Drogba, Ibrahimovic and Rooney recontextualized the move in terms of those viral moments that only superstars can create, those plays that define seasons, teams and eras that burn in supporters' minds long after they've gone. Read more »

Klopp revealed the joy of his locker room in stealing a point. Sarri, on the other hand, admits Chelsea are much closer to Liverpool and Manchester City than he imagined. Read more »

As managers new to England quickly discover, Maurizio Sarri will need to figure out his defending off scrambles and second balls to prevent what he described as a "horrible" 15 minutes in which Arsenal evened the score in the first half. Read more »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

It wasn't just about winning trophies, but how they were won. Andres Iniesta brought the control, Fernando Torres the goal. Read more »

Even beyond another nine-figure winger changing sides, Thomas Tuchel's signing will have the biggest impact for a big club looking to gain an extra edge in passing and attacking adrenaline, however short his reign may be. Read more »

Kevin de Bruyne criticized how Roberto Martinez because Belgium rely too much on individual talent. And lacking a focus on tactics, they will always have difficulties against organized, technical sides like Mexico. Read more »

The on-field impact of trading Sanchez and Giroud for and Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan may be a wash, but Arsenal's moves added to the perception of a league where big money moves happen. Read more »

With the focus on counter pressing and counter attacking, it was only a matter of time in which a certain type of player or a position would arise out of sprints, recovery and athleticism. Read more »

We're accustomed to an all-access approach as clubs and players must remind us why exactly they resonate as we binge watch an HBO series or blast through a Spotify playlist. Read more »

Past the retweets, false starts, and rumors, transfer windows signings come down to one basic question: can the player in question improve his new team? Read more »

We're coming up on 15 years since Roman Abramovich assumed control of Chelsea. Abramovich hasn't mellowed or grown less contemptible, but he has rivals in the oil baron/club owner sphere. He's been normalized. Read more »

Antonio Conte has overachieved in his first season at Chelsea, but there remains doubts to how far he can take his sides in Europe. This is specifically aimed at whether a three defender backline is as effective in the Champions League as it is domestically. Read more »

The only factor preventing Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Mourinho from winning every trophy is the entire world. Unseen forces accentuate any storyline. Referee conspiracies are not a bug, but a feature. Read more »

Carlo Ancelotti's present day role is turning big clubs with big ambitions into European champions, which makes judging his year to year success relatively straightforward. Yet there is more under the surface. Read more »

Europe's giants are more than happy to sell off their spare parts to the Far East at crazy markups, but what happens when China comes for the players they want to keep? Read more »