Paris St-Germain’s squad looks too unbalanced to make an impact in this season’s competition while Inter’s Marcelo Brozovic found a new way to defend a low free-kickÁngel Di María rescued a point for Paris St-Germain at home against Napoli with his stunning late equaliser but there is no glossing over the fact that Thomas Tuchel is having to work with an extremely unbalanced squad. The front three of Kylian Mbappé, Neymar and Edinson Cavani are potent enough but the midfield and defence are simply not equipped to win the Champions League. Adrien Rabiot looked like his defensive duties were optional against Napoli while there were loads of space for Dries Mertens and Lorenzo Insigne to exploit behind PSG’s back four....
Woefully leaky Fulham are on course to concede 100 goals, and is it nearly time for Álvaro Morata and Chelsea to part ways?On the eve of the new season Slavisa Jokanovic said Fulham “don’t have to change much but we need to be intelligent. We need to grow up.” Two months down the line and either Jokanovic underestimated how much Fulham needed to adapt to be ready for the Premier League or his players are not being as smart as he had hoped. Whatever the answer, Fulham did not spend more than £100m in the summer to be languishing in the relegation zone with one win from nine games and a defensive record that is in danger of becoming an...
Liverpool’s tiredness could play into Manchester City’s hands, Newcastle should throw caution to the wind and Harry Winks must take his Tottenham chance“It’s a game of small margins,” said Vincent Kompany of the season’s standout fixture to date between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday. If the teams are as closely matched in quality as Kompany thinks then he can only have been heartened by the weary look of many of Liverpool’s players as they struggled with Napoli’s intensity in their 1-0 defeat on Wednesday. Jürgen Klopp’s midfielders create chances by harassing opponents out of possession and shuffling the ball forwards quickly but in Naples they looked heavy-legged. Liverpool’s past three fixtures read: Chelsea, Chelsea, Napoli; high-profile, energy-sapping...
This was a night when all there was to do was gawp at the player who can bend the game according to his own physical lawsSometimes you really do just have to stand and watch – and maybe gawp a little, too. The best athletes in every sport give us a glimpse of something else, a remix of the usual physical laws. At Wembley this sensation had an extra depth as Lionel Messi produced a hall-of-fame performance but did so in a Barcelona team who were stretched at times even as the genius at the other end was scoring twice, hitting the post twice and helping to make the other two in a 4-2 win. Related: Lionel Messi’s masterclass gives...
David Luiz is impressing at Chelsea while Jordan Henderson’s place looks up for grabs and Huddersfield are on the rackBernd Leno was quick to do the decent thing and explain he was clearly not happy to see Petr Cech pull up with a hamstring injury, but at the same time the competitor in him cannot wait to seize his chance. The German keeper signed for Arsenal more than three months ago and has had to be patient to wait for Premier League football. Unai Emery had told Leno his time would come at some stage. “Some weeks ago he said you have to work hard, be calm, because I played for just one professional club in Germany and it is...