Jurgen Klopp says “things are clicking again” for Mohamed Salah after he scored twice in Liverpool’s 3-1 win against West Ham.
Liverpool produced a dominant performance at the London Stadium, monopolising possession and limiting their hosts to a handful of chances. The Reds had to wait until the second half to open the scoring but, given the quality of their goals, it was worth it.
Salah made it 1-0 on the 57-minute mark, making space for himself with a trademark shimmy before curling into the far corner. His second, just over 10 minutes later, was absolutely sublime and has to go down as a goal of the season contender.
From a West Ham corner, Trent Alexander-Arnold pinged a cross-field pass to Xherdan Shaqiri in space. Shaqiri found Salah with a looping through-ball and he dinked Lukasz Fabianski beautifully. It was a two-pass move of devastating simplicity, in stark contrast to the intricate weave of passing which ended with Georginio Wijnaldum making it 3-0 late in the game.
Despite Craig Dawson’s late consolation, Klopp was delighted with Liverpool’s performance and reserved high praise for Salah’s efforts.
“He scored a goal against Tottenham [in the midweek] which didn’t count, I know that, but it was a brilliant goal… that, for sure, was a good sign for him that a couple of things are clicking again,” Klopp said afterwards.
“Tonight he played a super game. He was really in the game, really flexible, all these kinds of things, [he] kept the ball, his passing was good and, in the end, his controlling of the game was really good.
“His first goal was a super smart goal… I think Fabianski couldn’t see the ball really because the box was full and he chipped it just in the far corner. Super smart.
Salah ended his goal drought and was clinical when required on Sunday (Photo: AP)
“The second goal, what a counter-attack. Two passes until Mo got the ball, the last pass was spectacular from Shaq, Mo’s first touch was outstanding, world-class and then a nice finish. Top game, top goals.”
David Moyes, meanwhile, admitted that West Ham had been outplayed by their opponents.
“I thought we competed as well as we could, but I didn’t think we played as well as we could,” he said.
“We tried to compete with a really good team, but they were just too strong for us today.
“We’ve been on a great run, the players have done really well and we came into the game really confident, feeling that we had a chance to get something […] and play well. But Liverpool made it very difficult for us.”
Manchester United missed a golden opportunity to cling onto Manchester City’s coattails at the top of the Premier League by failing to beat an under-strength Arsenal on Saturday.
Kieran Tierney and Bukayo Saka, competing neck and neck for Arsenal’s Player of the Season award were absent through injury, as was captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who is quarantining after a period of leave on compassionate grounds. But for much of Saturday’s cat and mouse clash at the Emirates, United were passive and reactive rather than authoritative and proactive.
“They almost lacked the belief they could go and win the game,” said Sky Sports pundit Roy Keane afterwards. “It looks like they’re almost frightened of it.”
The 0-0 draw was another game which largely bypassed Bruno Fernandes, with the prized Portuguese playmaker failing to register a goal or assist for the fifth Premier League game in a row. Marcus Rashford was also equally ineffective in a right wing position that quite clearly is not to his liking, and Solskjaer acknowledged that the in-form Paul Pogba wasn’t involved as much as had been planned.
Mikel Arteta would have been content that defensive midfielder Fred and full-backs Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Luke Shaw were United’s best three players at the Emirates, rather than any of their game-changing attackers at the top end of the pitch.
Arsenal’s central block of Rob Holding and David Luiz in defence and Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka in midfield, all stuck to their jobs diligently, absorbing United’s attempts at pressure building in central areas. And Luiz and Xhaka took it upon themselves to also provide assistance to the out-of-position Cedric Soares standing in at left back after he had been identified as a possible weak link.
As much as United were underwhelming and fortunate to see Alexandre Lacazette’s pinpoint free-kick rattle the crossbar, the entire complexion of the result would have been different had Edinson Cavani snaffled one of the two gilt-edged chances that fell his way during the second half.
Nicknamed “El Matador” during his time in Naples on account of being a “killer” in the penalty area, Cavani has always had a tendency to veer from ruthless to wasteful when located within the confines of a six-yard-box. What sets Cavani apart from other strikers is that he continues to sniff out goals even when they aren’t flowing freely.
Edinson Cavani (right) laboured at the Emirates (Photo: PA)
The Uruguayan skewed a side-footed volley wide – via the merest of touches from Bernd Leno’s glove – when faced with an open goal and then hooked an acrobatic volley inches past the post in the final minute. The second attempt was far trickier to execute but having taken the opportunity off the toes of the onrushing Anthony Martial, he had to bury it.
On account of Cavani’s misses and a moment of indecision from Rashford, United should have won the game, but that doesn’t mean to say that they deserved to. Besides the Lacazette free-kick, Arsenal had good chances of their own with Wan-Bissaka blocking from Willian, Maguire doing likewise from Nicolas Pepe and David De Gea springing to his left to deny Emile Smith Rowe. A draw was a fair outcome.
When a 1-0 win over Burnley a few weeks ago lifted United to the top of the table for the first time in eight years after New Year’s Day, it looked a generous position. As good as Solskjaer’s side have been on the road – Saturday’s result was their 18th consecutive away league game without defeat, setting a new club-record – Premier League champions rarely lose four games at home by the midway point of a campaign.
With City in imperious form and Liverpool showing shoots of recovery in beating Spurs, Solskjaer may come to rue United’s January blues.
Pressure is building on Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane, as a 2-1 loss to Levante at the Bernabeu on Saturday left Los Blancos with just a single win in their last five matches.
