Wednesday, May 5th 2010.
Eastlands, Manchester, UK.
With the season almost at a close, it isn't the relevance of trophies and medals being handed out but the fight to finish fourth. To enter the Champions League qualifying rounds and potentially the group stages of the tournament. For Manchester City it is the acceptance of there new status and vast sums of money used to assemble the current squad. For Tottenham it would be the realization of a goal they felt was taken from them four years ago after a dodgy lasagne scuppered there chances.
Based on the opening passage of play whichever team were to conquer would still need adjusting if they are to make any impact on Europe's elite tournament next year. With the game being played at a frantic pace the ball was being rushed forward, normally high without any quality. Both teams cancelling each other out for long periods as they tried utilize their target men in bringing the wide players into the game. This lack of patience or execution might be cruelly exposed in the Champions League but that is if teams can compete at this frantic pace. There is always talk of the England national team being at its most potent when playing a high tempo, even if that replaces quality.
What must be troubling the Manchester faithful is that City still look like a team in progress, or possibly transition, as there still isn't a clear understanding of formation or tactics. Even as we enter the last weekend of fixtures there is a disjointed look about the team, players look lost or at worse, out of position. Carlos Tevez and Craig Bellamy were always dropping deep to find the ball, trying to make things happen but found no spark or creativity around them. Adam Johnson showed signs of his potential and forced a smart save from Gomez on 25 minutes as he shot powerfully through a crowd of players. Tottenham's defence was looking very comfortable but Johnsn did cause a rare moment of confusion when he forced Gareth Bale into knocking a cross towards the corner of the goal but Gomez parried wide. However City's main goal threat cam from defender Kolo Toure as twice Bellamy picked him out from corner kicks but he was unable to finish from good opportunities.
Although Tottenham have also assembled a squad at great cost (significantly less than there opponents of course) there was more focus and execution as they were able to complete the double over City. They were lined up in their usual 4-4-2 formation and chose to play Peter Crouch up front and Arron Lennon on the right and there was certainly cohesion if not always composure. They could have easily gone ahead on eighteen minutes when Gareth Bale played in a dangerous free kick from the right and Crouch, pulled away from his marker and headed against the post from close range. Crouch again caused the City defence problems on 38 minutes as Lennon picked him out from the right and he headed the ball down to Bale. The young Welshman watched the ball bounce and volleyed wide from 12 yards when he should have hit at least the target.
There was an expectation that a reaction from City was coming in the second half but it didn't happen. In fact Tottenham appeared to grow in confidence and looked the more likely to open the scoring and should have done on 55 minutes but for a great save from Martin Fulop. Gareth Bale played in Jermain Defoe on the right and he took his chance first time with the outside of the boot and was heading for the bottom corner but City's stand in goalkeeper palmed the ball away for a corner. On 76 minutes Bale opened up the defence again, this time crossing the ball into penalty area but neither Defoe or Crouch could make contact as they both threw themselves at the ball. Still there was no reaction from City as they couldn't link midfield to attack with any fluency, easily marshaled by the impressive pairing of Michael Dawson and Ledley King in the Tottenham defence. Building on that solidity Tottenham finally opened the scoring, as Peter Crouch was able to easily head into an open net as the City goalkeeper could only parry to the England striker. It was no more than they deserved as looked the more organized and disciplined team.
After this huge disappointment the signals coming out of Manchester suggest they will stick with Roberto Manchini in the managers position. It's clear that there will be changes in other positions though as he will be determined to change the personnel of the team to fit his ideas. I think Carlos Tevez will replace Emmanuel Adebayor as the clubs focal point in attack with the Togolese making way. I would predict that he would be joined by Roque Santa Cruz as the Paraguayan was predictable absent through injury for much of the season. An important addition may come in the shape of a return to fitness of Martin Petrov to add support from the left, allowing Bellamy to support Tevez through the middle. For a club that has recruited in huge numbers they should still look to the youth and academy players for the resources to achieve a Champions League spot next season. The return of Michael Johnson from injury or Stephen Ireland from the substitutes bench could help link the midfield to attack, something that was clearly missing last night. Defensively they also have the return of Joe Hart, perhaps the leagues most outstanding goalkeeper this year that will give them a defensive foundation to try and build after the injury sustained by Shay Given.
