Everton 4-0 Man City
Man City are officially in crisis mode after Everton ruthlessly took them apart at Goodison Park. Of course, that could all change if they were to beat Spurs next week but right now, frankly that looks a million miles away. Against Everton City were lacklustre, sloppy, and really really poor defensively. Claudio Bravo is one man who has come under a lot of flack and rightly so, as his ability to save shots has been all but non-existent in recent weeks. It's pointless to beat a horse that everyone else is beating, but Bravo simply hasn't been good enough.
But that was not City's only problem. Everton cut them open with an almost frightening ease, and even though Bravo should have kept out at least one or two of the goals, Everton nevertheless created four big opportunities to score. John Stones is increasingly looking out of his depth and simply isn't a £50m+ central defender. Nicholas Otamendi looks a shadow of the player he could have been, but the problem is deeper than that. Yes, City's individuals look poor, but their overall defensive shape, solidity and organisation is frankly appalling. For the second goal for example: Stones made an interception forcing him to step out, and whilst he was on the ground nobody closed the space, leaving a giant hole where Stones had been for Mirallas to waltz into.
But whilst City's defence was appalling, Everton were terrific. Mirallas' movement into the channels was fantastic all day and he created the first goal before scoring himself. The two wingbacks struggled to grasp their defensive roles, but Coleman and Baines slotted in well in an attacking sense and contributed to the team's chance creation. Part of the reason that the back three formation, one that Everton have adopted has proved so popular in the Premier League is that the modern day full back is essentially a winger anyway, especially at bigger clubs that will dominate possession.
But to be fair to City, the scoreline did flatter Everton and was heavily bolstered by two late goals to young Davies and Lookman. Nevertheless, City's defence duly imploded for those goals, and Guardiola has some serious questions to answer with his back five and defensive midfield areas. I've waxed lyrical before about the merits of Fernandinho, but he's become unreliable with the amount of red cards he's picked up (three now this season) and he really is the only viable option in that area. City have plenty of quality wingers and attackers, but defensively and in terms of control they have real issues.
I'm slightly reluctant to bring up the problems of the front four in this game, because City are usually a cohesive goalscoring threat, but this is the second time in three games that they've looked out of ideas and lethargic up front. Sergio Aguero looked disinterested and shot of form, David Silva simply couldn't influence the game and whilst Sterling and De Bruyne had their moments, frankly they were only moments. City's front four is one of the most talented in the league, and yet they've scored less goals than all of the top four and as a result their goal difference is closer to 6th place Man United and 7th place Everton than it is to Liverpool or Arsenal ahead of them.
To say that City's problems are mounting up wouldn't necessarily be fair, and this could easily be written off as a total off day at both ends of the table, but this is their fourth league defeat in eight games. They've lost three of the seven games that they've played since I labelled them Chelsea's equals on 3rd December, during which time Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs have lost just once a piece and United haven't lost at all. City are backsliding, and the rest of the top six are looking sharp.
As for Everton. They looked really impressive against City and have a good run of fixtures coming up. They're now four points clear of 8th place West Brom but remain seven points behind United. Realistically, it's hard to see them finishing anywhere other than 7th, but results like this one do them no harm whatsoever.
England Battered By Kohli and Jadhav
England lost their first ODI against India as the hosts chased down 350 to win, with the world's most dangerous batsman Virat Kohli leading the charge. England looked really well set, having reduced India to 63-4 chasing 350, but that elusive fifth wicket, and more importantly the wicket of Kohli, just came far too late, as Kohli and Jadhav put on 200, both batsmen making 120, allowing Pandya and Ashwin to see India home.
Earlier, England had set a competitive total with runs up and down the order. Jason Roy got the ball rolling with a powerful 73, before Joe Root anchored the middle order with a well worked 78, allowing Ben Stokes to hit big in the back ten overs, making 62 off 40 and supported by a quickfire 28 off 17 from Moeen.
And if England had won, Kohli would have been fuming. It was clear that the Indian captain, recently promoted after MS Dhoni had stepped down, was struggling to keep his cool as his bowlers fell apart, shedding over 100 runs in the final eight overs of England's innings. And if Kohli's captaincy was questionable in some of the decisions that led to India's implosion with the ball, that would only have spurred him on as he came out to bat like a man possessed.
England knew that both themselves and India were stronger with bat in hand than ball, and would have comfortably backed themselves to chase whatever total India set. But India clearly felt the same way, putting England in, and Kohli, chaser extraordinaire, did just that. Eoin Morgan claimed England should have scored more runs, and didn't blame the bowlers for this loss. Personally, to me that reeks of deflection. Morgan may be correct that England may have been able to score more if they'd showed more aggression in the middle overs, but 350 should be a match winning score, even against a team as strong with the bat as India. It's admirable of Morgan to want to protect his inexperienced and under-equipped bowling attack, but in this case it didn't reflect well.
In any case, the day belonged to Kohli, but also to the underappreciated magnificence of Jadhav, who scored 120 off just 76 balls. Kohli is the man touted as the match winner because he does it so regularly, but as I said at the time, it means nothing if Kohli makes a hundred and the rest of the team is skittled. Jadhav's innings was if not as important as Kohli's, maybe even more important, and far more destructive to the England attack. Whilst England's seamers bowled valiantly, taking big wickets early as India panicked, they simply had no answer to Kohli or Jadhav, and England's spinners were never in the game, as they were promptly battered.
Overall, this was a cracking ODI, and England will feel that overall they performed well. But they clearly have a lot of work to do. This was not their best ODI side, and although Jake Ball bowled very well, England clearly missed the likes of Finn, Plunkett and Wood. But it was a very bad day at the office for the usually reliable Adil Rashid, who went for 0-50 off five overs. On the other hand, India were just sensational, and sometimes you just have to tip your hat to a couple of masters of the art of batting at work. And that's exactly what India produced.
The Hard and Fast Section
- The Joel Matip situation is beyond a joke.
- Andy Murray is off and running in the Australian Open.
- Bottas to Mercedes and Massa's return confirmed.
- Payet bid rejected by West Ham. Hardball.
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