Surely even Pep Guardiola did not imagine the success Fabian Delph’s unusual instructions would engender. Designed, presumably, to copper-fasten Manchester City’s customary possession-dominance, Delph’s turn as an inside-left-back also tempted Antonio Conte into the tactical call that cost Chelsea this game. Continue reading
Less a cup semi-final, more an exercise in underlining the scale of squad surgery facing Neil McDonald this winter. Only 15 minutes of Cork City effort, laser-focused on Limerick’s left-flank, was required to seal the Leesiders’ third-straight FAI Cup final appearance. Continue reading
Much like the celebratory title bubbly, still frustratingly iced tonight, Dundalk were Corked here. Stephen Kenny’s side tried, and failed, to beat the Leesiders at their own game. In the end, a scantly-deserved point proved a fortunate, but probably meaningless, outcome. Continue reading
Celebratory quintuple fist-pumps — for the cameras, natch — are all well and good. Requesting more reserve from one’s five midfielders, to defend a seemingly unassailable lead, is probably wiser. No prizes for guessing which box Jurgen Klopp ticked. Continue reading
On a night of sweet vindication for Neil McDonald, Limerick FC defeated champions-elect Cork City to pull five points clear of the relegation zone. Continue reading
One after the other, Harry Kenny and Neil McDonald enacted momentum-killing changes that potentially cost their respective sides a rare league victory. Continue reading
Tottenham Hotspur exorcised their Wembley demons, and added to Borussia Dortmund’s, by taking full advantage of this thriller’s defining characteristic. Continue reading
From a neutral perspective, Chris Wood’s 3rd-minute strike represented a worst-case scenario realised. So followed an eon of Burnley pressure-absorption, and a late Crystal Palace barrage, that the hosts were lucky to survive. Continue reading
By planting his foot square in the face of a sweeping Ederson, Sadio Mané delivered a knockout blow to Liverpool’s chances of punishing a cavalier Pep Guardiola selection. Continue reading
This truly was the archetypal cup-tie. Free from the yoke of clear-and-present relegation danger, both Galway United and Limerick FC contested an incredibly open game that could have gone either way. Ultimately, it was the latter who punished the former for their shared looseness. Continue reading
Tactics Truck v2.0 