Page 52 – The Pulse of Football

Oct

2024

LA Galaxy look ready to mount a serious challenge in the MLS Playoffs

LA Galaxy are a team transformed in 2024, and a mouthwatering MLS Cup final between themselves and Inter Miami – original Galacticos against new Galacticos – is a possibility, as the MLS Cup playoffs get underway this weekend.

By James Nalton

Despite being overtaken to the top spot in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference on the final day of the season by local rivals Los Angeles FC, LA Galaxy have largely been the best team on that side of the league in 2024. They’ve had the standout players, and the best attack – having scored 69 goals – and produced a big turnaround on last season’s performance.

A meeting between them and Inter Miami in the biggest game of the season would have a sense of glamour about it. The team that once signed David Beckham against the team that signed Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez, and the franchise now owned by Beckham as a result of his contracts signed with LA Galaxy back in 2007.

The question is, are LA Galaxy good enough to get that far? If you’d have asked this question last year, the answer would certainly be no, as they didn’t even make the playoffs.

There has been a lot of focus on Inter Miami’s turnaround from 2023 to 2024 as they went from a team that finished 14th out of 15 teams in the Eastern Conference and 27th out of 29 teams overall in 2023, to one that topped the overall standings to win the Supporters’ Shield in record-breaking fashion in 2024.

The unusual and high-profile nature of Inter Miami’s story, involving as it does the arrival of one of the best players in the history of the game has overshadowed many other teams and their achievements in MLS in 2024.

LA Galaxy’s own, not dissimilar turnaround from 2023 to 2024 is one of the stories that has been overlooked.

The Galaxy finished 13th out of 14 teams in the Western Conference in 2023 and were just two points ahead of Inter Miami in the overall table in 26th.

In 2024 they finished level on points with Los Angeles FC at the top of the Western Conference table, losing out on top spot in agonising fashion on goal difference after losing to Houston Dynamo on the final day of the regular season.

LA Galaxy’s impressive form in 2024 also saw them finish fourth in the overall table with 64 points, 10 points behind Inter Miami but only two behind the much-lauded second-place team, Columbus Crew.

LA Galaxy’s 64-point total is the highest in MLS history for a team finishing 4th in the overall standings, showing how strong they have been and how big a turnaround this has been.

Does this mean they will be a force in the playoffs?

Most will predict an MLS Cup winner from the Eastern Conference. If it’s not Inter Miami, then it will be Columbus Crew, as they’re the two teams widely considered the best in the league – Miami for their star power, and the Crew for being such a well-coached team with an exciting and effective style of play.

A solid defence can take a team far in the playoffs (which is why Seattle Sounders might be a dark horse from the West) and this hasn’t been a strong point for the Galaxy in 2024.

They conceded 50 goals, more than any other team in the top six of their conference and this affected their goal difference which ultimately cost them top spot in the West. But they have a lot of other things going for them.

No team can match Messi and Suárez for star power, but the combination play from Riqui Puig and Gabriel Pec for LA Galaxy has come closest to doing so. It can be one of the most effective and devastating attacking link-ups in the league alongside the dynamism of winger Joseph Paintsil.

Add the goal-getter Dejan Joveljić, waiting to pick up a chance on the back of the go-forward and the creativity of the aforementioned trio, and the Galaxy have the attacking power and quality to scare any defence and win any game.

What’s changed?

In short, Pec and Paintsil

Pec’s impact since arriving from Vasco da Gama for the 2024 season has been so impressive that he’s challenging Suárez for the Newcomer of the Year award in 2024, and probably deserves to win it.

He’s scored 16 goals, made 12 assists, and has been a constant threat from the right-wing linking with the classy former Barcelona man, Puig who has the second-highest FotMob rating of the season behind Messi.

Pec also has a very high pass success rate for an attacking player, at 89%. It’s the kind of accurate passing you might expect from deeper lying players who have more time to pick their passes, and not from a player operating in tighter spaces and attacking positions up close with opposition defences.

Those who scouted and signed the 23-year-old Brazilian for the Galaxy could not have wished for a better season from their new man.

Another new addition, Miki Yamane, has also been a regular presence at right-back, and his consistency and diligence earned him the player of the year from supporters’ group LA Riot Squad. Though not as outstanding as those attackers and midfielders, being recognised as a solid pro in this manner shows that Yamane has been an important part of the team unit.

Head coach Greg Vanney deserves credit for overseeing this improvement on the field, and his team top numerous attacking metrics including having the highest total xG and the most accurate passes per game – an indication of their possession style, while Will Kuntz, who was appointed general manager ahead of this season, has played a big role, especially in those key signings.

