Sean Dyche takes Burnley into lofty territory, José Mourinho miscalculated in the Manchester derby and Tiémoué Bakayoko fails to justify his costly transferThere is a temptation to regard Burnley’s presence in the upper reaches of the division as an early-season aberration. One of their alumni argued otherwise, while maintaining that improbable interlopers will benefit if they continue to be overlooked. Andre Gray, who traded Turf Moor for Vicarage Road in the summer, said: “The table doesn’t lie. It’s 16 games, not four or five where they’ve had a great run, and they’re seventh. They’ve been consistent.” The striker was jeered by some fans on his first return to Burnley, but had nothing but praise for his former colleagues and his...
In midfield or as an oddball centre-forward, Manchester City’s key man was brilliant in a win that could be decisive for his team’s title aspirationsWith half an hour to go in this taut, thrilling, at times spiky Manchester derby, David Silva could be seen chugging around at the point of the Manchester City attack, not so much pressing the red-shirted defenders as rumbling between them with a stately kind of grandeur, like a royal frigate in shallow waters.With Gabriel Jesus off and City leading 2-1 it was Silva, the most false of false No9s, who found himself shunted into that forward role. He has cut a more rotund, slightly more ponderous figure in the last year and a half, but...
Did José Mourinho’s decision to take the handbrake off hand the title to Manchester City and would things have been different if Paul Pogba was not suspended?This 20th head-to-head meeting of the managers ended with José Mourinho on the wrong end of a defeat and Pep Guardiola the correct one. Indeed Manchester United lost for the first time in 40 matches at home, since Manchester City won at Old Trafford in last season’s corresponding fixture. Far more significant is City now lead by 11 points and whatever is said about there being 22 games and 66 points to play for, the title is there for Guardiola’s men to throw away. As Kevin De Bruyne had mentioned in the build-up, the...
After finishing 15 points behind the champions last season, manager decided to become more open to advice from the likes of Mikel Arteta and Brian KiddPep Guardiola’s transformation of Manchester City this season was sparked by his own shock at failing to master the Premier League in his debut campaign. In finishing third last May – a yawning 15 points behind the champions Chelsea – Guardiola was forced to accept he had underestimated English football. And so the 46-year-old manager, determined to make City successful in his second term in the Premier League, decided he should become more open to advice. From first-team scouts to his inner circle, Guardiola was desperate for any nugget of information that might rocket his...
Manchester United have pressed aggressively in recent matches and Pep Guardiola’s Premier League leaders could find the seams in their defence coming apart in Sunday’s Old Trafford derbyIt may go right, it may go wrong. But this is the one – this is the one we’ve waited for. And not before time either. A year and a half into the most dizzily trailed clash of managerial personalities since the brown-suited white heat of Don Revie versus Brian Clough, Sunday’s Manchester derby may finally dish up a contest to justify the extended trails.When Pep Guardiola arrived in Manchester two summers ago the level of expectation was understandable. In a league already obsessed with the José Mourinho toxic personality cult and hooked...