With the immediate futures of Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah up in the air, Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool were always gonna have at the back of their minds, players who could come in immediately and potentially replace them in the long-term.
In such a whirlwind month of transfers, Liverpool were going to sit tight until the summer before adding to their attacking roster. Several players were on their radar, such as Jonathan David from Lille, Leeds United’s Raphinha and RB Salzburg’s high-flying wonderkid Karim Adeyemi.
Though, one player who has long been on their list of targets was FC Porto’s Luis Diaz, but the Columbia international’s release clause of €80million (£66.6million) was viewed as excessive.
However, when Tottenham Hotspur were scouring around their target, opening talks with his agents and attempting to secure his signature, Liverpool immediately thought now was the time to pounce – an opportunity they could not afford to miss.
It was now or never for the club, and the owners Fenway Sports Group funded and sanctioned the move. Liverpool will reportedly pay around €45 million (£37.5million) initially with a further €15 million (£12.5 million) to follow in add-ons.
The 25-year-old winger is enjoying an outstandingly productive season in the Portuguese top-flight, scoring 14 goals and providing four assists in 18 league appearances. In all competitions this term, he has netted 16 in 28 appearances.
Jurgen Klopp has long been an admirer of the live-wire forward but Diaz further enhanced his reputation as one of Europe’s most devastating wingers through his performances against Klopp’s Liverpool and AC Milan during this season’s UEFA Champions League group stage.
Many of the Liverpool faithful will have a rough idea of who Luis Diaz is and how he plays through trawling the internet for compilation videos of his best work. Fans desiring to see how good he is, will certainly have been satisfied with what they have seen.
Born in the town of Barrancas in the north of Colombia, Diaz caught the eye of scouts with his performances in the Indigenous Copa America in Chile in 2015. He grew up as part of the Wayuu, an ethnic group of the Guajira Peninsula, which juts out into the southern Caribbean. Diaz was coached at the tournament by former Colombia international Carlos Valderrama.
A successful trial with Atletico Junior in the nearby city of Barranquilla followed and after signing he was sent to their feeder club, Barranquilla FC, in the country’s second tier.
Those who knew him well then recall a boy who was “ridiculously skinny”. Suffering from malnutrition, he was put on a special plan to help him gain 10 kilos. Slowly he bulked up and was handed his senior debut against Deportivo Pereira in April 2016.
After two seasons with Barranquilla, things really took off when Diaz became a permanent fixture in the senior squad at parent club Junior in 2017.
A fearless winger blessed with tremendous pace, he handled the step up seamlessly, scoring 20 goals in 80 games for the top-flight outfit in the next three campaigns.
After shining for Colombia at under-20s level, Diaz earned his first senior cap against Argentina in September 2018.
He now boasts a record of seven goals in 31 games for his country and was the joint top scorer with Lionel Messi, with four goals, in last summer’s Copa America when Colombia finished third.
Capable of producing moments of breathtaking brilliance, Diaz has taken over the mantle from former Everton star James Rodriguez as the main man his nation looks to for attacking inspiration and creativity.
FC Porto paid €7 million to sign him from Junior in July 2019 on a five-year contract. He was also pursued by Russian giants Zenit Saint Petersburg but countrymen Radamel Falcao and Rodriguez, both former Porto stars, helped convince him to pick the Estadio do Dragao over the Russian club. In total, he has scored 41 goals in 125 games in Portugal.
Luis Diaz is a true live-wire, a player blessed with unstoppable pace, acceleration, trickery, dazzling feet and tremendous power. Technically adept, tactically wise and a pure nightmare for opposing defenders. Just when Liverpool fans had though they’d had enough of that through Diogo Jota, Sadio Mane and Mo Salah, Diaz will add a little sprinkle of South American dust to an enthralling potential forward line.
The 25-year-old’s ability to beat opposition players, to cut inside and finish on either foot or assist his teammates are the hallmarks of his exceptional game making him an exciting talent.
Part of Diaz’s brilliance is that he can play off either foot, so he is extremely hard for defenders to shackle off the ball. Once he sets off with the ball at his feet, he is simply unplayable, attacking open spaces and leaving defenders in his wake.
His favourite move is cutting in off the left and scoring with his right foot, as he has done to such consummate effect for Porto and Colombia. What’s so unique about his game is that he can go either way when taking on his markers, if the defenders feel they can halt his progress coming inside, he is just as devastating going on to his weaker foot. Throughout his career, Diaz has mastered the art of becoming effective on both feet.
Take the two following images for example:
He receives the ball on his right foot, shaping up to cut in and shoot with the same foot, which the defender also expects him to do…
…however, he does the complete opposite, shifting the ball onto his left foot netting Porto’s equaliser to such devastating and consummate effect.
This example proves just how good he is at taking on his man, and being able to perform many various actions with the ball. He isn’t a one-trick pony, but a player blessed with such fine balance, quickness of feet, technique and ball control to fool his marker 9 times out of 10.
His ability off the ball is just as impressive, capable of playing on the last man and timing his runs to perfection. This season, Diaz has managed to mix up his game meaning there are many facets to how he scores and creates. His versatility is also demonstrated in the way he is able to get into the box and score with headers — a knack that his new Anfield teammates Diogo Jota, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane all possess.
Diaz has also shown he is capable of playing in a number of systems but that’s mainly because of the tactical and creative freedom he is afforded. He is regularly deployed on the left in Porto’s 4-4-2 shape, but can also play in Klopp’s 4-3-3 system too, one used by his nation Columbia.
With Klopp providing Mane, Jota and Salah the freedom and responsibility to provide his team with the attacking prowess, Diaz will also be given such liberty in the German’s high-intensity style which suits his game to a tee.
Diaz is enjoying his most prolific season — 0.85 non-penalty goals per 90 is up from 0.32 per 90 on average in the previous two seasons. He’s getting into better areas more consistently. In fact, he compares well to Mo Salah (0.81) and tops Diogo Jota (0.58) – Liverpool’s top two scorers – in such statistics.
The Colombian has scored 29 per cent of Porto’s league goals, underlining his importance to the team. Opta stats shows that his 14 league goals have come from an impressive 12.3 xG.
His shot selection has evidently improved, with far more inside the box this season compared to 2020-21. His xG per shot has nearly doubled from 0.12 last season to 0.20. Simply put, the average probability of his shots resulting in a goal has gone from 12 per cent to 20 per cent. This all shows how much of a potent force Liverpool will be adding to their weaponry, providing Luis Diaz quickly gets up to speed in the Premier League, which under Klopp, will be sure to occur.
Also, a particular component Liverpool fans will surely be excited by is Diaz’ incredible propensity to nutmeg his opponents when taking them on. In the past year across Europe’s top five leagues, as per StatsBomb via FBref, Diaz is listed in the top seven per cent of wingers and attacking midfielders for the number of nutmegs completed.
A skill that sums up the Columbian’s devastating pool of individual abilities. His speed combined with such unerring close control, balance, power and technique all helps make him the master of dribbling. Mo Salah will certainly have a strong competitor in the art of the dribble. He is difficult to read for defenders as shown above.
So how will he fit in at Anfield?
It’s evidently clear he will be lining up amongst any of the three attacking positions, most likely on the left but more importantly, Diaz will provide greater depth as he competes with Mohamed Salah, Mane, Jota, Firmino and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for a starting spot in the front three.
It is the long-term implications of the Luis Diaz move that seems intriguing, and that’s due to the uncertainty in the contract situations of both Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah. Liverpool knew they had to act fast in case the worst did happen in terms of losing either of their trio of stars this summer. Purchasing Diaz seemed the perfect plausible decision.
If no extension is agreed with them then Liverpool will either have to cash in or run the risk of losing them for nothing in 2023, and that is a scenario Klopp will not be looking to entertain.
Liverpool have been tracking Diaz’s progress since his time with Junior in his homeland. That interest went up a level last summer after his eye-catching displays at the Copa America.
Through an array of scouting reports and character references, they built up an extensive analysis of his technical and tactical ability, as well as his strong mentality. Like Salah and Mane, he has scored at the rate of a centre-forward despite operating out wide and there’s a belief he’s the perfect fit for Liverpool, style-wise.
Luis Diaz is a showstopper, a player you’d be desperate to buy tickets for. In the event of either Salah or Mane leaving, Liverpool fans could rest well knowing they have the perfect replacement.
Having only turned 25 on January, Diaz is also in keeping with the club’s strategy of investing in players with a high ceiling who are yet to enter their peak years.
Klopp has often talked about wanting to unearth the next star of world football rather than buying the finished article. Liverpool believe Diaz has huge potential, and there is no reason why the Columbian can’t become one of the world stars under Klopp’s tutelage like his new teammates Salah and Mane.
For now though, the Anfield faithful will be welcoming their new South American star on the block with open arms.
It’s been evidently clear for a long period of time that Manchester United are in desperate need of investment and improvement at the base of their midfield if they are to match the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool.
The club have made slight improvements under German revolutionary and tactician Ralf Rangnick, but those those glaring issues still rear its ugly head, and its costing United a place in the Premier League top four.
In Rangnick’s 4-2-2-2, he’s had to use a combination of Fred, Scott McTominay, and Nemanja Matic as his midfield base, none of whom are ideal fits for what Rangnick requires in his engine room, although McTominay has impressed there in recent weeks.
Against Burnley, the pairing of Matic and McTominay worked well, with the Serbian acting as a deep-lying progressor of the ball and the Scotsman providing the dynamism and energy to push up the pitch and support attacking moves. At 33-years of age, Matic cannot be relied on long-term to be United’s main midfield anchor, while his lack of mobility could also pose issues against teams who offer more of an attacking threat.
While both Fred and McTominay both bring energy, tenacity and aggression to the midfield, neither are reliable ball distributors, players who can break lines, feeding the ball to teammates in much more dangerous areas like that of the two no.10s behind the two forwards. And as a result, United are unable to penetrate teams with the preciseness and ruthlessness as their rivals and control games the way Rangnick wants.
According to The Athletic, Ralf Rangnick has already identified the midfield area as a point of addressing, so might we finally see some investment from Manchester United in that area in January?
If so, Iet’s have a look at three potential options Rangnick could look at to address the problem and how might they fit in at Old Trafford.
Amadou Haidara, RB Leipzig
(Photo by Harry Langer/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
Given the weaknesses in United’s existing options in midfield, their reported interest in RB Leipzig’s midfield dynamo Amadou Haidara makes perfect sense. However, this may be a difficult deal to pursue as Haidara will be on international duty for Mali at the African Cup of Nations. If United still go ahead with trying to acquire his services, he may not be available until late January, which could prove costly for United if they desperately want to address their glaring issue in midfield.