The supporters also played their part. It wasn’t so long ago that they were boycotting games in an attempt to make the flagging ownership group take notice of their concerns as their once-great franchise slumped on and off the pitch. It seems to have worked, and the fans deserve credit for waking the club from its slumber.

The Galaxy are now in much better shape, making clever signings and better moves in most departments. The next step is to trouble the best teams in the league in the MLS Cup playoffs, but regardless of what happens there let’s not forget the big leap they have already made in 2024.

(Cover Image from IMAGO)

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

Oct

2024

Preview: Real Madrid and Barcelona are set for the first Clásico showdown of the season

Years after the end of the Lionel Messi-Cristiano Ronaldo era, the fierce and historic rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid is moving into a new generation.

By Graham Ruthven

Saturday’s El Clásico will be Kylian Mbappé’s first taste of Spanish football’s biggest fixture while Barcelona have a new crop of La Masia prodigies now making their mark at the top level, Lamine Yamal being chief among them.

Last season, Real Madrid ran away with the Spanish title. This season, though, it’s Barca setting the early pace with Hansi Flick’s team playing a brand of high-risk, high-intensity football that has caught the imagination.

Barcelona come into the first Clasico of the season on the back of a statement victory over Bayern Munich in the Champions League. The 4-1 dismantling of the German giants highlighted just how far Flick’s team have come this season.

Real Madrid, on the other hand, are still searching for their best form. Carlo Ancelotti has experienced trouble integrating Kylian Mbappé into his forward line with the absence of Toni Kroos being acutely felt in central midfield.

Ancelotti surely watched the way Barca picked off Bayern Munich in transition with interest. It’s possible the Real Madrid boss could set up his team to sit deeper and deny their rivals any opportunity to attack open space.

Thibaut Courtois and Rodrygo are expected to miss Saturday’s match at the Santiago Bernabéu through injury while Dani Carvajal is sidelined, meaning Lucas Vázquez will likely start at right back for the hosts.

Injuries have similarly hit Barcelona hard with Marc-André Ter Stegen, Andreas Christensen, Ronald Araújo and Marc Bernal all out for the long-term. Gavi and Frenkie de Jong are also working back to full fitness at the moment.

However, there will still be plenty talent on the pitch to make Saturday’s Clásico a spectacle. Barca have the highest Expected Goals (xG) of any team in LaLiga this season with Real Madrid ranked second behind them. There should be goals at the Santiago Bernabéu.

With just three points between the two rivals in the table, the outcome of Saturday’s match could have a big bearing on this season’s Spanish title race.

A Barca win could signify a shift in the balance of power at the top of LaLiga. A Real Madrid victory, however, would draw the defending champions level with the Catalans. Clásicos always matter, but this one will have extra meaning.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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

Oct

2024

Premier League Preview, Matchday Nine

There’s a lot going on in the Premier League this weekend.

By Sam McGuire

There’s a top of the table clash while the reigning champions take on the team currently joint-bottom of the table. On top of that, four teams are still looking to record their first wins of the season. With that in mind, here are four things to look out for ahead of Matchday nine.

Momentum matters

There’s a Friday night game this week.

Leicester City welcome Nottingham Forest to the King Power Stadium in what is set to be an intriguing match-up.

Forest have been one of the surprise packages of the season. Nuno Espírito Santo has his side in eighth position. They’re level on points with Spurs, a point ahead of Newcastle and just a single point behind Chelsea.

They’re the only team to take points off Premier League leaders Liverpool so far this term.

A win here would see them move up to fifth in the table, at least for 24 hours.

Forest are up against their former manager this week. Steve Cooper will be looking to get one over on his former employers. And Leicester do find themselves in good form right now having won back-to-back games in the English top-flight.

If the Foxes make it three wins on the spin, they’ll leapfrog Manchester United in the Premier League table.

Leicester and Forest were tipped to be in a relegation battle this season but they’ve started well. Both will be desperate for the win to keep their momentum going.

A perfect opportunity for Erling Haaland

Haaland is currently without a goal in the Premier League in his last three appearances. His longest drought for Manchester City in the English top-flight is four. He isn’t going to want to match that record and he’d got the perfect opportunity this weekend to bring his barren run to an end as City host Southampton.

Despite the good performances, the Saints are winless this term.

As detailed in a feature this week (read that here!), Russell Martin’s side have done enough to earn seven points. They’re currently on one.

They’re struggling to score while giving up high value chances. It should be a routine win for Manchester City and it would lift them back to the top of the table. More importantly, however, it should be a game in which Haaland finds the back of the net.

*Haaland shot map, Premier League 2024/25*

Over recent weeks, Pep Guardiola’s men have struggled to get the No. 9 into the game. He’s barely involved in the final third and the chances he has had have been limited.

