Plymouth’s defence was classy and defiant, Ndidi excelled on Leicester debut, Batshuayi proved little and Stourbridge showed romance is alive, even in defeatThe triumphant celebrations after Plymouth Argyle’s 0-0 draw at Anfield were further confirmation that giant-equalling is the new giantkilling. In the modern world of the FA Cup, it is enough for David to draw with Goliath – especially as it means a second payday for clubs often in need of such a financial boost. For Plymouth’s players, it was about more than that. It’s easy to be sniffy about their ultra-defensive approach against the youngest team in Liverpool’s history, but most League Two teams would not have been good enough to pull it off. Plymouth defended with such...
Some got roughed up by Gary Neville, others had an obsession with Twitter, but from Michael Ricketts to Oumar Niasse, these players all have a dismal January transfer in commonAt 11.30pm on the first ever January transfer deadline day, Middlesbrough sealed the signing of the striker who was intended to revolutionise their team. “I was stuck in a rut at Bolton, training was the same all the time, things weren’t going the way I planned,” he revealed. “Hopefully that’s going to change here.” It didn’t change there: at the end of the following season, 18 months, 12 league starts and three goals after his arrival, he left for Leeds on a free transfer. Related: Premier League’s fear of the drop...
Ronald Koeman’s side tried to squeeze the life out of Liverpool, yet moving the Brazilian into the centre gave the visitors the edge in a frenetic derbyThis was an old‑fashioned derby with a modern twist: fast, furious, frantic and mainly based around pressing. Ronald Koeman’s Everton tried to match Liverpool’s intensity while playing direct passes into attack, creating a scrappy and disjointed contest.The opening stages set the tone: Ross Barkley made a crunching tackle on Jordan Henderson and it was clear neither side would be able to settle. Idrissa Gueye and James McCarthy pushed up on to Adam Lallana and Georginio Wijnaldum, the Everton centre-backs kept a high line and Liverpool were squeezed into their own half. Their centre-backs were...
Enforced goalkeeping change is bad luck on Ronald Koeman’s side but they could not say the result was false on the balance of scoring chances createdEveryone in the Everton camp agreed that to have a chance in this derby it would be necessary to start against Liverpool the way they finished against Arsenal. That was not literally, of course. There would be no need to go down to 10 men and endure heart-in-the-mouth moments through having to block shots on the line but Everton needed to get out of the starting blocks early and display the controlled aggression that brought them the points last Tuesday.“Toe to toe and face to face,” was how Ronald Koeman put it, which was perhaps...
Claude Puel’s rotation proves a winner, opportunity finally knocks for Michy Batshuayi, and Mesut Özil’s invisibility at City should worry Arsène Wenger Related: The Dozen: the weekend's best Premier League photos Related: Premier League 2015-16 fans’ verdicts part one: Arsenal to Manchester United Related: Premier League fans’ half-time verdict part 2: Manchester United to West Ham Continue reading...