Buendía the architect of City’s bad day, Arsenal were woeful in defence and Maguire deserved better from Leicester fansThe Dozen: our pick of the weekend’s best picturesThe way in which Norwich turned a negative into a positive was quite something. With nigh-on a full team of players out injured, the odds of stopping Manchester City looked insurmountable. Instead Daniel Farke’s men gave their best performance of the season by far, not only cutting the champions open but looking solid at the back for the first time. There was kudos for the debutants in defence, Sam Byram and Ibrahim Amadou, but also for more seasoned Norwich players. Emi Buendía and Marco Stiepermann were central to a buccaneering style in the Championship...
Bruce might have what it takes at Anfield, Manchester United and Spurs under pressure and a six-pointer at the Amex?Newcastle don’t have much of a record at Anfield. They’ve not won there since Steve Watson knocked Roy Evans’s side out of the League Cup in 1995; they’ve not tasted league victory there since Andrew Cole and Robert Lee secured a 2-0 win in 1994. It’s been mainly defeats ever since, though they did get a point three years ago against a starting XI featuring Alberto Moreno, Connor Randall and Kevin Stewart. The Magpies won’t be flying down the A1 with too much hope in their hearts, then. Liverpool are on a 13-match Premier League winning run, and Mo Salah and...
Sheffield United’s innovative tactics are derived from the influence of Pep Guardiola and changes in the lawsLast Saturday, Rochdale scored a brilliant goal against Southend, working the ball from front to back in 16 rapid passes. As is the way of things these days, clips circulating on social media have not merely celebrated the artistry and the technical mastery of the goal, the courage to attempt it, but have rapidly followed football’s equivalent of Godwin’s Law and degenerated into deeply tedious rows about Pep Guardiola.To parse these as briefly as possible: somebody invents an army of neanderthal straw men and tweets something like: “Who says Guardiola isn’t having an influence on English football?” To which the correct answer, you would...
There are defensive issues for Arsenal, Bournemouth, Chelsea and Manchester City, while Fabinho shone for Liverpool The Dozen: our pick of the weekend’s best photos You have to wonder what was going through the minds of the Arsenal hierarchy over the summer when they belatedly decided that David Luiz was the answer to their defensive issues. There is no doubting the positives of the Brazilian’s play; David Luiz can change games with his passing and prowess in the opposition box but his propensity for switching off is there for all to see. Unai Emery played three defensive midfielders at home against Tottenham, and one suspects he has limited faith in his defence, as proved by the counterattack for the opener,...
Cahill shows his worth to Palace, Lacazette proves Emery’s odd one out again and Wilson could be the signing of the seasonIt will not end the culture war between Newcastle fans and Mike Ashley, but victory at the Tottenham Stadium might just lift a few suspicions over Steve Bruce. In the first half, Newcastle were the team with greater vigour, and Joelinton’s finish for his goal followed a fine pass from Christian Atsu. Bruce does not enjoy comparisons with Rafa Benítez, but players such as Atsu, Miguel Almirón and Sean Longstaff might just be allowed greater freedom to express themselves under his supervision than they were within the Spaniard’s rigid tactics. Having taken the lead, plenty of last-ditch defending was...