Things need to change. Expect it to happen this weekend. He netted twice in the Champions League in midweek. The two-time Golden Boot winner will be full of confidence.

Bouncebackability

Chelsea’s impressive unbeaten run came to an end last weekend as they travelled to Anfield and lost 2-1. It was their first defeat since the opening day loss to Manchester City.

It will be interesting to see how Enzo Maresca’s men react to the loss. They have a good opportunity to respond as they host Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge.

The Magpies are without a win in the Premier League in over a month. Since their 2-1 win over Wolves in mid-September, Eddie Howe’s side have lost to Fulham and Brighton while drawing with Everton and Manchester City.

Despite this sketchy form, they’re still only a point behind their hosts. A win at Stamford Bridge could kickstart their season. A win for Chelsea would show they’re serious this term.

Title contenders or title pretenders?

The final game of the weekend sees Premier League leaders Liverpool make the trip to the Emirates to take on Arsenal.

The Reds have seven wins from eight in the English top-flight this term. They’ve kept five clean sheets and have conceded just three goals. Defensively, they’re rock solid. In attack, they’re ruthless.

But some people are still querying how legitimate they are having been handed a favourable fixture list. A positive result against title rivals Arsenal would change how they’re viewed by the masses.

The Gunners are looking to bounce back from defeat against Bournemouth last weekend. Mikel Arteta‘s side can’t really afford to drop points here. Not at home. They’re already four points off the pace. Going seven points behind after just nine games would heap pressure on a team tipped by many to be title favourites. Their response to the pressure and the injury issues will be telling.

*Sunday is a busy day in the Premier League*

(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.

Oct

2024

Chris Rigg and Jobe Bellingham are leading Sunderland’s youthful charge

It’s difficult to imagine two footballing environments as contrasting as Sunderland and Real Madrid, but the Bellingham brothers are thriving in both. While Jude continues to shine for the Spanish and European champions, younger sibling Jobe is making his own way at the Stadium of Light. The future is bright for him too.

By Graham Ruthven

Like Jude, Jobe Bellingham broke through at Birmingham City, but stayed in the Championship by joining Sunderland last year. Since then, the teenager has developed at a dramatic rate. Indeed, he is now the driving force of a team currently sitting top of the English second tier and targeting promotion to the Premier League.

Chris Rigg is another prodigious youngster currently pushing The Black Cats towards the Championship title. At just 17, he is even younger than Bellingham and like his midfield partner chose Sunderland as the place place to grow after being scouted by some of the biggest clubs in Europe.

This says something about Sunderland’s new focus on youth. Of the 11 players to have played the most league minutes for The Black Cats this season, only Patrick Roberts (27) and Luke O’Nien (29) is anywhere near the age of 30. Regis Le Bris’ team is one of the youngest in the Championship.

Left back Dennis Cirkin is a first team figure at 22 with Trai Hume on the other side of the defence the same age. Then there’s Dan Neil – also 22 – at the base of the midfield and 17-year-old Romaine Mundle on the left side of the front three. 19-year-old Eliezer Mayenda has also made an impact in the centre forward position.

*Bellingham vs. Rigg stats comparison, EFL Championship 2024/25*

It’s Bellingham and Rigg, however, who have made the greatest impression so far this season. As part of Sunderland’s midfield three in a 4-3-3 formation, the pair are proving themselves to be the dynamic, technical and adaptable operators required at the top of the modern game. They’re improving all the time.

Rigg, who is reportedly being monitored by Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City, is more rounded in his game than possibly any other midfielder his age. The 17-year-old is comfortable with the ball at his feet. He can pass. He can dribble. He has an eye for goal, as demonstrated by his three league strikes this season. He’s become undroppable.

According to Tony Mowbray, Rigg also possesses a “Roy Keane-esque type of nastiness” that makes him extremely effective out of possession. Rigg’s positional awareness is another quality that makes him stand out. He has become a symbol of Sunderland’s aggressive and innovative style of play.

Many have drawn comparisons between Rigg and Jordan Henderson. Like the former Liverpool captain, Rigg has natural leadership qualities which belie his age. This gives him an authority on the pitch that is difficult to teach. “Rigg is a good symbol of what we want to create and what we want to build as a team, as a club,” said Le Bris.

Like his older brother, Bellingham is most comfortable when positioned high up the pitch, but Le Bris has deployed the 19-year-old in a slightly deeper role this season. Bellingham still has the freedom to get forward and pose a goal threat, but he is being asked to contribute more as a midfield rhythm builder. This has aided his development.

“He’s still a young player with the ability to play in many different roles,” explain Le Bris when recently asked about Bellingham’s role for Sunderland. “But I like him as a number eight because I think he’s an offensive midfielder. He can express his power, his ability to run and his ability to press – to link defence and attack.”

