The Pulse of Football

May

2024

The MLS Team of the Week: Matchday 12

Our MLS expert James Nalton explains his two votes for the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) Player of Matchday 12 and picks three more standout players from the latest round of action in Major League Soccer.

By James Nalton

The stars of Inter Miami continue to take the headlines in MLS and the team retains their spot at the top of the overall standings in the Supporter’s Shield.

We are used to standout players driving their teams to success in this league, but Miami have assembled a team that includes two world-class talents spearheading the attack, and look unstoppable when they hit their stride.

Elsewhere, a Canadian former MLS Cup winner is resurgent thanks to one of their Italian stars, and there is a hat-trick for an English centre-forward.

But first, to Miami…

The Top Two

9.7 FotMob rating: Lionel Messi, Inter Miami

It was the Lionel Messi show once again in MLS this weekend, as he broke the record for the most assists in a single game with five.

His goal which gave Inter Miami a 2-1 lead in the second half, having gone a goal behind in the first, meant he had six goal contributions in the game, which is also an MLS record.

It all led to a 6-1 win for Inter Miami against a New York Red Bulls team who didn’t know what hit them after they went in 1-0 up at halftime.

Actually, despite that turn of phrase, they’ll know full well what hit them — Lionel Messi.

He did the same to New England last week and he’ll do the same to many more teams before the season ends.

9.8 FotMob rating: Luis Suárez, Inter Miami

It’s a testament to Messi’s displays that Suárez isn’t the star of the show in MLS week in, week out.

He scored a hat-trick against the Red Bulls this Matchday — all three of them assisted by Messi, which puts him alongside his teammate on ten goals this season so far.

Suárez is still as sharp as ever when it comes to scoring goals, finding an extra burst of speed and energy in those moments when there is a promising attacking move developing.

Each of his goals were clinical, textbook finishes, showcasing his world-class technique and movement.

On top of this, he added an assist of his own for Messi’s goal — a formidable partnership now doing the business in MLS.

Three more standout performers

9.7 FotMob rating: Sam Surridge – Nashville SC

If it wasn’t for Messi, Suárez would be taking this week’s Player of the Matchday honours, and if it wasn’t for Suárez, Sam Surridge’s performance in Nashville’s 4-1 win at home to Montréal would be the performance of the week.

Like Suárez, he scored a hat-trick of goals that displayed some clinical finishing ability and good movement to steer his team to a convincing win.

And it was much-needed for Nashville, who had gone five games without one and had only won once so far this season prior to this game.

His first goal was placed coolly into the far corner, his second turned home from the centre of the area from Hany Mukhtar’s pass, and his third was fired in on the half-volley after Mukhtar’s header came back off the bar.

A true centre-forward’s performance.

9.2 FotMob rating: Federico Bernardeschi – Toronto FC

Toronto have sneaked into the upper echelons of the Eastern Conference table and Federico Bernardeschi’s performances in recent weeks have played a big role in this improvement.

It’s now three wins in a row for the Canadian side who won a treble back in 2017 made up of the MLS Cup, Supporters’ Shield, and Canadian Championship.

The 30-year-old Italian scored twice and assisted another in a 3-1 win against FC Dallas this week, netting once from a rebound after his penalty kick was saved by Maarten Paes, and another via a goal-of-the-week contender from outside the box.

His assist was just as impressive, playing a neat ball into the box for Matty Longstaff.

The team that finished bottom of the Eastern Conference last season are starting to look like their old selves, and under new head coach, John Herdman, are threatening to become a quality outfit once again.

8.9 FotMob rating: Matías Rojas – Inter Miami

Suárez and Messi will take the headlines for Inter Miami and across MLS this week, but it was the introduction of Rojas at halftime that really helped them turn things around against the New York Red Bulls.

Rojas scored the equaliser and the goal that made it 3-1, both assisted by Messi, of course, before Suárez bagged his hat-trick to turn a win into a rout.

Rojas also played a part in the goal by Messi that made it 2-1, winning the ball high up the field before Suárez played in Messi.

Rojas’s brace consisted of what were arguably the two outstanding goals of the game, amid a number of contenders, and the first of them, blasted into the top corner from outside the area, certainly gave Miami the belief they could turn the game around.

The 28-year-old Paraguayan was signed at the end of last month and is yet to make a first start for his new side, but in his second substitute appearance, he made a real case to line up from the off in the next game against Montréal.

(Cover Image from IMAGO)

You can follow every match from MLS live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage including shot maps, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

May

2024

Lionel Messi is showing off his unrivalled finishing ability in MLS

Argentina’s World Cup winning captain is taking Major League Soccer by storm in his first full season in the league, and is already on course for a record-breaking campaign.

By James Nalton

In recent weeks he has stormed to the top of the MLS goalscoring charts alongside his Inter Miami teammate Luis Suárez, scoring and assisting goals in his last four games, carving through opposition defences at will.

Even as he approaches his 37th birthday, Messi remains world-class in the areas of his game soccer fans have become so familiar with across the past 20 years.

Beyond the acceptance he is the greatest we have ever seen in a number of individual areas of the game, there have been many debates as to what is his biggest strength.

Throughout his career, Messi has been an elite dribbler, carrying the ball with great threat and regularly taking multiple opposition players out of the game.

His set pieces and free-kick taking are up there with the best ever, and he is one of the best passers of the ball we have ever seen — something that really became noticeable, or more appreciated, later in his time with Barcelona.

But from his time as a youth player at La Masia to the present day, one of his greatest assets, and something that separates him from other greats of the game, is his finishing — the ability to score goals almost, it seems, at will.

The most recent game, against New York Red Bulls, was all about the MLS record-breaking five assists and, along with his goal, a record-breaking six goal contributions, but away from that assists haul, there has been the steady accumulation of goals since his return from injury.

