Page 117 – The Pulse of Football

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

(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

Making sense of Cody Gakpo at Liverpool

Since his £37 million move from PSV Eindhoven, Cody Gakpo has never quite fit in at Liverpool, but there is way too much potential in the Dutchman to cast him off.

By Jack Lusby, ThisIsAnfield.com

Liverpool’s public pursuit of Cody Gakpo was, even by their standards, swift: within the space of an hour on Boxing Day 2022, the club had gone from reports of advanced talks with PSV Eindhoven to the Eredivisie side confirming a deal had been agreed.

It was a surprise signing, on the back of a World Cup in which he started every game for Louis van Gaal’s Netherlands, and one which came midway through a middling season for Jürgen Klopp’s side.

In a season-and-a-half since, Gakpo has played 76 times for Liverpool – all but six possible games, including the 3-1 loss to Brentford days after his arrival. No player has featured in more fixtures for the club in that time, with Harvey Elliott coming closest with 72.

Yet his role within the squad is still something of a mystery. There is clearly immense faith in Gakpo, but rarely in a defined position; instead, Klopp has employed his No. 18 as a utility man.

At first, he operated in the Roberto Firmino role, thriving in dropping deep as an expansive centre-forward. But with more responsibility afforded to Darwin Núñez, Gakpo’s appearances have more increasingly come out wide, on either the left or right, while Klopp even used him in midfield on nine occasions.

That, by the manager’s own admission, clipped Gakpo’s wings. “Cody had a bit of a struggle in between the season, it was more my fault,” the manager explained in February. “We spoke about can Cody play a midfield position for us, yes he can in different moments. Is it his position? I would say no.

“The offensive part of the role he can definitely play, but with the defensive things which he was not used to, that cost him a bit of confidence in moments, you could see that. The boy came here and was flying from day one pretty much and then all of a sudden you saw, OK that’s now not exactly the same. These kinds of things happen.”

Klopp added: “If you ask Cody he would not say it’s the best season of his life, but we all know how good a player he is and he’s always a threat.”

The discourse as Gakpo’s first full season comes to a close, though, is that Liverpool are yet to truly see how good a player he is.

Quite why is a mystery, particularly given it has been suggested that it was Klopp, in his position of increased influence, who pushed for the deal rather than those within the club’s recruitment team. The manager claimed that an agreement was pushed through in January, rather than the summer as is usually preferred, out of a fear that Gakpo’s form could price them out by that point.

Gakpo will no doubt express gratitude for his time spent under Klopp, but as the manager prepares to depart at the end of the season there is a sense that, while he may have wanted the Dutchman, he never had a firm plan in place for him.

With Liverpool at a crossroads this summer, then, Gakpo could be held up as one of those players whose future will come into question – particularly if there is a desire to raise funds for the transfer market.

But in the arriving Arne Slot, who will take over when Klopp moves on, Gakpo could find himself in the hands of a head coach able to make sense of him.

Gakpo and Slot have already crossed paths, after all: once when the coach was in charge of AZ Alkmaar and three times after he had switched to the Feyenoord dugout. Those three meetings between PSV and Feyenoord should be most instructive when it comes to Gakpo’s obvious role in a new-look Liverpool.

Gakpo started all three of those clashes in his natural position on the left wing, wearing the captain’s armband and coming away with three goals and three assists.

His first of those three goals saw him peel off right-back Lutsharel Geertruida, touch down a long ball on the charge with his right foot and fire home with his left; his second, in the same 2-2 draw at De Kuip, saw him ghost into the box in a sharp one-two with Eran Zahavi before a finesse finish with his right.

In the 4-3 home win at the start of his final half-season in Eindhoven, he again finished with his right, this time after being found by Xavi Simons in space on the edge of the box. There was also a hat-trick of assists: a corner turned home by Everton loanee Jarrad Branthwaite; a floated cross for Guus Til; and then another corner headed in by Armando Obispo for the eventual winner.

