The Sun Newspaper

I FEAR simulation is creeping back into the game – even with VAR in operation.
Both referee Mike Dean and VAR official Graham Scott were deceived by Anthony Martial at Old Trafford on Tuesday night.

Anthony Martial’s controversial penalty shows simulation is creeping back despite VARCredit: AFP

Manchester United forward Martial was already going to ground before there was minimal contact from Southampton’s Jan Bednarek.
And that is the difference between Bednarek’s challenge and the one Arsenal’s David Luiz made from behind on Willian Jose to get sent off at Wolves.
United should not have been awarded a penalty, never mind a red card for Bednarek. 
It was a clear and obvious error from Dean.

Even Martial admitted to Bednarek it wasn’t a foul so I fully expected Dean to view the monitor and overturn his original decision as it was a difficult one to call in real time.
Martial’s act of simulation is the type of incident where you want VAR to be involved but Scott failed to help Dean out. 
I believe Southampton will have a case to appeal the decision.
Now match officials must be fully aware of forwards trying to initiate contact inside the penalty box.

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That’s because simulation is a disease in the game that still needs eradicating.
On another point, TV broadcasters get the chance to hear what the VAR is saying to the referee. 
The time has come for all to hear the conversations between the two like we do in rugby union and cricket.

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JOSE MOURINHO believes that managing Chelsea is not a difficult job  — despite being sacked by them twice.
The Special One welcomes his former club and their new boss Thomas Tuchel to Tottenham for a London derby on Thursday.

Jose Mourinho has claimed managing Chelsea is not hardCredit: EPA

Thomas Tuchel is expected to emulate his PSG success at Stamford BridgeCredit: PA:Press Association

It will be Tuchel’s first away match since he replaced the axed Frank Lampard last month.
Mourinho won two successive Premier League titles in his first spell at Chelsea after coming to England in 2004.
⚽ Read our Chelsea live blog for the very latest news from the Bridge
He then won another in 2014-15 on his return to Stamford Bridge for a second stint.

Now at Spurs, he knows exactly what lies in store for new-boy Tuchel.
He said: “I don’t think it’s very difficult to coach at Chelsea because I was champion there three times, Carlo Ancelotti was champion, Antonio Conte was champion.
“Who else? It cannot be very, very difficult because we win titles there.
“I believe Chelsea always has great players and great squads and good coaches are happy to work with these clubs and with players that give you a very good opportunity to be successful and to win titles.

“Of course a coach needs time and needs stability and it is a very good thing to feel stability.
“I’m not saying stability helps you sleep, I’m saying that stability gives you a different way of thinking and you are not just thinking about today, you are also thinking about tomorrow, you are also thinking about the future.
“That’s the way it is. It is Mr Abramovich’s club and you have to understand that it’s up to him to make his decisions. In my case, I was there in two different periods and I was champion in two different periods.
“I’m very happy to have been there before and to have that opportunity.”

I don’t think it’s very difficult to coach at Chelsea because I was champion there three times, Carlo Ancelotti was champion, Antonio Conte was champion
Jose Mourinho

Mourinho conceded the Premier League landscape is different to when he first rocked up at the Bridge 16½ years ago.
But he hinted Tuchel may find the competitiveness of the English top tier tough — having been managing all- conquering Paris Saint-Germain in France since 2018.
Mourinho, 58, said: “When I arrived the first time, the big challenge was Chelsea plus two other big teams — Arsenal, the champions without defeat, and Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United.
“Chelsea were trying to transform a club with incredible potential economically into a Premier League winner.
“But after that there was a significant space between the potential of these three clubs and the others.
“But it wasn’t a big difference for me because in Portugal it was quite similar in that aspect.
“The quality was not comparable but I was coming from Portugal in a situation where three big clubs are fighting and then a big gap to the rest. The Premier League was that.

Mourinho won three Premier League titles in two spells with the BluesCredit: Reuters
“At the time it was a very British Premier League in terms of the style of players and teams but you could focus the fight on three clubs and then there was a gap to the others.
“At this moment that gap of three is still there but now there’s Manchester City and Liverpool but after that there’s no gaps.
“The differences are much, much smaller.
“Teams that are fighting for relegation are teams with quality, teams that can beat you.
“But I think overall the competitiveness of the Premier League is not stopping. It’s incredible.”
Tottenham will again be without the injured Harry Kane, Giovani Lo Celso and Dele Alli — but Serge Aurier returns after being axed for Sunday’s shock 1-0  loss at Brighton.

On-loan Real Madrid ace Gareth Bale made only his second Prem start at the Amex but Mourinho admitted he cannot afford to give the Wales superstar a run of games to allow him to play his way back to his best.
He said: “I cannot do it. In high-level football it is very difficult to do it, especially in a competition like the Premier League, where the level is so high that it’s very, very difficult to do it.
“But I just want to say that in my opinion it was the team that didn’t have a good performance at Brighton, not Gareth individually.”

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THOMAS TUCHEL will make one giant leap for ‘manager-kind’ when he faces Jose Mourinho for the first time tonight.
Chelsea’s new German coach has come a long way from his days at Mainz 05 to compete against one of the world’s best across a dugout at Tottenham.

