How Nico O’Reilly helped break Arsenal’s press – and their hearts (Gift Article) After scoring the goals that won City the Carabao Cup against Arsenal, this was an even more significant performance from O'Reilly

Nico O'Reilly was key to Man City's gameplan yesterday. His unpredictable positioning caused Arsenal's press problems, and his runs inside Doku into the channel led to good chances. The two factors came together for the winning goal. (free to read) ⬇️
www.nytimes.com/athletic/721...

Premier League title showdown will test Raya and Donnarumma’s ability – and bottle For all the talk of 'bottle' around Sunday's Premier League showdown, it is the two goalkeepers who have faced the biggest mental challenges

There might not be many shots to save at the Etihad tomorrow. But the key to the game might be testing the goalkeepers, Donnarumma and Raya, in terms of aerial ability and distribution respectively. ⬇️
www.nytimes.com/athletic/720...

Spain need to be more Spanish to beat England To beat England, Spain must play less like their opponent and embrace their true style once again

Women's World Cup qualifying: Spain have only lost 3* times in their last 24 - all against England. They play into England's hands when they use a proper No9. Surely they need to be a bit cleverer.
*one was a draw and a shootout defeat
www.nytimes.com/athletic/719...

How Manchester City’s renewed love of short corners helped unlock Chelsea’s defence Teams have become so accustomed to defending inswinging corners that they are possibly leaving themselves exposed when they are taken short

Everyone used to despair at short corners - but in the context of this Premier League season of they now feel quite refreshing. Here’s how Man City used them to cause Chelsea problems.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/719...

Why Arsenal may need to show a bit more caution in the Champions League semi-finals Chelsea may be out but they revealed some defensive weaknesses in the Arsenal team that future opponents may be able to exploit

Arsenal into the Women’s Champions League semis again - but should probably consider a more cautious system when they get there.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/716...

Sweden are among the least deserving World Cup qualifiers this century — but they could still be a force The most important goal of Sweden's bizarre World Cup qualifying campaign was arguably scored in UEFA's Nations League in November 2024

A mad way to qualify for a World Cup: 0 wins from 6 qualification group games…but a Nations League C victory in 2024 got them into the playoffs. Throw in an “away” semi at a neutral venue and a scrappy win tonight. But Sweden have done it, and maybe they’ll be good!
www.nytimes.com/athletic/716...

Have found Guardiola/City a bit confused/underwhelming over the last couple of seasons but I really liked this performance. It was classic Guardiola. City controlled the ball, and controlled the space, and they had a clear plan for progressing the ball and creating chances.

Surprise rotations and clever passes: How Pep Guardiola got the better of Mikel Arteta at Wembley At times in recent seasons it feels like Guardiola has strayed from his principles but this match showed what his sides are all about

Man City's two goals at Wembley stemmed from their plan to overload the right flank - Silva/Cherki theoretically playing centrally but often overlapping Semenyo. Quite funny to see them almost fighting each other to reach a Rodri crossfield ball.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/714...

Ten seasons, one Champions League. Should Pep Guardiola have done better in Europe with Man City? They have been England's premier side domestically for a decade but, as Michael Cox explains, something has been lacking in Europe

10 seasons at Man City for Guardiola. 5 times they've started the Champions League as favourites. Only 3 times they've reached the semis. 1 European Cup. Considering City's domestic performance during the last decade, it's reasonable to have expected more.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/712...

Tottenham went back to basics at Liverpool – and it could be what keeps them up There has been speculation Spurs could replace Tudor with a Premier League specialist. At Anfield, they played like it had happened already

Liverpool 1-1 Tottenham. Exactly what we expected from Sean Dyche in his first game as Tottenham manager. 4-4-2, long balls, two strikers working well together. A good point. Obviously, Tottenham haven't actually appointed Sean Dyche, but it could have fooled me.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/712...

How Rosenior rotated Chelsea’s midfield to cause Arsenal problems – and how Arteta adapted Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernandez initially had Martin Zubimendi chasing shadows but couldn't capitalise on Arsenal's confusion

Chelsea had quite a good gameplan to get Palmer in space. Arsenal adjusted quite well. The goals all came from set-pieces, but I enjoyed all this anyway.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/708...

Thanks a lot mate. Weirdly two years ago a mate brought this up at a Kingstonian game - four players were all on the same side of the D and the player went that way - and I refused to believe it was deliberate. But I do love this level of complexity.