The defeat to mid-table Levante comes just over a week after the shock loss to third-tier minnows Alcoyano in the Copa del Rey, while a loss to Athletic Bilbao in the Super Cup also saw an opportunity for silverware go by the wayside for Real.
Zidane’s side now trail neighbours and rivals Atletico Madrid by ten points in La Liga having played a game more, and Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is believed to be considering a change of manager to turn the side’s fortunes around.
Real Madrid president Perez approached both Allegri and Nagelsmann the last time he had to replace Zidane (Photo: Getty Images)
Here, i looks at the three leading candidates should Zidane be removed from his post.
Massimiliano Allegri
Six-time Serie A winner Allegri has been without a job since leaving Juventus in 2019 and is one of the most experienced managers currently available in Europe.
Thomas Tuchel and Mauricio Pochettino were believed to be of interest to Perez, but the pair’s recent moves to Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain respectively have left Allegri as the frontrunner to replace Zidane.
It wouldn’t be the first time that Real have approached the Italian, with Allegri recently telling Marca that he turned the club down in 2018.
“Two years ago there was contact, but nothing came of it because I had a contract with Juve,” Allegri said. “Furthermore, I had a strong moral commitment to Juventus and its fans.”
The 53-year-old is believed to still be on good terms with Perez and would now be tempted into taking his first managerial job outside of Italy.
Raúl
Real Madrid have been grooming their legendary former striker to be a future first-team coach ever since his retirement from playing in 2015.
Raúl was heavily involved with the youth teams at the club while training for his coaching badges, and has been head coach of Real Madrid Castilla (the club’s reserve side) since 2019.
The 43-year-old would fit a similar profile to Zidane, commanding respect courtesy of his record as the second highest goalscorer in Real Madrid’s history with 323 goals (behind only Cristiano Ronaldo).
But taking such a huge job with no experience of top-flight management could be a risk.
Julian Nagelsmann
German coach Nagelsmann has impressed at RB Leipzig since joining from Hoffenheim (Photo: Getty Images)
Nagelsmann is the hottest property in European management right now. The 33-year-old has been a spectacular success at RB Leipzig, taking the German club to the semi-finals of the Champions League last year and playing some tactically advanced football in the process.
It has been reported that he turned down an approach from Chelsea earlier this month, and he says he also rejected Real Madrid in the past, believing that the offer in 2018 came too early in his career.
“We had phone calls, but in the end the one who decided was me. I believed it was not the right step to go to Real Madrid at that time,” he told Marca.
“We agreed that we could talk again in the future if Real Madrid needed a coach – and I was available.”
The German would however be a significant departure in managerial style from Zidane, demanding a high-energy pressing game from all of his players.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3ou6aaY
It’s one thing for a team to lose two first-choice centre-backs to injury, but another to lose their replacements as well. With Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk still out for the foreseeable, Liverpool had to make do without Fabinho in the midweek thanks to a “minor muscle issue”.
Despite ending a five-match winless run in the league against Tottenham on Thursday evening, the sense of relief was tempered by Joel Matip’s forced withdrawal at half time with an ankle problem.
The absence of Fabinho and Matip left him with little choice but to pair Jordan Henderson and Nathaniel Phillips in the centre of defence for Sunday’s trip to the London Stadium to face an in-form West Ham, with 19-year-old Rhys Williams as the only recognised centre-back on the bench.
While Henderson and Phillips had 45 minutes to develop their nascent defensive partnership against Spurs, this was their first time starting together at the back.
Klopp praised Henderson for being “football smart” before the 3-1 win over the Hammers, suggesting that his leadership skills have made him uniquely adaptable to his new position. The fact remains that Henderson is a midfielder and marshalling the defence alongside a relatively inexperienced academy graduate is no easy task.
That made Sunday’s performance even more impressive, though Liverpool ceded their clean sheet to a late consolation from Craig Dawson.
The pair looked steady in the first half, Henderson taking on the role of distributor as Phillips did much of the legwork. One of the advantages of playing a midfielder at centre-back is that they can produce killer passes seemingly from nowhere, as Henderson showed with the floated ball up to Sadio Mane which instigated Liverpool’s opener against Spurs.
Nathaniel Phillips is one of the few recognised centre-backs in Liverpool’s reserves (Photo: AFP)
He almost repeated the trick here, stroking a long ball to Mohamed Salah as he made a storming run through the middle of West Ham’s defence. Salah laid it off to Xherdan Shaqiri in a menacing position, but his fierce drive was blocked.
While Henderson was reinventing himself as a defensive playmaker, Phillips opted for short, simple passes and made sure to do the basics. He was strong in the air, read West Ham’s long balls proactively and, despite an anxious moment when Michail Antonio almost peeled away from him to go one-on-one, he recovered well from his mistakes.
With a front three of Antonio, Jarrod Bowen and Pablo Fornals plus Said Benrahma sitting in behind them, West Ham had no shortage of pace or trickery in attack. Barring a couple of hiccups – Antonio fired narrowly wide soon after the restart when a quick counter-attack left them scrambling to get back into position – Henderson and Phillips did an admirable job of containing them.
With Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold both putting in huge shifts in support, Liverpool didn’t look like a team suffering from an improvised defence. Henderson and Phillips were even more assured in the second half, though that may have been down to the game swinging decisively in Liverpool’s favour.
Henderson found more and more space to maraud forwards, earning a clattering from Declan Rice for his troubles, while Phillips continued to win his duels and clearances. Henderson threatened to set up a goal with a spectacular long ball on a few occasions, though Liverpool ultimately won thanks to moments of genius elsewhere.
