Manchester City vs. Manchester United, EPL Matchday 15

Probably the most feverishly anticipated game of the PL season, it was an end  to end contest decided by selection and poor performances rather than any tactical oversights. It was also the perfect chance for City to draw level with United and show that they are here to stay.

Line-ups:

There was a lot of pre match banter between the managers and it somehow seems to have bizarrely influenced Mancini to pick Balotelli over Tevez, which was a risk, to say the least. When you consider that City have won 6 of the 7 games Tevez started with Aguero,  it was an unexpected move. Toure and Barry started in midfield, supported by Nasri and Silva in an almost 4-2-2-2 (open to interpretation).

United lined up in more of a 4-2-3-1 (looking like a  4-4-1-1 at times), with Cleverley alongside Carrick as the holders and a front four of Young, Valencia, RVP and Rooney. As expected, De Gea started in goal.

It was always going to be a battle between City's possession in United's final third and United's strength on the counter and it turned out to be that way.

First Half:

City started well with retention of possession, though rarely doing anything with it. The major issue here was how high the defensive lines on either side would be. Both sides preferred a fairly higher line, the difference was that while Aguero and Balotelli are fairly quick, they were too far up the pitch to lead any counters. Nasri and Silva threatened to put balls in behind Evans and Ferdinand but they never really managed a killer ball.

Yaya Toure, generally a driving force in midfield with his barnstorming runs was nowhere close to his best and struggled to have an impact, with Wayne Rooney doing a fairly decent job on him.

City's high line was a greater risk, simply because United had the wingers to take  advantage. Kompany's substitution for Kolo Toure was again a puzzler from Mancini as Lescott sat on the bench but maybe he didn't want two left footed ones with Nastasic on as well.

The goals:

United had an out ball of their defence, Van Persie chested it to Young who rode on past his full back and put in a good ball to Rooney who miscued a shot in the corner. This goal was a perfect execution of the counter philosophy that United would have had in mind. The defence was exposed as the holders failed to get back and allowed Rooney enough time and space.

The second one was always a possibility as Carrick sought out Valencia whenever he could. Valencia and Rafael had a one two with a final ball to Rooney who strolled into the box unmarked to finish with Barry having been thrown off track by Rafael's run and showing poor positional awareness.

Second half:

City have shown in recent times that they are pretty good at comebacks too. Plus, United's defensive frailties were but, painfully obvious and the fact that City hadn't scored yet was more due to Balotelli's play and Nasri's inability to contribute anything creative. After an ambitious backheel, Mancini had enough and brought on Tevez, a decision 52 minutes late.

Tevez is primarily a busy player and his darting runs form the perfect recipe for drawing players out of position. On one of his runs, he drew both center halves, the full back and a holder and yet managed a shot which was saved. However, due to United's skewed defence, all he had to do was find Toure at the top of the box who rifled home with consummate ease.

Zabaleta made it two with a shot from a set piece, another problem United have been having this season with no one being anywhere close to Zabaleta and Toure. Wonder what impact zonal marking would have had here.

City pressed and probed with United preferring to stick to their countering philosphy. Dzeko came on and a few chances were created but City failed to capitalise.Tevez's foul on Rafael, a completely unnecessary challenge was a classic example of how forward players can cause damage when trying to defend (think Drogba giving away a penalty in Munich). Van Persie stepped up and his free kick was helped considerably by the poor, poor wall constituted by Nasri and co.

Conclusion:

The game was a sad reminder of the fact that English teams have simply neglected the art of defending. Ferguson seems to have the taken the fact that his team lost the title on goal difference as the sole reason while if his team hadn't let Everton fight back to get a 4-4 last season, they'd still be champions. While they may get away with it in the PL, Europe will be less merciful.

Nasri has stagnated and at times, looked completely bereft of creativity and looked a shadow of the player he was at Arsenal. Toure didn't have one of his big games and was passed far too easily by Cleverley and co. Balotelli was again infuriating with his ceding of possession and propensity to play passes that weren't there.

United's defence looks a problem as well. Evans and Ferdinand had some coordination problems courtesy Aguero. Carrick and Cleverley who doesn't really look like a convincing player in that place in front of the back four weren't very good at covering the City midfield and their positional awareness left a lot to be desired. Mancini's decision to start Balotelli and substitute Silva instead of Nasri could be pinpointed as one of the major reasons City slumped to a defeat, despite more attempts and possession.

