José Mourinho needs to make drastic changes, Rafael Benítez is getting best out of his players and Jordan Ayew is on a missionHaving so meekly allowed Manchester City to claim the Premier League title, a process of rebuilding Manchester United into future champions starts now. The non-inclusion of Marouane Fellaini, Daley Blind, Matteo Darmian and Luke Shaw in José Mourinho’s match‑day 18 for this game at Old Trafford indicated where a long-awaited clear-out of David Moyes and Louis van Gaal recruits is likely to begin. But it will take more than that to revitalise United. The shapeless sludge of this performance against West Brom was no anomaly. Chief among the reasons United have been left in City’s wake is Mourinho’s...
The Premier League may never have had a greater friend of the football than David Silva, but time wears down even the most boyishly irrepressible of footballersAnd breathe again. On a misty night at Wembley Manchester City squared their shoulders, slapped themselves about the chops a few times and produced a performance to ease the bruises of a difficult 10 days.By the end a 3-1 defeat of Tottenham Hotspur wasn’t so much winning ugly as winning with the usual frictionless beauty, in the process clamping at least one hand on the Premier League trophy. Related: Gabriel Jesus sets Manchester City on their way to victory over Tottenham Related: Pep Guardiola: ‘Premier League is harder to win than the Champions League’...
Arsène Wenger is given a striking decision, Hugo Lloris climbs the wrong table and Christian Benteke’s woes rumble onAlexandre Lacazette heard one of the loudest cheers when he came on for Danny Welbeck against Stoke City. Arsène Wenger said Welbeck had hurt his back and so Lacazette’s return from a knee injury seemed even more timely – given Arsenal play CSKA Moscow in the Europa League on Thursday, for which Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is cup-tied. Wenger loved the gesture Aubameyang made towards the end, passing up a possible hat-trick by allowing the Frenchman to take their second penalty – from which he scored. The manager said it showed the strikers had a good understanding. But can they prosper together in the...
Tottenham’s visit to Chelsea began mundanely but by the end was a stage for Dele Alli to deliver two exhilarating goals brimming with imaginationThere was a fascinating moment towards the end of a slightly dull opening half-hour at Stamford Beige. Dele Alli had been on the fringe of things in a game that had barely clanked up out of second gear. There were a few loose touches, some misplaced passes. Even then Alli had been his unignorable self, an oddly captivating figure even in those moments where he seems to be playing through a mild fog, circuits jammed, flicks and feints a little out of whack.That sense of power in reserve was there again as Andreas Christensen and Victor Moses...
José Mourinho could have Portuguese problem, Nathaniel Clyne might make return and will Arsenal rest their best?Poor José Mourinho! Once he was king but now he cannot even claim to be the Premier’s League best Portuguese manager. Carlos Carvalhal certainly has a stronger case for that accolade at the moment. It is hard to imagine that any other manager could have turned Swansea around as impressively as he has done since taking over in late December, when the Welsh club seemed doomed. Now they are out of the relegation zone and within reach of survival. Even Mourinho must admire the solidity that Carvalhal has introduced to Swansea, who will not give up chances easily at Old Trafford. Paul Pogba performed...