Slot witnessed firsthand how effective Gakpo can be in the right role. Of his 159 appearances for PSV, 118 of those came as a left winger (74.2%). Of his 55 goals, 47 were from the left (85.5%) and of his 50 assists, the same role brought 42 (84%). Conversely, at Liverpool, only 14 appearances (18.4%), three goals (14.3%) and three assists (37.5%) have come on the left flank.

Converting a 6’3”, set-piece-taking left winger from the Eredivisie to a ball-carrying, chance-creating No. 9 in the Premier League may have been a bright idea in practice, but it is certainly debatable whether it has worked out.

There is no guarantee that a Dutch manager joining the club will spell a boost in fortunes for one of its Dutch players, but there is a convincing case for Gakpo to feature more prominently under Slot – particularly as his assistant, Sipke Hulshoff, already works with the 24-year-old as part of the Netherlands national team staff.

With speculation over Luis Díaz’s long-term future, it could even be that a first-choice starting spot opens up on the left in Slot’s favoured 4-2-3-1.

(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

What went wrong for Sofyan Amrabat at Manchester United?

Manchester United’s signing of Fiorentina’s Sofyan Amrabat was met with a fair amount of excitement and intrigue. But the reality of the move has been a disappointment to many and there have even been doubts about whether the Moroccan is actually as good as he was made out to be.

By Kaustubh Pandey

With United’s season about to stutter to a halt, there is a realisation amongst fans that it has been a campaign full of injuries and that has impacted the team’s progress massively. From summer signing Mason Mount and World Cup winner Lisandro Martínez to Luke Shaw, Raphael Varane and sometimes even Rasmus Højlund, United have seen the season fall apart right in front of their eyes.

Despite the squad suffering a raft of injury worries, Amrabat’s usage has been considerably limited. The lack of game time has been concerning for some and confusing for others.

Amrabat had, after all, impressed during the 2022 World Cup and that had led to clubs such as Barcelona, Tottenham, and Liverpool keeping tabs on him. More than that, Amrabat also had a shared past with Erik ten Hag, who managed the ex-Hellas Verona man during his time at Utrecht and the perception was that the midfielder was a very ‘Ten Hag signing’, especially when the Red Devils desperately needed additions in the heart of the park.

Amrabat seems all but set to return to Fiorentina from his loan stint at Old Trafford. While the chapter will end, it will always leave a bitter taste in the mouth for many. Fans will scratch their heads and it will spark debate. With that in mind, we take a look at what really went wrong in this ongoing loan spell for the 2022 World Cup star.

Never judge players from World Cups

One of the many basics in football recruitment says that clubs shouldn’t base their judgements of signings solely from their World Cup performances. From Asamoah Gyan and Salif Diao to James Rodríguez, there are numerous examples of clubs signing players on the basis of how they performed in a World Cup and the move never quite lived upto the hype. United themselves were guilty of that when they signed Kléberson amidst much fanfare in 2003 and they seem to have repeated their mistake in 2023.

It isn’t to say that Amrabat wasn’t impressive in the World Cup, he most certainly was. Operating constantly as the deepest midfielder in Morocco’s deep block, Amrabat showed a keen understanding of how build-up works and constantly helped his side transition from back to front and was prolific off the ball.

In Morocco’s first approach, Amrabat made loads of recoveries per 90 minutes – 7.77.

He also did well when it came to tackling, boasting an above average tackle success rate and a lot of that came down to the system, which relied overly on winning it back and led to a higher sample size.

While impressive, and a candidate for the World Cup’s Team of the Tournament, fans saw Amrabat operate in a system that wasn’t quite in operation at club level – for Fiorentina, or United. That skewed perceptions and affected how fans looked at Amrabat, conveying to many that he was perhaps best in a deep midfield role. Whereas, the truth is that playing as the deepest midfielder in a low block and playing the role in an attacking setup are completely different things.

A Florence misconception

Because of the World Cup, a perception developed that Amrabat was a reliable number six. In the 2021/22 season under Vincenzo Italiano, though, Amrabat wasn’t even a regular at number six in a system which has two midfielders that operate high up the pitch and another who dictates tempo from deep, the number six role. The Moroccan made only eight starts in the entire Serie A season.

