Goal of the week
Wow, Manchester City took notes from the NBA and figured out how to place screens on set pieces.
I think it’s time for us all to pack up and go home.
City’s first goal in their 1-1 draw with Liverpool was a moment of magic from Kevin De Bruyne, aided by a crafty set-piece routine. Nathan Aké made room for Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister, opting for him. John Stones to move from the middle of the box to the near post for a touch. But it was De Bruyne who bore the brunt of the work. His crossover required speed, bend and accuracy, and De Bruyne delivered.
This was a rare bright spot in an otherwise unusually sloppy City performance. They were hit sporadically with the cannon and were cut open too often without the cannon. Liverpool’s intensity blurred the pitch and City gave the ball away at an unusually high pace; For the first time this season, Pep Guardiola’s side had less than 50% possession. They conceded a cheap penalty in the second half and were lucky not to fall behind; Luis Díaz missed a hat-trick and Jérémy Doku missed. I almost conceded a penalty in the 98th minute.
This draw leaves City (narrowly) ahead in the title draw, despite dropping to third place in the league. They host Arsenal in a must-win match at the Etihad on March 31. A home win would give City an advantage over Liverpool, who have a tough game and a long injury list.
player of the week
How many teams have allowed Liverpool to be caught? Alexis Mac Allister For £35 million? Mac Allister He was partly at fault for City’s opening strike, but leveled the score with a penalty early in the second half and kept the show going for 100 breathless minutes.
Mac Allister was Liverpool’s best player. He brought calmness and purpose to Liverpool’s attack in a heated atmosphere and led the team’s pressing. Only Liverpool’s centre-backs dominated the ball more.
“Probably Pep saw that too,” Jurgen Klopp said after the match. “How we played in their midfield today – some of the best moments of my coaching career, to be honest.”
Mac Allister was at the center of everything. The player, who became the creative center of the team in the absence of Trent Alexander-Arnold, sat in the middle of the field around which Liverpool’s forward line revolved. Mac Allister has scored, assisted or been involved in the build-up to his last seven Liverpool appearances.
And he was just as effective when he didn’t have the ball. Mac Allister set his sights on Rodri early on Sunday, knowing that stopping City’s metronome was the quickest way to get the meters going. You can count on one hand the number of times Rodri has handled the ball this season; Mac Allister steals the ball from Rodri twice Sunday. It’s only happened twice this season. One of them? When Rodri faced Mac Allister at home in November.
Coach of the week
And now for your weekly reminder Gary O’Neil He’s cooking up something special at Wolves. The club beat Fulham 2-1 on Saturday to move up to ninth in the table, just six points behind sixth-placed Manchester United. Reaching the European Cup is now very close with 10 matches left.
On the eve of this season it is worth remembering where the club was when O’Neil took over. O’Neil stood up after Julen Lopetegui’s shock resignation just four days before the start of the league campaign. For most teams, these pre-season antics could have led to a long and difficult relegation battle. Instead, O’Neil bet he could get more out of this roster.
It worked. The win against Fulham was Wolves’ 12th win of the season and an improvement on last season. For those without the resources of Manchester City, O’Neil has adopted a motto long accepted by the Premier League: To win big, you have to master every style. O’Neil’s team changes shape every week. Few managers have been better at devising one-off game plans.
We are told that there are few young managers who can replace the great beasts. But in the early years of his career, O’Neil crossed all the checkpoints. He kept Bournemouth in the league before abandoning him in the hope of bringing in a more exotic style. He entered one of the most damaging situations in the league at Wolves and led his team to the top half of the table. As resumes go, this one is pretty, pretty good.
One of the biggest changing factors this summer will be whether Wolves can keep O’Neil once the management merry-go-round begins to turn. The club has already talked to O’Neil about extending his contract. But those considering Brentford’s Thomas Frank or Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi should take a closer look at O’Neil.
Debate of the week
Kai Havertz scored a late goal to give Arsenal a 2-1 win over Brentford and take them top of the table.
But Havertz was lucky to still be on the field. Havertz, who received a yellow card in the first half due to his elbow while making a header, somersaulted into the penalty area in the middle of the second half and sought a penalty. The scam did not work, but Havertz was not shown a second booking.
“Havertz is a clear-cut dive,” Brentford manager Thomas Frank said after the match. “I wish they would have admitted that. Of course it should have been a second yellow and red card. And then he wouldn’t have been able to score the winning goal and hopefully we would have had a little more momentum and maybe won the game.”
‘What were you thinking?’ prize
When the Guardian Weekend Awards came to power and took over the Premier League Hall of Fame John McGinn’s swipe at Tottenham’s Destiny Udogie It will be the first voting entry in the ‘What was he thinking’ wing.
Villa collapsed against Spurs on Sunday. They were 2-0 down before McGinn’s red card. Following his dismissal, Tottenham won comfortably 4-0.
Unai Emery made a change in the backfield, turning the traditional 4-4-2 formation into 5-3-2 and tried to control Tottenham’s mobile front line. The plan failed. And then Villa’s captain appeared to lose his head.
McGinn’s reckless tackle cost Villa more than a chance to get back into the game. The midfielder will miss the team’s next three matches, including the trip to Manchester City. And that’s on top of losing Boubacar Kamara for the rest of the season to a knee injury.
Losing to Spurs could be an accelerating result in the race for the top four: Villa are now down two key players, Spurs have a game in hand and a four-goal difference has tipped the goal difference battle in Tottenham’s favour. Villa have not played in the Champions League for 40 years while in the European Cup and there were signs on Sunday that they were starting to feel the pressure.
Disappointing performance of the week
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: Everton struggled in front of goal in a frustrating defeat. They were the better side in big passages of their 2-0 defeat against Manchester United. Despite United’s disorganized display in the first 10 minutes, Sean Dyche’s side had a clear plan. And Everton gave away a cheap penalty in the 12th minute. And they scored almost the same goal in the 36th minute.
They probed throughout the remainder of the match, but lacked the upper hand in the final third. This was emblematic of Everton’s form over the last three months; They have not won a league match since December 16.
United’s performance hit a common theme. Everton have scored just 29 goals this season despite having an xG score of 48. They failed to score in 11 league matches this year. In open play, they are outscored 22-14 this season, despite achieving an xG of 30 this season.
As always with Dyche teams, they relied on set plays, scoring 15 goals from corners or free kicks; This was a better number than their conversions while the ball was in play. You’d like to think that at some point the odds will turn in Everton’s favor. Dyche continues to point to xG and other idiotic metrics as evidence that Everton are playing above their own record. But at some point, you become who your goal count indicates.
The lack of a clinical touch in and around the penalty area reduces Everton’s margin for error. They have to do the little things right to stay afloat. United lost their composure in both areas and cost them at least a shot at a point.