Anterior cruciate ligament injuries. They are four words that strike dread into the hearts of footballers at every level and, at the Premier League level, they are being heard more frequently than ever. In fact, this season is on course for a record number of ACLs since injury data began. According to Ben Dinnery, head…
The transfer window might have closed on Monday night, but the question marks remain. As you sit here on Tuesday morning, you might be left wondering about the business your team did — or in a lot of cases, didn’t do. Why have they not brought in that extra player? Why did they let one…
On February 6, 2023, Manchester City were charged by the Premier League with more than 100 breaches of the competition’s rules. As champions in six of the past seven seasons, the eventual verdict of an independent commission will have a seismic impact on the Premier League, regardless of which way their decision goes. Each of…
Welcome to The Briefing, where every Monday The Athletic discusses three of the biggest questions posed by the weekend’s Premier League action. During this set of fixtures, Darwin Nunez rebooted his navigation software to lift Liverpool past Brentford, Arsenal gave up a late two-goal lead over Aston Villa to lose ground, Nottingham Forest continued to…
Oscar Wilde once famously wrote that “to concede one goal direct from a corner is a misfortune, to concede two in eight days looks like carelessness.” The thoughts of Oscar, noted corner-kick scholar, may have been rushing through the heads of anyone associated with Manchester United recently after they allowed not one but two ‘olimpicos’…
Pep Guardiola’s list of symptoms is long and unsettling. He has trouble sleeping. He can only take light meals in the evening. On some days, he does not eat at all. He finds it difficult to read because his mind keeps wandering. He feels, at times, intensely lonely. Things can get so bad that they…
A sharp, anxious intake of breath, followed by a round of applause that carries a mixture of quiet admiration and, more than anything, relief. On other occasions, it ends with supporters shaking their heads and asking why. We are talking about the crowd reaction to — and I’m borrowing this description from a colleague who…
Emi Martinez’s save from Nottingham Forest’s Nicolas Dominguez was arguably the best we have seen in the Premier League this season. Alan Smith, commentating for Sky Sports, dubbed it “miraculous”, which does a slight disservice to changing water into wine, but you get what he’s saying. Jamie Redknapp said he couldn’t think “of a better Premier…
Manchester United’s Rasmus Hojlund celebrates scoring their second goal with teammates. (Reuters Photo) Manchester United secured a 2-1 victory against Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League on Thursday. Tottenham Hotspur drew 1-1 with Rangers.Rasmus Hojlund scored two second-half goals to propel Man United to victory. The Danish striker’s brace helped overturn a 0-1 deficit and…
Florian Wirtz is a jewel of German football and was central to Bayer Leverkusen’s unbeaten domestic double last season, winning the Bundesliga’s player of the year award. Alongside Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala, he has become the great hope of Julian Nagelsmann’s national team, too, and will be fundamental to Germany’s challenge at the 2026 World…