Liverpool feature various forwards who drift around – Philippe Coutinho, Adam Lallana and Sadio Mané – but at Crystal Palace they dovetailed superblyLiverpool remain a work in progress but it’s coming together promisingly. During Jürgen Klopp’s first campaign at Anfield the players adapted quickly to his high-energy, heavy-pressing system and regularly disrupted the opposition’s passing but they only sporadically formulated quick, incisive attacking moves themselves.This season things have improved significantly. The pressing is still impressively efficient and remains an extremely useful way of creating chances but Liverpool’s passing interplay makes them a more complete attacking force. Their 69 shots on target this season is the most in the Premier League. Related: Roberto Firmino rounds off Liverpool’s goal rush at Crystal...
Most people’s ideal would be for a tight top-flight but part of football’s appeal is the drama – and that requires weakness as well as strengthWhat would you like a league table to look like at the end of the season? Forget who you support, forget who you dislike, forget personalities and tactics and prejudices, if you turned up in an alien land and were given a subscription to watch every game in their league season, what would be your ideal? Most people, I’m guessing, would want it to be tight, would want the season to go down to the wire to sustain the interest, maybe so that on the final day every team would have a chance of success....
Liverpool’s main contenders are embroiled in European competition, while Jürgen Klopp’s men can stay fresh in their quest for a first title since 1990Arsène Wenger must be a genius if he can come up with a points total that will be necessary to win the title. Between 82 and 86 points, since you ask. Either that or he was having a little joke, which has been known to happen. “He must have more experience of the English league than I thought,” the Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said, making his own little joke. “Because I have no idea how many points it will take.”Leaving aside the matter of how Wenger expects a more competitive league to result in a higher...
The Newcastle midfielder has shed over a stone, as well as a ‘childish mind-set’, and is thriving under the guidance of the man who once took him to LiverpoolThere was a time when Jonjo Shelvey appeared a big part of the problem at Newcastle United but these days he seems very much the solution.Rafael Benítez had barely succeeded Steve McClaren as manager at St James’ Park last spring before he dropped the midfielder from the team. Despite Newcastle’s fall into the Championship Shelvey then began this season warming the bench and, when liberated from it, persistently attempting too many “Hollywood passes” and over-ambitious long-range shots. Related: Newcastle flying high as Jonjo Shelvey scores twice in mauling of QPR Related: Jonjo...
The Manchester United manager shared the points with Jürgen Klopp after shutting out a Reds side who have been scoring goals at staggering rateConsidering the level of pre-match hype, this was a disappointingly flat contest lacking intensity or technical quality. But then that was precisely what José Mourinho wanted: Liverpool had created chances and scored goals at a staggering rate this season, and United blunted the home team impressively for long periods. Mourinho has been doing this in away matches at big clubs for much of the past 12 years, and while legitimate questions have been asked of his attacking blueprint, defensively he remains a fine coach. Related: José Mourinho criticises ‘cautious’ Liverpool after bore draw at Anfield Related: Manchester...