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Hello! A new year — a new Manchester United?
Future :
? Amorim discovers a formula
? North London EPL rage
?? Ranieri’s Roma revival
?♂️ Facepalm from the goalkeeper
Manchester United: such a lost cause after all, but a bit of a mystery. They slipped up until Christmas, only to fall to a classy Harry Maguire goal that beat an almost unbeatable team. Make sense of this.
He was there for Maguire at Anfield (pictured above), with United and Liverpool scoring 2-2 and the goal at his mercy in stoppage time. It 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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Miss or not (afterwards there was a debate about whether the ball had bounced), everything tells me that Ruben Amorim can withstand it. It is true that an away win against the league leaders would have been a higher level, but after such a poor until the end of December – 4 direct defeats in all competitions – it was enough to achieve a plan that worked.
Kobbie Mainoo and Manuel Ugarte gave Amorim legs in midfield, and the difference they made to United’s form and risk was enormous – greased wheels compared to the rusty gears of Casemiro and Christian Eriksen. Diogo Dalot went crazy on the left, a definitive merit of Amorim’s three-man defensive formula, which will have to be persevered.
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 a bigger player wouldn’t 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. In fact, he was a post-New Year’s Trent: giddy, confused, and not knowing what day it was.
His positioning has gone crazy. His death put Liverpool in difficulties. His attacking risk was exhausted and Arne Slot saved it (not to mention Virgil van Dijk’s death glare) with 4 minutes remaining, 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’s funny: at no time did the contractual problems affect Mohamed Salah. He scored again and when deciding whether to stay or leave at the end of the season, it turns out that he enjoys the thrill of the chase. Alexander-Arnold is younger and potentially about to leave the only club he has ever known. Yesterday, was it just a false step? 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. ”
First up, Ange Postecoglou who was ready to blow after Tottenham’s 2-1 loss to Newcastle United — not at his squad but at the match officials. Newcastle’s equaliser was allowed to stand despite the ball hitting Joelinton’s hand in the build-up. “On a fair and even playing ground, we would have won that game,” Postecoglou said.
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Perhaps, though, it’s already been 10 losses for the Spurs. They only played 20 games. Despite everything, they were made thanks to Alexander Isak, who does not miss the six-meter surface. 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 is no doubt that it was an unusual decision (the one given by William Saliba against Joao Pedro), but Arsenal also had problems and Ethan Nwaneri joining Bukayo Saka on the injured list will not improve matters.
At the other end of the divide, thought of the day: Are Southampton on course to become the worst Premier League team of all time? They are yet to move a leg under new boss Ivan Juric. They lost 5-0 to Brentford on Saturday and are deadlocked on six points. Derby County set the lowest record overall by achieving 11 in 2007-08. It is 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 Vinicius Jr decides to continue his career outside of Spain, he will not leave with good memories of Valencia.
He has been the victim of racist insults in the past and received a red card at Mestalla on Saturday for the second time in three visits. Sad to say, the Brazilian was only sent off in the games in Valencia.
This, it must be said, was deserved. He hit goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski in the throat during an altercation and the North Macedonian’s theatrics fell short of the letter of the law. Somehow Madrid took advantage of the expulsion to come back from 1-0 down and win 2-1 thanks to Jude Bellingham’s goal in the 96th minute.
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The result just about appeased manager Carlo Ancelotti, who said Madrid’s first half was “so bad I couldn’t believe my eyes.” He plans to pull rank in designating a penalty taker after Bellingham missed one earlier in the game. All is not sweetness and light, but Madrid do top La Liga — and it doesn’t feel like they’ve really got started.
❤️ Possibly today nothing better than James Horncastle will be read about Claudio Ranieri, 73, who is reviving Roma. How he fares in one sentence: “Whoever accepts Roma’s fourth coach in 2024 would need courage, intelligence and a great cross: everything Ranieri had had in his hands when he was a butcher child. ” Arch.
How did you come up with the name of the players who scored 4 or more passes in the Premier League matches between Liverpool and Manchester United?
They were: Salah (12), Steven Gerrard (8), Robbie Fowler (6), Wayne Rooney (6), Rashford (5), Andy Cole (4), Luis Diaz (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. m. /8:00 p. m. –USA Network, Fubo/Sky Sports
Championship: Queens Park Rangers vs Luton Town, 3pm/8pm — CBS Sports, Paramount+/Sky Sports
Win as a team, lose as a team. Or so 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 remaining 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 a montage: Joe Rodon (right) yelling at him, Joel Piroe (center) yelling “WTF?and Joe Rothwell (left) heaving the biggest sigh since I told my eldest son. Put down your phone and read a book.
(Photo: Zohaib Alam — MUFC/Manchester United Getty Images)