Messi missed a few Miami games in March and the side exited the Concacaf Champions Cup at the beginning of April, falling to Mexican club Monterrey at the quarterfinals stage, but when he has been present in MLS lineups, he has always contributed to at least one goal.

And on the majority of those occasions, he’s scored. He has found the net in each of his last seven MLS games, with all of his ten goals scored so far coming in that run.

A brace against Orlando consisted of a goal that went in off his chest, and a brilliant header from the far post, directing Suárez’s cross back across to the opposite side of goal. Despite his small stature, he’s even a great header of the ball when scoring a goal requires that skill.

The left-footed strikes are by now familiar, but still breathtaking. Scoring such goals in front of packed crowds in large NFL stadiums, as was the case in away games against Sporting KC and New England Revolution, adds an extra flavour – almost a World Cup ‘94 vibe – to these goals.

There is still a smattering of outstanding long-range efforts, but many of these finishes are those of an accomplished No. 9 — goals slotted home from inside the penalty area.

He has run amok in the league and seems to be able to flick a switch and contribute when Miami need it most, at least against MLS opposition.

As well as leading the goalscoring charts alongside Suárez on 10, Messi leads the way in other statistical categories such as xG per 90, shots per 90, shots on target per 90, big chances created, xG + xA per 90, assists and, therefore, goals plus assists combined.

He has 19 goal contributions in total (or according to MLS which counts secondary assists taking him up to 12 assists in total, 22 goal contributions) and is on course to break MLS records.

The record for most goals in a regular season is held by Carlos Vela, who scored 34 for Los Angeles FC in 2019. The assists record, meanwhile, is held by Carlos Valderrama who registered 26 with Tampa Bay Mutiny in 2000.

Valderrama’s record has been considered unbreakable, especially as the secondary assists rule was even looser prior to 2003 when they were awarded similarly to the ice hockey definition of the previous two players to touch the puck/ball, rather than only including secondary assists that significantly affect the creation of the goal, as is the case in MLS today.

But if anyone can break a record considered unbreakable, even within different parameters, then it’s Messi.

Inter Miami have played 12 of their 34 matches this season and, if he stays fit, Messi is on course to break both of these records.

We wow at his visionary passing, quick dribbling and balance, his runs that encourage the passes he receives, technique, and his talismanic effect on a team, but the quality that most gives him the edge and strikes fear into opposition defences is his ability to score goals from almost any scenario, almost at will.

It is a quality that has seen Miami rescue points from losing positions or win games comfortably after going behind, and will likely see them lift the Supporters’ Shield (league title) at the end of the 2024 regular season and see Messi produce a record-breaking first full season in MLS.

(Cover Image from IMAGO)

You can follow every match from MLS live with FotMob. Download the free app here.

May

2024

Is this the end of the road for Darwin Nunez?

As the end of his second season at Liverpool nears, Darwin Núñez appears to be heading towards a difficult juncture – is this the end of the road for the No. 9?

By Jack Lusby, ThisIsAnfield.com

After Liverpool’s emphatic return to form in their 4-2 victory over Tottenham, Jürgen Klopp and his players soaked in the atmosphere of the season’s penultimate home game and applauded the Anfield crowd for their support.

But one figure made a swift beeline for the tunnel, with Núñez spotted departing the field first while his many of his team-mates were still making their way around the pitch to shake hands with their opponents – to the sound of Robbie Williams, as stadium announcer George Sephton had a sly dig at Tottenham’s own anthem for manager Ange Postecoglou.

Núñez was followed by Ryan Gravenberch, Ibrahima Konate and then Dominik Szoboszlai, with the players heading to the dressing room to unpack a valuable win as they look to end the season on a high. But there appeared other things on the No. 9’s mind: later that evening, every photo of Núñez in a Liverpool shirt was mysteriously wiped from his public Instagram page.

Footballers are free to do as they please with their social media accounts, of course, but if there is going to be an indication that all is not right for a player, in this modern age it would be this.

It has been suggested that Núñez’s decision to scrub LFC from his socials is a response to the criticism he has received from so-called supporters after a frustrating end to the campaign – and that could certainly be the case – but this now reads more like an issue with the club itself.

In fact, it can be argued that the Uruguayan has been backed more heavily than any other player at Liverpool during his two seasons on Merseyside so far. His misses – of which, sadly, there have been many, with only Erling Haaland (32) wasting more big chances than Núñez (27) in this season’s Premier League – are regularly followed by his name being chanted from the stands.

He has become a cult figure among supporters, though that is not always reflected on social media. Perhaps that speaks to not only how football is consumed now, but also the society players are rooted in. James Milner, for so long the veteran of Klopp’s squad, once remarked following Liverpool’s victory over Chelsea in the 2022 FA Cup final: “You go into the dressing room after the game and all of the lads are straight on their phones. I’m saying: ‘You’ve won the FA Cup – get off your phone!’.”

A player’s perception can clearly be warped by the comments and messages they receive on social media, with another former Liverpool midfielder, Gini Wijnaldum, speaking on the subject after his exit in 2021, saying “when it went bad, I was the player who they blamed.”

“My feeling was that the fans in the stadium and the fans on social media were two different kinds. The fans in the stadium always supported me,” Wijnaldum acknowledged. “On social media, if we lost, I was the one who got the blame. There was a moment when I was like: ‘Wow. If they only knew what I was doing to stay fit and play every game’.” Perhaps that is the pit Núñez has found himself in; beloved in the stands, demonised on his phone. It is wrong to speculate but it is also impossible to ignore the damaging effects of social media for players and fans alike.

