This Sunday, June 2nd, Selhurst Park in London will host a thrilling 11v11 Charity Match featuring two of the biggest internet creator groups: the UK’s Beta Squad and the American superstars from the AMP collective.
By FotMob
This highly anticipated event is set to be a spectacular clash, combining entertainment with a noble cause, as all proceeds will go to “The Water Project.”
Tickets for the match sold out instantly, with more than twice the stadium’s 25,000-seat capacity in the queue, eager to secure their spot. The excitement is palpable, and fans can expect an unforgettable experience.
The Beta Squad, led by immensely popular creators like Chunkz and Niko Omilana, has assembled a formidable team aimed at clinching the coveted trophy.
On the other side, the AMP team, featuring stars such as Kai Cenat and Duke Dennis, will travel from the U.S. with hopes of conquering the Europeans on their home turf and asserting the term “soccer” in the process.
Familiar faces will be aplenty on both teams, ensuring a unique and entertaining match. Adding to the excitement, FotMob is proud to sponsor the event.
Alongside partners Opta and Enetpulse, we will provide comprehensive coverage of the match, just like we do for professional games.
Expect FotMob ratings, xG stats, shot maps, and all the detailed analysis you’re used to — this time for your favorite creators! Don’t miss out on this epic showdown for a fantastic cause.
The football match, scheduled for Sunday, June 2nd, at 16:00 BST, will be a memorable day in online creator’s history. All profits from the event will support charitable The Water Project, ensuring that the impact of this event extends far beyond the football pitch.
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.
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)
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The stage is set for the 107th Coupe de France Final, which will see Paris Saint-Germain face off against Olympique Lyonnais at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Saturday.
Lyon: Can the Fallen Giants Return to the Promised Land?
Lyon began the 21st century by solidifying a dynasty in French football, winning their first-ever Ligue 1 title in 2001/02 and claiming the next six in a row. Les Gones would go four years without a trophy before beating Quevilly 1-0 in the Coupe de France Final, following that up by edging Montpellier on penalties in the 2012 Trophée des Champions Final.
However, the following 12 years would see Lyon fail to win a single piece of silverware and watch helplessly from the sidelines as Paris Saint-Germain became the top dogs in France, winning the championship on ten occasions and claiming six Coupe de France trophies, the last of which came in 2021. Today, however, they have a chance to put an end to their trophy drought and pull off a major upset against Ligue 1’s number-one side.
Both sides underwent major transformations in the summer of 2023. Paris Saint-Germain would dispose of various high-earning veteran stars such as Neymar, Lionel Messi and Marco Verratti, spending big on up-and-coming prospects such as Randal Kolo Muani and Manuel Ugarte, as well as France internationals like Lucas Hernández and Ousmane Dembélé, and they also replaced manager Christophe Galtier with Luis Enrique. As for Lyon, they found themselves in the midst of a changing of the guard.
The Storm Before the Calm
After purchasing a majority stake in Lyon in December 2022, American businessman John Textor looked set to work alongside Jean-Michel Aulas, who had been in charge since 1987. Instead, Aulas would step down from his honorary chairman role in May 2023 after French football’s financial watchdog – the Direction Nationale du Contrôle de Gestion (DNCG) – decided to monitor Lyon’s wage bill and transfer activity due to insufficient financial guarantees. Textor lamented that Aulas was not completely forthcoming with regards to the club’s debt prior to the sale, prompting Aulas to threaten a defamation lawsuit and order the freezing of his shares in the club. As a result of the DNCG’s intense scrutiny, OL were forced to sell off key players like Castello Lukeba and Bradley Barcola and tighten their purse strings, spending a total of €19.34 million on new players in comparison to the €107.21 million they received in transfer fees.
Les Gones kicked off their season with just one point from three before taking on PSG on September 3. The referee had barely blown his whistle when Corentin Tolisso was robbed of possession at the edge of his box and lunged in to deter Ugarte. Kylian Mbappé duly converted from the penalty spot, whilst Achraf Hakimi, Marco Asensio, and Mbappé again put the game out of reach before the interval in a 4-1 victory. To add insult to injury, the Lyon players were subject to a dressing-down from their embittered fanbase, with one supporter utilizing a megaphone to admonish the squad: “The message is clear: if there are leaders in this dressing room, they no longer have the right to remain silent. You’re the ones who wear the OL jersey. Others before you have worn it and glorified it. You don’t have the right to tarnish it. We expect you guys to respect our jersey and to pull yourselves up by your bootstraps on the pitch.”
It was the last straw for Laurent Blanc, who was sacked after 11 months in charge, with fellow World Cup winner and ex-Lyon player Fabio Grosso assuming the vacancy. Grosso would register just two points from five matches before suffering a gruesome injury on October 29 – as Lyon arrived at Marseille for the upcoming Choc des Olympiques, OM supporters pelted the Lyon bus with bricks and stones. One of the glass shards nearly blinded Grosso, who was forced to get 13 stitches. The Italian manager was back on the touchline the following week as Lyon held Metz to a 1-1 draw before guiding them to their first win of the campaign against Rennes. However, after succumbing to a 2-0 defeat to Lille the following week, he was given his marching orders.
