London (AFP)
The Premier League promised to Manchester?
The giants United and City, reinforced by an expensive transfer window, advance as the big favorites of the Championship of England which starts Friday, but Chelsea and Liverpool have promised to disturb this party of the neighbors.
- Manchester City, attack bonus -
Coach Pep Guardiola was very clear, after the defeat against Leicester (1-0) on Saturday during the Community Shield: it will be several weeks, even months, before seeing Manchester City evolve at its best.
Last season, the Citizens took off in January.
Long in the race for a historic quadruple, they "contented themselves" with the Championship and the League Cup.
But the defeat in the Champions League final against Chelsea (1-0) left a last bitter taste to a club which targeted needs in attack in order to reach a European milestone.
Already counting on Raheem Sterling, Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester is building a crazy offensive armada.
He first offered himself for 117 million euros the darling of English fans at the Euro, Jack Grealish (Aston Villa), who became the most expensive rookie in the history of the Championship.
New Manchester City recruit Jack Grealish of England greets supporters during his official presentation on August 9, 2021 at the Etihad Stadium Lindsey Parnaby AFP / Archives
The second cannon shot could concern Tottenham star Harry Kane, whose transfer is blocked by Spurs.
- Solskjaer, the year of truth -
Almost three years after taking over from José Mourinho, Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer not only broke a longevity record at Old Trafford since the end of the Ferguson era, but also achieved more consistent results.
Norwegian Manchester United coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer congratulates Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani and Serbian midfielder Nemanja Matic at the end of the Premier League home game against Wolverhampton on December 29, 2020 at Old Trafford Laurence Griffiths POOL / AFP / Archives
Manchester City runners-up last season, and Europa League finalists, the Red Devils produced a more convincing attacking game, around Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford.
It remained to consolidate the defense, the most permeable of the Top 4 last season: the recruitment of the captain of the Blues Raphaël Varane comes at the right time.
French defender Raphaël Varane, during the match against Bosnia-Herzegovina, counting for the qualifiers for the World Cup in Qatar 2022, March 31, 2021 in Sarajevo FRANCK FIFE AFP / Archives
The former Real Madrid player must form with Harry Maguire one of the strongest hinges in the country.
Their complementarity will largely depend on the fate of a club that has not won the Premier League since 2013.
Solskjaer, he is still waiting for a first title as manager of Manchester United.
- Chelsea, all-terrain team -
Arrived in the middle of last season to replace Frank Lampard, Thomas Tuchel quickly got the best of the Blues.
The former Paris SG coach has built a reinforced concrete defensive structure to lead Londoners to the Champions League coronation in four months.
Chelsea players celebrate their Champions League final victory against Manchester City on May 29, 2021 in Porto PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU POOL / AFP / Archives
But the Russian owner of the club Roman Abramovich wants more: Chelsea, just winner of the European Supercup against Villarreal on Wednesday (1-1, 6-5 tab) must play the leading roles in the Premier League, where he awaits a coronation since 2017.
Almost an eternity in the eyes of the ambitious Russian oligarch, who has multiplied coaches in recent years, without finding the right one.
Tuchel has no excuse, especially since the arrival of Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku allows him to have this scorer who could sometimes be missing last season.
Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku opens the scoring against Russia, during their group match at Euro 2020, June 12, 2021 in Saint-Petersburg Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV POOL / AFP / Archives
- Liverpool bet on stability -
Like in previous seasons, Liverpool have not been the most active club in the transfer market.
The only notable signature is that of French central defender Ibrahima Konaté, who came from Leipzig, and whose place of holder is not assured in a position where Joe Gomez already appears, alongside Virgil Van Dijk.
The Dutch defender is back, after a long injury in the heart of last winter, which completely disrupted the defensive organization of Jürgen Klopp, strong point of the Reds during the glorious period 2018-2020 (finalist then winner of the Champions League, and champion of England).
Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin grapples with Dutch Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk in their Premier League match on October 17, 2020 at Godison Park in Liverpool Laurence Griffiths POOL / AFP / Archives
Liverpool will also have to replace the very precious Dutch midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum, a free party at Paris Saint-Germain, to really carve out a place in the top 4, ahead of Tottenham, Leicester and Arsenal, other contenders for the places of honor.
© 2021 AFP