The transfer window has shut, the first international break is over and the real business is about to begin. Can any of Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham or Manchester United be content with the state of their squads?August never seems an entirely satisfactory month. The closing of the transfer window and the scramble for last-minute deals always seems to deflect from the matches themselves – although these days, perhaps, it is the other way round – and then just as everything is about to get going for real, just as throats have been cleared and vocal cords are warmed up, everybody dashes off to play a series of internationals that, in the year before the World Cup, contrive to be...
The absence of a genuine wide man and of last season’s dynamic wing-backs is already having an effect on SpursMoussa Sissoko is an easy scapegoat. He has been a target for scorn since his unforgettably woeful performance in Tottenham’s defeat by Bayer Leverkusen at Wembley last November, on a night when it looked as though he needed someone to explain the entire concept of football to him. It was the comically miscued shot that slithered embarrassingly wide that best explained why eyebrows were raised when Spurs paid Newcastle United for a midfielder whose energetic running often masks technical shortcomings.However, it was not Sissoko’s fault that Mauricio Pochettino’s side lost against Chelsea at Wembley on Sunday. If fingers must be pointed, direct...
Chelsea’s manager picked Tiémoué Bakayoko despite fitness doubts and put David Luiz in midfield and it all paid off to get their season up and runningThe reaction at the final whistle told its own story. Antonio Conte, fists pumping and that same frenzied look in his eye that marked the latter stages of their successful title pursuit last season, was at the heart of the throng of visiting players gathered in the corner of this arena to celebrate in front of a raucous away support. After a summer of painful politics and festering frustrations, this served emphatically as a lancing of the tension, and a reminder of the calibre of champions. Chelsea, defiant and still with time to add to...
West Brom, even without Jonny Evans, give a masterclass in defending again; Newcastle underpowered in attack; Sadio Mané shows his importance to LiverpoolNathaniel Chalobah had an eventful match for Watford on Saturday. By dummying the ball at the suggestion of Bournemouth’s Harry Arter he inadvertently reminded the world of the subclause to Law 12 which states a player should be cautioned if he “verbally distracts an opponent during play”. The England Under-21s midfielder missed two good chances to score; a header and a one-on-one. He gave the ball away several times. But in only his second Premier League start Chalobah also led the match in both tackles and dribbles. It was his breakaway sprint that proved to be the catalyst...
Having been unbeaten at White Hart Lane last season, Spurs’ Wembley woes continued with Chelsea winning the first Premier League game at the stadiumIn their temporary home, with a turned page towards a bigger future, a whopping crowd and an abundance of flag-waving, drum-beating enthusiasm was not enough to change Tottenham’s Wembley tune. In the 88th minute of their brave new world the sight of Marco Alonso sprinting towards the crowing blue noise in the visitors’ corner prompted a not untypical sight in contemporary football – the signal for a flow of fear-the-worst fans to head for the exits to beat the queues.Mauricio Pochettino may feel that talk of curses is overblown, unhelpful and not very realistic over the course...