Johnny Nicholson: Kane to the rescue as Arsenal not punished for off day
CONTRASTING FORTUNES: Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane (left) and Manchester City's Erling Haaland in action during the Premier League match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London. Pic: John Walton/PA Wire
Harry Kane achieved his goal scoring record and secured another win against Manchester City at home. City haven’t won at Spurs' stadium yet. Spurs were incredibly passive for the first 15 minutes and when they scored they had enjoyed just 22 per cent of possession. They started poorly, as per usual, but grew into the game once it became clear that their opponents were off form.
They were very effective on the counterattack in the second half and really should’ve won the game by three or four. The fact they didn’t was a source of frustration and although it was a great win, they have to learn to kill off teams when the opportunities present themselves. Even so, this was a win that was cheered all across North London and leaves them a point off the top four.
It was a typically idiosyncratic start to the game with Pep Guardiola setting up City in a weird 2-3-4-1 formation. At times it is as if he’s trying to make life more difficult for his team in order to prove something about the nature of football, or just to entertain himself. The fact it changed all game, at one point being a straight 4-4-2, seemed to undermine the team’s performance. He’d left Kevin De Bruyne on the bench for ‘tactical reasons’ which in itself was odd. They perked up a bit when he came on but played such a high line they were wide open to the counterattack.
Questions must be asked of Erling Haaland. He adds nothing to the team other than goals. If he’s not scoring, he’s doing almost literally nothing and has few touches in a game. He may have scored 31 goals but are they goals no-one else would’ve scored, or is he just hogging all the goals that others would have notched anyway? Against Spurs they were effectively playing with nine outfield players because the Norwegian was on the pitch but absent. It could be a problem.
It was a script that was so predictable it was almost corny. Everton won 1-0 with a goal scored by an ex-Burnley player from an ex-Burnley player’s corner. The fact Everton were so physically committed and were so defensively tight, rather put the Frank Lampard era in a bad light. Either the players didn’t want to play for him or he couldn’t organise them as well as Dyche could in five days.
The centre backs of James Tarkowski and Conor Coady looked ideal for Dyche’s methods and he’ll build the team on their solidity. They are now very unlikely to be relegated and that will be a relief for everyone. However, he will want to show he’s got more strings to his bow than organising an imitation of Everton’s mid-90s ‘Dogs Of War’ team. If he can’t, how long will it be before fans feel the football being played isn’t good enough for the School of Science?
How the Gunners bounce back from their defeat against Everton will tell us a lot about the team and about Mikel Arteta. Are they getting nervous and doubting themselves or was this just one of those off days? They play a good Brentford team at home next and need to win that with some style to heal any wounds inflicted at Goodison. Then they have the crunch game against Manchester City which could be a title decider. That said, 10 days before the game, City look very out of sorts. At Everton, Arsenal looked lacklustre, even Arteta seemed subdued on the touchline. Perhaps Sean Dyche’s presence, looking like a bouncer who stops you going into the club with trainers on, was something to do with that. City’s loss on Sunday will have eased the pain of the loss on Saturday though and maintains their five point lead.
The Red Devils are playing some great football right now. While their 2-1 win over Crystal Palace looks like a tight scoreline, for 70 minutes they were dominant and played some lovely wide and sweeping football. Wout Weghorst, though not on the scoreline, really helped stretch play and create space for Antony and Rashford to work in.
Their one black mark was the red card for Casemiro. Erik Ten Hag claimed that Palace should’ve had players sent off too and complained about the inconsistency of the VAR, which is exactly what managers always used to say about referee performances. United moved up to third and they’re still in the conversation for a title win. They are consistently playing their best football for at least a decade.
It was a dreadful defeat, 3-0 to Wolves, and one which was unacceptable for a club the size of Liverpool. They were second to everything and defensively were a shambles. A one off poor game is fine, it happens, but this level of performance is now endemic. They have let in three goals in three of their last four league games. The board bought strikers when they needed defensive and creative midfielders. It’s all going wrong. The magic is gone.
They cannot play like they did in 2020. And there has to be questions of Klopp’s position. Seven years is a long time to manage a club these days. He did seven years at Dortmund and it all fell apart in the seventh. Is it deja vu all over again? Is it time for Liverpool to turn to a new man? If Real Madrid knock them out of the Champions League by mid-March, that’ll be a question that will really need answering.
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