Category Archives: Manchester City

English game lacks Champions League quality – but at least it is unpredictable

“Two down, two to go. Chelsea’s exit from the Champions League means half of the Premier League’s four entrants have gone and, barring something miraculous in the Camp Nou next week, Arsenal will join them, leaving only Manchester City, assuming they finish the job against Dynamo Kyiv. Had it not been for a tough knockout draw for Italian sides this season, the Premier League’s fourth Champions League slot might have come under serious threat from Serie A for 2017-18. As it is, England has picked up half a point more than Italy so far this season and, with only two Italian sides left in European competition one of them Juventus, who must go to Bayern Munich after a 2-2 draw in the home leg, that advantage should be increased. Given the Premier League’s wealth – it has 17 of the 30 clubs with the highest revenue in the world, according to the latest Deloitte report – the fact that the coefficient is even an issue is faintly embarrassing.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

Arsenal are finding fresh ways to fail in pursuit of Premier League title

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“Last season it was August, the season before that it was March, the season before that it was January and the season before that it was March and April and bit of May. This season it’s now. Every year Arsenal have a spell in which they undo the good work that has made them look potential title challengers. That was perhaps the most striking aspect of the defeats by Manchester United and Swansea: that this lack of edge, this failure to seize an opportunity, felt so familiar.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson (Video)

Manchester City on verge of first UCL quarterfinal; PSV holds Atletico

“Manchester City took a major step towards its first UEFA Champions League quarterfinal with a 3-1 victory away to Dynamo Kyiv in the first leg of its round-of-16 tie. City, much improved after its struggles in recent weeks, took a 2-0 lead in the first half thanks to goals from Sergio Aguero and David Silva. Vitaliy Buyalskyi pulled one back with a deflected shot just before the hour mark, but a superb goal from Yaya Toure–who had earlier missed a golden chance–restored the two-goal margin in the final minute. In Eindhoven, PSV was reduced to 10 men with more than a quarter of the game still to play with a red card to Gaston Pereiro, but the Eredivisie leader held out against Atletico Madrid for a 0-0 draw.” SI – Jonathan Wilson

Five Bundesliga youngsters that Premier League teams will be looking to sign

“In an era, where the total net worth of squads in the BPL (4.4billion Euros) is double that of the Bundesliga teams (2.38 billion), and the third richest/most valuable clubs in Germany (Leverkusen and Schalke are around 200 million Euros) would barely crack the top 10 in England (West Ham and Newcastle are tied for 9th at 182 mil each) moving to the Premier League after one or two great seasons has increasingly become the norm for Bundesliga talents.” Bundesliga Fanatic

Super Sunday, Predictions And Palace: Premier League Round Up

“Super Sunday came and went as a thrilling spectacle for the non-partisan bystander. The two games featuring the top four contenders–who by any reasonable estimation have all but sealed their places–were full of contentious decisions, tension, storylines and thrills. Even the most stone-hearted fan could surely not have been slightly warmed by the returning Danny Welbeck and his winning contribution and significantly, Arsenal’s late winner kept the four teams within a six point range. Everything about Arsenal’s title challenge is reliant on squad fitness so from that perspective a deep bench for the first time since around November was a huge bonus.” Stats Bomb

Leicester City – the New Romantics?

“Romance died in the Premier League on Sunday 27th April 2014. That was the afternoon Liverpool rested on top of the division, needing only a point at home to Chelsea to keep the advances of Manchester City at bay. Fuelled by the passion of Steven Gerrard and the brilliance of Luis Suarez, Liverpool had surged ahead of the pack on the back of eleven straight victories. The Gods of Football had decided that Stevie G, Anfield legend, would have the fairytale ending to a career that had so far been missing a Premier League medal. Significantly too, this would come in the year and months of Hillsborough’s 25th anniversary. After two decades, the natural order of British football was to be restored. The pretenders to the throne had been swept aside one by one.” Football Pink

Leicester City keep getting better as Premier League title race heats up

“We should no longer be surprised by Leicester’s continued excellent form, but the manner with which they defeated previous title favourites Manchester City on Saturday was quite staggering. Having taken the lead following the game’s first significant incident, Leicester continued to counter-attack dangerously and only looked under serious pressure in the final 10 minutes, perhaps when they thought the game was already won. Is complacency really going to be the factor that allows other sides back into the title race?” ESPN – Michael Cox

How will Pep Guardiola assess Manchester City’s current squad?