Despite all this criticism, it was a fairly enjoyable game and one that lived up to its billing. United got their victory and go six points clear. Sadly, the game was marred by one of those events that form the dark, dark underbelly of derby games exposing tribalism so primitive that it was well, disgusting

Chelsea vs Manchester United, EPL match day 9

A clash of two title contenders,this was the type of game that could happen only in the PL.Fast,brutal attacking with little regard to defensive shape and solidity.There were lots of interesting questions before the game with Sir Alex's 'revolutionary' diamond formation and whether Chelsea had the spine of champions or not.

The Lineups:

Chelsea were in Di Matteo's 4-2-3-1 with Luiz and Cahill in the centre of defense, Ramires and Mikel as the holders in Lampard's absence. The front four was as usual Mata,Oscar,Hazard and Torres.

United's shape needed some more figuring out but was probably closest to a 4-1-4-1. There were some surprises as Young was thrust into the lineup which was probably to take advantage of Eden Hazard's lack of tracking back. Carrick was the holder and Cleverley played a role that could almost be called a 'carrilero' which is just Italian for shuttler, an Antonio Nocerino, if you will.

Rooney was further up field and Van Persie was more of a withdrawn striker,almost a false nine rather than one looking to play off through balls.

First Half:

Chelsea were sluggish and caught out by United early on. The main threat was from the flanks and play was spread outward to allow Valencia and Young to be the more important players. For the first goal, Ashley Cole was on the overlap due to Valencia playing a bit more withdrawn role and Rooney had the whole flank to run into.

Even the second goal came when Hazard was high up the pitch and Rafael was allowed to take on Cole along with Valencia's help. Luiz had to come out to help cover,leaving a central defender shaped hole in the box and a goal. Thus, both goals came from the right flank and stemmed from Cole's lack of positional discipline.

Chelsea, to their credit were hardly flustered. They took their time and settled in a rhythm and had greater possession than United in the half.Rooney and Cleverley's dropping deep stifled the creativity of Chelsea's three major attackers and the quick transitions that have been a feature of their play this season were severely lacking. This could also be put down to the absence of a creative player further down, a deep lying play maker as they are called.

Later:

Rooney was forced to play deeper and despite his tenacity,he is simply not a midfielder. His shuttling caused problems for United with his foul leading to a delightful Mata free kick that allowed Chelsea a foothold. Chelsea equalized soon after and it seemed as if they had the measure of United. At this stage however, there was a noticeable attempt by RDM to play it a bit safer. This invited pressure from the wings and Van Persie laid on a through ball for Young after holding it up against Cahill. Ivanovic had no option but to make the tackle and was sent off.

The dynamics of the game was altered with the numerical advantage to United. They started to dominate and with Chicharito's introduction, Matteo switching to a 4 - 4 - 1 and Torres' sending off reduced them to a 4 - 4 - 0 with Bertrand coming on,United limped home to their first victory at the Bridge in a decade.

The refereeing came under a great deal of scrutiny with people claiming that it was the usual referees favour United affair. While Mark Clattenburg may not have had the best of games, he surely has been getting a lot of criticism which seems a trifle excessive. For the offside goal, it was the linesman that made the call, not he. Ivanovic's sending off was never in doubt despite Young's increasingly tiresome tendency to fall to the ground on the slightest contact. The Torres decision was maybe too harsh, yes but but when you look at what Torres did to Cleverley earlier on it could be said that he shouldn't have been there on the pitch when he was actually sent off. There was some contact and Torres felt it and went down. Was the contact too much ? Does mere contact constitute a foul ?There are mistakes and grave ones. Maybe if diving weren't so rife. While the second yellow may have been a bit harsh, it is not hard to understand why Clattenburg did give it. So, both of Torres' yellows weren't probably cardings, he still have been probably sent off. One of those things that you could argue about till the cows come home.

Conclusion:

An open, attacking game where the attention was again hogged by something else. Far more disturbing than refereeing decisions was the inherent defensive frailty apparent in both teams. Carrick was found lacking physically and it is probably not a good idea to field him as a solitary holder. Mikel was poor as well with Van Persie and Rooney finding far too much space between the lines. United showed why their flanks will always be the weapon of choice rather than 'revolutionary' diamond formations.

