There is an admirable side to the Manchester United manager’s uncompromising approach as he ignored criticism and set up his team to wear down TottenhamAnd then, of course, the sun also rises. On a boisterous, slightly wild day at Old Trafford, Manchester United produced a performance and a result that embodied the other side, the best side of this defensively voracious José Mourinho team. Related: Manchester United’s Anthony Martial rises to occasion to sink Spurs Related: José Mourinho tells critics to ‘calm down’ after Manchester United beat Spurs Continue reading...
Where London clubs would once battle with Merseyside for supremacy, the challenge has shifted to Manchester – and Spurs have become more dangerous than Arsenal or ChelseaNostalgia took over at the weekend when Arsenal beat Everton 5-2 and Liverpool went down 4-1 against Spurs at Wembley. Almost to a person the nation’s subeditors came up with London 9 Merseyside 3 as either a headline or a strap, unintentionally giving away their age and outlook in the process.Because you would have to go back to the last millennium to remember the days when battles for league supremacy were routinely fought out between London and Merseyside. In terms of league titles, Merseyside has been a trophy-free zone since that heady period in...
The England international showed another side to his game in a more central role against Liverpool, producing a sublime display on his return to the teamThere was a fascinating moment during Tottenham Hotspur’s 4-1 shellacking of Liverpool at Wembley on Sunday; a moment made all the more so by the fact it didn’t involve Harry Kane gorging himself, flesh‑eating zombie-style, on some poor dawdling defender, Son Heung-min leading another brutal counterattack or any of the other stuff that took up most of the highlights reel. Related: Tottenham show José Mourinho how counter-attacking game should work | Jonathan Wilson Continue reading...
Arsène Wenger must continue with golden front trio; Christopher Schindler was a great buy for Huddersfield; Manchester City defence is as key as their attackThis was the first time Arsène Wenger had started Mesut Özil, Alexandre Lacazette and Alexis Sánchez in his XI. Yet until Everton went down to 10 men Arsenal were hardly a goal machine, having struggled to a 2-1 lead when Idrissa Gueye was sent off. At this point Özil was on the scoresheet, and by the final whistle Lacazette and Sánchez had also registered. Wenger, of course, cannot rely on the opposition having a man getting his marching orders every game. But even before this happened there was cause for optimism: Sánchez created Özil’s strike while...
Mauricio Pochettino exploited Liverpool’s defensive vulnerabilities and exposed the Manchester United manager’s rationale during their recent visit to AnfieldMauricio Pochettino had promised further surprises after his deployment of a 5-3-2 against Real Madrid, but perhaps the biggest surprise was that he kept the shape the same. There were other unusual aspects to the win – Tottenham Hotspur had not been ahead against Liverpool since March 2013, Harry Kane had not previously scored a league goal at Wembley and Spurs, at last, looked at ease in their new home – but none of those particularly came as a shock.Neither, in truth, did Liverpool’s defending. Two goals were conceded to simple balls in behind them, at least two more could have been,...