The Pulse of Football

Nov

2024

Harvey Elliott’s comeback could be a bigger boost for Liverpool than we think

The sight of Harvey Elliott walking out to join Liverpool’s under-21s squad for training after two months out with a fractured foot was an encouraging sight for supporters.

By Jack Lusby, ThisIsAnfield.com

Joining the likes of James McConnell, Amara Nallo and Kieran Morrison for a spirited session, watched by coaches Barry Lewtas and Jay Spearing, the 21-year-old took a vital next step in his recovery.

Tracked carefully by the club’s fitness staff, Elliott was able to join full training on the ball, including a part in small-sided games on the outdoor pitch at the AXA Training Centre, with no obvious signs that he is still feeling the effects of a blow felt on England duty in September.

All being well, Elliott will rejoin his first-team colleagues for training in the buildup to Liverpool’s trip to Southampton on November 24, with a chance he could even make the squad at St Mary’s.

As they have throughout his time out, Arne Slot and his staff will take caution when it comes to the No. 19, but there is a sense that he is now at the end of his recovery, with that careful management paying off.

It comes after a difficult start to the season for Elliott beyond his injury, with the young midfielder only featuring once so far – that being off the bench in the 2-0 win over Brentford in August, and even then he was afforded just seven minutes of normal time.

That came despite no player clocking more minutes during Slot’s first pre-season in charge, with Elliott tied with Mohamed Salah, Jarell Quansah and Kostas Tsimikas having played almost five hours of football over four warmup games.

No player created more chances (nine) or registered more assists (two) in the Reds’ friendlies than Elliott, who also played the most passes into the final third (26).

Elliott had spoken of his excitement at transitioning to Slot’s “very elegant, Dutch style,” but when it came to the campaign proper it was clear that the new head coach had settled on a different midfield unit.

Late arrivals for pre-season due to their involvement at the Euros and Copa America, the trio of Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister began the season as first-choice starters.

That left Elliott on the outside looking in, and with few changes required in the opening weeks of the season his game time was limited to say the least – and only made worse, of course, by fracturing his foot in training with England’s under-21s.

Over the course of his two-and-a-bit months out, however, things have changed for Liverpool and that should prove positive for the returning Elliott.

His comeback should align – there or thereabouts – with those of Alisson, Diogo Jota, Federico Chiesa and, after a hamstring issue in the last game before the break against Aston Villa, Trent Alexander-Arnold.

And with Liverpool in the midst of a relentless fixture list only increased by the expansion of the Champions League and their progress in the Carabao Cup, Slot has begun to rotate his side with more regularity.

That has often come in midfield, with Slot explaining why it has been one of the main areas of focus ahead of that 2-0 win over Villa:

“If you look at the players who have played most games, it’s mostly our centre-backs and they don’t really run the most if you compare that to full-backs or the midfielders or the wingers.

“So there are multiple reasons why our full-backs or our midfielders are sometimes rotated, but definitely it also has to do with the quality of the players and the difference in, at least in my opinion, the quality of these players.”

Just like at full-back, where a debate has emerged with Andy Robertson and Tsimikas both holding a claim to the first-choice spot, Slot demands a lot from his midfielders, particularly in terms of work rate.

Most prominently that has seen Curtis Jones shuffled into the mix after a hit-and-miss start to the season, with the England midfielder able to pick up any of the three roles in Liverpool’s engine room: the No. 6, the No. 8 or the No. 10.

As it stands, Liverpool will play 12 games in 43 days before a possible break in fixtures at the start of January, averaging a fixture every 3.6 days, which could grow further if the Reds reach the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the Carabao Cup.

That rotation will only continue, then, and with Elliott back in the fold there is every chance he is considered a fifth part of that core group of midfielders.

Unlike Jones, the likelihood – based on his use in pre-season and his shorter stature – is that he will be earmarked for one particular role, that being the No. 10, but that is arguably the position with most uncertainty around it.

Szoboszlai has been a mainstay of Slot’s side so far, with only Salah, Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo making more appearances, but the Hungarian has invariably been the midfielder shuffled out amid doubts over his end product as a No. 10.

“He’s been important for us, especially until now in our work when we don’t have the ball. He’s been outstanding in his pressing game,” was Slot’s early verdict on Szoboszlai, when speaking in September.

“I think something that we have to work on with him is that he’s also even more involved in scoring goals and creating chances for us.”

So far this season, Szoboszlai has one goal and three assists in 16 appearances – a goal contribution every 275.3 minutes, or one every three games – with seven Liverpool players scoring more and both Salah and Jones assisting more.

Jones’ production in front of goal is double that of his fellow midfielder – averaging a goal or assist every 136.6 minutes – which highlights why the 23-year-old has seemingly broken into that first-choice trio ahead of Liverpool’s No. 8.

Elliott could follow the same trajectory, as despite being considerably shorter than Szoboszlai he still offers a similar running power and pressing ability while combining that with an improving end product.

In 53 games in all competitions last season, Elliott scored four goals and laid on 11 assists, averaging a goal contribution every 185.7 minutes, or almost every other game.

And in last season’s Premier League, no Liverpool player won possession in the final third more often (1.3 per 90).

