Mourinho 0 : Guardiola 0

It was the clash of the Super-Coaches: Mourinho’s Inter squared off at home against Guardiola’s European champs Barcelona last night in what was the most anticipated Match-day 1 fixture of the UEFA Champions League 2009 – 10. It was mouthwatering stuff for many reasons:

Mourinho vs. Guardiola
This was the highlight for me. The promise of how these two contrasting individuals and managers would pit their wits against one another was truly exciting.

Mourinho is outspoken, flamboyant; a charismatic leader who loves to take people on. The teams he puts out and their playing philosophy, however, is calmer with stress not on flair but efficiency; on primarily achieving results. We have all seen his tremendous record in Portugal, England and now Italy. He’s not afraid to make bold changes and does have a number of tricks up those sleeves.

Guardiola is much quieter in comparison; an astute analyzer of the game with people management skills that seem to match Jose’s in that both of them know the art of bringing out the best in their players and instilling in them that drive and desire to win matches. His team, however, is all attack; flamboyant, creative and fast. Although Barcelona achieved practically everything under Guardiola last season, it does appear that they do not have a plan B; they know one way – one very successful way so far – of playing football.

The question: “Who is better: Pep or Jose?” This match would surely go a long way in answering that.

The Squads
The sheer big names and world class talent on display was incredible. Barca’s potent midfield spearheaded by Xavi, and probably the best attack in the world: Henry, Messi, Ibrahimovic. Inter with their stars in Maicon, Sneijder and Eto’o; not to mention their home advantage.

Ibrahimovic vs. Eto’o
Both forwards who swapped clubs during the transfer window had a point to prove, most notably against their former fans and managers. Surely, that would bring out the best in them!

The Unraveling
To be honest, the game did not live up to its expectations; or maybe I expected too much of it. Granted, there were fits of beautiful passing football from Barcelona and some good counters and impressive defending from Inter, but the lack of goals (the final score-line being 0 – 0) basically meant that neither side had to get out of their comfort zone. That rendered the match lacking in that something extra; that bite and intensity.

Mourinho’s tactics worked extremely well I thought; more so in the first half where Inter kept Barcelona at bay by closing them down in the midfield, the forwards making unorthodox runs; midfielders cutting space and angles and as a result, any positive supply to Henry or Messi. Maybe the Portuguese had taken a leaf out of Guus Hiddink’s masterful strategy in last season’s semi-final where Chelsea kept Barcelona at bay for nearly two legs! But Inter did have their chances; they were definitely on the lookout to make that odd chance count. It just didn't happen.

The second half, Barcelona found their feet a lot more; Henry got into the game, so did Messi. Their attacking play also provided Inter’s Milito in particular and Eto’o with some good counter-attacking chances.

Inter’s defense was astute and tough on the night; Samuel being easily my man of the match. Both him and Lucio never allowed Ibrahimovic to get meaningful possession of the ball and when he did get it, he was extremely poor at making anything out of it. Ibra was definitely a flop on the night but Eto’o actually did pretty well. So, is the Cameroon international better than the Swede? I’m still not decided but am slightly inclined towards a ‘yes’.

At the end of the game, it’s Jose 0, Pepe 0. The debate is still open; we now wait till Match-day 5 (November 24) when Inter square off against Barca at Camp Nou to see if any answers can be found.
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English Premier League Top 5 Moments: Week 5

5. Didier Drogba vs. Stoke City
What a goal! Frank Lampard started it all with a sublime, silky through-ball to send Drogba into the box, who let the ball roll right past him and into the strike zone. And what a strike it was too with the Ivorian's left foot! The moment I saw the goal I went "ah... fantastic!!"

4. Anderson vs. Tottenham
Finally! Anderson scores in the Premier League after two long years with Manchester United; and that's perhaps the major reason why he made it to this ranking; a goal two years in the making! I personally like Anderson; he's an intelligent footballer, can pick a pass and can really let it rip with his left foot; something we saw with his equalizer against the (then) high-flying Tottenham.

