Lukaku and Barkley owe Koeman a lot, Wilshere’s Bournemouth loan has proved a damp squib and Mignolet finally proving a positive game-changer for LiverpoolThe focus so often fixes upon Wilfried Zaha at Crystal Palace but over their seven-game revival under Sam Allardyce, they have posed as much threat from the opposite flank. Andros Townsend had rather grumbled through his first seven months at Selhurst Park, unhappy to be operating from the left and only offering flashes of his quality. The past seven weeks have been more reflective of a winger with 13 England caps. “Against Arsenal, Andros shut down three Arsenal players on his own, one after the other,” Allardyce said. “He ran from the right side to the left,...
Mourinho puts one over on Conte, Rashford and Lingard offer United vision of post-Ibrahimovic era and Hazard’s lack of hunger whets Spurs’ appetiteAt times José Mourinho has been cast as a fading force. Not after this. By the end Antonio Conte stood in rain in the technical area looking clueless. Manchester United’s victory derived from Mourinho’s tactical masterclass with the attacking axis of Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford, and Ander Herrera’s man‑marking of Eden Hazard. It is the ideal boost before the Europa League quarter-final second leg against Anderlecht on Thursday, with the tie poised at 1-1. Before this match Mourinho posited there was “no emotion” in meeting his former club despite two previous defeats and the abuse received during...
Having suffered a dip in confidence during a tricky second season, the striker sprang to life against Chelsea and powered United towards a 2-0 victoryThe most pointed cheer on a sodden Sunday afternoon at Old Trafford came as Marcus Rashford left the pitch after 83 minutes of this 2-0 victory, that familiar, loping trot to the sidelines drawing a great barrelling wave of electricity around the home stands.On days like these the solution to United’s ongoing stodginess can look fairly straightforward. Never mind the shadow of a passing era, the corporate emptiness at the top, the sense at times of a grand, ailing steamship burning its motors trying to right itself. For an hour United not only stretched the league...
When Manchester United host Chelsea on Sunday the visiting supporters will again throw shocking vitriol at their former manager but his endless digs do breed contemptA lot has clearly changed since the time, a decade ago now, when José Mourinho cited safety reasons in response to the question of why, after leaving Chelsea, he had not been back to Stamford Bridge to say goodbye to the fans. Mourinho imagined a stampede of people flocking to his feet and his reply fitted in neatly with the impression of someone who would talk eloquently on any subject, as long as that subject was himself. “Just imagine if I did,” he said. “I would die in the crush out in the middle of...
Even big-name players recognise the Italian’s imposition of a huge workload is backed by knowledge gained on and off the pitch Those who have worked under Antonio Conte talk of a moment, discernible in the hours of physical drills or monotonous tactical planning back on the training ground, when the penny drops. It is as if they have all experienced that same flash of realisation, the point when any resentment that has built up at the feverish workload or incessant reminders of on-field duties gives way to acceptance of the Italian’s genius.His players have all felt it, whether they were turning out at Arezzo at the foot of Serie B or Juventus at the pinnacle, for Bari and Atalanta in...