Articles
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Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool Caught on Downward Spiral
On Thursday night, Liverpool’s bad form worsened when they lost to Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea 1-0 at Anfield. This was Liverpool’s fifth league defeat from their last six and a fifth straight home loss. Liverpool have now gone nine hours in the league at home without a goal from open play. The 2020/2021 season has not…
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Isolation-based Pressing in a 4-4-2
Porto played excellently in the 1st leg of their Round of 16 tie against Juventus at the Estádio do Dragão. The principal factor behind their victory was the efficacy of their pressing which successfully confined Juventus and prevented them from sustaining dangerous pressure. Federico Chiesa’s late goal means the game is still open going to…
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Michail Antonio: Matching Europe’s Best
West Ham United are having an excellent campaign. Currently in March and still challenging for European places, David Moyes has taken a side that finished 16th last season, to a season that surely no one could’ve seen coming. They’ve done this through hard work, defensive resilience, tactical flexibility and outstanding recruitment. It’s these new…
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Player Analysis: João Pedro
João Pedro has never had it particularly easy. In 2002, his father, an accomplished player in Brazil, was sentenced to 16 years in prison, leaving his mother to raise him on her own. She managed to save enough money to send her son to private school, making sacrifices in order to give him the best…
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Asante Kotoko and Veo Technologies: Bringing Analytics to the Ghanaian Game
In the last couple of years, Ghanaian football has endured a challenging rebuilding process. Local football structures are being closely examined and changes are being made in order to ensure a more robust footballing ecosystem for the future. Although a majority of the restructure has occurred at the national federation level, there have been quite…
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Scouting Report: Stephen Eustáquio
After decades of mediocrity and frustration, it seems things are finally looking up for Canadian soccer. Canada will host the 2026 FIFA World Cup alongside the United States and Mexico, and they could be set to advance to the first World Cup since 1986. The Canucks begin the first round of 2022 FIFA World Cup…
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Alphonse Areola: Fulham’s World Champion Goalkeeper
All was well for Alphonse Areola in 2018, as he had just won the domestic treble with Paris Saint-Germain as the starting goalkeeper and was part of France’s World Cup-winning team as the country’s third-choice goalkeeper. Funnily enough, he achieved this feat before making his debut for the national team in the UEFA Nations League…
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FC Metz: Frédéric Antonetti’s High-Flying Underdogs
We all love an underdog story. From Greece winning Euro 2004, to Leicester lifting the Premier League crown in 2016, there’s something innately special about an unfancied side beating the odds to better the big boys. The latest iteration of a small club punching well above their weight doesn’t quite hit the heights of Leicester’s…
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Six Footballers Flying Under the Radar
The January window has come and gone with barely a hint of significance, the biggest deal being Ajax’s €22.50m signing of Sébastien Haller. Even in the Premier League, a division renowned for its tendency to overspend on foreign talent, we have seen the least net spend for almost 9 years, with all 20 clubs collectively…
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Vladimír Coufal: The Bargain of the Summer?
Just over 12 months ago, David Moyes was reinstated as manager of West Ham United for his second stint, much to the disgruntlement of the fans. Having languished near the bottom end of the table for most of the 19/20 campaign, Hammers fans feared the worst heading into this season. However, despite losing their…