Szoboszlai, by comparison, scored seven and assisted four at a rate of one every 245.8 minutes. Interestingly, he is also only sixth in terms of possession won in the final third for Liverpool in this season’s Premier League (0.6 per 90).

That is not to suggest that Elliott will return and overtake Szoboszlai in the pecking order, but it certainly demonstrates that he can be a similarly valuable asset within Slot’s midfield.

His time out has represented something of a slow build, yet to cement himself under new management, but if Liverpool pull off the plan for his comeback, Elliott could become one of their more important players in the second half of the season.

(Images from IMAGO)

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Nov

2024

Can Francesco Farioli get Ajax back on top in the Eredivisie?

Fifth place in the Eredivisie, 61 goals conceded, and only 56 points won across 34 matches. Not the statistics which are usually associated with Ajax, but the 2023/24 campaign was their worst in recent memory.

By Ross Kilvington

The last time the Amsterdam side finished lower than fourth was during 1999/2000. At the end of October, Ajax occupied 17^th place in the table, their worst start to a season since 1964/65.

They may have eventually scraped into the Europa League qualifiers, despite going through three coaches in the process, but for one of Europe’s most historic clubs, this standard was way below the expectations required.

Change was needed, that’s a certainty. In May 2024, Ajax appointed Francesco Farioli as their new head coach. The 35-year-old became the first Italian to manage the club, while being the club’s first foreign head coach since Morten Olsen in 1998.

A gamble? Yes. Fast forward six months and it appears this gamble could pay off rather handsomely.

Farioli represented a step in a new direction

The former Philosophy student approaches the game in a different way to most coaches. Still in his mid-30s, he has already gained plenty of experience, with Ajax his fourth managerial post.

The Italian guided Alanyaspor to a fifth place finish in the Turkish SüperLig two years ago, before embarking on a solitary campaign at the helm of OGC Nice. He secured a stunning 3-2 victory over PSG at the Parc des Princes, leading them to a fifth place finish in the process.

Combining his vision and philosophical insights, Farioli’s style of play is undoubtedly unique and one that has galvanised Ajax.

Problematic areas are being worked on

The Italian’s main priority was to fix a leaky defence that had conceded 61 times – the most of any Ajax team since 1958/59. Nice conceded just 29 times last season in Ligue 1, the lowest in the division, suggesting that Farioli would make a huge difference defensively.

In Josip Šutalo and Jorrel Hato, the club have two wonderful defenders who will likely move on to bigger things, but at the moment, they are shining for the club. Add in loan signing Daniele Rugani and the club have conceded just 11 goals in 11 matches, the joint-fourth best record in the top flight.

At the opposite end of the pitch, the club have scored 25 goals in the Eredivisie, again the third best total in the league. This is four more than at the same stage last season, indicating progress under Farioli.

Ajax rank in the top three for big chances created (41), touches in the opposition box (409), shots on target per match (6.3) and goals per match (2.3) in the Eredivisie this term, hence the reason why they have found things easier in the final third.

Of course, improving both defensive and attacking areas was key for improvement this season, yet Farioli was always going to be judged on the results rather than the statistics.

So far, Ajax are performing rather well.

Ajax are trending upwards

The club made it through three rounds of qualifying to secure their place in the group stages of the Europa League, while winning one of their opening two league games ahead of the first international break in September.

Since then, however, Farioli’s men have won ten of their 13 games, including three in the Europa League. This run has ignited their campaign, with the wins against Feyenoord and PSV Eindhoven just three days apart giving the indication that the Italian might just be the man to return former glories to Ajax.

In April, Feyenoord had won the De Klassieker 6-0 in what was their most famous win over their rivals in years. Six months later, Farioli masterminded an impressive 2-0 away victory courtesy of goals from Kenneth Taylor (22) and Hato (18).

Three days later against Peter Bosz’s PSV side, who won the title last term by seven points, scoring 111 goals in the process, Ajax came out 3-2 winners.

It was the first time they had defeated PSV since January 2022, dominating their opponents in the final third. Not only did they create three big chances to PSV’s one, but Ajax also managed 21 shots, nine more than Bosz’s men.

They may have sacrificed the lions share of possession, but Farioli’s attacking philosophy worked wonders at the Amsterdam Arena that evening.

Winning just one of those two matches would have been seen as a sign of progress under the former Nice boss, but two? His imprint on the team is clearly shining through after just a few months in charge.

There is plenty of football to be played, but if Farioli can build on these victories between now and Christmas, Ajax may well find themselves in a title race.

Appointing the 35-year-old was a big risk, especially following a shambolic 2023/24 campaign.

Now? The move may well go down as one of the shrewdest decisions made by a European club during the summer.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Eredivisie on FotMob – with in-depth stat coverage including xG, shot maps, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Nov

2024

The rise of Morgan Gibbs-White and his much-deserved England call-up

For a time at Nottingham Forest, Morgan Gibbs-White was seen as a player who was underperforming and had no chance of playing for England. But as he has matured, the midfielder’s reputation has changed. and he is now playing at his best.

