Friday, 14.03.2025
Liverpool dominated what was a defense that epitomizes what most consider to be the standard English Premier League defense. Rodgers used some of his most skilled players in the best roles for this particular match, and the players did not disappoint.
Mourinho impressed with his Chelsea squad looking strategically sound and fluid. They are looking more and more like the team he spoke about when he initially took over the Chelsea job for the 2nd time.
Both teams put high importance on stability in build up play. Both teams had well-coordinated pressure on defense, though Southampton was on a higher level in terms of their pressing. Both teams used their forwards in a narrow and combinative manner, but there were certain differences that led to Southampton’s victory on the day.
Hull City showed some potential to escape relegation in the EPL. Hull City played a big part in determining the rhythm of the match, while Swansea played well in defense. Swansea played a large amount of long passes while also displaying some spurts of great positioning, which led to their win.
The recent history of Southampton FC is a story of descent and resurrection, talent and sales. They had reached the end of the 2000s in League One, then built up a team with Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana and Morgan Schneiderlin.
The transfer expenditures alone have exceeded the one billion euro mark this summer. English clubs invested like never before in new arrivals but only brought in half that amount by selling players. What will you buy for yourself? What would you like to make up for? What is going wrong in English football?
Since 2005, Arsenal has only won one trophy, last season’s FA Cup. Wenger has long been accused of not investing in the club while his supporters argued that his austerity was necessary to finance the new stadium and other infrastructure projects.
Another loss for Liverpool. This time an interesting tactical idea from Brendan Rodgers failed to have any (positive) impact.
The Portuguese tactician meets his Dutch mentor. A battle of football giants. Jose Mourinho nearly took all 3 points against Van Gaal in Manchester after Didier Drogba scored his Premier League opener. Robin Van Persie managed to save his team a point with a last second goal off of a set piece.
Chelsea (1st place) and Crystal Palace (16th place) played a half of 11 vs. 11 and then decided that was too boring. Instead, each team received a red card before halftime and played 10 vs. 10 in the second half.