Friday, 14.03.2025
Minus that loss at the Allianz Arena, Arsenal had been playing well for a few weeks and were facing high expectations coming into this North London derby.They disappointed and were outclassed by their local rivals in
Jurgen Klopp achieved his first win in the Premier League to the ever-extending misery of Jose Mourinho as Liverpool won at Stamford Bridge following a brace from Phillipe Coutinho and one from Christian Benteke.
Jurgen Klopp’s first three games as Liverpool manager gave us just as much gegenpressing, high work-rate, and press conference comedy as we expected. The only real surprise from these three matches was that he still hadn’t earned his first win. This was rectified on Wednesday night as Liverpool beat an ever impressive Bournemouth side 1-0.
Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool just fell short of their first win as Sadio Mané equalised following a Benteke header. The game was fairly balanced throughout with a particularly interesting approach from Klopp which featured a number of changes in shape.
Since joining the club he played for between 1987 and 1991, Alan Pardew has designed an attacking-minded Crystal Palace side who have performed largely above expectations and sit 7th in the Premier League. This is even more telling when you consider the strength of the teams they have already faced, with Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and Tottenham all featuring in their first 8.
After a week of preparation, although some players did their duties for the national teams, Jürgen Klopp began his Premier League career with a point at Tottenham. Liverpool showed only rudiments of Klopp’s preferred style of football, trying to emulate the high energy gegenpressing which was synonymous with the Klopp era at Borussia Dortmund.
United’s 3-1 win over their rivals stemmed from a rather typical performance from Van Gaal’s team as their possession game first held a great focus on stability which later developed into a more aggressive performance following half-time.
Manchester City’s forwards shared the star roles in the Premier League’s first Holywood fixture of the 2015/16 season while Chelsea’s defence were poorer than they Eva have been before.
Great efficiency in counter attacks allow Everton to take 3 points away from Southampton. However, better use of open space by Saints could have resulted in a different story.
Premier League on a Friday. No more injuries, or reasons for not reaching latter stages, for English teams in the Champions League! (Well, maybe.)