“Predicting Pep Guardiola’s assessment of Manchester City’s current squad is a trickier task than might be expected. Across his time in charge at Barcelona and Bayern Munich there are common themes and obvious concepts he insists upon — the simple concept of possession football being the most obvious example — but his favoured type of player has varied dramatically. It’s worth remembering, for example, that when Guardiola took charge of Bayern three years ago, the consensus was that he’d struggle to find a place for Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben — wingers rather than the wide forwards with whom he’d worked at Barcelona.” ESPN – Michael Cox

Smaller clubs toppling Premier League elite – we may have to get used to it

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“It may simply be that this season is a freak. Leicester have 47 points after 23 games; not since 2002-03 have the leaders had fewer than 50 points at this stage. If teams keep winning points at the same rate as they have up till now, they will end up with 78, the lowest tally to win the title since Manchester United did it with 75 in 1996-97 when they effectively had the league sown up by the beginning of May and drew three games on the run-in, still finishing seven clear of Newcastle United in second.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

Garth Crooks’ team of the week: Alli, Firmino, Payet

“Behind them, heavyweights Manchester City and Arsenal both slipped up in their pursuit, with Tottenham gaining ground on the duo with a 3-1 win over Crystal Palace. Manchester United are now five points shy of fourth spot following their home defeat by Southampton. But who were the outstanding performers? Here are my selections…” BBC

Five players who could leave Manchester City in the summer

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“Manchester City’s squad is expected to undergo an overhaul this coming offseason if Pep Guardiola succeeds Manual Pellegrini as manager. There has already been talk around who the Spaniard would bring to the Premier League with him and that will of course lead to exits from the Etihad Stadium.” backpagefootball

FA Cup’s declining status to continue in modern Premier League world

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“As the cliché goes, the third round of the FA Cup is the most romantic weekend of the season; but it’s some time since the cliché has been true. Instead, a new tradition has sprung up, that of bemoaning the FA Cup’s declining status. The first week of January is now when English football gets together and makes some half-baked suggestions about how to restore the competition’s relevance. It seems bizarre now that the FA Cup was until the late 1980s the premier competition of English football.” SI – Jonathan Wilson

Book review: Fully Programmed – The lost world of football programmes

“Derek Hammond and Gary Silke have already achieved critical praise and impressive sale figures for their excellent ‘Got Not Got’ and ‘The Lost World of’ series of books on footballing nostalgia. Their regular articles are also featured in BackPass magazine. This book represents another worthy addition to their collection. To some people, programme collecting as a hobby is on a par with train spotting. It is considered to be the preserve of males still living at home with their mothers and is a peculiarly British tradition. Nothing could be further from the truth- programme collecting has always been cool.” Football Pink, amazon, [PDF] Fully Programmed: The Lost World of Football Programmes

A Compilation of EPL Model Predictions after Round 20/38

“The 3rd round FA Cup weekend is already under way which means a break from the arduous Premier League season. With 20 out of the 38 rounds finished and 200 current season matches to draw data from, it seems like a good time to attempt to predict what might happen at the end of the season. Will Leicester City carry on with their spectacular early, but recently waning, form and be crowned champions at the end of the year, having been fighting against relegation just the year before? Will Spurs win their first league title in more than half-a-century, or will it be one of the more usual suspects in Arsenal or Manchester City? What should we expect from traditional powerhouses Manchester United and Chelsea? And is there any salvation for Aston Villa? Too many questions and if you are looking for definitive answers, this is NOT the place to be.” Stats Bomb

The Premier League: A New World Order or a temporary glitch?