3. Michael Turner vs. Hull City
The summer transfer deadline day saw a transfer I couldn't quite fathom. Michael Turner, the Hull City captain who had done so well for them and earned all sorts of praise and fans, switched to Sunderland! Now I don't know what plans Steve Bruce has in store to be so lucrative or whether it was merely a financial issue, but the lad certainly seemed settled at Hull City to me! Anyhoo... after the transfer, how ironic that Turner's first game for Sunderland was against Hull City! And although Sunderland wrecked past their opponents 4-2, it was the last goal, scored by Turner himself, that would surely have rubbed it in!

2. Emmanuel Adebayor vs. Arsenal
No. This is not about his goal. This is about what he did afterwards; he ran the fastest I've ever seen him run, not for a delicious through-ball or a goal-scoring opportunity, but for a simple yet brazen act of showing off; He ran the length of the football pitch to celebrate (read mock) in front of the Arsenal fans, receiving plenty of boos and verbal abuse in the process. I thought it was ridiculous. Surely, a player of class, a true professional would have let his football speak for itself; the goal was enough to make a point! Don't agree with me? Read Adebayor's apology after the match!

1. Florent Malouda vs. Stoke City
He came and he did not conquer. In fact, far from it, Florent Malouda looked like another failed signing for Chelsea; heavy bucks paid for not much reward. Things took a sharp turn for the Frenchman last season after Guus Hiddink took over the reigns. Suddenly, the winger found form... and went on to his best spell yet in a blue shirt. This season, he has looked lively again. His winner came three minutes into injury-time against Stoke City; a left foot shot that the keeper probably saw late. Malouda's celebration said it all. It had been a long wait!
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English Premier League Top 5 Moments: Week 4

English Premier League Top 5 Moments: Week 4Each week, I will be looking back at the English Premier League matches that were played and would identify five moments that stood out. Now, they need not necessarily be match-winning moments; they could be anything: an awesome goal, a terrific save, an appalling refereeing decision, a humiliating instant, a brawl, or even a cute poster in the crowd!

Without further ado, here are the top 5 for the week that was:

5. Ashley Cole vs. Burnley
All throughout the evening, Chelsea were rampant against the new so-called “giant killers” Burnley who were fresh after their stunning wins over Manchester United and Everton. The Blues, however, seem hungrier than ever before to win everything this season; and they showed it through wonderful passing football, uncharacteristic closing down in the midfield, teamwork and some awesome play down the wings from both full-backs; and although Jose Bosingwa did most of the work on the right flank, it was Ashley Cole’s sweet one-two with Frank Lampard and then a thumping strike off a difficult angle to find the net that took the prize, leading Chelsea to a comfortable yet impressive 3-0 win over the (still) league minnows.

4. Aaron Lennon vs. Birmingham
He did it again! For the second week running, the English winger with dazzling pace but not much to show for it – Aaron Lennon – thumped in the winner to maintain Tottenham Hotspur’s undefeated start to the league. It was a terrific match; Spurs piling up wave after wave of creative, dynamic, attacking football and Birmingham actually being pretty impressive in withstanding it. It was only a matter of time though and Peter Crouch scored his first for his new club to put Spurs ahead. Birmingham equalized soon after through Lee Carsley. And just when all seemed done and dusted; when Alex McLeish was getting ready to out-beam Owen Coyle’s recent exploits, Lennon spoiled the party with a trademark run and a sweet finish. Awesome moment!

3. Andriy Arshavin vs. Manchester United
How did he do that? I’ve looked at the replays and am still baffled by the goal that Andriy Arshavin scored against Manchester United to put Arsenal ahead, despite his team losing 2-1 in the end. Some thirty yards out, the Russian midfielder without much back-lift fired a beast of a shot to elude Ben Foster and find the top corner. I thought Arshavin’s own reaction summed up the goal: unbelievable!