Before Italiano’s arrival, Fiorentina played a low-block in a 3-5-2 under Beppe Iachini and club hero Cesare Prandelli and that is when Amrabat was a regular as the deepest midfielder.

Under Italiano in the 2021/22 campaign, Lucas Torreira starred in the number six role for Fiorentina. The ex-Arsenal man established himself as one of the best in that role in Serie A and showed signs of a renaissance after a frustrating spell at the Emirates. He wasn’t just great at receiving as part of a back three in possession but the Uruguayan also dictated play from deep, won it back as quickly as he could and recycled possession.

He pushed Amrabat to the peripherals of the starting XI and it was only after Torreira’s exit that Amrabat became a regular at number six. In the 2022/23 season, Amrabat showed his efficiency as a ball-carrier and someone who thrives at carrying the ball forward from deeper areas.

While he also showed that he’s very good off the ball and possesses a terrier-like energy, numbers state that he was also prone to being dribbled past and potentially struggling to operate as the deepest within the more open attacking setups.

It isn’t to say that Amrabat is a bad player. This shows that perhaps, playing as the deepest midfielder in an attacking setup wasn’t Amrabat’s best role and he is best in another role, considering how well he does at carrying the ball forward and at winning it higher up the pitch.

Verona stint a better reflection of Amrabat

While Amrabat never truly made a significant impact at Fiorentina, the reason why La Viola roped him in was his excellent stint at Verona. Arguably, Amrabat was one of the best midfielders in the 2019/20 season and he was used to his strengths almost perfectly by Ivan Jurić, who is now impressing in his stint at Torino. Jurić overperformed massively at Verona, where Amrabat emerged as a surprisingly positive performer in pretty much every game.

Jurić’s Verona played in a man-marking system and in a double pivot, where veteran Miguel Veloso was the deepest midfielder and Amrabat was the number eight, who was tasked with progressing the ball into the final third quickly after winning it back. He covered a lot of ground, essentially operating as a box-to-box midfielder.

He typified Jurić’s system, completing 2.28 dribbles per 90 minutes and with a pretty decent accuracy.

He also won over six duels per game and made over six recoveries per 90 minutes, as the system helped him play to his strengths and as a result, Verona finished ninth in the table having just been promoted from the second division. Amrabat’s tireless showings were a key to the overperformance from the Gialloblu.

Even before his stint at Verona, Amrabat was usually a box-to-box player, who often featured at full-back or even out wide because he provided a thrust in carrying the ball forward and a workrate that set him apart from others. Having said that, the 2019/20 season was the first time that he played solely in the number eight role beside another deep-lying midfielder.

United miss-profiled Amrabat?

When one considers the context at Fiorentina, Verona, and the World Cup, it can be suggested that United miss-profiled Amrabat. He was billed as a tempo dictator and someone who could offer United control from deeper areas of midfield, which Casemiro has struggled to do so far. The sad truth though, is that Amrabat has never been a deep midfielder and his strengths have always existed elsewhere – as previously pointed out.

The injury situation at United has made things even more difficult for Amrabat, whose most imposing performances have arguably come at full-back where he has still managed to show that he can offer a sense of control in possession.

Of course, he hasn’t even been given enough of a chance to prove himself either and the error he made against Manchester City will always be used against him, unfortunately enough. But the job he has often been asked to do isn’t what he excels at and United could well realise that in the future, especially if the Moroccan goes on to thrive at another club.

He does still seem to have a market in Serie A, with Juventus and Milan said to be interested in him.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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

May

2024

FotMob Reaction: Tuchel learns the twin threat which could see Germans reach final

So Bayern Munich didn’t quite find a way. Not to end the long wait to beat Real Madrid at home and not to rouse themselves completely after another pretty poor first-half showing. They did, however and perhaps most importantly, find a way to expose the Spanish side’s very organised, very comfortable-looking defence. After an incident-packed 2-2 draw in the Champions League semi-final first leg, that might be the most vital information Thomas Tuchel has to take into the second.

