GAME OF THE WEEK: RED DEVILS GO DOWN FIGHTING AS NOISY NEIGHBOURS CLINCH MANCHESTER DERBY

Story written by Patrick Kamanga

RED DEVILS GO DOWN FIGHTING AS NOISY NEIGHBOURS CLINCH MANCHESTER DERBY

Sergio Aguerro's sublime finish put matters to rest

In a tense, tight and controversial affair Manchester City overcame a brave Manchester United in a titanic battle at the Etihad Stadium, winning by a solitary goal to remain within striking distance of runaway table toppers Chelsea. 

Smalling's silly block earned him a yellow card

With central defender Chris Smalling conceding two unnecessary and utterly silly yellow cards that gave referee Michael Oliver no other option but to send him off, this was a game City should have won more convincingly. 

Chris Smalling's calamitous defending made him see red

Is it therefore a case of City playing below par or the Red Devils raising their game? I think it’s a little bit of both because for all their possession particularly in the first half and numerical advantage, City simply created very few clear cut chances and solely missed the injured Danny Silvas’ clever runs and creativity in the deep pocket. With both Yahya Toure and Bosnian striker Edin Dzeko’s form taking a dip, creativity as well as goal scoring responsibilities have fallen on diminutive Argentine Sergio Aguerro who has not disappointed the City faithful and grabbed the chance with both hands taking his goal tally for the season to double digits at ten while his total for the derby is now eleven. 

Top scorer Kun Aguerro having a great season

To emphasize City’s recent struggles, similar circumstances three seasons ago in October 2011 when Johny Evans received a red card, the Sky Blues superiority saw them pulverize and inflict the heaviest defeat in recent memory upon Man U at the Old Trafford, winning 6-1. With Smalling hitting the showers as early as the 38^th minute, City had at least 52 minutes to apply their numerical advantage into goals but they quite didn’t dominate the game as many would have expected. All the reason for the hue and cry by City over the penalty decisions which were ignored by the ref, an indication of their desperation. On a more objective note, Sergio Aguerro’s penalty appeals were lame because on both occasions he hit the deck with relative ease after very minimal contact. To be fair to City their strongest case for a penalty which was unjustly ignored was central defender Macos Rojo’s lunging tackle from behind, albeit unintentionally on Toure who had blindsided then ghosted past him and was clearly setting to pull the trigger when Rojo clumsily brought down the burly Ivorian. 

Last man Rojo's clumsy tackle went unpunished

With Rojo as the “last-man”, that infringement was a clear penalty plus a red card! As if the “soccer gods” were colluding against them, the Red Devil’s defense was stripped to bare bones when Rojo was stretchered off after injuring his shoulder from an awkward fall. Teenager Paddy McNair came on and played along Michael Carrick. With a man less, and a makeshift defense, instead of folding over Man U miraculously picked themselves up in the second half, took the game to their bitter rivals and actually put City on the back foot. 

Rooney in full flight, made life difficult the Sky Blues

The Red Devils were almost rewarded for their bravery when Wayne Rooney’s dizzying run that saw him skip past four City players set Van Persie in the box, who miscued his shot and finally nicked the ball onto Di Maria’s path whose volley was fisted out by Joe Hart. The last quarter hour plus injury time saw City quite weary and jittery as Man U threatened to equalize and share the spoils. Defensive midfielder Fernando was brought in for Aguerro in the 83rd minute as City closed shop and hang on to their solitary goal. 

Man U can take plenty of positives from their brave show

Despite the lose, the Red Devils should take pride for the manner with which they coped under extreme circumstances which should go a long way in building character and grit as Van Gaal works on rebuilding his team and return them to former glories.

BARCELONA OUTCLASSED!

Story written by Patrick Kamanga

BARCELONA OUTCLASSED!

Real Madrid were hungrier and wanted it more!

The much awaited “El Classico” fixture between Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona has come to pass. What was disappointing from a neutral’s point of view is that it was never quite a contest. Despite starting with a frenetic pace and even getting an early goal on the 7^th minute via a Neymar brace, Barca simply faded away as Real took over the game and kept cranking it up. By the time the second half was setting off, Real’s class was obvious for all to witness. Only Real Madrid’s seeming disinterest at scoring more goals saved Barca from an embarrassing score line as the game wore on keeping the scoreline at a decent 3-1!

