Everton and Wolves entered the season with tremendous optimism under new managers. Their 2-2 draw highlighted several key storylines to monitor this season. Read more »
IQ - Soccer Analysis
Premier League Match Abstract: Wolves 2, Everton 2
Do Wolves And Fulham Signal The Future Of The Championship?
Both Fulham and Wolves are expected to not only survive relegation, but push into the mid-table and beyond - all with style. Read more »
The Essential 50 Of The 18-19 Premier League Season
Here are the 50 essential players and managers you need to know about entering the start of the 18-19 Premier League season. Read more »
How Will Foreign Managers Continue To Influence England?
The spine of the national team side came largely from the clubs of Pep Guardiola, Antonio Conte, Jose Mourinho, Mauricio Pochettino and Jurgen Klopp. Instead of England's players getting off the island, managers have come to the island to help England. Read more »
End-To-End Stuff: Mohamed Salah
Mo Salah had a breakthrough year. How are we to describe what he is coming out the other side of that? It calls out for a name, or at least a couple of adjectives. Read more »
Can Maurizio Sarri & Jorginho Replicate Their Napoli Magic At Chelsea?
Chelsea's season lies upon how much their 59-year-old manager is willing to struggle, learn and ultimately adapt without sacrificing his style. Read more »
The 2018 Edition Of What's Eating Jose Mourinho?
Jose Mourinho may be the same quality of manager as he was a decade ago. But the world that has changed, and all that's left is what he's described as a difficult season ahead. Read more »
End-To-End Stuff: David De Gea
United's back line- good, but shaky; organized imperfectly- did us a favor last season in (accidentally) letting David de Gea cook with the club's league-best goals conceded tally standing as evidence of his brilliance. Read more »
How Will Pep Guardiola Raise The Bar On A Historic Campaign?
Based on his current form, this could not only be the year of Bernardo Silva, but a breakout season could also represent the future of Manchester City's attack under Pep Guardiola. Read more »
End-To-End Stuff: N'Golo Kante
We tend to feel grateful toward athletes who redraw the game's parameters for us, help us appreciate what we previously couldn't. We sometimes call them geniuses: a title Kante would definitely reject, but might deserve. Read more »
End-To-End Stuff: Harry Kane
Harry Kane's relative isolation- his bone-deep nine-ness, if you will- allows him to affect matches in a peculiar way his more dynamic peers don't. He can arrive out of nowhere. Read more »
Andreas Pereira, Developing On Loan, And Preseason's Eternal Optimism
A player turns from prodigy to forgotten just as quickly. Except on Twitter, where we'll always have those brief moments to remind us of what a player could have been. Read more »
End-To-End Stuff: Neymar
What's wrong with Neymar? He dives too much, with too much panache. That and a bunch of other stuff that's harder to explain. Read more »
After 9 Years, 450 Goals, Ronaldo Leaves A La Liga Era Behind
Even though it's been previously stressed, more than any previous year, this season feels like the start of a new La Liga era with the players who once defined the league playing elsewhere. Read more »
A World Cup Abstract: Croatia 2 (4), Russia 2 (3)
Croatia don't feel destined to win the World Cup as much as their results are grounded in the realism of an attack that works hard in defending and transitions, a midfield that can control tempo against any opponent, and an on-form keeper. Read more »
A World Cup Abstract: England 1 (4), Colombia 1 (3)
We are seeing the imprints of Pep Guardiola, Mauricio Pochettino, Jurgen Klopp and Antoino Conte on his 'likable' English side. Read more »
A World Cup Abstract: Sweden 1, Switzerland 0
Sweden has become the Italy of this World Cup with their organization and collective play. Read more »
A World Cup Abstract: Brazil 2, Mexico 0
Neymar created a beautiful goal taking on multiple defenders, laying it off to Willian and then continuing his run to receive the ball back for the tap-in. Read more »
A World Cup Abstract: Croatia 1 (3), Denmark 1 (2)
This was not a classic nor a great match, and any neutral can skip past the fifth minute and go straight to the dramatic penalties (starting with Luka Modric's miss in Extra Time). Read more »
A World Cup Abstract: Uruguay 2, Portugal 1
Fernando Santos predicted that with both sides so close in ability and tactics, Ronaldo would make the difference for Portugal to go through. Edinson Cavani ended up being the difference. Read more »