The Brazilian forward delivered nothing overtly spectacular against Ajax but, in his brief time on the Anfield pitch, made his presence feltJürgen Klopp is too busy, bothered and generally bad-tempered these days to play silly games with selection just to prove a point. So it cannot be the case that he left Roberto Firmino on the bench for more than an hour against Ajax in an attempt to demonstrate exactly what it is he brings to the team that so many others seem unable to see.Nevertheless, for just about an hour at Anfield, that was what it looked like. Until a callow mistake by the visiting goalkeeper André Onana gifted Curtis Jones a neatly taken winner, Liverpool were, unusually, almost...
Mikel Arteta does not seem to have a plan of attack, Everton’s defence must improve and Jürgen Klopp should pick his battlesMikel Arteta has been the Arsenal manager for just under a year, and though some things have improved under him – attitude, intensity, FA Cup tally – it’s still not clear what the plan is, especially going forward. And while it’s important to emphasise how much Thomas Partey is being missed, the feeling persists that it really doesn’t have to be like this. When Arteta was appointed, he was gifted half a season of minimal expectations, meaning he could experiment in order to find the personnel and formation best able to execute his ideals. But though he did brilliantly...
Tottenham can challenge for the title, Arsenal’s search for goals goes on and Timo Werner hits his stride for ChelseaPerhaps we ought to ask the question differently. How are Tottenham going to mess this up? A tear in Harry Kane’s ankle? A dodgy lasagne? A global pandemic halting the league? Because in the heat of this moment, in which the world is upside down and anything can happen, the biggest reason why Spurs cannot win the title is that they are Spurs. Apart from the loss to Everton on the opening weekend, they have been better than everybody they have faced – and that has included both Manchester clubs, most recently City on Saturday. After an excellent transfer window, they...
A title win this season would come in spite of a string of injuries – whether it ends up being Liverpool or any other teamRetaining the title is hard, proverbially harder than winning it the first time – although that clearly to an extent depends on what you’re up against. But if Liverpool do become the 27th side in English league history successfully to defend their crown, they will have done so in conditions more different to the initial success than any of their predecessors. Quarter of the way through the season, their record unbeaten home run extended to 64 games, they are level on points with the leaders and, despite all their injuries, look by far the most likely...
Leicester manager’s title tilt at Anfield helped reset Liverpool, while last season’s Boxing Day game was key to Reds’ success, adding spice to Sunday’s clash between leaders and champions‘It was unbelievable. It was pure football power destruction.” It is an oddity of the calendar that Leicester’s trip to Anfield on Sunday night will break a spell of 11 months since these two Premier League teams last met. No ordinary 11 months, either. Take a look at the highlights from the King Power Stadium, Boxing Day 2019, and it starts to look like something else, a last dance before the end times. Related: When Leicester ended Liverpool’s unbeaten run – then were relegated It took Rodgers four years to go from...