The 23-year-old midfielder still makes for smart and astute piece of business. The Malian credits Rangnick with pushing for his transfer from RB Salzburg to Leipzig in 2019, proving a key figure for the German during his time at the Red Bull Arena. Haidara is crucially the sort of all-round central midfield who has thrived in the system Rangnick is attempting to implement at Old Trafford.
During his three years at Leipzig, Haidara has wonderfully developed his craft and effectiveness in Leipzig’s high-intensity style, becoming the well-rounded midfielder who can adapt well to the specific roles he is given. Upon his arrival at Leipzig, the 23-year-old impressed as an energetic ball-winning midfielder primed in breaking up attacking play, counter-attacks (a problem United suffered against Newcastle during Christmas) as well as supporting the press, and progressing the ball through bulldozing running and fine passing.
His ball-carrying was initially the foremost way he could break opposition lines, which he still does with such impressive precision. The Malian has successfully completed 75% of his dribbles, performing 1.55 successful dribbles per 90 minutes so far this season. Haidara has also recorded 4.12 progressive carries and 1.24 carries into the final third highlighting his knack of breaking through opposition lines to progress his team up the pitch.
However, its his passing that has proving increasingly incisive, and a trait Rangnick will not be able to ignore. Haidara holds a short passing success rate of 88%, and his long passing 68% showing his incredible distribution of the ball. So far this season per 90, he averages 6.32 progressive passes placing him in the 92nd percentile of midfielders across Europe’s top-five leagues. Also, he averages 3.30 final third passes, and 1.44 passes into the penalty areas showing he is very adept at finding his more forward-thinking teammates in more dangerous areas of the pitch.
If he were to move to Old Trafford, he would of course be playing with either of Fred or McTominay in Rangnick’s 4-2-2-2. Given the caliber of offensive talent ahead of him, Haidara will be tasked in fulfiling more defensive duties. In possession, his technical quality and acumen and desire to progress the ball will be extremely pivotal for United’s patterns of play.
Almost a third of Haidara’s passes travel more toward the opposition goal, significantly more than both Fred and McTominay, in which he performs significantly more progressive passes (6.32) than the Brazilian (5.06) and the Scotsman (4.56) and also performs more passes into the opposition penalty area. Clearly, Haidara would add much more needed ball retention and progression to the United midfield.
However, Haidara’s defensive metrics are, while reasonably solid, not paticularly impressive. Though, much of that will be down to the inconsistent form of RB Leipzig this season, rather than his own struggles. He averages a quite impressive 6.70 successful pressures per 90, 10.2 in the middle third and 3.30 in the attacking third highlighting that he is very effective when playing a pressing game. Still, his tackles and interceptions are not particularly the highest (2.27) amongst the most dominant midfielders in the English top-flight but Haidara would still so much more elite dynamism, aggression and most of all ball progression that United so desperately need in their engine room.
Provided Rangnick earmarks his former player as a target in January, United are likely to swoop in and pay his £33m release clause to acquire his services from RB Leipzig. However, having already inherited an excess number of players, the German will be aware of shipping out players ahead of demanding new signings over the coming transfer window.
Boubacar Kamara, Olympic de Marseille
Amongst the many exciting talents waiting on a big move next summer, Boubacar Kamara is likely to attract many suitors over the coming transfer windows. The midfielder has undergone remarkable development, having come through the French club’s academy, and remains amongst the most coveted defensive-midfield prospects in Europe.
Despite only being 21, the midfielder has already amassed 107 Ligue 1 appearances, playing close to 8,000 minutes across five seasons in the French top-flight. A ball-winner in multiple forms – a presser, a dueler and interceptor – but he’s also as comfortable against the press as he is when pressing himself. The 21-year-old is typically Marseille’s deepest midfielder in possession of the ball, very comfortable in drawing opponents in through ball retention, then bypassing them through silky footwork, mazy runs or passing combinations with his teammates.
Largely deployed in a double-pivot under Jorge Sampaoli this season in a 4-2-3-1 formation, Kamara has excelled under the tutelage of the former Chilean head coach. In a system which allows for much freedom and rotation positionally, Kamara is the one player who’s position remains constant although he does hold the tactical intelligence to perform those free-roaming roles when required.
Sampaoli’s system strongly requires the full use of Kamara’s skill-set. He is extremely composed in possession, dictating the tempo at his own pace possessing the ability and understanding to know when the slow the game down, and when to speed it up. A skilled and well-timed passer of the ball, with a good first touch, but without the ball he’s a tenacious, aggressive and methodical ball-winner who is strong in the tackle.
At Marseille, Kamara is used as the pivot point, keeping the ball moving with short simple passes, creating angles for the centre-backs or central midfield players like his partner Matteo Guendouzi. Kamara’s role is incredibly integral to Sampaoli’s positional play as he’s always available for a pass acting as a short passing outlet allowing his side to transition into their attacking pattern of play.
Boubacar Kamara’s season heatmap
More importantly, if given the space, Kamara is so good at breaking opposition lines with decisive swift passes, but also progressing it over long distances with a lovely range and superb vision and scanning of his surroundings. Kamara holds a short passing success rate of 94.7% and a long passing rate of 73.8%, highlighting how pivotal he is to Marseille’s build-up play, whilst also averaging a stunning 5.93 passes into final third per90.
He’s just as good in his reading of the game, often the man to help out his defence when dealing with the threat of attacking moves, winning the ball with strong standing tackles, but also having the speed of thought to distribute to his teammates and start attacking moves. While he does often drop deep, he’s very adept in the mid-block situations engaging opposition receivers and intercepting them from behind.
During the past year, Kamara has been successful with 36.9% of his pressing which ranks him in the 97th percentile for central midfielders across Europe’s top-five leagues. A stat Rangnick will certainly be proud of. He also wins 2.04 tackles per 90, ranking in the 87th percentile of midfielders, also winning 46% of his challengers against dribblers ranking 91st percentile amongst midfielders in Europe’s top-five leagues. Despite standing at 5’10, he’s also a very good aerial ball-winner winning on average 1.4 aerial duels per 90 with a 61.7% win percentage ranking him in the top 13% of central midfielders across Europe.
With him in the team, United could potentially have another promising prospect on the books, capable of developing into a world-class footballer, thus, lessening their need to spend big money on future transfers for the position. United are in dire need of an adept ball-winner but also a player who is just as effective and as incisive with his ball-progression. Boubacar Kamara fits the bill.
Although the Frenchman remains likely to leave in the summer with his contract at Marseille expiring in June, United are reportedly hopeful of luring him to the club as early as January. Provided the Red Devils see an opening, given Rangnick’s preference for developing youngsters as opposed to seasoned players, Kamara could potentially prepone his plans of moving clubs this month.
Joining Manchester United now seems as attractive as ever, considering the amount of potential in the squad.
Aurelien Tchouameni, AS Monaco
Like his fellow French compatriot, Aurélien Tchouaméni is amongst the most highly coveted young central midfielders in Europe, let alone the French Ligue 1. The 21-year-old has enjoyed a remarkable season at AS Monaco under now former coach Niko Kovac, and is reportedly on the list of a lot of top clubs around Europe for his signature.
If Manchester United are indeed serious about addressing their serious issues in midfield then acquiring the services of Tchouaméni should be priority number 1. However, it will take big bucks to prize him away mid-season from Monaco who still remain in Europe’s second competition, the UEFA Europa League and still remain in the hunt for Champions League football next season.
But, the club are in a state of flux right now, and Manchester United should take advantage of the ongoing issues currently plaguing such a decorated club in France, after Niko Kovac’s surprise sacking.
The midfielder is earning such glittering praise in France right now, simply because of his expert performances at the base of Monaco’s midfield in the French top-flight. Not only has he garnered exceptional praise at club level, but in his native France colours too, aiding their Nations League success earlier this season.
Tchouaméni is superbly athletic, dynamic workhorse of a midfielder who combines his sharp turn of pace with a fine-tuned and unique anticipation and reading of the game.
As a result, he is perfectly capable of fulfilling a number of positions in the midfield making him one of the most complete performers in the French top-flight: no.8, no.6, or no.4, you name it. He is right at home in each of those positions dominating, harrassing his opponents but also providing Monaco’s frontmen with the perfect platform to attack without any real concern of what may occur behind them.
Tchouaméni is an absolute nightmare to play against. Just when attackers think they’ve broken clear of the Monaco midfield, he quickly and consummately arrives out of nowhere to snap at their heels and win back possession.
Not only does he win the ball back for Monaco with astonishing regularity, but he moves it along beautifully once he has, with an impressive range of passing allowing the midfield runners in front of him to dart into space in advanced areas knowing that possession, and therefore the space behind them, won’t be ceded.
Standing at just 6ft, 2in Tchouaméni may not at first viewing look the dominating and imposing figure that he cuts out to be, but the aura and confidence at which he performs in midfield means he is every player’s nightmare when coming up against him.
Aurélien Tchouaméni has made more tackles (133) than any other player in Europe's top five leagues in 2021.
Astonishingly, Tchouaméni made more tackles than (133) than other player in Europe’s top-five leagues in 2021.
In fulfilling his role as a capable defensive midfielder, Tchouaméni performs it with such expert assuredness and brimming confidence. He is an exceptional tackler and reader of the game making him so appealing to clubs who are in dire need of the safety he brings, clubs like Manchester United.
So far this season, he ranks in the 99th percentile for midfielders in the top 5 European leagues with 3.97 tackles per 90 meaning he is in the best of the best company with the likes of Fabinho, Casemiro and N’Golo Kante combining his aggressive nature in defending and his awareness of attacking situations developing around him meaning he can time his challenges well in order to halt opponent’s attacks.
With a unique combination of size, strength, timing, and coordination, he is quite proficient at cleanly dispossessing his markers at an exceptional rate. He is a very athletic and mobile, imposing presence, who stands at 1.87 meters (6’2”), and has extremely long legs which help him with many defensive actions – like tackling. Furthermore, his long legs mean he has a big stride when covering long distances, covering all areas in front of his defence both on and off the ball.
He would be the perfect component for Rangnick’s high-intensity style not because of his assuredness in the tackle but his ability cover all areas of the midfield pivot in the 4-2-2-2 system. He is a naturally fast player with a great engine meaning that much of the work isn’t overwhelming for him. So far this season, he’s won 1.85 tackles per 90, and performed 3.33 interceptions. In fact, his tackles + interceptions average reads at 6.42 per 90. All of it makes for superb reading, he is very adept and efficient in his role.
Even though he shows excellent balance and agility on the ball, Tchouaméni isn’t much of a ball carrier, a progressive one in that fact – he attempts 4.88 progressive carries per game, though on the rare occasion where he attempts to carry the ball over and progress it over larger distances, he seems fairly uncomfortable able to dribble out of tight areas, or muscle his way out of opponent’s pressure, though working under better elite coaches means that will only improve vastly. He holds tremendous ball control, agility and technical qualities when on the ball meaning it is incredibly difficult to dispossess him.
