Jürgen Klopp’s inability to reinforce their exhausted midfield was once again exposed in defeat at BrightonIt was at the very end of Jürgen Klopp’s post-match press conference at the Amex Stadium on Saturday that he was then asked the question most people in the room were probably thinking about asking themselves: was his decision to take off Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Joël Matip as part of a quadruple substitution midway through the second half symbolic of this Liverpool team being past it?“It’s our fault you can ask this question, I understand it, but the changes have nothing to do with that,” Klopp said with characteristic defiance, but ultimately his demeanour gave him away. Head bowed, voice lowered, concern etched across...
Mistakes on the pitch could spell bigger worries as not reaching the Champions League would hit the transfer budget hardIf football really was the simple game of cliche, it would be easy for Liverpool to identify a single issue, work out a solution and put it right. This, after all, is the team that have, for five years, been consistently the second-best side in England. Yet, after a shambolic defeat at Brentford, they lie 15 points behind the leaders, Arsenal, and, more pertinently, four points off Manchester United in fourth, having played a game more. What must be most troubling is the sense of plates across the stage stopping spinning as Jürgen Klopp dashes frantically between them.Klopp, addressing rumoured interest...
Most key figures left in the last eight play in Europe but Lionel Messi’s side have a mindset unique to South AmericaThe quarter-finals are about to begin and the world is talking about Morocco. For the fourth time an African nation and for the first time an Arab nation is among the last eight. Geographically, this is true, but in terms of football culture Morocco is European. One of the stars, Achraf Hakimi of Paris Saint-Germain, was born in Madrid and played in Real’s youth teams. The other, Chelsea’s Hakim Ziyech, grew up in the Netherlands and made his name at Ajax.Morocco, whose coast can be easily seen from Andalucía, has adapted its football to the Spanish rondo style. The...
Gareth Southgate’s adjusted midfield setup looked strong against Wales but nothing comes easy at a World CupWe may have got a glimpse of Gareth Southgate’s tactics for the knockout stages in the win over Wales on Tuesday. The England head coach changed the central midfield three, removing the attacking role behind Harry Kane to bring in the experienced Jordan Henderson in a deeper position.England will have seen what other teams are doing and how they operate, leaving Southgate to create a plan that could take England through to the final. Brazil, for example, go through the middle of teams and an extra man in central midfield will help counteract that. It worked against Wales, who managed a solitary shot. Continue...
Caught between pressing and pragmatism, Germany lack big personalities on the pitch in Qatar – and they are not aloneAn angry team meeting. Home truths exchanged. Defeat used as a launchpad for improvement. West Germany did it in 1954 after defeat by Hungary and went on to win the World Cup. They did it in 1974 after defeat by East Germany and went on to win the World Cup. They did it in 1982 after defeat by Algeria and went on to reach the final. But that was in the old days, when Germany was a Turniermannschaft – a tournament team – and they could rely on their leaders, their Führungsspieler, to drag them through.There was an angry team meeting...