2. Arsene Wenger vs. Manchester United
This is the second awesome moment from Arsenal vs. Manchester United. And this one was riveting to watch! Van Persie scored and off-side goal in the very dying moments with Arsenal 2-1 down, Wenger started celebrating at the potential equalizer and soon realized the goal had been ruled off-side. Now, he did not say much but kicked a water bottle to let off some steam. On the surface though he looked quite calm. The fourth official did not like it much; maybe he had been drinking from that bottle; he reported it to the referee who shared his feelings and wola! Arsene Wenger was sent to the stands! The poor Arsenal manager climbed up the stairs with no real place to sit and stood before a host of screaming United Fans, shrugging and shaking his head. I felt for the Frenchman; it wasn’t much of an offense and it all seemed pretty insulting. Later, during the press conference, Wenger saw the funny side of it by stating simply that he did not understand why he had been sent off for kicking the bottle and that “it was a good kick!”!

1. Abou Diaby vs. Manchester United
Now, what was Abou Diaby thinking? With the game sensitively poised at 1-1, the lanky Arsenal midfielder headed a routine corner right into his own net! Watching the replays, it was so ridiculous it LOOKED intentional. Maybe he forgot what end he was playing at; maybe he wanted to show off his heading prowess be it at the wrong end; or maybe he was plain unlucky. The result robbed Arsenal of all the points against Manchester United, but it did earn Diaby the top place on this list! Not too bad in the end, huh?
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Lighting Strikes Twice: Burnley edge past Everton!

So. Lighting does strike twice. Does that mean pigs can fly too? Your answer is as good as mine.

Many thought Burnley’s stunning victory over Manchester United was a fluke; that they just got lucky, and that they would not be able to replicate that result. But, although not quite of the same scale, their victory last night against Everton certainly proved that they have earned these outcomes.

It was déjà-vu: a 1-0 final scoreline; a good finish to give Burnley the lead; a missed penalty and a beaming Owen Coyle.

At the same time, Everton were appalling. Their defense just isn’t the same without Lescott; they lacked creativity in midfield and the forwards weren’t on their game either with Saha missing the penalty (although Phil Neville should have received an award for the dive that won the penalty in the first place). David Moyes has a number of issues to sort out.

At the end of the day, it was tables turned for both teams in terms of the League table: Everton are at the bottom while Burnley are 7th. Talk about a swap!

Can Burnley do a Hull City of last season this time around? Will they elude relegation? Could they qualify for Europe? Despite the tremendous and fully deserved victories, I think it is still too early to say. What do you think?

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Return of the Devils: Manchester United strike back?

Now, good teams have a tendency to make their critics look really stupid at times and this is precisely what happened when Manchester United thumped Wigan 5-0 to record a resounding comeback after their defeat to the lowly Burnley which, among thousands around the world, also prompted me to question their ability.

Having said that, Manchester United were still pretty poor in the first half as it ended goal-less. It was a patchy performance: missed opportunities, no real attacking play, misdirected passes, shaky defense! I had predicted a 1-1 draw and after the first 45 minutes I started wondering if I should have put some money on it.

Thankfully, I didn’t; it all changed in the second half!

I can only imagine what Fergie would’ve said to his boys at half-time. One thing’s for sure: it was definitely not pretty and might not have made it through most censorship filters! But it worked. United came out all guns blazing and it was Wayne Rooney who found the net with – behold – his head! Now that is a sight I haven’t seen too often. It was a terrific header, gave the goalie no chance! Rooney had worked tirelessly the entire game and it was no surprise to see him open the floodgate; and what a floodgate it was: wave after wave of United attack followed and Wigan looked completely out of answers. Dimitar Berbatov opened his account for the season before Rooney scored for the second time. On came Michael Owen to replace Rooney and he opened his account with a classy finish. That wasn’t enough. The last kick of the match saw Nani replicate some Ronaldo brilliance by scoring off a wonderful free-kick.

The reds were all smiles. It WAS a thumping response. I could clearly recall their sorry start to the previous season; before they managed a 5-0 win and then never looked back and ultimately lifted the Premier League. Could this be the break they needed this season? Although I won’t bet against it, it is still a fact that it was only 45 minutes of brilliance shown by Manchester United. Can they keep it consistent? THAT is the ultimate question.

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Fantasy Premier League: Gameweek 3

Oh boy! Gameweek 2 in the Fantasy Premier League was, for the lack of a better word, a disaster! My warriors scored 25 points only! :( And 10 of those were thanks to Frank Lampard!

