“Wednesday evening’s Merseyside derby was as intense as so many of its predecessors. As they have so often in recent weeks, Jurgen Klopp’s team began the game sloppily, handing Everton the advantage in a crucial game for both sides. VAR ruled out an early penalty for the home side for offside but one of the […]
“The transfer window for players will open when the season ends but the movement of managers has no deadline — anyone can switch roles at any point. Jurgen Klopp’s announcement in January that he would be leaving Liverpool at the end of this season after nine years at Anfield kicked off speculation over who would […]
“In modern football, you don’t really get classic strike partnerships any more. Few teams at the highest level play 4-4-2, or any other formation that features two out-and-out strikers. Today, attacking is about pushing multiple players into attack, surprising the opposition with a variety of threats. Arsenal are the best example of that. Eight sides […]
“Not this. Anything but this. It can’t happen. ‘It won’t,’ AC Milan’s captain Davide Calabria reassured the supporters. The thought of hosting a party for Inter Milan’s 20th scudetto sent shudders through the Milan fanbase. ‘They’ll win the league, but we’ll do everything to win the derby,”’coach Stefano Pioli said. It did not inspire confidence. […]
“There are many facets of a football team’s tactical identity, but perhaps the most instructive element is also the most basic part of football strategy — how is a side trying to get the ball into a dangerous position to score a goal? Imagine a particular team’s attacking style and you’re often visualising how they […]
“Fred Done had been a bookmaker for more than three decades, with more than 100 betting shops across the north west of England, before he unwittingly stumbled upon a brilliant but expensive way to make more people aware of his brand. In March 1998 he announced he was paying out early on the Premier Leaguetitle […]
“The Catalan word ‘masia’ is usually translated as ‘farmhouse’ — and that’s not far wrong. A better catch-all description might be a rural dwelling particular to the east of Spain, including Catalonia. When Camp Nou was being constructed in the late 1950s, architects working on Barcelona’s new ground turned a traditional old cottage close by […]
“Erling Haaland is not in crisis. Let’s not be silly here. He’s the odds-on favourite to win the domestic double and the Premier League Golden Boot for the second season in a row, a feat not even Thierry Henry managed to pull off. If Antonio Rudiger’s final shootout penalty for Real Madrid this week had hit […]
“‘The first half was brutal. When we’re struggling, the staff can usually see a couple of solutions, even against the top teams, but they were so aggressive with their pressure that I remember being on the sideline finding it really difficult to think of one,’ a Premier League coach (Coach A) tells The Athletic. He […]
“Liverpool’s defending was indefensible against Atalanta. Conceding three times left hopes of winning the Europa League dangling by the thinnest of threads and also brought to the forefront bigger problems that could derail their Premier League title challenge too. European comebacks are a Liverpool speciality, including incredible nights under Jurgen Klopp. Yet, if his side […]