OL’s Turnaround Under Sage
When Pierre Sage became the club’s third manager of the season on November 30, Lyon sat bottom of the table with just 3 points from 12 matches. The 45-year-old rookie manager commenced his spell with back-to-back defeats to Lens and Marseille, before getting a much-needed reprieve on December 10 as Alexandre Lacazette’s hat-trick saw them trounce Toulouse 3-0, following that up with 1-0 wins vs. Monaco and Nantes. However, the storm clouds continued to encircle the Groupama with Lyon beginning 2024 with back-to-back defeats to Le Havre and Rennes. Desperate to avoid their first relegation in seven decades, OL splurged heavily in the January window with a net spend of €56 million, bringing in veteran stars like Nemanja Matić and Saïd Benrahma as well as promising young talents like Gift Orban and Malick Fofana.
Somehow, someway, Sage finally managed to get a tune out of OL, taking four wins out of four in February before falling to a 3-0 defeat at Lens. They would bounce back by taking 13 points from a possible 15, but they were brought back down to Earth on April 21, conceding twice within six minutes and suffering another 4-1 humiliation at PSG. Les Gones would nevertheless close out the Ligue 1 season with four wins on the bounce, sealing a sixth-place finish and qualifying for the UEFA Europa League.
Mbappé’s Last Dance
The last time Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon faced off in the Coupe de France in March 2020, PSG conceded within 11 minutes via Martin Terrier, only to respond immediately with a goal from Mbappé. The French superstar would score a hat-trick to lead PSG to a 5-1 thrashing in Lyon, and just five months later, he spearheaded the club to their first-ever Champions League Final, where they would come up short against Bayern Munich.
It has been a legendary spell in Paris for the 25-year-old forward, who has won a total of 14 trophies with Les Parisiens and racked up an astonishing 256 goals and 108 assists in 307 appearances. However, he has been unable to come away with the elusive Champions League title and failed to make his mark on either leg of this year’s Champions League semifinals as PSG fell to Borussia Dortmund. Seven years after arriving from Monaco for €180 million, Mbappé will depart the Parc de Princes on a free transfer this summer, having made just one trip to the biggest stage in club football.
With PSG cruising to the Ligue 1 title for the entirety of the campaign and Mbappé’s imminent departure proving to be the worst-kept secret in French football, Enrique has sought to wean the club off of their Mbappé dependence by benching the club’s all-time leading scorer on a regular basis in recent months. However, this hasn’t stopped Mbappé from setting a Ligue 1 record by winning a sixth consecutive Golden Boot, with his 27 goals putting him eight ahead of second-placed Alexandre Lacazette and Jonathan David, and it shouldn’t stop him from exploiting Lyon’s backline in Lille and testing Lucas Perri in goal.
Can Lacazette Lead Lyon to Another Comeback Win?
Whilst Mbappé looks set to play a pivotal role for France in this summer’s Euros, Lacazette continues to be overlooked by Didier Deschamps despite his best efforts. Since returning to his boyhood club in 2022, the Lyon captain has led the line with composure and grace with 53 goals and 11 assists in 73 appearances, finding the back of the net in six of his last eight matches, including a brace and a last-second penalty goal on the final day to secure a 2-1 win vs. Strasbourg and a sixth-place finish. When Sage took charge, Lacazette had scored just three goals – he’s since racked up 19 goals and 5 assists and delivered the goods in the Coupe de France, bagging a brace against Valenciennes in a 3-0 victory to lead them to the final.
Sage has managed to find the right balance between youth and experience, with Matić’s defensive prowess and physicality providing the platform for Maxence Caqueret to push forward and weave his way past opponents, whilst Saïd Benrahma and Ernest Nuamah’s arrivals have given Lyon a much-needed boost in terms of creativity, pace and dynamism on the flanks. After plying his trade in England’s fourth tier and Belgium’s second division, Jake O’Brien has emerged as a revelation in OL’s backline and a vital performer in both boxes, protecting his defense with his towering aerial presence and chipping in with 4 goals and 2 assists. Sage has not just found the right formula to get the most out of his new signings, but he’s also proven a shrewd in-game tactician, making use of his squad depth and providing young talents such as Rayan Cherki and Fofana with the chance to take advantage of tired legs and create havoc in the final third.
Lyon erased an early deficit at Montpellier on February 11 and prevailed 2-1 via goals from Lacazette and Caqueret to secure their first comeback victory since May 27, 2023. Since then, they’ve pulled off an additional six comeback wins, with three of those coming against Monaco, Brest, and Lille, all of whom finished in the top four alongside PSG.
This is a rejuvenated Lyon side that has a new lease on life following the arrival of Pierre Sage, and Luis Enrique will have to be wary. PSG’s last two encounters with Les Gones have seen them score four goals apiece before halftime, and they will need yet another attacking masterclass as they look to take care of business against a Lyon side that simply does not know when to quit. They have escaped the doldrums and ended a two-year hiatus from European football, and they have a golden opportunity to pick up their first silverware in 12 years as they take on a PSG side that has dropped points in six of their last 12 league matches.
