Jonathan Wilson's Blog, page 49

What next for João Félix? Chelsea misfit risks being left behind by modern game | Jonathan Wilson

With his loan spell over and unwanted by Atlético, the £113m prodigy dealing in cameos is still looking for his masterpiece

João Félix took Mykhaylo Mudryk’s volleyed pass in the centre circle and ran at the Manchester United defence. Raphaël Varane, unprotected by a central midfielder, backed off. With a slight feint, Félix had Varane shift his weight right when it needed to go left, glided into the space that opened up as a result and then drove his finish low from the edge of the box past David de Gea.

At a different time, in another context, it might have been regarded as a stunning goal, an intervention of the highest quality. Everything about it was precise and direct. But it was in the final minute of a 4-1 defeat.

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Manchester United v Manchester City: the FA Cup final’s key tactical battles

We pick out four important areas, including City’s newfound prowess at crossed set plays and where Stones and Rashford are deployed

United’s victory in the last derby turned out to be nowhere near as pivotal as it felt at the time. It was a ninth win in a row for Erik ten Hag’s side and took them to within a point of City; approaching the halfway point of the season, they seemed very much part of the title race. A draw at Crystal Palace and defeat at Arsenal in the two games that followed exposed that as fallacy. But that does not mean the game was not meaningful – even if that significance was probably felt more by City than United.

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José Mourinho fights the bad fight, but ends up on the losing side | Jonathan Wilson

The Europa League final between Sevilla and Roma lasted 146 minutes. It felt longer, but no one got their money’s worth

José Mourinho, perhaps, is a pleasure better remembered than experienced. We chuckled at him wearing a wire, at him laying into Daniel Levy with the scorn that only he can muster, progressing through a semi-final with an xG of 0.03. Classic José, we said with a smile. Still fighting the bad fight. Still harrumphing and provoking and spoiling. And then you actually watch his Roma play – and, as it turned out, lose. And that is dreadful.

For Roma, no doubt, the ends would have justified the means. Had they won, this would have been their greatest international success and that would have been all that mattered, all that they remembered. Mourinho, after all, is adored by Roma fans to a degree that is disconcerting to those who witnessed his final season at Real Madrid or anything in England after he had won the league with Chelsea in 2015.

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Southampton and Liverpool share eight goals in seesaw draw on day of farewells

Pack up the euphoniums, lay down the drumsticks, put away the trumpets. If they thought the Premier League would last for ever they were wrong. There is always something slightly mournful about the pre-kick off playing of When the Saints Going Marching in and perhaps never more so than on Sunday with the brass band hinting it could be one of the causalities of the cost-cutting that will inevitably follow relegation. The chaotically defiant, entirely unfunereal, performance that followed does not change that.

That is the sad truth when a team goes down. The players, the first‑team coaches and the directors will, by and large, be fine. Fans may weep, but for all the self-pity of a subset of modern support, most will be back next season, happy enough at a day out with family or friends, whoever the opposition. The people who suffer are those in less visible roles, the academy coaches, the analysts, the catering staff and – perhaps – the brass band. That’s where the cuts fall and where they are felt.

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José Mourinho, the anti-Barça, may have gone out of style but he still matters | Jonathan Wilson

There is something magnificent about the Roma manager’s Europa Cup final date with Sevilla on Wednesday

Perhaps it’s different if you live in Italy or if Serie A is the league you follow most closely. Perhaps, then, José Mourinho is still a cussed ball of fury, bearing ancient grudges, determined never to relinquish a slight, real or imagined, the Keyser Söze of the dugout, the Karla of the press conference, manipulating and plotting, radiating paranoia as he insists his club is the victim of a conspiracy by the referees, the media and the football authorities.