“So is this the most extraordinary Premier League season ever? One where all the certainties of elite financial domination have been smashed and football is once more truly competitive and absorbing? Or is where we find ourselves after the first half of the season just a blip before the football universe’s financial masters reassert themselves? The truth is that we won’t know until the end of the season, until the game is played out. But it is also true that the very existence of that state of not knowing means there has been change.” Football Pink

What would the Premier League look like if it were a knockout competition?

“At this early stage of the year, English football is all about knockout competitions: the busy festive period of league football is over, and instead we have midweek Capital One Cup semifinals, followed by the FA Cup third round. In fact, this year as a whole is also heavily based around knockout football, with the supposed offseason featuring three major competitions: Euro 2016, the Olympics and a bonus Copa America, too. Knockout football is interesting, in part, because it’s more likely to produce slightly unusual winners. Few would argue, for example, that Wigan were England’s best team in 2013 because they won the FA Cup. The element of randomness is precisely what people enjoy, and come to expect; the concept of a giant-killing in the cup competitions is arguably what the tournament is all about.” ESPN – Michael Cox

EPL Notes: Leicester City in a rut; Diego Costa shines for Chelsea

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“English soccer’s long-standing habit of cramming extra games into the public holidays around Christmas and New Year is one of the quirks that add to the Premier League’s appeal. It also rewards the clubs with the deepest pockets and the deepest squads. Elsewhere in Europe, teams catch their breath with a mid-season rest. English soccer celebrates the halfway point in its marathon by sending the players out to play extra games with little rest in the winter wind and the rain. It’s a muddy boot camp for millionaires.” SI

Garth Crooks’ team of the week: Rooney, Alli, Willian, Defoe

“Arsenal extended their lead at the top of the Premier League with an unconvincing win over relegation-threatened Newcastle. Leicester City missed a penalty as they failed to scored for a third consecutive match in a draw with Bournemouth, while Manchester United and Manchester City both won. Chelsea beat Crystal Palace for their first win under Guus Hiddink. But who were the outstanding performers? Here are my selections.” BBC

Tactical Analysis: Arsenal 2-1 Manchester City | Disciplined Arsenal win the match

“Arsenal have been regarded as title contenders all season, as demonstrated through their strong performance on Monday The Gunners were forced to dig deep at the end but got the result from another solid and disciplined team performance – the same of which cannot be said for the entire Manchester City side. Manuel Pellegrini’s side was the complete opposite of Arsenal’s: they were lazy, lacked teamwork, and appeared as if they ran out of ideas until the last 20 minutes of the match. Combined with mistakes and poor decision making (both from the players and the manager), it was yet another match against a top team where City could’ve lost by more than one goal. It is clear that City was missing Vincent Kompany, and the situation was further worsened by the fact that Aguero looked completely out of sorts. Arsenal’s victory leaves City six points off the top, and if City’s poor performances against top sides continue, their title hopes will be over. To understand why this happened, Arsenal’s game plan will be analyzed, in addition to a brief editorial on City’s shortcomings, shown by the analysis of the goals and goal-scoring opportunities.” Outside of the Boot

Unpredictable English Premier League Keeps Us Guessing

“If uncertainty makes for compelling competition, nothing can rival the English Premier League. While every other major league in the world shut down for Christmas, all 20 English clubs played on Boxing Day. Not too many followed form, although Manchester City’s 4-1 crushing of Sunderland, which is haunted by the specter of relegation, was predictable enough. And Tottenham’s 3-0 win over Norwich City might also have been foreseen.” NY Times