By Karl Matchett

The question for the return fixture at the Santiago Bernabéu is now twofold: can Tuchel fashion a strong enough defensive set-up to wait for those opening-up moments to occur at the other end of the pitch? And, given the specificity of how Bayern eventually broke down Real Madrid, will the fitness of the players involved hold up?

It was the half-time switch of wide options which gave Bayern their inroads: attackers starting to run in from out, at pace, onto their favoured foots and being far, far more direct in heading toward goal than the Bavarians had ever been in the first 45 minutes. For too long it was safe, it was tentative, it was absolutely nothing to get Real Madrid’s defence moving.

But when Leroy Sané went right – cutting in on his left foot – and Jamal Musiala doing the same from from left onto right, Real suddenly had issues in stopping them. The single pivot in Carlo Ancelotti’s midfield was either dragged across and vacated the important space in front of the centre-backs, or else he did not, and the wide men went blazing towards goal, one-on-one with their full-backs who were turned in on their own wrong foot.

In both cases, goals arose. Sané hammered in an absolute belter, Musiala won a penalty when tricking Lucas Vázquez. Further chances fell from the same patterns of simple but highly effective play, with Sané’s irrepressible acceleration and Musiala’s magical control proving far too much to stop one-on-one. Later, Serge Gnabry made a welcome return off the bench and did likewise.

The starting pair managed five shots between them, eight successful dribbles and teed up a chance apiece for teammates. No player on the pitch, meanwhile, had more than the 11 touches in the opposition penalty box than Musiala managed – and none won more than the 10 duels he was successful in. He might have been the overall standout on the pitch, but it was the twin impact from he and Sané which got Bayern back in this tie.

For the second leg, there will almost certainly be at least one change in Real’s approach to defending against that threat. Dani Carvajal will probably replace Vázquez on the right, though he’s hardly a guarantee of survival: the veteran Spaniard averages over two fouls per 90 minutes in Europe this term, has only won 51% of his duels and has been dribbled past six times in 666 minutes. Despite his obvious experience and history of winning trophies as part of the collective, he remains a flawed individual who pacy attackers can absolutely target.

And they’ll need to, will Bayern, because their record in the Bernabéu is pretty awful. If historical outcomes make no difference to modern matches in isolation, we can also point to their away record this season as a whole: 13 wins from 22 overall, or a 59% win rate. In Europe, it’s 60%, three from five. And in what will be the previous three months by the time the second leg kicks off, it’ll be either 33% or only 22%, depending on if they can beat the team one place and four points behind them in the Bundesliga – Stuttgart – four days before playing in Madrid.

Tuchel’s side have struggled considerably on the road, and unless they want to rely on penalties, they need to make the most of the advantages they manage to eke out. It’s almost written in stone that Real will score on home soil of course, given the array of talent, the backing in the stands and – to be blunt – the big spaces Bayern afford them to pass through at times. The Germans will have to accept and absorb that, and find a way to do so themselves at least once.

But they know how to.

They’ve been shown how to.

And they have the players who can replicate exactly that, not just with Musiala and Sané but with Gnabry’s return, Alphonso Davies as another option and perhaps Mathys Tel, too. Real Madrid will remain favourites and have enormous expectation on them to reach another final, but Bayern Munich have already shown exactly how they themselves can upset the odds.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every Champions League game with xG, deep stats, and players ratings, on FotMob this season. Download the free app here.

Apr

2024

Analysis: PSG lift another Ligue 1 title, but pressure is on to deliver in the Champions League

Paris Saint-Germain sealed their third consecutive Ligue 1 title, and twelfth overall, despite failing to beat Le Havre over the weekend as Lyon gave them a helping hand by defeating closest rivals Monaco. Their domestic dominance is no surprise and should be expected to continue for the foreseeable future, but this might be the best shot they get at the much-coveted UEFA Champions League considering superstar forward Kylian Mbappé’s imminent departure.

By Neel Shelat

Paris Saint-Germain have added yet another league title to their collection in Luis Enrique’s first season in charge of the club, once again proving themselves to be a class apart in France. They have sealed first spot with a double-digit points lead over the side in second place with three games left to play, ending what turned in to more of a title procession than a title race.

