David Luiz is impressing at Chelsea while Jordan Henderson’s place looks up for grabs and Huddersfield are on the rackBernd Leno was quick to do the decent thing and explain he was clearly not happy to see Petr Cech pull up with a hamstring injury, but at the same time the competitor in him cannot wait to seize his chance. The German keeper signed for Arsenal more than three months ago and has had to be patient to wait for Premier League football. Unai Emery had told Leno his time would come at some stage. “Some weeks ago he said you have to work hard, be calm, because I played for just one professional club in Germany and it is...
The Belgian was the star of the show for Chelsea once more but Liverpool have plenty of reasons to be cheerful despite the dip in form of their talismanic forwardTwenty minutes after the final whistle, with the sky above the stands fading to a deep pinky-blue, the Liverpool fans were still singing. This was an excellent game with elements of cheer for both teams in a 1-1 draw – and indeed for Manchester City, too, who saw both their main title rivals gouge a piece out of each other at Stamford Bridge.For Liverpool’s supporters, there was a little extra feeling in taking a well-deserved point through Daniel Sturridge’s brilliant late equaliser. There are two elements to this. Most obviously, Liverpool...
Fifa got the Luka Modric decision right at the Best awards but naming Marta as the women’s best sends the wrong signalsFifa’s annual Best awards were held in London on Monday and it is fair to say they have created much debate. I can see why and no more so, in my opinion, than in regards to the women’s prize. Marta is one of my favourite players, and one of the best players I’ve had the privilege of coming up against, so I say this with the greatest respect: there are other players who were in a much stronger position to be named the best female player of 2018. Related: Luka Modric and Marta win Fifa player of the year...
Saturday’s league meeting offers another chance to see two sides with similar setups but Jorginho’s arrival has pushed N’Golo Kanté out of his comfort zonePress against press, 4-3-3 against 4-3-3, wide forwards who cut in against wide forwards who cut in, attacking full-back against attacking full-back: Chelsea against Liverpool on Saturday, Maurizio Sarri against Jürgen Klopp, will be a meeting of two very similar conceptions of football. Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup meeting, even with significantly altered line-ups, highlighted those similarities, and also the fact that the main difference lies in midfield. Chelsea may have won at Anfield, but it is in the centre that Liverpool perhaps have an edge. Related: Chelsea’s Eden Hazard fires spectacular winner to knock out Liverpool...
Ramsey needs to discover his inner Lampard, Shaqiri deserved more time and Traoré has become a specialist substitute Related: Unai Emery’s system beats out a dull rhythm that fails to entrance | Jacob Steinberg Related: The Dozen: the weekend’s best Premier League photos Related: Record-breaking Jorginho the beating heart of Chelsea’s mangled midfield | Barney Ronay Continue reading...