Two of the Premier League’s most tactically astute managers each had spells of superiority but Manchester City and Liverpool had to settle for a drawIn a season featuring the best managerial lineup in Premier League history this felt like the type of match we were promised. Two high‑tempo, dynamic sides with different attacking philosophies produced an enthralling end-to-end contest featuring mesmeric passing moves, incredible bursts of pace – and some quite dreadful misses. Related: Sergio Agüero pegs back Liverpool to rescue point for Manchester City Related: Pep Guardiola: Manchester City draw with Liverpool ‘one of my happiest days’ Continue reading...
Champions League exit leaves City and manager vulnerable to danger of missing another target when facing Guardiola’s old foe Jürgen KloppJosé Mourinho is of the opinion that the five teams above Manchester United in the table are going to have it easier than his own for the rest of the season now that every single one is out of Europe. He might have a point yet, in the short term at least, Manchester City can still go two ways.Pep Guardiola’s side would not be the first English club to suffer a hangover on the domestic front on the back of a major disappointment in Europe and few English clubs have invested as much as Manchester City in becoming established in the...
The Barcelona and Bayern Munich players were already familiar with Guardiola’s complex juego de posición theory – at City he was virtually starting from scratchThe fashion these days is to knife a manager at the first sign of trouble. Nobody is allowed to build, nobody is allowed to learn from a mistake. Move to a new country, take over a new team, try to adapt to a new environment and if you’re not winning titles six months later you’re a fraud. Neither Jürgen Klopp nor Pep Guardiola are under pressure as such heading into Sunday’s game at the Etihad, but both are facing grumblings of discontent.When Steve McClaren was sacked by Derby last week it meant that a quarter of...
The forward can expect abuse from away fans when Manchester City host his former club on Sunday but his form under Pep Guardiola and strength of character indicate he can make an impact when it matters mostIt is a little under two years since Raheem Sterling made the move which, perhaps more than any other, has come to define him. It wasn’t a drop of the shoulder or a sprint past a full-back or a shot at goal, but instead an interview. That interview is the reason why the winger will once again be the subject of abuse from the away end when Manchester City host Liverpool on Sunday.“I don’t want to be perceived as a money-grabbing 20-year-old” was the...
Everton and Romelu Lukaku get to shift their attention to the pitch, Liverpool face off with Manchester City, and Spurs look to push on without Harry KaneEverton-owned strikers will provide two causes for regret at Goodison Park on Saturday. Hull City miss Oumar Niasse, the on-loan centre-forward whose goals against Swansea City last week have made escaping the drop a realistic proposition, as he is ineligible to face the club that froze him out within months of arriving from Lokomotiv Moscow. That is poor timing as Marco Silva looks to create some momentum but Everton have concerns of their own. Romelu Lukaku and his family are hardly known for reticence but his clearly voiced concerns about the club’s ambition, hot...