A bewildering display of tactical tinkering from Leicester City’s floundering manager Claudio Ranieri paved the way for a facile return to winning ways for Antonio Conte’s Chelsea. Continue reading
Category Archives: Premier League
Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Chelsea: Hazard irresponsibility ends winning Blues run
A double positional error from Eden Hazard, one either side of half-time, saw Chelsea concede the same goal twice — ending their 13-game winning run, and reopening the Premier Division title race to Tottenham Hotspur et al. Continue reading
Bournemouth 3-3 Arsenal: Second-half Cherries retreat tempts Giroud sting of the tail
High-pressing, right-wing overloads, and quick balls in behind the Arsenal defence put Eddie Howe’s side firmly in the driving side, but a second-half retreat played into Olivier Giroud’s hands, costing Bournemouth all three points in dramatic fashion. Continue reading
West Ham United 0-2 Manchester United: Rashford introduction adds much-needed variety to United wide threat
Marcus Rashford’s second-half introduction broke the resistance of ten-man West Ham United by adding a different dimension to a typically congested Manchester United attack. Continue reading
Leicester City 4-2 Manchester City: Pep’s square pegs come a cropper against rampant champions
Pep Guardiola’s insistence upon fielding players out of position within a bewildering array of tactical systems that they scarcely understand led to a facile evisceration by Claudio Ranieri’s under-fire champions. Continue reading
Manchester City 1-3 Chelsea: Costa efficiency decides game of fine margins
Out-pressed and overrun by Manchester City’s midfield throughout, Chelsea weathered a storm of spurned chances to secure a ruthlessly efficient eighth consecutive league victory. Continue reading
Chelsea 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur: Wing-backs the key to victory for Conte
Pinned back initially by Tottenham’s high press, Chelsea’s wing-backs took full advantage of some poor defensive transitions in wide areas to convert a woeful opening 44 minutes into a seventh consecutive league win. Continue reading
Manchester United 1-1 Arsenal: Toothless Wenger selection extends Mou hoodoo
Although Olivier Giroud’s late header earned his Arsenal side a scarcely-merited point, Arsene Wenger’s undue preoccupation with possession – at the expense of penetration – resulted in the Frenchman’s 12th consecutive failure to inflict defeat on José Mourinho. Continue reading
Chelsea 5-0 Everton: Koeman’s kamikaze tinkering costs Toffees
Ronald Koeman’s disastrous decision to field a three-man defence for the first time since August 20 helped Chelsea to inflict upon Everton one of the most one-sided thrashings of the 2016/17 Premier League season. Continue reading
Manchester United 0-0 Burnley: Heaton heroics and first-half conservatism foil ten-man United
Tom Heaton’s heroics, paired with the dismissal of Ander Herrera, limited the impact of Manchester United’s second-half tactical rejig, ensuring that José Mourinho’s side paid for yet another anaemic first-half performance by dropping two points to Sean Dyche’s Burnley. Continue reading