Euro 2016 lacks a clear favourite as France, Germany, Spain all flawed

“Euro 2016 will be the first-ever European Championships comprised of 24 teams, a format that opens up the tournament to the continent’s minnows. Yet assessing the runners and riders ahead of Saturday’s draw, it feels like one of the most closed European championships in a long time. There are three clear favourites who each have something obvious to shout about: France are the hosts, Spain the holders and Germany the world champions. Other than this trio, it’s incredibly difficult to make a case for anyone else triumphing.” ESPN – Michael Cox

2016 UEFA Championship: Host France gets favorable draw

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“The 2016 European Championships draw was made in the Palais des Congres in Paris Saturday. UEFA president Michel Platini was not present—he is currently suspended from his duties by FIFA—but there was support for the Frenchman when footage of player-turned-politician helping France win Euro 1986 was met with applause in the draw auditorium. It was Platini who instigated this new-look Euros format: there are now 24 teams in the tournament, eight more than in previous competitions.” SI (Video)

Premier League Diary: Manchester finds inspiration in the ghost of Rafa Benitez

“We begin this week’s installment of the Diary by returning to the wisdom and knowledge of an old, old friend. One who may not be managing in the Premier League any more, but who is always managing in our defensive, negative, rigorously well-structured hearts. We speak, of course, of Rafael Benitez.” Fusion

Premier League: The most unpredictable season?

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“It is the Premier League season that has everyone scratching their heads. Champions Chelsea are down in 14th. Leicester, bottom at Christmas last year, are top less than 12 months later. In fact, as this image below shows, the old cliche that anyone can beat anyone has never been more apt. Undoubtedly, there have been some strange results.” BBC

Flawed EPL favorites leading to congested table, fascinating title race

“This is a most unusual Premier League season. Fourteen games in, none of the expected title favorites has settled into any kind of consistent form and the result is a league table that is extremely tightly bunched, with four teams separated by two points at the top of the table, Tottenham two behind that group and Liverpool two behind Spurs. Most tellingly, the leaders, Manchester City and Leicester City, have 29 points: only once in the past 17 years has the leader had a lower total with 14 games of the season gone.” SI – Jonathan Wilson

The false identity of the Premier League

“The Premier League resides at the heart of English football and sport in general. We as a nation cherish and adore it. We see it as one of our greatest sporting beacons which makes us English believe we have the greatest football league in the world. Part of such a belief is the notion that it is the most competitive footballing league, where David repeatedly topples Goliath.” backpagefootball

Should Swansea Sack Garry Monk?

“Losing at Anfield is hardly going to increase the pressure on Garry Monk as much as losing to Norwich did. However the two games had an identical feature; on each occasion Swansea managed eight shots, none of which required the opposition keeper to make a save. With a key function of creating goals being an ability to invite the keeper to stop the ball, these numbers make grim reading and are a low watermark in what increasingly looks like an attacking drought. Swansea flew out of the blocks this year with good results and performances against teams that, with hindsight, had vulnerabilities: Chelsea, Sunderland and Newcastle, then a sneaky traditional win against Man Utd. Since then though, they have only once exceeded a league average shot total (14 against Stoke) and haven’t managed to exceed the same for shots on target (4.4) at all.” Stats Bomb

The UEFA Champions League anthem is more than a song, which is why booing it makes sense

“During the last round of the UEFA Champions League group stage, Manchester City fans booed the competition’s anthem. Again. And, once more, UEFA threatened to fine the team for what it considers ‘inappropriate behavior’ from its fans for their repeated jeering of the competition’s official song. Ultimately, UEFA dropped its case. When UEFA initially announced the probe on City fans, Twitter specialists and others on social media quickly turned to ridicule, understandably. It seems hard to understand why the booing of an apparently neutral ritual might be labeled as ‘inappropriate.’ Instead, it raised the question of why UEFA is spending such seemingly unnecessary amounts of energy pursuing this nuisance, while other big problems – like racist chanting at matches, or having its president, former French international Michel Platini, suspended for 90 days under corruption allegations – loom over it.” Fusion