By Kaustubh Pandey

Gibbs-White has never lacked promise at any point in his career. He went from shining for England in the Under-17s World Cup in India in 2017 and scoring in the final of the tournament to sealing a big-money move to Forest from Wolves in the summer of 2022.

A period of instability at Forest during the Steve Cooper era impacted everyone – from Gibbs-White to even established players like Remo Freuler and Joe Worrall. Not everyone who suffered stayed at the club, but Gibbs-White has now emerged as a key player and after a period of ups and downs, is becoming a vital performer under Nuno Espírito Santo.

Gibbs-White is thriving

Nuno certainly knows Gibbs-White well from his time at Wolves and even though he didn’t quite make excellent use of the Englishman, this familiarity has come in handy for the England international.

The improvement in the 24-year-old’s performances goes back to last season, when he contributed to 16 goals across all competitions, recording the the best individual season of his career from a statistical viewpoint.

A majority of those contributions came under Nuno, who handed him a leadership role in the squad, and made him feel like a very valued member of the starting XI.

Gibbs-White has just one goal in the 2024/25 campaign so far and while that obviously isn’t a big number by any means, there is now a feeling that the midfielder is truly becoming a irreplaceable part of the club. His influence extends beyond what he does on the pitch and he commands authority.

How is it happening?

Last season, Gibbs-White would operate across the pitch even while playing in the attacking midfield role. Nuno’s arrival made him optimise his actions and presence on the pitch and he is now found far more often on the left, popping up in the half-space quite a lot.

The Portuguese manager’s style of play has been very transition based since his time at Wolves and it gives attacking players a lot of room and space on the break. Gibbs-White has taken advantage of that perfectly.

The Tricky Trees are third-bottom in the Premier League for average possession and that says everything about their approach, which relies on staying deep and compact, then breaking by using the skillset of nifty players to attack space.

They are also eleventh for touches inside the opposition box, per 90 minutes, showing that they rely heavily on efficiency rather than high volume shooting or dribbling. They just have to make the most of the ball they get.

In that setup, it is sometimes more important to keep possession flowing forward quickly than actually create. That is the role Gibbs-White has taken on this season.

*Gibbs-White passing stats per 90, Premier League 2024/25*

He is thriving on keeping play ticking over and that has just brought his numbers to a lower level than last season. In the 2023/24 campaign, he was much more involved in the final third and made things happen in the box.

*Gibbs-White passing stats per 90, Premier League 2023/24*

He was assisting way more often last season and was allowed to get into positions that made him create chances for his teammates – be it through crosses or threaded balls beyond defensive lines.

He isn’t the fanciest of dribblers out there, but Gibbs-White combines a workman-like approach with the ability to pick the right passes and keep play moving forwards. That can be used in different setups and it is also vital to note that Forest do have wide players who boast pace, reducing the load on the ex-Wolves man to be that crafty 1v1 player.

He beats a midfield’s press with his passing accuracy and has this natural ability to turn past them with ease, making Forest a constant threat on the break.

The former Under-17s World Cup winner has also come leaps and bounds defensively this season, adding another tool to his arsenal that will definitely come in handy for the future.

A blessing for England?

In many ways, Gibbs-White belongs to a very modern generation of English midfielders who are multi-faceted and technically blessed. Unlike a profile such as Kalvin Phillips, he offers so much more across the pitch and can also operate in multiple setups.

He, along with Angel Gomes, played under Lee Carsley in the Under-17s setup and that has played a role in their recent call-ups. But both of them possess the ability which definitely raises the technical ceiling of any future England XI and helps them break down those defences that play deep.

The Forest man still has a long way to go and as Thomas Tuchel prepares to take over the Three Lions in the coming weeks, Gibbs-White will have to impress over the course of these next two international games to make a space for himself in the German’s side.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every Nottingham Forest and England game on FotMob – with deep stats, xG, and players ratings. Download the free app here.

Nov

2024

Preview: The USMNT face Jamaica in Mauricio Pochettino’s competitive debut

The first of this season’s CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals is sure to attract a fair bit of interest, as it marks Mauricio Pochettino’s competitive debut in charge of the United States Men’s National Team. Away in Jamaica, they should expect a decent test.

By Neel Shelat

McClaren looking to get the Reggae Boyz on song

Former Manchester United assistant coach Steve McClaren has been in charge of Jamaica since the summer. He has overseen four matches so far, including two wins, away in Honduras and Nicaragua, and two goalless draws on home soil against Cuba and the Hondurans.

The Reggae Boyz were the clear favourites in each of those matches, so while those results are not bad, they are not particularly inspiring either. Indeed, Jamaica’s attacking play under McClaren has been subpar so far given the quality in his squad, so he will need to fix that if his side are to advance.

The good news is that he will get some reinforcements in terms of personnel. Most notably, star attacker Leon Bailey has accepted his call-up and should return to national team action for the first time in about a year, having gone on a self-imposed exile after a fallout with the previous head coach and federation. Newcastle United midfielder Isaac Hayden will likely make his debut after completing the process to switch nationalities, but the suspended Michail Antonio will be a big miss.

