacency, stimulating your own players while preventing your opponents ever being quite sure what you will do next. No team can ever rely on one tactic forever: a withdrawn winger won Alf Ramsey’s Ipswich the league in 1962; it almost got them relegated once everybody had worked it out a year later. Related: Antonio Conte: ’We dominated the game – Liverpool were lucky to draw’ Related: Eden Hazard sparks recovery as Chelsea...
The Belgian is generally the focal point of the attack when Chelsea play away and he was once again the eye-catching performer as the champions ralliedEden Hazard has been a late starter this season, his injury allowing Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne to stake his claim as the Premier League’s most inspired creative forward, though there is still time for Chelsea’s Belgian playmaker to catch up. As no other country seems to be as blessed with intelligent schemers who are skilful as well as powerful, it is not surprising Belgium are attracting their share of attention for the World Cup next summer.Hazard was easily the most eye-catching performer here, even though Mohamed Salah’s goal against his former club threatened to...
English clubs in the Champions League are benefiting from the change in the calendar of the women’s game with two of two their number in the quarter-finalsLast week Manchester City and Chelsea secured their places in the Champions League quarter-finals. Both sides won in style over the two legs, Chelsea beating Rosengard 4-0 overall and City gaining their last-eight place with a 7-1 aggregate score against LSK Kvinner.These were no mean feats. Rosengard are Champions League quarter-final stalwarts, having made the last eight seven seasons running. The Swedish side were runners-up in the 2017 Damallsvenskan (Swedish league) to the quarter-finalists Linkopings for the second year in a row. Related: Vivianne Miedema: ‘We put the same effort in – we deserve...
The table doesn’t lie but teams such as Burnley and Brighton are exceeding all expectations while Swansea and Everton have disappointed badly. Here’s how the 20 sides rank based on early-season health and vigourThey say the league table never lies, and this is of course true. What they don’t tell you is that during the dog days of an international break, when nothing falls or rises and hopes and fears are put on temporary hold, the narrative becomes a bit less compelling.You get sick of looking at the same thing, in other words, although Burnley, Brighton, Watford and Huddersfield will probably never tire of waiting for winter and the real meat of the season from a position in the top...
Portuguese’s name should be mud for allowing the Premier League’s three best players at the moment to slip through the Stamford Bridge net. Another Chelsea talent drain must not be allowed to happenDick Rowe, the head of A&R at Decca Records in the 60s, was a kingmaker in the music industry. He signed the Rolling Stones in 1963, gave Van Morrison his break and launched the career of Tom Jones. But Rowe isn’t really known for any of these coups. He’s the idiot who rejected the Beatles. “We don’t like their sound,” it’s said that he told their manager, Brian Epstein. “And guitar music is on the way out.” Decca offered a contract to Brian Poole and the Tremeloes instead.There...