Video Analysis: Intelligent pressing from Liverpool beats City

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“Liverpool pulled off a stunning victory against favourites for the title, Manchester City this past weekend. The 4-1 scoreline didn’t really flatter the Reds, who were dominant, and right on top of their opponents. What magic dust has Jurgen Klopp sprinkled on pretty much the same squad that was struggling under the previous manager?” Outside of the Boot (Video)

Schurrle lifts Wolfsburg, Man United disappoints in Champions League

“The last 16 of the Champions League is beginning to take shape. The second day of Matchday 5 saw Real Madrid confirm top spot in its group as Cristano Ronaldo scored two and set two up in a 4-3 win away to Shakhtar Donetsk, while Paris St-Germain is through to the next round after Zlatan Ibrahimovic marked his return to Malmö with a goal in a 5-0 victory. Benfica and Atlético Madrid also progressed. Benfica had to come from 2-0 down to draw in Kazakhstan against Astana while Antoine Griezmann scored twice in Atlético’s 2-0 win over Galatasaray.” SI – Jonathan Wilson

Terrible title defences: from Manchester City in 1938 to Leeds in 1993

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“Manchester City 1937-38. The pattern of winning the championship and then having a dozy season is not a new one for Manchester City. What’s happened over the past four years is barely a ripple compared to the wild dip City endured in 1937-38. After losing to Grimsby on Christmas Day, they’d gone unbeaten through the second half of the previous season, taking the title by three points from Charlton with a side that included such greats as the goalkeeper Frank Swift, the rapid winger Ernie Toseland and the goalscoring trio of Eric Brook, Alex Herd and Peter Doherty.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson (Video)

Top 50 Premier League Players of All Time: Part 1 – 50-41

“The BPF Top 50 feature is back for 2015, and this time we are counting down the greatest players to have graced the Premier League since it was established in 1992. The first part of this year’s countdown includes some of Arsene Wenger’s best performers during his time as Arsenal manager, as well as one of the most consistent midfielders of his generation who sadly left us far too soon.” backpagefootball

Kasper Schmeichel on Leicester City’s remarkable rise to the top

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“Leicester’s incredible start to the season continued on Saturday as they beat Newcastle to move top of the Premier League table. The Foxes were bottom of the table in April, but seven months on, led by the goals of prolific striker Jamie Vardy, they have lost only one of their first 13 league matches. Claudio Ranieri’s in-form team host second-placed Manchester United next weekend, with the chance to extend their unlikely lead at the top. Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, who has been at the King Power Stadium since June 2011, tells Match of the Day 2 what is behind his team’s remarkable rise.” BBC

The Premier League so far: a majestic muddle that continues to entertain

“A third of the way through the Premier League season and it is still to take shape. There is a pleasingly old-fashioned look to the table, with the top seven separated by six points. To put that into context, 12 games into last season, the leaders Chelsea had six points more than Manchester City do now and the gap to seventh was 14. The usual suspects – or some of the usual suspects – will presumably kick on but this promises to be a closer, less predictable race than for years.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

Premier League’s limitations shown by dull Manchester derby draw

“Everyone who watched Sunday’s Manchester derby agreed it was a largely terrible game of football. Well, almost everyone. The counter argument was launched by Gary Neville, Britain’s finest television pundit, who has genuinely helped change perceptions of football through his brilliant Monday Night Football slot. Neville was a fine defender during his playing days, the type of footballer who became top-class because his intelligence was built upon experience, rather than through incredible natural talent. It’s not surprising, therefore, that he’s a fine commentator and marvels at good defensive organisation.” ESPN – Michael Cox

Tactical Analysis: Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City | Man-oriented defences on top

“Manchester United hosted City in the 170th Manchester derby. In this fixture last season United dominated the midfield battle with Mata’s central roaming creating an overload that was key to United’s victory. Furthermore Toure was played as one of City’s two deep midfield players despite his well-documented defensive shortcomings and this contributed to their resounding defeat.” Outside of the Boot