On their current upward trajectory, Sunderland will lose Bellingham and Rigg at some point in the future. That’s just how modern football works. The Black Cats were able to resist overtures for Bellingham from Brentford, Crystal Palace, and Tottenham Hotspur in the summer, but the young midfielder will one day need to leave the North East to achieve his career ambitions.

Bellingham has been clear about one of his ambitions – to play alongside his brother for England. “Because we’re of a similar age and we’ve played together for so long – in the street and on tufts of grass – to play with my brother for England, that would be the biggest dream of my life,” said Jobe.

“That would mean more than any of the trophies, especially if we managed to do it on a consistent basis and play at a major tournament together, win things together. Honestly, nothing would even get close to that. Nothing.”

Should Jobe get as far as the England team, it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that Rigg could be another familiar face alongside him. Sunderland has become the Championship’s most productive talent incubator and in Bellingham and Rigg they have two players destined for the top.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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

Oct

2024

Over 2 games in 4 days, Darwin Nunez showed he can be a striker for Arne Slot’s Liverpool

“I think it’s the challenge we as a staff always have, to bring the best out of individuals.”

By Jack Lusby, ThisIsAnfield.com

Arne Slot was candid in his assessment of Darwin Núñez‘s start to life under his management, speaking after a listless display from the No. 9 in Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Bologna in the Champions League.

The head coach hooked Núñez after an hour at Anfield, visibly frustrated in his technical area as the Uruguayan looked incapable of meeting his tactical criteria.

“We try to find different ways of positioning Darwin than Diogo, because they are not the same players,” Slot continued. “So their teammates also adjust to the player they are playing with.”

Slot had made it clear that Diogo Jota remained his first choice, but there was no backing down from the stance held even prior to his first day in the job – that he could be the man to coax consistency out of Liverpool’s most polarising player.

Speaking weeks prior to that clash, the Dutchman explained: “I think Diogo is a bit more a striker that can also go into the midfield and play as a false nine or a nine-and-a-half, where Darwin is more the target man, that finishes off a good attack.

“I think it comes to what do you have to do when we have the ball and when we don’t have the ball, and fit his own characteristics into that. We did work with him on his qualities to get the best out of him. But there’s also a general thing he has to understand, like all the others.”

Núñez has become so divisive among fans and the media alike that conclusions were already drawn on his future at the club weeks into Slot’s reign, having been painted as a pet project for Jürgen Klopp.

It was Klopp who pushed Liverpool to sanction a deal that would make Núñez their most expensive signing ever, with Christopher Nkunku – then of RB Leipzig, now of Chelsea – the preferred target among the club’s recruitment staff.

Speaking to The Athletic in August, Ian Graham, who at the time of the signing was Liverpool’s director of research, revealed that he voiced his concerns over how much of a change it would require to Klopp’s system.

“He was a very different type of player to Firmino,” Graham recalled, with Roberto Firmino having long been the poster boy of Klopp’s Liverpool.

“My questions were: ‘Are we going to change our style or formation for him? Is he a good enough player that it might be worth making those changes?’. It was something we had resisted for many years.

“We went through the same data process for Núñez as with other players. I wanted to make sure that everyone knew what a big change it would be with Núñez. It was more, ‘are we sure we’re going to make the best use of him?’.”

Graham even went on to intimate that Klopp had been convinced by a virtuoso display from Núñez in Benfica’s clashes with Liverpool in the Champions League in April 2022.

Núñez scored twice over two quarter-final legs, but stretched Alisson throughout and beat the Brazilian with two more sublime finishes at the Estadio da Luz, only to be ruled out both times by the offside flag.

“That has an effect on people,” Graham admitted. “It didn’t do him any harm in becoming a Liverpool player.”

*Benfica vs. Liverpool, Champions League 2021/22*

But under the microscope of Anfield and with the weight of an £85 million price tag, the raw, exciting power of Benfica’s Núñez has not been enough.

While there may have been more concessions under Klopp there is no such standing under Slot, who effectively wiped the slate clean on his arrival, leading to a revival in fortunes for the likes of Ryan Gravenberch and Luis Díaz.

Slot has already repeated his belief that Núñez must adhere to his standards off the ball before he can be trusted as a regular starter, and his substitution against Bologna was another sign that things weren’t going as hoped at this early juncture.

But over the space of four days, the 25-year-old has displayed that he does, in fact, get it – and he did so in two very different performances.

Coming off the bench in Liverpool’s 2-1 win over Chelsea, Núñez’s quality came largely off the ball, battling for possession, drawing fouls and maintaining the Reds’ control.