Jordan Henderson (left) perfected his role in the centre of defence on Sunday (Photo: PA)
Dawson’s goal to make it 3-1 was something of a reality check, Liverpool’s defence caught cold at a corner to gift him a simple finish. Still, while instinct suggests that Liverpool cannot continue to field such a makeshift back four and maintain their title defence, Henderson and Phillips showed that they have it in them to rise to the occasion.
Fans are understandably desperate for the club to make a signing before the window closes and late reports on Sunday suggested Preston’s Ben Davies could be drafted in. But this performance should give Klopp some confidence that he has a short-term solution to his centre-back problem.
It might not be ideal but, for the moment at least, Henderson and Phillips are capable of holding Liverpool’s back line together.
A ruthless second-half display from Liverpool saw Jurgen Klopp’s side beat West Ham 3-1 at the London Stadium on Sunday, with Mohamed Salah scoring two exceptional goals to set up the win.
David Moyes’ in-form Hammers threatened to stifle Liverpool until, 12 minutes after the break, Salah clinically finished an incisive attack to open the floodgates.
The Egyptian bagged a superb second to round off a brilliant counter-attacking move from the visitors, and Georginio Wijnaldum added a third with six minutes remaining. Craig Dawson’s late goal from a set-piece was little more than a consolation.
The win – Liverpool’s second in four days – sees them move up to third in the Premier League table, four points behind leaders Manchester City. The result ended West Ham’s seven-game unbeaten run in the league.
Here, i looks at five noteworthy performances from the game…
Mohamed Salah 9/10
Salah drifted through the opening 56 minutes of the match, struggling for time and space as West Ham threatened to stifle Liverpool’s main attacking weapon. But the Egyptian’s great talent is his ability to turn even a hint of a chance into a major opportunity, and his opening goal was a classic Salah finish – the quick step onto his left foot and the powerfully curled strike into the far corner.
Salah scored two superb goals to end West Ham’s resistance at the London Stadium (Photo: AP)
If his first goal was classic Salah, the second was the 28-year-old at his absolute best. He resisted the urge to get on the end of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s long pass forward as Liverpool launched a counter-attack, instead drifting into space in the middle. He then produced the silkiest of touches to bring Xherdan Shaqiri’s cross under control and dinked a finish past Lukasz Fabianski in one fluid motion, a moment of world-class quality.
Michail Antonio 6/10
West Ham’s centre-forward ran himself into the ground, offering an effective outlet when his team were keeping it tight at 0-0, and then providing a spark when the Hammers were forced to chase the game.
He should probably have scored after making space for himself in the box on 56 minutes, only to whip his shot narrowly wide. But his incredible work-rate finally caught up with him as he visibly tired during the second half, with Mark Noble replacing the forward with ten minutes remaining.
Xherdan Shaqiri 6/10
The highlight of Shaqiri’s evening came with his final touch – the perfectly-weighted cross on the counter-attack that set up Salah’s second.
What a counter-attack that is! ????
Liverpool break from West Ham's corner and Mo Salah puts the finishing touches on a rapid and clinical counter-attack.
That moment of quality earned the 29-year-old an embrace from his manager, but the previous hour of football had seen him struggle to make much of an attacking impact against a well-organised West Ham defence.
To have a player of Shaqiri’s ability available to cover for injuries – as he did in this game, with Sadio Mane out with a minor knock – is a major fillip for Klopp. And the player should take confidence from his part in the goal that effectively won Liverpool the game.
Tomáš Souček 7/10
West Ham’s central midfield pairing has been at the heart of their success under David Moyes this season. But while it is England international Declan Rice who receives much of the praise, Tomáš Souček has been equally impressive in that double pivot.
The 25-year-old Czech Republic international is understated but effective, providing a shield for the defence and offering enough quality on the ball to ensure West Ham always have a foothold in any game.
Souček and Rice kept Liverpool’s midfield under control for the best part of an hour, but were caught out by the immediate impact of substitute Curtis Jones for the opener and then found themselves both out of position for the second.
Liverpool manager Klopp will have been impressed by the display of Souček in West Ham’s midfield (Photo: AP)
Trent Alexander-Arnold 7/10
Liverpool’s right-back followed on from his much-improved display against Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday with another lively performance.
Alexander-Arnold was good on the ball throughout, and his raking cross-field pass to find Shaqiri in the build-up to Liverpool’s second was a wonderful piece of vision.
There is still a way to go before the England international gets to the level that saw him pick up a host of individual awards at the end of the 2019-20 season, but the Liverpool full-back’s showing against the Hammers suggested that he’s on the mend.
STAMFORD BRIDGE — If at first you don’t succeed, pass, pass, and pass again.
Chelsea faced derision from some quarters last week when posting a video on social media of a 16-pass move against Wolves which ended with a saved attempt. It was just a handful of their 820 passes, a league-high for any club this season, and an early indicator of the Tuchel way.
There were no goals to show for it, though, and while the goalless draw with Wolves felt like the soft launch, Sunday’s game at home to Burnley was the ultimate Premier League initiation, against a side very much the antithesis of what Chelsea are about and how Tuchel aims to move forward stylistically.
Under Sean Dyche, the longest-serving Premier League manager who was meeting his sixth Chelsea boss at Stamford Bridge, Burnley have found the formula for survival since they returned to the top tier in 2016.
Going into Sunday’s match, Burnley were bottom of the league for touches and passes this season, second bottom for shots and goals too, yet crucially they sat 15th in the table with a comfortable cushion above the relegation zone.