Around Europe: Sherwood axed; Suarez, Aubameyang net hat tricks

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“Yet another dramatic week in Europe’s major leagues saw pressure increase on Jose Mourinho, while there were hat tricks for some of the continent’s big-name players, like Barcelona’s Luis Suarez and Borussia Dortmund’s in-form Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Bayern Munich might have found a successor to Pep Guardiola, while there was a dramatic return of the ex in Italy.” SI

Manchester City – The Modern World

“Most football clubs would be very satisfied if they ended up with a second place Premier League finish and qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League, but not Manchester City. In fact, chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said, ‘it is hard to look back on the 2014/15 season without a degree of disappointment’, as there was no title to show for their efforts.” The Swiss Ramble

Beyond Barça, Bayern, and Madrid: Who’s the Fourth-Best Team in the World?

“For going on five years now, the world soccer hierarchy has looked like this: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich … and then everybody else. So, as players return from the international break and domestic leagues resume play this weekend, it’s time to ask: Who exactly is the best of the rest? This season, three teams have the chief claims, but questions surrounding their legitimacy make the answer as unclear as ever.” Grantland

Around Europe: Neymar, Wijnaldum strike for four; Yaya Toure unhappy

“Four-goal performances are the new hat tricks as Barcelona’s Neymar and Newcastle’s Georginio Wijnaldum both lit up Europe with their individual performances this weekend. Elsewhere, normal service resumed in England, where Jurgen Klopp’s time at Liverpool is underway, while there are managerial dilemmas to solve in Germany and Spain. Napoli continues to talk down its title chances in Italy, despite evidence to the contrary, while in France actions off the pitch seized the most attention.” SI

Man City 5 Bournemouth 1

“Raheem Sterling scored a hat-trick as Manchester City thrashed Bournemouth to remain top of the Premier League. City were missing the injured Sergio Aguero but went ahead when Sterling poked in despite looking offside. Adam Federici then spilled a cross for Wilfried Bony to tap in before Glenn Murray scored from 20 yards. Sterling waltzed around the Cherries defence for his second and made up for Jesus Navas’ hesitation to grab a third before Bony turned and struck late on.” BBC

Champions League: Who makes our team of the week?

“5-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb. After defeats for Arsenal and Chelsea on Tuesday, Wednesday wins for Manchester City and Manchester United see three Premier League players make the XI. And Cristiano Ronaldo – who extended his lead at the top of the all-time Champions League goalscoring charts with two more for Real Madrid – keeps his place.” BBC

Crystal Palace, Leicester, West Ham using counter-attack to great effect

“Manchester City and Manchester United are occupying the top two positions in the Premier League table, but the real story is the over-achievement of some exciting underdogs. West Ham United, Leicester City and Crystal Palace have been among the most impressive teams in the division and are all sitting pretty towards the top. Interestingly, the trio have something very obvious in common: they’ve all been excellent on the counter-attack. The statistics summarise the situation. These three sides are among the worst teams in terms of possession: West Ham with 45 percent, Crystal Palace and Leicester with 44. Only Tony Pulis’ West Brom (42 percent) are beneath them.” ESPN – Michael Cox

Goal Analysis: How Spurs came from behind and put four past Man City

“Sam Polak has a look at how Tottenham Hotspur defeated league leaders Manchester City at White Hart Lane, after having gone a goal down but managing to score four. With both team’s most recent games resulting in a loss, each looked hungry to get 3 points. But it was Pochettino’s side who emerged on the better side of a match that featured five total goals.” Outside of the Boot

Play our Premier League Predictor

“Map out the road to Premier League glory by predicting the scores for all the games this season. See how your guesses fare against other supporters and pundit Mark Lawrenson, plus get feedback from BBC Sport’s team including Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer.” BBC

Barcelona beaten 4-1, Juve problems continue

“Barcelona suffered a big shock and Juventus stuttered again while Real Madrid and Lyon impressed. We round up how the group stage contenders got on in Wednesday’s action.” UEFA

