Aston Villa’s trepidation at going head-to-head with Manchester City proved prophetic as Pep Guardiola’s visitors demolished the home side in a stunning performance at Villa Park. Faced with a nightmarish injury list, Dean Smith could perhaps be forgiven for throwing in the towel, yet the manner of the defeat raises serious questions about the home […]
The Premier League schedule threw an interesting matchup between two sides hovering in the middle of the league standings. It was the hosts who claimed a victory despite Brighton’s best efforts to stage a comeback. Tactical analysis and match report by Julian Chingoma. Everton came into the game only a point ahead of Brighton in […]
Spurs approached the game with a typical José Mourinho strategy as they sought to defend in a low block and hit Liverpool on the counterattack. Liverpool were able to create a few good chances though, and finally got the breakthrough just before half-time. Spurs’ change of attitude in the second half was not enough to […]
After a first half devoid of quality play, Sheffield United pressed higher against a weak West Ham backline, to force errors and access better areas of the pitch. The hosts deserved to win all three points against an unbalanced West Ham team, who repeatedly displayed their problems in buildup and creating service for the frontline. […]
Manchester United were thoroughly outplayed as City were able to create overloads in midfield as well as finding plenty of space to progress the ball on the right flank. In the second half United changed their setup, which improved their play in and out of possession, but it was not enough to recover from the […]
Even when facing a heavily rotated Liverpool team, Everton just could not pick up a win at a ground they once called home. Carlo Ancelotti’s men had a handful of great chances in the first half but Jürgen Klopp’s intense pressing system pinned Everton back in their own half, before an incredible winner from Curtis […]
Both sides struggled to make ends meet in their regular shapes, most likely down to necessary personnel changes following a hectic winter schedule. Second half reinforcements only did so much to invigorate an affair which had overseen very few chances. Tactical analysis and match report by Peter Munnely. A loss at Watford left a sour […]
Jahanbakhsh’s spectacular bicycle kick ultimately drew what was a tactically rich game conditioned heavily by Brighton’s changes in midfield. In the first half, Chelsea initially dominated by exploiting the narrowness of Brighton’s midfield diamond, until Potter shifted his team to a flat 4-4-2 shape when defending and evened out the tables. During the second half, […]
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side once again showed a fluid and relatively well-structured possession game which allowed them to dominate the first half against Manchester United. Goals from Nicolas Pépé and Sokratis Papastathopoulos gave Arsenal a 2-0 lead at half-time. Similarly to the loss against Chelsea, Arsenal were nowhere near as dominant in the second half. […]
City’s domination culminated as Guardiola’s back three guaranteed his side the necessary solutions to face recent issues. Meanwhile, an uninspiring Everton side was shown the door without leaving its mark. Guardiola and Ancelotti’s first encounter in the Premier League, unsurprisingly, saw the former manager win the chess match. Tactical analysis and match report by Kareem […]