Valencia v Chelsea preview: Frank Lampard’s side have come a long way since their opening Champions League defeat November 26, 2019 Chelsea were in a very different place last time they took on Valencia. The Blues were just six competitive games into Frank Lampard’s tenure as manager when they kicked off their Champions League campaign against the Spanish side on 17 September. After an exciting but inconsistent start to the season, Chelsea ran into frustration at [...]
Manchester City have never had a better opportunity to win the Champions League November 25, 2019 It took Manchester City just four years to win the Premier League following the club’s acquisition by Sheikh Mansour in 2008, but an assault on the Champions League has proved much more challenging. While City have won four of the last eight league titles and established themselves as the team to beat in England, they [...]
Sheffield United 3-3 Manchester United: Youthful exuberance and tactical naivety cancel each other out for Solskjaer November 24, 2019 At the end of a Premier League weekend which was defined by damaging results for under-pressure managers, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer went through the wringer in an unpredictable, see-sawing classic at Bramall Lane today. The Manchester United manager veered from joining the pending P45 crew of Marco Silva, Unai Emery and Manuel Pellegrini at 2-0 down, [...]
Manchester City stay in the title race – just – and wait for Liverpool’s luck to run out November 24, 2019 When the final whistle sounded on Saturday evening, bringing to a close almost two hours of breathless and unpredictable football in the teeming Manchester rain, Pep Guardiola could afford himself a sigh of relief. Despite seeing Raheem Sterling’s late goal ruled out for offside in controversial circumstances, Guardiola’s Manchester City had done enough – just [...]
Why the Jose Mourinho appointment plays into the hands of Daniel Levy and Amazon documentary All Or Nothing: Tottenham Hotspur November 21, 2019 This week’s abrupt sacking of Mauricio Pochettino and rapid arrival of Jose Mourinho at Tottenham Hotspur were not met by universal acclaim from the club’s fans, but there was one party who would have been delighted by the managerial movements in north London. Amazon’s decision to commission a documentary series on Tottenham’s 2019-20 season for [...]
Six Premier League title races to offer Manchester City hope in their bid to overturn nine-point deficit November 21, 2019 It may only be the 13th round of the Premier League season, but Manchester City’s clash with Chelsea on Saturday evening has almost become a must-win game following the champions’ defeat to title rivals Liverpool last time. The Reds’ 3-1 win at Anfield a fortnight ago extended their lead over fourth-placed City to nine points, [...]
Mateo Kovacic has flourished in Chelsea’s midfield this season alongside Jorginho November 21, 2019 Amid all the praise that Chelsea’s youngsters have received this season, the improvements of midfield duo Mateo Kovacic and Jorginho have gone largely unheralded. Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic have provided an attacking and creative flair feared missing after the departure of Eden Hazard, Tammy Abraham has supplied a hatful of goals, while Fikayo Tomori [...]
Hiring Jose Mourinho is a roll of the dice, but Daniel Levy must’ve felt keeping Mauricio Pochettino was the bigger gamble November 20, 2019 Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy doesn’t strike me as a gambler but his decision to sack the manager who took the club to a Champions League final and replace him with Jose Mourinho is a roll of the dice. On the face of it, Mauricio Pochettino’s departure is a surprise. While being 14th in the Premier [...]
Jose Mourinho must improve Tottenham’s attack and arrest Harry Kane’s waning club form November 20, 2019 Jose Mourinho arrives at Tottenham with a to-do list that includes arresting a year-long slump that threatens the club’s status as Champions League regulars and rehabilitating his own weathered reputation. But chief among the former Manchester United and Chelsea manager’s priorities in North London should be reinvigorating an attack whose threat has dissipated to the [...]
Pochettino’s legacy may haunt his Tottenham successor after Levy takes unpopular but perhaps necessary action November 19, 2019 On 1 June Mauricio Pochettino had reached the high point of his managerial career and was ready to enjoy the culmination of five years of hard work. He had transformed Tottenham from also-rans into Champions League finalists. Today, just 123 days later, he was sacked. Poor results, 14 points from 12 games and a Premier [...]