Evidently well-drilled and devoted to an approach they signed up for, and also buoyed on from their win over Aston Villa, Burnley made it difficult for Chelsea in the opening exchanges.
Dyche never stopped barking orders from the sidelines, nor did he ever sit down, and as his voice continued to boom around an empty Stamford Bridge, it was captivating to watch when Tuchel would choose his moments to express delight or disgust.
Alonso is more naturally suited to an attacking wing-back role than Chilwell (Photo: Getty)
Tuchel made a point to rush out of his technical area and applaud Chelsea’s first half-decent move which resulted in Callum Hudson-Odoi seeing a shot deflect over, but he could not hide his disappointment, first with Timo Werner and then with Mason Mount, when further chances were spurned.
As the first half went on the agitation grew, and so did the animation, with Tuchel beginning to mirror Dyche by prowling the technical area, aware his new side needed his input.
The words of encouragement escalated as the size of the task became more evident. Burnley were bullish, but eventually there were high-fives in the Chelsea dugout when the breakthrough was found in the 40th minute.
It was a sweeping, devastating counter-attack, starting on the left and finishing on the other side when Cesar Azpilicueta, Chelsea’s right central defender, bust a gut to make the overlap and meet Hudson-Odoi’s pass with a first-time effort which deflected into the far top corner.
Azpilicueta. Of all people. Surrounded by summer signings and a wealth of attacking talent, it was the 31-year-old Spaniard, the club captain who is now playing under his eighth Chelsea manager and had looked starved of opportunities given Reece James’ emergence, who scored the first Chelsea goal of the Tuchel era.
An unlikely goalscorer, but it paved the way for a more assured second half where Chelsea dominated and eventually scored their second when Marcos Alonso delightfully brought down Christian Pulisic’s cross with a chest, then a knee, then an unstoppably volley past Nick Pope.
Alonso. Of all people. A surprise inclusion ahead of Ben Chilwell, it was the 30-year-old Spaniard, frozen out by Frank Lampard after a falling out at West Brom in September, who scored the second goal of the Tuchel era.
This time there were 710 passes overall and two unlikely goalscorers to show for it. Who would have bet on Azpilicueta and Alonso? Odds in the thousands, surely, and while there are some Chelsea players who have cost millions and are in much need of a confidence-boosting goal, it was two old hands who handed Tuchel his first win.
It was a reminder, therefore, that the slate has been well and truly cleaned by Tuchel. Azpilicueta and Alonso have emerged from the bench and repaid the faith paid shown to them by a boss who is so far favouring experience.
And it means the challenge has been set to Chilwell, James, and Kurt Zouma too. This trio are among the names who must fight to regain their place, but perhaps this increased sense of inner competition is the ideal stimulant for the entire squad, who must still believe a top-four place is attainable.
Launch HN: LayerCI (YC S20) - Staging servers that act like (and replace) CI
22 by colinchartier | 7 comments on Hacker News. Hi HN, Lyn & Colin here. We’re co-founders of LayerCI (https://layerci.com), which gives you a modern DevOps experience (CI/CD & staging environments) with as little work as writing a Dockerfile. Most teams need CI/CD (run the build and deploy every time a developer pushes) or staging (host a server with my app in it to share), but current approaches always have at least one of these problems: - Simplistic (only run unit tests) - Slow (wait 10 minutes to run the same repetitive setup steps like "npm install") - Complex (cache keys, base images, a slack channel to reserve staging servers, …) We’ve spent over a year iterating with our customers to build a product that solves all of these problems. Our configuration files (Layerfiles) look like Dockerfiles, so regular developers can write and maintain them. Here's one that creates a staging server for create-react-app: FROM vm/ubuntu:18.04 RUN curl -sS https://ift.tt/2mHHfki | sudo apt-key add - && curl -fSsL https://ift.tt/2jJProL | bash && apt-get install nodejs python3 make gcc build-essential COPY . . RUN npm install RUN npm test RUN BACKGROUND npm start EXPOSE WEBSITE http://localhost:3000 We charge a flat $42/mo/developer on our paid plan. Because it's a flat fee and not usage based, we're incentivized to make things as fast as possible: Our current margins come from a custom-built hibernating hypervisor that lets us avoid running "npm install" thousands of times per day. We’ve upgraded the free tier to 5GB of memory for new installations this week. It’s perfect for personal projects or small MVPs where you’d like a powerful demo server that will build on every push and automatically hibernate when it’s not being used. The easiest way to try out LayerCI is to follow our interactive tutorial: https://layerci.com/ or look at the docs: https://ift.tt/3cpAFfF We would love to hear your thoughts about CI/CD, staging, and what we’ve built!
Patrick Bamford had already proved the critics wrong. Back at the start of this weirdest of Premier League seasons, naysayers claimed the Leeds United striker would struggle to lead the line of this newly-promoted team back in the top flight.
Fans and pundits pointed to his miserly Premier League record while on loan at the likes of Crystal Palace, Burnley and Middlesbrough during his perpetual purgatory contracted to Chelsea.
They ignored the 16 goals he scored last season to help propel Leeds back to the promised land. He would flop here as he did elsewhere.
Yet Leeds fans – and crucially Marcelo Bielsa – have never had any doubts over their centre-forward. The 27-year-old who looks physically non-threatening and sometimes isolated up front for Leeds is defying those who said he’d never hack it against the big boys.
This we know. Plenty has been written and said about how Bamford, with 11 goals for the season that includes a match-winning hat-trick at Aston Villa, has surprised those who simply looked at his past record and shook their heads.