Tactical Analysis: Manchester City 1-2 Juventus | Pressing traps and central overloads

“Manchester City, still undefeated and yet to concede a goal prior to Juventus match, had nothing to change in its strategy and Manuel Pellegrini approached the game with a 4-4-2 formation. Juventus, who have not yet tasted victory in Serie A this term, focused more or the defensive structure. Massimiliano Allegri adopted a 4-3-3 formation and Juventus were changing regularly to 4-5-1 when out of possession.” Outside of the Boot

Florenzi boosts Roma; Bayern shines, Arsenal flops in Champions League

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“A brilliant goal from Alessandro Florenzi earned Roma a 1-1 draw against Barcelona in the highest-profile clash on the second half of Matchday One of the Champions League, while there was further disappointment for the Premier League as Arsenal was beaten away to Dinamo Zagreb, 2-1. Chelsea, though, did record a comfortable victory, 4-0 over Maccabi Tel Aviv to relieve some of the mounting pressure on Jose Mourinho, while there were a pair of comfortable wins for the two Bundesliga sides in action: Bayern Munich winning 3-0 away to Olympiakos and Bayer Leverkusen thumping BATE Borisov 4-1 at home.” SI – Jonathan Wilson

Five-Game Superstars: Just How Good Are Riyad Mahrez and Andre Ayew?

“How to hang around the top of the Premier League while grabbing plenty of neutral support along the way? Five games into the season, the answer appears to be: ‘Get yourself a tricky winger.’ So far, Swansea and Leicester City have combined for five wins, four draws, and one loss — all while playing some of the most fun-to-watch soccer in England. Riyad Mahrez has led Leicester, a team that came into the season looking like possible relegation fodder (oops), to the only undefeated record outside of Manchester City. Eleven points from five games is one heck of a haul, and it’s probably enough to permanently remove them from relegation talk. Meanwhile, Andre Ayew has helped propel Swansea to a draw against Chelsea and a win against Manchester United.” Grantland (Video)

Kevin De Bruyne helps Man City revert to Plan A to beat Crystal Palace

“On Saturday at Selhurst Park, Manchester City squeezed past Crystal Palace to seal an 11th straight league win, thanks to a stoppage-time winner from 18-year-old striker Kelechi Iheanacho. Though City were good value for the 1-0 scoreline, the leaders had been troubled in the opening exchanges: Palace started well and attacked quickly, with Yannick Bolasie threatening down the channels as a roaming centre-forward. At the other end, Manuel Pellegrini’s switch to 4-4-2 hampered City’s usual fluency. The services of David Silva and Raheem Sterling were clearly missed, while new signing Kevin De Bruyne started on the bench.” ESPN

City on Fire: How Manchester City Became the Best Team in the Premier League … Again

“Just a couple of months ago, Manchester City were a team hovering underneath the cloud of long-term decline. Yaya Touré couldn’t do it all anymore, Vincent Kompany no longer looked like a rock in central defense, and even David Silva, the team’s creative hub, was pushing 30. A year after winning the tile, City finished eight points back of first-place Chelsea — and were it not for a late-season winning streak and bunch of games in which Chelsea had nothing to play for, the gap could’ve been even larger.” Grantland

De Gea, Martial facing different kinds of pressure at Manchester United

“All in all, last week was a pretty big week for Anthony Martial. He made his debut for France as a second-half substitute against Portugal on Saturday, four days after becoming the most expensive teenager in the history of football. This Saturday, it’s possible (but unlikely) that he’ll make his debut for Manchester United–the most successful club in English history in terms of league titles won–against Liverpool, the second most successful. But while his life has been hurtling along–from being, in the wider consciousness of English football, some promising French kid who played against Arsenal for Monaco last season to full-on celebrity with the potential to define a manager’s reign–for the other key figure in United’s deadline day, everything has stalled.” SI -Jonathan Wilson