But as Klopp’s time at Liverpool draws to a close, there is a sense that this could prove a decisive summer for his No. 9, too. It was Klopp and his assistant, Pepijn Lijnders, who were the driving force behind bringing Núñez to Liverpool in 2022; such was the manager’s influence that a club-record deal worth £85 million was pushed through with Benfica to land the battering-ram centre-forward his side would be rebuilt around. It has since been reported by a number of reputable sources that Liverpool’s recruitment staff favoured Christopher Nkunku, then of RB Leipzig, with the Telegraph’s Sam Wallace claiming Klopp and Lijnders “declined” the chance to sign the French striker, who later made the switch to Chelsea.

A new structure is in place at Liverpool now, with the return of Michael Edwards as CEO of football, the appointment of Richard Hughes as sporting director and the reappointment of David Woodfine as assistant sporting director. Edwards, Hughes and Woodfine will spearhead recruitment, with Klopp’s successor, Arne Slot, acting as a head coach rather than a manager. Slot will no doubt have a say in players arriving and leaving, but his primary focus will be on coaching, rather than building the squad. Núñez, no doubt like others, will be left without his fiercest backers.

The shift in power of decision-making to those in the boardroom over those on the training field could cast a cold light on Núñez’s two seasons at Liverpool.

In 94 appearances for the club so far, he has scored 33 goals and assisted a further 17, averaging a direct goal contribution every 107.1 minutes in all competitions. But restricted to the Premier League, Núñez scored nine and assisted three in 29 games in his first season and with two fixtures remaining has 11 goals and eight assists in 34 appearances this time out. Twenty goals and 12 assists in 63 games, or one every two hours.

Eleven players have more goals and assists combined in this season’s Premier League, with Núñez the fifth-most productive centre-forward behind Ollie Watkins (31), Haaland (30), Alexander Isak (21) and Dominic Solanke (21). Ten players, including Haaland, Isak, and Watkins as well as Liverpool team-mates Mohamed Salah and Diogo Jota, have a higher rate of goals and assists per 90 minutes.

Haaland – who was held up, unfairly, as a direct rival to Núñez when they both made the move to England – may be the only player to have missed more big chances, but he has also scored 14 more goals to lead the Golden Boot race. No player has been caught offside more than Núñez (32), who also averages significantly more offsides per 90 than any other player (1.43).

Núñez is 13th in the assist charts, with eight in the Premier League, but 19 other players have created more big chances than the Uruguayan, who is tied with the likes of Pascal Gross, Leon Bailey and Conor Gallagher. He also ranks towards the bottom end for passing, with an accuracy of 69.2 percent and only 14.9 completed per 90 minutes, with Núñez a striker who is often not involved in buildup play.

Weighing that data up alongside Núñez’s well-documented price tag, and those within Liverpool’s new kingmakers may decide that he is simply not offering enough to justify his status within the squad. Has a player Klopp openly admitted was a “long-term project” made enough progress to warrant his place? Long-standing interest from Chelsea, who enquired over his availability less than a year ago, along with previous links to Atlético Madrid may inform Edwards and Co further.

The future is certainly not clear for Núñez, and having potentially burned bridges at least with certain sections of the Liverpool support, it could be that he is nearing the end of the road at Anfield.

(Cover Image from IMAGO)

To keep up to date with everything Liverpool, make sure you click follow on the team profile in the FotMob app. Download the free app here.

May

2024

Premier League Team of the Week: Round 36

This is an extremely strong Team of the Week with some noticeable exclusions. It says a lot when Michael Olise, a player with two goals and a FotMob rating of 9.0, doesn’t make it into the Matchday 36 XI. Mohamed Salah misses out too despite his goal and assist for Liverpool in the win over Spurs. So who did make the FotMob Team of the Week and why?

By Sam McGuire, Premier League expert

Goalkeeper: Đorđe Petrović

The Chelsea shot-stopper wasn’t exactly exceptionally busy in their 5-0 win over West Ham United on Sunday but he did catch the eye enough to earn himself an 8.5 rating.

The 24-year-old made two saves and faced shots with an Expected Goals on Target total of 0.62. However, he completed 94% of his attempted passes and played a key part in helping the Blues play out from the back.

Right-Back: Daniel Muñoz

The 27-year-old wing-back put in quite the performance for Crystal Palace in their 4-0 win over Manchester United on Monday evening. Muñoz created the most chances (three) of any player and also finished the match with two assists. He completed all of his dribbles and involved himself in nine duels as the Eagles kept a clean sheet against the Red Devils.

Centre-Back: Thiago Silva

It gets said a lot but it bears repeating, you wouldn’t know Silva was 39. The Brazilian centre-back bossed things for Chelsea in the big win over the Hammers. The former PSG skipper completed 99% of his passes, created two chances and claimed his first assist of the season. He also won all of his tackles and ground duels. The veteran really did roll back the years on Sunday afternoon.

Centre-Back: Chris Richards

Richards is enjoying life as part of a three man defence for Crystal Palace. The 24-year-old finished with an assist against Manchester United but also completed 83% of his passes while winning 100% of his tackles, ground duels, and aerial duels at Selhurst Park. His 8.3 rating was well deserved.

Left-Back: Joško Gvardiol

The former RB Leipzig defender is now something of a regular in the FotMob Team of the Week. The versatile centre-back impressed again for Manchester City in their 5-1 win over Wolves on Saturday evening. Gvardiol won the most duels (nine) of any player, he also completed 87% of his passes, created two chances and won a penalty from left-back. The 22-year-old also completed 100% of his dribbles and won two of his three tackles at the Etihad. He was a bit of a monster for Pep Guardiola’s side.