He only played an hour in that victory at Anfield, but he contested the most duels of any player (17), also winning the most (nine), while no player was fouled more times (four).

Only Trent Alexander-Arnold (10) made more defensive actions than Núñez (eight) which, for a striker, is an outrageous tally.

The No. 9 also acted as playmaker against Chelsea, with one scything pass opening up an attack for Cody Gakpo, while another through ball sent Curtis Jones through before being brought down by Robert Sánchez in an incident which saw a penalty controversially ruled out.

Three days later, Núñez started in Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Leipzig in the Champions League, with his best work on that night coming around the six-yard box – including the winning goal.

He made sure Mohamed Salah‘s potentially goalbound header made it over the line, but also should have won a penalty after a clear foul from centre-back Willi Orban and tested Peter Gulacsi with a bullet header after his goal.

While he spent the evening dropping deep, linking play and reclaiming possession against Chelsea, Núñez was more of an out-and-out striker against Leipzig – he failed to record a single touch in Chelsea’s box on Sunday, whereas no player touched the ball more times in Leipzig’s box on Wednesday (eight).

Only Gakpo (four) had more shots on goal against Leipzig than Núñez’s three, with no player firing more shots on target than the centre-forward who came away with a 100 percent accuracy.

This time, he contested far fewer duels (eight) and won even fewer (two), but perhaps that was more due to tactical instruction than quality of output.

Those two games over four days showed the duality of Darwin Núñez, but not in the way he has struggled with throughout his two years at Liverpool so far.

Instead, they showed that he can do both jobs up front: he can be that nine-and-a-half that Slot sees in Jota, but he can also be the dominant, all-powerful No. 9 that decides big games.

(Images 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.

Oct

2024

Xabi Alonso’s tactical shift is designed to make Leverkusen even harder to beat

There was no team more exhilarating to watch last season than Bayer Leverkusen. Xabi Alonso’s side made every other team in Germany – and Europe – look dull by comparison. They scored goals for fun, averaging 2.6 goals per league game on their way to Bundesliga glory, and made a habit of producing dramatic late moments, scoring 19 stoppage time goals.

By Graham Ruthven

Alonso remained at Leverkusen over the summer, and so too have many of his team’s traits – The Black and Reds scored a stoppage time winner against Borussia Monchengladbach on the opening day of the new season. However, the Spanish coach is also making tactical adjustments to ensure Leverkusen’s continued evolution.

This was evident in the recent matches against Bayern Munich and AC Milan when Leverkusen took a more conservative approach. At the Allianz Arena against their biggest rivals for the Bundesliga title, Alonso’s team sat back and asked the Bavarians to break them down. They played against the ball for the majority of the match and claimed a point.

Against AC Milan, Leverkusen started with their customary energy and attack-minded ambition, but once again dropped their defensive line back to protect a 1-0 lead. This is a new look for a team that won the German title for the first time last season by being as proactive as possible in every single game they played.

It could be that Alonso was simply responding to Leverkusen’s defensive vulnerability of the first few matches of the season. The Black and Reds haven’t kept a single clean sheet in the Bundesliga this season and have paid for a lack of stability at the back with a defeat to RB Leipzig and a home draw against promoted Holstein Kiel.

Alternatively, Alonso is following the tactical zeitgeist. Managers like Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola are control freaks. They prioritise dominance above all else and Bayer Leverkusen were used to being in control last season – they had the highest average share of possession of any team in the Bundesliga.

Arteta in particular, however, is showing a different way to control games. Arsenal like to have the ball too, but much of Arteta’s game plan is about controlling matches out of possession. The Gunners have repurposed centre backs as full backs (see Ben White and Riccardo Calafiori) and aim to limit opponents just as much as they impose their own attacking game.

All this has led to Arsenal earning a reputation for being the Premier League’s best defensive unit since the days of peak José Mourinho. If the North London side are to end their long wait for a title this season, it will be on the back of their defensive strength. This is the thing that makes them so formidable.

Alonso might well be borrowing a page from the Arteta playbook by setting up Bayer Leverkusen to control games out of possession this season. It might go against the grain for a team that essentially plays its two wing backs as out-and-out attackers, but this could be the tactical evolution required for Leverkusen to take the next step.

*Typical Leverkusen formation, with 2024/25 Bundesliga stats*

Of course, Alonso’s Arsenal-ification of Bayer Leverkusen mustn’t come at the cost of their natural attacking verve. Last season, The Black and Reds were so successful because of the number of different ways they can harm opponents. They have wing backs who effectively play as wide attackers. And a battering ram of a centre forward who can find scoring chances in tight spaces. And midfielders who can pick out the top corner from 25 yards out.