But i still did better than what Manchester United achieved against Burnley wouldn't you say? Just kidding! The Man United fans know pretty well that this is just the beginning of the season. And so do I!

With that realization, I have entered my team for Gameweek 3.

Thankfully, the majority of my first-teamers are back after missing the action last week due to games postponed. Now that the full squad is available, I'd instruct everyone to watch out!!

Just a single transfer this week: Larson replaced team-mate McSheffrey who seems to be on his way out of Birmingham according to the latest transfer rumours. Drogba and Rooney still lead the attack. Shay Given is my captain for the week and I'm really hoping Manchester City would pull up the expected clean sheet against Wolves. Hmmm... I'd even bet on a goal-buffet for City (and hope Gareth Barry scores or assists every one of em!). Who's with me?

Here's the team:


Think you can do better? Join the site, create your own team and join my league, the "Football Buff League". The code to join this league is 588956-273438

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Crash and Burnley: If only they had Cristiano Ronaldo

Newly promoted EPL underdogs Burnely last night recorded their first top-flight win since 1976. And what a win it was: defeating champions Manchester United 1 – 0, shattering the Red Devils’ 17 match winning streak in the process.

It was a resolute performance by the new-boys to say the least but all throughout the night, despite coming out strong in the second half, I felt Manchester United were lacking something; creativity, pace, threatening balls into the box; or to sum up in two words: Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Portuguese offered United so much. Not just the astounding number of goals each season, but pace, runs that created room for their forwards, cheeky assists and two things that United needed most on the night: brilliance on dead-ball situations (highlighted further thanks to a poor penalty miss by Michael Carrick) and penetration through a side intent on just defending. I could easily recall the number of occasions when Ronaldo had provided a moment of brilliance to swing the match their way. Surely what Ronaldo has taken with him cannot be easily replaced. At the same time, Sir Alex has not really made any solid attempts to fill the void by pulling some big names off the transfer market.

Pundits, critics and fans alike are musing – in particular after last night’s loss – whether Manchester United have the squad and the game to defend the title this season. Now I know this is just the start of the season and these results are a part of Football, but with Ronaldo gone, the Red Devils do seem that much vulnerable.

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Nemanja Matic (ulous)

It was almost a year ago when Sir Alex Ferguson vehemently declared that the Chelsea squad was too old to give his men a run for the title and he had a point! Despite the three young signings earlier in the summer, the Blues squad is still an aging one; take the starting 11 against Hull City on the opening day and you'll see what I mean.

The midfielders are all in or around the 30's: Lampard, Ballack, Deco, Malouda. The two big strikers Drogba and Anelka present a similar picture. But it is the midfield in particular which needs young legs and fresh-blood reinforcement.

And that is precisely what Chelsea have aimed at achieving with the signing of Serbian international Nemanja Matic. The official Chelsea website has confirmed today (August 18, 2009) that the 21-year old has signed a four-year contract with the club.

Admittedly, I had never heard of the youngster before. So I wondered what we can expect of him.

"I am a central-midfielder," Matic told the official Chelsea website. "And I know I am not well known but I have physical power and I am quite a technical, left-footed player."

Interesting, I thought. So I went ahead and searched for videos on the youngster. I found the following video on YouTube. Not the usual goal-fest, it does show that the boy has plenty of skill, technique, power, height and passing ability to offer. Find out for yourself!

Watch the video on YouTube!

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Fantasy Premier League: Gameweek 2

Gameweek 1 went pretty well in the official Fantasy Premier Leage. My team scored 63 points!!

Stoke City defender Ryan Shawcross bagged the most points with a goal and a clean sheat. Didier Drogba came a close 2nd with 12 points, his two match-winners against Hull City. Wayne Rooney and Shay Given also contributed with 9 points each.

Moving forward, I just entered the team for Gameweek 2.

Four scheduled matches have been postponed, which means that only 6 matches will be included this week. A number of players in my squad would not be playing; so I am not expecting much this time around. I have resisted the temptation to make more than one change to my squad for the week; since one transfer is free, addition transfers cost points!

