Manager’s early struggles at United were due to a lack of quality on the pitch but he solved that by signing Bruno FernandesIt is eminently possible that there are more opinions expounded on football than on any other subject, feeding into a circle both vicious and virtuous that goes round and round until everybody dies. Consequently, attempts to seek novelty are understandable: it’s comforting to believe that what we’re seeing now is different from anything seen before. Ultimately, though, the game’s essentials don’t change and football is simple but people are complicated, which means that the finite elements of talent and mentality will always be more important than the dynamic aspects of tactics and coaching.Ole Gunnar Solskjær plainly understands this,...
A possible Pep and Leo show at the Etihad is a mouthwatering prospect but a defensive rejig is more pressing for the club’s title ambitions than the addition of a strolling goalscoring geniusA fortnight ago, two key storylines emerged from Lisbon. There was the collapse of Barcelona and another premature Manchester City exit. From a narrative point of view, the reunion of Lionel Messi and Pep Guardiola makes perfect sense, a fusion of two current storylines, the rekindling of one of football’s great romances. Related: The end of the affair: after Messi, Barcelona will never be the same | Sid Lowe Messi is not the solution to a glass jaw, just a finer grade of crystal Related: Messi to Manchester...
United have a loose philosophy and style of play, based largely on their electric front five. But they entrust too much to good feelings and blind faithThis, as José Mourinho might drily observe, is football heritage.To lose one semi-final might be considered unfortunate. To lose two a coincidence. But in United’s third unsuccessful attempt to grease their season with silverware could be identified a clear pattern running through the club. It is not a problem that can be solved by signing Jadon Sancho and Jack Grealish. Rather, it is something more systemic and deep-rooted, a malaise that took years to set in and may well take years to cure. Related: Luuk de Jong sinks Manchester United and puts Sevilla in...
City were far superior but at 1-1 looked vulnerable. Their failure to make the most of their many chances will concern GuardiolaFor a while now, it has been apparent that the goals-against column in the Premier League table did not mean what it appeared to when considering Manchester City. It shows 35 goals conceded, the second lowest total in the league, just two behind the champions, Liverpool. But that does not mean City have the second-best defence in the league.Friday’s Champions League win over Real Madrid was highly impressive, an emphatic 2-1 defeat of the newly crowned Spanish champions that represented City’s finest European night at the Etihad of the Sheikh Mansour era, but it also highlighted that the fact...
A traditional and unfashionable defence-first style has reaped rewards for the La Liga champions going into their belated Champions League reunion with Manchester CityA long, long time ago Manchester City beat Real Madrid 2-1 in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie. It was a strange game, in that while it was widely regarded as having been a tactical triumph for Pep Guardiola, evidence he could temper his philosophy, there was also a lingering sense that Madrid were there for the taking and that City playing their usual game might have had the tie won there and then. Related: Champions League last 16: previews and predictions for the remaining ties Zidane apparently has no defined philosophy. He has...