Key events
Today’s second quarter features Charlton of WSL2 against Liverpool, who’ve improved a lot since sacking Matt Beard in February. The home side are pushing for promotion but struggling for form, while the visitors will scent opportunity.
Kicking-off at 1pm we’ve Arsenal v Brighton. Renée Slegers’ side might, again, be running into form at a decent time – though the title has gone, they’re into the last four of the Champions League, having won it last season, and will fancy themselves to beat Lyon. In the other semi, it’s Bayern v Barcelona and, though any team will be second favourites against the Catalans, in a one-off match, anything is possible – as we saw in last season’s final.
Spurs visit Chelsea in tomorrow’s lunchtime quarter-final, and not without hope. They’ve had a really good season and Sonia Bompastor’s side looked dicey at the back against Villa last weekend … problem being, they still had sufficient attacking firepower to get the win. I don’t suppose I’ll win any prophesy prizes for saying this, but I’d expect lauren James to be the difference in this one.
Can De Zerbi save Spurs? It’s a big call to stick a systems manager into this kind of mess, especially one so unwilling to compromise. My sense is they’ll do enough to get a point more than West Ham, but if they don’t, he’s then tarnished by relegation before he’s even properly started in the job. It’s a huge gamble because more than anything, the team need confidence and vibes, which it’s hard to inculcate while also upending the tactical system – all the more so if you just aren’t a confidence and vibes guy.
Still, a win against Bournemouth and a point at City would make them strong favourites for the title, so.
Indeed. However you slice it, Arteta has done a really good job at Arsenal, inheriting a mess and turning it into repeated title challengers. But, on the other hand, he’s been bought pretty much two full teams of players and, given the money spent, they ought to better than they are. His out-of-possession system is excellent, but the lack of imagination and joyfulness is a problem, not just aesthetically but practically.
Also going on:
It’s true that Arsenal have scored once more in the league than City have, but for that, they’ve been reliant on set-pieces, which doesn’t feel sustainable through an entire season. They must find a way of attacking with freedom, but more than that, they must find a way of playing with freedom; there’s no sense they’re enjoying the chase, and though Arteta is trying to take the pressure off this season – over the last few seasons, his intensity has looked from the outside to be a negative – the players know who he is, and it’s hard to pretend otherwise.
So, is it falling apart for Arsenal? Well, if City win at Chelsea a week today, then beat Mikel Arteta’s men at the Etihad, you’ll fear for them – especially if things don’t go as planned in midweek, when they visit Sporting, and at home to Bournemouth next weekend. Every time they had a chance to build an almost insurmountable lead, they faltered, and in a close race, I’d always back the the team with most routes to goal – all the more so if they’re also the team that knows how to win.
Can some please confirm that Shea Charles’ dressing-room nickname is Slim? Thanks.
And even if they get the right person next, should Barcelona replace Robert Lewandowski well and sort their defence out, their attacking verve is such that finishing above them will not be easily done.
It’s no surprise Madrid look unlikely to win the title, given their managerial upheaval, but what on earth do they do in the summer? After what happened to Alonso, no systems manager will fancy the task of imposing basic principles upon players disinclined towards duties of that ilk, but where do they find another Carlo Ancelotti?
Talking of whom…
I don’t know, Enzo Fernandez is a good player, but one likely to be wanted by Real Madrid? I can’t see it. Jude Bellingham is probably the nearest to him in the current squad, and he is much better and much more physical. Fernandez has a good range of passing, but these days, that isn’t enough for a top team.
I can’t lie, I chuckled to myself at Alejandro Garnacho scoring an injury-time penalty for 7-0, then celebrating with a leap and fist-pump. I’d hoped to see him develop this season with a change of environment, but he still looks the same player – very good in big spaces against tired legs, but erratic at best the rest of the time. He’s got a lot of what you need to be a serious player – speed, agility, self-belief – but is he self-critical enough to improve his small-space play and decision-making?
I guess I find it hard to buy into Liam Rosenior. Results have been passable, I guess, but performances have, for the main, been poor – at least the ones I’ve seen. The second half against West Ham was decent, the rest not so much, and they don’t feel like a side on the cusp of a title challenge.