Pierre Sage’s Lyon have already pulled off one of the greatest escapes in Ligue 1 history – can they spoil Kylian Mbappé’s swan song and put an end to their trophy drought? Stay tuned for what promises to be a thrilling encounter in Lille.
Manchester United take on Manchester City on Saturday in the FA Cup final in a game that could help them end the season on a high. But will that be enough to put some gloss on what has otherwise been the worst season in recent memory?
The way United’s Premier League season ended was rather fitting. Despite a rather desolate performance during the game against Brighton, Erik ten Hag’s side scored twice and picked up all three points. While there was no late drama that has been a defining feature of the season, United managed to get a win despite obvious issues.
And those are issues that have existed through the entire season and they have persisted in pretty much every game, prompting a change that hasn’t quite come about.
There is a certain sense of randomness to United’s matches, as they often turn into basketball games. That randomness has led to them winning some games or picking up points they probably shouldn’t and that might well help them win in the FA Cup final. But that will not change how the entire season has paned out and a trophy would only be a thin papering over the cracks.
The Red Devils, after all, ended the season at tenth when it comes xG generated and finished below the likes of Brentford and Brighton. They scored 57 times from an xG of 56.9, which is a rather fair account of their struggles and performances too. But it doesn’t end there.
Ten Hag’s side finished a shocking fifth bottom for xG conceded, which was worse than Wolves and Fulham, and close to relegated Burnley.
Having said that, those numbers are simply an after affect of other issues that have existed in the side and at the club this season. As United prepare to take on City in the final, we look at what has held them back this season.
Injuries
As per BBC figures, Man Utd picked up the most number of injuries in the Premier League this season (45) and those injuries affected multiple key players too. Be it Luke Shaw, Lisandro Martínez, Harry Maguire, Raphael Varane, Rasmus Højlund, Marcus Rashford, or the much-troubled Mason Mount, the campaign was a walking injury crisis in itself.
As a result, United could never really field a consistent XI in consecutive games and even if they did, players that were key for Ten Hag’s approach last season were sorely missing. This also made sure that the Dutchman could not take forward the foundations that were laid last season into something better, even though a signing such as that of André Onana was expected to make United better in possession.
Poor defensive structure
Ten Hag’s side had the second-best defensive record in the Premier League last season as they conceded as many goals as second-placed Arsenal and there was a point when they were actually in a potential title race.
They played in a deeper block and while they did press, it was controlled and limited. This season, things have changed, but only for the worse.
A constant problem has been a dysfunctional press with a higher line. There is generally a huge gap between the pressing four or five and the backline, which recedes and offers the opposition a lot of space on the transition. As a result, it isn’t a surprise that United concede a lot of goals from cut-backs and find themselves outnumbered during transitional moments.
Because of that, United concede a huge number of shots in every game. Brighton had 17 shots on goal and Newcastle, who lost 3-2 at Old Trafford, managed to have 21 shots.
It is a structural flaw which has repeated itself and to many, defending in transitions was also a problem for Ten Hag during his time at Ajax. With the time at United seemingly of the essence, the issue has risen to the fore once again.
Ten Hag’s failure to adapt
Ten Hag showed last season that he is great at adapting to problems in the side and he was constantly creative with positional and tactical changes. This season, that hasn’t quite been the case, as despite obvious problems in the setup have existed for the entire season.
Instead of making changes that addressed the issues, Ten Hag has doubled down on a flawed approach and that has complicated things for everyone on the pitch. Even though players do not suit the setup, he has persisted with it.
As a result of the flawed setup, United have had only the 8th most touches in the opposition’s box this season.
There have been times when Ten Hag has made some changes to the side to accommodate the strengths of individual players, but it has negatively impacted the side. Scott McTominay’s usage is an example.
The Scotsman has seven goals in the league but that doesn’t mean that he has had a great season.
Due to McTominay’s general guarantee of goals and good form, there were times when he was used higher up in the final third. While that might actually turn out to be his best position because he does have a very good ball-striking ability, it has pushed Bruno Fernandes back in midfield.
It essentially came at the cost of reducing the strengths of arguably United’s best player and one of the best on-the-ball creators in the game. Goals were, for United, much needed at that point but the plan was actually used over a large number of games and it negatively impacted Rasmus Højlund’s goal scoring tally.
Drop-off for individual players
A strong case can be made of the fact that even though Ten Hag had laid down some foundations of a playing style last season, some impressive individual performances helped United quite a bit. Marcus Rashford had hit supreme form and Casemiro was extremely vital in winning the ball in midfield.
Both players have witnessed a drop-off this season and while the setup has had a role to play in that drop-off, it has impacted the team’s general output.
For Casemiro, it seems like a case of him turning into a much more cautious player than he was last season due to the number of bookings he picked up. Even towards the end of last season, his performances had dipped and it seems as if he has never recovered, with the poor transitional defending setup making sure that he has had to cover an impossible amount of space.
The above infographic is a representation of Casemiro’s defensive numbers from this season and a comparison with the infographic from last season below shows the extent of the defensive fall-off.
As for Rashford, it can be argued that while he himself has been at fault, United’s attacking plan is riddled with uncertainty, making sure that the Englishman has to rely on extreme precision to make things happen.
