Defending was not the order of the day in a zany game that provided a sharp reminder of why England’s top clubs are so far behind Europe’s eliteA while back Fifa’s resident tousle-haired visionary Marco van Basten came up with a ragbag of extreme measures – abolishing offside, introducing sin-bins – designed to free modern football from the dominance of deathly all-out team defence. Presumably he has not been to the Emirates Stadium recently. Or indeed, on this evidence, the Etihad Stadium either.Watching Arsenal and Manchester City play out this zany, at times slightly wild, 2-2 draw it was tempting to place an urgent call to Switzerland. Marco, old boy, call off the search. We’re years ahead of you. The...
The exciting Germany winger has delighted Guardiola during his debut season with City and is seen as part of the solution to the side’s wastefulnessPep Guardiola’s Manchester City press conferences have been a story within a story this season. As the club’s results, defence, disciplinary issues and off-field narratives have lurched and pitched all over the place, so have the manager’s moods. You know you are going to get a certain amount of nose-rubbing and ear-tugging each time, but what you are not guaranteed is a smile and a sunny response.Not unless the subject is Leroy Sané, one of the few City positives that has stayed positive all season and a player whose potential is as much a source of...
The teams in the top four appear favoured by form and the fixture list while Arsenal and Manchester United have too much to do despite games in handWhen the Premier League returns after the international break it does so as if making up for lost momentum; a full midweek programme follows this coming weekend’s fixtures and by the time everyone has played twice in four or five days the remaining games will be down to single figures and the run-in will be under way.Chelsea’s 10-point lead means they are universally regarded as a shoo-in for the title, though by that reckoning Arsenal have no chance of overhauling Tottenham, who are nine points ahead of their London rivals. While Arsenal have...
Faced with the club missing out on Champions League football again, Manchester United’s manager makes the point that it is harder to buy successDoes José Mourinho have a point about power being divided in the Premier League, or is the manager of Manchester United simply trying to get his excuses in early?United still have a job on their hands to crack the top four this season, let alone get back to winning titles, and should a third season in four arrive without achieving Champions League football questions are going to be asked about the effectiveness of his stewardship in the light of all the money spent. Perhaps in anticipation of that scenario, Mourinho has just observed that winning anything in...
The Manchester City wing tormented his former Liverpool team-mates with his attacking verve on the wing but clearer heads took centre stage at the EtihadAt one point during Manchester City’s early-season training Pep Guardiola became so frustrated by Raheem Sterling’s puppyish eagerness to cut inside and join the crowd, thereby messing with his precision fine-tuning, he drew a chalk spot on the right wing of City’s training pitch and told Sterling to stand there. When in doubt to seek the chalk spot.Watching this wild, brilliantly entertaining Premier League game, reduced at times to a selection of bruising collisions around the centre circle, you feared for Pep’s chalk spot. Sterling did stay wide, but also found himself snared into the crush of...