And he defied those critics once more on Sunday with a stunning goal and two assists in Leeds’ 3-1 plundering of Leicester. In doing so, the 6ft 1in forward ended a four-game drought stretching back to the 1-0 post-Christmas win over Burnley. Yet his goals are only one part of why Bielsa values Bamford so highly.
Bamford’s display in the entertaining win over Leicester was a masterclass in what Bielsa wants from his man. The striker harried and pressed when not in possession, and was there to distribute as soon as Leeds won the ball. He was millimetres from heading past Kasper Schmeichel from a first-half corner but got the goal he craved when beating the offside trap to lash home with his left foot.
Stuart Dallas’ goal was set up by Bamford dropping deep (Photo: GETTY)
Yet there was much more to his game than the headline goal. The way Leeds set up is all about progressing the ball fast when on the counter-attack. This requires the central striker to often drop deep – sometimes into his own half – to collect, turn and distribute forward.
We saw that in Leeds’ opening goal. Luke Ayling collected the ball in the right-back position and, as he so often does, burst forward into space. Meanwhile, Bamford dropped deep to receive, just as eventual goalscorer Stuart Dallas overlapped the forward. Leeds were able to transition the ball in two accurate passes and suddenly they were level. Minutes later and Raphinha was played through again by Bamford, only for Schmeichel to save.
A “typical” striker’s role is to hang off the shoulder of the central defender marking him and try to get in on goal himself. But that isn’t the style Bielsa demands, especially on Leeds’ favoured counter attack.
During the early stages of the campaign the West Yorkshire side benefited greatly from Bamford’s link-up play with wide men Jack Harrison and Raphinha. So much of Leeds’ possession goes down the flanks that the central striker cannot be expected to just linger in one position all game. Bielsa’s ethos of everyone being able to play everywhere – to track back when required, to bomb forward with abandon – doesn’t allow for slack.
Of course, the task of creating gaps for others, like Dallas, to run into is made much easier when the opposition play a high line. Leicester are gunning for the title and beat Leeds 4-1 at Elland Road earlier in the season, so they were never likely to sit back here. But that’s what gave Bamford and his support men the opportunity to attack.
Compare this to the 2-1 win over Newcastle in midweek, where the Toon defence sat much further back and stretched the gap between a lone forward and his midfield support. Leeds laboured to get forward and were arguably lucky to take all three points.
Bamford is happy to do the work Marcelo Bielsa requires of his lone striker (Photo: GETTY)
Patrick Bamford substitutions this season
4-3 loss to Liverpool – 62 mins (for Roberts)
4-3 win over Fulham – 70 mins (for Allioski)
1-0 win over Everton – 89 mins (for Costa)
1-2 win over West Ham – 74 mins (for Roberts)
5-2 win over Newcastle – 84 mins (for Roberts)
When Bamford endures a relatively quiet game, such as against Newcastle, Bielsa has no qualms with hauling him off. His man was subbed at St James’ Park on 60 minutes – the earliest he has been withdrawn all season. On came Tyler Roberts, who replaced the forward for only the third time all campaign.
Roberts was linked with a move away from Elland Road this January and is yet to score in the Premier League. But his duty against Newcastle was exactly the same as the man he replace: help create the position where the team might score, and maybe you’ll be the one to convert.
Leeds found themselves struggling to maintain possession in Leicester’s half as the game wore on at the King Power. That was to be expected for a team who run the yards Leeds do against a Leicester side challenging for the title.
Yet when play broke down and Bamford collected a through ball from Raphinha, his manager will have expected him to hit the target. Bamford duly delivered, as he has done all season.
With minutes to go he was there again, this time charging clear on another counter before selflessly laying off to Harrison to convert Leeds’ third. Asked about setting up Harrison, Bamford said: “It was nice to get the assist. A lot of the boys said to me to shoot on the last one. If I shoot there and I miss then it’s not worth it. For the team we needed that, that extra comfort. So it was good to score again.”
It is that “side over self” mentality that has got Leeds dreaming of a top-half finish and why Bamford is having the season of his career.
Another round of midweek fixtures begins on Tuesday as the Premier League ploughs through its congested schedule into February.
Teams are experiencing a spike in injuries after a gruelling January period came off the back of the traditional festive fixture frenzy.
And there’s no time to let up for teams at the top and bottom of the Premier League table. Relegation battlers Sheffield United and West Brom clash on Tuesday, defending champions Liverpool host Brighton on Wednesday and Thursday sees Tottenham and Chelsea collide in a mouthwatering London derby, the picks of 10 games in three days.
Here, i brings you the latest team news ahead of Gameweek 22…
N’Golo Kante (Chelsea)
N’Golo Kante could be fully fit for Chelsea’s tie with Tottenham (Photo: REUTERS)
Chelsea have greatly missed Kante since his injury suffered in the FA Cup loss to Manchester City at the start of January.
The midfielder acts as the dynamo in the team and new boss Thomas Tuchel has already confirmed he plans to use Kante as a “double six” when he’s back fit, but they really didn’t need his presence against the Clarets.
“For me he is a guy who is a big, big helper for everybody, with the mentality of a water-carrier – but at the same time a world-class player who played a crucial role in the World Cup win for France. That’s why it is super important for me to have him,” Tuchel said.
Chelsea’s trip to Tottenham is on Thursday, meaning Kante has a few more days to recover and get accustomed to Tuchel’s gameplan. All being well the ex-Leicester man will be ready to start in north London.
