The Athletic FC: Who can catch Liverpool? Man Utd's corner conundrum, Atalanta's title bid

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Hello! We hope your Boxing Day was as good as Liverpool’s.

On the way:

🔝 Top Slot for New Year

😏 Jordan Pickford’s facials

🇮🇹 The unlikely Serie A leaders

🎤 Beyonce for 2026?

Around the Grounds: Liverpool’s comeback shows their frightening potential

It’s a pretty cushy place to be if you’re a Liverpool fan. Seven points clear at the top of the Premier League, almost halfway through the season, a game in hand, and your closest title rivals melting away.

Arne Slot’s side had to do it the hard way against Leicester City on Thursday, coming from a goal down to win 3-1. It was an uncharacteristically tepid first-half display from Liverpool, plagued by poor decision-making in the final third.

The second half was different as, following a tweak of approach at the break, Liverpool demonstrated all the composure and patience that had been lacking in the first.

Perhaps even more terrifyingly, Liverpool introduced Diogo Jota and Dominik Szoboszlai in the 78th minute, while Luis Diaz remained an unused substitute. That’s some serious depth — and they’ll need it in January, with FA Cup and Carabao Cup fixtures to go alongside the return of the Champions League.

What’s up with their rivals?

In previous seasons, leading from the front has come with the caveat that Manchester City remain in the mix and have a knack for not putting a foot wrong in the home stretch — as both Arsenal and Liverpool can attest to.

But Pep Guardiola’s side are not themselves this term. They sit seventh (seventh?!?) after being held at home by Everton — thanks, perhaps, to the facial expressions of opposition goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

With the score 1-1, Erling Haaland stepped up to take a City penalty. Pickford’s eyes widened, out popped his tongue and the Norwegian’s tame spot kick was saved.

Second-place Chelsea — who Enzo Maresca has continually stressed are not title contenders — also dropped points after conceding in the 82nd and 95th minutes against Fulham. It was Fulham’s first win at Stamford Bridge since 1979 — cue what can only be described as ‘limbs’ in the away end.

Arsenal can reduce Liverpool’s lead with victory over Ipswich Town today, but Mikel Arteta’s side are behind the pace they have set over the past two years and — just like City without key man Rodri — they are beginning a prolonged period without talisman Bukayo Saka.

Do Man Utd have an olimpico problem?

Ruben Amorim arrived at Manchester United with his in-tray full of problems, including Bruno Fernandes’ disciplinary issues, which returned with a red card against Wolves, leaving his new head coach “frustrated”.

But then a fresh fiasco — which has only surfaced in the past week — fast-tracked to the ‘urgent’ list against Wolves: conceding an ‘olimpico’ (a goal straight from a corner).

Following Son Heung-min’s goal for Tottenham Hotspur against United in the Carabao Cup a week ago, Matheus Cunha scored in almost identical fashion (above) as United lost their third straight game.

Cunha insisted it was no fluke, explaining afterwards he had been practising scoring from corners in training. It looks like he won’t be the last to try it against United, either…

Best of the rest

Against all odds: Atalanta top of Serie A — and making the most of resources

(Getty images; design: Will Tullos)

Atalanta are the underdog story that won’t go away. The Italian side entertained as they reached the 2019-20 Champions League quarter-finals in their debut season in the competition. In May, they won their first European trophy, beating the previously unbeatable Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final.

This season, Atalanta are eyeing their biggest triumph, sitting pretty at the top of Serie A.

The club, who played in the second tier as recently as 2011, is located in Bergamo, a city to the north east of Milan with a population of around 120,000. Should Atalanta win Serie A, Bergamo would be the smallest place to house the champions of Italy since Cagliari in 1970.

What makes Atalanta’s success particularly impressive is how it has been maintained despite key players being sold and key senior figures departing. Manager Gian Piero Gasperini has been the one constant, and will celebrate nine years there in June. As James Horncastle writes, “He is the one indispensable part.”

High-voltage Hurz: How Brighton boss beat Bayern II, aged 24

Managerial egos can be enormous and fragile. It must sting, ever so slightly, to lose a game in which the rival coach is 24 years old.

That was how it went for the Bayern Munich II boss whose side took a fat lip from FC Pipinsried in 2017. Pipinsried were a village team/pub team (delete as applicable) but they had the benefit of a bright mind in Fabian Hurzeler, taking a first step up the ladder towards coaching Brighton in the Premier League today.

Hurzeler was player-manager of Pipinsried. Not only did he mastermind a 1-0 victory, he scored the winning goal in it — before getting sent off. He and Bayern’s coach, Tim Walter, tangled on the touchline and, as Seb Stafford-Bloor amusingly recounts, Walter accused Hurzeler of “overestimating himself” — blissfully unaware that the upstart in front of him had as much talent as he had self-confidence.

By Phil Hay

Catch a match

(Selected games)

Around TAFC: How Premier League stadiums have evolved over the past 40 years

A general view of the Shed End at Stamford Bridge in 1989, with cars parked by the side of the pitch – (Photo: Mark Leech/Offside/Getty Images).

And finally…

(Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

Beyonce’s spectacular performance at the NFL’s Christmas Day half-time show was a reminder that she is surely the obvious choice to do the same at the 2026 World Cup final. She is a two-time Super Bowl half-time performer, a woman for the big occasion.

But it got us at TAFC thinking: if not Beyonce, then who? As an Ipswich local, I’m blinded by bias and cannot look beyond Ed Sheeran in his Ipswich Town kit… but you wouldn’t put a Gianni Infantino DJ set past FIFA. It’s been another good year for the ABBA Voyage holograms: could they grace the stage at the MetLife Stadium?

Or perhaps, says our Full Time newsletter editor Emily Olsen, it’s the perfect opportunity for the iconic Diana Ross to redeem herself, 32 years on from her infamous penalty miss at the 1994 World Cup opening ceremony?

Please do send us your 2026 World Cup final suggestions to the email address below.

(Photo: Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)