Given the extent of their superiority in Ligue 1, even the loss of superstar forward Kylian Mbappé does not seem likely to knock them off their perch as clear favourites for the league next season. However, their Champions League chances may well be tied to the involvement of the French captain.

Domestic Dominance

The league table – as well as their record of 20 wins, 10 draws, and just one defeat in 31 games – should provide a pretty clear picture of just how untouchable PSG have been in Ligue 1, but let us take a look at a few underlying numbers for good measure.

For one, FotMob’s rating model reflects the Parisians’ superiority, quite clearly showing them to be the best team in the division.

Unsurprisingly, they have been brilliant at both ends of the pitch. With an average of less than a goal conceded per game in the league, they have been comfortable at the back. However, their attacking numbers are the ones that really pop.

PSG’s return of 76 goals so far in 31 games is miles clear of the second-best team, who only have 58. Their underlying numbers are just as impressive, once again on a different plane to even their closest competitors.

Ex-Barcelona head coach Luis Enrique also heavily emphasises controlling matches through possession, which is why his side have the second-highest possession average across Europe’s big five leagues, at a whopping 65%. This not only provides a platform for their sustained attacking play but also contributes to their defending because the opposition cannot hurt them if they barely even see the ball.

The margin of this gap between Paris Saint-Germain’s attack and the second-best team by almost any metric is the reason why even the departure of a world-class forward like Mbappé is unlikely to slow them down in the league. Perhaps the extent of this dominance may decrease, but given the lack of serious competition, even expecting a title race in Ligue 1 next season would be very optimistic.

Reliance on Mbappé

Paris Saint-Germain’s sensational attacking numbers are, unsurprisingly, beefed up thanks in no small part to Kylian Mbappé. His tally of 26 goals in the league so far this season makes him the top scorer by a country mile, while none of his teammates have been matched even half his return, and only Gonçalo Ramos has made it to double digits in this respect.

The French international also has seven assists to his name, meaning he has played a part in about 43% of his side’s league goals this season. This is despite the fact that he has often been benched of late since news of his departure at the end of the season broke, meaning he has played less than 75% of the maximum possible minutes. So, his return looks even more impressive at 1.44 goal involvements per 90, a figure which makes him the best attacker across Europe’s big five leagues.

Although Luis Enrique has been toying with Mbappé-less systems of late, he continues to rely on the 25-year-old Frenchman in big games such as those in the UEFA Champions League. Of course, he consistently delivers on the biggest of occasions, which is why he is their top scorer in that competition as well, with four times as many goals as the man in second place.

Tactically too, Luis Enrique has regularly sought to set up his attacking structures in a manner that gets Mbappé in dangerous positions as consistently as possible. For example, when Nuno Mendes was out injured earlier on in the season and PSG did not have an out-and-out left back, midfielder Vitinha was made to go out to the left touchline in possession just so that Mbappé was free to drift inside.

Champions League Chances

Having already wrapped up the league title, Paris Saint-Germain can now afford to put all their eggs in the Champions League basket as they continue to desperately seek their first-ever title in the competition.

The extent of their domestic dominance may be great enough to ensure they continue winning league titles in France, even without Mbappé’s contribution, but the level of competition in the Champions League means that their chances of European glory will take a significant hit. No matter who they bring in, or how many attacking signings they make this summer, the individual quality of the French superstar is irreplaceable.

So, it may be a case of now or never for PSG’s realistic Champions League chances. They will certainly be favourites to beat Borussia Dortmund in the semi-final, and in such a case, they will have their chances in the final. Regardless of who they come up against between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, their opponents will have defensive issues that someone like Mbappé can certainly exploit, and Luis Enrique can be trusted to come up with a game plan to maximise his side’s opportunity.

Paris Saint-Germain must be prepared to undergo a post-Mbappé transition over the next few seasons, so the pressure is on them right now to add a continental crowning jewel to their era of domestic dominance.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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

Apr

2024

Bayern vs. Madrid means Kane vs. Bellingham

So you thought that, with Manchester City and Arsenal having been eliminated from the Champions League by Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, English interest in the tournament was over, did you? Well not quite, because this evening at the Allianz Arena, the two European giants who vanquished the last English clubs standing in the competition meet with two very different England players among their ranks.