Alexandre Lacazette (Arsenal)
Alexandre Lacazette came off in Arsenal’s draw with Manchester United (Photo: REUTERS)
Alexandre Lacazette was forced off at half time of Arsenal’s dour draw with Manchester United on Saturday after a collision with Harry Maguire left him receiving medial help for seven minutes.
After the match Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said: “He landed on his head, I don’t know, they will check him, the doctor is on it.
“He was feeling fine right now, so hopefully it’s nothing important. It’s a big worry because we have so many players out at the moment and some players who are struggling to keep playing minutes.”
Tuesday may come too soon for Lacazette, who will likely be assessed for concussion by medical staff in the days before the trip to Wolves.
Lacazette posted his own message on Instagram, saying: “All good over on this side. Thanks for the doctors for the support and the fans for their concern.”
Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
Bukayo Saka (left) has been suffering with a hip injury (Photo: PA)
Another headache for Arsenal is Bukayo Saka, who missed Saturday’s game in north London due to a hip problem.
“Bukayo has been left out as a precaution due to a sore hip,” an Arsenal statement on social media read.
There remains questions over how long the England international will be out for, but the precautionary stance taken by Arsenal over the weekend suggests he shouldn’t be sidelined for an extended period.
Saka has been a revelation at Arsenal this season, especially in recent weeks where he has scored five goals since Boxing Day. And Arsenal certainly missed the 19-year-old exuberance against United.
Romain Saiss (Wolves)
Wolves fans haven’t seen Romain Saiss since he suffered a knock before the FA Cup encounter with Chorley in mid-January. Saiss was an unused substitute against Chelsea earlier this week and then didn’t even make the bench for the 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace on Saturday.
There are reports Liverpool are interested in signing the 30-year-old as a stand-in defender to cover for the absence of Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez.
But Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo doesn’t seem too fazed by those rumours. Asked about the absence of the Moroccan, the manager said: “We have Romain Saiss and Rayan [Ait-Nouri] both out, both with injuries, which is why we decided to go with Nelson [Semedo] on the left because we didn’t have neither Romain, Rayan, Marcal and Jonny – the players that normally play on the left were not available today.”
Next up for Wolves in a tie against Arsenal on Tuesday – less than 24 hours after the transfer window closes. It seems unlikely we will see Saiss feature here.
Scott McTominay (Manchester United)
Manchester United’s Scott McTominay suffered stomach cramps over the weekend (Photo: AFP)
Another casualty from the stalemate at the Emirates was Scott McTominay, who was substituted in the first half due to stomach cramps.
Boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said: “It was his stomach, maybe the food in the hotel but whatever it was, he struggled. So we had to take him off.”
Scotland international McTominay was making his 35th appearance for club and country already this season and has been a major part of United’s recent resurgence.
He was replaced by Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba dropped back into the midfield. Solskjaer must now determine whether to stick with McTominay for Tuesday’s home tie with Southampton, or revert to a different set-up.
Much will depend on how the midfielder recovers from that bout of stomach cramps.
At one stage of the season Tottenham were serious contenders for the Premier League title. But after they slipped off the pace in recent weeks, what they really don’t need is another frustrating ankle injury for Harry Kane.
Manager Jose Mourinho conceded his captain will be out for “a few weeks” – during which time Spurs are due to play West Brom, Manchester City and West Ham in the Premier League, Everton in the FA Cup and travel to Wolfsburg for the first leg of the Europa League last-32 stage.
Thursday’s crunch game with Chelsea will be a real test of Spurs’ attacking resolve. They still have Son Heung-min to seek out with a defence-splitting pass, but Mourinho will need his troops to step up in Kane’s absence.
Kyle Walker-Peters (Southampton)
The Saints full-back missed Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa after suffering an injury in training.
Southampton could be without Kyle Walker-Peters (right) again this midweek (Photo: REUTERS)
Manager Ralph Hasenhuttl was keeping his cards close to his chest when asked about his man, saying: “Not sure yet. He will not be available but we will have to have a look.”
Walker-Peters, 23, has played 20 games for Southampton this season, having made his loan move to St Mary’s from Tottenham permanent in the summer, at a cost of £12m.
Saints will hope to end a two-game losing streak when they play Manchester United on Tuesday, but Walker-Peters is unlikely to be there to muck in.
Hakim Ziyech (Chelsea)
It was initially thought Hakim Ziyech was not carrying an injury when Chelsea boss Tuchel omitted him from the squad that beat Burnley on Sunday.
But the German explained that Ziyech has in fact been suffering from fatigue.
“Hakim has been in a bit of overload since five weeks so he has a bit of a risk of getting injured if he plays more than say 30 minutes,” Tuchel said.
“For that we decided to take a break now to go out of the risk zone. We decided this yesterday.”
Ziyech may also be rested for the game against Chelsea on Thursday as Tuchel continues to tinker with his squad and manage players through the fixture congestion.
Chelsea secured their first win under Thomas Tuchel with a routine 2-0 victory over Burnley at Stamford Bridge on Sunday – a game that saw the hosts dominate possession as the German manager again opted to select a back-three.
While Tuchel’s side were far from perfect, there were signs that his first week at the club could have rejuvenated some of the team’s star players, with Timo Werner livelier than he has been for some time.
Mason Mount was preferred to Kai Havertz in the starting line-up, while there was another chance for Callum Hudson-Odoi to show what he could do at right wing-back.
Excellent finishes from Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso won it for Chelsea, but there were some interesting performances elsewhere in the side.
Here, i looks at five notable individual displays from the 2-0 win…
Thiago Silva 9/10
The Brazilian was an absolute rock at the heart of Chelsea’s defence and looked perfectly suited to the central role in Tuchel’s back three.