In terms of passprogression, Tchouaméni also operates at such a high level. Once he receives a pass, the 21-year-old always knows where he play before he even receives it, or his body positioning when he receives means he is more than capable of progressing even when it seems difficult. As stated previously, he is excellent technically and his range of passing is amongst the best in Europe, let alone Ligue 1.
Tchouaméni completes 90.9% of his short passes and 77.1% of his long passes making him a superb outlet when progressing the ball to players in more advanced areas – a trait United could do well in acquiring in the near future. He is better than Fred (87% & 77%) and partly better than McTominay (89% & 81%) at progressing the ball, averaging 5.37 progressive passes per 90, and an 5.43 final third passes. Once he receives the ball, he is not afraid to attempt to find his attacking teammates in more dangerous areas or pockets of space.
With his blend of size, mobility, dynamism, defensive intelligence, and progressive passing that will surely improve, he would be an excellent addition for a number of top teams all over Europe including Manchester United, becoming the complete performer for the here and now and at just 21 years of age, he looks to be a player who could be one of the best defensive midfielders in world football within the next 5-10 years.
A no-brainer addition to fully complement Ralf Rangnick’s style of football.
In what was shaping up to be a gripping and captivating three-horse Premier League title race heading into Christmas is threatening to become a Manchester City romp to a fourth crown in five seasons.
While there is still some way to go before someone is crowned come May, we can’t help but to predict an inevitable outcome with the way the current Premier League table is shaping up heading into Gameweek 21.
Nonetheless, its a new year and with it comes new goals, ambitions and a fresh start for all 20 Premier League clubs. The title race, chase for European football, the battle to finish amongst the elite at the top-half of the table and relegation scrap down the bottom is beginning to take effect which again means we are in for an enthralling second-half of the campaign, and it all starts with the first set of fixtures in this new year.
So without further ado, lets again dive into another batch of exciting Premier League fixtures.
GAMES POSTPONED:
Leicester City P-P Norwich City
Southampton P-P Newcastle United
Arsenal v Manchester City, Saturday 12:30PM
Manchester City will be looking to make it 11 wins in a row when they head to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday lunchtime to take on a resurgent Arsenal.
The Citizens are currently eight points clear of second-placed Chelsea and can make it 11 points with a win, for a day at least as Chelsea and Liverpool face off seventeen hours later. Arsenal occupy fourth position, four points clear of fifth-placed West Ham and Manchester United in sixth.
Arsenal faced plenty of criticism in the opening months of the 2021-22 campaign, but it has been a positive few weeks for the Gunners, who have won each of their last five matches in all competitions, including four straight Premier League victories over Southampton, West Ham, Leeds United and Norwich City.
Mikel Arteta’s men have scored 14 goals in their last 3 outings, having thumped Sunderland 5-1 in the EFL Cup on December 21 before again hitting 5 against strugglers Norwich City at Carrow Road on Boxing Day.
The Gunners had been due to take on Wolverhampton Wanderers in the league on December 28, but the match had to be postponed due to coronavirus issues in the Wolves camp. Nevertheless, the North London club have still played 19 Premier League matches during the 2021-22 campaign.
A record of 11 wins, two draws and six defeats has brought them 35 points, four points clear of fifth-placed West Ham, but Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United will also both believe that they are firmly in the top-four race at this stage of the campaign.
Unfortunately, there will be no Mikel Arteta on the touchline for this fixture, with Guardiola’s former coaching assistant testing positive for coronavirus, and there has allegedly been an outbreak among the staff at the club.
Manchester City, meanwhile, will enter this weekend’s contest off the back of a tight 1-0 win over Brentford in midweek, with Phil Foden scoring on his return to the side, his fifth league goal of the campaign.
The Citizens have now been victorious in each of their last 10 league matches, which has seen them rise to the top of the table, collecting 50 points from their opening 20 matches of the 2021-22 campaign.
Guardiola’s side are eight points off second-placed Chelsea, and nine points off Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool who are in third, with both facing off on Sunday evening, so City could be further clear at the summit heading into the next set of fixtures.
The reigning champions will take on Swindon Town in the FA Cup on January 7 before hosting Chelsea in the league on January 15, and there is a danger that they could start to run away at the summit.
Man City have won 11 of their last 12 matches against Arsenal in all competitions, including a 5-0 victory in the reverse match at the Etihad Stadium earlier this season, while they have not lost against the Gunners in the Premier League since December 2015.
FUN FACT: Manchester City have opened the scoring within the opening three minutes in each of their last three league and cup matches at the Emirates Stadium.
LEAGUE FORM:
Arsenal: LLWWWW
Manchester City: WWWWWW
KEY BATTLES: Bukayo Saka v Nathan Ake; Xhaka v De Bruyne
Man City:Ederson (GK); Cancelo, Dias, Laporte, Ake; B Silva, Gundogan, De Bruyne; Mahrez, Foden, Sterling
SCORE PREDICTION:Arsenal 1-2 Manchester City
Watford v Tottenham Hotspur, 3:00PM
Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to return to winning ways in the Premier League when they head to Vicarage Road on Saturday afternoon to take on faltering Watford.
Spurs will enter the contest off the back of a 1-1 draw with Southampton on Tuesday, while Watford suffered a disappointing 4-1 home defeat to West Ham United on the same afternoon.
Confidence was at an all-time high at Watford when the Hornets recorded a thumping 4-1 win over Manchester United on November 20, with the result ultimately leading to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s sacking as Red Devils boss.
Since then, they have struggled to build on that win, suffering five straight defeats to Leicester City, Chelsea, Manchester City, Brentford and West Ham United.
Claudio Ranieri will of course be a men sweating at his current position, considering the history and the rate at which the Watford hierarchy decide to make changes when things aren’t going their way on the pitch.
The former Leicester, Roma and Sampdoria boss was brought in to calm the storm at Vicarage Road, but it seems that storm is currently showing no signs of letting up.
The Hornets actually took the lead against West Ham on Tuesday but then conceded four times without reply to suffer a 4-1 home defeat, with the result leaving them in 17th position in the table.
Watford are only two points clear of 18th-placed Burnley, who have two games in hand, while there are only three points separating the Hertfordshire outfit from Norwich City at the bottom of the division.
The home side suffered a 1-0 loss to Tottenham in the reverse match earlier this season, but they have not been beaten by Spurs at Vicarage Road since January 2017, a record they will be desperate to put right on Saturday.
Tottenham have shown considerable improvement since Conte’s appointment at the start of November, with the Italian serial winner moving the North London club firmly into top-four contention.
Spurs are unbeaten in their seven league matches under Conte, recording four wins in the process, and a total of 30 points from 17 matches has left them in sixth position in the table, just five points behind fourth-placed Arsenal with two games in hand on the Gunners.
The capital outfit suffered a small setback on Tuesday afternoon, though, as they were held to a 1-1 draw by 10-man Southampton, with Harry Kane cancelling out an opener from James Ward-Prowse.
After Salisu’s sending off, Spurs were expected to go on and win the game, but never looked like troubling Southampton in the second-half with the home side defending comfortably to a well-deserved draw.
Tottenham looked well short of top-four challengers earlier this season under Nuno Espirito Santo, but it has not taken long for Conte to bring a winning formula to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Spurs also have two cup competitions to think about in the early stages of January, taking on Chelsea in a two-legged EFL Cup affair either side of a clash with Morecambe in the FA Cup.
FUN FACT: Harry Kane has hit five goals on New Years Day – a current Premier League record.
LEAGUE FORM:
Watford: WLLLLL
Spurs: WWWDWD
KEY BATTLES:Emmanuel Dennis v Eric Dier; Lucas v Masina
West Ham United will be looking to boost their top-four hopes in the Premier League when they head to Selhurst Park on Saturday afternoon to take on Crystal Palace.
The Hammers will enter the contest off the back of a 4-1 win at Watford, while Palace recorded a 3-0 victory over basement side Norwich City last time out.
Palace boss Patrick Vieira was again not on the touchline against Norwich on Tuesday, having recently tested positive for coronavirus, but assistant manager Osian Roberts lead the team to a 3-0 victory over the Canaries at Selhurst Park.
Palace have won five, drawn eight and lost six of their 19 Premier League matches this season to collect 23 points, which has left them in 11th spot in the table, only two points behind eighth-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The Eagles have been impressive at Selhurst Park this season, suffering just one league defeat in front of their own supporters, picking up seven points from their last three home league fixtures.
Palace have only been victorious in two of their last 13 top-flight matches against the Hammers, though, and suffered a 3-2 loss in the corresponding fixture between the two sides last term.
West Ham managed to return to winning ways in impressive fashion on Tuesday afternoon, coming from behind to record a 4-1 victory over relegation-threatened Watford, with the result following back-to-back losses against Arsenal and Southampton, seeing them lose ground in the top-four race.
The win over the Hornets was therefore incredibly important, and they are firmly in the top-four mix at this stage, currently sitting fifth in the table, level on points with Manchester United and four points behind fourth-placed Arsenal.
The 2021-22 campaign could be a famous season for West Ham, but they have two difficult away Premier League games in January, facing Palace on New Year’s Day before visiting Manchester United later in the month.
The 4-1 success over Watford would have boosted confidence, but Moyes’s side have lost three of their last five away fixtures in the Premier League, picking up just four points in the process. Can they improve that run to maintain their top four chase?
FUN FACT: Michail Antonio has recorded 11 goal involvements in his last 12 London derbies for West Ham (five goals, six assists).
LEAGUE FORM:
Crystal Palace: LLWDLW
West Ham: DWDLLW
KEY BATTLES:Marc Guehi v Michail Antonio; Tyrik Mitchell v Jarrod Bowen
West Ham:Fabianski; (GK) Coufal, Dawson, Diop, Johnson; Soucek, Rice; Bowen, Lanzini, Benrahma; Antonio
SCORE PREDICTION:Crystal Palace 2-2 West Ham United
Brentford v Aston Villa, Sunday 2:00PM
Aston Villa will be looking to return to winning ways when they travel to the Brentford Community Stadium to face-off against Brentford on Sunday afternoon.
The visitors, who are currently 12th in the table, suffered a 3-1 home defeat to Chelsea on Boxing Day, while Brentford lost 1-0 to Manchester City on Wednesday.
Brentford have won five, drawn five and lost eight of their 18 Premier League matches this season to collect 20 points, which has left them in 14th position in the table, nine points clear of the relegation zone, so it has been a successful campaign to date for the newly promoted club.
Thomas Frank’s men took four points from their two games against Leeds United and Watford earlier this month but have lost their last two against Brighton & Hove Albion and Manchester City without finding the back of the net.