USMNT favourites with a strong head-to-head record

The USMNT have quite an impressive record against Jamaica, having lost on just three occasions in 33 meetings. They are unbeaten in competitive action since 2015, most recently scoring a dramatic turnaround victory in the last Nations League semi-final.

Mauricio Pochettino’s tenure did not get off the best of starts as his side suffered a 2-0 defeat in Mexico in the last international window, so he will aim to register his first away win in charge of the USMNT in the first leg of this quarterfinal. He was without a good few key players last month, so this tie should give us a first glimpse into what his first-choice line-up will actually look like.

One aspect that will likely remain up in the air is the striker position. The USMNT have consistently rotated between Folarin Balogun, Josh Sargeant and Haji Wright of late, but all three of them are out injured in this window. So, PSV striker Ricardo Pepi will likely lead the line, while one of the three Mexico-based forwards – namely Chivas’ Cade Cowell, Monterrey’s Brandon Vázquez and Club América’s Alejandro Zendejas – could well join Christian Pulisic and Timothy Weah if Pochettino uses a front four.

Prediction

The USMNT’s superior squad quality and head-to-head record means they have to be the clear favourites for this tie. Both sides have relatively new coaches and are bringing some new players into the mix, so their performances may well turn out to be a little disjointed – particularly in the first leg.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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

Nov

2024

Preview: Lee Carsley’s England out for revenge in Greece

Until last month, England had never lost a match against Greece in men’s football.

By Karl Matchett

History lesson

History heavily favoured the Three Lions in results and in storylines; even when they didn’t win, they still did in effect, such as with David Beckham’s injury time equaliser to send England to the World Cup. Even in club-level meetings the most memorable occasions tend to see the Premier League outfits beat the Super League ones: Liverpool thrashing Panathinaikos in the ‘85 European Cup semi-final; Newcastle, Chelsea and Manchester United all knocking out Olympiacos at the same stage in the space of a decade; Liverpool and their infamous late comeback to beat the same Greek side in the group stage, en route to winning the Champions League. It was all so heavily one sided – until it wasn’t, a month ago, with Greece triumphing at Wembley with a poignant celebration of their efforts and the memory of George Baldock. The Nations League might not have the same standing as some of those other games, but for Greece it was a night to rival most in their history; for England, lessons must be learned.

Form

These Nations League games are the last under Lee Carsley before Thomas Tuchel takes charge for England, so while form isn’t of much importance, impressing for places is – and they want promotion back to League A of course. That means there’s no choice but to win this game to try and top the table, with second spot only offering a playoff. If Greece even draw, they are up.

Who’s left in the England squad?

England suffered eight injury withdrawals from the initial squad, the most notable of which were Trent Alexander-Arnold – man of the match three times in four games for Carsley – along with Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice. There will be first caps on offer across the fortnight, but whether any come in this game will depend largely on the type of midfield the interim boss wants. Greece will likely look very similar to during their Wembley win, with all 11 starters from October included in this squad – though the likes of Kostas Tsimikas and Fotis Ioannidis may hope to come in.

*Possible England XI built with the FotMob lineup builder – try it yourself at FotMob.com!*

Key players

For the hosts, Vangelis Pavlidis scored both goals at Wembley and is an obvious standout for inspection – at Benfica he’s actually more facilitator than scorer, with 2.1 chances created per 90 this term being better than any other similar forward in the Primeira.

As for England, injuries make a lineup tough to predict but Noni Madueke and Anthony Gordon look good shouts to start on the flanks and need to produce big games to improve their chances of nudging ahead of Saka, Phil Foden and the like. The Chelsea man’s non-penalty xG of 0.33/90 puts him ahead of 82% of similar players this term and 3.67 shots/90 is ahead of 93%. That’s a nice balance to Gordon’s crossing and creativity from the left.

Prediction

England to be somewhat more solid and disciplined than last time these sides met, enough to earn a win in a low-scoring game. 2-1 to the Three Lions.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every UEFA Nations League game with FotMob this season — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Nov

2024

Moise Kean repaying the faith shown in him at Fiorentina

Moise Kean always had an admirer in Raffaele Palladino. “I will not deny that I already wanted Kean when I was at Monza,” revealed the Fiorentina manager, explaining why he pushed for the signing of the forward from Juventus in the summer when nobody else wanted him. Only a few months later, Kean is repaying Palladino’s faith.

By Graham Ruthven

While Kean failed to score a single goal in 19 league games for Juve last season, the 24-year-old is currently Serie A’s second-top scorer having netted eight goals in 11 matches. When Fiorentina signed the former-Everton and Paris Saint-Germain striker in the summer, hardly anyone noticed. Now, though, all eyes are on him.

Not much was expected of La Viola coming into the 2024/25 campaign. They lost key players Nico González and Nikola Milenković over the summer while manager Vincenzo Italiano departed to take over at Bologna. At the time, this looked to be a step up, but Fiorentina are currently seven points ahead of Italiano’s side. They might even be title contenders.

Fiorentina started the season slowly under Palladino. Indeed, La Viola went winless in their first four matches as the tactics of their new manager took some time to bed in. Over the last two months, though, Palladino’s team have found their groove with their only defeat in all competitions since mid-September coming against APOEL Nicosia.