Manchester City – I Threw A Brick Through A Window

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“So Manchester City are once again spending big, with this summer’s transfer window seeing the arrivals of Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling, Nicolas Otamendi, Fabian Delph and Patrick Roberts. This should have come as no surprise given comments from chairman Khaldoon al Mubarak earlier this year, ‘We want to go to the next level and a squad that has the capability and quality to win the Premier League and compete in and win the Champions League and go all the way in tow cup competitions in England.’” The Swiss Ramble

European football: 7-1 scorelines, fluke goals and more

“It was a busy weekend across Europe, with Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich winning, Roma shocking Juventus and transfers galore. But what are the stories you might have missed? Several former Premier League strikers on the scoresheet, freak goals and stadium problems and more – BBC Sport takes a look.” BBC

Talent Radar Young Players Team of the Week #4 — Matthias Ginter, Raheem Sterling, and Nabil Fekir feature

“A regular feature on our website is the Talent Radar Team of the Week with the best young players compiled into an XI from across Europe’s top six leagues. You can read this for all details on Talent Radar, who is eligible under it and what else we publish within this feature.” Outside of the Boot.

From Ice Station Zebra to the Promised Land – Oldham’s golden era

“Former Everton and Manchester City star Joe Royle had been in the job for just a few weeks shy of five years, maintaining Oldham Athletic’s place in English football’s second tier without previously threatening to end their 64-year exile from the First Division. By the end of the 1986/87 season though, the Latics were pushing hard for one of the two automatic promotion places having become more adept at turning defeats into victories, primarily through a much tighter defence than in previous campaigns. Their chief rivals were Portsmouth – managed by Royle’s former Everton team mate and World Cup winner Alan Ball – and the soon-to-be Robert Maxwell-bankrolled Derby County.” Football Pink (Video)

Champions League draw analysis: Picks to make it out of each group

UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino, left, and UEFA Competitions Director Giorgio Marchetti, right, remove the balls containing the names of the soccer clubs, during the draw for the Champions League 2015/16 play-offs, at the UEFA Headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, Friday, Aug. 7, 2015. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP)
“There was a twist to the Champions League group stage draw in Monaco Thursday. UEFA’s new seeding regulations meant that only reigning champions would be picked from Pot 1, leaving some dangerous contenders in the lower pots. And so it proved, as Manchester City was drawn with Juventus and Sevilla while Real Madrid drew Paris Saint-Germain and Shakhtar Donetsk. The draw resulted in some intriguing individual storylines, powerhouses going up against one another and the first steps on the road to the San Siro.” SI (Video)

Chelsea doesn’t have the depth to win the Premier League

“Chelsea cake-walked its way to the Premier League title last year. All the usual challengers were either in a state of transition (Manchester United and Liverpool), apparently lacking motivation (Manchester City), or being Arsenal (Arsenal). Having kept all the important pieces of the same squad together, and with questions still hovering over its rivals, Chelsea is (was?) heavily favored to repeat as champions. But judging by the evidence on display in preseason and in the Blues’ first two performances in the league, we should probably pump the brakes on those predictions.” Fusion

Tactical Analysis | Manchester City 3-0 Chelsea: Alternating attacking methods from the home side

“The build up story was that the champions were visiting the runners up, and the two managers, Mourinho and Pellegrini were resuming an intense rivalry. The post mortems however, were very different, as Chelsea fans lamented the lack of spirit and the utter fragility of their seemingly powerful squad. Manchester City dominated the game from start to finish, making a lasting impression in the minds of many, not least the current champions.” Outside of the Boot

Three Lingering Questions After Manchester City’s Win Over Chelsea

“There was plenty of good football played this weekend, from Stoke’s thrilling comeback against Spurs, Arsenal’s righting of the ship against Crystal Palace, and another impressive performance from Swansea. But the main event happened Sunday, when Chelsea traveled north to face Manchester City. The home team registered an emphatic 3-0 victory, but there are still some lingering questions that need answering …” Grantland (Video)