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Spain produced dominant performances throughout the World Cup as they saw off England to lift the trophy for the first time. Beaten Lionesses manager Sarina Wiegman said after Sunday’s final that “you have to give credit to Spain, over the tournament they played the best football,” and her words are borne out by the statistics. Here, the PA news agency looks at how the cup was won. Spanish style Spain’s 157 shots at goal were by far the most at the tournament – semi-finalists Australia, with a round 100, were the only other team in three figures. They also ranked top on a ‘per 90 minutes’ basis with 18.9, narrowly ahead of Brazil’s 18.3, and gave up only 5.2 per 90 at the other end – a figured bettered by only the United States (3.5) and New Zealand (5.0). They ranked only ninth for accuracy with 36 per cent of their shots on target, and 11th in conversion rate at 11 per cent, but their dominance of games meant that was enough for victory and their 6.7 shots on target per 90 still led the way. FIFA’s official statistics show them with 169 completed ball progressions, when no other country reached three figures, and 1,008 line-breaks – England were next at a distant 884 while 121.4 per 90 minutes is 15 more than any other team. They completed more passes, 4,002, than any other country even attempted, with England’s 3,963 attempts second to La Roja’s 4,622 as the Spanish system so familiar in the men’s game was executed to perfection by their women as well. Spain’s 44 take-ons completed was almost double the next-best tally of 24 by France and Australia – though they were behind group-stage victims Portugal, Italy and Germany on a per-90 basis. Forward Salma Paralluelo alone managed 10. Show of strength Spain won every game but one and gave playing time to 22 of their 23 squad members, with only third-choice goalkeeper Enith Salon not used as Cata Coll replaced Misa Rodriguez between the posts after the group stage. Defender Irene Paredes was the only player to play every minute as they demonstrated the depth of their options, even in the absence of 12 of the 15 players who last year withdrew from selection amid a dispute with the national federation. Ona Batlle, Mariona Caldentey and player of the tournament Aitana Bonmati were the only members of ‘Las 15’ present in Australia and New Zealand as the likes of young player of the tournament Paralluelo, the previously uncapped Coll and final goalscorer Olga Carmona emerged to play key roles. England performed creditably in the face of their own absences but may have ultimately been undone by the lack of options available to Wiegman. From last year’s European Championship-winning squad, captain Leah Williamson, Golden Boot winner Beth Mead and Fran Kirby were ruled out by injuries and Jill Scott and record scorer Ellen White have retired. Midfield lynchpin Keira Walsh missed a game and a half with a knee injury and emerging star Lauren James served a two-match ban but despite that, Wiegman used only 17 of the 23 players at her disposal and made only 20 substitutions. Goalkeeper Mary Earps, captain Millie Bright and fellow defender Alex Greenwood played every minute as Lotte Wubben-Moy, Esme Morgan, Jordan Nobbs and Katie Robinson went unused along with back-up keepers Hannah Hampton and Ellie Roebuck. Niamh Charles, Laura Coombs and Bethany England also did not start any games.

Jurgen Klopp cast himself as the philosophical opposite of his rival for Saturday’s crunch match. They have been pitted against each other for a decade now, Klopp and Pep Guardiola, over 28 meetings from the German Super Cup to the Community Shield, via the FA, Carabao and German cups, the Bundesliga, the Premier League and the Champions League. They will be in neighbouring technical areas at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday when Manchester City host Liverpool, just as they are side by side again in the league table, for a game Klopp said he “would watch wherever I was on the planet”. But, once again, he is up against the man he deems the finest in his business. “I don't know how often I have said it but he's the best manager in the world,” he said. And while he will willingly admit that Guardiola is an influence, he compared himself to his great rival by drawing a distinction between them. “Defending is an important part of the game,” he said. “That is where my philosophy starts and his maybe ends.” Guardiola may disagree on that point, given the importance he attaches to pressing. As Klopp accepted: “We are not that close that we have spoken about it.” But Klopp’s blueprint against Guardiola involves defending; which, in turn, is the basis of his attacking. Gegenpressing, after all, is his best playmaker. “I love preparing for a game when the opponent wants the ball because it gives you an opportunity to create something,” he said. Devastating transitions have been at the heart of his blueprint to beat Guardiola. It is one that no one else has been able to copy; not with any consistency. Only one manager has faced Guardiola at least eight times and has won more often than he has lost, and that is the man who has taken him on most often. Klopp’s 12 victories have been spread across Germany and England but have had certain common denominators. Klopp’s teams don’t dominate the ball, and nor do they try to. But nor do they give it up altogether: beating Manchester City with 20 per cent possession, he rationalised, “is really rare and your counterattacks have to be spot on”. And if Liverpool’s sometimes are, they had 37 per cent of the ball when they won 1-0 at Anfield last season, 32 per cent in the 2-1 Champions League victory at the Etihad Stadium, 36 per cent in 2018’s 4-3 triumph at Anfield. Klopp’s sides have to defend well, but the scorelines indicate that the games have not been defensive. Perhaps it is simply testament to the attacking quality on the pitch but those 28 matches have produced 93 goals, an average of 3.32 each. While winning more – 12 to 11 – Klopp’s teams have conceded more goals, 48 to 45; as he knows from 5-0, 4-0, 4-1 and 4-1 results, when City are on top, they can seem unstoppable. “If we can make it really uncomfortable for them, we have a chance,” Klopp said. “If they feel comfortable in their game, no team has a chance.” Arguably, no one else has made life uncomfortable for Guardiola as often as Klopp. Some of the unconventional decisions that have led to accusations that the Catalan overthinks things have come against Liverpool: Aymeric Laporte has played at left-back at Anfield, Ilkay Gundogan as a quasi-right-winger and Jack Grealish as a false nine, none with any conspicuous success. Klopp nevertheless argued that it will be hard for Guardiola to spring a surprise. “We are all kind of predictable so it is not that we have a rabbit in our pocket and pull it out,” he said. “It is football, all the pitches are the same size and it is super interesting.” He knows City want the ball and where they want it. The challenge lies in concentration and organisation, in when to try to take it off them, how and whether Liverpool can spring a break. “Now it is about each space on the pitch you give them on the pitch that they want to explore,” he said. “They really want to play. They are the one team who have four at the back and one of them is the goalkeeper. They don’t only play around their own box, they move slightly higher as well. If we have a solution for that, they will step back and adapt.” Guardiola can seem the control freak of the pair, Klopp the man with a brand of chaos theory. Yet he presented himself as the organiser, the defensive strategist, and the City manager as the ranter and raver. “I am not sure how deep you have to go into our personality to see what we are like,” he said. “I am 56 and I still don't know who I am but Pep is for sure this type of guy who likes to get angry with his boys if they don't want the ball. I have that a little bit. For me, I love to organise other things to get advantage from that and that is deep in my personality.” And that personality, over the years, has equipped him for the seemingly impossible task of facing Guardiola. 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