Rodgers reaches his first English final, Spurs wait on Harry Kane’s ankle and Norwich make a welcome returnBrendan Rodgers’ previous FA Cup semi-final visit, in April 2015, ended in disaster, a deserved 2-1 loss with Liverpool to an Aston Villa team inspired by a teenage Jack Grealish. That was an afternoon when Liverpool froze but six years on, Rodgers is a manager with considerably more chops. His Leicester team approached their Sunday night visit to Wembley with poise, confidence and patience. On the sidelines, and even above the 4,000 fans in the stadium as part of a post-Covid experiment, Rodgers’s baritone was audible, talking his players through each passage of play. His suit is always reassuringly expensive but Rodgers remains...
From the heady heights of beating Manchester City it all went downhill for Daniel Farke’s side, with injuries, inexperience and a loss of confidence all significant factors in their demiseWhen Norwich beat Manchester City 3-2 last September, the Canaries released a piece of content that went viral. A video featuring clips of the team playing their way out from the back, under intense pressure, with sharp angled passes and dextrous movement was watched more than six million times. The caption read: “Beating the press by sticking to our philosophy.”Since the restart Southampton and Arsenal have pressed Norwich’s backline into goal-conceding errors. Brighton have capitalised on misplaced passes to do the same. Simple goals from crosses, meanwhile – a weakness exploited...
The midfielder failed to seize his chance against Norwich and his time at Manchester United might be running outThere was a moment early on in Manchester United’s drawn-out win at Norwich when Jesse Lingard picked up the ball on the edge of the box, feinted right, jinked left and, with a rapid shuffle of his feet, glided past Timm Klose. It was a welcome reminder of the player he used to be. What followed in a generally drab United performance was a less welcome reminder of the player he has been over the past year.It was only last June that Lingard was having a goal for England against the Netherlands in the Nations League semi-final ruled out for the tightest...
Tottenham and Manchester City are among the clubs who would probably make very different decisions if they could reset the Premier League as if it were Football ManagerThe season must be completed. The season must be abandoned now. As the arguments gabble on, only occasionally acknowledging their own hypothetical nature given how little we know about how the virus will proceed, how long the lockdown may last and whether there may be a second wave of infections when it is lifted, it’s tempting t o dip into another hypothetical. What if this were like a game of Football Manager? What if we could quit without saving and go back and start again last summer? What would Premier League clubs, given...
A chance for Bournemouth at Anfield, Burnley and Spurs battle for European slots and Fernandes can seize big derby stageGiven their 22-point lead at the top of the table, no one at Liverpool is likely to be concerned by three recent defeats in four games across three different competitions. Of course, while a win against Bournemouth would help steady the ship and halt the onset of anything approaching mild jitters, Eddie Howe’s men will head to Anfield to face hosts recently derobed of what had previously resembled a cloak of invincibility. With Fabinho in poor form and Jordan Henderson still sidelined with injury, Liverpool look uncharacteristically vulnerable in midfield and are crying out for on-field leadership. While it ought to...