This game was also a perfect example of why English teams aren't maybe suited to European football with too many gaps at the back and all attacking flair. As Chelsea will tell you, it is defensive solidity that wins you European titles. Whether Alex Ferguson believes he can win a third CL title before his retirement by outscoring everyone he comes across is not for me to judge, but I'd be surprised if European success was achieved on the back of their current defense. Same goes for Chelsea, who have somehow contrived to lose the spirit of their greatest ever triumph.

Both teams could do with an addition to the holding midfield department in January. Chelsea's massive spending towards attacking players and United bolstering their forward line are in a way, sadly indicative of where their priorities lie. What this does with the teams is create a lack of balance. When you have brilliant attackers and an average defense you may win the PL. But against better opposition, these defensive inadequacies may be brutally exposed.

Manchester City 1 : Borussia Dortmund 1, CL Matchday 2

The Group of death, featuring the English, Spanish, German and Dutch champions was witness to another thrilling game between Dortmund and City.

While City would probably have been considered favourites seeing how they haven't lost at the Etihad in recent memory, Dortmund gave a fantastic account of themselves and will feel aggrieved to not have all three points

Lineups:

Fairly predictable from Dortmund with probably their best 11 on the pitch in an almost 4-5-1 but a very attack minded combination of Gotze, Gundogan, Reus and Lewandowski ably supported by Kuba and Bender, Piszcek and Schmelzer as usual provided the width.

City lined up in an almost 4-2-2-2 with Toure and Garcia as the holders, Nastasic was preferred alongside Kompany, Aguero and Dzeko upfront supported by the width of Nasri and Silva .

Opening Stages:

The Dortmund five man midfield worked like a charm as it stopped the diagonal balls to Nasri and Silva, cutting off the creative sources. Their pressing caused City a fair amount of trouble as there was simply too much pressure on Garcia and Toure to play balls forward. Toure in particular found it hard to make his trademark barnstorming runs through the middle because of the compactness of the shape held by Dortmund and their relentless pressing.

Dortmund had three players ready to help out on each flank with Kuba, Goetze and Pisczek on the right pushing back Nasri and Clichy. Pisczek and Schmelzer played fairly high up causing an overload of attacking players with the runners from midfield coming in too. Countering with pace, Dortmund were only denied by Joe Hart.

City were unable to attack and simply found no space between the lines leaving them to hoof it to Dzeko who isn't really the sort of player to play on the shoulder of the last defender and was caught offside far too easily, too many times.

Mancini's tinkering:

Mancini's midfield and attack were cut off from each other and so to link them up, he switched to a 3-4-1-2 bringing on Kolarov for the ineffective Nasri. While certainly a logical decision in this case,it was foiled by the marauding runs of Pisczek and even Schmelzer who ensured that the City wing backs were busy defending instead of coming up with attacking wing play. City continued to have possession but verticality was severely lacking and Dortmund's incessant pressing added to the pressure.

The pressing caused Jack Rodwell to commit an error which was ably capitalised by Reus who was put through on goal and slotted it past Hart. City switched back to the 4-2-2-2 soon after but it hardly made any difference as the City players seemed far too ponderous on the ball and inclined towards playing square passes. Dortmund's high line and speedy midfield runners added to City's troubles as Toure and Rodwell were simply unable to cope with the trickery of Gotze and Co.

A penalty decision that really didn't look like one was the only way City could equalise and Balotelli equalised to ensure City got a very undeserved point.

Conclusion:

Both teams can take very contrasting thoughts from the match.

City had a poor game, partly due to Klopp's careful handling of their threats and also because the players seemed woefully out of place when confronted by the dynamism and vibrancy of Dortmund's play.Kompany no longer seems to project the aura of invincibility that he did last season. Toure was outnumbered and couldn't contribute much.

One wonders why Carlos Tevez didn't start upfront. His directness, mobility and ability to run at defenders would surely have proven helpful against Subotic who isn't the quickest. Also, his drifting outward could have occupied the opposing fullback leaving City less attacks to deal with on that flank.