Brentford have won five, drawn five and lost eight of their 18 Premier League matches this season to collect 20 points, which has left them in 14th position in the table, nine points clear of the relegation zone, so it has been a successful campaign to date for the promoted club.
Frank’s team picked up a point in a 1-1 draw with Villa in the reverse match earlier this season, while they recorded a 1-0 victory when the two teams last locked horns in Middlesex back in February 2019.
Villa, meanwhile, had been due to take on Leeds United at Elland Road on December 28, but the match was postponed due to coronavirus issues in the home side’s squad.
As a result, Steven Gerrard’s men have not been in action since suffering a 3-1 home defeat to Chelsea on Boxing Day, and a total of 22 points from 18 matches has left them languishing in 12th place, and Gerrard will certainly be looking to move the club up the table in 2022.
Villa have shown giant strides since Gerrard’s arrival as head coach, winning four of their seven matches, but they have struggled for consistency for much of the campaign and will take on Manchester United in the FA Cup and Premier League respectively in the middle of January.
The visitors have been victorious in two of their last three away league fixtures, beating Crystal Palace and Norwich City, and they are only three points behind eighth-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers on the same number of matches (18), so a win here could propel them up the table.
Villa have not actually beaten Brentford in the league since February 1947, with the Bees enjoying the better of the previous Championship meetings between the two teams.
FUN FACT: Brentford have suffered five defeats at home this season, with only fellow promoted clubs Norwich and Watford faring worse.
LEAGUE FORM:
Brentford: WLDWLL
Aston Villa: WLWLWL
KEY BATTLES: Ivan Toney v Ezri Konsa; Ollie Watkins v Pontus Jansson
Everton and Brighton & Hove Albion’s 2022 campaigns begin with an afternoon Premier League encounter on Sunday at Goodison Park.
The Toffees have not played since their impressive 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea on December 16, and ironically, the Seagulls recorded the same result against Thomas Tuchel’s side in midweek.
To say that 2021 was a mixed bag for Everton would be a true understatement, but the Toffees ultimately ended the year on a relative high note with a point at Stamford Bridge.
With clashes against Burnley and Newcastle United both being called off as outfits up and down the country work around depleted squads, Everton head into 2022 with much work to be done to eventually save Rafael Benitez’s job.
Now 15th in the table with 19 points to their name from a possible 51, Benitez’s bright start to life at Goodison Park has not had the desired effect over the winter, as Everton sit just eight points above Burnley having played a game more.
The Toffees managed to win just one of their last five home Premier League games in 2021, and history is not on their side too, as they have suffered defeat in each of their last four opening top-flight matches of the calendar year.
A tally of 10 goals conceded in their most recent four encounters at Goodison Park does not bode well for the hosts either, and the pressure is weighing heavily on Benitez’s shoulders to turn his side’s fortunes around in the New Year.
Arsenal fans of 2016 are already well aware of Danny Welbeck’s affinity for last-minute goals, something he must have picked up during his time playing under Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and Chelsea proved to be the Englishman’s next victims as Brighton claimed a point at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night.
The wins column is still looking particularly bare for Brighton, but four points from a possible six was an ideal way to end a topsy-turvy 2021, and they sit 10th in the table heading into the New Year as a result.
If Brighton end the season in the same position then Graham Potter will certainly be rewarded with some praise, but he knows his side will need to start getting luck and points on the board if that is to be achieved.
A stalemate at Stamford Bridge represented a third consecutive 1-1 draw on the road for Graham Potter’s men – whose most recent win on the road came back in September – and coincidentally, all four of their opening Premier League clashes in a calendar year have ended with the spoils shared.
Demarai Gray and Dominic Calvert-Lewin propelled Everton to a 2-0 win over Brighton at the Amex back in August, and all four of the Seagulls’ Premier League trips to Goodison Park have seen them come away empty-handed.
FUN FACT: Everton are 13 points worse off after 17 games than at the same stage last season.
LEAGUE FORM:
Everton: LLLWLD
Brighton: DDDLWD
KEY BATTLES: Dominic Calvert-Lewin v Dan Burn; Abdoulaye Doucoure v Yves Bissouma
Seeking to end a dismal run of three straight defeats in their first game of 2022, Leeds United prepare to welcome fellow strugglers to Elland Road on Sunday.
The Whites have seen their recent clashes with Liverpool and Aston Villa postponed due to COVID-19, while Sean Dyche’s men lost 3-1 against Manchester United in midweek.
From the highs of establishing themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the Premier League to the lows of a likely relegation dogfight, it has been quite the topsy-turvy year for Leeds United.
Prior to seeing recent games called off, Marcelo Bielsa’s side lost three from three against Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal despite it being a tough run of games, and it would taken something special to get points from those top-four outfits.
The Whites prepare to enter 2022 16th in the Premier League table and five points clear of the relegation zone after Burnley’s defeat against Man United, so the highly-experienced Bielsa would choose no better time to weave his old magic and steady the Elland Road ship.
Leeds can take some solace in the fact that their 4-1 loss to Arsenal represents their only defeat in their last six Premier League contests at home, and the hosts have only failed to score in one of their last 11 top-flight games at Elland Road – finding the back of the net in each of their last seven.
Not since the Championship days of the 2014-15 season have Leeds lost four league encounters on the bounce, and given Burnley’s troubles on the road throughout much of 2021, the home crowd can afford to enter the New Year with a cautious sense of optimism for Sunday’s game.
Even amid Man United’s struggles to dominate matches under the tutelage of Ralf Rangnick, attempting to get one over the Red Devils at Old Trafford was a bridge too far for Burnley, who slumped to a 3-1 defeat on Thursday night.
Another fight to retain their top-flight status awaits Burnley in 2022, as Sean Dyche’s side occupy 18th spot in the table, but 17th-placed Watford and upcoming opponents Leeds are within touching distance as the Clarets aim to take advantage of their games in hand.
It is now six games without victory for Burnley in the Premier League, though, and they are one of only two sides in the English top flight – along with Newcastle United – yet to win away from home this term, but a trip to fellow strugglers Leeds could be a prime opportunity to end that barren streak.
Burnley and Leeds played out a 1-1 draw in their clash at Turf Moor earlier in the campaign, but the Whites managed to prevail 1-0 at Elland Road this time last year thanks to a fifth-minute penalty from talisman Patrick Bamford.
FUN FACT: Brazilian wing-wizard Raphinha has been directly involved in 50% of Leeds United’s league goals this season (8 goals, 1 assist).
LEAGUE FORM:
Leeds United: DWDLLL
Burnley: DDDLDL
KEY BATTLES: Patrick Bamford v James Tarkowski; Chris Wood v Diego Llorente
Second meets third in an intriguing opening to the calendar year at Stamford Bridge, as title rivals Chelsea and Liverpool prepare for battle in the capital.
Thomas Tuchel’s side were held to a 1-1 draw by Brighton & Hove Albion last time out, while the Reds were sunk by Leicester City in a 1-0 defeat. at the King Power.
Winter was certainly unforgiving to those in Blue, as a frustrated Thomas Tuchel bemoaned his side’s growing absentee list after Brighton took a point home from Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night.
The Blues have now fallen eight points behind runaway leaders Manchester City in the rankings, and even though the season has only just reached its midway point, Tuchel claimed that it would be “stupid” to think his depleted side are capable of competing for top-flight glory.
VAR comments aside as well, four of Chelsea’s last five Premier League encounters at Stamford Bridge have now ended 1-1, and failing to keep a single home clean sheet in that run represents quite the downturn from Chelsea’s formerly steadfast defence under the German.
It would be ignorant to write Chelsea out of the title race ahead of the New Year, and they were certainly done a favour by Leicester before the confidence-sapped Reds make the journey South.
Before a ball was kicked at the King Power, all signs pointed towards an away victory especially amongst the star-studded pundits covering the fixture for Amazon Prime. The Reds had enjoyed a six-day recovery period after dumping the Foxes out of the EFL Cup, while Brendan Rodgers was short of options 48 hours after the 6-3 loss to Manchester City.
However, Leicester dug deep to pick up a much needed win in front of their own fans, as Ademola Lookman came off the bench to dent Liverpool’s title aspirations.
Defeat at the King Power marked only Liverpool’s second loss in the 2021-22 season across all competitions, and the third-placed Reds now find themselves nine points adrift of Man City having played a game fewer, and fourth-placed Arsenal are suddenly just six points behind.
Jurgen Klopp’s men will leapfrog the Blues back into the top two with victory in the capital, but they have failed to beat three London sides in Brentford, West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur away from home so far this season.
Neither Chelsea nor Liverpool tend to kick off the New Year on a high note either, but recent history is in the Reds’ favour, as they have only lost two of their last 11 Premier League games against the Blues at Stamford Bridge.
FUN FACT: Liverpool could lose consecutive away league games for the first time since February 2017, when they were beaten by Hull City and then Leicester City.
LEAGUE FORM:
Chelsea: LWDDWD
Liverpool: WWWWDL
KEY BATTLES: Romelu Lukaku v Virgil Van Dijk; Sadio Mane v Cesar Azpilicueta
The tide is certainly changing at Manchester United. The road forward is looking much more optimistic and clearer after the debacle that had been their final weeks under former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
In just a couple weeks since Ralf Rangnick’s interim appointment, the uncertainty and doubts that swept through Old Trafford has been completely wiped away. The small changes and progression may be difficult to pinpoint from the outside looking in but, certainly the German tactician and revolutionary has already made quite a drastic impact within the United camp.
Finally the club possess a leader who can imprint a vision, philosophy and an intriguing style of play that has been somewhat lost on the red side of Manchester, while the blue half continues to capture the imagination of every football fan in the country, even those in support of United.
Despite their impressive third and second placed finishes under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, there was still the feeling that Manchester United were missing that telling ingredient that immediately would catapult them to the same levels as their rivals Liverpool and Manchester City.
Well, those inside the Theatre of Dreams for Ralf Rangnick’s maiden match as Manchester United’s new interim manager were treated to a number of novel sights, especially on the tactical side.
For starters, United played in a 4-2-2-2 shape. They pressed from the front and saw a different side to Fred, the much-maligned chaos merchant who scored the winner in a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace.
More significantly, it was the sight an attack-minded full back marauding up the right wing, putting in piercing crosses into the box as well as providing a ruthless threat on that flank for the whole game.
Under Solskjaer, that sight had simply gone amiss, with the Norwegian favouring the more defensive Aaron Wan-Bissaka in the position. Against Palace, Rangnick opted for Diogo Dalot instead and the transformation, balance and enthusiasm in United’s attacking play was stark.
As shown in Dalot’s individual stats against Palace, the Portuguese full-back proved a constant menace down that right-flank. For some 90 minutes, United fans thought they’d seen a reincarnation of the Old Trafford legend and former player Gary Neville.
