The Champions League quarter-final is latest in a line of often spine-tingling English derbies in Europe’s top competitionA new chapter in the colourful history of English teams meeting each other in the Champions League is set to open on Tuesday, when the first European game at Tottenham’s shiny new stadium is bound to generate an atmosphere all of its own.In such circumstances anything can happen, and all-England European nights already have a reputation for taking on a life of their own, sharing a similarity to derbies in which form and league placing are temporarily set aside. Related: Quadruple is on for Manchester City as the impossible becomes a reality | Paul Wilson Related: Football’s final furlong: our writers predict how...
Keep Virgil van Dijk fit, hope Mohamed Salah recaptures his form and deal with the demands of European footballWin, win, win, win, win and win again (and pray Manchester City slip up) is the obvious answer to what Liverpool must do to be finally crowned Premier League champions. As they prepare for Friday’s visit to Southampton, we look at five key areas that can help Jürgen Klopp’s team maintain their push for that elusive title … Related: Jürgen Klopp unconcerned by Mohamed Salah’s goal drought Continue reading...
The margins are fine but Jürgen Klopp’s gamble paid off on Sunday and has added a little belief to a team and fanbase wilting under the weight of expectationIt was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of GOATs, it was the epoch of frauds, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, they had everything before them, they had nothing before them, they were all going direct to Heaven, they were all going direct the other way. It was a period in which the...
Sarri is nearing the end at Chelsea, Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander Arnold shone for Liverpool while Leicester and Rodgers look like the perfect fitWith Ole Gunnar Solskjær suggesting afterwards that Paul Pogba may operate deeper at times and Luke Shaw playing like a left‑back-cum-libero against Watford, this first win as the permanent manager suggests his brave new world will continue to feature a brightness of approach. Solskjær wishes to harness Pogba’s all-round ability to give more control of the ball as United are primarily a counter-attack unit. This was how Shaw opened up Javi Gracia’s impressive team with a majestic Matthias Sammer-like pass that put Marcus Rashford in to open the scoring. Before then United were poor as they...
Full-back again proved himself to be among the division’s best with a relentless display that drove Spurs towards defeatDon’t worry. About a thing. Because every little thing is probably, just about, by the finest of margins, going to be all right. With half an hour to go until kick-off at Anfield the band on the temporary stage in Paisley Square was playing Thee Little Birds by Bob Marley, a welcome note of almost entirely unconvincing cod-reggae calm. Related: Liverpool 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur: player ratings from Anfield Liverpool’s full-backs were both sensational here, good enough once again to mask the lack of spark ahead of them Related: Jürgen Klopp: ‘Winning the league would be a championship of will’ Continue reading...