He has had to dribble more this season (1.9 dribbles per 90) than he had to last season (1.5 dribbles per 90 minutes) because the system has relied on individual ability more often than not. But the end product has been missing and even though a part of it is Rashford’s problem, there has been no certainty in movement in the United attack.
If one compares how inside forwards operate at other clubs and how they have the certainty of movement from specific players, it paints an even darker picture for the lack of an attacking plan at United under Ten Hag.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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Manchester derbies have a habit of taking place at Wembley these days. It was only 12 months ago that Manchester City and Manchester United faced other in the FA Cup final and the two rivals will meet once more this weekend to fight for the final piece of silverware of the English domestic season.
City got their hands on the trophy last year and are firm favourites to do so again on Saturday. Pep Guardiola and his players might not be chasing a historic Treble like they were last time, but the Etihad Stadium side are fresh from clinching a record fourth-straight Premier League title. No other English team is as well-practiced at winning big matches.
United, on the other hand, will metaphorically stagger on to the pitch at Wembley after a bruising end to the season which saw Erik ten Hag’s team fall to eighth in the Premier League table. Defeat to Manchester City would see the Old Trafford outfit miss out on continental qualification for the first time in a decade.
Saturday’s game could expose the gulf between City and United once more. The blue side of Manchester have been victories in each of the last three derbies, including last season’s FA Cup final which was much more one-sided than the 2-1 scoreline suggested. The two teams might play in the same league and the same city, but a Manchester United win would represent an upset.
Lisandro Martínez’s recent return to action has improved United’s slim chances. The Argentine has missed much of the campaign through injury and is frequently the only source of aggression in Manchester United’s backline. To stand any chance of keeping the likes of Erling Haaland and Phil Foden at arm’s length, ten Hag’s team need Martínez to be in top form.
Foden has certainly been in top form recently, scoring nine goals in his last nine games including a brace in the final day victory over West Ham that ultimately clinched Manchester City the Premier League title. The 23-year-old has already found the back of the net three times against United this season and will be a threat again at Wembley.
At the Etihad Stadium in March, ten Hag adopted a similar approach to the one that worked more than once for Ole Gunnar Solskjær at the home of United’s closest rivals. Indeed, the Dutchman set up his team to stay deep and hit City on the counter attack – and this saw United take the lead through Marcus Rashford.
Ultimately, City had the quality to play through United over the course of 90 minutes, but ten Hag could re-use this tactical template on Saturday. His options are limited due to the likelihood that United will be picked off if they attempt to go toe-to-toe with the recently crowned Premier League champions.
Right now, the two Manchester clubs find themselves in contrasting situations. Manchester City’s success has been underpinned by a clear and coherent strategy that has been years in the making. Guardiola continually evolves City’s approach to keep things fresh, but the principles of possession football remain the same.
Meanwhile, Manchester United have no principles as a club and a team. Ten Hag has failed to impose a possession-orientated game since arriving from Ajax two summers ago with United also one of the poorest sides defending against the ball. After 18 years of Glazer ownership, there is no part of the Old Trafford club that is functioning well.
Things might finally change with Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS in the door as minority owners, but United face a pivotal summer in their efforts to return to the top of English football. Dan Ashworth has been poached from Newcastle United as the club’s new sporting director with a new technical director and CEO also hired.
United could be in the market for a new manager too if Saturday’s result goes against ten Hag. While one Manchester club has been forged in the image of their manager, the other is still deciding whether or not they want to hand the reins to someone else. FA Cup glory might not be enough for ten Hag to prove himself.
(Images from IMAGO)
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The first half of this season was nothing short of a nightmare for Olympique Lyonnais. The French side made their worst ever start to a Ligue 1 campaign, sacked two managers, and were rooted firmly to the bottom of the table in December. However, the arrival of boss Pierre Sage soon transformed Les Gones’ season, with no side winning more points than them in Ligue 1 following his appointment (46).
After claiming just one win in their opening 12 league games, OL seemed destined for a fierce relegation battle. Both Laurent Blanc and Fabio Grosso had been dismissed from their managerial posts, while the club were in turmoil on and off the pitch. Grosso’s spell in charge at the Groupama Stadium was the shortest managerial reign in Lyon’s history.
With just three points from their first 12, it was the French giants’ worst ever start to a Ligue 1 campaign. They also shipped a staggering 21 goals, their most at that stage of the season in over 40 years (22 in 1979-80). Five points adrift of safety, Les Gones were staring into the abyss. It was the first time that they had been bottom of the Ligue 1 table after five or more games since 1982-83 – the last time they were relegated from the top-flight.
The club then turned to academy manager Pierre Sage as interim boss at the end of November. Propelled into his first senior managerial role, the 45-year-old quickly surpassed all expectations. Despite a shaky start, which included defeats at both Lens and Marseille in Sage’s first two games, OL soon began gaining momentum.
A run of three consecutive victories to conclude the calendar year saw Lyon climb out of the relegation zone for the first since August, while it was the first time that they kept a clean sheet in three consecutive league games since April 2018. Tasked with avoiding relegation upon his appointment, Sage was soon looking up, rather than over his shoulder at the relegation dogfight.