For Tottenham it will be more tweaking than rethinking, as they will look to consolidate form in both competitions. Of course they still have to negotiate a qualifying game to officially take part in Europe's elite club competition. Any success they do achieve in that competition next year will greatly depend on the fortunes of Roman Pavlyuchenko and Luka Modrick as there form will impact them greatly. As will the development of home grown players such as Gareth Bale, David Bentley and Arron Lennon as they will need to ease the creative burden on the Croatian.
Final Score - Manchester City 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Arsenal vs Barcelona
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010.
Emirates Stadium, London, UK.
It was billed as a beauty contest between Europe's two leading exponents of aesthetic, attacking football. To glance at the final score and it appears there will be much to play for in the second game in Catalonia. Though in reality the disparity between the two ideologies was embarrassing for large portions of the game. Particularly in the first half when Arsenal were in real danger of being completely overwhelmed by Barcelona's interpretation of the game.
They could have scored within minutes of the kick off and continually carved out clear opportunities in an utterly mesmerizing passage of play that saw Arsenal incapable of keeping the ball. During the early stages any suggestion that Arsenal would score, let alone draw this match seemed laughable. When encountering the best teams this season, Arsenal have struggles badly when trying to break down teams set up for the counter attack. Chelsea, Manchester United and Everton have all taken points at the Emirates using discipline using this tactic. What the Arsenal fans witnessed caused an atmosphere, translated to utter amazement and disbelief as Barcelona dominated on the front foot. In response Arsenal displayed a paralyzing fear of losing the ball that caused them to panic, trying to release the ball as soon as it arrived at there feet.
Since Spain's victory in Euro 2008 we are familiar with most of Barcelona's star names but tonight there were others who proved the true depth of this squad. The defensive midfielder Sergio Busquets might lack the presence or reputation of Yaya Toure but proved himself as Spain's heir to Marcos Senna in that role. The two full backs were also impressive, constantly roaming beyond any Arsenal cover and taking advantage of both Arshavin and Nasri who were sucked into the middle to win back possession. In these situations the Arsenal full backs found themselves hopelessly exposed and if there better finishing could have been out of the competition before thirty minutes was on the clock. After last years Champions League triumph there is no need to introduce the consistent brilliance of Xavi, Messi and Iniesta, although the latter was injured and would play no part in this game.
On the quarter hour mark Barcelona had three clear chances to score as a deep cross from Alves caused havoc on the area, the ball fell across goal to Xavi who forced a wonderful save from Almunia. As defenders tried to regroup position themselves in front of the gaol, Messi watched the rebound fall from the air and his volley was desperately beaten away by a combination of defender and goal keeper. It continued as Zlatan Ibrahimović was through on the left of the area and he forced another fine save from Almunia. This time raising an instinctive hand to push the ball away as the Swede tried to force the ball across the goalkeeper into the bottom corner.
Arsenal finally forced Barcelona onto the back foot as Nasri, cut in from the left onto his right foot and was allowed to place a fierce shot wide of the post. This was a rare moment in the first half when the midfield and forwards were able to combine, too many times there space between the too as players were pulled hopelessly out of position. Barcelona continued to create chances and should have opened the scoring when Alves sent in another dangerous cross and found three players unmarked at the far post, Pique rose and headed the ball gratefully into Almunia's arms.
(I would assume that Manchester United had no choice in excepting an offer from Barcelona to take back there composed center back. As it seems remarkable that they would let Gerad Pique go for such a small amount and that no other Premier League teams were prepared to offer more than £5 Million. Especially when they have just signed emerging Fulham defender Chris Smalling in a deal could be worth much more than £5M.)
There were other efforts from outside the area from Ibrahimović again and Messi but there shots all off target as the half drew to a close. When the whistle did blow there was a huge sense of relief coursing through the stadium as there was no denying the gap between the two teams over the first forty five minutes.
After all there possession and neat passing it was a long ball that finally unlocked Arsenal immediately after the restart. Alex Song was asked to stay in central defence after a recurrence to William Gallas's calf injury that will keep him out for the rest of the season. The young Cameroonian was impressive at the weekend when asked to perform the same task but Barcelona are entirely different opposition to West Ham. Unfortunately this change, coupled with a complete breakdown in communication allowed Ibrahimović to drift away from his marker. The ball bounced towards the right hand corner of the box and Almunia panicked, rushing from his goal and leaving Ibrahimović run onto the ball direct the ball over his head and into the empty net. After all the wonderful passing and movement they ultimately needed to use something as crude as a long ball, which lulled the Arsenal goalkeeper into a mistake.