Silva made more clearances (5), more interceptions (4) and more ball recoveries (15) than any other Chelsea player, while he was not beaten once throughout the match and did not commit a single foul.
The fact that Burnley failed to muster even one attempt on target was in part down to the performance of the 36-year-old, who dominated Burnley’s Chris Wood throughout – something that few centre-backs have been able to do in the Premier League this season.
Mason Mount 7/10
England’s rising young star put in a performance that showed just why he is known as a manager’s favourite – even though he missed out on the new boss’ first teamsheet. Mount’s tidy passing, clever movement to drift into space in the final third, and relentless work rate will have impressed the watching Tuchel, and should ensure he makes a number of starts in the coming weeks.
Mount (left) impressed again in the Chelsea midfield (Photo: Reuters)
The 22-year-old’s link-up play with the overlapping Hudson-Odoi was particularly impressive and looked to be Chelsea’s likeliest way to open up Burnley throughout the first half.
Mount did however struggle to get on the same wavelength as Werner, often opting for a safer pass out wide than trying a riskier option to look for the runs of the forward, much to the German’s chagrin. But Mount has already done enough to make sure he doesn’t immediately drop down the attacking-midfield pecking order under Tuchel.
Timo Werner 6/10
Werner’s Premier League goal drought has now lasted 12 matches (a run that dates back to 7 November), but there were encouraging signs for the German in his second game under the new manager.
Tuchel used the 24-year-old in a different role in each half, working as one of the two behind Tammy Abraham in the first-half before moving into the forward position for the second 45. A few classy touches aside, the deeper role proved frustrating for Werner, as he struggled to make runs beyond Abraham and saw his best work limited to in-front of the packed Burnley defence. A complete air-shot when picked out by a Callum Hudson-Odoi cut-back on 29 minutes summed up the German’s frustration.
But the second half was better for Werner, who made a number of dangerous runs off the shoulders of the centre-backs and looked much more like the player Chelsea thought they had bought last summer.
Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic struggled to find his runs at times, but it was notable that the very first involvement of Kai Havertz after his introduction on 80 minutes saw the substitute almost send Werner clean through on goal – a link-up that will have hugely encouraged Tuchel.
Mateo Kovacic 7/10
Rarely has Kovacic looked as at-home in a Chelsea shirt as he did against Burnley.
Kovacic appeared ideally suited to Tuchel’s preferred formation at Chelsea (Photo: PA)
The Croatian appears to be the perfect player for Tuchel’s new formation, offering enough defensively to cover the back-three and enough on the ball to be a useful link player for the more creative players.
That versatility, which has so often been used to knock Kovacic, saw him excel in his 79th Premier League game for the club, helping the side dominate possession and limit Burnley to just a single shot (with none registered on target).
N’Golo Kante would also work well in that position in Tuchel’s side, and with the players in that double-pivot expected to put in a lot of hard yards it will be very useful for Chelsea to have the option to rotate during such a congested season.
Callum Hudson-Odoi 8/10
For the second match in succession Hudson-Odoi was one of Chelsea’s best players, operating well in his new wing-back role. The England international must have feared for his prospects under the new manager, but Tuchel’s switch to a back three has found a new place for the 20-year-old in the Chelsea first XI. And if the early evidence is anything to go by then he is extremely well-suited to it.
Hudson-Odoi was a constant threat down the right, keeping his width and offering a genuine goal threat as he overlapped down his flank, linking up superbly with Mount in particular.
There will be tougher defensive tests to come, but against a deep-lying opponent like Burnley it was Hudson-Odoi who was often one of the most advanced Chelsea players. His replacement Reece James is also well-suited to the wing-back role, and national manager Gareth Southgate will be an interested observer as the two compete for the starting berth over the remainder of the season.
EMIRATES STADIUM — Manchester United rang the changes for the visit to Arsenal making five in total from the embarrassing defeat to Sheffield United, including the re-introduction of Edinson Cavani as his focal point.
It was no surprise that Cavani was reinstated given Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has consistently talked him up over the past week as a model for United’s younger players to follow and given Anthony Martial’s inability to emulate his Project Restart form.
There was a feeling that Cavani was a vanity signing late on in the summer window, a big name brought in to appease fans following the embarrassing Jadon Sancho fiasco. However, he has increasingly grown in stature, so much so that he is now being picked for the big games.
It isn’t hard to see why Cavani has enjoyed such a successful career when you see him up close. Cavani will turn 34 on Valentine’s Day but on a freezing cold night inside a windswept, rainy Emirates Stadium, he hared around the pitch with all the enthusiasm as someone half his age.
Bruno Fernandes was the only United player to run more on the night and although most of his runs – in to out, out to in, back and forth – failed to be picked up by his teammates, his movement would have left ex-PSG teammate David Luiz and his partner Rob Holding feeling dizzy.
All that was lacking was a goal and he should have definitely had one, if not two.
Before the game, Solskjaer reasoned that Cavani’s ability to attack crosses was partly why was he included: “With Edinson there we want to get crosses in and that’s something we’ve worked on for tonight so hopefully we can see some of them.”
Both of his chances came from balls delivered into the box by United full-backs. He somehow skewed wide with the goal gaping from Luke Shaw’s skidding ball across the six-yard-box and then hooked a snapshot agonisingly wide of the post from Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s centre in the final minute of normal time.
“I felt we had the bigger chances to win the game,” Solskjaer told Sky Sports after the game. “It was a decent performance, we were good defensively and had two massive chances in the second half, unfortunately we couldn’t put it between the posts.”