Midfield: Harvey Elliott

Elliott was the star of the show for Liverpool in their 4-2 win over Spurs. The three points guaranteed a top three finish for the Reds. The young midfielder scored a worldie from the edge of the box and assisted Cody Gakpo’s goal. He carved out five chances, completed 100% of his dribbles and won 75% of his duels in a performance that earned him a FotMob rating of 9.2.

Midfield: Noni Madueke

It is not often a Chelsea attacker manages to outshine Cole Palmer but Madueke did just that against West Ham. The 22-year-old created the most chances of any player (six). He also scored a goal and finished with an assist in what was an eye-catching outing. The 22-year-old also attempted six dribbles, was accurate with 100% of his long passes and completed two of his three crosses at Stamford Bridge in what was a devastating final third showing.

Midfield: Callum Hudson-Odoi

Hudson-Odoi was the difference-maker for Nottingham Forest in what could turn out to be a critical three points. Nuno Espírito Santo’s side defeated Sheffield United on Saturday to open up a four point gap between themselves and the relegation zone. Forest had fallen behind to an early penalty but Hudson-Odoi levelled things up before adding his second and the away side’s third after the break. The 23-year-old finished with a 93% pass success rate and created three chances to go with his two goals.

Attack: Erling Haaland

Haaland made Manchester City’s 5-1 win over Wolves all about him. The prolific forward scored four goals in what was a clinical display. He also won a penalty, which he converted. The Premier League’s top goalscorer put on a finishing clinic, taking chances worth 2.11 Expected Goals and turning them into a Post-shot Expected Goals haul of 3.53. He’s now on 25 for the season in the English top-flight.

Attack: Nicolas Jackson

Jackson now has three goals and an assist in two games for Chelsea following his double against West Ham. The enigmatic forward also created four chances for the Blues and carved out an assist in what was an all-action display by the former Villarreal man. The 22-year-old also attempted six dribbles and won 60% of his duels on the day. The centre-forward is starting to look like the real deal.

Attack: Cody Gakpo

Gakpo caught the eye for Liverpool playing a hybrid role on the left of the attack. He scored and created two chances at Anfield. The Dutchman also won five of his eight duels, recovered the ball on three occasions and won 100% of his tackles to showcase his duality as a forward. He was influential both with and without the ball.

(Images from IMAGO)

You can follow every match from the Premier League live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage and player ratings. Download the free app here.

May

2024

Arne Slot may not be Jurgen Klopp’s perfect successor – but Liverpool desperately need his reset button????

While there are question marks over Arne Slot’s credentials as he prepares to take over from Jürgen Klopp, the need for fresh energy cannot be more apparent.

By Jack Lusby, ThisIsAnfield.com

Whoever fills Jürgen Klopp’s shoes will face an almost-impossible job, with the charismatic German embodying the Reds on and off the pitch throughout his nine-year tenure.

Liverpool have become Klopp’s club. He was uniquely qualified for the position back in 2015, and the role has been moulded in his image in the years since. A man who represents not only the values of Liverpool FC, but also Liverpool as a city and a people.

Put simply, Klopp gets what it means to be part of the club – and he has embraced that.

Not only that, but he is of course one of the finest managers in world football. A purveyor of a relentless, attractive style of play that has endeared him to supporters and neutrals alike. It is not lip service when Pep Guardiola describes him as “the best rival I ever had in my life.”

It has been remarked that whoever replaces Klopp will need cajones.

They would need not only the skills, but also the stature to lead a club the size and expectation of Liverpool – but as has been made patently clear since Klopp’s resignation became public, the key attribute required is energy.

There should be no surprise, then, that those considered for the role have all been young, hungry managers with more to prove.

Xabi Alonso was arguably the perfect candidate, but he has since committed himself to Bayer Leverkusen. That has left Liverpool to reassess the situation at boardroom level, with a number of options across the Premier League and beyond mentioned as possible successors.

The collective will of supporters and journalists alike positioned Sporting CP manager Rúben Amorim as the most viable alternative – a must-hire, even – but the news that he instead held talks with West Ham laid clear the reality facing Liverpool.

With the likes of Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi, Wolves’ Gary O’Neil and Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola all linked with the job, there was a growing sense that the perfect appointment is not currently out there, and that Liverpool were erring closer to the territory they found themselves in when Brendan Rodgers was hired from Swansea in 2012.

That is, that the candidates on Liverpool’s shortlist seemed more suited to becoming the next Brighton manager, rather than leading the Reds out at Anfield.

Feyenoord’s Arne Slot, who is now poised to take over at the end of the season, would arguably fit that description; the 45-year-old has similar credentials to Amorim, as a title-winner outside of Europe’s top five leagues, but there are understandable concerns over whether he can step up.

Those within Liverpool’s boardroom clearly believe he is capable, with Slot impressing both in the data and in interviews with club hierarchy – which will include Fenway Sport Group’s CEO of football Michael Edwards.

His success with Feyenoord – winning the Eredivisie in his second season in charge and, as they settle into second place to earn a Champions League spot, lifting the KNVB Cup this time around – underpins that.

Slot appears capable of outperforming his resources, with Feyenoord a club whose record signing remains centre-back Dávid Hancko, who joined from Sparta Prague in 2022 for just €8.3 million. He has formed a cohesive unit with a defined style of play; intense, attractive, attacking football but perhaps with more control and conservatism than Klopp’s heavy metal.

But while he did reach the Europa Conference League final in 2022 – losing 1-0 to AS Roma – there remain question marks over how transferrable his skills will be to life at Liverpool, largely due to his entire career being spent in the Netherlands.

It is safe to label it a calculated risk by Edwards, who is supported by FSG president Mike Gordon, chief executive Billy Hogan, director of research Williams Spearman, sporting director Richard Hughes and assistant sporting director David Woodfine in a data-led recruitment process.