The only change I've made is Wigan's Charles N'Zogbia in for Phil Neville. Here's the squad for the week:



Think you can do better? Join the site, create your own team and join my league, the "Football Buff League". The code to join this league is 588956-273438
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The Day that Was - Premier League 09/10 Day 1

Finally! The longest three months of the year ended and the brand new EPL season kicked off. I've had a number of dull weekends recently; but no more!

All this time, I have been eagerly following the transfer news, club activities and the pre-seasons. It had all been building up my expectations for the season and gotten me all excited for what I foresee to be a roller coaster season, even prompting me to make some predictions here a couple of days back, but all that excitement reached the pinnacle as I watched the build-up to all the first day matches, the lineups, the interviews and the comments. For a moment I wished I could fast-forward life to the kickoff between Chelsea and Hull.

Thankfully I didn't have to wait long.

Generally, the first day of the EPL brings forth some unexpected results; some teams are still gelling following new signings over the summer, others have fitness issues, some have had a great pre-season and carry that form forward while others are still struggling; those freshly promoted have a point to prove and given that not much is known about them, they can be tricky oppositions. Then there are tactics, away fixtures and those simple yet horrendous errors. Predicting the first day is no mean task.

Having said that, most people thought Chelsea would absolutely romp Hull City and make a statement, especially following their Commnity Shield win over Manchester United. But it turned out to be quite a fixture, with Hull City flocking the midfield and making it really hard for Chelsea to find space; the game was only decided after a classy finish by Didier Drogba in injury time.

Chelsea fans made it clear to the new Hull City signing Steven Hunt (from Reading) that his incident with their goalie Peter Cech had not been forgotten; one with the Czech suffering a serious head injury, his head gear a life-long aftermath. They booed him whenever the left winger had the ball at his feet. But it was Hunt who opened the scoring against the run of play for Hull City, latching onto a fortunate deflection and finding the net in the 28th minute.

The rest of the game, despite being great to watch, went about on the same script: Chelsea forming wave after wave of attack and Hull City actually doing pretty well to keep them off; their central defender Dawson putting in a formidable performance. Chelsea's up front pairing of Drogba and Anelka helped the opposition by failing to capitalize on a number of chances, instead shooting straight at the Hull City goalkeeper.

But it was Drogba who broke the deadlock with a Ronaldo-like freekick in the 37th minute. Michael Ballack replaced Obi Mikel in the second half and Chelsea controlled the game afterwards; Hull only intent on defending. The attacks kept coming but Chelsea could not find the goal. As the normal time came to an end, it seemed as if Ancelotti's first EPL game in charge would not be a win, unlike the seven previous seasons where Chelsea have won their league openers.

But the crowd found a new hope when the Referee's assistant raised the board declaring six more minutes of injury time to be played. It only took three for Didier Drogba to start and then clinically finish a move seeing him chip the ball over Myhill from a tight angle off the left. The ball found the net, Drogba's shirt was off and Stamford Bridge erupted.

It all ended well for Chelsea but they had been made to work very hard for it. The new diamond formation lacked penetration against the opponents intend only on defending; something that the Blues should expect more teams to do this season at Stamford Bridge. It was also clear that the players too are still adjusting to the new system. Not a convincing start for the league favorites this season; but a successful one nonetheless. A win is a win!

Elsewhere,

Fulham nicked it 1-0 against Portsmouth, a rather scrappy game with a shot deflecting devilishly off Bobby Zamora to wrong-foot David James and decide the match.

Stoke City were back to usual: scoring off set plays and the trick worked against a sorry Burnley, with Ryan Shawcross having a particularly good game. The centre back just happens to be in my Fantasy League Team for the week, along with Drogba!

West Ham put forth an impressive performance with a convincing 2-0 win over the newly promoted Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The stars of Manchester City showed the league what they are capable of by making a winning start against Blackburn. However, although the final scoreline was 2-0 in favor of City, I thought Blackburn actually played pretty well, coming close to scoring a number of times and being denied only by the brilliance of Shay Given. The Manchester City defense, despite the big names and new signings, was rather average. Going forward though, they were absolutely destructive, with the likes of Robinho, Wright-Phillips, Ireland, Barry, Adebayor, Bellamy and later Tevez all joining in and producing some quality moves. After the game, I was further convinced that Manchester city are a big threat this season!