Dalot as well as a rejuvenated Alex Telles, was pivotal to the way Manchester United played in Rangnick’s first match. Primarily, his role was to offer width and an outlet in a system that is otherwise narrow forcing play through the middle of the pitch.
The Portuguese international was given a lot of space to stride into with out-an-out wingers Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho tucked inside, and offering threat in the half-space.
On top of this, Dalot proved a stunning supply line, passing the ball into the opposition penalty box five times, more than any other player on the pitch. He also made nine successful long passes, six ball recoveries and two successful crosses, putting in the sort of performance Rangnick cries out for from his full backs.
Manchester United’s performance had Rangnick’s fingerprints all over it, and it was quite considering he had a day’s worth of training to get stuck into his new job. The German has been hired to impose a new style of play a team that has been lacking such cutting edge front-foot football for a long-while and the full back position could be where we see the greatest changes between the Solskjaer-era and the new regime.
And this spells bad news for £50 million man Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
While there is no doubting the 24-year-old’s ability and defensive style as one of the best one-on-one defenders in the Premier League, he is supremely limited in his attacking output.
Wan-Bissaka has tried to adapt his natural game, but it’s clear that anything beyond the halfway line pushes him outside of his comfort zone. At times, he’s looked clueless, somewhat awkward and lacking in any real urgency when attacking in the final third areas.
That was the case in United’s latest game under Rangnick, their 1-1 draw against Young Boys in their final UEFA Champions League group stage bow. Diogo Dalot, who was rested for the game will have watched his English teammate’s performance and not feel threatened one bit.
Wan-Bissaka, who came in after missing the Arsenal game with a hand injury and after being dropped for the Crystal Palace match, had an evening to forget. The right-back unfortunately failed his audition in front of his new manager.
He received a bang to the face, another knock to his wrist and left the pitch on a stretcher after clattering into the advertising hoardings as he raced for the ball on the slippery surface in second-half stoppage time. It was a sorry sight for a player who has impressed on occasion, but doesn’t seem the reliable outlet United have needed and are crying out for when attacking down that right-flank.
Under Solskjaer, Wan-Bissaka’s limitations were masked somewhat due to the presence of a wide attacker, whether that be Mason Greenwood, Jadon Sancho or someone else, ahead of him on the right side. Simply stopping opponents from getting in behind often proved enough for the former Crystal Palace man.
It’s even gotten to a point where much of Manchester United’s opponents aren’t as worried or tested when Wan-Bissaka attacks down the right-flank. When Solskjaer’s team had the ball, they were almost forced to go down the side they felt weakest as a result of Wan-Bissaka’s frailties as an attacking full-back.
It’s also a position where United have fallen well behind their main rivals: Chelsea possess the qualities of Reece James, Manchester City have Joao Cancelo and Kyle Waker, while Liverpool possess the extraordinary creative abilities of Trent-Alexander-Arnold. It was simply no secret when Solskjaer was reportedly interested in the services of Atletico Madrid and England full-back Kieran Trippier last summer to provide the club with a much more complete and well-rounded full-back.
A failed move in which United had to make do with what they had.
Rangnick has a strong reputation for honing the skills of young players but the 24-year-old put in another ponderous and nervy display against Young Boys.
Wan-Bissaka, who was sent off in the reverse fixture back in September, failed to find a team-mate with any of his two crosses, did not play a single key pass and made the majority of his touches in deep areas.
His performance was the polar-opposite to the one Dalot put in at Old Trafford at the weekend, with the Portugal international showing he can excel in Rangnick’s preferred 4-2-2-2 formation.
With Rangnick at the helm, though, Manchester United will certainly need more dynamism from their full backs on both flanks. For Luke Shaw and Alex Telles, this won’t be much of a problem with both possessing the propensity to provide that telling impact in the final third.
Dalot, who’s attacking play has somewhat gone unnoticed at Old Trafford will add plenty to United’s new and reformed attacking play. The 22-year-old proved himself as a reliable option on loan at AC Milan last season and even forced his way into Portugal’s squad for Euro 2020.
So far in a matter of weeks, the 22-year-old has proven he isn’t out of his depth at this level.
For Wan Bissaka, the doubts still remain whether he can cut it at the elite level.
Wan-Bissaka has his qualities, of that there is no question. If humanity ever needs a sliding tackle or a vital block to save the world, then Wan-Bissaka’s the man. When it comes to one-versus-one defending, he is arguably the best in the country.
However, there are still facets of his defending that needs work, at times he too often drifts off when defending crosses from the opposite flank, and he hasn’t nailed down yet exactly when to press or hold his ground in a whatever shape United’s defence is taking, something Rangnick will be poised to help him solve.
Solskjaer and his coaching staff just did not have the qualities and skills to iron out the kinks in Wan-Bissaka’s game, but as we have seen already, Rangnick can spot a flaw and take the necessary steps to rectify it, he’s spent his whole career shaping young talents.
Certainly, Dalot has weaknesses in his defending too. Though, once Rangnick has United controlling games the way he wants, Dalot may not be tasked in fulfilling defensive duties as much as he has been previously.
In the attacking sense, Dalot is averaging an impressive 2.33 passes per 90 into the opposition box. Joao Cancelo is on 2.55; Trent Alexander-Arnold is averaging 2.76; Reece James’ average per 90 is 2.35. Wan-Bissaka’s stands at 0.69. He has attempted nine passes into the box in 13 starts this season; Dalot trails by two in just two starts and four substitute appearances, the differences where it matters most in attack are very clear.
Diogo Dalot shows exactly the importance of having technical ability at right-back during the build-up to Fred’s goal. Instead of attacks breaking down with AWB, Dalot dribbles inside and fires a pass into Greenwood in the box. That’s part of being a full-back in the modern game.
The Portuguese international has also recorded 2.31 shot-creating actions per 90, while Wan-Bissaka sits at 1.62. Also Dalot averages more passes into the final third, more progressive passes, more passes into the penalty as well as crosses, exactly what an attacking full-back needs in his role. Dalot’s qualities supersede Wan-Bissaka’s in every sense of the role.
That’s one of the many reasons why Rangnick will continue to call on Dalot, as Manchester United’s permanent attacking full-back for now. Wan-Bissaka will almost certainly be given a chance to prove himself to Rangnick between now and the end of the season, but the pressure for him to improve his game really is on.
If the former Palace man doesn’t adapt his style, if he doesn’t absorb the exciting ideas and methods of his new boss, he may find his United career at serious risk.
Classy. Elegant. Unique. Intelligent. Unerring. Unplayable, you name it. There is simply not enough superlatives out there to describe the immeasurable class, craft and qualities of Manchester City’s Portuguese maestro Bernardo Silva.
After yet another stunning individual display against Aston Villa, his boss Pep Guardiola went that step further and called his midfield lieutenant “the best” after his sumptuous strike sunk a rejuvenated Villa at Villa Park on gameweek 14.
Sure, recent Ballon d’or winner and former student of Guardiola, Lionel Messi and arguably the Premier League’s most consistent performer currently in Mohammed Salah – who controversially finished seventh on the Ballon d’or list – will have plenty reservations about Guardiola’s comments on Silva, but the way the 27-year-old is playing right now, you’d be forgiven for being in agreement with Guardiola’s brave comments.
“He is the best,” Guardiola said. “He was the best two or three seasons ago. He was the best then too. He has a special ability to do whatever he wants with the ball. Against a good goalkeeper it was an incredible finish.
You have to go back to when we won with 98 points, review the videos, you will see the same player like this right now.“
Indeed, that 2018/19 season in which Manchester City raced to the league title with an astonishing record of 98 points was arguably Silva’s best year in a City shirt. The Portuguese magician recorded an impressive 7 goals and 7 assists in 36 appearances in which he was awarded with the club’s player of the year gong, and that was the year in which Guardiola also possessed the legendary David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne both fully fit and firing.
Now, it feels much different. With much more responsibility, expectation and more leadership Bernardo Silva is responding with such remarkable grace and efficiency, and that’s why Guardiola admitted not along ago that he is simply ‘undroppable’, he is always one of the first names on the team-sheet.
But, its a year City needs him now more than ever, with David Silva taking on pastures new in Sociedad and Kevin De Bruyne struggling to get off the injury table, the onus is on Bernardo Silva to drag City to that next level, and that he is doing to such consummate aplomb.
Against Villa, Silva was at his sparkling best, proving the decisive factor and capped off a brilliant display with a goal truly representing his phenomenal and unique qualities, rounding off a silky City counter-attack.
It was a counter which simply cut Aston Villa to shreds, and it all started from their own penalty area with Mahrez pressured by two Villa players still managing to thread a sneaky ball to Fernandinho who found Gabriel Jesus making a dart beyond Tyrone Mings towards the right wing, behind Targett, and playing the perfect ball: 40 yards, expertly into his countrymen’s path.
With one look up to screen his surroundings, the Brazilian striker perfectly lofted an outstanding weighted cross for Bernardo Silva who would have been forgiven in taking a touch and then striking the ball, but that’s not the confidence and sheer class he’s playing at, instead he took it first time. A quite simply mesmerising hit which Emiliano Martínez could do nothing about.
This is a footballer oozing such peerless quality, spellbinding skill and technique, a first touch to simply melt over and phenomenal dribbling that even Ballon d’or winner Lionel Messi would certainly hand over his prestigious award for.
Like the 2018/19 campaign, Bernardo Silva is simply at the top of his game right now, and there’s no reason why he can’t surpass his tally from that season. He’s so far recorded 8 G/A (7 goals, 1 assist) in the Premier League so far with still around four months of the season to go.
Image via Sky Sports
However, goal contributions stats simply does not do his performances any justice. If you want to read well into how good and crafty Bernardo Silva is performing, you need to dive much deeper and the stats shown above is only half the story. He’s first at City for goals scored (5), dribbles attempted (38), distances covered (148.2), and second for interceptions (7) and duels won (63), so not only is he thriving in the attacking phases of play but in his defensive actions and that’s both in his counter-pressing in the attacking third and also in the middle-third.
To put it simply, Bernardo Silva is the complete footballer putting in complete performances each and every single game for Manchester City this season. Remember, Kevin De Bruyne is still out injured – guess you forgot about him didn’t you – but really City don’t need him, because Bernardo Silva is currently pulling the Belgian’s strings in every sense of the word.
Per90 so far this season, the Portuguese magician averages 1.29 key passes, 3.15 final third passes, 1.53 passes into the penalty area and 2.82 progressive passes. Though, its in his dribbling and ball-carrying abilities that City gain so much from. For progressive carries in which he ranks in the 99th percentile of players in Europe’s top five leagues, he averages 10.01 carries per 90 (carries that moves the ball towards the opponents goal at least 5yrds, or carries into the penalty area).