Les Gones grew from strength to strength following the turn of the year, winning more points than any other side in Ligue 1 across 2024 (37). Sage was swiftly rewarded with his ‘interim’ title being removed from his job role. The team’s success was coupled with an extremely impressive winter transfer window. Nemanja Matić, Malick Fofana, and Gift Orban (previously teammates at Belgian side Gent) were just some of the names that arrived at the Groupama Stadium in January, and there was little time wasted in integrating the new additions into the side.
OL’s ascent showed no signs of slowing down either. They won 12 of their 17 league games this year, more than any other Ligue 1 outfit. The side also embarked on a terrific cup run, dispatching both Lille and Strasbourg in the earlier rounds to reach tomorrow’s Coupe de France final. It marks Les Gones’ first chance to win major silverware since 2011-12, when they defeated Quevilly-Rouen Métropole in this very competition. Sage’s impact has been greatly felt throughout his hometown Lyon. In fact, he has the highest win percentage of any previous OL boss in the top-flight (68.2%).
The 44-year-old has released the shackles from his charges, encouraging a more aggressive style of play than the pragmatic approach that had come before him. Sage referred to this following a 3-2 defeat to Rennes at the end of January. “I told them to stop playing cello and start playing electric guitar,” he said. And his side were very promptly in tune. They averaged 1.82 goals per game under the Frenchman, a drastic improvement from under both Grosso (0.86) and Blanc (1.59).
Sage nominally uses a variation of a 4-3-3, with his set-up orientated towards transitions and quick counter-attacks. Inevitably, Les Gones reaped the rewards of their more gung-ho outlook. Only Monaco (630) had more touches in the opposition box than Lyon in Ligue 1 following Sage’s arrival (604), while his outfit also boasted the third most shots on target in the division across this period (112).
Another key factor in the side’s rise was their ruthlessness in front of goal. OL had the lowest shot conversion rate in the French top-flight prior to the 44-year-old’s appointment (5.4%), whereas only champions PSG (15.8%) had a higher ratio than them under his guidance (14.5%). The French giants also visibly grew in confidence under Sage. They have gained 22 points from losing positions under Sage – the most of any side across the big five European leagues in that timeframe. Following his arrival in the Groupama Stadium dugout, OL’s substitutes have contributed to 18 goals off the bench (10 goals, eight assists), more than any other side in the French top-flight.
Les Gones have grown a fine reputation for their fearless displays and never-say-die attitude under Sage. This was ultimately evidenced in their final league game of the season, as they netted a 96th minute winning penalty over Strasbourg to secure a sixth-place finish and Europa League football for next season. Remarkably, they are the first ever side to finish inside the top six in Ligue 1 after having just three points or fewer after 12 games.
The achievement marked a tremendous conclusion to the season for Lyon, who have lost just one of their last 11 games in all competitions. Just one game remains in their fantastic turnaround season, a meeting with PSG in this Saturday’s Coupe de France final. Yet irrespective of the final outcome, Lyon have already far exceeded all expectations this season. Sage and his electric guitar have certainly hit all the right notes so far.
Manchester Derby FA Cup finals, it turns out, are rather like Manchester buses. You wait more than a century for one to come along, then two turn up at the same time. Considering the ascent of City in recent years, it’s probably not that surprising that this run should have ended at this time, but what is surprising is just how few true local derbies have ever been played as FA Cup finals.
In football’s early days, when there were fewer professional clubs than there are now, there were more of them. West Bromwich Albion and Aston Villa played each other in 1887, 1892 and 1895 (with Villa winning two and Albion the other one), while Nottingham Forest beat Derby County 3-1 in 1898.
At that time there were 32 teams in the Football League. Within thirty years there were 88, almost three times as many, and the likelihood of two local rivals meeting each other in the Cup Final started to diminish. From time to time something would come close – Manchester City and Bolton Wanderers played each other in 1904 and 1926, while Blackpool beat Bolton Wanderers in 1953.
But none of these quite scratch the itch of being derby matches. West Brom’s fiercest rivals are Wolves, for example, but they’ve never played each other at Wembley. Inversely, Manchester United and Liverpool have played each other at Wembley in both FA and EFL Cup finals, as have Spurs and Chelsea, but while these are obviously huge grudge matches, they’re not quite local derbies.
Liverpool and Everton met in the FA Cup finals twice in the 1980s, but under very different circumstances to each other. In 1986 celebration was in the air, with Liverpool having just won the league title and Everton having done so a year earlier. But when they met again in 1989 the occasion was considerably more sombre, a city united in grief following the tragic events which had unfolded at Hillsborough just a few weeks earlier.
Manchester United and Manchester City not having played each other in an FA Cup final, then, isn’t really a rarity or even that much of a statistical quirk. Spurs and Arsenal have played each other twice at Wembley in FA Cup semi-finals, but have never met in an FA Cup final. The two Sheffield clubs did the same in 1993. Sunderland and Newcastle have never met in an FA Cup final, and neither have Aston Villa and Birmingham City or Portsmouth and Southampton.
