Stories By Graham Ruthven
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Sport
Brighton are the Premier League’s best-run club
The headline of Brighton’s 3-0 win at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday concerned the impact it had on Arsenal and their dwindling Premier League title hopes, but the continued rise of the Seagulls is a sub-plot that has underpinned the entire 2022/23 season.
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Sport
Thomas Frank continues to excel at Brentford
Small clubs have made their mark on the top half of the Premier League table before. Burnley, for instance, finished 10th in the 2019/20 season and seventh in 2017/18. In 2016/17, Bournemouth made their place in the top half stick too.
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Sport
Chelsea would be stupid to let Conor Gallagher leave
It said everything about the failure of Chelsea’s season that they only sealed safety from relegation with victory over Bournemouth on Saturday, four games from the end of the 2022/23 campaign. Nobody at Stamford Bridge will be sorry to the back of this season, but a pivotal summer lies ahead for the Blues.
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Sport
Gundogan the under-appreciated star of the Guardiola era at Man City
Ultimately, Ilkay Gundogan made himself something of a villain as he missed a penalty kick to make the final stages of Manchester City’s 2-1 win over Leeds United more nervy than they needed to be, but the German had already afforded himself some leeway by finding the back of the net twice earlier in the match.
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Sport
Kompany should stay at Burnley to avoid the mistakes made by Gerrard, Lampard and Solskjaer
Burnley will be back in the Premier League next season, but this will be a different Burnley team to the one that suffered relegation from the English top flight nearly 12 months ago. Under Vincent Kompany, the Clarets have bounced back by swaggering to the Championship title in a style unfamiliar to those used to Sean Dyche’s direct and physical approach.
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Sport
Haaland is doing to the Premier League what Messi and Ronaldo did to La Liga
Not for 91 years had a player scored 50 goals in a single season for an English top flight team until Erling Haaland reached the milestone for Manchester City. The sport has changed a lot since Pongo Waring found the back of the net 50 times for Aston Villa in the 1930/31 season, but goals remain football’s most valuable currency and Haaland is richer than anyone else right now.
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Sport
Gary O’Neill should be a candidate for Manager of the Year
As recently as mid-February, Bournemouth found themselves firmly inside the bottom three at the foot of the Premier League table. Only Southampton sat beneath the Cherries as they went seven matches without a win following the World Cup break.
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Sport
Carlos Alcaraz has the magic to save Southampton from relegation
Within just 14 minutes, Carlos Alcaraz had contributed a goal and an assist to put Southampton 2-0 up away to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. Ultimately, the Premier League table-toppers fought back to salvage a 3-3 draw and a point, but Alcaraz had showcased his ability against one of the best teams in the division.
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Sport
Title clash gives Arteta the chance to prove he’s up to Guardiola’s level
Pep Guardiola knows how to win a Premier League title. Indeed, the Catalan has guided Manchester City to four championships in the last five seasons as the Etihad Stadium outfit have set a new precedent at the top of the English game.
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Sport
It’s clear that Trent Alexander-Arnold’s future should be in midfield
The two sides of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s game are clear to anyone who has watched him in recent times. Widely praised for his natural creativity as a right back, the 24-year-old is also vulnerable in a defensive sense to such an extent Jurgen Klopp has experimented by shifting Alexander-Arnold around the pitch.
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Sport
Manchester City won’t have a better opportunity to win the Champions League
Manchester City pursued Pep Guardiola over a number of seasons due to their strong belief he would guide them to Champions League glory. At that time, the Catalan had a strong track record at the elite level of European football as a two-time continental champion.
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