By Ian King

In terms of age there are nine years and eleven months between Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane, but these two are players who come into this fixture from very different footballing backgrounds. Kane is the grizzled old professional nowadays, tempted from the club at which he was considered ‘one of our own’ by the promise of finally adding some silverware to his sensational career-long scoring record.

That this hasn’t exactly gone according to plan so far could yet be rectified this season, though. Harry’s season will be made, if Bayern could win the Champions League trophy for the first time since 2020. Jude Bellingham isn’t yet at the point of his career at which his choices are unlikely to be considered ‘mercenary’ in any way. He was briefly one of Birmingham City’s own before leaving for Dortmund three years ago, at the age of seventeen.

That time seems to have been well spent. The promise so obviously evident in the EFL Championship was refined in Germany, his near-innate ability boiled down to the consummate 21st century attacking midfielder before being moved on to the Bernabéu for a substantial profit, three years later.

It says something for the folly of Kane’s decision to stay with Spurs for all those years that Bellingham already has more career trophies under his belt despite having the ten year gap between them. For a player of such immense ability, his ‘Honours’ section remain meagre.

Kane has been a runner-up four times in his career, in the Euros for England, twice in the Carabao Cup for Spurs and a runners-up place with Spurs in the Champions League. Despite being almost a decade younger, Bellingham has already won the DFB Pokal and the Spanish Supercup, while his team are only a couple of wins from securing his first title in LaLiga.

Perhaps Kane’s mistake can be boiled down to one moment; in the summer of 2018, when he signed a scarcely credible six-year contract with Spurs. It’s understandable that he might have wanted to pledge his commitment to them at that time. They’d finished third and second in the previous two Premier League seasons, and would go on to be a Champions League runner-up the following season.

But around him, the fate of the club was being thrown into the air by circumstances well beyond his control. Spurs were about to embark upon an epic period of mismanagement, with chairman Daniel Levy retreating to the world of the Celebrity Manager twice, with José Mourinho and Antonio Conte, never of whom had big enough personalities to shake Spurs from their innate Spursiness. By the time he did leave, few Spurs supporters blamed him for doing so.

Bellingham hasn’t had the opportunity to go to a club with a Spursesque reputation for tripping over their clown shoes at inappropriate moments just yet, but that’s a reflection upon the way in which his career options have been maximised to ensure that he rises to the very top. When the time came to leave Birmingham City in 2020 he had two clubs to consider; Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund. Unless you support United, it’s difficult to avoid the conclusion that he made the right choice there.

It’s tempting to wonder whether Bellingham may have learned from Kane’s mistakes. His career has been managed with single-mindedness in the direction of getting to the every top of European club football, but also with a clear-sighted plan. Harry’s agent, on the other hand, was his brother. For a while, there was a possibility that Kane would go to Manchester City. Then there was talk about Manchester United, even though jumping to go there from Spurs would have pretty much been the Premier League’s equivalent of jumping from a frying pan into the largest fire imaginable.

As could be seen from his years at Spurs, Harry Kane’s career was always about something other than the accumulation of medals for the sake of collecting medals. Kane may or may not have ended up regretting signing that six-year contract with Spurs (let’s face it, he surely did) but never really spoke out against the club, even when the performance of the club failed to reach the extent that a player of his calibre might reasonably have expected. Bellingham, one gets the feeling, would not put up with that sort of nonsense.

Perhaps that’s the difference between these two players. Jude Bellingham has grown up around excellence. When England lost to Iceland at Euro 2016, the defeat came the day before his 13th birthday. Kane started that match in the England number nine shirt, but regardless of who wins the Champions League these two players will be together in the England team in Germany this summer for the Euros, and it says something for the quality of their squad that, while England’s clubs may have faltered in this year’s Champions Leagues have faltered, two of their players may still have key roles to play in the ultimate destination of the continent’s most prestigious club cup competition.

(Images from IMAGO)

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

Apr

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

(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.