When the two clubs first met in the FA Cup in October 1890 United were still called Newton Heath and City were still called Ardwick. Newton Heath won that match 5-1, but they didn’t beat them again in this competition until a 3-0 win in the Fourth Road in January 1970. This time it would be City’s time to wait for decades. United won the next three in a row, in 1987, 1996 and 2004, all at Old Trafford, and it wouldn’t be until the 2011 semi-final, the clubs’ first ever meeting at Wembley in any form, before beating them again. In January 2013, United beat City at The Etihad, and that takes us up to last year and City’s 2-1 win at Wembley.
The omens for Manchester United appear mixed. They’ve failed to win a cup tie overall against City since 2016, but they have remained a more than occasional thorn in City’s side over the years of oil money dominance, having recorded eight wins against them since the first Premier League title of the modern era at City in 2012. It’s not the record that Manchester United would have wanted from this time period. This remains a club which expects dominance. But it’s better than most other clubs.
This is an FA Cup final that is loaded with symbolism. Manchester United have just completed their league season in 8th place in the Premier League, their lowest final league position since 1990, and only winning this match will get them into Europe for next season. That’s a big deal, when you consider that the last time they failed to qualify for Europe (other than the post-Heysel ban years) was 1981.
The match also matters to Manchester City who, for all the talk of their imperiousness, were beaten in the Champions League by Real Madrid and in the EFL Cup by Newcastle. Sure enough, they won the European Super Cup last summer and the World Club Cup just before Christmas, so it’s hardly as though they’ll be sweeping many cobwebs from their trophy cabinet soon, but they played precisely three games for those two trophies.
Furthermore, this is an opportunity for City to do The Double. United have done it three times, in 1994, 1996 and 1999. Should City win this one, they’ll have done it three times too, on top of last year and 2019. United’s historical successes mean that it could still only be years before City overhauled United’s trophy hauls completely, but bit by bit those records are being chipped away.
Manchester City have been better than Manchester United this season, but it may just be that the local derby nature of this final will play into United’s hands. Derby matches always offer the possibility of an upset and it is really a reflection of where both clubs are today that United beating City in an FA Cup final would be considered something of one.
(Images from IMAGO)
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Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta take on the unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League Final and it is clear that La Dea are once again, back to European prominence after some years away.
For many, the 2023/24 season would be Atalanta’s best season under Gian Piero Gasperini. With the side having returned to the Champions League, they also made it to the final of the Coppa Italia, and they created history by reaching the club’s first European final (tonight!). Arguably, this season has allowed them more chances at winning silverware than any other season in recent memory.
While the Coppa Italia final loss to Max Allegri’s Juventus was quite disappointing, they have another chance at creating history and winning silverware this week. Besides, context is also vital, especially when it comes to La Dea’s identity and recent history.
Atalanta are no strangers to losing players constantly and that is exactly what happened last summer and beyond. Rasmus Højlund, who was catching fire, left for Manchester United and Duván Zapata, who had become a fans’ favourite at Bergamo, departed for Torino late in the window. Later in January, Luis Muriel also left for the MLS and Jeremie Boga had also departed for Ligue 1 in the summer. The Bergamo-based club had to simply reform an attack with the resources they had and the players they were able to sign.
Having said that, Atalanta are no strangers to this process. The club’s strong identity in playing style, tactical approach, and recruitment has made them one of the more prominent European faces from Italy. That sense of identity is something multiple Italian sides have struggled for and while Inter have started to create one, Milan, Napoli and Juventus have failed to have a consistent one. That is where Atalanta flourish and that makes them a very sustainable club. This time around too, La Dea’s recruitment helped them come through a difficult transition.
Charles de Ketelaere, who had suffered a terrible first season at Milan, was roped in on an initial loan deal. Gianluca Scamacca was signed from West Ham after a frustrating and injury-laden spell at West Ham, as Atalanta beat Inter to his signature. Teun Koopmeiners, who had played a much deeper role last season, has been used in the final third and that transition has brought the best out of the Dutchman.
Koopmeiners has shown himself to be a multifaceted force in the middle of the park, showing that he has a keen eye for a pass and even has the ability to dictate play in midfield when dropping deep. He has 12 goals and five assists and it is largely his range of abilities that have caught attention from the likes of Juventus and Liverpool.
While Scamacca and De Ketelaere have witnessed impressive resurgences and have scored a total of 21 goals in the Serie A combined, the Italian’s performance against Liverpool at Anfield caught the eyes of many. While De Ketelaere thrives on taking defenders on and acting as a fox in the box, Scamacca is more of a complete centre-forward. The ex-Sassuolo man has a delightful touch on him, holds up the ball really well, and can also supply the final ball.
At the same time, Brazilian midfielder Ederson has gone up a level and he too, has thrived in a dual role in the heart of the park.
The 24-year-old has six goals but he acts as the crucial link between midfield and attack and that is why he ranks 69 percentile for defensive actions. He has more than effectively replaced Remo Freuler, who departed for Nottingham Forest in the summer of 2022 and is now thriving at Bologna himself.
Ederson – like Koopmeiners, has been linked with Premier League clubs and he is another accurate example of how La Dea operate. He had joined from Salernitana in the summer of 2022 and they seem set to make a profit on the Brazilian.
