Olympiacos 2-2 Tottenham: Spurs stuck in limbo after slipping up in Greece September 18, 2019 Champions League hangover or the lingering effects of a summer of uncertainty? Whatever the cause, Tottenham remain a team in limbo, seemingly determined to take one step back for every stride forward. In their opening European fixture at Olympiacos on Wednesday night Spurs contrived to secure a third 2-2 draw from as many away games [...]
Chelsea 0-1 Valencia: Barkley misses late penalty as Blues fall flat at Stamford Bridge September 17, 2019 There were bound to be stern words in the Stamford Bridge home dressing room tonight after Ross Barkley took it upon himself to take a late penalty, only to waste a gilt-edged chance to equalise in a disappointing defeat against Valencia. The England midfielder, fresh off the bench, waved away regular – and reliable – [...]
Home form, a solid tactical base and key men: Norwich City have a template for survival September 17, 2019 For Norwich, beating champions Manchester City 3-2 on Saturday was more than just a big result; it was a reminder that anything is possible in the Premier League. That’s a lovely message to get into the dressing room of a promoted side at this stage of the season. The big teams won’t always play well [...]
Watford 2-2 Arsenal: Five things we learned as Sanchez Flores enjoys bounce September 15, 2019 New manager bounce is not reserved for brand new managers, as Quique Sanchez Flores proved on Sunday when his second spell at Watford began with a rousing come-from-behind draw with Arsenal. Trailing 2-0 against the run of play after two Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang goals in the first 32 minutes, it looked like being a bittersweet return [...]
Norwich win over Man City highlighted all that’s exciting about new season September 15, 2019 There is an invigorating unfamiliarity to the new Premier League season, with some eye-catching displays from the promoted teams introducing a new cast of exciting players and, most surprisingly of all, a feeble start to their title defence from Manchester City. Norwich City’s improbable 3-2 victory over City on Saturday evening wrapped all of those [...]
Quique Sanchez Flores’ Watford return is fraught with complications after frosty exit in 2016 September 12, 2019 When Watford wrote in their parting statement with manager Quique Sanchez Flores in May 2016 that he “leaves with all our best wishes for the future and the knowledge he is always welcome at Vicarage Road” it appeared a generic gesture of good will. But three years and three months – and three managers – [...]
Crystal Palace’s trip to Tottenham is a chance to continue their remarkable record on the road September 12, 2019 Every season the first international break interrupts the flow of the new Premier League season, putting it on hold after just four matches. It tends to leave the league table in peculiar shape, this time with Leicester City and Crystal Palace in the top four, Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United languishing in mid-table, and Watford [...]
Front three are as good as any but England must improve defence and midfield September 11, 2019 England’s pair of high-scoring wins over Bulgaria and Kosovo will have left Gareth Southgate broadly happy, although the Euro 2020 qualifying double-header did highlight their shortcomings. They were always going to takes six points from these fixtures – anything else would have been a huge shock – but I’d suggest Southgate would have expected two [...]
Raheem Sterling hits new heights and shows why sponsors are in hot pursuit September 11, 2019 Last month it emerged that Raheem Sterling was being courted by Air Jordan, the Nike sub-brand reported to be considering making him the face of a new range of football boots in a £100m deal. If anyone was in any doubt why Sterling is in line for one of the sport’s most lucrative ever boot [...]
England 5-3 Kosovo: Three Lions show all their colours in wide-open thriller at St Mary’s September 10, 2019 Fans often moan that international football is boring, that games are one-sided and that results are predictable. Those gripes were nowhere to be heard tonight as England and Kosovo served up an absurdly open, seesawing and incident-packed eight-goal thriller at St Mary’s. It was a crazy Euro 2020 qualifier which had it all, displaying all [...]