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Good morning! I am Phil Hayand welcome to your first edition of Athletic FC.
Here, we’ll break down the big news of the day and bring you the latest news, analysis and features, all in one quick daily read. We hope you are happier than Lionel Messi see us…
Let’s go. Coming today:
📈 Arsenal Advantage after the madness at Old Trafford?
📲WhatsApp take control of the world of transfers
👀James Ward-Prowse do what Messi didn’t do
⏰ A one minute match in the latest chaos in Türkiye
How did it end 2-2 at Old Trafford?
Jurgen Klopp will be leaving Liverpool in just over a month – after closest to Premier League title races is over – and here is a game that could haunt him in the void of unemployment.
The first half at Old Trafford was one of those periods where everyone started counting: Liverpool 15 shots, United none. Liverpool’s expected goals (xG) are enough to win the game twice, the home team is hardly worth calculating.
You knew it was bad when the former United right-back Gary Neville started talking about Sky Sports commentary that it was ‘So easy to play against this United midfielder’. Really, it is.
But you also know the moral of the story: When the opportunity knocks, don’t joke – and there was Bruno Fernandes in the 50th minute, scoring from downtown with United’s first attempt to equalize at 1-1, assisted by poor Jarell Quansah.
Bruno Fernandes, what a GOAL 😱 pic.twitter.com/yxL9VDrIKN
– Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 7, 2024
(Lens video above for UK readers, below for US readers)
AMAZING. BRUNO FERNANDES EQUALS WITH A LONG DISTANCE STRIKE. pic.twitter.com/OVRLIn1RVH
– NBC Sports Football (@NBCSportsSoccer) April 7, 2024
This lost pass could be his Steven Gerrard moment – when the Liverpool captain slipped against Chelsea in 2014 to give Chelsea a goal and a crucial break for title-winning Manchester City.
Fernandes’ strike changed everything and created a wild, shapeless contest that suited United manager Erik ten Hag far more than Klopp.
Liverpool finished with 28 shots to nine for United62 percent possession compared to United’s 38, and a xG of 3.6 compared to 0.7 for United – but there they were, scraping out a 2-2 draw afterwards Kobbie Mainoo a little shine left them behind late.
Absolute CLASS by Kobbie Mainoo 🪄 pic.twitter.com/iIADHPFIYX
– Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 7, 2024
(Lens video for UK readers above, for US readers below)
KOBBIE MAINOO NOTICES AN ABSOLUTE BEAUTY.
MAN UNITED LEADS LIVERPOOL 2-1! 👀 #MUNLIV pic.twitter.com/AXy9PX57vW
– NBC Sports Football (@NBCSportsSoccer) April 7, 2024
It happens – and Liverpool made the same meal in an FA Cup tie at Old Trafford a few weeks ago. But as Virgil van Dijk later said, they can’t afford for that to happen in such a marginal title race.
Drinks everywhere?
Never one to hold back, Roy Keane was there in the Sky Sports studio after full time, wondering if Ten Hag had been drinking.
Keane was left baffled by the Dutchman’s post-match comments, which were overwhelmingly positive after a rather dysfunctional performance.
As Neville said, you can ride a trainer and horses into Ten Hag’s midfield and unlike Liverpool, United often seem devoid of proper patterns of play.
Having come to Old Trafford as a hardened fighter who drinks a shot of turmeric every morning, Ten Hag looks permanently hunted – and no wonder.
It was Klopp, however, who had the toughest questions to answer and to be fair to him and Van Dijk, their comments were self-critical. “You shouldn’t do what we did today, it won’t be enough,” he said. “Definitely not.”
Our Liverpool writer James Pearce believes Klopp needs Diogo Jota to return from injury immediately. It’s just for yesterday’s evidence.
And now for the title race?
Opta Stats number crunchers do Manchester City favorite for the title now. Makes sense given how City are turning the screw from April – bBut the prediction also goes against what is happening at Arsenal.
If we talk about data, all significant statistics are in favor of Arsenal – in particular the fact that they leads the Premier League table on goal difference (+51) ahead of Liverpool (+42), with a total of 71 points tied with Klopp’s team and one ahead of City (whose GD is +40) after 31 matches.
They might also have found their number 9 in Kai Havertz – just like Has anyone stopped Mikel Arteta’s juggernaut?
Turkey’s one-minute match
For the rest of the world, Turkish football is a little off the beaten track.
There is a tendency for players to go to Türkiye for a decent salary in the twilight of their yearsbut the Super Lig lacks the traction of Europe’s biggest divisions.
This season, however, it’s been in the news constantly, and not in a flattering way. To put it bluntly, football there has very big problems.
We saw a club president hit a referee in the face. Trabzonspor fans were seen attacking Fenerbahce players. And as a result, Fenerbahce threatened to leave the Super Lig.
If this threat seemed hollow, recent events suggest otherwise. Last night, Fenerbahce actually kicked off a Turkish Super Cup match against Galatasaray in field a youth team then force an abandonment by leaving the field after a minute of play.
Fenerbahçe’s grievances run deep. Get ready to find out more.
Ward-Prowse better than Messi (in the corners)?
Inventing a depressing expression towards children is James Ward Prowse free from Lionel Messi?
Don’t be stupid. But Saturday, AthleticismWest Ham United reporter Roshane Thomas watched Ward-Prowse do something Messi never did – score directly (and deliberately) from a corner.
The goal was a ‘Olympic’. There’s a new word for your vocabulary.
Ward-Prowse bends one from the corner 🤯 pic.twitter.com/Sn4UBzHfSp
– West Ham United (@WestHam) April 6, 2024
Several thousand miles away, Messi had to settle for a more conventional finish during his return from injury for Inter Miami. It took him 12 minutes.
But despite Ward-Prowse’s stroke of genius, only one of them was chased by a supporter onto the pitch for a selfie. Messi looked delighted (top photo, above).
Sports directors and WhatsApp ‘control the world of football’
We see a new fascination with sports directors – to the extent that they almost feel more valuable and more influential than the head coaches.
At a recent convention in Rome, Adam Leventhal appointed two sports directors: Jan Laursen of Nordsjaelland And Ricardo Moreira of Orlando City — sit at the same table and share ideas.
The name Nordsjaelland might ring a bell. In 2020, the Danish side sold Mohammed Kudus (now at West Ham United) to Ajax for almost £10 million ($12.6 million at current rates).
🗣️Moreira: “When you make a deal, it’s similar to what Pelé said when he won his third World Cup: there is no joy, it’s only relief.”
🗣️Laursen: “WhatsApp controls the world of football. I prefer to do a Teams or Zoom call so I can look someone in the eye.
🗣️Moreira: “Networking and your reputation are priceless. People will remember it. You don’t get a second chance.
Just in case you thought the transfer market was a breeze.
Around Athletic FC
🇺🇸 What is Traffic Tell us about the present and future of MLS?
🧤 A mystery that needs to be solved: what was it Andre Onana, Manchester United goalkeeper Did he coat his gloves yesterday? Vaseline?
🇮🇹 Roma’s Gianluca Mancini celebrated his Rome derby victory by waving a Lazio flag with a rat on it. He’s not done with this.
Other newsletters from The Athletic:
The rebound 🏀| Full time ⚽| The liquidation ⚾| First Tire 🏁| The Pulse 📈| Until Saturday 🏈| Scoop City 🏈
(Top photo: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)