Another exit from Atalanta in 2023 was that of Merih Demiral, who headed to Saudi Arabia. While it took Atalanta six months to replace him, they seem to have done that perfectly. Centre-back Isak Hien arrived from Verona in January even though Atalanta tried to sign him in the summer until attempts failed. The Swede cost only €9 million and has proved to be one of their best players in the second half of the season.
It wasn’t just a signing made for the sake of it. That isn’t just because he was trailed by Gasperini for months before he was signed, but because he suits the high line setup perfectly.
Like Demiral, Hien has a very good turn of pace during recoveries and boasts a very good reading of the game, helping him be one of the best defenders in the Serie A. He is proactive and also offers good upside on the ball. It is the sort of move one would expect the Bergamischi to make – one that is cheap, suits Gasperini’s approach, and is young enough to generate a future profit.
In a way, it is Atalanta’s consistent playing style which is key to their identity. After all, multiple Italian clubs recruit well owing to the financial constraints upon them. But none of them have a tactical identity which defines them and Gasperini’s constant presence at the Gewiss Stadium has helped in that for Atalanta.
On Wednesday, they come against a side that is arguably the most fearsome in Europe right now and regardless of what Atalanta’s context is, it would be their biggest challenge of the season.
At the same time, it would be another test of whether Atalanta can adapt to situations when it truly matters. The performance against Juve in the Coppa Italia final was rather drab and they created nothing of note, which is quite rare. That makes the Europa League final in Dublin an even bigger test for Gasperini, who is rooted in his ways and there have always been question marks about whether he can adapt when it is truly needed.
Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen have shown that they adapt – constantly. That makes the task even more complex for Atalanta, who could yet bid farewell to Gasperini in the summer. But with Atalanta, there is always this assurance that they will respond and they will always come back and their identity will always allow them to do just that, even if they suffer another Cup final defeat.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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In football, ‘Unprecedented’ has become a synonym for things that are, well, prececented. Not everything is remarkable, but every now and again, a team or a manager come along and change everything. That’s exactly what Bayer Leverkusen and Xabi Alonso have done.
Not since the unification of Germany has a club gone an entire Bundesliga campaign unbeaten, not even the great Bayern Munich sides of yore, led by Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd Müller.
This season was meant to be the same. Munich would win the title at a canter, with all opponents rolling over to show plump underbellies, ready to be torn open by Leroy Sané, Jamal Musiala, and new star man Harry Kane.
No one could have predicted what Leverkusen were going to do. Instead of rolling over they bore their teeth and Bayern shirked away, tails between their legs squealing, falling into third place as Stuttgart took their advantage.
On Saturday, May 18th, the referee blew his whistle and Bayer Leverkusen’s invincible season was confirmed, beating Augsburg 2-1. The stadium rightfully erupted. They had just won their first ever Bundesliga title without losing a single game.
For football fans across the globe, it’s hard to imagine it getting any better than that. Surely this is the pinnacle? How could this ever be topped? Well, with 51 games and zero defeats, Leverkusen are on the precipice of something truly unprecedented… an unbeaten treble.
The last club to get close was Louis van Gaal’s Ajax in 1994/95, winning the Eredivisie and Champions League unbeaten but ultimately failing after getting knocked out by rivals Feyenoord in the KNVB Cup quarter final.
Many beers will have been sunk after the win against Augsburg by fans, players, and staff alike, now they need to shake off any lingering hangovers and get their game faces back on. Atalanta await in tonight’s Europa League final, and then there’s the DFB Pokal final against Kaiserslautern on Saturday.
It was in the DFB Pokal, Germany’s biggest cup competition, that the run started. All the way back in August, Leverkusen beat Regionalliga North side Teutonia Ottensen 8-0 in the first game of the season. It’s fair to say they haven’t looked back since.
Throughout their European campaign, Leverkusen have had the luck of the draw. In the group stage, they were tied against Azerbaijani side Qarabağ, Norwegian club Molde, and Sweden’s BK Häcken. All huge clubs domestically, but minnows compared to the likes of Leverkusen.
It was up them to make sure they didn’t screw it up, so, in stereotypical German fashion, Leverkusen efficiently dispatched each of their group-stage opponents, winning every single game.
Tactically, Alonso initially strayed from his preferred 3-4-2-1 formation, but the principles remained the same. Fullbacks/wingbacks would provide attacking options while central midfielders would drop back to help defenders deal with opposition counterattacks.
Domination allowed for rotation, and Alonso was able to give minutes to less regular players like Amine Adli and Adam Hložek. Adli was player of the match in their first game against Häcken, scoring once and later assisting Victor Boniface. Hložek would also repay his manager’s faith with a stellar performance in the 5-1 dismantling of Molde, scoring twice.
With the group stage all tied up in a neat little bow, Alonso and co could turn their attention back to matters at home. In the cup, things were looking a little dicey in the second round against Sandhausen. After taking the lead twice, Leverkusen finally got the win after three late goals from Hložek and Adli, winning 5-2.
SC Paderborn’s Sebastian Klaas made things a little tense in the round-of-16 tie when he made the score 2-1 in the 83rd minute, but Patrik Schick would score five minutes later to ease any undue stress.