Some might argue Arteta has veered too far into defensive control over creative flair. While the absence of Martin Ødegaard has certainly been a factor, Arsenal are trailing behind Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea in terms of Expected Goals (xG) in the Premier League this season. Alonso would be wise to give his Leverkusen team another dimension rather than change their character entirely.

Sooner or later, Alonso will depart the Bay Arena to take the next step in his managerial career. The 42-year-old might have turned down Bayern Munich and Liverpool this summer, but speculation is already swirling about Manchester City and Real Madrid’s interest in the former midfielder taking over at some point in the future.

For the time being, though, Alonso is focused on turning Bayer Leverkusen into a team that can do it all. Having won the Bundesliga last season, the Champions League presents the next opportunity for Alonso and his players this season. The work being put in now in the league phase could help them make a deep run in the knockout rounds.

Alonso wasn’t the only one to stay at the Bay Arena over the summer. Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Edmond Tapsoba, Jonathan Tah and Victor Boniface were linked with transfers, but they all stayed. Alonso has complete buy-in from everyone at Leverkusen. If he wants to turn The Black and Reds into Arsenal, nobody will argue against him. The process is already taking place.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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

Oct

2024

FotMob Opinion: Refereeing conspiracy theories are damaging the Premier League

There was a time when one of the most fundamental statements that could be made about football was that ‘the referee’s decision is final’. These five simple words sat deep at the heart of the way in which the game was played. Decisions may be right, decisions may be wrong, but once the referee has made a decision, that’s the only one that matters.

By Ian King

We are a long way from those days, and if we’re pausing to wonder why and how this should have happened, we can only look upon an entire game which has become too self-important for decisions to be right or wrong and which has distorted itself beyond recognition in order to accommodate this way of thinking.

But in recent years, we have even contrived to find a way to go beyond that and into the realms of full-blown conspiracy theory. The matter of the referee’s decision being final was fatally undermined by the attitudes of managers, players and in many cases the media long ago. We’ve moved from refusing to accept that refereeing can get things wrong to arguing that they’re making bad decisions when they’re not.

It is, frankly, astonishing that there is much of a debate going on over whether William Saliba should have been sent off during the match between Bournemouth and Arsenal on Saturday. There is no question that it was a foul. This sort of tactical foul, halting a break in the belief that a yellow card will be worth it, has been going on for years, and honestly Saliba was sold an absolute pup of a pass by Leandro Trossard.

Ben White was a good thirty yards from the ball, and was not realistically going to get back and track across. Evanilson was denied a clear goalscoring opportunity. It’s right there in front of anybody who looks at it, no matter how many arrows get drawn across carefully selected stills from the video footage.

The same could be said for David Raya’s foul on the same player for the penalty kick that sealed Bournemouth’s win. You can watch Raya clatter into Evanilson from multiple different angles in slow motion, should you wish. Even Mikel Arteta was relatively subdued about that particular incident after the match, considering his outspokenness on this matter.

If anything, the one thing that these two pivotal moments in this match had in common was Arsenal sloppiness. If their supporters do want to get angry over this, then perhaps they should be getting angry at Leandro Trossard, whose wildly careless pass left Saliba with little alternative but to pull Evanilson back, or at Jakub Kiwior, whose wayward backpass played Evanilson in for the penalty.

But in a world in which practically everybody seems to be increasingly only seeing what they choose to see, perhaps it’s inevitable that any argument between something which may cause some criticism of a football team and a grand conspiracy to – for some reason – deny this particular football team refereeing decisions in full view of the entire world will favour the latter rather than the former. We live in the age of ‘fake news’ and conspiracy theories. Why should football be exempt from this?

This phenomenon isn’t exclusive to Arsenal, of course. The line over opinion on Manchester City’s 115 charges is sharply drawn between fans of clubs who want to spend whatever they like in order to buy success and everybody else. The same might be said for the controversial ownership of Newcastle United. And of course, as soon as Everton and Nottingham Forest were undone by their own financial incontinence and received points deductions last season, it was the Premier League itself which came under fire for being ‘corrupt’ rather than the owners of the clubs for running themselves so financially incompetently that they ended up in this position in the first place. The idea that there is a “Red Mafia” controlling English football has become commonplace.

But the refereeing conspiracy theories are a perfect storm. No-one likes referees in the first place and they’ve always been little short of punching bags who act as human shields for players and managers who fall short of expectation. On top of this, the theories–for example, that Jarred Gillett, who was running the VAR at Bournemouth, is a Liverpool fan and arranged the Saliba sending off to ensure that he was suspended for this week’s Arsenal vs Liverpool Premier League match – simply are going to appeal to a very specific cross-section of people, all the more so when individuals within the club itself are lending credence to them.

