October’s bruising derby may have shaped champions’ season and Ancelotti is wary as Everton face wounded foes at AnfieldEverton should fear Liverpool. Their abysmal record in the Merseyside derby would suggest that is a given but, surprisingly, it was Carlo Ancelotti who called for Everton to approach Anfield with trepidation as he discussed overcoming the mental block that has contributed to the club’s failure to win there for 22 years or win any derby in any competition since Roy Hodgson managed Liverpool in 2010.“A derby is a special game,” said the veteran of local spats in Milan, Madrid and now Merseyside. “If you think it is a normal game then you are wrong. Special games bring more pressure, and sometimes...
Sam Allardyce takes aim at Arsenal, Danny Ings could return to haunt Liverpool and José Mourinho must change tackOle Gunnar Solskjær has taken significant stick from laymen convinced their footballing expertise trumps his, but even they must concede that Manchester United are better now than at any stage in the Post-Fergie Wilderness YearsTM. Though it’s hard to envisage United winning the title, they must attack games as if they intend to, and should they fail, it will not be because they were too cautious. Solskjær’s side are too ruthful in attack and defence, but can offset these weaknesses by dominating opponents in midfield. Before their midweek win with Wolves, the Norwegian said “we need to go after them and get...
Mikel Arteta does not seem to have a plan of attack, Everton’s defence must improve and Jürgen Klopp should pick his battlesMikel Arteta has been the Arsenal manager for just under a year, and though some things have improved under him – attitude, intensity, FA Cup tally – it’s still not clear what the plan is, especially going forward. And while it’s important to emphasise how much Thomas Partey is being missed, the feeling persists that it really doesn’t have to be like this. When Arteta was appointed, he was gifted half a season of minimal expectations, meaning he could experiment in order to find the personnel and formation best able to execute his ideals. But though he did brilliantly...
Tottenham can challenge for the title, Arsenal’s search for goals goes on and Timo Werner hits his stride for ChelseaPerhaps we ought to ask the question differently. How are Tottenham going to mess this up? A tear in Harry Kane’s ankle? A dodgy lasagne? A global pandemic halting the league? Because in the heat of this moment, in which the world is upside down and anything can happen, the biggest reason why Spurs cannot win the title is that they are Spurs. Apart from the loss to Everton on the opening weekend, they have been better than everybody they have faced – and that has included both Manchester clubs, most recently City on Saturday. After an excellent transfer window, they...
The goalkeeper should have been sent off early on in the Merseyside derby against Liverpool, went on to make some outstanding saves before getting away with a late blunderPerhaps the most remarkable aspect of Everton’s start to the season is not that they are top of the league, but that they are top of the league with Jordan Pickford in the sort of mood he’s been in for the past 18 months. He is a wrecking ball of pure energy, always up for it, a player apparently determined never to regret what he didn’t do. His performance against Liverpool was a characteristic maelstrom of reflex brilliance and damaging misjudgment: he nearly cost his team the game, yet he also made...