Champions League permutations: What results Liverpool and Chelsea need to reach the last 16 December 9, 2019 Manchester City and Tottenham may have already sealed their place in the Champions League knockout round, but for many clubs a place in February’s round of 16 is still to play for. City are guaranteed top spot regardless of Wednesday night’s result against Dinamo Zagreb, while Jose Mourinho’s Spurs face a trip to Bayern Munich [...]
Six months after their treble, where has it all gone wrong for Manchester City? December 8, 2019 If Manchester City’s relentless brilliance created an impenetrable sky blue wall around the Premier League trophy last season, this term they are rolling out the red carpet. Saturday’s surprise 2-1 home defeat to Manchester United means they now trail runaway leaders Liverpool by 14 points, a chasm that manager Pep Guardiola called “not realistic” as [...]
Arsenal 1-2 Brighton: Gunners left in disarray as winless run continues December 5, 2019 The last time Arsenal failed to win in nine consecutive matches it was March 1977, under Terry Neill. Freddie Ljungberg had not even been born. A 2-1 defeat at home to Brighton last night ensured the Gunners’ winless run continued and increased the pressure on Arsenal’s board to appoint Unai Emery’s permanent replacement sooner rather [...]
Liverpool 5-2 Everton: Jurgen Klopp’s gamble pays off as Reds rest, rotate and roll on undeterred in Merseyside derby December 4, 2019 Some might have questioned Jurgen Klopp’s wisdom when they saw the Liverpool teamsheet he turned in to face Everton in the Merseyside derby. With a daunting and draining festive fixture list lying ahead, Klopp has decided rotation is his only option. The clash with their rivals from across Stanley Park represented the fourth of 12 [...]
Forget Brendan Rodgers and Mauricio Pochettino, Arsenal should make Patrick Vieira their Frank Lampard December 3, 2019 Mid-season can be a difficult time for clubs to recruit a new manager, with big moves tending to happen in the close season and next summer in particular looking like being one of major appointments. So Arsenal need to be realistic as they seek a successor for Unai Emery and in my eyes there is [...]
Jose Mourinho ready to silence critics once more on return to Old Trafford December 3, 2019 It was this very fixture little more than two years ago that saw Jose Mourinho turn to the TV cameras and raise a silencing finger to his lips. Manchester United had just beaten Tottenham 1-0 to maintain their 100 per cent home record and keep the pressure on table-toppers Manchester City – a scenario that [...]
Amazon steps into Premier League broadcasting for the first time with big ambitions December 2, 2019 December is an important month for the future of the Premier League. On the pitch, the focus will be on whether Liverpool can sustain their charge at the top of the table, if Jose Mourinho can turn around Tottenham’s fortunes in the long term and which sides are sliding towards relegation. But off it eyes [...]
Premier League talking points: No new manager bounce for Ljungberg, Iheanacho’s impact and United struggling December 1, 2019 No one was under any illusions about how deep the problems at Arsenal go. No one really thought the sacking of Unai Emery would be a move which would turn the Gunners around overnight. But Arsenal’s first game under interim manager Freddie Ljungberg showed just how far they have fallen. Norwich are an ambitious and [...]
Euro 2020 draw: England should be pleased to play familiar foes Croatia and Czech Republic in Group D December 1, 2019 The start of Euro 2020 may still be 194 days away but there is already a degree of familiarity about the tournament for England. As one of the hosts, Gareth Southgate’s side have the advantage of playing all their of their group games at Wembley and Saturday’s draw confirmed that the venue won’t be the [...]
The Premier League’s incoming chief executive David Pemsel has withdrawn from the role November 29, 2019 The incoming chief executive of the Premier League David Pemsel has withdrawn from the role following tabloid reports about his private life. Former Guardian chief executive Pemsel was due to take up the position in February, succeeding Richard Scudamore. Read more: Premier League appoints Guardian boss as new chief executive The Premier League said in [...]