It all comes down to this: Malmo v Elfsborg, separated by three points, meeting in the last game of the season with the Allsvenskan title on the line. It has been dubbed “the final” by Swedish media. Malmo will deploy more security guards than at any game in the club’s history. Elfsborg’s fans will be “caged” in one corner of the Stadion Malmo, in an effort to stop celebrations or fury spilling on to the pitch. Malmo shouldn’t even be alive in this race. Henrik Rydstrom’s free-flowing team lost 4-2 at third-place Hacken last weekend and thought they were done. But somehow Elfsborg only mustered a draw at home to relegation-threatened Degerfors, scoring a 95th-minute equaliser but failing to add their Aguero moment at the death. The pressure got to both teams, and so it goes to the wire. Malmo and Elfsborg are wildly contrasting clubs. While Elfsborg hail from a small town, Malmo is Sweden’s third city, the literal and metaphorical birthplace of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and its football team is the most successful in the country’s history with 22 league titles. Their style of play is unique in Swedish football, and eight or nine players can often be found filling the same side of the pitch to progress the ball upfield, or to quickly win it back in hunting packs. They play with a positional freedom that looks off the cuff, but contains patterns of passing and movement drilled on the training pitch by the innovative Rydstrom. Rydstrom is an unusual character in football, with a masters degree in literary studies and a past writing music reviews in magazines. He is known for his strong socialist principles and his outspoken comments have drawn criticism from right-wing politicians. The manager has been described in the Swedish media as “methodical, process-driven and sophisticated” in his approach, and his methods extend to giving players tactical homework. The coach demands utter dominance of the ball – Malmo’s average possession this season is 64.8 per cent, a long way clear of the rest and higher even than Manchester City in the Premier League (63.2). But he is no disciple of Pep Guardiola. Rydstrom’s style has been likened to the fluid Brazilian football of Fluminense coach Fernando Diniz, who recently led his team to the Copa Libertadores and whose “anti-positional” tactics – dubbed Dinizismo – are in stark contrast to Guardiola’s more rigid structure so popular in Europe. Elfsborg are a more typical Swedish team, defensively stable, with the most clean sheets this season. They don’t sit deep, but possession is not of high importance to head coach Jimmy Thelin, whose team are dogged and difficult to play against. Elfsborg have committed more fouls than any other side in the league. But there are no prizes for aesthetics, as the Swedish daily newspaper Expressen stressed this week. “Style plays a role only if it culminates in glory,” writes Noah Bachner. “Defeats can be erased from memory if ultimately they don’t affect the final table. But only one thing counts. You can drag up statistics on short passes, shots taken, how many Swedish Krona per point and every expected goal. You can moan about Elfsborg’s way of playing … But only the trophy matters.” Elfsborg are based in a town called Boras, not far from Gothenburg (the name Elfsborg refers to the region). They have won six Swedish titles in their 120-year history, the most recent in 2012, and their home ground is nicknamed ‘Elfsborg Fortress’ – a riff on an actual fortification off the coast of Gothenburg – in appreciation of what a notoriously hard place Boras is to go and win. What plays in Elfsborg’s favour is that Malmo have consistently been found wanting in the biggest moments under Rydstrom. “If you want to take charge of the title race, which Malmo had and lost several times, you have to take points from the teams you’re fighting against,” writes Bachner. He has a point: Malmo have not won any of their five games this season against key rivals Djurgarden, Hacken or Elfsborg, who thrashed Malmo at the Fortress in May. Malmo had 73 per cent possession, took 19 shots and scored no goals. Elfsborg committed 26 fouls and scored three. Rydstrom’s reputation as more than just a coach who paints pretty pictures depends on this result. “My conviction is that Rydstrom is right for Malmo, regardless of how it goes on Sunday,” adds Bachner. “But I am equally convinced that nothing is going to stop him from being branded as something other than a winner [should Malmo lose]. Another missed opportunity, after slipping again like last Sunday, will take time to scrub away.” But this time it is Malmo with home advantage. Elfsborg do not have a Fortress to defend. They are the visitors, and they must travel 150 miles south into the lion’s den to claim the prize that narrowly eluded them last weekend. For Elfsborg, a point will do. Malmo must win. It all comes down to this. Read More Pochettino learnt lessons from infamous ‘Battle of the Bridge’ to mature as manager Jeremy Doku’s brilliance shows Man City’s edge and Chelsea’s key problem Chelsea will be fighting for titles sooner rather than later – Pep Guardiola Pochettino learnt lessons from infamous ‘Battle of the Bridge’ to mature as manager Jeremy Doku’s brilliance shows Man City’s edge and Chelsea’s key problem Chelsea will be fighting for titles sooner rather than later – Pep Guardiola