At first, Fiorentina played in a back three. Quickly, though, Palladino switched to a four-man defence and achieved better balance across the rest of the team. The introduction of former AC Milan midfielder Yacine Adli was another turning point with the Frenchman thriving as the player who pulls the strings from deep. Game by game, pieces fell into place.

Palladino, however, never needed any time to figure out Kean’s role. The Italian international scored in only his second game for his new club and continued to find the back of the net even as Fiorentina struggled for form. As La Viola’s new frontman, Kean has reached a level not seen from him for a number of years.

“I saw him as a great striker who has it all,” said Palladino, speaking about his long-standing admiration of Kean whose career had meandered before ending up at the Stadio Artemio Franchi. “He just needs to continue like this and stay in good shape physically, the rest is just the fruits of his daily work in training and the help from his team.”

*Kean shooting stats per 90, Serie A 2024/25*

As a modern centre forward, Kean ticks almost every box. He is physically strong and quick across the ground. He is a good dribbler. Technically, the striker also has the ability to play for a team that wants to have possession. This is surely one of the things that attracted Palladino to Kean, and is one of the things Max Allegri failed to utilise during his time at Juventus.

At Juve, Kean was never seen as the main man. He was behind Dušan Vlahović in the pecking order and had to make do with filling in wherever he could find minutes. Allegri played him out wide and as a supporting striker. Even when Kean was deployed as the focal point of the Old Lady’s attack, Allegri’s conservative style never got the best out of him (and others).

Whether it’s a Lucas Beltrán through ball or a David de Gea punt up the pitch into open space, everything at Fiorentina is geared towards Kean. The 24-year-old has scored all sorts of goals this season with Kean’s hat trick against Verona on Sunday a display of everything he is giving La Viola. It was the complete forward’s performance.

No Serie A player has a higher individual Expected Goals (xG) than Kean (8.5) so far this term. This means that while the Fiorentina striker is in the form of his life right now, he is actually underperforming according to the opportunities he had had this season. If anything, Kean could improve further as Serie A’s hottest centre forward. That’s a terrifying thought.

This season’s Scudetto race promises to be a classic. Two points is all that currently divides Napoli at the top of the table and Juventus in sixth. Many believe the title will ultimately come down to Inter and Napoli, but nobody can be discounted this early in the campaign. Fiorentina are right up there, just one point off first place.

For all the legends that have played for La Viola over the decades, none of them delivered the Scudetto. Gabriel Batistuta, Roberto Baggio, Rui Costa and Francesco Toldo all missed out on title glory for a club that hasn’t been Italian champions since 1969. That championship drought might not end this season, but Kean’s goals have made Fiorentina a team worth watching.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every Serie A game on FotMob – with in-depth stat coverage including xG, shot maps, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Nov

2024

As it Stands: The three point quirk in the Premier League table

The Premier League has taken on an extremely unusual look over the last few weeks or so. It already seems as though the actual title race itself could be a two-horse race, with nine points between leaders Liverpool and third-placed Chelsea.

By Ian King

But from there down, things start to get weird. Just three points separate Chelsea from Brentford, who are in 11th, and just a single point separates them from Manchester United, who are in 13th. For all the talk of ‘crisis’ at Old Trafford, United are only four points off a Champions League place.

So why is this coming about? Is it a trend that might last, or are we just in the middle of a statistical blip that will inevitably fade? Although it’s difficult to demonstrate it empirically, there are possible reasons behind why this could be happening which seem extremely obvious.

Firstly, injuries are taking their toll and big clubs have been missing big players. Manchester City’s recent slump has come about at exactly the same time as their current Ballon d’Or holding midfielder has been out injured. Likewise, Martin Ødegaard has been missing for Arsenal. Both are exceptional and influential players, and neither team has looked quite the same without them.

It may also be the case that the middle order of Premier League clubs is catching up with the bigger clubs, that the social strata of the division is being eroded. When Bournemouth beat Arsenal and Manchester City in successive home games, they won on merit. The days of the only way to beat these teams being to defend for your lives for 90 minutes and try to steal something on the break or otherwise hope that something just lands for you might not have passed, but it certainly feels as though they’re in recession at the moment.

And many of the division’s other clubs seem to be making much better transfer decisions, which may well be down to the proliferation of data available to them. Brighton and Brentford have both demonstrated what’s possible if you use that data wisely. Clubs are also making more imaginative choices for their next managers or head coaches. The days of there being a layer of mediocre English managers below the biggest clubs have also gone.

The upshot of all of this is that, while it would be silly to suggest that they are all very much of a muchness, they have certainly all been taking points off each other so far. With eleven games of the Premier League season, we find ourselves in the extremely unusual position of having nine clubs who’ve won five of them, while a further two have won four. Only the top two have a win rate above 45.45%.

Of course, there are ups and downs within this grouping. Nottingham Forest are the most obvious improvers. For all that their performance at home against Newcastle United last Sunday afternoon felt like a bit of a bump back down to earth, they are deservedly in fifth place. At the other end of the spectrum, Spurs can’t even seem to be consistent within one game at the moment, let alone a run of them and have fallen back to tenth.