The performance of the day, however, went to the young gun(ner)s of Arsenal, who absolutely dominated the top six contenders Everton. I thought the men in blue were pretty poor throughout, scrappy in midfield and sorry in defense with the attacks never really coming; but Arsenal were sumptuous, displaying their amazing brand of neat, passing football since the first minute right till the end. They had pace, trickery, skill and class; for such a young outfit, it was actually a pretty classy display of football with young Denilson, the new signing Vermaelen, the veteran Gallas, the classy and my man of the match Cesc Fabregas, and the back-from-injury Eduardo all finding the net.

To be honest, Arsenal were amazing. And I could only wonder what could keep them from seriously challenging for the title this season IF they kept playing like that and delivering consistently. I couldn't come up with an answer; but that IF is a big IF given the Gunners' recent history.

All in all, an amazing day; I can hardly wait for the remaining two fixtures on Sunday: Manchester United v Birmingham and the potential thriller Liverpool v Tottenham.
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Fantasy Premier League: Gameweek 1

I got hooked to the official fantasy game of the Barclay's Premier League last season. I think it's the best fantasy football game around with a realistic and good scoring scheme, a tough budget to pick your squad with, and a lot of exciting features like transfers, wild card transfers, private leagues, public leagues, forums and, my favorite: the head-to-head matches. I would highly recommend you check out the site, and register your team; it's great fun!

I've signed up again this season and just selected my squad for Gameweek 1. Here it is:



My team's called "Football Buff's 15". I've put Drogba and Rooney up front and am hoping for plenty of points in the first month from the deadly duo given Chelsea and Manchester United fixture lists! I actually see Gareth Barry doing very well for City this season; and he's in the team. Ashley Cole was the least expensive of the Chelsea defenders and I always put one in my team because they tend to have plenty of clean sheets. So do Liverpool, but I'm not so sure about them this season.

Think you can do better? Join the site, create your own team and join my league, the "Football Buff League". The code to join this league is 588956-273438.

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English Premier League 2009 - 10: The Predictions

It all begins again... the drama, the passion, the pace, the rivalries, the stars, the anguish, the ecstasy and football at its best as the big English Premier League kickoff is just some 17 hours away now!

It promises to be a great season and I expect much from it. I thought about all that could happen this year: who would take the crown, which guns would fire and misfire, what coaches would be sacked, who would score the most goals and all that jazz. In doing so, I went ahead and made some predictions. Now I know it is way too early for this stuff but let's just say I wanted to test my buff-ness. I would lovingly look back at the predictions when the season ends and see how many I got right!

Without further ado:

League Winners: Chelsea.

League Runners Up: Manchester City

FA Cup Winners: Manchester United

Carling Cup Winners: Manchester United

Top Four: Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool

UEFA Qualifiers: Arsenal, Aston Villa,

Clubs Relegated: Sunderland, Burnley, Wolverhampton Wanderers

Player of the Year: Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)

Golden Boot: Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)

Best Midfielder: Frank Lampard (Chelsea)

Best Goalkeeper: Shay Given (Manchester City)

Best Defender: John Terry (Chelsea)

Most Assists: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)

Coach of the Year: Carlo Ancelotti (Chelsea)

Summer Signing of the Year: Carlos Tevez (Manchester City)

Worst Summer Signing of the Year: Emmanuel Adebayor (Manchester CIty)


Well these are my picks, what are yours?
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Manchester City and the Top Four

June 6: Gareth Barry, £12 million from Aston Villa.
June 22: Roque Santa Cruz, £16 million from Blackburn Rovers.
July 14: Carlos Tevez, £25 million from Media Sports Investment (read: Manchester United).
July 21: Emmanuel Adebayor, £25 million from Arsenal.
July 29: Kolo Toure, £15 million from Arsenal.