Apr

2024

The MLS Team of the Week: Matchday 11

Our MLS expert James Nalton picks five of the standout players from Matchday 11 in Major League Soccer, including his two North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) Player of the Matchday votes.

By James Nalton

At times it can feel like there is the Lionel Messi, Inter Miami, side of Major League Soccer, and the rest is somewhat separate.

But beneath the Messi hype and the understandable frenzy surrounding his presence in the league, there are plenty of storylines and other standout performances.

This week, though, Messi looks set to win his second MLS Player of the Matchday award of the ten which will have been awarded so far following a standout performance in front of a huge crowd in New England.

He gets my No. 1 vote as the standout player of the week for the first time this season.

The Top Two

9.4 FotMob rating: Lionel Messi, Inter Miami

New England Revolution broke their home attendance record as Messi and Miami came to town.

A total of 65,612 spectators packed into the Gillette Stadium – also home to NFL side New England Patriots — to witness a 4-1 defeat for the home team. But the majority of those in attendance will have been there to see Messi, and they weren’t disappointed.

He scored once in each half, cancelling out Tomas Chancalay’s first-minute opener for the Revs. Messi’s second was assisted by Sergio Busquets who played a scything through-ball through the New England team.

Messi also played a part in Miami’s other goals. His shot was saved by Henrich Ravas but Benjamin Cremaschi put in the rebound, and he then set up Luis Suárez for an excellent fourth.

New England will be disappointed to not have performed well in front of such a big crowd, and they are now at the bottom of the overall standings, but Inter Miami’s attack currently looks unstoppable.

9.1 FotMob rating: Christian Benteke, DC United

A Benteke brace helped DC United to their first win in four games, taking advantage of a Stefan Frei sending-off to win 2-1 against Seattle Sounders.

The goals took the Belgian striker to eight for the season so far, putting him just one behind Messi in the Golden Boot standings.

Benteke’s first goal was scored from the penalty spot following the incident that saw Frei sent off. He fired it into the top corner with aplomb.

The other side of his finishing prowess was on show for the second as Aaron Herrera hung a cross to the far post and Benteke powered in the header.

He looks set to keep pace with Messi, and Cristian Arango of Real Salt Lake, at the top of the scoring charts.

Three more standout performers

8.9 FotMob rating: Timothy Tillman – LAFC

It’s not been the best start to the season for Los Angeles FC, but despite that they are still just three points off top spot in the West.

A 3-2 win against Portland Timbers sees them unbeaten in four, with two wins and two draws. Things might be looking up, and Tillman stood out in this particular win.

He drove through midfield, carrying the ball towards the Portland back line before releasing Denis Bouanga who scored a dinked finish, but the goal was disallowed for an unfortunate handball in the buildup.

Tillman is always lurking on the edge of the area, making runs from midfield in case there is a goal to be scored. And he arrived at just the right moment to net LAFC’s second, steering one low into the far corner from just outside the area.

Bouanga is the star of this side but Tillman could be just as important to making sure their form continues to trend in the right direction.

8.8 FotMob rating: Luciano Acosta – FC Cincinnati

Last year’s MLS MVP might be overshadowed by another Argentine No. 10 this season, but he’s still putting in notable performances on a weekly basis.

The latest came in FC Cincinnati’s 2-1 against Colorado Rapids, during which Acosta created a total of nine chances for his team.

Despite that, there was no assist to his name by the end of it, but there was a goal, set up via a one-two with Corey Baird.

Baird also had an excellent game, netting his side’s other goal in the win with a nice chip over the goalkeeper from Luca Orellano’s pass.

Acosta is the fulcrum of this team, though, and looks set to be challenging for the MVP award once again in 2024, which is good news for Cincinnati.

8.4 FotMob rating: Jádar Obrian – Austin FC

Colombian forward Obrian contributed two great plays to help Austin FC see off one of the top teams in the West so far this season, LA Galaxy.

Obrian’s assist for the opener followed by a goal of his own gave Austin a 2-0 win.

He was part of the one-two for Diego Rubio to make it 1-0 playing a great pass to his teammate through the legs of a defender. Then his own finish was crisp and precise following a long ball behind the defence from Alex Ring. Obrian looked up for the goalkeeper’s position and placed it in the far corner, off the post.