Since Dutchman Frank Riijkard whose star-studded Barcelona outfit marveled the football world with a three dimensional style which ushered in the “tiki taka” era left, Barca ceased having a balanced approach. His successor Pep Guardiola’s philosophy was ultra offensive and he couldn’t have had a care in the world for having defenders. His approach was holistic though, the team as a whole defended by suffocating opponents with possession while pressing and closing down spaces and would hit opponents through minute spaces in their own box an approach that won them a treasure trove of trophies. Last night’s show was painful to watch, a total disappointment even for neutrals who were expecting a thrilling contest. All the big players on the Catalan side simply didn’t show up for the game, lacked belief and some like Pique simply imploded! The midfield, for long Barcelona’s mainstay was completely off and devoid of any creativity and ideas. Messi in particular looked lost for most of the game while Xavi and Iniesta were anonymous! 

Messi had a game to forget

The harshest criticism though goes to former Barca and Spain national team Captain Luiz Enrique, now Coach of the Catalan outfit who seemed clueless the whole time. From his squad selection to tactics, and even substitutions, he was no match for his opposite number Carlo Ancelloti. 

A clueless Luis Enrique orchestrated one of the worst Barca performances in recent memory

Despite their over hyped start to the season, Barcelona looked average and if this clash is anything to go by then the future looks ominous especially in the Champions League where they’ve been largely unconvincing and against other refined opponents in the elimination rounds, they will simply get pulverized!

BALOTELLI; LIVERPOOL'S REAL PROBLEM OR CONVENIENT SCAPEGOAT?

Story written by Patrick Kamanga

BALOTELLI; LIVERPOOL’S REAL PROBLEM OR CONVENIENT SCAPEGOAT?

Enough has been said about the mercurial Italian Mario Balotelli in many a forum without the need to say much more but the latest Mario Balotelli bashing particularly from Liverpool fans and faithful, the English press and just about everybody else is simply unfair. The latest tirades have come about because he exchanged jerseys with Real Madrid’s Portuguese defender Pepe, during their midweek Champions League home game, where they were outplayed as well as outclassed by their more illustrious opponents. While I agree it might be perceived as wee bit disrespectful by some, why is it such a big deal? Arsenal fans reacted the same way a few seasons ago when Brazilian right back Andre Santos swapped shirts with his close friend and former Gunner Robin Van Persie at half time in a home game at the Emirates, that Arsenal lost to RVP’s new paymasters then, Manchester United! Just like the reaction to Santo’s then, the Liverpool fraternity is throwing vitriol Balotelli's way to cover up their insecurities, shortcomings and vulnerabilities that have seen their team generate one of their worst runs in recent memory. I have a very strong hunch that if say Sturridge or even Raheem Sterling had exchanged shirts with someone they idolized on the Real Madrid squad, it might have gone unnoticed or at least wouldn’t have cooked up a storm similar to what has been directed at the Italian. I believe that teams that tend to overreact to such trivialties, do so to divert attention to other bigger problems, call it denial! 

To be objective about the whole issue, Balotelli who is expected to fill the goal scoring void left by the injured Sturridge has largely been off colour; missing glaring chances on a few occasions, not making timely runs into opposition goal area thus failing to put himself in pole position to score and worse, taking wild shots from range ignoring other teammates in better positions. On the defensive side, he does not track back or generally assist his teammates. On the flip side, all players go through slumps in form or take time to settle at new clubs and Mario Balotelli is no exception.