And there are names who you might have expected to have seen in this group who are missing from it. West Ham United finished last season in 9th place and won the Europa Conference League the year before, but they’re down in 14th this time around. Crystal Palace always (seem to) finish in 12th place. They’re currently occupying one of the three relegation places.

And since this last week has brought Remembrance Sunday, it’s also worth bringing up that this season has got nothing on the 1914/15 First Division season, when just three points ended up separating the top seven and six points separating the top eleven come the end of the season, with Everton winning the title by a point after Oldham Athletic lost their last two games of the season to Burnley and, of all people, Liverpool.

Of course, the great leveller that year may have been the number of players who left their clubs to fight in the First World War. In 2024 it’s the over-stuffing of the calendar that is leading to the loss of such players as Rodri and Martin Ødegaard for extended periods of time.

Player voices have grown louder against overpacking the schedules to breaking point, but the governing bodies have signed those lucrative broadcasting contracts so we’re getting an eight-game Champions League Swiss-model group stage and a vastly expanded Club World Cup whether we like it or not. That it also happens to have made Nottingham Forest fans happy is just an accidental by-product, and one that we should probably expect to be ironed out again soon.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Premier League on FotMob – with in-depth stat coverage including xG, shot maps, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Nov

2024

Has Mohamed Salah found yet another gear this season?

There was a lot of change at Liverpool this summer.

By Sam McGuire

Jürgen Klopp departed and was replaced by Arne Slot. The Dutchman brought in a number of his own staff as he looked to fill the voids left by the post-Klopp exodus behind the scenes.

Slot has looked to implement a new system. Players have to learn different tactical instructions while coming to terms with adjusted expectations and varied demands.

A new coffee bar was also added to the training ground at Kirkby.

Lots of change, both on and off the pitch but the same old Mohamed Salah. You could even argue that what we’ve gotten is a new, improved Salah.

The three-time Golden Boot winner is running riot this season.

As we head into the November international break, only Erling Haaland (12) has more goals than the Liverpool forward (eight) while only Bukayo Saka (seven) can better his haul of six assists. The 32-year-old leads the Premier League for goal involvements (14) and he’s currently the player with the highest-rated FotMob average. Salah is the only player in the English top-fight to have a rating of over eight (8.02) to be exact after 11 matches.

His assist against Aston Villa was his 75th in the league and it took him above Thierry Henry (74). He’s now just five away from cracking the top 10. Salah is just 11 goals away from matching the Arsenal striker’s haul of 175 Premier League goals.

In the form he’s currently in, you wouldn’t be surprised if he managed to do that this season. He’s just 13 goals off of Frank Lampard (sixth in the list of all-time Premier League goalscorers) and 20 behind fifth-placed Sergio Aguero.

It isn’t a stretch to think Salah, if he remains at Liverpool for at least one more season, could crack the top four. Andy Cole currently holds the fourth position in the table with 187 goals.

He’s primed to claim another record this season too. His goal and assist against Aston Vila, a win that moved Liverpool five points clear at the top of the table, was the 36th time he’s scored and assisted in a Premier League game. Wayne Rooney is the only other player to have accomplished this feat that many times. With 20 games still to play, there’s every chance Salah becomes the outright leader for this particular metric before the 2024/25 campaign comes to an end.

Salah has ramped things up when many expected him to be slowing things down.

Now 32, he’s been playing a lot of high intensity football for one of the most physically demanding coaches in the world for seven seasons. He suffered his first real injury last season and didn’t appear to be the same player upon his return.

He’s having to learn a new role for a new manager, all while not knowing what is going on with his future. After starring against Manchester United in August, he revealed the club hadn’t opened talks over a new deal. His current contract expires at the end of the season. It would’ve been easy for him to almost phone it in. To just go through the motions until he knew where he’d be playing football next season.

He’s won everything. He’s a Liverpool legend. He doesn’t have to be proving himself, once again. He shouldn’t be playing for a new deal, but he quite clearly is. He’s showing Richard Hughes that despite turning 33 at the end of this campaign, he’s still the best attacker at the club. In fact, he’s probably the best attacker in the Premier League and you’d be hard-pressed to find many better anywhere across Europe.

Ramy Abbas Issa, Salah’s agent, recently claimed Salah is the best player in the world. He’s biased, of course, but he’s also probably right. It makes the recent Ballon d’Or snub even more bizarre. The Liverpool No.11 didn’t even make the 30-man shortlist despite his goalscoring exploits last season. If he continues on at his current rate, though, and Liverpool continue to win games in every competition, he’s going to be in the mix for next year’s Ballon d’Or. He might even be the favourite for it.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Premier League on FotMob – with in-depth stat coverage including xG, shot maps, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Nov

2024

Analysis: The puzzling decisions that have led Roma’s season downhill

Just three months into the season, Roma have already sacked not one but two head coaches. They are currently in the bottom half of the Serie A table and far from certain of a knockout spot in the Europa League, so their campaign has already gone quite some way downhill.

By Neel Shelat

The 2024/25 Serie A season is shaping up to be a special one. At present, just two points separate the top six, so we could well be in for an unforgettable title race. Roma, however, will almost certainly not be involved as they currently have just 13 points from 12 games – precisely half of league leaders Napoli’s tally.