Whether or not Slot has the immediate gravitas to step into Klopp’s shoes, the events of the past month or so have shown that Liverpool is a club in need of a hard reset.

Any manager who holds the same job for almost a decade may struggle with the sense that his work is becoming stale, and losses to Manchester United, Atalanta, Crystal Palace and Everton highlight the ongoing flaws within the Liverpool squad.

Where before Klopp’s aura could drag the players through difficult times, the acceptance that he no longer has the fight, or even the willpower, to continue to do so has led to a desperate, complacent end to the campaign.

Off the pitch, Liverpool appear to be lacking ideas; on it, they are clearly lacking a cutting edge, with a misfiring attack one of their biggest concerns in this recent run of awful form.

Perhaps a summer of change will serve as the boost Liverpool need, allowing this season to be the building block it was initially viewed as before pre-season began – the belief in a title challenge, let alone a quadruple, only truly picked up steam upon the news of Klopp’s plan to leave.

A new manager, with new ideas and new methods, could be exactly what the Reds are asking for – it is the positive to cling to amid a poor stretch, when even finishing in the top four is not yet guaranteed.

(Cover Image from IMAGO)

To keep up to date with everything Liverpool, make sure you click follow on the team profile in the FotMob app. Download the free app here.

May

2024

Premier League Review: Matchday 36

The top two are dealing with the pressure of this title race whereas those battling it out for the final Champions League spot are struggling right now, while one big result at the bottom of the table has changed the landscape completely. Here’s your weekend review for Matchday 36 in the Premier League.

By Sam McGuire, Premier League expert

Arsenal play their part in the title race

This is a completely different Arsenal team to the one that couldn’t get over the line last season. This current group is going toe-to-toe with the machine that is Manchester City. They’re keeping the title race alive and they’re doing it in style.

The Gunners have now won four successive games in the English top-flight following their 3-0 win over Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon.

Arsenal kept a third clean sheet in four and played like a group who weren’t feeling the pressure.

It was a routine win for the Gunners in the end, though they had to wait until the 45th minute to break the deadlock. They finished with a 3.38 Expected Goals total at the Emirates and created five big chances, all while limiting Bournemouth to just seven shots in total.

Forest dig deep

Nottingham Forest needed a win on Saturday against an already relegated Sheffield United side. They needed three points if they wanted to give themselves the best chance of playing Premier League football next season.

It wasn’t anywhere near as straightforward as they would’ve liked, but they did the job with their first win in over a month.

They are now four points clear of the drop zone with just two games remaining. If they match Luton’s result next weekend, they are safe. Well, pending the points deduction fallout.

It was an impressive win for Nuno Espírito Santo’s men. Especially when you consider that they went behind to a 17th minute penalty. Ben Brereton Díaz converted from the spot and now has six goals and an assist in 950 minutes for Sheffield United following his January arrival.

Callum Hudson-Odoi scored either side of the break with a Ryan Yates goal sandwiched between these efforts for the away side.

It was a fairly even game with each side carving out three big chances but Hudson-Odoi was the difference-maker at Bramall Lane.

The Erling Haaland show resumes

After Arsenal’s win in the early kick-off on Saturday, the pressure was on Manchester City to respond.

It took them just 12 minutes to open the scoring with Erling Haaland converting from the spot. He added his second in the 35th minute, and rounded off his hat-trick in stoppage time of the first half before adding a fourth in the 54th minute.

Julián Álvarez added a fifth for City in the 84th minute. Hee-Chan Hwang scored just after the half-time break with what was one of only two shots the away side managed at the Etihad.

City were in rampant form, a far cry from the team who struggled against Nottingham Forest last weekend. The hosts had six big chances and finished with an xG haul of 3.74, of which Haaland was responsible for 2.11.

The No. 9 is now on 25 for the season in the Premier League and he could prove to be the kingmaker in the final few weeks of the campaign.

West Ham woes

West Ham are playing like a team who know their manager is getting replaced this summer. The Hammers have conceded two or more in four successive Premier League matches now.

They are winless in a month and, as harsh as it sounds, the 5-0 defeat to Chelsea on Sunday was deserved.

And that is no doubt the worrying thing if you’re a West Ham fan.

The Blues carved out six big chances and finished with an xG haul of 4.13 from their 25 shots at Stamford Bridge. Cole Palmer added his 21st of the season while Nicolas Jackson made it three goals in two games with a double on Sunday.

Chelsea are now up to seventh in the table and are just two points off of Newcastle United.

By comparison, West Ham had one big chance and their 13 shots had an xG total of just 1.04. David Moyes’ men are now ninth, just three points ahead of Wolves in 12th. It has been a lacklustre end to the season.

Liverpool secure a top three finish

It was a strange game at Anfield as Liverpool claimed a 4-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur to guarantee a top three finish.

The Reds looked on it in the first half after weeks of disappointing outings. They had a 2-0 lead at the break after Mohamed Salah, back in the starting XI, and Andrew Robertson had found the back of the net.

The hosts then scored two goals in nine second half minutes as Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott got in on the act. It genuinely looked as though it could finish 6-0 at one stage. And then Spurs clicked into gear and scored twice in a five minute spell to set up a nervy final 10 minutes.

Jürgen Klopp’s side did enough to deserve the three points but it should’ve been much more convincing.

(Cover Image from IMAGO)

You can follow every match from the Premier League live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage and player ratings. Download the free app here.

May

2024

Is Brighton’s end of season form a cautionary tale?

It’s not difficult to imagine how Brighton could be looking at their fixture against Aston Villa this Sunday and wondering about what might have been. Villa may have been well beaten in their semi-final of the Europa Conference League by Olympiakos on Thursday, but they almost certainly have Champions League football to look forward to next season. There’s a renewed sense of optimism around Villa Park.

