The Spanish Super Cup in Jeddah and the proposed Club World Cup are just more ways of the rich becoming richerTippi Hedren sits on a bench outside the school. Behind her, crows gradually settle on a climbing frame. She smokes, distracted. By the time s…
United have just been well beaten by a Liverpool side 30 points ahead of them. They are sleepwalking towards mediocrityLiverpool are brilliant. They are top of the league by 16 points with a game in hand and will probably have the title wrapped up by t…
United have just been well beaten by a Liverpool side 30 points ahead of them. They are sleepwalking towards mediocrityLiverpool are brilliant. They are top of the league by 16 points with a game in hand and will probably have the title wrapped up by t…
There has been little sign of improvement since Solskjær took over and he looks ill-equipped to turn things aroundO n Friday 5 March 1909, Manchester United went to Burnley for an FA Cup quarter-final. The pitch was frozen, there was heavy snow and wit…
Since Shankly, via Paisley, Dalglish and Benítez, Liverpool have had several outstanding sides. But how do they measure up?Statistically, this is likely to be Liverpool’s greatest league season, which for a club with 18 championships is no small achiev…
Carabao Cup exhibition gave a reminder of the potency of Pep Guardiola’s side, though a new centre-back might come in handyThere was something almost refreshing about Manchester City’s performance in beating Manchester United in the Carabao Cup on Tues…
Carabao Cup exhibition gave a reminder of the potency of Pep Guardiola’s side, though a new centre-back might come in handyThere was something almost refreshing about Manchester City’s performance in beating Manchester United in the Carabao Cup on Tues…
The manager’s entire career feels a rebuke to the idea that life is measured by trophies and his methods have ignited a regionA t teatime last Sunday came perhaps the broadcasting highlight of the festive period, a moment both dramatic and farcical tha…
Planning for the future is laudable, but at some point there must be evidence of a plan being enacted in the here and nowFor eight minutes at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday, everything looked to be going well for Manchester United. And then suddenly…
Tite has transformed the way the seleção play but 2019 was mainly about Liverpool and their very modern footballThis year has been all about Liverpool. It is not just that they are European and world champions, or that they are well set to win the Prem…
Tite has transformed the way the seleção play but 2019 was mainly about Liverpool and their very modern footballThis year has been all about Liverpool. It is not just that they are European and world champions, or that they are well set to win the Prem…
Klopp’s team are outperforming their own statistics and something remarkable will have to happen to stop a processionLeicester were second in the table and unbeaten at home, where they had conceded only five goals in nine previous games this season. On…
Nine years after a failed experiment with England, Henderson’s energy is being harnessed to great effect in a holding positionIn November 2010, Fabio Capello gave Jordan Henderson his England debut in a friendly against France, operating alongside Gare…
• City one of five clubs facing two games inside 48 hours• Leicester, Bournemouth, Newcastle, Wolves the other fourManchester City have lodged several complaints with the Premier League over their Christmas fixture list in which they will play two game…
The Manchester City midfielder was unplayable against Leicester and his smart positioning allowed others to thriveFor Manchester City there is hope, and its name is Kevin. It may take something miraculous for them to close the 11-point gap to the leade…
For all their attacking vim Chelsea are vulnerable to rapid counterattacks, and José Mourinho’s Spurs can take advantageW hen José Mourinho arrived at Tottenham a month ago, his side trailed Chelsea by 15 points. Six league matches later, Spurs will go…
Arsenal’s downward drift means they could be one of the biggest casualties should a European super league be formedThere is a danger always in football, perhaps in life more generally, to assume certain attributes, certain virtues, certain values are e…
The failure to replace Vincent Kompany, the habit of conceding goals in clusters and the strain of the manager’s intensity are taking their toll on the Premier League championsAnd with that, surely, Manchester City’s title race was run. Only the most a…
Despite the efforts of Dinamo Zagreb, Club Brugge, Slavia Prague and Olympiakos, group stages are still all too predictableWhat have we done to deserve this? The last round of Champions League group fixtures is on us and only half the qualifiers are al…
