United have just been well beaten by a Liverpool side 30 points ahead of them. They are sleepwalking towards mediocrityLiverpool are brilliant. They are top of the league by 16 points with a game in hand and will probably have the title wrapped up by the end of March. And yet at the same time, while acknowledging how preposterous it is to offer any criticism of a side that has taken 64 points from 22 games this season, there must be a sense that of late they’ve become a little bit sloppy.In their past two league games, against Tottenham last week and then against Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday, they have come extremely close to drawing games they have...
Grealish, Saka and Chalobah shine in draws, while Newcastle are ready for reinforcements after a late winArsenal’s injury problems at left‑back have led them to explore signing Layvin Kurzawa from Paris Saint-Germain. But what if the solution lies closer to home? Bukayo Saka is 18 and earlier this season was being rightly lauded for his rich promise as a flying winger. But he has filled in at full‑back four times in the past month, most recently against Sheffield United on Saturday, and looks the part. Saka is tenacious, diligent, has speed and energy to burn and a knack of picking out teammates with his deliveries. “I think he could,” Mikel Arteta said when asked if Saka could carve out a...
If the champions of Europe win the title undefeated they will have to be recognised as the best of the Premier League eraThey’re coming for you, they’re coming for you. The class of ’99. Fergie, Eric, Andy and Dwight, they’re coming for you. So much for the league. And so much for Manchester United this season, who were once again awkward, eager opponents for the league leaders, without ever feeling like much more than a bump in the road.At the end of this 2-0 victory, as the weeks tick down through winter into spring, Liverpool will have something else in their sights now, a feeling of ascent beyond the everyday business of titles and cups. Related: Van Dijk and Salah...
Times are different but Jürgen Klopp’s men have the same spirit and togetherness as the great sides in which I playedI am so impressed with Jürgen Klopp’s wonderful Liverpool team. They’re excellent to watch and I congratulate Jürgen and the players. We can’t count any chickens until the title’s a mathematical certainty but what’s happening at Anfield this season, to be so far ahead in a division as strong as the Premier League, is so exciting. I really do feel we’re seeing something rare in world football.The Liverpool side I was part of played some good football too, was very resilient and won a lot of trophies. It’s a different era now with a big emphasis on different tactical systems...
Bournemouth need to find goals fast, Aubameyang’s red card has caused a headache at Arsenal and Ings is in England formBournemouth’s defending left a lot to be desired as they crumbled against Watford but their failure to penetrate Nigel Pearson’s improving side was equally alarming. No team has scored fewer goals in the Premier League this season and those front–foot displays of yesteryear – they scored almost 100 goals en route to promotion in 2015 and more than any team outside the top six last season – feel a distant memory following a ninth defeat in 11 league matches. “Historically we have always been free-scoring and we have always had goals in us,” their manager, Eddie Howe, said. “We have...