Aggressive-fire – THE NEWS

The eye falls on the English league. Where the hunters have the first say and it seems as if the attackers who “tear the nets” are becoming fashionable again. But really, did they ever leave? The title campaign, no doubt exciting. Interest last season was focused on City’s ‘very’ Erling Haaland and that was almost inevitable. He looked like… an exterminator! A center forward… a bulldozer, able to “take and carry” even his personal opponent. The false nines, it is clear now, have been put to the side for good and the Premier League sets the tone (and) for that. The headlines belong to the classic forwards, the ones who propel their teams to the upper echelons of the standings.

Bath tubs

Last Saturday it was Darwin Nunez, who has become a bit of a cult figure at Liverpool, probably because of his tendency to be a bit wild in his style of play and how he perceives the game. He is caught on camera several times and seems invincible as he fights. With Brentford in west London, it was Nunez who opened the scoring, before it was (classic) Salah and the talented Gakpo. Michael Owen, I read in the English tabloids, criticized Nunes for attempting a high-hanging shot in a tête-à-tête with the opposing goalkeeper. “Yes, I admired the strike, but it is dangerous when you leave alone with the opponent,” noted the veteran footballer. Good observation, but let me note, here, that Nunes excites the audience for hours, mainly because he remains unpredictable in a world that basically prefers the simple and not the risk.

Hoywood

On Sunday, it was Rasmus Hoylund’s turn to take the spotlight. Manchester United’s young Danish striker is an exciting story and that’s because he overcame a lackluster start to the English marathon and is now scoring in spades, building his own run alongside Manchester’s finesse to back-to-back wins. The Red Devils acquired Hoylund with the intention of bringing the Dane… Haaland to Old Trafford and gradually they can hope that they have succeeded! Høylund’s second goal was lucky, but only true breed scorers score nets with their chests. Some in the Theater of Dreams already remember how dangerous and remarkable a hunter Mark Hughes was in his prime.

Haaland

However, the striker who keeps everyone awake at night remains Erling Haaland. If anyone was a Liverpool or Arsenal fan, or admired Jurgen Klopp or Mikel Arteta, then they would be dreading when this ‘difference-making’ centre-forward would wake up. Maybe he doesn’t have the impact he had last season but he still “spoken” in the match against Brentford last Tuesday night. He is the man who looks like the head of the center chasers in a league full of star players. When Haaland starts “shooting” with the known consistency again and in crucial games, then Manchester City will be almost invincible, as they were last season. He missed two months of the season with a foot injury and is still the league’s top scorer, ahead of Mo Salah and Brentford’s Dominic Solanke. Haaland has scored 21 goals in 27 appearances in all competitions, so he needs no further reasons to be convinced of his ability when in the firing position. It remains Pep’s strongest weapon. They want him or even better, everyone would like him!

Kane

Who is missing from the Premier League? Undoubtedly Harry Kane. The English centre-forward belongs to the club of the best in the world. As those who watch football on the Island say, he is rightly compared to Haaland. In a season where teams rely on centre-forwards, Kane has chosen the route of the Bundesliga and Bayern. The Bavarians are struggling. It has differences with the Norwegian and is generally of a different style. He’s even being thought about in London and he hasn’t been replaced at Tottenham. He would be yet another pearl in the necklace of strikers – fire of a championship that always captivates the audience.

It wants to reboot

And from the forwards I go straight to the defense and the domestic league. The Super League. Dellas got off to a good start with OFI and besides, Panserraikos was not the highest obstacle that the Greek coach could find last Monday night. I will follow his course, because they understand that he wants to restart his career, a career that he felt was going downhill after fleeing from AEK. And Dellas estimates that he still hasn’t… told his entire coaching story, in short he wants to make a dynamic transition from the benches.