Charlton, Hull, Wrexham and Port Vale is quite the run to the semis. I’d not back them to beat City in semis or final nor would I be shocked if they lost to Leeds or West Ham, but on a good day you never know.
So to Chelsea…
This summer, we know Liverpool have to replace Salah – none of Wirtz, Ekitiké and Alexander Isak can do that – but must they also replace Virgil van Dijk? They’ve needed to sign him a partner for some time, haven’t, and he now looks well over the other side of the hill. But where on earth do they find someone as aerially dominant, with recovery pace, composure and big switches?
Regular readers will know Andy Hunter is a man of measure. If he’s calling a performance “gutless”, we can be sure it’s an abject disgrace of rare depth.
One thing of which I can’t but take notice: Klopp loves Wirtz and knows exactly how physical the Prem is, so if he thinks he can do it, there’s a decent chance he can. I guess it may also turn out that Alonso is in charge of him next season, which’d give him the perfect environment in which to succeed … but can he?
What, then, to do with Florian Wirtz? He’s shown flashes of the talent we know he has, but will he ever be quick enough and physical enough for this iteration of English football? And if so, what will his position be? To me, he looks like someone you need to build a team around, but the best ones tend not to do that: they need players who contribute in all phases and circumstances, who offer something even when not on the ball or in top form. We’ve yet to see that from him.
If they address those areas in the summer, they can be good next season – though it’s worth noting that, of the five players signed, only Hugo Ekitike has been a success – but in the meantime, things might get worse before they get better. On Wednesday night, Liverpool travel to the Parc des Princes to face a well-rested PSG; the same level of performance, and it’s another hiding.
On the one hand, he did well to coax a title out of a squad whose best players are ageing; on the other, it was Jürgen Klopp’s team and it relied upon Mo Salah delivering half a season of dead-cat bounce brilliance that had little to do with anyone’s tactics.
And as for this season, who signed off on all the summer business? Changing five players is never going to be seamless, but ignoring the major weaknesses in the squad – the middle of defence and the middle of midfield – to splurge on an attack that didn’t need that level of refreshment, was a colossal error.
It’s at that point, isn’t it? It’s really hard to see a future for Arne Slot – the players and fans both seem to have given up on him and, especially with Xabi Alonso available, it feels increasingly unlikely he’ll be Liverpool manager at the start of next season. So, how much of that is his fault?
And then there’s Liverpool.
And then there’s Cherki, an old-skool attitude with a modern-day sensibility. It’s taken him a while, but he’s surely now established in City’s first XI as their most likely creator and difference-maker. His ability to conjure space and shots from all manner of unlikely and unpromising positions is very special.
O’Reilly, meanwhile, isn’t the first young midfielder to break through at full-back – Paul Ince and Roy Keane, for example, both did stints there early in their Man United careers. What is particularly enjoyable about watching him there, though, is that he’s still playing his natural game in terms of getting into the box, making the runs he’d make were he playing centrally, which are extremely hard to pick up, given they come from wide. I’m not sure I’d pick him ahead of Lewis Hall for England, who probably need something a bit more conventional – we’ll get to that in due course – but at club level, he’s a menace.
Moat notable about Khusanov is his recovery pace, but he’s going to need that less and less as his defensive nous improves. But it’ll always give the team he’s in the freedom to play a high line and allow him to go one against one with whoever the opposition leave upfield – exactly what Pep Guardiola’s systems demand.
Are Manchester City running into form? They played extremely well before the break in beating Arsenal to the League Cup, and a tousing of Liverpool kept the good vibes going. It’s been an iffy season by Erling Haaland’s stratospheric standards, but if his hat-trick sets him off on a run, he’s got plenty of scope to be the different in the race for the title, while it’s also worth mentioning Abdukodir Khusanov, Nico O’Reilly and Rayan Cherki, all of whom are developing extremely quickly.
I say onwards, but we can’t really conceive of today without first looking back at yesterday – events could have ramifications beyond the simple identity of the last four in the men’s competition.
Preamble
Morning all
It’s another big day in the FA Cup, with West Ham facing Leeds in the last of our men’s quarter-finals while, in the women’s competition, Arsenal entertain Brighton with Liverpool travelling to Charlton.
Onwards!