By Ian King

From 16th, to ninth, to their sixth placed finish last season. What’s felt almost miraculous about Brighton’s ongoing improvement in recent years has been that it took place against a regular defenestration of their most highly-rated players, and in one case their manager. There was a relentlessness about it, as though ‘The System’ was so deeply embedded into the club as to make them impervious to such distractions as, say, losing your manager and entire backroom staff a few weeks into a new season.

There are two ways of looking at Brighton’s performance last season, neither of which are particularly optimistic, but one of which is more so than the other. With one’s cup half-full, it could be argued that sixth place in the Premier League and Europa League football was always going to be an exhausting undertaking for a club of relatively modest resources, and that a plateau was always going to be reached.

This season’s slump even seems to have cooled interest in Roberto De Zerbi which, considering the salacious way in which he’s been drooled over by some sections of other fan bases over the last couple of years, is probably a blessed relief. There’s no danger of relegation. Finances are good and there are plans for a new stadium for the women’s team. Any slump in Premier League form remains a different magnitude of ‘crisis’ compared to the Withdean athletic track, home matches at Gillingham, or having former home, the Goldstone sold off.

But…expectations change. The Amex is now more than a decade old. A generation of supporters have already come through with no lived memories of the original North Stand, or of those seasons when it really did feel as though apathy was the only thing preventing the ground from being razed to the ground.

Brighton have had seven years of Premier League football, now. Finishing 6th in the Premier League last season doesn’t make them members of the Big Six, but they’re no longer the ingénues of the top flight, either. And there can be no masking the extent to which this season has tailed off, and how soon that tail-off started.

How bad it looks depends upon which cut-off point you start from, but none of it looks good. Brighton have failed to win any of their last six Premier League games. They have won two of the eleven played since they beat rivals Crystal Palace at the start of February, and those wins came against Forest and Sheffield United.

They’ve only won six of their last 28, too. Take off their blistering start, in which they won five of their first six matches of the season, scoring 18 goals as they went, and you could even argue that they’ve been in close to relegation form for most of this season.

Of course, as this season comes to a spluttering, faltering end, the big question is whether all of this is the end of something or the start of something else. This sort of decline needs to be arrested at some point; it doesn’t always take much for things to snowball once they start rolling.

It’s easy to talk of fairy tales and the like when things are going well, but the true test of the professionals involved only starts when things take a turn for the worse. What will poker-playing chairman Tony Bloom do to refresh things in the summer? He may have to decide whether to stick or twist on several different subjects. Will the production line of young footballers that you’ve never heard of keep spinning successfully? Brighton supporters will be wanting to know whether the algorithms are still okay.

Brighton are in rude financial health. Their survival as a football club doesn’t stand or fall on being in the Premier League. But getting to the top six is one thing, but staying there is another altogether, and when you’re at such a rarefied height there is a long way to fall. Brighton & Hove Albion’s ascent from near-death experience after near-death experience between the mid 1990s and early 21st century remains one of the most remarkable stories that English football has produced. That hasn’t…gone anywhere. That’s forever.

But the vast majority of this season for Brighton has been the sound of a glass-ceiling being hit. The supporters will have memories that will live forever, of trips to Marseille, Athens, and Rome, of beating Ajax–admittedly the worst Ajax team in decades but still… Ajax!!!–home and away. It’s more complicated than saying that this season has been a ‘bad’ one.

The Europa League ended with Brighton being put firmly in their place by Roma, and while a 4-1 league win against your bitterest rivals is always welcome, it won’t sustain a fanbase for long when the results all around it are terrible. Brighton may be casting envious glances at Sunday’s opponents Aston Villa and their surprise Champions League place. But perhaps Villa would be best advised to pay attention to Brighton too, for guidance on how not to manage their next season to come.

(Images from IMAGO)

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May

2024

Final day permutations in the ever-dramatic EFL Championship

The annual enthralling final day of the Championship season is upon us, and as usual, there’s plenty to play for, so here’s a guide to who can still be promoted, who needs what to avoid relegation, and who will make the play-offs.

By Dharnish Iqbal

Automatic Promotion

Leicester City are home and dry, promoted back to the Premier League as Champions under Enzo Maresca.

And Ipswich Town all but secured the second automatic promotion place with a win away at Coventry this past Tuesday. Kieran Mckenna’s side just need to avoid defeat at home to Huddersfield Town, on Saturday, a side who will almost certainly face relegation.

Leeds United are waiting in the wings for any slip ups at Ipswich, but to stand a chance of stealing the second automatic promotion place, they need to beat fourth placed Southampton and Huddersfield to win at Ipswich. The Yorkshire club would then be promoted on goal difference.

The tension for Ipswich has been palpable with three draws in the build-up to the win over Coventry, with that game ending in a nail-biting eleven minutes of stoppage time added on.

Energised by the stunning job Mckenna has done, Ipswich could secure historic back-to-back automatic promotions, but the job isn’t finished yet with Huddersfield Town manager Andre Breitenreiter insisting they will ‘give our best till the end.’ The prospect of Huddersfield helping local rivals Leeds earn promotion is certainly an intriguing story.

But for whichever side does miss out, there’s the consolation of third place, and a play-off semi-final against the eventual sixth place finishers in the table.

Key Fixtures:

Ipswich Town vs Huddersfield Town, Leeds United vs Southampton

The Play-offs

And while Southampton still have a role to play in the automatic promotion picture, they are themselves, guaranteed a fourth place finish. And they’ll be preparing themselves for a play-off run. What remains a mystery is who they will come up against in the two-legged semi-finals.