Yes good point!

Why don’t more football teams place players on the side of the box for penalties? A tweak that a handful of teams are using could result in a curious marginal gain

Niche content: Corinthians Feminino put a player on either side of the box at penalties, rather than having everyone behind the box. I used Pythagoras’ theorem for the first time since my GCSEs and watched 50 saved penalties to see if others should do it too. ⬇️
www.nytimes.com/athletic/706...

How Arsenal adapted to Igor Tudor’s tactical system much more effectively than Spurs did It was an impressive performance from the league leaders – but no other Premier League opponent will afford them this much space

Arsenal seemed better prepared for what Tudor wanted from Tottenham than Tottenham did themselves. Little pressure on the full-backs meant Arsenal could easily advance down the flanks, and their out-of-form attackers suddenly looked like world beaters.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/706...

Are referees and broadcasters converging in a strange, new way? Referees have taken on three new roles over the past year or so, making them a more prominent part of broadcasts than ever before

An article on the strange convergence of officiating and broadcasting. RefCam. Refs announcing decisions in increasingly dramatic ways. Commentators revealing what decisions are about to be made. What's the next step?
www.nytimes.com/athletic/705...

USA v Iran must have been a great one to be at!

How Brazil won the 2002 World Cup: Unleashing the brilliance of Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho Michael Cox's history of World Cup winners reaches 2002 and Brazil's fifth time lifting the trophy

World Cup 2002
www.nytimes.com/athletic/704...

Thomas Frank’s dreadful Spurs spell is latest example that managers simply can’t change style Tottenham's decision to sack Thomas Frank isn't just bad news for Thomas Frank, it's bad news for managers like him too...

Thomas Frank at Tottenham: another manager who has previously done well with direct football struggling to adjust to the demands of a bigger club. It basically never works, and clubs should probably stop trying it.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/698...

Michael Carrick knows the importance of being boring – and that’s a good thing The former Manchester United midfielder knew the value of risk-free football as a player and is the same as a head coach

Michael Carrick was often considered 'boring' in his playing career. But there are lots of benefits to being considered boring, and that might work well in his managerial career too.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/701...

The Champions League group phase has merits but it’s bloated. This is how to fix it The 'Swiss-style' format produced last-day drama but still feels bloated - a compromise is needed

The old Champions League group stage was a bit dull. The new one is too mad to understand what's happening. How about a compromise?
www.nytimes.com/athletic/700...

Great article, this. Sorry but this bit really made me laugh

I do actually agree with this joke, if such a thing is possible. He is truly brilliant.

read this as if you meant Olivier Giroud

Can Arsenal win the Premier League without an outstanding attacker? It feels like Arteta’s side will require a burst of brilliance from an attacking player if they are to fend off their title rivals

Football is more of a squad game than ever, and there’s no particular need for one prolific goalscorer, but it’s tough to think of a Premier League title winner who didn’t have an attacking player in top form at some point.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/699...

Beth Mead still has huge value to Arsenal, despite questions over her future Mead scored her first WSL goal of the season, as Arsenal won at Chelsea for the first time since 2018...

Chelsea v Arsenal often feels like the biggest match of the WSL season. Not this time around. But it had the biggest away following of the season, and it felt right that Beth Mead was the one to score the crucial opener.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/699...

How France won the 1998 World Cup: A resolute defence, Zidane’s headers and a fanbase who fell in love Michael Cox's history of World Cup winners reaches 1998 and France's triumphant victory on home soil

World Cup 1998
www.nytimes.com/athletic/699...

The key to being a top-level manager? Being slow as a player The fact that Mikel Arteta and Michael Carrick are facing each other as managers on Sunday makes stylistic sense

Arteta v Carrick tomorrow. There's a pattern to the type of players who become managers: their game was not about speed.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/699...

Does Arsene Wenger really get football? Wenger's offside proposals reinforce the fear that as FIFA's chief of global football development he might be doing more harm than good

Sorry to have to say this about one of the greats, but the more Arsene Wenger talks about potential law changes, the more you have to question whether he actually *gets* football.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/697...

How Brazil won the 1994 World Cup: Parreira’s pragmatism and Romario’s goalscoring genius Michael Cox's history of World Cup winners reaches USA '94 and a fourth title for Brazil

World Cup 1994
www.nytimes.com/athletic/693...