The goals escaped ‘Edi’ – as the United bench call him – on the night, but his track record suggests they will soon flow once more.
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Both teams had chances to win with Nicolas Pepe twice going close for the hosts and Edinson Cavani squandering the best opportunity for the visitors.
City’s 1-0 win earlier in the day means they have extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to three points with a game in hand on United.
Nevertheless, both sides will be relatively pleased with the point at the Emirates.
Here’s how both sets of players rated:
Arsenal player ratings
Man Utd midfielder Paul Pogba battles with Arsenal’s Nicolas Pepe and Rob Holding (Photo: AP)
Bernd Leno – 7/10
Superb finger-tip save to deny Fred in the first-half but had little to do thereafter. Will be pleased with his eighth clean sheet of the season – beating seven from the last campaign.
Hector Bellerin – 5/10
Ugly loose pass in the first minute and things didn’t really improve from there. Solid enough at the back but offered too little going forward.
Rob Holding – 7/10
Quiet game for the most part as United struggled to get the ball to Cavani but perhaps that had something to do with his excellent positioning. No surprise he has become a staple of this Arsenal backline.
David Luiz – 7/10
Solid display at the back and as eye-catching as ever going forward. Speculative long-range effort early on that nearly went out for a corner and another from the edge of the box later on that went into row Z.
Cedric Soares – 7/10
Coped well despite being out of position on the left in the place of the injured Kieran Tierney. A bit of needle with compatriot Bruno Fernandes early on set the tone for a battling display. Wasteful free-kick late on.
Thomas Partey – 5/10
Looked slightly off the pace but that is perhaps to be expected given his lack of playing time this season. Most notable contribution was clattering into Fernandes to give United a dangerous free-kick on the stroke of half-time.
Granit Xhaka – 7/10
Won the ball and passed the ball without doing anything too spectacular… or too clumsy, which is sometimes just what you need from a defensive midfielder.
Gabriel Martinelli – 5/10
Showed some excellent anticipation while tracking back to intercept when Rashford had the goal at his mercy but struggled to escape Wan-Bissaka’s vice-like grip going forward. Replaced by Willian at half-time.
Emile Smith Rowe – 7/10
Promising moments again from Arsenal’s young No 10. Excellent driving run through midfield to set up a chance for Pepe early on and then tested De Gea with a low drive to the near post. Replaced by Odegaard late on.
Nicolas Pepe – 7/10
Threatening presence on the right but needs to work on his shooting. Scuffed one shot wide after half a dozen rapid stepovers before another was well blocked by Maguire. Nearly nicked the winner late on but shot wide again.
Alexandre Lacazette – 8/10
One shot straight at De Gea early on and an excellent free-kick off the bar on the hour mark. Looked like Arsenal’s hungriest player and was unlucky not to get the rub of the green.
Willian (sub) – 5/10
Fluffed a glorious chance to score his first Arsenal goal within minutes of coming off the bench then appeared to pick up an injury shortly after. Spent most of the time afterwards walking.
Martin Odegaard (sub) – 5/10
One nice touch after coming on for Smith Rowe late on and pressed well but had little time to impact the game.
Man Utd player ratings
De Gea made a solid save to deny Smith Rowe (Photo: Getty)
David De Gea – 7/10
Made a smart save from Smith Rowe’s low shot but enjoyed a relatively quiet afternoon otherwise.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 7/10
Marshalled the lively Martinelli well and was a noticeable presence in attack although his end product let him down at times. Very nearly set up Cavani for the winner only for the Uruguayan to shoot narrowly wide.
Victor Lindelof – 8/10
Has missed five of the last six games and didn’t appear to be fully fit here. Nevertheless, showed good reading of the game to stop several Arsenal attacks. Much more assured than his defensive partner.
Harry Maguire – 5/10
Danced like a confused scarecrow when Pepe drove at him in the first-half. Made up for that with a solid block from the same man in the second but gave away two dangerous free-kicks for needless fouls on Lacazette. Not his most composed display.
Luke Shaw– 7/10
A quiet first-half but burst into life in the second, creating the chance of the game for Cavani and nearly setting up the striker for another.
Scott McTominay – 5/10
Looked to be really struggling with some sort of ailment before being replaced by Anthony Martial after half an hour.
Fred – 7/10
Another busy 90 minutes for United’s spoiler in midfield. Nearly opened the scoring too but for Leno’s excellent save.
Paul Pogba – 6/10
A strangely middle-of-the-road display from United’s most polarising player. Quiet first half an hour while playing in that new free role on the left. McTominay’s exit saw him switched to the middle but he also made little impact there.
Bruno Fernandes – 5/10
Seemed to be getting easily wound up by Arsenal’s players early on and was unusually wayward when presented with a half chance from Pogba early on. Almost entirely anonymous thereafter. Looks in need of a rest.
Marcus Rashford – 7/10
Lively presence off the right. Had one of the best chances of the first-half but couldn’t quite get the ball out of his feet, a few others in the second-half but shots were wayward.
Edinson Cavani – 7/10
Cut a frustrated figure having seen little of the ball early on. Missed the best chance of the game inside the six-yard box when meeting Shaw’s cross and very nearly scored the winner late on with a spectacular bicycle kick.
Anthony Martial (sub) – 6/10
Came on for McTominay in the first-half. Nice interplay with Shaw to help set up Cavani’s chance but created little else.
Mason Greenwood (sub) – 5/10
Came on for Rashford late on, leaving him little chance of impacting the game.
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