Thomas Tuchel had plenty of generous words for his counterpart MourinhoCredit: Getty Images – Getty

Tuchel said: “When I started my career he was so far away, like the Moon from the Earth. He could not be a role model at all.
“He is one of the best managers in the world. He creates a squad in Tottenham that is always very competitive, very strong. That will be the challenge.
“Jose is a winner and I want to implement the same in my teams.
“It’s very clear what he stands for. He builds competitive teams, he builds strong teams. He has built a Tottenham squad with characters like Sissoko and Hojbjerg who support the defence, super-competitive, disciplined hard-working guys.

“Up front normally it’s Son, Harry Kane, Bergwijn, Lamela, they have outstanding quality and speed.
“I have the biggest respect for him because he is building teams on the highest level to compete and win game after game. That’s what he’s doing at Tottenham.
“We’re doing it in our style with our beliefs. Everything is allowed.
There are many ways to succeed. He has had an outstanding career as a world-class coach and we are here to beat him, this is the challenge we are up for.”

Spurs have lost their last two gamesCredit: AFP

Mourinho has wasted no time trying to unsettle Tuchel, whose temper led to rifts at previous club Paris Saint-Germain.
First Mourinho claimed it is easy to run mega-rich PSG because the French title is pretty much handed to them every season.
Tuchel stopped short of admitting it’s a doddle in France.
But he did admit: “I absolutely agree. The culture and approach to football is totally different.
“It was a big challenge for me to adapt in a foreign league to a capital club in Paris, to a new language, to the club culture from Dortmund. And now again, this is a challenge for me and this is absolutely what I wanted to experience.
“Jose’s right, it is a big difference. It’s not a matter of what is better or what is worse it’s just if it fits and right now this fits perfectly for me. I feel absolutely comfortable.
“It’s Tottenham v Chelsea and not me against Jose. I’m very happy to compete with a strong team against his side, I’m very happy to arrive with a squad with our quality, our mentality, with the atmosphere that we are in right now.”

I also will prefer a gin and tonic and not a beer if we win against Tottenham
Thomas Tuchel

Tuchel is virtually teetotal but revealed he will toast victory on Thursday night with a tipple and a bowl of pasta.
He said: “I try to be vegetarian but if I have good pasta with bolognese I forget that. I also will prefer a gin and tonic and not a beer if we win against Tottenham. I am not a beer guy, not a wine guy. My alcohol consumption is close to zero but we can celebrate.”
Chelsea will make late checks on forward Kai Havertz and defender Kurt Zouma after both ended training early yesterday.
⚽ Read our Chelsea live blog for the very latest news from the Bridge

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JURGEN KLOPP might as well have been sitting on a film director’s chair and calling for lights, camera, action.
Having plucked wannabes Ben Davies and Ozan Kabak from obscurity, he made an immediate demand that his deadline-day signings strut their stuff on the big stage.

Reds’ boss Jurgen Klopp admits signing Ben Davies from Preston is a Hollywood-style dramatic leap, but it is born from a defensive crisisCredit: PA:Press Association

Turkey centre-back Ozan Kabak has joined Liverpool on loan from SchalkeCredit: Getty Images – Getty

One of Liverpool’s two new defenders — likely to be Davies — will tonight begin their audition to prove Klopp was right in adding them to the Anfield cast list.
Klopp admitted that were it not for the rearguard crises that sees Joel Matip out for the season along with Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez, he would not have had to make a £500,000 down payment on Davies from Preston.
Kabak was already on his radar but he would have preferred waiting until the summer before giving the young Turk, 20, a call at Schalke.

Some clubs still splashed out despite Covid-19
Now Davies, 25, and Kabak, who flew into Merseyside yesterday, are waiting in the wings for their Liverpool debuts.

Boss Klopp said: “Yes, Ozan is pretty young and Ben is coming from the Championship. They arrive  here on different pathways.
“You don’t have to watch a Hollywood movie to see such stories. But I’m a big fan of chances and giving chances.
“Whatever they did before was what made me sign them. Now they must do more and playing in a team like ours can help them flourish.”
Klopp insists that when £75million Van Dijk recovers along with the man who had been his near–automatic partner in central defence, Gomez, it will be an “open race” for places.

The reality, though, is  there will only be one spot up for grabs given how important Van Dijk is to the team.
Kabak, who arrives on a £1m loan deal, may have more to prove because  he is coming from a team that has given up 49 goals in 19 Bundesliga games this season.
Yet he did start out at Galatasaray before moving to Stuttgart and then a £12m switch to Schalke.

Jurgen Klopp is contemplating early debuts for his two new defendersCredit: PA:Press Association
If Klopp wants to keep him at Anfield permanently after this season, he would cost a further £18m.
The Reds boss is determined to give Kabak every chance and said: “He’s had really tough years with his teams.
“But even in the struggle against relegation he has had a really good season.
“Ben is a very interesting signing, a smart footballer who knows how  to defend
“Once we realised  that we had to take action because of the problems we’ve had, we looked across all the leagues in Europe and in the Championship we found a very  competitive player.”
It was a bizarre dream come true for Davies, who admitted: “The whole experience of signing for a club like Liverpool has been surreal.
“It’s been mad, mental, but it’s a huge opportunity.
“And once you get your head around it, I’d be silly to let it wash up or not make the most of it.”
His first opportunity is likely to come against the Seagulls and Klopp knows he has to go with the flow.

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The German added: “They are coming in at the deep end but starting together wouldn’t be too cool.
“You search for stability and we have not had that — but we don’t live in an ideal world so they will be coming in at the deep end.”
 LIVERPOOL (likely): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Henderson, Davies, Robertson; Thiago, Wijnaldum, Milner; Salah, Firmino, Mane.

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