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The 2025-2026 Football Thread
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Slot vindicated for sacrificing the EFL for back to back wins
Szoboszlai remains LFC's best player by a country mile, closely followed by Gravenberch
Meanwhile Vini Jr drops another weak performance. And to think he was moaning for not winning the Balon D'or.
Has been average since Benzema left
Szoboszlai remains LFC's best player by a country mile, closely followed by Gravenberch
Meanwhile Vini Jr drops another weak performance. And to think he was moaning for not winning the Balon D'or.
Has been average since Benzema left
Liverpool had by far the better chances, but Courtois had a very good night. They could have won 3-4 nil.
Arne Slot answered some questions about Liverpools poor run of form lately to the Dutch press. He said “it was a combination of people being injured, many away games where the home team was rested and they were playing on short rest, and some bad luck with finishing.”
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Maybe, just maybe, we’ve turned the corner. A win against City on Sunday will make me feel better.
This is Liverpool for you. I think Bradley deserves a lot of credit for keeping Vini quiet throughout the match.
Another tidy victory for Arsenal, this time in the Champions' League, and another clean sheet.
I think the goals will come eventually. I was more worried about the defending, so the clean sheet here is really the most relevant news. The midfield has been the most consistent part of the squad lately.
A tremendously talented player but also a massive diva. A perfect match for Real Madrid.
I noticed that Alexis Mac Allister has been an important part of Liverpool’s last two victories. If you consider a three man midfield, and you play Szoboslai, Gravenberch and Mac Allister, what do you do with Wirtz? You can’t really play him on the wing in place of Cody Gakpo.
You could go for a front two with a midfield diamond and Wirtz just behind the front two, but that is abandoning a 4:3:3 system that has served Liverpool well. Although it has to be said that in Ekitike and Isak Liverpool have two real forwards.
You could go for a front two with a midfield diamond and Wirtz just behind the front two, but that is abandoning a 4:3:3 system that has served Liverpool well. Although it has to be said that in Ekitike and Isak Liverpool have two real forwards.
Klopp played a 4-3-3 for years, but towards the end of his tenure he became much more flexible. Slot has favored a 4-2-3-1. The difference to a 4-3-3 is subtle and hinges around the central players' positioning and the behavior of the wide players.
It's really a five-man midfield; Salah has always been best as a wide attacking player, with another wide forward (Gakpo, Diaz in the past) playing opposite. I think Slot has his work cut out for him in fitting everyone in but there is scope for it, especially when competing on multiple fronts.
Gakpo is best on the left but he can play elsewhere. I think Slot has to look at every one of these players without binning them into a single position (even Mo, though his role is the most clearly established).
Both Celtic and Rangers were unceremoniously swept aside in the Europa League today….
I wonder if history will repeat itself for Arsenal because back between 1998 and 2000 they came second 3 times in a row and the following season 2001 they won the league. This time around Arsenal have come second for the past 3 seasons (2022-2024). So does this mean they are due to win the league? Or will they be classed as the 'nearly there' team by coming second again for a 4th straight season.
Given the rest of the league, I don’t see anyone challenging Arsenal this year. Even injuries are unlikely to be a big factor due to their large (and expensive!) squad.
Expensive, yes, but, at least we have considerable strength in depth this season, unlike what we had experienced in recent seasons, when serious injuries to key players left us pretty exposed.
This season, our injury list (which includes some key, core, players, a number of whom have suffered significant injuries, leaving them absent for months at a time), is already quite extensive, but - while unfortunate, for both the players and the team), does not look as though it will cost us in quite the same way as in earlier seasons.
Nevertheless, while Arsenal's position is pretty promising with a quarter of the season gone, I would be hesitant about anticipating - let alone claiming - any success until further in the season.
This is looking like a very promising campaign for Arsenal. Probably the biggest single stat in favor of their title challenge is the goals against - they just don’t concede.
However, even draws can kill a title challenge, and their lead is far from insurmountable. We’ve seen far more promising title bids fail over the years.
I just finished watching the WSL Arsenal -Chelsea match. Scrappy, but very exciting. The crowd were really into it, great match atmosphere.
And it reminds me why I opposed VAR. Arsenal’s equalizer was offside by a toe, but so what? The game flowed better, and it gives people something to talk about. VAR has ‘fixed’ nothing in the game IMO - but it has slowed it down.
And it reminds me why I opposed VAR. Arsenal’s equalizer was offside by a toe, but so what? The game flowed better, and it gives people something to talk about. VAR has ‘fixed’ nothing in the game IMO - but it has slowed it down.
Agreed. It’s not improved the game one bit. That’s why I was always against it and still am.
Spurs throw away two points as Man Utd equalize in, erm Amorim Time. Richarlison & Co got too excited after going 2-1 up and took their foot off the gas.
EDIT: underscoring my grumpy-old-man rant, I’m now watching Union Berlin v Bayern, and poor Union just had a goal VAR’d for an absolutely millimetric offside at 0-0. Bayern will surely crush Union by the end of this game, but that VAR call probably robs the match of one of its very few moments of actual jeopardy for Bayern.
Being offside by two inches does NOT confer a meaningful advantage, but it does mean we have to watch a man staring at a monitor for two minutes or lines being drawn on screen.
EDIT: underscoring my grumpy-old-man rant, I’m now watching Union Berlin v Bayern, and poor Union just had a goal VAR’d for an absolutely millimetric offside at 0-0. Bayern will surely crush Union by the end of this game, but that VAR call probably robs the match of one of its very few moments of actual jeopardy for Bayern.
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United have been so bad against Spurs lately, taking a point away does feel like progress. The way they played in the second half and the two goals they conceded made it feel more like 2 dropped points. Those 3 wins in a row should not disguise the fact that this squad is still a long ways off from where it needs to be.
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Agreed.
The defence (touch wood) is pretty impressive.
Agreed.
On balance both sides probably feel that way. The game was there to be won for either.
First back to back wins in over a year for West Ham.
Happy with that. Just need to keep the momentum going.
Happy with that. Just need to keep the momentum going.
Sunderland end Arsenal's winning and defensive streak which is good news for LFC and City
Liverpool are capable of beating Man City, but I very much doubt they will at the moment.
More likely that long balls to Haaland slice Liverpool to ribbons and with the forwards collectively struggling we won’t be able to outscore Pep’s Stoke City tribute act….though I’d be happy to be wrong.
More likely that long balls to Haaland slice Liverpool to ribbons and with the forwards collectively struggling we won’t be able to outscore Pep’s Stoke City tribute act….though I’d be happy to be wrong.
Still, three goals conceded from open play (and two from set pieces) after eleven games is not a bad defensive record.
Sunderland played exceptionally well, and probably deserved their point, while Granit Xhaka was - no surprise - superb.