Tag: topflight

Premier League: Is top-flight possession football on way out?
28 September 2026 Off

Premier League: Is top-flight possession football on way out?

By Total Football News

In the early 2000s, Premier League defences tried to make the pitch as small as possible, giving their opposition less space to score in.

Coaches therefore encouraged their attackers to play quickly, taking advantage of open space that saw them face fewer defenders.

Logically, this made total sense.

It was Pep Guardiola’s influence that, in part, flipped this logic on its head over the last decade.

His Manchester City sides

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Twenty-five years in the waiting – Coventry’s nightmare top-flight return
13 September 2026 Off

Twenty-five years in the waiting – Coventry’s nightmare top-flight return

By Total Football News

Coventry’s performance last weekend against Manchester City appeared to be a step in the right direction.

The Sky Blues were unlucky not to come away with at least a point as they put goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma under real pressure with 12 shots and recorded an xG of 1.37.

Those signs of improvement continued in the first half against Brighton as they fired off 10 shots and created a handful of

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Premier League returns: Five talking points for English top-flight weekend
20 November 2024 Off

Premier League returns: Five talking points for English top-flight weekend

By Total Football News

Liverpool are flying under Arne Slot and sit top of the Premier League and the Champions League table, having dropped points in just two games this season.

They are five points clear of Manchester City, who have lost four games in a row in all competitions – something Pep Guardiola had never experienced before in his managerial career (excluding penalty shootouts).

Despite their recent run and speculation about the Spaniard’s

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