With the transfer window still open and Manchester City still seeking some big name signings, the word around the blue side of Manchester is that Mark Hughes is building a team to shake up the natural order of the Premier League this season and make it to top four!

And I think I’ll have to disagree.

I actually see the new outfit doing far better; I actually see them as potential contenders for the Premier League title; although I know Sir Alex would not agree.

Man City have not just signed big stars, in doing so, they have weakened their opponents too, Arsenal in particular. Other transfer activity has also helped: Liverpool have lost the quality of Alonso and Arbeloa and have Torres as the only world-class striker left. Manchester United too have lost Ronaldo, their goal-scoring machine and arguably the best player in the world.

And although Chelsea have held onto their stars and made some good signings, adding more depth to their squad, they will lose a fair chunk of their first-teamers come the African Cup of Nations and that has to have some impact.

Besides, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United (Arsenal too if they qualify against Celtic) all have to play Champions League this season; and City don’t, meaning their fixture list is a lot less cluttered. And I’m sure City’s preference would not be the FA Cup or the Carling Cup either; they are rearing for the league.

The only question – apart from the never-predictable injuries – is whether these new players and the existing quality of Ireland, Given, Robinho and the like can gel together. Well, we saw it with Chelsea under Mourinho. We even saw it at Manchester City, two seasons ago under Sven Goran Eriksson; his new signings gelled wonderfully and started the season at the top, and stayed there for some time before their progress derailed in the later part of the season.

So, these things considered, I’d say watch out for the citizens!
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The Titans and the Shield: Man Utd v. Chelsea

I turned on the TV just in time to catch the lineups. As I sunk into the couch, my expectation from the next two hours was of a scrappy, cautious English Premier League season opener between Chelsea and Manchester United; to be played mostly in the midfield and a final score of, say, 1-0 or 1-1 going to penalties! Community Shield finals are generally that way.

And boy was I in for a surprise!

The Lineups
It is amazing the difference one star player can make. The United lineup somehow seemed far less threatening without Ronaldo. Nani has long been likened to his compatriot and 2008 Ballon d’Or winner; and had to fill the gaping void left behind by the latter’s world record transfer to Real Madrid earlier in the summer. Ben Foster was in goal to replace the injured Van der Sar. No Vidic either, out due to injury and replaced by Evans. Akin to the previous season, Sir Alex had picked a hard-working, result-grinding midfield of Carrick, Fletcher and Park against Chelsea. The Rooney and Berbatov pairing up front was potentially lethal; with some amazing attacking options on the bench: Owen, Giggs, Scholes and the new signing Valencia.

Chelsea probably had their best 11 fit and playing. Carvalho returned to parner John Terry in the center of defense. I was rather surprised by the selection of Ivanovic over Bosingwa at right back; the Portuguese having had a great first season with the blues. The midfield diamond – the way for Chelsea this season as declared by coach Ancelotti – was anchored by Mikel, with Essien and Malouda on the right and left respectively and Lampard returning to the offensive midfield role just behind the strikers. It was going to be a test for Drogba and Anelka; the question still remains: can they play together? The blues also had a pretty good bench: Ballack, Deco, Kalou and Alex among others.

Twenty Minutes of Domination
Manchester United started the brighter side; had more pace and movement about them and that resulted in Nani firing a Ronaldo-like shot just outside the box in the 10th minute, eluding Cech who reacted late and Terry who actually made way for the ball. The game was on! So much for the slow start. The next ten minutes saw a string of chances being created by the Red Devils. Had it not been for two outstanding saves from Cech off Park and Berbatov, the contest would have surely been over!

Problems on the Right
Nani was just having his way with Inanovic on the right flank; the Serbian international unable to block off the winger’s pace and trickery. To be fair, Essien and Carvalho should have joined in to help the right back at times; with the diamond formation, there was always going to be room wide for the opposition wingers and fullbacks to attack. Ivanovic meanwhile huffed, puffed and tackled on Nani, earning him a booking. Patrice Evra also joined in at will and caused a lot of trouble with a couple of outstanding runs.