Norwich City, West Bromwich Albion, and Hull City are the sides battling it out for the two-remaining play off spots but even if Norwich were to lose their final game they’re all but guaranteed a play-off spot.

Hull would need to beat Plymouth by eight goals, Norwich would have to lose, and West Brom would also have to win in order for Norwich to miss out.

In essence, it’s more of a face-off between West Brom and Hull. A point for the Baggies should be enough for the play-offs as once again, they can boast a vastly superior goal difference.

However, if Carlos Corberan’s side lose at home to Preston North End and Hull were to win away at Plymouth Argyle, Hull can leapfrog West Brom to take sixth position.

The Baggies have only won once in their last seven, but Corberan will be determined to have another crack at the play-offs having failed with Huddersfield in the 2021/22 season when they lost to Nottingham Forest in the Wembley final.

Hull, meanwhile, have peaked at the right team under Liam Rosenior – they’re unbeaten in six and will be looking to cause a commotion on the final day.

Similarly, if Norwich were to lose away to Birmingham and West Brom win, it would be West Brom facing off against Southampton and the Canaries playing whoever finishes third – Leeds or Ipswich.

Key Fixtures:

Birmingham City vs Norwich City, Plymouth Argyle vs. Hull City, West Bromwich Albion vs. Preston North End

Relegation to League One

What makes the relegation battle so enthralling is that the sides directly involved may also have a say in who makes the play-offs.

Rotherham United remain the only side officially relegated. Huddersfield need a miracle to stay up and as mentioned, are as good as gone. They require defeats for Plymouth and Birmingham, themselves to beat Ipswich and a 16 goal swing between themselves and Plymouth and a 11 goal swing with the Blues.

Birmingham need to beat Norwich at home to have any chance of surviving. However, the scenarios if they win are made plausible due to the teams that are playing Birmingham’s relegation rivals.

If Birmingham beat Norwich they can stay up if: Plymouth lose or draw to Hull, Sheffield Wednesday lose away at Sunderland (Birmingham would stay up on goal difference), or if Blackburn lose to Leicester City.

It all hinges on whether the Blues can get the victory they need vs. Norwich but neither Plymouth, Sheffield Wednesday, or Blackburn are safe.

A point would be enough for Wednesday and Blackburn to guarantee their safety but defeat would throw the final day into chaos with all eyes frantically following events at Birmingham’s St. Andrews ground.

For Plymouth, the situation is simple – they will go down if they fail to win and Birmingham do.

It is going to be a fabulously engaging final day at the bottom, with scenarios and positions in the table changing in real time according to events unfolding at each ground. The perfect day to use the ‘short table’ feature in your FotMob app.

Key Fixtures:

Birmingham City vs Norwich City, Leicester City vs. Blackburn Rovers, Plymouth Argyle vs Hull City, Sunderland vs. Sheffield Wednesday

(Images from IMAGO)

You can follow every Championship game live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage including shot maps, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

May

2024

FIVE games to follow this weekend: Key fixtures in LaLiga and the EPL plus Hamburg vs. St. Pauli

In this weekend preview we summarise the best five games to follow on your match feed. And make a couple of suggestions for matches that you may otherwise miss.

By Bill Biss

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Premier League: Arsenal vs. Bournemouth

Last weekend saw the Premier League title race whittled down to two sides. Arsenal currently hold a one point advantage over Manchester City at the top of the table, but crucially, only have three games to play, compared to City’s four. That therefore makes every game a must-win affair, and for Arsenal that starts with the Saturday lunchtime kick-off against Bournemouth.

The Cherries are currently sat 10th but under the dynamic management of Andoni Iraola they still have a chance of matching, or even bettering their best ever finish of ninth in the English top flight (2016/17), with back-to-back wins over Wolves and Brighton putting them in a strong position to do so.

Arsenal gave their fans a scare last weekend, conceding two second half goals at North London rivals Spurs having raced to a three-goal lead and looked so dominant in the first 45 minutes. They held on for the three points though, and that victory came after a 5-0 drubbing of Chelsea and a 2-0 win over Wolves. Last month’s wobble against Villa and defeat to Bayern in the Champions League quarter-final may become a distant memory if they can hold off the charge of the defending champions.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Premier League: Manchester City vs. Wolves

Of course, not many pundits are expecting Pep Guardiola’s City side to cede the advantage they appear to have over the course of the run-in but that does only increase the pressure on the club that has won five of the last six titles. They too need to maintain momentum and win every one of their remaining four games due to Arsenal’s superior goal difference (as things stand).

City have the added bonus of knowing exactly how Arsenal have fared when they kick-off their fixture with Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday evening. But they’ll need to be vigilant, Wolves are one of only three sides to beat them in the league this season, with the old gold winning 2-1 at Molineux back in September. That was one defeat in a run of three that fell in domestic competition, almost unheard of in recent times for Man City.

And accordingly, they’ve lost just once since – in December – meaning they are now unbeaten in 24 domestic matches. Championship winning form in anyone’s book.

🇩🇪 2. Bundesliga: Hamburg vs. St. Pauli

Friday night’s big Derby game in Germany’s second tier is monumentally important! Hamburg Derbies are always big but this one comes with an added dynamic. St. Pauli, who last played in the Bundesliga back in 2010/11, have the chance to seal promotion back to the top flight on enemy territory. With two further rounds to a play, a victory would do it.

The win would also come with the added bonus (from a brown and white perspective) of pretty much guaranteeing that Hamburg can no longer catch Düsseldorf – who sit third, in the play-off place – and thus consign the fallen giants to yet another season outside of the big time. The 2. Bundesliga is a notoriously hard division to get out of and 11 of the 18 sides currently in the division are previous German champions – as detailed in a piece we published on this topic just today.

Hamburg simply can’t afford to lose this one.

