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Nice day! A new – a new Manchester United?
Next:
? Amorim finds a formula
? North London EPL rage
?? Ranieri’s Roma revival
?♂️ Keeper’s facepalm moment
Manchester United: a lost cause in the end, but a bit of a mystery. They slipped up until Christmas, only to fall to a Harry Maguire blank while beating an almost unbeatable team. You have to make sense of that.
It was there for Maguire at Anfield (pictured above), with United and Liverpool leading 2-2 and the goal at his mercy in injury time. He gave the impression that in the last position you would need a centre-back to appear and His forgiving helmet was the margin between Liverpool and a first Premier League defeat in 4 months.
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A bad miss or not (there was a debate afterwards about whether the ball bobbled), something tells me Ruben Amorim can live with it. True, a win away at the league’s leaders would have been next level but after form so bad through late December — four defeats in succession in all competitions — it was enough to land upon a blueprint that worked.
Kobbie Mainoo and Manuel Ugarte gave Amorim legs in midfield, and the difference they made to United’s shape and threat was huge: oiled wheels as opposed to rusty cogs in Casemiro and Christian Eriksen. Diogo Dalot ran riot down the left, a definite upside of Amorim’s three-man defensive system — which has to be worth persevering with.
Certainly, demanding situations persist. Rasmus Hojlund doesn’t look like a No. 9, and hitting him was like trying to land on a quick grain of sand in a long jump pit. Marcus Rashford’s long career is unresolved, whatever Laurie Whitwell has covered forensically. Matthijs de Ligt’s role in either Liverpool’s aim was a mistake that a bigger player would not make. But being able to face Anfield will have to be a mental push. Definitely.
The victim of Dalot’s electric afternoon was Trent Alexander-Arnold. This was very much a post-New Year’s Eve Trent: dazed, confused and not quite sure what day it was.
His positioning is crazy. His death put Liverpool in trouble. His attacking risk was exhausted and Arne Slot saved him from himself (not to mention Virgil van Dijk’s other doom looks) with 4 minutes left, replacing him with Conor Bradley.
Was it a coincidence that, a few days earlier, Real Madrid came in for him? Slot said Alexander-Arnold was not distracted by fluttering eyes in Spain but the right-back looked like a man with his mind elsewhere.
It is curious: at no time did the contractual problems have any effect on Mohamed Salah. He scored again and when deciding whether to stay or go at the end of the season, it turns out he is enjoying the thrill of the chase. Alexander-Arnold is younger and potentially on the verge of leaving the only club he has ever known. Was it just a misstep? Or did Madrid interrupt its flow?
?️ Most clicked in Friday’s TAFC: the most perfect thing in sport.
Elsewhere in the Premier League, two episodes of “Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they don’t want to have you. “
Firstly, Angel Postecoglou, who was in a position to explode after Tottenham’s 2-1 defeat to Newcastle United, did not oppose his team but did oppose the in-form referees. Newcastle’s equalizer was allowed despite the ball touching Joelinton’s hand in preseason. on a fair playing field and with points, we would have won this game,” Postecoglou said.
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Maybe, but that already adds up to 10 losses for the Spurs. They only played 20 games. Despite everything, they did it through Alexander Isak, who simply does not miss the small area. If I were Newcastle, I would tell him to pitch a tent there.
And then we had Mikel Arteta, also hurt by the penalty that forced Arsenal to a 1-1 draw at Brighton. There’s no doubt it was an unusual decision given William Saliba was up against Joao Pedro, but Arsenal also have shipping problems and Ethan Nwaneri adding Bukayo Saka to the injured list will rarely improve matters.
At the other end of the division, a thought for the day: are Southampton about to become the worst Premier League team of all time? They’re yet to shake a leg under new boss Ivan Juric. They lost 5-0 to Brentford on Saturday and they’re stuck on six points. Derby County set the record for the lowest-ever total by reaching 11 in 2007-08. It’s there to be broken.
?️ Juric compared the pasting by Brentford to “being kicked in the head”. The Totally Football Show had some fun with that quote. You can listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
If and when Vinicius Jr chooses to continue his career away from Spain, he won’t leave with happy memories of Valencia.
He has been the victim of racist insults there in the past and on Saturday received a red card at Mestalla for the second time in three visits. Unfortunately, the Brazilian was only sent off in the Valencia matches.
This, it must be said, was deserved. He punched goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski in the throat during an altercation and the North Macedonian’s theatrics did not comply with the law. Somehow, Madrid took advantage of the sending off to come back from 1-0 down and win 2-1 thanks to a goal by Jude Bellingham in the 96th minute.
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The result all but appeased coach Carlo Ancelotti, who said Madrid’s first half was “so bad I couldn’t see. “He plans to gain ground by appointing a penalty taker after Bellingham missed an earlier one in the match. Not everything is comfortable and light. However, Madrid are the most aware in La Liga, and it doesn’t seem like they’ve really started.
❤️ You’ll read not anything greater today than James Horncastle on 73-year-old Claudio Ranieri bringing Roma back to life. How’s that for a sentence: “Whoever agreed to Roma’s fourth manager in 2024 would want courage, intelligence and a big center – everything Ranieri had held in his hands as a butcher’s boy developing up. ” Bow.
How did you go with naming the players who’ve scored four or more goals in Premier League games between Liverpool and Manchester United?
They were: Salah (12), Steven Gerrard (8), Robbie Fowler (6), Wayne Rooney (6), Rashford (5), Andy Cole (4), Luis Díaz (4), Ryan Giggs (4).
(Selected games)
Copa del Rey: Deportivo Minera vs Real Madrid, 1pm/6pm — ESPN+ (U.S. only).
Supercoppa Italiana: Milan vs Inter, 2pm/7pm — CBS Sports Network, Fubo/Premier Sports 1
Premier League: Wolverhampton Wanderers v Nottingham Forest, 3:00 p. m. /8:00 p. m. m. – USA Network, Fubo/Sky Sports
Championship: Queens Park Rangers v Luton Town, p. m. /8 p. m. -CBS Sports, Paramount+/Sky Sports
Win as a team, lose as a team. Or that’s what they say.
But if a goalkeeper makes a mistake like Illan Meslier’s at Hull City (above) on Saturday, patience will be tested. Leeds United were leading 3-1 with minutes left when they kicked a ball over the crossbar and safely onto the line. of fire. Hull missed that chance and a 3-3 draw ensued.
The reaction of his teammates is surprising: Joe Rodon (right) yelling at him, Joel Piroe (center) shouting “WTF?” Sweet and Joe Rothwell (left) giving the biggest sigh since I told my oldest. Put your phone down and read a book. Clumsy.
(Photo: Zohaib Alam — MUFC/Manchester United via Getty Images)