 Mancini's three man defence is, put plainly, not working. Nastasic may fit the mould, but Kompany has looked a shadow of himself whereas Lescott may not possess the required quality to do so against good European opposition. Mancini’s European nous has been questioned again and while his in game management may not be outstanding, his players deserve almost equal blame in allowing themselves to be overcome by a young and energetic team. They were spared a thrashing majorly due to the fantastic work by Joe Hart.

Dortmund were brilliant and on another night may have won by a four goal margin. The front four were brilliantly cohesive and so in sync with each other that it was a real joy to watch their counterattacking play.

The current Dortmund team are very reminiscent of the Czech Republic team of Euro 2004 that had six or seven very attacking players like Poborsky, Rosicky, Smicer and Nedved who could counter with brutal precision. Gotze, Reus, Gundogan and Lewandowski may not be in that class yet but are getting there very quickly. It will be very interesting to see their game with Real Madrid who have been having midfield creativity problems of their own. Expect Modric's mobility and ease on the ball under pressure to play a very important role,if he does start...

Luis Figo

Portugal has had a history of producing some of the biggest names in world football. But the one that stands out amongst all of them is Luis Figo.

Born in Lisbon on 4th November 1972, Figo started his early footballing career in Sporting CP. His first senior cap in 1991 had come at the back of Under-16 and Under 21 Championships with Portugal junior sides alongside players like Rui Costa and Joao Pinto which were termed as the “Golden Generation of Portuguese football.” His first team experience helped him grow in confidence and flair and by the age of 20 he was a regular starter at the club.
His skill, composure and panache made him sought after by the top clubs in Europe. But because of dispute between Italian giants Juventus and Parma, where Figo had signed contracts with both the clubs, a two year Italian transfer ban was imposed on him which stopped any transfer possibilities in Italy.

As luck would have it, the ban proved to be a blessing in disguise as it opened the gates for Figo to play outside Italy. And with legendary Dutch manager Johan Cruyff showing interest, Figo was now playing at Camp Nou where his career really took off. His time in Barca saw him winning the 1997 UEFA Cup, 2 La Liga titles, UEFA Super Cup, Supercopa de Espana and 2 Copa del rey titles. With his skill, tactical nous and flair football, he was graced with the captain’s armband which is a huge honour for a non-Spanish player.

After his 5 year contract with Barcelona expired and he was on the peak of his career, he made one of the most controversial decisions to join arch rivals Real Madrid for a record transfer fee of $46 million. He was now stuck in the middle of a fan battle between two the biggest rival clubs in the world. Barcelona fans hated him for the transfer and Madrid fans for the mere fact that he was a former Barca player. And with all the dirt from fans came injuries and all this ultimately led to the legend being written off as a setting sun.

But he bounced back stronger helping Real Madrid to bag 2 La Liga titles, 2 Supercopa de Espana, 1 UEFA Champions League title, 1 UEFA Super Cup and 1 Intercontinental Cup during his 5 year stint at Santiago Bernabeu.
Still in top form, he decided it was time to move on and joined Inter Milan, returning to play in Italy after a decade. With Mourinho taking charge of Inter in 2008, Figo had many Portuguese teammates to end his footballing career with. His stay at Inter saw the club winning 4 consecutive Italian Seria A titles, 1 Coppa Italia and 3 Supercoppa Italiana. He retired on May 31st 2009 at the San Siro football arena.

His 20 year long career saw him winning numerous prestigious awards and trophies which illustrate this man’s dominance over world football. He was graced with World player of the year in the year 2000, Portuguese player of the year for 6 consecutive years from 1995 to 2000, La Liga foreign player of the year in 1999, 2000 and 2001 and Portuguese Golden Ball in 1994. The Balloon d’Or, the highest individual football award in Europe was received by the great in 2000.
His graceful style of play, the ability to run past defenders even during the end of his career, the subtle touches out on the flanks, the brilliant runs form the mid field, the turns in the penalty box and the venomous strikes on goal defined his 20 year career. There hasn’t been a moment when he has been uncomfortable and out of place on the field. Having called Nou Camp, Santiago Bernabeu and San Siro his home, world football will never be the same now that he is gone.

Chelsea v/s Juventus, CL Match day 1

Chelsea led by two goals and yet contrived to draw to Juventus at home in an uncharacteristically shaky performance, considering how they won last year's CL.