Shirts galore! Real Madrid players revel after their convincing win

If you consider his record at Inter, then Manchester City, then back to Milan it isn't hard to see that Balotelli has so far managed to be in his best behaviour on and off the field and is really trying to make the best of his current situation but the footballing world and the EPL have long given up on the player expecting him to bottom out sooner rather than later. The pressure is being ratcheted up to make him crack and do something stupid because controversy sells, and the media particularly the British tabloid thrive best on such moments! While he is obviously in a rut game-wise, Balotelli's form is just but a microcosm of other bigger problems bedeviling the club. The root cause to their current troubles is of course the departure of the exceptionally talented but controversial Uruguayan Louis Suarez, sold at a fortune to Catalan giants, F.C Barcelona. While replacing a player of Suarez’s caliber is near impossible at best, the Liverpool Manager Brendan Rodgers’ choice of transfers was seriously skewed! He did a “Tottenham” where like his North London kith the previous season that sold off their star player Gareth Bale to Real Madrid for a world record fee and brought a host of mostly average players expecting the new comers to pick up the slack, a ploy that of course flopped miserably. A close observation of how last season panned out for the Reds reveals that Suarez’s rich vein of form and bounty of goals covered up Liverpools’ defensive frailties which Rodgers never bothered to remedy during the phenomenal season and in the off-season. Rodgers’ preferred open expansive style of play more often leaves his backline exposed and without a natural anchorman to offer protection, Liverpool is always vulnerable to the odd sucker punch even on their best day. Case in point is during their must win game against Chelsea at Anfield which from a practical point of view, Liverpool only required a draw of any sort to virtually guarantee themselves a first title in over two decades but instead of applying common sense Brendan Rodgers threw caution to the wind and set out to play his usual flamboyant manner and painfully lost 2-0 to a dogged Mourinho led Blues side! In their next game against Crystal Palace needing an outright win to redeem their title chances and leading 3-0 at half time, Rodgers' lack of pragmatism again cost them the title when a series of blunders allowed the Eagles, who were avoiding relegation, a lifeline when they turned the game around and pulled off a 3-3 draw! A tactical change and a few substitutions would have sufficed to guarantee Liverpool the three points but yet again Rodgers naively shot himself in the foot by stubbornly sticking to his "style over substance" approach. During the summer break Rodgers didn’t bother to address arguably their most urgent need; acquisition of a holding midfielder and a world class player at that. Instead, he has senselessly continued to play the ageing and now calamitous team Captain Steven Gerrard, a natural box to box midfielder who’s always thrived on pure attacking instincts, as his preferred anchorman! Another glaring problem has been poor marking on set plays where Rodgers has continuously preferred "zonal" marking to "man to man" marking, which has time and again been proven suicidal in the EPL ensuring his players get picked out by opponents like sitting ducks during set plays! 

The two main protagonists in the Reds disastrous season

Alas! Me thinks that perhaps too much was made off their phenomenal season last time round where without any continental commitments; the Reds had only a single game to play every week. If seen from such light I wonder whether playing the amount of games they have to play this season with their defensive fallibility and an imbalanced squad considered, I doubt whether even with Suarez around if Liverpool could scale the heights they reached last season, in the current campaign.

BLUE JUGGERNAUT GUNS DOWN ARSENAL AT THE BRIDGE!

Story written by Patrick Kamanga

GAME OF THE WEEK:

BLUE JUGGERNAUT GUNS DOWN ARSENAL AT THE BRIDGE!

Costa made sure of matters

In a close knit tactical affair pitting London’s big two, both rivals set out on an identical 4-2-3-1 formation which for large swathes of the game cancelled each other out but Chelsea’s class eventually came through at critical moments, shifting gear and finally pulling away from their opponents. With both these teams manager’s engaged in a protracted “hate-hate” relationship manifested by the war of words that has been ongoing for the last decade, there was a general feeling that “Le Professeur” Arsene Wenger had had it and might pull off a blindsided surprise sucker punch, tactically and catch Jose Mourinho off guard but the “Shrink” outmaneuvered him eventually.

The hate-hate relationship almost boiled over to a fist fight

The two managers actually almost came to blows, physically, at the touchline on the 20^th minute when Gary Cahill made a rush, crunching tackle on Alexis Sanchez and it took prompt action by the fourth official to separate them and a stern warning by the referee Martin Atkinson for peace to prevail.

The first half was largely an even affair credit to Arsenal’s midfield pair of Mathieu Flamini and Jack Wilshire who stood up to and neutralized the menacing threat of Chelsea’s freewheeling midfield. The Blues were content on holding the ball and passing it around while Arsenal’s intention was clear; impede and hit on the counter. This ploy almost paid off as early as the 10^th minute when Cazorla put Wilshire through but his pace let him down as he arrived in the box late and clattered the advancing Thibout Courtois knocking him out cold in the process. Courtois was to depart the game a little later providing veteran goalkeeper Peter Cech his first Premier League appearance of the season. Calum Chambers surprisingly had a good game displaying a lot of promise in containing danger man Eden Hazard’s runs with the exception being the 26^th minute when Fabregas teed the Belgian through and from a dizzying run that saw him skip over Santi Cazorla, then Chambers finally bursting through into the Arsenal box where Kolcieny as the last impediment, the Frenchman had little choice but to hack down Hazard to earn Chelsea a penalty kick! From the resultant spot kick, Hazard made no mistake sending Szechzny the wrong way to put the Blues infront 1-0.

