Category: Football (Soccer)

Thierno Barry’s fourth goal in six games was enough to give Everton the win against a poor Newcastle, who had Jacob Ramsey sent off late on

Jaissle tells Sky Elanga is improving physically and deserves to start today; he wants him and Osula to show their potential, and both have the speed to cause any defence problems. His team have to be ruthless in both boxes, using every opportunity to score, and if they do it should be a great result.

Moyes says Rohl is adaptable, likewise O’Brien, so moving them isn’t a problem. Every team knows every other team, so he’s not expecting any surprises.

Sunday’s win at Liverpool showed the Gunners are deeper, more experienced, and are playing against a weaker class of contenders than last season

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Arsenal are three points clear at the top of the Premier League table. But given the team in second are Manchester City, who are likely to be facing at the very least a major points deduction, perhaps more significant is that they are five clear of Brighton in third. The season of domination that many anticipated from the champions appears to be coming to pass.

Liverpool challenged them on Sunday. There was a 20-minute spell before half-time when they swarmed all over Arsenal, and Anfield felt at least like it did in the golden years of Jürgen Klopp, when it buzzed with an energy that could overwhelm visitors. But Arsenal got through that, reset at half-time, and navigated the second half with relative comfort. For the second league game running, they denied Liverpool a shot on target.

This is an extract from Soccer Desk, a newsletter from the Guardian US. Subscribe for free here.

Marco Rose’s tactics are lifting Bournemouth, Roméo Lavia makes progress with Chelsea and Roberto De Zerbi gives youth a chance at Spurs

Good defending is the mark of champions. At Anfield, where Arsenal had not won in the past 13 visits, Mikel Arteta followed the orthodoxy of locking down once his team took the lead. This time around, it proved successful. Arsenal did not allow the occasion or the stadium to get to them as they have on previous occasions. In April 2023, Granit Xhaka entangling with Trent Alexander-Arnold energised home fans previously despondent that Arsenal were 2-0 up. It finished 2-2. On Sunday, Liverpool zipped around zestfully, as Andoni Iraola requests, though the final-ball quality was lacking. That owed a great deal to the organisation of the Arsenal defence. Ahead of the last international break, Brighton set a blueprint for getting the better of Arsenal in winning 3-0. Liverpool’s squad profile might have made a similar strategy possible though Iraola’s outfit is struggling to create chances in the same volume as Brighton or his Bournemouth team. John Brewin

Match report: Liverpool 0-1 Arsenal

Reaction: Iraola responds to Isak penalty denial

Match report: Aston Villa 1-1 Fulham

Match report: Bournemouth 2-0 Leeds United

Kai Havertz’s goal was enough to give Arsenal their first win at Anfield since September 2012 and take them three points clear at the top of the table

So where is the game? Liverpool will look to get men around the ball when Arsenal have it, opening the pitch for switches should they win possession. And when they don’t, they’ll run like mad to recover it, stretching play and passing forwards, facilitating that by conserving energy every now and again when Nyoni slows the game down.

In particular, I expect they’ll ask Bradley Barcola to target the space left when Riccardo Calafiori goes off on adventures, with Alexander Isak pulling away for cut-backs and shooting quickly with little backlift, while Florian Wirtz looks to slip passes in behind – if he can work quickly enough in the maelstrom of the match.

Buildup to Sunday’s action, with a bumper WSL fixture list before Liverpool host Arsenal in the Premier League

It is not going well for Oliver Glasner at Nottingham Forest, to say the least.

“For me, I go home and have breakfast with my family, so it’s not the worst situation,” Glasner said. “Nobody needs to have pity with Oliver Glasner. If I want, I could start in two weeks somewhere else. I won’t do it. But the players, the staff, they remain in the same situation. And it’s the same shit situation that the club had last year. So you need to change and rebuild from the bottom to the top. And this is clear for me. And this is what I will do. And without any compromises, zero, zero.”

Régis Le Bris, Sunderland’s head coach, said: “I don’t think they are not aware of the situation. We are exposed this season with this busy schedule, it’s really demanding.

“Is it unexpected? I don’t think so. Many clubs last year experienced exactly the same situation. First year in Europe, you know you will have on average 10 less points. It’s our reality.

How will Liverpool and Arsenal fare today? Here is what to know, including kick-off time, TV channels and live stream options

Five straight victories, including Wednesday’s Carabao Cup penalty shootout win over Chelsea, give the impression that Andoni Iraola’s Liverpool are heading in the right direction. A win over the champions Sunday would certainly add to that sense.

Arsenal are winless in their last 13 Premier League visits to Anfield, a run that stretches all the way back to September 2012. With Bukayo Saka and William Saliba out and Declan Rice uncertain, the Gunners could be vulnerable.

Coventry climbed out of the relegation zone with a 3-1 win that leaves Sunderland rooted to the bottom of the Premier League.

Tatsuhiro Sakamoto’s first Premier League goal put Frank Lampard’s side ahead 17 minutes in, Taiwo Awoniyi’s first league goal for Coventry doubled the lead eight minutes before the break and Jack Rudoni sealed victory early in the second half.

Hull maintained their unbeaten home record but their winless run stretched to eight games after Julio Enciso earned Ipswich a 2-2 draw at the MKM Stadium.

Ipswich had the lion’s share of possession in the first half, cutting through Hull’s defence repeatedly and eventually leaving both Nobel Mendy and Konstantinos Tzolakis unable to prevent Florentino Luis’ 22nd-minute opener as he sliced through on the right unhindered.