The way Silva weaves past his opponents with such unerring technique, dazzling ball control and such swift deceptive movement is a wonderful sight to behold. The former Monaco man certainly isn’t the most pacey of players but the class at which he caresses the ball with such nimble footwork and awesome body movement means he really doesn’t need pace to his beat his marker.
He is amazing at working and weaving his way out of tight areas and spots showing that £100m man Jack Grealish really isn’t the best dribbler at the Etihad.
Silva has so far this season completed 2.10 dribbles per 90 with a success rate of 61.9% – astonishing. What’s all the more impressive of Silva’s game is his swiss-army knife versatility. Guardiola can play him anywhere in midfield or attack, and he’ll conjure up the decisive moments each game. Play him in a false-nine, left-wing, right-wing, a roaming no.8 and he’ll still perform to his utmost best.
Bernardo Silva’s season heatmap
The Portuguese never stops running, never gives in and its shown in the amount of distances he puts in and on the heatmap above. Again, according to the stats, he is indeed the league’s hardest worker.
via Sky Sports
He has the numbers to back that claim up. Among regular Premier League players this season, Silva has covered more ground per 90 minutes than anyone else in the competition. He is averaging almost 12 kilometres per game, a perfect picture of perpetual motion.
Another remarkable stat is that only City’s holding midfield player Rodri has won back possession of the ball for the champions more times than Silva has this season in both the middle and final third of the pitch.
A uniquely gifted footballer, so meticulous and methodical in the way he weaves about in various areas on the pitch, with purpose, panache and a tactical understanding that Guardiola deems “the best”. It’s why he is undroppable, even if City play twice in three days.
The goal at Villa is the perfect example of how vital he is to City, making sure he is in the right place at the right time to score the decisive goals, he bamboozled at Old Trafford against rivals Manchester United, got the decisive assist against Paris Saint-Germain at the Etihad in the UEFA Champions League where he completed 100% of his 47 passes. He wowed against Everton on the same turf, put in a phenomenal full-throttle display against Liverpool in the 2-2 draw at Anfield, against Brighton at the Amex and so on an so forth. There is simply no stopping this man.
It’s amazing to think last season could well have been his last in a Manchester City shirt, with the Portuguese star reportedly stating his displeasure at a lack of game time, but Guardiola has heeded his doubts, placed his faith in him again, especially in the absence of key man Kevin De Bruyne and Silva is repaying that faith. It’s a credit to him in laying aside his complaints and sticking to his guns because he may have a huge say in this season’s captivating three-horse race for the Premier League title.
Silva shown through once again as Manchester City ran out a comfortable 3-1 over Watford at Vicarage Road. The Portuguese was yet again the star of the show, whose two brilliantly taken goals on the day took him to seven in the Premier League for the season — equaling his best season total in a Manchester City shirt.
The Portugal international’s six goals in his last eight league games has been a better return than his previous 61 games for Guardiola, and while his goalscoring looks to be running a bit hot when compared with his xG, you only have to look at some of his finishing to find that he is indeed playing at arguably his best levels yet as a Manchester City player.
While the 27-year-old is clearly on a hot streak with 0.52 goals per 90 this season, it is intriguing to see that his underlying attacking numbers are actually back on the level he was at during the 2019-20 season.
While Manchester City reclaimed their league title from Liverpool last campaign, Silva saw a drop in his attacking output on a personal level. So far this season, he is superseding those numbers and is currently head and shoulders above everybody else in the team.
Can we all agree that behind Mo Salah, Bernardo Silva has been the best player in the Premier League this season?
Certainly, City’s best piece of business last summer was convincing Bernardo Silva to remain at the Etihad, you’ve got to wonder what might have been had the likes of Real Madrid or Barcelona had the money to spend. Silva would have surely been an asset to any of the Spanish giants.
For now though, he remains City’s master craftsman, their chief creating officer. Doesn’t Pep Guardiola know it?
There’s simply no doubt about it, on James Maddison’s day he is arguably one of the most gifted attacking midfielders on the continent let alone England.
Seasoned creators like Bruno Fernandes, Kevin De Bruyne, Lorenzo Pellegrini and Hakan Çalhanoğlu to name a few of Europe’s most prestigious final third magicians; these players’ lofty elite levels aren’t too high for Maddison to reach when is on song.
In fact, there are periods in each passing season where Maddison is actually on-par with those names, grabbing the iniative in matches, and becoming Leicester City’s main creative hub when they are in desperate need of goals.
But that’s just it, they are only ‘periods’. There’s too many instances where we don’t see the real James Maddison at all. When Leicester have their backs against the wall at crucial points in the season, the midfielder is nowhere to be found, clutching at straws, and that’s what separates him from Europe’s elite creators.
(Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
These are players who don’t only perform in spells or periods during a season, but who provide the missing ingredients and much needed inspiration on a consistent basis when their clubs need it most.
It’s no wonder why Gareth Southgate is justified in out-casting Maddison from his England setup – due his worrying consistency levels.
James Maddison is capable of reaching those incredible levels, and that’s where he must take his game to next if he is to be considered amongst those elite creators in Europe.
Last season has got to be considered his most productive yet, recording 11 goals and 9 assists in all competitions – 8 goals and 5 assists in the Premier League – but the challenge was to build on that. As successful as Leicester’s campaign was last year, it was a challenge for not only Maddison to build on those performances, but for the whole team too.
So far this season, it just hasn’t clicked for Brendan Rodgers and his men. Many expected them to be where West Ham currently are in fourth or fifth spot, a few points off the so-called ‘title challengers’, instead 13 games, in and the club currently sit in 10th place, fortunately just five points off the Champions League spots.
It was supposed to be the year Leicester took that one step further after their tremendous FA Cup success in May, the year they banked on actually breaking into the top four and finally achieving a Champions League spot after just missing out the previous two campaigns, but so far they’ve given themselves a mountain to climb.
After three league games without a win, a win over former boss Claudio Ranieri and his Watford side was paramount, and there are no prizes for guessing who stepped up when the club needed him most. Nope, it wasn’t Jamie Vardy who returned to goalscoring form, but another one of Brendan Rodgers’ go-to men; James Maddison.
A goal and two assists Maddison recorded as Leicester City triumphed 4-2 at the King Power. Just a few days earlier, the former Norwich City man hit the same goal involvements in the Europa League as the Foxes eased to a 3-1 win over Legia Warsaw.
Maddison’s return to form has been welcome and timely for the club, Brendan Rodgers and Jamie Vardy even – but most of all, for Maddison on a personal level. The 25-year-old has found his swagger and spark at just the right time for Leicester as Youri Tielemans’ absence with injury has left Rodgers without a reliable ball-player and creative outlet in the middle of the park.
Wilfred Ndidi and Boubakary Soumaré are solid enforcers in front of the back four, but you could argue neither of them possess the ability to dissect stout defences with that telling pass. James Maddison is of course Leicester’s most decisive outlet when performing those cutting edge final third passes.
It’s been a frustrating start to the campaign for Maddison, especially when his England counterparts Phil Foden, Jack Grealish and Mason Mount were firing on all cylinders for club and country. A campaign that has almost mirrored Leicester City’s own inconsistent displays, becoming symbiotic. It’s clear that when Maddison is a his masterful best, the whole team follows suit.
The thing is, Maddison hasn’t been at his best often enough.
The key for Maddison is to be a workhorse and a show pony. When he has been below his best, as shown in a couple instances so far this season, games have passed him by. He has been the passenger instead of the driving force Rodgers knows that he can be.
Life has dramatically changed off the field following the birth of his first child and he’s also had to contend with the unsettling nature of the speculation linking him to Arsenal. It’s understandable, but those are the kind of off-field situations that footballers have to navigate their way through, especially the elite level performers, and Maddison is no different.
After his performance against Legia Warsaw, the midfielder was asked if he had a point to prove. Maddison had started only five of the previous 13 games in which he had been included in the squad, suggesting Rodgers felt Maddison did need to prove that he had what it takes — to show that he wasn’t above being left out of the side, that his talent needed to be backed up with consistent displays. It has been a gentle kick up the backside.
However, during an important week in Leicester’s season, it finally looks as if Maddison taken heed of Rodgers’ demands and is back to his mercurial best.
“I think we always have a point to prove every single day,” Rodgers says. “For him, it was about looking at his game. He knows this is a level where you are always looking to prove yourself, always. He can never be calm with that. You always have to be intense. You have to work and when you are not working so well you have to keep focused and working hard.
“I think you can see, and not just in James, the confidence is returning. The level of the game, the movement is back and we look a real threat. But also working hard.”
What has been evidently clear of James Maddison under Brendan Rodgers, is his influence and decisiveness in much of Leicester’s attacking play. A conductor and an orchestrator in such a well-rounded unit. Whether playing in the most advanced position of a midfield three, or as a more deep-lying playmaker, or tucked in off the left-wing or in his more natural role directly behind Jamie Vardy, he is the man to set and maintain the tempo of their attacking moves.
When Maddison is in the mood, he is indeed unstoppable and that was perfectly proved against Watford. The 25-year-old provided his team with the ingredients to overcome a difficult task. Firstly, taking his goal expertly, but it wasn’t just down to him putting the ball in the back of the net, it was the unique nous and anticipation to run beyond Jamie Vardy and capitalize on any potential mistakes and that’s exactly what he did.
It’s the role of an attacking midfielder to roam beyond the striker and score goals as well as create them, and Maddison has excelled at that trait over the past year, something Rodgers instructed him to do more to get goals and assists, but unfortunately not doing it consistently enough.
The assist for Jamie Vardy’s first goal was absolutely delicious, a delicately weighted chip into the Vardy’s path on the angle, and the veteran striker put the gloss over a superb pass that only few players in the Premier League could replicate.
James Maddison’s heat-map against Watford
His heatmap above above may not seem the most productive, however, it shows the areas on the pitch in which he proved very decisive in Leicester’s attacking play, within that left half-space, an area where he can effectively roam inside and produce his dazzling creative abilities. Maddison is evidently on the ball less – only recording 53 touches against Watford – but when he is in possession of it, he is devastatingly effective, completing 100% of his dribbles, performing 3 accurate crosses – including another assist for Jamie Vardy’s second from a corner – seven chances created and 5 key passes.
If Leicester are to improve on their inconsistencies so far this season, James Maddison will once again prove central to their hopes. Getting Youri Tielemans back fit and firing can only aid their cause too.
Nevertheless, James Maddison is capable of the extraordinary, whether its the eye of the needle pass, the sumptuous first touch and the ability to locate areas in the final third in order to hurt the opposition, that’s what his game is built on.
It is now 7 goals + assists now in his last five starts in all competitions for Leicester City. The swagger and spark in his game has certainly returned, but in order for Maddison to reach those lofty heights, it needs to be combined with tenacity, a ruthless edge and a consistency that is so far unreachable in his game.