The Giallorossi were surely not anticipating such a terrible start to the season after a promising end to the 2023/24 campaign, as Daniele De Rossi seemed to get them back on the up after José Mourinho’s departure. They supported him quite strongly in the summer too, but it all quickly went downhill thereafter.

Summer spending thrown down the drain

De Rossi initially took over on an interim basis, but his position was made permanent before the end of the 2023/24 season following a very promising run of results. Roma gave him a contract until 2027 and soon set out to support him by spending heavily in the summer.

They made over ten new signings, spending significant amounts on the likes of Artem Dovbyk (€30.6 million), Matías Soulé (€25.7m) and Enzo Le Fée (€23m). They also brought in Saudi international Saud Abdulhamid, Swedish youngster Samuel Dahl and 17-year-old right back Buba Sangaré for relatively low fees, struck a deal with Borussia Mönchengladbach for Manu Koné and made three free signings, namely Mathew Ryan, Mats Hummels and Mario Hermoso. All of these deals made good sense in isolation and they fit De Rossi’s tactical system quite well on the whole, so Florent Ghisolfi’s first transfer window as Roma’s technical director looked quite good on paper.

The trouble was that all of this good work was undone by a bizzare and baffling decision just a month into the new season. After Roma failed to win any of their first four matches – drawing with Cagliari, losing to Empoli, playing out a 0-0 against Juventus and then conceding a last-gasp equaliser to Genoa – they took the call to sack De Rossi. The decision was reportedly pushed by the club’s owners, the Friedkin Group led by brothers Dan and Ryan Friedkin.

At the time, fans were furious to see a club legend with over 600 appearances as a player tossed aside so harshly. The decision did not make much sense from a purely sporting point of view either as the host of new signings surely deserved some more time to settle in, and De Rossi had done enough towards the end of the previous season to merit support through a tough period. In hindsight, even Ghisolfi has suggested that this was a bad call.

Jurić doomed to fail from the off

After De Rossi was shown the exit door, Roma went and hired Ivan Jurić as his successor. The Croatian tactician was available after leaving his post at Torino in the summer, having previously managed sides like Crotone, Genoa and Hellas Verona. Clearly, this was going to be his first spell in charge of a top-level club.

The timing of it all was quite unpromising from his point of view. Not only was he joining the club mid-season with a very congested fixture list due to domestic and continental commitments, but he also came in at a time when the environment at the Stadio Olimpico was far from positive as fans voiced their dissatisfaction over the dismissal of De Rossi. Of course, they had nothing against Jurić, but the 49-year-old head coach found himself in a position where anything but instant success would very quickly build pressure on his position.

The trouble was that it was entirely unreasonable to expect Jurić to turn Roma’s fortunes around overnight. His tactical setup and back three system actually had a lot of similarities to the way De Rossi set his side up in possession, meaning the players did not have to take too much new information on board in this respect. However, it obviously also meant that they were unlikely to perform much better than they did under De Rossi at the start of the season.

Worse yet, Jurić’s out of possession tactics were quite different to De Rossi’s. While the Italian coach used a back four system and focused on trying to maintain a solid block, the former Torino tactician implemented his typical back five with a heavily player-oriented approach, often involving a lot of pressing. Roma’s squad is neither the youngest nor the most athletic, so such a system was always likely to give them more problems than upsides. Indeed, that proved to be the case as the Giallorossi only managed to keep three clean sheets in 12 matches under the Croatian coach, having kept two in the first four games of the season.

It should be said that Jurić did not help himself with some of his selection decisions, such as choosing to leave out experienced defender Mats Hummels for the most part despite such a leaky defence. Another such decision ultimately led to his dismissal, as he opted to leave Paulo Dybala – arguably Roma’s best attacker this season – out of the squad for what proved to be his final match.

All things considered, the tactical and selection changes from De Rossi to Jurić never looked likely to dramatically overturn Roma’s fortunes, and ultimately only had a negative impact.

What next?

For the third time in 2024, Roma are in the market for a new head coach. They have been linked to various names already, but one interesting rumour suggests Ghisolfi wants to bring De Rossi back though the Friedkins are not as keen.

If handled appropriately, that could be a good way to steer the club back towards the right direction and get the fans back on board. Clearly, the squad is well built to suit his tactics and he had the support of the players too, so he could well improve their performances with enough time. Realistically, though, this is quite unlikely given the circumstances around his dismissal.

Other potential targets could include Edin Terzić, Paulo Sousa or Frank Lampard, and Erik ten Hag though none of them have particularly inspiring track records that suggest they could turn Roma’s fortunes around. The biggest name that has been linked – and likely the best option on the current market – is Roberto Mancini, who was recently dismissed from Saudi Arabia’s national team. Although he has been out of club football for a few years now, he has some big names on his CV and should have the tactical nouse to at least try and salvage an already disastrous season for Roma.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every AS Roma game on FotMob – with deep stats, xG, and players ratings. Download the free app here.

