Jürgen Klopp was right to take Loris Karius out of the spotlight, Tottenham’s back three can set their full-backs free and Marcos Rojo has not learnedIn truth, Simon Mignolet did not have much to do during Liverpool’s 3-0 victory at Middlesbrough, but Loris Karius was taken out of the spotlight nevertheless. The saga involving Liverpool’s first-choice goalkeeper before the midweek fixtures overshadowed all else at the club, but Jürgen Klopp’s team responded with a convincing performance, one of their best this season. On Karius, the Liverpool manager said: “I’m not interested in public pressure, I’m interested in the boy and there’s no reason to push him through this situation.” Mignolet appears set for an extended run in the team while...
Arsenal have proved they have team spirit, Cesc Fàbregas is invaluable to Chelsea despite sub’s role and Gylfi Sigurdsson is the man to guide Swansea to safetyAre Arsenal made of sterner stuff these days? It is not the first time the question has been aired in recent years, and the answer usually goes down a predictably shaky path. Having said that, Arsène Wenger has observed a few clues in their victory against a strong Stoke City side that give him quiet optimism. Among the good habits his team are enjoying this season, the capacity to come back from a deficit encourages him. “It’s the sixth time that we are down in the game and come back or win since the...
If the average is maintained it will be the highest-scoring season in 20-team Premier League history, but as usual there is far from a single, simple explanationManchester City have kept two clean sheets all season. Liverpool have kept three. Both sides may have come out of last weekend lamenting defeats that have allowed Chelsea to open a small gap at the top of the table but it could be argued that with defences like they have it is remarkable they are as high up as they are. But this, perhaps, is the modern way: defending in the old-fashioned sense has become unfashionable.“There is no modern generation,” José Mourinho growled in the summer of 2015 after winning the Premier League with...
Liverpool will be hoping Joël Matip gets fit quickly, while Sunderland begin to look more solid and Burnley have to find some goals from somewhereHands have been wrung and doom predicted about Philippe Coutinho’s injury, likely to keep him out of the Liverpool team until next month. And to an extent, rightly so: he has been their most impressive attacking threat this season, and the sight of that front four dovetailing has perhaps been the most pleasing in the division. However, the 4-3 defeat to Bournemouth on Sunday suggested that another injury absence might be more significant, namely Joël Matip. The Cameroonian centre-half has been a quiet, calm example of consistency, exactly the sort of thing that Liverpool missed against...
Alan Pardew is under pressure at Palace, José Mourinho must back his midweek stars and the omens are there for Manchester City to end Chelsea’s winning runOne of the biggest accusations aimed at José Mourinho down the years has been that he favours workmanlike players who can follow instructions over unpredictable talents who are harder to control but more likely to decide a game with a moment of genius. Mourinho’s treatment of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Anthony Martial at Manchester United has provided his critics with more ammunition. But now is the time for the United manager to give both of them a proper run in his strongest side. Mkhitaryan created Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s early opener in Wednesday’s League Cup win over...