The 25-year-old is an elusive creative weapon for Brendan Rodgers, but maybe the reason Leicester haven’t taken that next level is because Maddison hasn’t yet expressed his extraordinary abilities over a prolonged period of time throughout a campaign. At such a crucial stage in Leicester City’s season, it certainly isn’t too late for him to start performing consistently right now.
It was exactly over a year ago – at half-time in Real Madrid’s UEFA Champions League group-stage tie against German outfit Borussia Mochengladbach – that Karim Benzema complained to teammate and French counterpart Ferland Mendy and instructed him not to pass to Brazilian Vinicius Jr as a result of the youngster’s greed and immaturity in the final third.
Karim Benzema tells Ferland Mendy not to pass to Vinicius Jr at half-time during last night’s game between Gladbach & Real Madrid: “Brother don’t play to him. On my mother’s life. He is playing against us.” pic.twitter.com/zmpciQRgAV
As ruthless and as rude as it was for Benzema to behave in such a way, the incident reflected the difficulties and struggles Vinicius Jr endured at this period in his Real Madrid career.
Certainly, he’s young, showing levels of immaturity at such a level, over-exuberant at times but it was expected especially in the context of where he came from, the branch offices of Flamengo, in the neighborhood of Mutuá, in São Gonçalo.
An area where he was taught to showboat, to express himself and to become the best trickster no matter if it came at the cost of his own team.
When Vinícius Júnior joined Real Madrid, he had it all. Well, almost. His all-round game was exciting. Dribbling second to none. Pace better than any of his opponents. Skill-set unmatched. No-one could keep up with him.
That’s who we was, a flamboyant footballer who always tried the audacious tricks, shots and pieces of skill not knowing how it could affect his teammates around him, and you’d be sure a player as experienced and decorated as Benzema is, he’d understand the nature of such a footballer seeing as he grew up in similar circumstances in France.
But when you’re as celebrated and successful as Benzema is, you expect the players around you to be hold similar mindsets and a winning mentality and it was evidently clear Vinicius Jr didn’t, which was no fault of his own.
It’s as if every time the Brazilian got to the final third, he’d slip up, either by shooting wayward when a pass to a fellow teammate would have sufficed or his over-exuberance getting the better of him attempting one or two tricks too many.
It was a recurring theme in Vinicius’ game, proving a tough cycle for him to grow out of.
But, things are much different now, fast forward a year and a month or so, you’d be delighted at the growth and maturity that the former Flamengo wing-wizard is currently performing at.
Under new coach Carlo Ancelotti, the change in his game has been magnificent, spellbinding, fearless, you name it. Vinicius Jr is a different animal and Karim Benzema now cannot get enough of him.
With ten goals and five assists in 17 appearances in all competitions, Vinicius has already surpassed his best goals and assists tally in just 17 games, only a third of the number of appearances he made in the 2020/21 season with Zinedine Zidane.
(Photo by Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)
In truth, the turnaround and maturity in his decision-making and all-round game has been nothing short of phenomenal. In 2020/21, he underperformed xG by a remarkable 3.82. For context, that’s twice as bad as anyone else in the Real Madrid squad. In 2021/22, he’s overperforming by 2.04 xG, a figure more than twice as good as anyone else, excluding Karim Benzema.
Benzema-dependencia, as the Spanish media like to call Real Madrid’s reliance on Karim Benzema for goals, well that phrase has been thrown out the window as a result of Vinicius Jr’s sudden purple patch. Now, Karim Benzema who didn’t approve of the Brazilian over a year ago, simply cannot perform without him.
While its a testament and credit to the 21-year-old, the credit must also be given to Carlo Ancelotti who has totally unleashed the Brazilian with undying belief and faith in his abilities.
This is what the Real Madrid faithful had been waiting for all along, even more so, president Florentino Perez who initially desired Neymar to fulfil his galactico-type gratification but instead had to make do with Vinicius Jr.
Vinícius scored five in La Liga’s opening five games. By matchday six, he’d already been involved in eight goals and was stepping up as one of LaLiga’s most influential players, while also racking up six goal involvements in four Champions League appearances.
Injuries have played their part. Rodrygo Goes, Eden Hazard and Gareth Bale have all struggled with fitness, while Vinícius has shone on the field while staying fit. While all three have had long-term issues, Vini has only missed one game since May 2019, but his improvements have gone far beyond just keeping fit.
“I think Vinícius has a lot of quality in one-on-ones,” the Italian coach said after the 21-year-old single-handedly tore apart Alavés. “I’ve told him that to score goals he has to take one or two touches, it’s difficult to score with four or five touches. He’s a very young player, he’s going to improve.”
It’s become a common theme so far this season; the Brazilian wing-wizard tormenting defences and tearing apart opposition defenders with peerless pieces of skill, but all of that is down to the confidence rewarded to him from players like Benzema, but more importantly the extra training sessions and his ability to heed to the advice given to him by his coaches.
Vinicius is no longer that naïve, overconfident and inexperienced raw talent that arrived through the Real Madrid doors in 2018. He’s now more an assured, mature and decorated performer, still possessing bags of potential to become even greater and that spells such great news for Real Madrid, a healthy return on their risky investment.
Vinicius has shown this season whatever the situation, he can and will create – whether it be scoring or assisting, he is quickly becoming a central protagonist within Carlo Ancelotti’s side.
Since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, Real lacked a character that was the focal point, a player who constantly threatened the opposition, and a target for opposition supporters. For all the brilliance of Benzema, the Frenchman is in actual fact universally loved and respected for his more silent and respectful demeanor.
Many thought it’d be Eden Hazard when he arrived from Chelsea, but his move hasn’t quite worked out because of injuries and lack of fitness. Gareth Bale was supposed to be the chosen one after Ronaldo left, but fans haven’t still taken quite a liking to him.
Vinicius looks the perfect candidate, he thrives in the chaos he creates, he’s comfortable with the attention he is garnering. The Brazilian is willing to stand up and wave the flag for the club, whether it be at the Mestalla, Wanda Metropolitano or Camp Nou.
The Clàsico earlier this season proved the perfect example of the mentality monster Vinicius has become. In enemy territory, in the face of much abuse, booing and jeering, he proved all-throughout to be a thorn in Barcelona’s side.
The Brazilian destroyed Barca’s right-hand flank, so much so that former boss Ronald Koeman withdrew Oscar Mingueza at halftime as a result. He may not have registered a goal or an assist, but it was clear throughout his time on the pitch, Vinicius was at the centre of Real’s attacks – a constant outlet and his teammates thrived off it.
Against Granada over the weekend, Vinicius stepped up when Real needed him most. Los Blancos were seemingly unsettled by the hosts, struggling to create and break through their stubborn backline. After the half-time break, it was Vinicius who proved the decisive contributor once again.
He played a part in a move which he finished off, within ten minutes of that, he had forced Monchu to desperately lunge at him after the Brazilian left him in his wake. The Granada midfielder was correctly sent off as a result as Vinicius lay on the turf, a smile on his face winning the battle and making his contribution toward winning the war.
All of that came just seconds after the Brazilian completed mazy jinking run ghosting past a hatful of Granada defenders, and fouling him in such a manner is now the only way defenders can stop him, yet the Brazilian would always finish the game having the last laugh.
The Brazilian finished the Granada match with a goal, 61 touches, a key pass, five dribbles, 3 shots on target with a WhoScored rating 8.58. Those stats only merely scratch the surface when analysing the kind of influence he is having on his teammates.
Amongst players in La Liga, Vinicius Jr ranks first for progressive distance carried per 90 (250.9), first for progressive carries (13.3), first for carries into the final third (3.67) and first for carries into the penalty area (3.94) highlighting his amazing dribbling efficiency but also incredible knack of taking on the responsibility in driving Real Madrid up the pitch.
He ranks second for goal-creating actions (9) and third for shot-creating actions (62) once again showing that he is being trusted with leading Real Madrid’s attacks and the growing responsibilities afforded to him.
This season, Vinícius is more incisive and clinical, no longer doubting, hesitating or waiting for that split second. While in both 2019/20 and 2020/21 he made an average of 1.2 shots per 90 minutes, the number has risen to 2.8 per 90 in 2021/22. Much of that is down purely to confidence and a greater sense of urgency in Real Madrid’s all-round play.
Vinicius Jr has certainly grown and matured into one of Europe’s most complete performers right now, and that is showing through his performances but also more importantly his goal returns have taken a huge boost and that’s a credit to him recognizing the areas in which to improve on in the final third, and its now reaping its just rewards.
The question is now, can he translate this sort of form on a consistent basis for years to come or will it drown out like so many of other young talents before him? That’s for him to decide, but the ball is totally in his flawlessly talented court.
Those previous doubts surrounding Vinicius’ naivety and recklessness in the attacking areas are fading away. There can be little doubt over his raw talent. His passion and abilities is almost trademark Brazilian, and his drive is unrivalled in the modern game. His technical ability is magnificent, and he now appears to have the finishing skills to match. He’s proven that he’s more than a young winger with flair, he’s a man who can make a difference and win a game on his own.
Real Madrid have always possessed a talent capable of taking games by the scruff of the neck, and Vinicius Jr is now the latest in a very long line of decorated and pure footballing talents. Long may his stunning form continue.
When Arnaut Danjuma joined Villarreal from AFC Bournemouth last summer for €25m, little did we know he’d make such a telling impact in Unai Emery’s progressive side so soon.
A few months into his Spanish top-flight career and the recently-made Netherlands international is a man of fire, and one of La Liga’s blossoming individuals so far this season.
After hitting 17 goals and 7 assists in the Sky Bet Championship last season, the former Club Brugge forward was always destined for bigger and better things but many thought he’d make that step up in the Barclays Premier League rather than beyond borders.
With several clubs interested in his services last summer, it was Villarreal who took a punt on his flawless abilities, and its safe to say the 24-year-old hasn’t looked back.
He did state recently, he felt he was too good for the Championship and he needed to get out, and after his first few months under Unai Emery’s tutelage, Arnaut Groeneveld Danjuma’s has supremely backed up his lofty statement with some show-stopping, electric and superb performances for the Yellow Submarines.
14 appearances, 7 goals (5 in La Liga), and 3 assists Danjuma has certainly showed he is good enough and ready to cut it amongst the most elite footballers in Europe. The slippery Dutchman has gone from the Championship to the Champions League without batting an eyelid at the transition.
Danjuma’s trajectory over the past year has been nothing short of sensational, and already he is showing his talents on the most prestigious of footballing stages in the UEFA Champions League. If you need any pieces of evidence as to how good he is, not only that, but how invaluable he’s become to Unai Emery’s side in short space of time, check out his performance against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
It was simply jaw-dropping.