Late goals would become a running theme throughout Leverkusen’s season and big centre-back, Jonathan Tah’s 90th minute header was one of the most important. In the last minute of normal time, Leverkusen’s corner was cleared away before the ball dropped to Florian Wirtz. The 21-year-old looked up and saw Tah making a run before expertly picking him out. Tah couldn’t miss, and Leverkusen were in the semis.
Qualifying top of their Europa League group meant Die Werkself avoided having to play in the knock-out round play-offs. A round in which each second placed side would face third place Champions League teams to find out which is worthy to progress to the round-of-16.
Funnily enough, Leverkusen would end up drawing a side in the last 16 that they had seen off in the group stage, Qarabağ. The Azerbaijanis were back, and they wanted revenge.
The first leg was in Baku, and Qarabağ were determined to make up for their previous embarrassment. The home side were finally rewarded for their electrifying start in the 25th minute, Algerian playmaker, Yassine Benzia opening the scoring with an emphatic finish.
Just before half-time, Qarabağ doubled their lead. Patrick Andrade’s delightful through ball found Juninho who bounced the ball over Matěj Kovář in the Leverkusen goal before rolling it into an open net.
Qarabağ’s incredible first-half display was frustratingly undermined on the 69th minute as an errant back pass found Wirtz through on goal. The playmaker lobbed the ball over the goalkeeper and Leverkusen were back in it.
Wave after wave of Leverkusen attacks crashed upon Qarabağ’s shores. All of a sudden, the game had done a 180, an equaliser felt inevitable. It finally came on the 91st minute after Schick nodded home a cross from Robert Andrich. It ended 2-2, the tie still in the balance.
In the group stage, Leverkusen beat Qarabağ 5-1 at the BayArena. It was one of their more convincing victories of the season. This time, it would be anything but.
The first half came and went, neither side had any real chances to take the lead and grab the tie by the scruff of the neck. All the drama came in the second. Qarabağ silenced the home fans on the 58th minute, Abdellah Zoubir beating Jeremie Frimpong at the back-post to score an easy header.
Frimpong was through on goal before Elvin Cafarguliyev brought him down. Referee Anthony Taylor initially gave a yellow card, but VAR intervened, and it was changed to a red.
It looked like Qarabağ had shot themselves in the foot once again but four minutes after the red card, they doubled their lead. Juninho, the man who scored a lovely goal in the previous game snuck in front of his marker and scored from close range.
Leverkusen looked shell shocked, but they didn’t give up. Frimpong made up for his previous mistake, scoring an excellent volley on the 72nd minute to bring them back into the game.
The minutes ticked by, Leverkusen were all but out until Schick popped up to once again break Qarabağ hearts. The Czech forward was in the right place at the right time to meet Álex Grimaldo’s cross, equalising at the near post.
The home side smelled blood in the water. Qarabağ were there for the taking and Schick was circling them like a shark. Finally, on the 98th minute, he made the killing blow. This time Exequiel Palacios was the provider, whipping it in for Schick to nod in. Leverkusen had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.
By the time Leverkusen were due to play West Ham in the quarter finals, they had reached the final of the DFB Pokal. Fortuna Düsseldorf provided little opposition as they were beaten 4-0 thanks to goals from Frimpong, Adli, and two from Wirtz. Alonso and his side had reached their first final of the season.
When we said late goals were a running theme throughout Leverkusen’s season, we meant it. The first game against West Ham looked like it was heading for a goalless draw up until the 83rd minute when Jonas Hofmann finally broke the deadlock with a volley from a corner.
Leverkusen were peppering West Ham’s goal from set pieces; it was only a matter of time until they doubled their lead. Finally, Victor Boniface scored a header to give his side one foot in the semis.
Michail Antonio scored in the 13th minute of the second leg to set up an anxious match, but West Ham couldn’t capitalise and Frimpong eventually equalised on the 89th minute.
Roma away in the first leg of the semi-finals was, on paper, Leverkusen’s hardest match of their Europa League campaign. Rejuvenated under Daniele De Rossi, I Giallorossi had turned their season around after a poor start with José Mourinho at the helm.
Both sides had their chances, Romelu Lukaku struck the crossbar with a header two minutes before Frimpong hit the side netting after a rapid counterattack. Two minutes after that, Wirtz had the ball in the back of the net following some calamitous defending from the home side.
Half time passed with Leverkusen still leading 1-0. The second half was much like the first, each side had their chances, but the visitors were the only ones taking them. Robert Andrich made it 2-0 on the 73rd minute with a thunderbolt from outside the box. Advantage Leverkusen.
Two Roma penalties in the first and second halves of the home leg, both scored by Leandro Parades, made the tie level on aggregate. Once again, Leverkusen left it late to secure their spot in the next round.
Mile Svilar in the Roma goal was having a great game up until the 82nd minute. The goalkeeper was left flapping at a Leverkusen corner before it bounced off Gianluca Mancini and into the back of his own net.
As it stood, Leverkusen were heading to the final, then, in the 97th minute, they made it certain. Josip Stanišić cut inside from the right-wing and slotted the ball in.
Before this season, Bayer Leverkusen had only won two major trophies in their history. Now, they might win three, all without losing a game. When it rains, it pours.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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