These are the kind of moments that win games, and Austin have now won four of their last five, having won none of their first five.

(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.

Apr

2024

MLS: Five storylines from Matchday 11

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami put four goals past the New England Revolution to stay at the top of the Eastern Conference while Real Salt Lake moved into first place in the West with an impressive away victory over the Philadelphia Union. 36 goals were scored in just 14 fixtures across Major League Soccer on Saturday with thrilling matches witnessed in Cincinnati, New York, Minnesota, and Los Angeles among other places. Here are five of the biggest storylines from the weekend in MLS.

By Graham Ruthven, MLS Expert

Lionel Messi is putting up some serious numbers as Inter Miami build momentum

Many questions have been asked of Inter Miami this season, but Lionel Messi and co. continue to produce answers with Saturday’s 4-1 win over the New England Revolution leaving them at the top of the Eastern Conference and the Supporters’ Shield standings. In front of a record crowd at Gillette Stadium (65,612), Messi was the star of the show, contributing two goals and an assist.

Messi has now registered nine goals and four assists assists in just seven MLS appearances this season, making him the first player in league history to reach such a high number of goal contributions after so few games. Inter Miami might have suffered a early exit from the CONCACAF Champions Cup, but they are building some momentum in league play. Messi is pushing them forward.

Petar Musa has given FC Dallas some breathing room with Texas Derby win

FC Dallas desperately needed a win and they got one over the Houston Dynamo in Saturday’s Texas Derby with Petar Musa the best attacking player on the pitch. The Croatian who cost a franchise-record $9.7m from Benfica has struggled for form in a FC Dallas shirt, but showcased his talent to help end a seven-game winless streak, scoring the opening goal in a 2-0 victory.

“Petar’s problem is that the team hasn’t been doing well,” said head coach Nico Estevez about Musa and his integration troubles at Toyota Stadium. “That’s not Petar’s fault or any other player’s fault…If the team’s not doing well, not functioning, it’s hard for any player to do well.” For Musa and FC Dallas, Saturday must prove to be springboard.

Austin FC’s improvement highlighted by complete performance

Austin FC had shown signs of turning a corner after a challenging start to the 2024 campaign, but Saturday saw Josh Wolff’s team produce their most complete performance so far as they beat the LA Galaxy. The hosts limited LA to just 0.52 in Expected Goals (xG) and posed a threat of their own through the likes of Diego Rubio and Sebastian Driussi.

Four wins in their last five games has lifted Austin FC above the playoff line in the Western Conference and while they are overperfomlng their xG over this stretch, the spine of Wolff’s team has the quality to make the Texans a difficult opponent between now and the end of the regular season.

Is 2024 turning into yet another write-off of a season for Chicago?

Saturday’s home draw against Atlanta United certainly wasn’t the most disgraceful of results, but the Chicago Fire had goalkeeper Chris Brady to thank for securing a point. That point did little to improve the Fire’s lowly position in the Eastern Conference which reflects how poor they have been over the first three months of the season.

Chicago have made more errors leading to shots – and goals – than any other team in the league. Their centre-backs (Rafael Czichos and Tobias Salquist) have struggled while club-record signing Hugo Cuypers hasn’t had the service he requires to deliver regularly in front of goal. From front to back, the Fire are a mess – just as they were in 2023. And 2022. And 2021. And 2020.

Late collapse to Toronto FC highlights Orlando City’s regression

87 mins into Saturday’s home match against Toronto FC, Orlando City looked on course for a home victory. A first half Duncan McGuire goal had put the Central Floridians ahead and while they hadn’t created much beyond that, the visitors to Inter&Co Stadium had been limited to very few opportunities too.

Within just three minutes, though, Orlando City collapsed, conceding twice to lose 2-1. This thrust into focus just how much the Lions have regressed this season. Facu Torres hasn’t been the same player he was last year. Pedro Gallese has been vulnerable. Luis Muriel hasn’t been integrated yet. Oscar Pareja is under pressure.

(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.