Arsenal responded immediately though and Gael Clichy found himself in the opposition half after a neat passing move and drove towards the Barcelona defence. He sent over a wonderful cross that Nicklas Bendtner met with a powerful header, sending the ball back across goal only to see Victor Valdez in the Barcelona goal instinctively parry the ball away. Unable to build on this encouragement Arsenal found themselves further behind and the second goal was almost identical to the first. Ibrahimović drifted off Thomas Vermaelen's shoulders and Xavi poked the ball over the top, releasing the Swede and he bared down on the Arsenal goal. This time Almunia decided to stay on his line but could only watch Ibrahimović slammed the ball into the roof net beating the Spaniard at his near post as he could only raise an arm in protest.
After being forced into a number of substitutions through injury, Wenger decided to bring on Theo Walcott for the right back, Bacary Sagna. The change made an immediate impact on the game as he pushed the Barcelona left back onto the back foot. Nicklas Bendtner picked up the ball midway into the Catalans half and released Walcott to scamper in behind the left back. He took one touch, powering into the right hand side of the penalty and placed an early strike under Valdez. Cue a come back that barely seemed plausible when the game was tied, let alone 2-0. The feeling of belief started to swell in the stadium and Arsenal started to find a footing in the game, they lived dangerously at times though and Barcelona should have added to there lead. There magician, Xavi should have down better with a free header in the Arsenal box that he could only controlled wide of the goal. He then turned provider as he ripped open the Arsenal defence and released Messi into space behind the Arsenal defence. The Argentian though couldn't find the bottom corner as his shot was blocked from a tight angle.
As the game approached its conclusion Arsenal were awarded a penalty, as Carlos Puyol was adjudged to have prevented Cesc Fabregas from a clear goal scoring chance. The punishment also included a red card for Barca's shaggy haired captain as his legs tangled with Fabregas in an attempt to block Bendtnar's knockdown. Of course it was Fabregas who would take the penalty against the team he grew up with, the team who nurtured him. Stop me if this is started to sound like a bad T.V movie. He also picked up a yellow card in the first half to prevent him from returning home to the Camp Nou next week. However, visibly nervous he stepped forward and bludgeoned it past Valdez. The drama did not end there as it appeared he injured himself in the action of scoring and was forced to see out the game, limping as Arsenal had already made there three substitutions. There was no time for further drama as the game ended in an improbable draw, baffling that Barcelona managed to surrender the game to a spirited Arsenal come back.
Final Score - Arsenal 2-2 FC Barcelona
Emirates Stadium, London, UK.
It was billed as a beauty contest between Europe's two leading exponents of aesthetic, attacking football. To glance at the final score and it appears there will be much to play for in the second game in Catalonia. Though in reality the disparity between the two ideologies was embarrassing for large portions of the game. Particularly in the first half when Arsenal were in real danger of being completely overwhelmed by Barcelona's interpretation of the game.
They could have scored within minutes of the kick off and continually carved out clear opportunities in an utterly mesmerizing passage of play that saw Arsenal incapable of keeping the ball. During the early stages any suggestion that Arsenal would score, let alone draw this match seemed laughable. When encountering the best teams this season, Arsenal have struggles badly when trying to break down teams set up for the counter attack. Chelsea, Manchester United and Everton have all taken points at the Emirates using discipline using this tactic. What the Arsenal fans witnessed caused an atmosphere, translated to utter amazement and disbelief as Barcelona dominated on the front foot. In response Arsenal displayed a paralyzing fear of losing the ball that caused them to panic, trying to release the ball as soon as it arrived at there feet.
Since Spain's victory in Euro 2008 we are familiar with most of Barcelona's star names but tonight there were others who proved the true depth of this squad. The defensive midfielder Sergio Busquets might lack the presence or reputation of Yaya Toure but proved himself as Spain's heir to Marcos Senna in that role. The two full backs were also impressive, constantly roaming beyond any Arsenal cover and taking advantage of both Arshavin and Nasri who were sucked into the middle to win back possession. In these situations the Arsenal full backs found themselves hopelessly exposed and if there better finishing could have been out of the competition before thirty minutes was on the clock. After last years Champions League triumph there is no need to introduce the consistent brilliance of Xavi, Messi and Iniesta, although the latter was injured and would play no part in this game.
On the quarter hour mark Barcelona had three clear chances to score as a deep cross from Alves caused havoc on the area, the ball fell across goal to Xavi who forced a wonderful save from Almunia. As defenders tried to regroup position themselves in front of the gaol, Messi watched the rebound fall from the air and his volley was desperately beaten away by a combination of defender and goal keeper. It continued as Zlatan Ibrahimović was through on the left of the area and he forced another fine save from Almunia. This time raising an instinctive hand to push the ball away as the Swede tried to force the ball across the goalkeeper into the bottom corner.
