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Date: 2023-12-09 00:21:38 | Author: Filipino | Views: 195 | Tag: slots

As Manchester City became only the second English team in history to complete the treble last season, the remarkable feat somewhat passed Phil Foden by slots

Arguably the most gifted player to ever come through the City academy, the very definition of a generational talent, had little impact as his boyhood club blew everyone who dared step in their path away last term slots

Remarkably, given all he has achieved on our shores, there are some who have remained critical of how Pep Guardiola has underused Foden, insisting a young, English magician needs to be centre stage slots

This season, with several big personalities in the City dressing room having departed in the summer, Foden’s role in Guardiola’s squad has been catapulted from peripheral figure to integral leader, with only two players featuring in more games since the new campaign got under way slots

Like the rest of his City side, Foden faded badly in the second half of the champion’s edgy 2-1 win over Brighton, but the damage had been done in the first half at the Etihad slots

RecommendedPep Guardiola hails ‘exceptional’ Brighton after Man City return to winning waysPep Guardiola believes both Erling Haaland and Lionel Messi deserve Ballon d’OrThese are great times for England, says Phil FodenFurthermore, in such a dazzling first-half showing, as the world waits for Foden to morph into a David Silva incarnate, the 23-year-old instead showed, in glimpses, that the wide role Guardiola continues to deploy him evokes more Lionel Messi feels than Silva slots

When you are born with possessing your own gravitational pull over a slots football, just as the Argentine has, where Foden plays on the pitch is almost irrelevant slots

Like Messi, Foden had quite the stellar support act elsewhere on the pitch on Saturday to give him the freedom to leave supporters aghast with some of the mazy runs he went on against a Brighton side set up to go toe-to-toe with the champions slots

Manchester City’s Argentinian striker Julian Alvarez celebrates scoring the opening goa (AFP via Getty Images)Another surprisingly regular starter this season, Julian Alvarez, got the ball rolling with a fortunate finish early on as City went in front, looking to avoid slipping to three successive league defeats for the first time since 2016 slots

The impressive Jeremy Doku had a huge hand in the opener and kept Brighton pegged back right from the off slots

Much had been made of the heir apparent to the Guardiola throne, Roberto De Zerbi, planning to upset the apple cart further at the Etihad, but his team were not allowed any time on the ball to do their thing, such was the hunger among the City ranks to get back to normality – winning games at a canter slots

One such player desperate for his own turnaround in fortunes was Erling Haaland, without a goal in his previous two games – very much drought territory for the Norwegian goal machine slots

His booming finish that proved decisive in the end was as emphatic an answer to his deluded critics as he could have possibly mustered, sweeping home an arrowing finish to make it two 19 minutes in slots

Phil Foden of Manchester City runs with the ball (Getty Images)While the game was being settled around him, Foden was busy picking out passes with the outside of his boot, sashaying past defenders as if they weren’t there, while bursting in the box at every given opportunity slots

Most importantly, a trait that often goes unheralded at City, Foden possessed that breathless desire in the first half that has enabled City to dominate the Premier League in recent years slots

No player in blue completed more sprints in the match than Foden, while only Doku had more touches in the Brighton box than Foden slots

So many recent losses are proving hard to shift psychologically for City, even with Rodri back at their heart of the midfield, with Kaoru Mitoma twice denied by Stefan Ortega in the City goal after the break, before Ansu Fati made one count and got the visitors into the match with 17 minutes left slots

There were some nervy moments late on for City, especially after Manuel Akanji’s late red card, but the champions stood firm to see out the victory to, temporarily at least, go back top of the pile slots

If they are to stay there this season, on the evidence of the early part of the campaign, Foden is going to have a much more prominent role in further glory slots

Consistency remains an issue, as his second half decline suggested slots

But what he did in the first half? Few, other than Messi, are capable of slots

More aboutPhil FodenDavid SilvaLionel MessiJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/3Foden shows why he’s more Messi than Silva for Man CityFoden shows why he’s more Messi than Silva for Man CityManchester City’s Argentinian striker Julian Alvarez celebrates scoring the opening goaAFP via Getty ImagesFoden shows why he’s more Messi than Silva for Man CityPhil Foden of Manchester City runs with the ballGetty ImagesFoden shows why he’s more Messi than Silva for Man CityPhil Foden of Manchester City in action against Kaoru Mitoma of BrightonEPA✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today slots

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There’s a new look about a key area of the team for Liverpool, a changing of the guard enforced by recent events, a previous zone of consistency now faced with uncertainty slots

No, we’re not talking about midfield - that particular switch-up already looks a definite upgrade, even early as it is for such conclusions slots

Instead it’s at left-back the unexpected alteration has occurred, a consequence of Andy Robertson’s need for surgery which means the Scot is out for the rest of the year slots

Having averaged over 44 appearances a season for the Reds since signing in 2017, he’ll now miss at least 17 matches, if best estimates of his return are to be believed slots

That leaves not just a gap for Kostas Tsimikas or an untested youngster to fill tactically, but a void which cannot be accounted for: that of a partnership, of understanding, of the natural, unthinking knowing which comes with playing hundreds of matches alongside a teammate slots