Where this sort of conspiring goes next is just about anybody’s guess. How long will it be before a referee is assaulted? When does it go too far? If the long-term goal of those who are so incandescent at every refereeing decision given against their team that they can’t even focus their eyes properly is to increase the preponderance of VAR, then perhaps that’s the ultimate endpoint; a game refereed entirely using microchips and algorithms, with no room allowable for interpretation.

If that sounds extreme, it should probably be remembered that we are essentially dealing with people who believe that it’s impossible for human beings to be unbiased. It feels as though the full automation of refereeing might be the only way to come anywhere close to quieting this growing din, and even then it’s not difficult to imagine similar complaints being levelled at those who wrote the algorithm.

VAR was introduced in order to try and do something about this growing belief that football was too important to get refereeing decisions wrong, but it never seemed to be considered that there are many who don’t care about right or wrong, only that they win. There’s no point in arguing with them. They’ve reached their conclusion and will retro-fit anything to fit that. And in the meantime, all the rest of us can do is wonder where this all ends up, and what might shake us out of this insanity.

(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.

Oct

2024

Preview: Chelsea face Panathinaikos in an early Conference League kick-off

The path to Chelsea’s redemption leads to Athens

By Filip Mishov

Recent Form

The Blues are travelling to the Greek capital in a bid to get back to winning ways and to reinstill some of the lost confidence within the squad over the past few weeks, which resulted in Sunday’s narrow 2-1 defeat at Liverpool. Enzo Maresca was criticized by some at the start of the month when the Italian coach said, “I really don’t think we can compete with City or Arsenal,” and now the list might include Liverpool too, as it became evident that Chelsea perhaps lack the experience and team cohesion of the sides who’s squads have been together for an extended period of time.

However, Chelsea are still the team with most chances created (26) in the Premier league and the learning curve is all part of the process for Maresca’s fledgling side. But they will face another difficult challenge in Athens tonight.

Chelsea have started their Conference League campaign in style by securing a win (4-2) against Gent at Stamford Bridge and after the club’s decision to leave Wesley Fofana, Ben Chilwell, Romeo Lavia and Cole Palmer out of their European squad, the UECL matches can’t come soon enough for their fringe players. With that being said, Maresca has plenty of options to choose from, but given Panathinaikos’ passionate supporters and the inevitable hostile atmosphere at Olympiako Stadio Spyros Louis, the tactician is expected to mix things up in order to counter the surroundings.

*Possible Chelsea XI, built with the lineup builder at FotMob.com*

Team news

After the vice-captain, Enzo Fernández missed out on a place in the starting XI over the weekend, the fiery Argentinean is expected to lead out the team in Athens with most of the other players like Mykhaylo Mudryk, Joao Félix and Christopher Nkunku desperately waiting for a chance to impress and earn a starting spot. The captain, Reece James is set for a rest after returning from long-term injury, but Robert Sánchez should keep his place between the posts given Filip Jörgensen‘s concussion issues.

Tough times for Panathinaikos

The Greek club have endured a turbulent start of the season both on and off the pitch with the football world recently rocked by the tragic passing of their defender, George Baldock.

Former Uruguay national team coach Diego Alonso has had a lot to contend with and the Green and Whites are currently sat in sixth place in the Greek Super League 1 ahead of this, their first-ever meeting with Chelsea. Last season’s top scorer Fotis Ioannidis is injured and will miss the clash, but the former Manchester United winger Facundo Pellistri is among the forwards aiming to leave their mark on proceedings.

Predictions

Chelsea have been bragging about the so-called “positives to take” from their defeat at Anfield as the Blues dominated in shots, possession, passes and take-ons, among other stats, but the trip to Athens presents another test for the strength of their squad in depth. As for Panathinaikos, the Green and Whites boast an abysmal record against English opponents in European competition as they have recorded just a single win in 18 attempts, but that was against another London-based club (Arsenal) back in 2001.

Obviously, Maresca’s young guns are favourites to go far in the UEFA’s third-tier club competition and given the reputation of some of the players, Christopher Nkunku, for example, who has already shone in the Champions League, anything other than a victory in Greece will be looked on as a failure for the Blues.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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

Oct

2024

Preview: Manchester United’s reunion with Mourinho in Türkiye

Wayne Rooney was on the scoresheet the last time Manchester United faced Fenerbahçe, though he only scored a late consolation goal in a 2-1 defeat. Having won just one of their last six fixtures, the Red Devils will be keen to avoid a similar result eight years on.

By Neel Shelat

A shaky start for the Special One

There was a lot of fanfare when José Mourinho’s move to Fenerbahçe was announced this summer. He was amply supported in the transfer window too with new arrivals including loan deals for Allan Saint-Maximin, Sofyan Amrabat and Filip Kostić, and the Süper Lig’s most expensive player, Youssef En-Nesyri. The expectation, then, was no less than the club’s first league title in a decade.

