After playing 56 games last season, Liverpool FC basically said to hell with it and just kept playing. The Reds began their 2018-19 fixture list back on July 7 as part of a nine-game preseason tour that includes a trip to Ireland and the United States. This is how Jurgen Klopp ensures that the gegenpressing is still pressing come the 90th minute of matches in May.
Arsenal fans are in a weird place right now. Longtime manager Arsene Wenger is gone after 22 years, but a strong roster has been supplemented by positive moves in the summer transfer window under new coach Unai Emery.
There’s the hope new management can propel the talented team back into contention in England and Europe, but also the fear of slipping into irrelevance just as Manchester United struggled after the retirement of Alex Ferguson.
Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson is on his way to England for a medical after agreeing to a transfer to Liverpool. Three months ago, AS Roma president James Pallotta said that Alisson would not be sold, even for a massive “sack of money.” But when that sack of money turned out to be $87.4 million — shattering the previous most expensive goalkeeper transfer — the Italian club just couldn’t refuse.
Marco Silva’s first match in charge of Everton proved to be quite difficult for the scoreboard operator. The Toffees destroyed Austrian minnow ATV Irdning 22-0 to open the 2018 Everton preseason campaign on Saturday in Austria.
You read that right: 22-0.
Who needs Wayne Rooney?
Yes, we’re doing the third place game. No, I don’t know why.
Unai Emery made his debut on the Arsenal bench as the Gunners routed Boreham Wood 8-0 on Saturday at Meadow Park in London. The match kicked off at the same time as the England-Belgium World Cup third-place match, but the Emery Arsenal debut provided far more action than the Three Lions in Russia.
For the second time in this World Cup, Belgium beat England. For the second time this World Cup, England’s loss proved to be a partial success, helping cement a Harry Kane Golden Boot on Saturday.
Belgium took down England 2-0 in the lowest-scoring third-place match since Poland beat Brazil 1-0 in 1974 (leave it to England to make a third-place match boring). It reaffirmed what most astute observers already knew: The Red Devils are far superior to the Three Lions and fully deserve their best-ever finish at a World Cup.
As the England vs Belgium third-place match approaches on Saturday, the age-old question presents itself once more: Who the hell cares about third place? Especially in a competition like this where only the first matters.
England lost 2-1 to Croatia as Belgium lost 1-0 to France during the semifinals, but the world knew it wouldn’t be the last they hear from those two during the World Cup. The world also didn’t care and still doesn’t, but if you do though then you’re an absolute anomaly. Anomaly is a polite synonym for tool here.
FIFA has opened an official investigation after reports of England fans’ alleged discriminatory chants during the semifinal with Croatia on July 11. The governing body of football received reports from its anti-discrimination monitoring system, which kept an eye on unruly behavior during the match in Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium.
Dreams have been squandered, tears have been shed and football isn’t coming home, but the heroes will soon. Gareth Southgate and the Three Lions will return home empty-handed but wholehearted.