The Times - UK (2022-04-09)

the times | Saturday April 9 2022 1GSK1 13

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Referee J Moss

MATCH IN FOCUS

Everton v Manchester United

Everton (3-4-3)

Manchester United (4-2-3-1)

J Pickford

D de Gea

D Calvert-Lewin

M Keane

A Iwobi Richarlison

M Holgate B Godfrey

S ColemanA Doucouré AllanV Mykolenko

A Telles H Maguire V Lindelof D Dalot

P Pogba Fred

J SanchoB Fernandes

C Ronaldo

A Elanga

Manchester United

Injured: R Varane,

L Shaw, S McTominay,

E Cavani

Everton

Injured: Y Mina, A

Townsend, T Davies,

N Patterson

Ineligible

(owned by Man Utd):

D van der Beek

Doubt: A Gomes

RICHARLISON

EVERTON

Different levels

Richarlison is involved in a

relegation battle with Everton

yet he is thriving in a Brazil

team who are favourites to

win this year’s World Cup.

Everton’s highest proportion of

league points won at home since

Second World War:

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InjInjureured: d:R VR Varaaraarane,ne,ne

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E CE Cavaavanini

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To wTo wnsensend,nd,T T DavDaviesies,

N PN Pattattersersonon

neneligligiblible e

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ffeffererent levels

charlison is involved in an a

ation battle with Everrtonton

e isthriving in a BraBrazilzil

wwho hoarearefafvouvouritrites es to to

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Everton made a good start to the

season but a table featuring results

since mid-September would show

them bottom on 15 points, three

behind Norwich. Their 3-2 defeat away

by Burnley on Wednesday was a

crushing blow but they have a chance

to improve their mood against a

Manchester United team with only one

win from their past six games. This is

United’s first away game in 34 days,

their longest such gap during a season

since 2013, excluding the 2020

lockdown; it is also their first match

outside Manchester for 45 days, their

longest such wait since 1962-63.

1948-49

1959-60

2021-22

1989-90

78.4%

78.4%

77.2%*

76.3%

Brazil’s top scorers in 2022

World Cup qualifying

United toppled

Manchester United are choosing a

new manager as they hope for a first

league title since Sir Alex Ferguson

was in charge. They have led the

table for only 15 days after the end of

September in the nine seasons since

they were last champions in the

Scot’s final campaign.

191

15

2012-13

Since then

Neymar

Richarlison

Philippe Coutinho

Roberto Firmino

Raphinha

Lucas Paqueta

8 (11 games)

6 (8)

3 (6)

3 (6)

3 (7)

3 (15)

*Adjusted: they have played one game fewer at home

Home comfort

Everton are desperate for points so

may be relieved that this match is at

Goodison Park. They are on course

to achieve their best home record

compared with away results since

1960. Everton have the Premier
      League’s worst away record but they
      have been 12th best at home.

CLASSIC MEETING

Feb 7, 2004, Premier

League: Everton 3, Man Utd 4

Everton pulled level from three goals

down only to lose at the last. United’s

new signing Louis Saha – a future

Everton player – scored a

ninth-minute opener before Ruud van

Nistelrooy struck his 100th goal for

the away team. Saha gave United a

3-0 half-time lead but Wayne

Rooney’s arrival as an Everton

substitute helped to change the

game. Corners led to two goals – a

David Unsworth header and John

O’Shea own goal – before Kevin

Kilbane made it 3-3 from a Thomas

Gravesen free kick. But Van

Nistelrooy headed home Cristiano

Ronaldo’s cross in the 89th minute to

keep United two points behind

league leaders Arsenal.

GUESS THE SEASON

Answer: 2007-08

Man Utd days top of league table

post-September

1977

Plymouth is

considered England’s

largest city, based on

population, never to

have hosted top-

flight football

(although population

figures vary

depending on

boundary definitions)

Midfielder Kevin

Hodges’s record

620 appearances

from 1978 to

1992 included

their only FA Cup

semi-final, a 1-0

defeat by Watford

as a third-tier club

in 1984

Manchester United used Home Park

for a Cup Winners’ Cup game against

Saint-Etienne in 1977: they were

ordered to play at least 200 miles

from Old Trafford as punishment

for hooliganism

Low-key buy

Bentancur is

exactly what

Spurs needed

Gary Jacob

Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentan-

cur arrived at Tottenham Hotspur in

January amid little fanfare. Some

supporters were critical that Fabio

Paratici, the club’s managing director of

football, had returned to his former

club Juventus late in the window to sign

two of their unwanted players. In Turin,

some were even celebrating the sale of

the pair to raise funds to purchase

Dusan Vlahovic from Fiorentina.

But Kulusevski, the Sweden mid-

fielder, and Bentancur, the Uruguay

midfielder, have hit the ground running

in the Premier League and played

important roles in transforming Tot-

tenham’s form in recent weeks. The duo

are considered bargains and success

stories in Antonio Conte’s rebuild.

Kulusevski, 21, has earned more of

the plaudits because of his two goals

and five assists in the league but Bent-

ancur has added much needed control

to Tottenham’s midfield. Spurs left it

until the last day of the window to

hijack Bentancur’s proposed move to

Aston Villa, paying an initial £15.8 mil-

lion and a further £5.7 million in potent-

ial add-ons.

Comfortable receiving the ball under

pressure and in tight spaces — an im-

portant skill in a Conte system that

relies on building up from the back —

Bentancur is averaging more touches

and passes per game than any of his

midfield team-mates since his arrival.

At 24, he has experience beyond his

years. He played nearly 200 times for

Juventus, won three league titles and

two domestic cups, and has been

capped 49 times by Uruguay.

“Rodrigo has adapted very well in a

short period,” Conte, 52, said. “It was a

good signing for us. He’s playing very

well. He has space for improvement. I

asked him to increase his level.”

Inconsistency was the main issue at

Juventus; one match he looked like dic-

tating things and the next he made un-

forced errors. Juventus fans turned on

him. Within a couple of years of joining

them from Boca Juniors, in 2017, as part

of a deal for Carlos Tevez to move the

other way, he was deemed to be capable

of taking over from Miralem Pjanic. He

had the full backing of the then head

coach Maurizio Sarri.

Bentancur successfully operated as a

deep-lying playmaker and was linked

with the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and

Atletico Madrid. When Andrea Pirlo

took over as coach at the start of last

season he was keen to continue the

midfielder’s development, asking him

to control the tempo and build-up play.

Bentancur never hit the same heights

when Massimiliano Allegri returned.

He highlighted Bentancur’s slow play

and conservative nature when shield-

ing the defence. He asked him to be a

box-to-box player instead. “Bentancur

cannot play in front of the defence,” Al-

legri said. “Rodrigo is very good, but in

front of the defence he has a playing

time of one to three seconds. He stops,

looks and then passes.”

Conte has used him alongside Pierre-

Emile Hojbjerg, alongside whom he

gets stuck into tackles, which is a char-

acteristic Conte likes — in February he

called for his men to develop “a nasty

side”. In the three seasons prior to this

one, Bentancur received a combined 24

yellow cards and two red cards in the

league. He already has two bookings for

Tottenham.

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