Manchester United’s status as the greatest club in England is increasingly in doubt under a Glazer stewardship that makes commercial considerations the priorityWhile Ander Herrera’s decision to leave Manchester United has come as no great surprise to the club’s fans, the manner in which he announced his going has left many understandably enraged. In a saccharine sweet and emotional farewell video that will almost certainly be widely lampooned by more self-aware social media departments at football clubs elsewhere in the coming weeks, the softly spoken Spain midfielder left viewers in little or no doubt United will always have a special place in his heart and is a club he would be prepared to do absolutely anything for, except play. He...
Leicester can test City but Liverpool face a challenge of their own, it’s all or nothing for Cardiff and Watford need to regroupFollowing the disappointment of their reasonably heroic Champions League defeat at Barcelona, Liverpool must rouse themselves for what could be an extremely tricky Saturday evening appointment at Newcastle in which they simply cannot afford to slip up. With only two matches of the Premier League campaign remaining, anything less than a win for Liverpool would leave the door open for Manchester City to all but wrap up the title on Monday. One suspects this is a far tougher assignment than Jürgen Klopp would like so soon after a gruelling and dispiriting game at the Camp Nou and the...
A chance for Shaqiri to shine, City may need to show their dark side and Cardiff can pile pressure on BrightonPep Guardiola is not usually short of post-match praise for his players, but he struck a different note after the Manchester derby win. “Tonight we can enjoy it, but tomorrow it’s over, so we have to be focused,” he said. “I know people are going to talk about how beautiful, how handsome we are, but now we have to go to Burnley”. Guardiola is rightly taking nothing for granted even after taking the necessary six points from Spurs and United. Burnley were one of six teams to take points off City last season and have routinely posed problems for the...
Alexis Sánchez might have been in Bernardo Silva’s place on Wednesday had things panned out differently but that would have gone against the tone and texture of Pep Guardiola’s teamOf the many telling facts, stats and scalding-hot takes to emerge from Wednesday night’s Manchester derby – a game that felt as if two clubs were passing briefly on airport travelators, waving curtly as they rolled off in opposite directions – perhaps the most poignant was the touch map of Alexis Sánchez. Related: Dominant Manchester City show how vast the gulf has become with United | Jonathan Wilson Alexis Sanchez came on for a total of 12 minutes tonight.This is his touch map...#ManchesterDerby #MUNMCI pic.twitter.com/yHyyaunyQK Related: Manchester City's derby delight, focus...
Time will tell whether United really have hit upon their saviour and, either way, the club must rediscover the boldness of oldFor those with long memories, the irony inherent in Richarlison’s marvellous opening goal for Everton against Manchester United was the way his overhead kick evoked the image of Denis Law defying gravity as he rose in a whirl of limbs.There were no Brazilians in the English game then, so the Scot’s combination of opportunism, athleticism and deadly marksmanship was something rare and precious, whether or not you were a Manchester United fan. The fact such a goal was being scored against United on Sunday, triggering their fifth consecutive away defeat, symbolised their plight. Related: Is there a single Manchester...