The forward was the most electric player on the Old Trafford pitch, despite sharing it with five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo, Jason Sancho, Bruno Fernandes, Paul Pogba and other stars.
The former Bournemouth man had United full-back and Portuguese international Diogo Dalot on toast, cutting through him with such expert but thrilling ease. Solskjaer’s defence simply could not handle his pace, acceleration, unerring trickery and swift close-control and deceptive movement. He finished the game with an assist to his name, but also four shots, 2 key passes, 3 dribbles and with a WhoScored rating of 7.42.
There’s no doubt about it, Danjuma is amongst the most devastating forwards in Europe right now.
Danjuma’s instant impact in Spain has surprised many, but probably not coach Unai Emery, who asked club president Fernando Roig to sign the winger this summer.
The former Arsenal manager must have made a strong case because Villarreal splashed out €25 million (£21m) on the Bournemouth man – a large transfer fee by recent Spanish standards.
While giants Real Madrid and Barcelona picked up David Alaba and Memphis Depay on free transfers, Villarreal made Danjuma the second-most expensive signing in their history, behind Paco Alcacer.
Always fun to see Championship players make the step up to a higher league and succeed, but Danjuma’s case is especially cool.
Earned his move to Bournemouth in the PL, struggled somewhat, and completely rejuvenated last season. And now he’s flying
Danjuma may have been one of La Liga’s most expensive transfers this summer, but is currently proving he’s worth every penny spent. The Europa League winners were looking for a player who could help them jump forward to the next level tactically and in attack and Danjuma is keeping his part of the bargain.
Unai Emery’s men are clearly more efficient, potent and exciting on the attack and much of that is down to Danjuma’s unpredictable nature on the left-flank.
The Dutchman is one of La Liga’s most aggressive and destructive dribblers in La Liga, averaging 2.4 dribbles per game so far this campaign, per 90 he completes on average almost 2 dribbles per game, 7.76 progressive carries, 1.34 carries into the final third and an outstanding 3.43 carries into the 18-yard box showcasing just how vital he is to Villarreal’s attacking phases of play.
Danjuma also averages 9.30 touches in the opposition’s penalty box, again highlighting that he is arguably La Liga’s most effective wingers alongside the rejuvenated Real Madrid Brazillian superstar Vinicius Jr. His non-penalty XG of 0.66 is in the 99th percentile amongst Europe’s top-five leagues making him one of the most efficient scorers so far on the continent.
The 24-year-old has certainly shown up for Emery so far this season, he netted in the thrilling 2-2 draw with Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano – a stadium he knows well from his Club Brugge days – lashing past Jan Oblak in a 2-2 draw for his first goal for the club.
Clinically netting in a 2-2 draw with Atalanta in Villarreal’s Champions League opener, he was also a livewire against Elche in a 4-1 win, bursting through the defence and scoring after an hour, and also put in a brilliant showing at the Santiago Bernabeu against Real Madrid.
That was followed by two more in the 2-0 win over Real Betis, the first coming after he cut inside from the left and cleverly slipped the ball back inside the near post. He rounded the goalkeeper for his second, showing poise and good judgement. He again came to his side’s rescue against forcing a late leveller in the closing minutes against Cadiz in a 3-3 draw.
Taking 'sitting him down' to another level. Villarreal forward Arnaut Danjuma with a scrumdiddlyumptious backheel panna on Cádiz right-back Isaac Carcelén. pic.twitter.com/mEm8Dwenoa
His tremendous form so far this season earned him a late Netherlands call up under Louis van Gaal in October, and the winger duly delivered.
“Can anyone stop Danjuma?” asked Spanish newspaper Marca after he dazzled from the bench in a 6-0 win for the Netherlands against Gibraltar.
The coach called him spectacular and pointed out that his team-mates still have to adapt to his explosive balls across the face of goal.
“He had very nice and impressive dribbles, but his team-mates were not yet geared to his hard crosses,” said Van Gaal.
With time, things will only get better in that aspect, but its clear that Danjuma has given both Louis Van Gaal and Unai Emery reasons to stand up and take notice at his incredible gifts.
His Villarreal team-mates have already given him the nickname ‘Danjumagic’, although the player humbly credits his coach for his superb start in Spain.
“I need to give a massive thanks to Unai Emery,” he told Villarreal’s website. “The coach is very busy (working) with me and he really helps me perform.”
The 24-year-old has proven the star of the show at the Estadio de la Cerámica, but has most of all proven that he can be amongst the best forwards in Europe after the tremendous campaign he enjoyed last year in the English second-division. Arnaut Danjuma was always primed for much more, and he has his sights set on much bigger things which may cause some worry amongst the Villarreal fanbase.
“I came to Villarreal to prove myself again but I’m definitely visualising the next step,” he told Mail Online in September.
It’s no surprise that the forward is already drawing interest from Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool with the former Borussia Dortmund coach reportedly sending scouts to watch Danjuma in action, who knows, the flying Dutchman may well be Sadio Mane’s heir on that left-flank at Anfield, and he’s certainly good enough to take over the role.
Danjuma is serious joy to watch in action with his blindingly quick feet, deceptive body movement and jaw-dropping trickery so it won’t only be Liverpool scouring for his services in the near future. Villarreal have already taken kindly to the 24-year-old wing wizard, and they should enjoy his magic while it lasts because the sky really is the limit for such a truly decorated footballer.
A full stadium, a warm autumnal shine, and an opportunity to take top spot in the Bundesliga: the stage was set for a thrilling and captivating battle between Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich on Sunday afternoon. A match highly anticipated as one of the best spectacles of the campaign so far, between two teams in thrilling form in front of goal.
For just three minutes or so, the fan’s appetite for the game was truly satisfied.
Until Joshua Kimmich found an unmarked Dayot Upamecano in the box from a superbly worked free-kick, who’s volley across the penalty box sublimely diverted past Lukas Hradecky with an exquisite flick by the man of the moment, Robert Lewandowski. His movement and timing to get on the end of the pass so effortless, so swift coupled with the mastery and brilliance to flick the ball home.
Is there anything Lewandowski cannot do?
A goal to make it eight goals in eight games for the Polish hitman. He ended the afternoon with nine in eight, a striker simply strutting his business on another planet blessed with a pure striker’s instinct.
The rest was history. All of about ten minutes later, Bayern Munich once again ripped through Leverkusen when Leroy Sane struck a sweet strike on to the post.
It was simply too easy for Nagelsmann’s ruthless attacking arsenal consisting of the stunning quartet of Lewandowski, Thomas Muller, Serge Gnabry and Sane who’s quickly discovering his best form once again.
A Leverkusen side thin on midfield muscle and stability — with Robert Andrich, Charles Aranguiz, Exequiel Palacios and Julian Baumgartlinger all deemed unavailable before the match — pushed further upfield in chase of a swift reply, leaving gaps between the lines that Bayern’s attackers tore through at will.
It took just seven minutes for Nagelsmann’s men to hit four goals in such ruthless and clinical fashion – Lewandowski (30th minute), Thomas Muller (34th), Gnabry (35th) and Gnabry again (37th) – simply killing any hopes and expectations fans and the media had of a closely-contested spectacle. The fourth and fifth goals scored by Gnabry was simply stunning and relentless, football played out of elite-level territory.
The cross from Thomas Muller for Gnabry’s fourth was truly mesmerising, the deft touch from Gnabry to slot home past Hradecky was even better. The fifth, Leverkusen simply could not live with as Gnabry played a quick one-two with counterpart Leon Goretzka before coolly slotting his fifth Bundesliga goal of the campaign.
Remember when Bayern had that stuttering patch all of about a month ago? With Julian Nagelsmann’s head ready to be handed on a silver platter just about two months into his tenure as Bayern boss. Well, those doubts have been well and truly dismantled.
Yes, they suffered an unexpected and historic home defeat at the hands of Eintracht Frankfurt before the international break but Nagelsmann before the contest at the BayArena, simply made sure that it was only a miniscule blip in a machine that simply cannot help blitzing their rivals on their way to domestic supremacy.
The win at Leverkusen made it 10 wins from 12 for Bayern Munich, highlighting a side showing no signs of letting up.
All Gerardo Seoane’s Leverkusen side could do was to adopt a more defensive 5-2-3 system to try and control Bayern’s rampant display in attack and hope the champions would switch into preservation mode, conserving energy for Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League group-tie trip to play Benfica in Lisbon.
Fortunately for them, Nagelsmann’s men allowed them a dot on the scoreboard when the extraordinary wonderkid Florian Wirtz executed a sumptuous through ball for Patrik Schick to score.
Seasoned Bundesliga watchers will not have been surprised at the state at which Bayern laid their rivals to rest. From defence to attack, Bayern were dominant, ruthless, relentless and merciless. Even with Niklas Sule playing at right-back, Leverkusen simply did not have the bravery to trouble Nagelsmann’s makeshift backline.
It was men against boys, but most of all it was a strong statement from Bayern that they are not growing tired of capturing more Bundesliga gongs even with a different coach in the dugout. We’ve mentioned the brilliance of Bayern’s scary quartet in attack but we cannot leave here without mentioning the industry, efficiency and controlling nature that is the reliable midfield duo of Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka showcasing a midfield masterclass.
Joshua Kimmich's game by numbers vs. Bayer Leverkusen:
119 touches 96 passes 41 final ⅓ passes 17 passes into final ⅓ 12 passes into opp box 8 ball recoveries 6 crosses 6 chances created 5 duels won 4 interceptions 3 fouls won 2 tackles made 2 clearances
Nadem Amiri, and Kerem Demirbay simply could not get near them as they both disheveled and dismantled the Leverkusen midfield and defence with their passing, movement and swift interchanging with the attackers.
The superlative class of the first 14 or 15 players in this Munich squad is a given. Combined with the sky-high intrinsic motivation levels of the players and new coach Nagelsmann’s nerdish and admirable attention to detail, it makes for a truly frightening package, and it is reflected throughout the whole starting XI.
In training, the former Hoffenheim and Leipzig coach had his team specifically rehearse the overload of the central areas, with Thomas Muller and Leroy Sane taking up spaces between the lines to create opportunities. It proved the perfect preparation for Leverkusen’s drafty set-up. “It might sound strange but we could have scored more goals in the first half,” Nagelsmann smiled contentedly in a cream-coloured Boss sweatshirt.
Take away their astounding 12-0 cup triumph over fifth division Bremer SV in August and Bayern have still scored 40 times in 11 outings so far this season. Unstoppable firepower in attack.
Bayern look more hungry, more refined, more matured and ready to fire in all cylinders this season. It’s not just the whole of Germany who have to sit up and take notice, but Europe too.
It may be a different head in the managerial dugout, but Bayern are out for blood yet again.
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