José Mourinho’s tactics drew the sting from the home side in a much-hyped Premier League encounter that neither he nor Jürgen Klopp could afford to loseIf the world was watching, as the hype would suggest, then Liverpool and Manchester United owe a lot of apologies. The biggest ticket the Premier League has to sell to a global audience did not include incident or entertainment at Anfield and Jürgen Klopp looked beyond convenient excuses to lament his team’s responsibility for the non-event.“When you are in a good moment you can play much better and it should not depend on how the opposition defends because the spaces are always similar,” he said. “Our problem was that we didn’t see them tonight.” When...
The world’s most expensive player again proved an ineffective presence as his United side held out for a point at Anfield in the Premier LeagueAs this game kicked-off Paul Pogba’s “second coming” at Manchester United stood at 10 appearances, one goal, and no show-stopping, game-winning display. There had been flashes of quality but little else to suggest the world’s most expensive footballer was living up to the billing. Nearly two months to the day since his first appearance of the season – a promising turn in the 2-0 win over Southampton – here was a perfect opponent to deliver against.To be a defining factor for United against Liverpool at Anfield is precisely the kind of performance for which £93.2m was...
Theo Walcott flicks switch for Arsenal if not England, Pedro Obiang takes his chance for West Ham and Tony Pulis acquired a gem in Nacer ChadliOne of the curiosities of the last international break was the ineffectual performance of Theo Walcott for England against Malta and Slovenia. Put him back in an Arsenal shirt, however, and it was as if a switch had been flicked. The 27-year-old scored twice to set his team up for a 3-2 home win over Swansea City and it prolonged his eye-catching start to the club season. He is Arsenal’s top scorer, with seven goals in all competitions. “It’s always difficult when you go from your club to international, there’s a different transition at this...
Noisy former officials have added to the local difficulty of a referee who is Manchester-born but an Altrincham fan taking charge of United’s trip to LiverpoolIt is going back a few years now but I can still remember the sense of awkwardness, sitting in the press box at Stamford Bridge one day, and seeing Mark Halsey, off-duty, greeting Gary Cahill before one Chelsea match with the kind of bearhug you would not normally expect to see between a referee and a player.Cahill had previously played for Bolton Wanderers and Halsey used to train with the club, something the authorities no longer allow of referees. Halsey had his own column in the Bolton Evening News, referring to “Davo” (Kevin Davies), “Speedo”...
With the top-flight back in action this weekend, we take a look at the top seven’s strengths, weaknesses, squad depth and key players before asking whether they have got what it takes to win the leagueThe Premier League is back after the international break and, following a breathless start to the season, we assess the top seven sides in the league in search for clues as to which side will lift the trophy come May. Manchester City are the early pacesetters but their defeat at Tottenham Hotspur have given the rest of the clubs hope. It is also worth remembering that seven games into last season, Louis van Gaal’s Manchester United were top, West Ham United third and eventual winners...