But if not, there was something almost heartwarming about Roma’s 0-0 draw at Bayer Leverkusen in the second leg of their Europa League semi-final. He’s still doing it! He hasn’t changed! 28% possession. One shot on target to Leverkusen’s 23. The ball in play for just 54 minutes, despite 14 minutes of injury time. An xG of 0.03. This was a celebration of mourinhismo, a Camp Nou 2010 for the modern age. He had a lead from the first leg, so why should he attack?

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Mikel Arteta laments defensive lapses that finished off Arsenal’s title hopes

‘We are not at that level,’ admits manager about Manchester City‘We can’t put the guilt on someone. We should have been better’

Mikel Arteta lamented the defensive shortcomings of recent weeks as he tried to come to terms with the disappointment of a 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest that confirmed Manchester City would win the title. A blunt Arsenal became the first side in 16 games to fail to score against Forest, but a league they led for a record 248 days was not lost on Saturday. Arsenal, rather, were undone by a run of two wins in eight games that began with throwing away a 2-0 lead away at Liverpool.

“We conceded a lot of goals in those games, 16 goals,” Arteta said. “16 goals – it’s a lot.” Against a rival like City, that is too many. “You have to be exceptional in everything,” he went on. “They [Forest] are not a team that gives you any margins and we have extended those margins too far. Today we gave them a goal and chances for another goal. We can’t put the guilt on someone. We should have been better as a team and in the last few weeks we have fallen short.”

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Serendipity of De Zerbi and Brighton underlines football’s great complexities | Jonathan Wilson

The south coast club are not the only case where a manager inherits a legacy that proves crucial for the success he builds

Imagine that Thomas Tuchel had not been sacked by Chelsea at the beginning of September and that Graham Potter had not been lured from Brighton to replace him. Potter, presumably, would still be in charge at the Amex. Would Brighton’s situation now be better or worse? Would they be heading into Sunday’s game against Southampton sixth in the Premier League table and likely to qualify for the Europa League?

Brighton had begun this season well, taking 13 points from the first six games – which, of course, is why Potter was appointed by Chelsea. Would Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali have been drawn by his years of steady progress culminating in last season’s ninth-place finish? It seems unlikely. It is indicative of how large a part chance plays that had Boehly realised at the end of last season that Tuchel was not the man for him, the obvious candidate to take over would have been Brendan Rodgers.

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Nottingham Forest secure safety and hand title to Manchester City

And with that it was done. A title race that had promised so much came to its formal and premature end in bright spring sunshine as Arsenal’s defeat by Nottingham Forest ensured that, for the fifth time in six seasons, the Premier League was won by Manchester City, who have three games still to play.

But if that side of the equation was ultimately anticlimactic, for Forest there was ecstasy: they will be playing Premier League football again next season.

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Simply the best? Manchester City have hit greatness without friction | Jonathan Wilson

Pep Guardiola has built an awesome side through adapting, but his City lack the era-defining impact of his Barça treble winners

Real Madrid are European champions, yet in that first half at the Etihad on Wednesday, they were outclassed to an almost incomprehensible degree. Every Manchester City outfielder bar Rúben Dias had a shot; Madrid managed one in total. So discombobulating was the ferocity of City’s press that Madrid completed only 13 passes in the first 15 minutes. It was 2-0 at half-time and could have been five. City played with such pace and precision – against a European grandee – that the only appropriate response was awe.

Yet in mid-January, as City lost to Manchester United at Old Trafford, it seemed reasonable to suggest that this was not one of Pep Guardiola’s better sides, that with United rising City could no longer take supremacy for granted in Manchester. Four months on, with only United and Internazionale standing between City and the second treble in English football history – the 10th anywhere in Europe – such prognostications look a little silly.

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City charge towards treble and what next for Madrid? – Football Weekly Extra

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Jonathan Wilson, Philippe Auclair and Sid Lowe to review a seismic Champions League night

Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.

Today: It was all too easy for Manchester City as they beat Real Madrid 4-0 in the second leg to reach their second Champions League final. We debate whether anyone can stop City from claiming the treble this season, and whether this Pep Guardiola side is his greatest ever.

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