It can be argued that such a changeable nature can be applied not just to the midfield, not even just to left-back, but to the entire defensive structure this term at Anfield: injuries have already hit on the right and centrally too, to go along with the altered personnel ahead of them in the middle third of the pitch slots

All that simply means one truth must be constant if the Reds are to translate early season promise into longer-term capacity to challenge for major honours: Virgil van Dijk must once again prove himself to be among the very best, not just individually as a defender but as a force to make the whole greater than the sum of its parts slots

RecommendedBuild from the front? Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp are repeating an old trickEngland’s Euro 2024 squad: Who’s on the plane, who’s in contention and who has work to do?Virgil van Dijk will show he is Premier League’s best once more – Sami HyypiaThere cannot be much debate that the Dutchman, now club captain at Anfield, has not quite reached the same levels of authoritative performances as he did pre-ACL injury, or at least not on as regular a basis slots

The period which saw Liverpool win both Premier League and Champions League saw Van Dijk at the pinnacle of the game, a central defender without peer, a worthy recipient of the Ballon d’Or itself, had he been handed it instead of a runner-up spot, pipped by seven votes in 2019 by Lionel Messi slots

Perhaps that in itself was a noteworthy award slots

In any case, he’s not quite there these days, not quite the automatic choice among fan or pundit asked to name the world’s finest slots

It’s arguable that there isn’t a single stand-out candidate right now for that particularly subjective title slots

But in asking whether Van Dijk is capable of being the world’s best defender again, part of the answer has to be that it doesn’t really matter slots

He might want to be of course, might already believe he is, but from a team perspective what they really need is Van Dijk’s ability to stabilise the team, to foresee and forestall danger, to order those around him to bring forth resilience from chaos slots

Because chaotic is, still, a little too close to the truth when it comes to spells of defending for Liverpool slots

The midfield is far more creative, far more offensive and energetic, far less reliant on Trent Alexander-Arnold always being at his best slots

But all that comes at a cost: it’s not always the most agile and defensive-first in either recovery or positional terms slots

It’s still new as a group, still needs time to become as cohesive as the best central trios are, on and off the ball slots

And in the meantime, the result can often be large gaps, lost runners, moments of inexplicable choices in possession slots

That leaves a hefty weight on the defence to counteract such moments - the defence and, of course, the still-magnificent Alisson Becker behind them slots

(Getty Images)But before that one-man last line, it’s Van Dijk who must rise once more to ensure unity, if not always outright unison slots

Acting in perfect harmony is difficult enough with four constant selections; as it is this season, Jurgen Klopp has already utilised Jarell Quansah as a fifth-choice, following injuries slots

Alexander-Arnold missed pitch time and is not yet back to his peak physical or technical best slots

Ibrahima Konate and Joel Matip have dovetailed, and now there’s Tsimikas present on a more regular basis - which also means either Joe Gomez will see minutes on the left, or an untried youngster will, with Calum Scanlon and Luke Chambers first in line slots

They presently tally one senior minute slots between them slots

They will all four need guiding for different reasons, all need time, all occasionally get things wrong and need the left-sided centre-back beside them to bail them out slots

No prizes for guessing who that is on a week-to-week basis slots

Because for Liverpool, there are prizes at stake slots

Three points off the top of the Premier League table after a fine opening quarter of the campaign; rolling along nicely in Europe and domestic cups alike slots

slots Between now and the next international break, the opportunities for victory across all competitions are as immense as the potential cost of dropped points: Toulouse twice, Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth, Luton, Brentford slots

A modern title-competing team would take six wins with very little fuss, in truth slots

Then, beyond, it’s Manchester City away slots

The most true barometer of where Liverpool are this season, even coming after an international break and in the infamous 12:30pm kick-off spot slots

The margin for error remains almost nil, but with the reigning champions perhaps not quite at their own peak yet, and Klopp’s side having improved more than might have been thought possible at this early stage, thoughts of a title challenge will not be far away - if the defence is kept on-point, even with altered personnel slots

(Getty Images)It all means Van Dijk must be as close to his own 100 percent as possible, even if his 2023/24 maximum level is a little lower than in 19/20 slots

As far as transformative figures go, Van Dijk was one after signing slots

He, as much as anyone else and more than most, sent Liverpool from challengers to champions, in every competition across the board slots

Now once again he must be the leader - literally, given the armband - who enables the Reds to do so, not so much the new figurehead this time but as the standard-bearer, the supplier of consistency, the model of outperformance which can give Liverpool the extra edge they’ll need, both in the Premier League and beyond slots

More aboutVirgil van DijkKostas TsimikasJurgen KloppPremier LeagueEuropa LeagueJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/3Van Dijk holds key to trophies - is he still the best defender around?Van Dijk holds key to trophies - is he still the best defender around?Getty ImagesVan Dijk holds key to trophies - is he still the best defender around?Getty ImagesVan Dijk holds key to trophies - is he still the best defender around?Getty Images✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today slots

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