Category: Football (Soccer)

Marc Guéhi faces Liverpool, Xavi Simons wants a central role at Spurs and Arsenal must be wary of Sandro Tonali

• Premier League top scorers: latest Golden Boot race

Manchester United have shown signs of improvement this season. Though the reporting has been of a crisis, had they even a mediocre goalkeeper, they would have lost to neither Arsenal nor Grimsby, and it’s also fair to note that, with three of their first five games coming against Mikel Arteta’s side, Manchester City and Chelsea, they were dealt a difficult start. But Ruben Amorim must now start accumulating victories, with a nasty away trip a decent test. Since Brentford were promoted to the Premier League, United have lost two of four games at the Gtech, were outplayed in the one draw and, even in the game they won, were physically dominated for 45 minutes. However, their summer acquisitions have turned a team of uncommon weakness and slowness into one able to compete in duels, win headers and threaten in behind. That should mean United’s class tells in contests such as this – except no side is better at finding ways to lose matches they should win. Daniel Harris

Brentford v Manchester United, Saturday 12.30pm (all times BST)

Crystal Palace v Liverpool, Saturday 3pm

Chelsea v Brighton, Saturday 3pm

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The possession that once defined the Spanish manager’s sides has evaporated, and it’s hard to see exactly why

• Sign up for Soccer with Jonathan Wilson here

We really are now through the looking glass with Pep Guardiola. Eyebrows had been raised by the way Manchester City approached the second half of their commanding derby win last week, sitting off, allowing United the ball and picking them off on the break. But their performance in drawing at Arsenal on Sunday was on a different level entirely: just 34% possession, the lowest any Guardiola side has ever registered in a game. By the end they had four central defenders, two holding midfielders and a full-back on the pitch.

But even that doesn’t get to the heart of how strange this was. In the previous five seasons there have only been 10 occasions when City did not have more possession than their opponents in a Premier League game. Only once before in the Premier League has City’s possession under Guardiola dipped below 40% – when they registered 37% in beating Arsenal 3-1 in February 2023, a decisive game in that season’s title race as it pulled City level on points with Arsenal at the top, although they had played a game more. That fixture, though, was an extreme version of the United game: City sitting deep, looking to strike on the break and, as it turned out, scoring twice in the final 20 minutes to seal their win.

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• City played in Champions League on Thursday night

• Captain says schedule lacks ‘respect’ and ‘common sense’

Bernardo Silva has accused the fixture schedulers of lacking respect and common sense, saying they put Manchester City at such a physical disadvantage for Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Arsenal that it was “not fair” and “just not right”.

The City captain said he and his teammates could not be at their best level for one of the biggest games of the season after being asked to play in the Champions League on Thursday night; they beat Napoli 2-0 at home.

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