It’s that time of year again. Minimal explanation needed – eleven starts and eleven substitutes. Joe Hart, Manchester City An extremely consistent campaign. There’s only so much you...
Chelsea lifted the European Cup after a tight match was decided on penalties. Jupp Heynckes named his expected line-up: Diego Contento came into the side at left-back, Antoliy Tymoshchuk played at ce...
If Chelsea did an ‘Inter 2010′ in the semi-final against Barcelona, they need to repeat the trick here – Inter went onto beat Bayern in the final that year. Jose Mourinho’s si...
The surprise package in the second half of Premier League season was the only side who switched to a back three on a permanent basis. Background It seems odd to trace Roberto Martinez’s success...
Atletico Madrid lifted the UEFA Cup for the second time in three years. Diego Simeone named his expected line-up – Tiago was suspended, so Mario Suarez and Gabi played in the centre of midfield. None...
This was a rather eventful Milan derby – not only were there six goals (including three penalties), but the result confirmed Juventus as Serie A champions. The game was frantic, open and often lackin...
It turned out to be the key substitution of the Premier League season. Samir Nasri off, Nigel De Jong on, and Yaya Toure higher up the pitch. It wasn’t necessarily an attacking substitution or a defe...
Chelsea won their fourth FA Cup in the last six years. Roberto Di Matteo went for his usual 4-2-3-1 system with no real surprises – Didier Drogba was upfront and Saloman Kalou got the nod on the left...
The graph below shows the relationship between average possession per game (along the bottom) and shots per game (along the side) for the 98 sides in the Premier League, Serie A, Ligue 1, La Liga and...
If the decision was between Harry Redknapp and Roy Hodgson, England were choosing between two very different coaches. The debate should not have been about ‘experience at big clubs’ or ‘how much the ...
A look at City’s right flank Video only available in UK for rights reasons, sorry! //
Vincent Kompany’s header won the game – and City returned to the top of the league. As expected, Roberto Mancini named an unchanged XI. That meant Pablo Zabaleta continuing at right-back, and Samir N...
This article was originally written two years ago, but in the wake of Pep Guardiola’s departure from Barcelona, it seems appropriate to re-publish. In 2004, Gabriele Marcotti wrote an article f...
Athletic Bilbao are through to the Europa League final after a 3-1 second leg victory over Sporting Lisbon at the San Mames. As is typical of Marcelo Bielsa sides, Athletic dominated possession and s...
Bayern Munich will face Chelsea in the final, after overcoming Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. Jose Mourinho made one change from the first leg – at left-back, where Fabio Coentrao was left out after a ...
Chelsea produced an astonishing defensive display – and still created chances – to progress to the Champions League final. Pep Guardiola made the surprising decision to drop Daniel Alves, bringing ba...
A look at Tevez & Aguero’s partnership Video only available in UK for rights reasons, sorry! //
Cristiano Ronaldo scored the winner as Real Madrid effectively clinched the title at the Nou Camp. Pep Guardiola made two surprise decisions, playing La Masia products Thiago Alcantara and Cristian T...
Neither side would have wanted this game to be sandwiched between two European Cup semi-finals – especially since both find themselves one goal down in their respective ties. Usually these sides have...
Didier Drogba’s goal in first half stoppage time gave Chelsea a surprise victory. Roberto Di Matteo brought in Raul Meireles, with Salomon Kalou dropping to the bench and Juan Mata moving wide. David...
A look at Wigan’s performance on Monday night. Video only available in UK for rights reasons, sorry! //
Mario Gomez scored very late to give Bayern a slender advantage going into the second leg. Jupp Heynckes’ major decision was as expected – Toni Kroos played in the advanced midfield role, with Bastia...
The major change at Chelsea under Roberto Di Matteo has been the difference in the wide positions, stemming from a combination of the change of style, and the change of formation. Andre Villas-Boas w...
Liverpool fought back from 1-0 down to book their place in the final. Kenny Dalglish went with Andy Carroll upfront and Luis Suarez behind. Jordan Henderson started on the right of a four-man midfiel...
Robert Lewandowski’s clever flick put Dortmund six points clear of Bayern – probably a decisive lead at the summit of the Bundesliga table. Dortmund were still missing Mario Gotze, who got the winner...
Articles on other sites: ESPN Samir Nasri Guardian Possession battles ESPN Tactical fouls Guardian Xavi, Scholes, Pirlo ESPN 5 underachieving sides Guardian Football Weekly podcast ESPN PSG’s i...
Last season, the number of Premier League hat-tricks was at its highest level since 1994, and this season looks like continuing the trend – with six games to go, the figure is one behind last s...
A look at Man City’s performance on Saturday. Video only available in UK for rights reasons, sorry! //
Real Madrid dropped points at home despite dominating. Jose Mourinho gave a rare start to Raul Albiol against his former club, and played Karim Benzema on the right wing, with Angel Di Maria on the b...
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