The Balance Restored
Half-way into the first half, the Chelsea midfield began to take control of things. Frank Lampard, however, found it pretty hard to get involved; Carrick and Fletcher taking him out of the equation at times. But Chelsea began to run the game at their own pace and few through-balls from midfield found Drogba and Anelka into the box; neither able to convert. Meanwhile, Ben Foster was having a shocker; a couple of wayward goal kicks and fumbles. His shakiness translated into the United game and as the first half ended, it was Chelsea who seemed more likely to find the net.

Tables Turned
Half-time saw the first substitution of the match; Bosingwa finally replacing Ivanovic for the blues. Still ahead by one goal, it was Wayne Rooney who looked lively and caused some early trouble for the blues, with his goal-bound shot blocked by Ashley Cole. On the other hand, however, Foster continued to err; failing to clear a Malouda cross, he punched it straight towards Carvalho, who headed easily in the 53rd minute to give Chelsea the equalizer. For the next twenty minutes, it was all Chelsea, controlling the ball and creating chances. Meanwhile, Valencia came on for Nani and Ballack replaced Mikel, slotting Essien into the holding role.

The Controversy
It just had to be there, didn’t it? No match between these two rivals is devoid of some controversy these days. Evra went down after being body-checked by Ballack, Carvalho cleared long, finding Drogba up the pitch who made a run and then set up Lampard, who shot hard. The ball caught Foster’s hand on the way but still ended up into the net. Chelsea had taken the lead in the 71st minute! With Evra still down, the players in red protested furiously over the possible foul.

Now, I thought it was a foul on Evra; but the referee didn’t think so. So the play went on. Chelsea could have put the ball out of play but, as they would claim, they were playing to the whistle. Of course, all would have been forgotten had it not resulted in a goal; no more though! Thankfully it was the Community Shield so it won’t serve as much of a talking point. But fair play vs. playing to the whistle: take your pick!

Ballack vs. Evra
It was feisty between the two! I actually enjoyed it a lot! Evra stepping onto Ballack, Ballack body-checking Evra, Ballack tackling Evra, Evra tackling Ballack, pushing, shoving. Evra didn’t like it much though; Ballack could be seen having fun with it. Let’s hope for more such stuff in the season!

The Final Rush
United made four substitutions following Chelsea’s 2nd goal: Giggs, Scholes, Own & Da Silva replacing Berbatov, Park, Fletcher and O’Shea; all attacking moves. The game remained in balance for the rest of the 2nd half though, despite United trying harder.

Just when it seemed the game was done and dusted, Wayne Rooney, with just a minute left to play, broke onto a Giggs through-ball, sprinted past Bosingwa and slotted beyong Cech to make it 2-2! We were going to penalties!

The Penalties
When it finally came to this, I couldn’t predict who would win: Chelsea have had a horrendous recent history with penalties, having never won for a long time. However, with Foster having had a shocker of a match, and Cech performing brilliantly, it certainly gave them a chance. Nervy stuff, I decided to watch and find out!

Lampard scored the first for Chelsea, firing in the middle as Foster dived to his left.

It was a little odd to see Ronaldo not coming up to take the first penalty for United; but Giggs was equally a good an option. I was stunned to see his meek effort, easily saved by Cech.

Ballack and Drogba slotted in perfect, low and into the corner penalties. Carrick converted too to make it 3 – 1. On came Patrice Evra. I had this feeling; somehow I thought he was gonna miss. His face told me he wasn’t too confident himself either! His shot was a shocker! It rolled right into Cech’s hands.

Kalou then converted the next penalty to win it 4 – 1 for Chelsea on Penalties! The stadium erupted and the blues celebrate! And the award for the widest smile in the stadium went to Carlo Ancelotti!

The Last Word
Far from my initial expectation of a scrappy, slow match, this was actually feisty! And with some great football too. Both teams looked in good shape having had successful pre-seasons. But it was the intensity and competitiveness from both the sides which was especially endearing to see. Both sides wanted to lay down the gauntlet; both see each other as the primary rivals for silverware this season. So the match was all about making a statement. And Chelsea would be proud to have done just that.
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