🇪🇸 LaLiga: Real Madrid vs. Cádiz

With Ligue 1, the Bundesliga, and Serie A all tied up, the Spanish league title looks like being the next big league to be decided, and with the right combination of results, that could happen as early as Saturday evening.

There’s still five rounds to play here but Real Madrid hold an 11-point lead over nearest rivals Barcelona. They could extend that to 14 with a win over Cádiz, in a game which takes place at the Bernabéu on Saturday afternoon. Barcelona’s kick-off is a little later, but if they were to lose at early-season pacesetters Girona, they would hand to title to Carlo Ancelotti’s side. A draw would also be enough for Madrid if Barcelona were to slip up.

Ancelotti would, of course, prefer this game not to fall between legs in their Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich, with the home leg coming up on Tuesday night, but such is life as manager of one of the most decorated clubs in the world.

A win for Barcelona would only delay the inevitable, but will Ancelotti be tempted to rest players against Cádiz in order to focus on the Champions League? And then get back to full strength when the title decider rolls over to next weekend’s trip to Granada? Or will he just want to get it all done as soon as possible?

🇳🇱 Eredivisie: PSV Eindhoven vs. Sparta Rotterdam

Similarly, the Eredivisie title should be confirmed on Sunday afternoon. PSV have been almost unstoppable in the Netherlands this season, not losing a game until late March, and only dropping points in three of their other 30 matches in the league. And at present, they hold a nine point lead in the table.

A win at home to Sparta Rotterdam would seal title number 25 for Peter Bosz’s (almost)all-conquering squad. Chasers Feyenoord play later in the day but even if they won all three of their remaining games and PSV lost all of theirs, soon-to-be Liverpool manager Arne Slot would need his charges to make up a goal difference of 30 in order to steal the title (as it stands).

PSV’s swashbuckling attack are scoring at a rate of 3.3 goals per game this season, with Feyenoord currently going at a rate of 2.6.

If you want to follow any of the games mentioned above, click on the relevant link and tap the bell icon to receive all the key match updates.

Or join us on our Social channels for updates on all the important football going on this weekend – search @FotMob on x, @fotmobapp everywhere else!

Images from IMAGO

May

2024

Ruben Amorim’s Sporting are closing in on the title in Portugal

Sporting are on the precipice of winning their second title in four years under Rúben Amorim. The Portuguese tactician has the Lisbon-based club five points clear at the summit with just three games left to play after his side scored two goals in two minutes against fierce rivals Porto recently to salvage a draw.

By Sam McGuire

Amorim’s men found themselves 2-0 down at the break at the Estádio do Dragão. They were staring down the barrel of just their third defeat of the season in the league and their lead at the top would’ve been cut to just four points.

But Sporting just don’t know when they’re beaten under the Portuguese tactician and in the blink of an eye, it was 2-2. Famed for their late comebacks during their title win in 2020/21, the Leões showed they have the mentality to get over the line once again. It is a far cry from the team that could only limp to a fourth-place finish last season.

The Lisbon giants failed to retain their title after their success in Amorim’s debut campaign. They finished as runners-up during the 2021/22 season but having lost even more key players during the summer of 2022, with João Palhinha and Matheus Nunes both leaving, they ended up finishing 13 points off the leaders Benfica last season.

Sporting lost Manuel Ugarte last summer but they also learnt from their mistakes.

They reinvested some of the money into their squad. Viktor Gyökeres was signed from Coventry City after impressing in the Championship and Morten Hjulmand arrived from Lecce for a combined €40million.

For other clubs, to spend this sort of money is normal. But Gyökeres and Hjulmand are Sporting’s most expensive signings. And the duo have been the difference-makers for Amorim this season.

Hjulmand has been a revelation in midfield and is being linked with moves to some of the biggest clubs in Europe following an eye-catching debut campaign in Portugal while Gyokeres is arguably the most sought-after striker in the world right now.

The 25-year-old is reportedly wanted by Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and even Real Madrid after a jaw-dropping 2023/24 season in Portugal.

His double against Porto on Sunday evening now means he’s on 26 goals for the season in the Portuguese top-flight. He’s also chipped in with 10 assists. There’s a high possibility he finishes the campaign with 40-goal involvements.

Gyokeres has played his part in turning Sporting into the best attacking team in the Portugal this season. Amorim’s side are averaging the most goals per match (2.9) and have the second best Expected Goals total (66.5) in the league.

They rank second for big chances (105) but they have only missed 49 big chances. Sporting have a big chance conversion rate of 53%. For context, Benfica, the team with the most big chances, have converted just 40% this season.

Sporting have been clinical and that is why they lead the way in the title race. It really is as simple as that. And while Gyökeres can’t be solely credited for this ruthlessness, he has more than played his part and you can see this when looking at his underlying numbers.

The Sporting No. 9 has an Expected Goals total of 19.5. So, at surface level, he’s massively overperforming when looking at his goals return. However, his Expected Goals on Target haul of 24.7 paints a picture of a supreme finisher. He’s adding value to his efforts and he has been all season. So he’s turning low-value efforts into high-value ones. And he’s converting his chances at an astonishing rate.

And this is one of the main differences between Sporting last season and Sporting this time around. For example, last term, Amorim’s men averaged 2.1 goals per match – the fourth most – and had the third highest Expected Goals total. They had 108 big chances but converted just 41%.

Hjulmand is pulling his weight too, making Sporting a lot more defensively resilient. The Lisbon side have the best defensive record this season whereas last season they ranked third for lowest xG conceded.

The two-big money summer signings helped Sporting get back on track. They helped them become not just title challengers but deserved title winners.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game in the Liga Portugal live with FotMob — featuring xG, deep stats coverage, and player ratings. Download the free app here.