2024-05-03 23:57:20
Numbers do not protect against criticism.
İdman.biz presents an article with a link to soccer.ru.
After losing to Everton with a difference of 2:0, the Reds’ chances of winning the Premier League title fell sharply. Salah did not save, just like against Atalanta in the Europa League. In the Liverpool city derby, the Egyptian had seven shots on the opponent’s goal – statistics are on his side, but his familiar name is not on the scoreboard. Expert Carragher, a Reds legend, did not spare team leader Klopp:
Mo Salah is like his own shadow, especially after his injury. He is a Liverpool legend, a superstar, one of the best of all time, but he is far from his usual level. I think they will discuss Mo’s future with the new coach, because he only has one year left on his contract.
Liverpool have decided on their main candidate for the post of manager. And Klopp was disappointed by his old guard – Salah did not take the team to the Europa League final and is unlikely to make him a Premier League champion. The statistics are cool – 23 goals and 12 assists in the above-mentioned tournaments, but the game is controversial. Salah loses the ball too often, although he has found Nunez with passes in the championship.
Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
A classic case, well studied and said many times, because this is the central theme of the season. The footballer, who deserved the prize for the best player of the last calendar year from FIFA – there was no reason to present the award to Messi, because the results of the 2022 World Cup were not taken into account, turned into a huge beacon in the new season. But Erling does not light Guardiola’s attacking ship at a critical stormy moment. Haaland’s failures in central matches have become a tradition for the “citizens”.
The forward did not destroy Real and performed poorly against key rivals in the Premier League. The young striker collected 20 goals in the Premier League, but how many times did he upset? There’s a lot of talk about Nunez’s misses, and that’s the right emphasis, but Haaland has 30 missed big chances in the Premier League to Liverpool’s Darwin’s 26. Imagine that Manchester United takes the FA Cup from Guardiola – everything happened at Wembley, and Arteta manages to take the Premier League championship. Then these three dozen mistakes of Haaland will definitely be remembered.
Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)
These are strange times for the Catalans. Xavi, who behaved appropriately when he was a player, became an analogue of Abascal as an emotional coach. At first, the coach said that he would definitely continue working with the team. Two days later, without warning anyone at the club, he announced his resignation. And he did not keep his word, although several times he angrily answered journalists that he would not change his mind. The broken line of behavior fits well with Lewandowski’s actions in his second year in Spain. The first season was cool – championship, 23 goals and 7 assists in Primera. Now the statistics also remain, there are 13 goals and 8 assists, but Robert does not add solidity to Barcelona.
Also, Lewandowski did not help defend the title of Spanish champions. Xavi’s team lost to Real Madrid several times, including with a difference of 4:1. The Catalans conceded five goals from Villarreal at home and played unsuccessfully against Athletic. They gave PSG a ticket to the semi-finals of the Champions League, despite the victory in Paris. It is clear that the Pole is not responsible for the actions of the defense, but Lewandowski can be useless in attack. More and more often he resembles himself in the Polish national team, where he alternates great matches with poor ones. Robert is definitely not the leader of the Catalans’ attacks; his play and tips from experience did not make Rafinha and Yamal more stable. The Pole is 35 years old, does age have an effect?
Leroy Sane (Bayern)
Not such a large-scale figure as the three candidates for the Ballon d’Or in recent years. But Sane was important for Bayern’s season. He stands out in terms of statistics – 8 goals and 11 assists in the Bundesliga, but has not made his powerful team a cohesive whole. Newcomer Kane has done even more in this direction than Leroy. At the same time, Sane has long settled into Bayern and is in his fourth season with the team. But experience and adaptability did not help the attacking midfielder get on the same level as Robben or Ribery.
The future Bayern coach may part ways with Leroy. Sane could be returned to the Premier League; the former Manchester City winger was assessed by Liverpool in case Salah left for the Saudi sheikhs. Leroy always had an easy time highlighting talent – on a good day he’s hard to stop. But even at 28 years old, the German from the Schalke school remains a capricious performer without leadership qualities. Bayern will play against Real Madrid in the semi-finals of the Champions League, where Sane still had a chance, but lost to Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga. Leroy is also to blame, as are his partners.
Rafael Leau (Milan)
Former Real Madrid and Roma forward Cassano is now a TV pundit. And the hooligan Antonio sharply assessed the Milan forward:
Leau considers himself a genius, and people even sometimes agree with him. But I think he’s just a good player, I haven’t changed my opinion. For five and a half months he did not score in such a weak league as the current Serie A. Several years ago he could not even play in the sixth team of the tournament.
Cassano is wrong, Serie A is not that weak. Look at last season in the Champions League, or Atalanta’s success in the Europa League against Liverpool. But Leau, with good numbers – 7 goals and 8 assists in Serie A, took too long pauses without scoring. Nor does Milan become a trophy-winning team. They will not reach the Europa League final, there will be no repeat of the famous battle against Liverpool. The Portuguese is high in the transfer ratings – the 24-year-old Milan forward is valued at 90 million euros, and will be asked for even more.
And the list is easy to expand, because Nunez from Liverpool, Jackson from Chelsea, Cancelo from Barcelona, and sometimes the whole Mbappe from PSG covered up game problems with statistics. Even the future Real Madrid star’s numbers sometimes don’t reflect his performance. We know the reason – the money giants are so far ahead of other clubs that all the best players are in the same squads. Team class often works, even if questions have accumulated about the quality of a particular person’s football. But football is ruthless – Barcelona, Liverpool and Bayern may be left without great success due to sagging in the leaders’ play.
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