Luke Shaw played a blinder but can still improve, Eden Hazard remains central to Chelsea and Deulofeu is coming of ageLuke Shaw’s display at Old Trafford was his best for Manchester United under Ole Gunnar Solskjær, according to the interim manager. To see Mohamed Salah replaced on 79 minutes was all the evidence required. Solskjær said: “[When] they take Mohamed Salah off you know Luke Shaw has played a good game.” The left-back was a blur of defensive obstinacy. Solskjær said Salah’s threat meant Shaw could not attack as much as desired and this is understandable given the forward’s quality. But the prevailing caveat regarding Shaw’s contribution in most games is that he does not create enough when roving forward....
Sean Dyche cannot wait for VAR, Higuaín and Hazard lift Sarri and the Pogba-Rashford combo looks good for UnitedSergio Agüero’s hat-trick, scored from a collective distance of 10 yards, was not achieved by accident but thanks to his instincts and endurance. At times City looked sloppy against Arsenal but Agüero made the difference, repeatedly finding himself in the crucial position to jab the ball home with any available limb. All of City’s attacking midfielders know where the Argentinian wants to be once they break into the area and Agüero’s improved fitness under Pep Guardiola helps him get there. Superior fitness was one of the things that made the difference as Arsenal wilted while Agüero and City thrived. The striker is...
Ole Gunnar Solskjær is proving his tactical ability every week but Accrington’s manager could not see the magic of his Cup tieIt was a pity John Coleman saw fit to savage Jon Moss, stealing the headlines when his players’ tremendous performance against Derby deserved more attention. The referee did not get everything right but the Accrington manager was wrong to describe his decisions as horrendous, particularly as his supposedly worst call only led to the corner that resulted in the goal. Frank Lampard was on safer ground talking of the magic of the FA Cup. “We had 2,500 fans here and I thought it was great, it felt like a proper game,” the Derby manager said. “I’ve played in Cup...
Unai Emery gets better of Maurizio Sarri, Mohamed Salah takes shine off his milestone and Riyad Mahrez victim of City’s powerWhile these have been a troubled few weeks for Arsenal, with Sven Mislintat’s impending exit set to leave a big hole in their recruitment department, their victory over Chelsea was a reminder there have been plenty of positives during Unai Emery’s first season. The Spaniard has had to muddle along with an imbalanced squad but has shown he can make important tactical interventions on several occasions. He certainly got the better of Maurizio Sarri, disrupting the Chelsea manager’s attempts to build from the back by using an energetic high press, and his switch to a midfield diamond demonstrated Arsenal have...
Who will Pochettino turn to up front? Will Lindelöf banish bad memories of Brighton? And should Sarri start Giroud? If Mauricio Pochettino could have picked one Premier League team to start playing against without his top scorer and his most in-form attacker, then he would surely have plumped for Fulham. Claudio Ranieri’s defensively chaotic side are the perfect opponents in a far-from-ideal scenario for Tottenham, who must learn to cope without Harry Kane and Son Heung-min. It will still be interesting to see how Mauricio Pochettino tries to overcome those losses. Perhaps he will ask Dele Alli or Lucas Moura to play as a shifty striker or maybe he’ll deploy Fernando Llorente, a more conventional centre-forward who netted a hat-trick...