From a swift counter attack, a long diagonal ball found Andre Schurrle in an advanced position, who controlled the ball and was about to run past Chambers who brought him down clumsily and as the last man survived a straight red card getting away with a verbal caution and a yellow card on the 40^th minute.

As the second half progressed Arsenal upped their game and dictated the tempo of the game in the early exchanges with Chelsea sitting back content on holding out. Mesut Ozil had an off colour display and didn’t offer the Gunners much impetus giving a lethargic performance bordering on disinterest, Alex Oxlade Chamberlain should have been a better fit from the get go. Likewise, Ozil's Germany national teammate Andre Schurrle had an off day often slowing the Blues advance, making late runs and providing poor passes, Willian would have offered the Blues more thrust.

A Wilshire’s shot that grazed the rushing Fabrega’s forearm on the 63^rd minute, was ignored by the ref so were the Arsenal players’ pleas for a penalty with a corner awarded instead.

Both sides made substitutions on the 69^th minute which changed the course of the game and affected the eventual outcome. For the home side, John Obi Mikel came on for Andre Schurrle while for the visitors, Alex Oxlade Chamberlain came on for Cazorla which was a negative move on Wenger’s part who should taken off Ozil instead and retained the Spaniard. Obi Mikel’s inclusion as anchorman alongside the rock solid Serbian Nemanja Matic further consolidated Chelsea’s stranglehold on the game stifling Arsenal of any space on which to maneuver. It also freed up Fabregas who now joined the offensive side of his midfield and played in the deep pocket where his ability to pass would be lethal. Cazorla’s substitution denied Arsenal the opportunity at a comeback as he’d been at the center of most of their clever runs.

Mourinho’s sub and tactical change paid dividends from a swift counter attack initiated by left back Cezar Azpilicueta who passed the ball to Fabregas at the centre circle. The Spaniard came back to haunt his former club with a deft and precise long lob that found target man Diego Costa beyond the two central defensive pair of Kolcieny and Per Mertasacker, who chested the ball at the edge of the box then gingerly lobbed it into the net beyond the advancing Szezchny to send the Stamford Bridge crowd into pandemonium! 2-0!

The Gunners kept fighting and almost pulled one back when left back Kieran Gibbs sneaked through and only Cech’s quick reflexes blocked a goal bound shot for a corner in the 89^th minute. To crown a physical battle, Welbeck survived a clear send off when he uncharacteristically and unnecessarily made a two footed, studs up lunge at Fabregas perhaps in frustration, earning himself a yellow card.

Inspite of this lose, Arsenal can take a few positives from this game, giving an overall improved display against one of the teams that gave them a hiding last season and is something to build upon. For one Arsene Wenger also showed a rare willingness to be pragmatic and sacrificed flamboyance for a more robust and tactical approach.

In an earlier match Manchester United overcame a stubborn Everton 2-1 at Old Trafford. With the Red Devil’s second half collapse now an expected occurrence, goalkeeper David De Gea gave a virtuoso performance commanding his back-line and making three world class saves to not only keep Man U’s lead intact but out right won them this game!

Angel Di Maria’s shot gave Man U the lead in the 27^th minute, a lead that was almost cancelled out when left back Luke Shaw made a late tackle on to earn Everton a penalty. De Gea stood big and palmed out Leighton Baines' spot kick at the stroke of half time to maintain Man U’s advantage.

Everton came out fired up in the second half taking the game to their more illustrious opponents. 

El Tigre finally opened his goalscoring account

A 54^th minute free kick was played short to Gareth Barry by Baines, who passed the ball back to the left back. Baines' wicked cross curled beyond the retreating defense to find Naismith alone and unmarked who sent a bullet header into the roof of the net to attain parity.  

Save of the season! Man of the match De Gea keeps off Oviedo's volley

Man U regained the upper hand when Valencia found Di Maria outside the box, whose miscued shot was capitalized upon by Radamel Falcao for his first Premier League goal.

De Gea then made two great saves to maintain the status quo, first from a  Leon Osman shot on the 90^th minute and Oviedo’s bullet volley which he dived full length to parry out for a corner in injury time. Overall this was an improved display from the Red Devil's earning themselves a top four spot in what seems like a long time.