Liam Tharme

London

Football Tactics Writer at The Athletic

Graduate @ucfb (BA) & @chiuni (MSc) / Football Tactics Writer @TheAthleticFC ⚽️ 2:48 Marathoner and Ligue 1 enjoyer / formerly @officialbhafc @cufcgoalkeepers

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Articles

How Graham Potter watches football

3 days ago | nytimes.com | Liam Tharme

Graham Potter turned and pumped a fist towards the away end. Down at the Stretford End of the Old Trafford pitch, Tomas Soucek had just tapped in Mohammed Kudus' low ball at the back post to put West Ham 1-0 up. Perhaps it was collective celebration, perhaps the West Ham head coach felt vindicated. That same away end had spent a decent chunk of the game's 25 minutes of play to that point chanting for Niclas Fullkrug.
Champions League final: How to watch, dates, kick-off times

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Liam Tharme |James Horncastle

Paris Saint-Germain beat Arsenal in the second semi-final on Wednesday night to set up a Champions League final against Inter at the end of this month. The Serie A club were beaten finalists two season ago, while PSG have never been European champions. Here The Athletic brings you all the information on the final, the finalists and how they got there. What happened in the semi-finals?
Keely Hodgkinson to race 800m at London Diamond League

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Liam Tharme

Great Britain's Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson will race the 800m at the London Diamond League meeting in July. The 23-year-old went unbeaten over the distance in 2024, winning European and Olympic titles and being crowned Sports Personality of the Year. She was the first Briton to win an Olympic 800m title for 20 years, since Dame Kelly Holmes in Athens, 2004.
Keely Hodgkinson to race 800m at London Diamond League

1 week ago | sports.yahoo.com | Liam Tharme

Great Britain’s Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson will race the 800m at the London Diamond League meeting in July. The 23-year-old went unbeaten over the distance in 2024, winning European and Olympic titles and being crowned Sports Personality of the Year. She was the first Briton to win an Olympic 800m title for 20 years, since Dame Kelly Holmes in Athens, 2004.
Breaking down Yamal magic, Inter's fast start, Dumfries' unlikely double

2 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Jack Lang |Dermot Corrigan |Liam Tharme

Barcelona and Inter shared six goals in a classic of a Champions League semi-final first leg at Montjuic. Inter went ahead within 30 seconds from an audacious Marcus Thuram back-heel before Denzel Dumfries put them 2-0 up in the 21st minute with an acrobatic finish following an outswinging corner. But Lamine Yamal then dragged Barca back into the game with an extraordinary piece of skill in the 24th minute.
How Paris Saint-Germain's structural brilliance neutralised Arsenal's press

2 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Liam Tharme

Mikel Arteta had the audacity to call it an "individual moment". He was talking about the only goal in Paris Saint-Germain's 1-0 win at the Emirates in the Champions League semi-final first leg. Inside four minutes, Ousmane Dembele met Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's cutback with a first-time finish, curling around bodies and in off David Raya's left post. It encapsulated the No 9 instincts that Luis Enrique has coaxed out of Dembele after repositioning him from a winger.
The philosophy, the tactics and how he made Crystal Palace his own

2 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Matt Woosnam |Liam Tharme

There was a double take from Oliver Glasner as he arrived at his pre-match press conference. The room down at Crystal Palace's training ground is also used for the team's tactical meetings and, much to the manager's surprise, a flip chart sporting a host of data had been left out in full view of the media in attendance. "Do any of you know what these numbers mean?" he asked his audience. Silence. So he proceeded to explain.
Thomas Frank deserves more credit for making Bryan Mbeumo and Yoanne Wissa Brentford's post-Ivan Toney solution

3 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Liam Tharme

Even Thomas Frank won't give himself enough credit. After a Bryan Mbeumo brace and a Yoanne Wissa goal fired Brentford to a 4-2 home win over Brighton & Hove Albion, the Brentford head coach was asked about his strike partnership. Frank said that their 34 combined goals this term (18 for Mbeumo, 16 for Wissa) is an "incredible achievement. All the praise to them and of course to my staff, and I think a little bit about the way we play".
How Luis Enrique coached PSG into a regain machine

1 month ago | nytimes.com | Liam Tharme

Three minutes in against Aston Villa last week, Paris Saint-Germain showed that Luis Enrique has coached them into one of the most aggressive pressing sides on the continent. Ousmane Dembele, positioned on the edge of the box, took off too early as he tried to shut down Pau Torres at a Villa goal-kick during the Champions League quarter-final first leg. The referee pulled him back for encroachment.
Arsenal are becoming devastating in transition

1 month ago | nytimes.com | Liam Tharme

For a manager whose offensive principles are so focused around preventing opposition counter-attacks, the past 12 days ought to serve as a reminder to Mikel Arteta that his Arsenal side are capable of being devastating in transition themselves. For the third Premier League game running - pun intended - Arsenal scored from a fast break on Saturday, which is a first in their five and a half years under Arteta.