Tottenham and Everton both need a result while Pep Guardiola and Marcelo Bielsa may serve up another feast of footballWhen the dust settles on José Mourinho’s Tottenham tenure - and that could be one day soon - 4 October’s 6-1 win at Manchester United will probably be a high watermark. It happened on a day when the Premier League took on a demented quality. That Sunday also featured Liverpool’s 7-2 loss to Aston Villa. Six months on, Spurs announcing themselves as title contenders feels like a dim, surreal memory. United have since regrouped and victory in north London would further frank their passport into next season’s Champions League. Meanwhile, Spurs continue to scrap on the peripheries of the top four...
Dortmund forward made a telling intervention but, even if Man City did want to sign him, is he Pep Guardiola’s kind of player?Erling Haaland’s big moment arrived on 84 minutes: Europe’s hottest young talent dropped into a pocket of space and steered a cute round-the corner pass into Marco Reus. It splayed Manchester City’s defence and Borussia Dortmund’s captain beat Ederson for a precious away goal.Haaland had shown the kind of cute play Pep Guardiola schools his team in. Yet this was a rare chance for the 20-year-old to shine as City squeezed his supply-line for most of the contest. Instead they were a blue blur of creativity throughout and, after Phil Foden struck a late winner, Haaland may have...
Fabinho the key to Liverpool’s improvement, Pereira parades his talent and Saints regain their cutting edgeThe post-match talk was of Trent Alexander-Arnold ramming it down the throat of Gareth Southgate. But Liverpool’s performance also spelled out why the full-back has struggled to the extent of being considered expendable by England. For Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson to have maximum attacking impact they require a balanced midfield to create space and time to burn forward. Fabinho has spent most of the season either in central defence, standing in for Virgil van Dijk, or on the absentee list. His restoration to midfield and Liverpool’s improvement either side of the international break is little coincidence. The Brazilian’s assurance and simplicity make those around him...
A genuine aristocrat of European football, the striker’s final run at the club he has flourished at may well come from the fringesThe agony of choice. Manchester City started this game with a frontline of Riyadh Mahrez, Sergio Agüero and Gabriel Jesus: a move from zero No 9s to two of them, although Jesus moves in more mysterious ways than the average centre-forward.Midway though the second half this had switched to a fluid front four of – oh, let’s see – Jesus, Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Ferran Torres. By the end Phil Foden was hurtling though the centre forward position, legs whirring, the world’s most prodigiously gifted attacking afterthought. Related: Benjamin Mendy and Gabriel Jesus fire Manchester City...
He’s not big, not quick and doesn’t score, but the Brazilian’s elegant efficiency made the difference against EvertonFootball isn’t always about glamour. In fact, it usually isn’t about glamour. On evenings like this, when one team have a very specific plan to contain and counter, perhaps the most important virtues are patience and consistency.Manchester City may be contemplating the greatest season in their history but they, just as much as anybody else, need a player who can be relied upon not to give the ball away, to hold his position to block the break and to commit tactical fouls when necessary. Related: Gündogan and De Bruyne steer Manchester City past Everton Related: Southampton’s Nathan Redmond outclasses Bournemouth in FA Cup...