Nov

2024

FotMob Profile: Nuno Tavares, the Arsenal loanee dominating Serie A with Lazio

The top assist provider in Europe isn’t a superstar forward like Bukayo Saka or Vinícius Júnior or Lamine Yamal – instead, it’s a fullback who played just 12 times last season for Nottingham Forest: Nuno Tavares.

By Zach Lowy

Born in Lisbon to Cape Verdean parents, Tavares made his Benfica debut on August 10, 2019, opening the scoring with a missile from 30 yards out before adding two more assists vs. Paços de Ferreira. However, after being exposed in a 2-0 loss to Porto, Tavares was dropped for the next 10 months, returning only after Álex Grimaldo suffered a ligament injury. Tavares made 41 appearances for Benfica and looked set to continue his development in Lisbon until June 4, 2021, when a video surfaced featuring Nuno and his barber, who exclaimed: “This kid is the future, that ******* Spaniard [Grimaldo] will never leave so the kid can flourish.” Nuno responded, “If not in Benfica, it will be in another place.”

Nuno was sold to Arsenal for £8 million a month later, where he was fast-tracked into the first team and showcased his attacking capabilities under Mikel Arteta, but he proved a liability in defence with costly lapses in concentration and positional mistakes often seeing him subbed off at halftime. Arsenal loaned him out to Marseille for 2022/23, and, much to his chagrin, Arteta refused to sanction a purchase option. Once again, Tavares impressed in the final third, scoring in three of their first four matches as well as Marseille’s final game of 2022 and first game of 2023 vs. Montpellier. However, after opening the scoring vs. Montpellier, Tavares went from hero to zero after needlessly kicking out at Arnaud Souquet, sparking a mass brawl and earning himself a three-game suspension. After a hot and cold year in France, Tavares made the move to Nottingham Forest, where he fared drastically worse.

When I wrote about Tavares in 2021, I noted, “Nuno is capable of going from making careless errors in possession and conceding goal-scoring chances for the opposition, to single-handedly winning the game for his team in the space of minutes. A player who thrives at receiving the ball high up the pitch, charging towards the byline and whipping in a cross, Nuno Tavares’ potential is clear to see, but his fundamental errors of dribbling into traffic, coughing up possession in dangerous areas and stepping out too early to make a tackle can leave his team exposed.”

Three years later, it seemed those defensive deficiencies would prevent him from reaching his world-class potential. That is, until he joined Lazio on loan with an obligation to buy for €5 million.

Tavares has made a seamless adaptation to Serie A, showing a newfound composure on the left side of defense in Lazio’s 4-2-3-1, and taking his game from high-risk, high-reward to low-risk, high-reward. He’s assisted three goals in his last three league matches, and he’s managed to cut down on his cataclysmic errors – apart from a moment of madness vs. Como. Tavares coughed up possession with a loose touch, and, despite being 90 meters away from his own goal, lunged in with a tackle rather than track back. He received his marching orders for the ill-advised challenge, but Lazio would nevertheless prevail 5-1 in Como.

*Tavares defensive stats, Serie A 2024/25*

He returned to the starting XI a week later against Porto and thrived on both sides of the ball, recovering possession on eight occasions, winning all three tackles as well as 8 out of 14 ground duels, whilst he also completed 36 out of 43 passes – including three out of four long balls and eight passes into the final third – created one chance, and was named the FotMob Player of the Match with an 8.0 rating, before following that up with an assured performance in their 1-0 win at Monza.

“Nuno has been the biggest surprise of Serie A and a lot of that is down to the trust that Marco Baroni has given him and the confidence that’s been building,” said The Laziali founder Steven K. Moore. “His pace, physicality, dribbling and ability to get forward and back, his ability to take on his man, beat them, and then put in a perfect cross into the box…it’s been something we’ve been lacking at left back since Senad Lulić’s retirement in 2021. Baroni’s style allows him to get forward as much as possible and not have to worry as much about being on the defensive side of things…he’s been an incredible signing so far.”

Tavares (7.89) is the second-highest-rated FotMob player in Serie A after Ademola Lookman (7.92) and has racked up the most assists in Europe’s top five leagues. With eight assists in his first nine matches, Tavares is on pace to not only break Dani Alves’ record (15 in 2010/11) of the most assists in a single season by a fullback, but also Papu Gómez’s record (16 in 2019/20) of the most assists in a single Serie A campaign. It’s no wonder that Lazio president Claudio Lotito has already vowed that he wouldn’t even sell Tavares for €70 million, or that Lazio fans have already nicknamed him ‘Freccia Nuno’ after the ‘Freccia Rossa’ high-speed train, or that Roberto Martinez has given him a first-ever call-up to the Portuguese senior team.

*Average FotMob ratings, Serie A 2024/25*

After bouncing around from the Emirates to the Velodrome to the City Ground, Nuno Tavares seems to have finally found a permanent home at the Stadio Olimpico. Lazio enter the November international break in fifth place – one point behind league leaders Napoli – and they’ll be counting on their Portuguese dynamo as they look to continue their stellar run of form which has seen them win 10 of their last 11 in all competitions.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every Serie A game on FotMob – with in-depth stat coverage including xG, shot maps, and player ratings. Download the free app here.