Arsenal finally forced Barcelona onto the back foot as Nasri, cut in from the left onto his right foot and was allowed to place a fierce shot wide of the post. This was a rare moment in the first half when the midfield and forwards were able to combine, too many times there space between the too as players were pulled hopelessly out of position. Barcelona continued to create chances and should have opened the scoring when Alves sent in another dangerous cross and found three players unmarked at the far post, Pique rose and headed the ball gratefully into Almunia's arms.
(I would assume that Manchester United had no choice in excepting an offer from Barcelona to take back there composed center back. As it seems remarkable that they would let Gerad Pique go for such a small amount and that no other Premier League teams were prepared to offer more than £5 Million. Especially when they have just signed emerging Fulham defender Chris Smalling in a deal could be worth much more than £5M.)
There were other efforts from outside the area from Ibrahimović again and Messi but there shots all off target as the half drew to a close. When the whistle did blow there was a huge sense of relief coursing through the stadium as there was no denying the gap between the two teams over the first forty five minutes.
After all there possession and neat passing it was a long ball that finally unlocked Arsenal immediately after the restart. Alex Song was asked to stay in central defence after a recurrence to William Gallas's calf injury that will keep him out for the rest of the season. The young Cameroonian was impressive at the weekend when asked to perform the same task but Barcelona are entirely different opposition to West Ham. Unfortunately this change, coupled with a complete breakdown in communication allowed Ibrahimović to drift away from his marker. The ball bounced towards the right hand corner of the box and Almunia panicked, rushing from his goal and leaving Ibrahimović run onto the ball direct the ball over his head and into the empty net. After all the wonderful passing and movement they ultimately needed to use something as crude as a long ball, which lulled the Arsenal goalkeeper into a mistake.
Arsenal responded immediately though and Gael Clichy found himself in the opposition half after a neat passing move and drove towards the Barcelona defence. He sent over a wonderful cross that Nicklas Bendtner met with a powerful header, sending the ball back across goal only to see Victor Valdez in the Barcelona goal instinctively parry the ball away. Unable to build on this encouragement Arsenal found themselves further behind and the second goal was almost identical to the first. Ibrahimović drifted off Thomas Vermaelen's shoulders and Xavi poked the ball over the top, releasing the Swede and he bared down on the Arsenal goal. This time Almunia decided to stay on his line but could only watch Ibrahimović slammed the ball into the roof net beating the Spaniard at his near post as he could only raise an arm in protest.
After being forced into a number of substitutions through injury, Wenger decided to bring on Theo Walcott for the right back, Bacary Sagna. The change made an immediate impact on the game as he pushed the Barcelona left back onto the back foot. Nicklas Bendtner picked up the ball midway into the Catalans half and released Walcott to scamper in behind the left back. He took one touch, powering into the right hand side of the penalty and placed an early strike under Valdez. Cue a come back that barely seemed plausible when the game was tied, let alone 2-0. The feeling of belief started to swell in the stadium and Arsenal started to find a footing in the game, they lived dangerously at times though and Barcelona should have added to there lead. There magician, Xavi should have down better with a free header in the Arsenal box that he could only controlled wide of the goal. He then turned provider as he ripped open the Arsenal defence and released Messi into space behind the Arsenal defence. The Argentian though couldn't find the bottom corner as his shot was blocked from a tight angle.
As the game approached its conclusion Arsenal were awarded a penalty, as Carlos Puyol was adjudged to have prevented Cesc Fabregas from a clear goal scoring chance. The punishment also included a red card for Barca's shaggy haired captain as his legs tangled with Fabregas in an attempt to block Bendtnar's knockdown. Of course it was Fabregas who would take the penalty against the team he grew up with, the team who nurtured him. Stop me if this is started to sound like a bad T.V movie. He also picked up a yellow card in the first half to prevent him from returning home to the Camp Nou next week. However, visibly nervous he stepped forward and bludgeoned it past Valdez. The drama did not end there as it appeared he injured himself in the action of scoring and was forced to see out the game, limping as Arsenal had already made there three substitutions. There was no time for further drama as the game ended in an improbable draw, baffling that Barcelona managed to surrender the game to a spirited Arsenal come back.
Final Score - Arsenal 2-2 FC Barcelona
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