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The Premier League is back! The new season gets underway tonight with newly-promoted Burnley hosting the reigning champions Manchester City at Turf Moor. It’s been two months since the conclusion of the 2022/23 season saw City defeat Inter Milan and claim a treble of trophies in the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup. Pep Guardiola will be hoping to repeat that success in this new campaign but City have been updating their squad this summer. Captain, Ilkay Gundogan, has moved to Barcelona, and Riyad Mahrez has joined Saudi Pro League club Al-Ahli. Mateo Kovacic and Josko Gvardiol have since joined up with the champions and could feature in their first league game for the club this evening. Get all the latest Premier League betting sites offers Burnley, meanwhile, are hoping to build on an outstanding season in the Championship under boss Vincent Kompany. They notched up 101 points in 46 games, scoring the most goals (87) and conceding the fewest (35) after a successful rebuild in the second tier. As Kompany prepares to face off against his old team he’ll be hoping that the Clarets bring this form and skill into the Premier League. Follow all the action as the Premier League returns with Burnley hosting Manchester City: Read More The Premier League is having an identity crisis – but one thing can save it Premier League 2023/24 predictions: Champions, top four, relegation, best signing, top scorer and more Pep Guardiola expects Man City’s standards ‘to drop’ this season

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Ange Postecoglou insists Tottenham must accept the pain of defeat after Wolves’ stunning late show. Pablo Sarabia and Mario Lemina scored in stoppage time to cap an astonishing finish, seal a 2-1 win and deny Spurs top spot in the Premier League. Brennan Johnson’s first Tottenham goal had given them an early lead and they were set to move two points clear at the summit despite riding their luck for much of the game. But, instead, Spurs have suffered successive defeats following Monday’s 4-1 loss to Chelsea. Postecoglou said: “It’s part of the pain of football when things happen in those circumstances. You’ve just got to take it. I can’t fault the players’ effort or their commitment. It was always going to be a tough game. “We started well but we could have been a little bit more positive and aggressive with the ball. I’ve got to temper that with the fact we have had so many changes and we’re not going to get the same, especially when three of your back four are almost starting for the first time. “We’ve had a particularly settled line-up. You could see they were feeling it towards the end. For the most part Wolves didn’t have many big chances but at the end they scored. Wolves were able to lift themselves, particularly with the crowd behind them. “The character and commitment was there, don’t dismiss that. The guys have played their first game of the year and you are changing three of the back four so it’s fairly disruptive. There are plenty of positives to take.” Johnson gave Spurs, without injured pair James Maddison and Micky van de Ven until January, a third-minute lead when he turned in Pedro Porro’s cross from close range but, from then, Wolves took control. It's part of the pain of football when things happen in those circumstances. You've just got to take it. I can't fault the players' effort or their commitment. It was always going to be a tough game Ange Postecoglou Their tenacity and determination left Tottenham struggling but the hosts’ final ball let them down. It took until nine minutes into the second half for a clear chance but, when it came, Hwang Hee-Chan scuffed wide with just Guglielmo Vicario to beat. Tottenham looked like they would hang on, even going close to a second when Jose Sa turned Giovani Lo Celso’s shot over, before Wolves finally found the breakthrough. Substitute Sarabia, on the pitch for just two minutes, levelled when he collected Matheus Cunha’s neat pass and smashed a volley past Vicario. It was a deserved leveller but Wolves wanted more and got it in the seventh minute of stoppage time. Tommy Doyle’s quick free-kick sent Sarabia away and he picked out Lemina, running from deep, to poke the ball into the bottom corner. Boss Gary O’Neil said: “It was the most proud I have been of a group I have coached, to produce what they produced against a top side. “I would have been very proud of the group even if the game had finished 1-0 to Tottenham. I spoke to the boys at half-time, that the scoreline was irrelevant. We were the better side, don’t let the scoreline dictate how you feel. “I try to make the team resemble me but I was never good enough to produce a performance like that. “To be 12 weeks in, we’re ahead of where we expected to be. There was a lot of noise around the place about how much of a struggle it might be but we’ve beaten Man City and Spurs, the top two, early on in the transition. We’re ahead of the curve.” Read More Great Britain suffer shock early BJK Cup setback as Jodie Burrage loses opener Ben Stokes and Joe Root give England hope of ending World Cup on a high From Covid to the Copper Box: Maia Lumsden relishes her ‘unbelievable’ return On this day in 2015: Stuart Lancaster resigns as England head coach Mauricio Pochettino: Easier for new players at Man City than ‘evolving’ Chelsea Don’t worry about it – Ange Postecoglou brushes off series of Spurs setbacks

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