So far, things are not going smoothly, Fener were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League qualifiers at the hands of Lille, failed to win their domestic season-opener against newly-promoted Göztepe and worst of all, lost to city rivals Galatasaray in what was their first meeting of the season.

There already are murmurs of a negative environment in the dressing room, so the Portuguese tactician seems to be under pressure already. Especially in recent years, Mourinho has developed into much more of a cup expert, so he may well have to rely on his exploits in the Europa League to protect his position as long as possible.

United looking for their first UEL win of the season

The new format of the Europa League makes it so that two-thirds of the teams that enter the group stage will advance to the knockouts. So, it would take quite a catastrophic campaign for Manchester United to fail to advance, but they will be keen to register their first win of the season after drawing both their matches so far – against FC Twente and Porto. The Red Devils should aim for a top-eight finish to skip the first knockout round, which will be held in February, on what would be the Thursdays either side of a Premier League fixture against Tottenham Hotspur.

United have had incessant injury issues dating back to last season, so the less congested they can make their fixture schedule, the better their chances will be of achieving something at the end of the season. At present, they will be without as many as seven first-team players for this fixture, so it will be a depleted squad that travels to Türkiye. They will also be without the suspended Bruno Fernandes.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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

Oct

2024

FPL tips from the reigning champ: GW 9

Get ahead of the Group Chat thanks to our new regular column from FPL expert Jonas Sand Låbakk.

By FotMob, in conversation with Jonas Sand Låbakk

Introducing our expert

Jonas is a 21 year old student who, like FotMob, hails from Norway, but unlike the frustrated Fantasy Premier League players in the office, he did something we could only dream of last season. He finished first, ahead of 11 million other managers in the 2023/24 season.

Who better then, to provide us with some expert advice each week.

The Eye Test vs. The Stats

Tottenham Hotspur once again proved that they are one of the better attacking sides in the league, scoring 4 against West Ham last weekend. Heung Min Son (worth 9.9m in the game) may have just came back from injury, but he looked really sharp. He was awarded a goal and even a questionable assist that was later removed from the game. He created two chances and had four shots in the box, but despite the proximity to goal, only accumulated a total of 0.41 xG. Spurs have good fixtures going forward and Son is definitely one to consider for your team.

Raúl Jímenez (5.7m) has started the last five Premier League games for Fulham and has returned in every single one of them! In GW8, against Aston Villa, he got himself into many good positions. He created 0.74 xG, but anyone owning him would have been ruing the three big chances he wasted, and the fact that Andreas Pereira missed a penalty that had been won by Jímenez. The silver lining might be that the Mexican international now takes over penalty duties, something that makes him even more of an asset.

Wolverhampton Wanderers’ fixtures are gradually getting better from this gameweek onwards and I do believe that if you don’t want to go for Jímenez, a former-Wolves player himself, that both Jørgen Strand-Larsen (5.5m) and Matheus Cunha (6.5m) will be good options given the nature of their upcoming games. Strand-Larsen has scored more points than Cunha this season, but I think I prefer Cunha because he has better underlying numbers (0.48 vs 0.28 xG involvements per 90) and the fact that he’s most probably on penalties since Pablo Sarabia isn’t playing regularly and Hwang Hee-Chan is out injured.

Long shot

Jarrod Bowen (7.4) probably should’ve been credited with an assist last weekend but he efforts were not rewarded in West Ham’s defeat to Spurs. This season he averages 0.39 xG involvements per 90, which isn’t the best, but I still believe Bowen is a viable asset if you can fit him into your team. Bowen is in good form, appears to be making good in-game decisions and remains a creative spark for this West Ham side.

Upcoming games to follow

In GW9 there is specifically one game that I think might be huge for FPL. That is, of course, Manchester City at home to Southampton. A lot of us own a number of Man City players and I wouldn’t sell them just yet, despite their relatively poor form defensively and Erling Haaland blanking 3 games in a row. Southampton seem to be in tatters and it might even be Russel Martin’s last game. This is a game where I definitely see 2.5 xG+ for Man City.

Another game I am looking forward to watching is Brentford vs Ipswich. Ipswich are very leaky defensively and average a whopping 2.18 xG conceded. Yoane Wissa just came back from injury and got a 25 minute cameo against Manchester United, but failed to impress. I can see a few attacking returns from both sides, especially from Bryan Mbeumo and probably Liam Delap as he always seems to be involved whenever Ipswich score.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

Did you know that you can track live Fantasy points with FotMob? Simply select any Premier League game, swipe to the Lineup tab, and press the big ‘Fantasy’ button! Download the free app here.