Line-ups:

Chelsea's 4-2-3-1 vs Juve's 3-5-2

No big surprises here, except maybe Oscar as the chief play maker over Mata. It was a simple yet very interesting clash of systems with the Juve 3-5-2 coming up against Matteo's 4-2-3-1.

First half:

Juve started well and looked to pass the ball around. They passed it out of defence well simply because Chelsea only had Torres in that zone and he couldn't press Barzagli,Bonucci and Chiellini all by himself leaving someone always free.

The Juventus midfield is built upon the industry of Marchisio and Vidal and the creativity of Pirlo. Quite predictably, Pirlo was marked well by the young Brazilian Oscar allowing Pirlo hardly any time and space on the ball.So, he was forced to play shorter and square passes meaning there may be possession but not much creative forward play.

Another point here was the massive space available to the Juve centre backs which was best evidenced when Barzagli found Vucinic with a lofted pass but the striker failed to score,hitting it straight at Cech.

What was surprising however, was the threat or rather lack of it from the Chelsea flanks. With a 3 man defence up against a system with both wingers and fullbacks it was supposed to have been a stern test for the wingbacks Asamoah and Lichtsteiner who had good games, partly due to the lack of attacking intent from Chelsea. Hazard and Cole combined well but Ivanovic and Ramires couldn't influence the game much

The goals:

While Oscar's goals were wonder strikes (the second one, especially), it could be argued that Pirlo was too busy pressing Lampard and Mikel, leaving space for Oscar to run in behind him. He probably thought that the three defenders behind him would be able to deal with it.

Juve's attacking was based on Marchisio's runs in from the left side of midfield, Vidals's runs forward and the combination of Giovinco and Vucinic with one drawing a centre half out and the other making a run in behind. It was this movement executed by Matri and Quagliarella that led to their second goal, though John Terry could and should have done better.

Their first goal came from Marchisio who drifted on to the left and played it in for Arturo Vidal who found himself with some space just outside the box because Lampard was unaware of his presence. Vidal converted and even then it was apparent that  Mikel and Lampard were no match for the industry of Marchisio and Vidal on the night.

Second Half:

Di Matteo tried to shift to a more defensive formation, an almost 4-5-1 with Bertrand coming on for Ramires and swapping flanks with Hazard. They tried to protect their 2-1 lead but Juventus' relentless pressing kept forcing them into misplacing passes. With Oriol Romeu on the bench, it was surprising to see this continue. Maybe, Di Matteo thought he could get a goal on the break but this team was barely a shadow of the one that won it last season, despite the majority of players being the same. Both teams kept giving the ball away and Mikel's pass was preceded by Pirlo giving it away to Chelsea. Marchisio picked out Quagliarella who didn't waste his chance. Vidal and Marchisio also played in an advanced role because of Chelsea's lack of attacking threat.

Conclusion:

Lampard and Mikel may have done it in Barcelona but they simply do not look like dependable holding midfielders. One wonders why Meireles, Essien and Oriol Romeu were all allowed to leave or aren't being used.

Chelsea's centre back duo of Terry and Luiz were also drawn out quite easily by the Juve forwards. Conte seems to have thought this through as he knew Luiz is an excitable defender who can be drawn out and has shown poor positional discipline of late and Terry's issues with speed are well documented.

While Terry and Mikel were culpable for the equalising goal, it was surprising to see how no one reacted with any speed to what was happening. It seemed a far cry from the team who had pressed and held their shape so well at the Camp Nou. It wouldn't be surprising if Cahill and Luiz emerged as the first choice pairing sooner or later.

Juventus playing in the CL after so long and away to the European Champions were simply brilliant. The defending was of the quality we have come to expect from Italy with Chiellini in particular being fantastic in his reading of the game. Bazagli, Bonucci, Vidal  and Marchisio all put in superb performances and it would probably have been just reward if Juve had scored a winner.

It wouldn't be surprising to see Juventus go quite far ahead in this year's competition simply on the back of their fantastic defence. It would be very interesting to see how their three man defence would fare against teams with devastating wing play such as Bayern Munich or Real Madrid.

Real Madrid 3:2 Manchester City, CL match day 1

Probably the most anticipated clash in the CL group stages, this was supposed to be a cracker of a match and it did not disappoint. Real had come into this on to back of a stuttering start to their title defence with a defeat at Sevilla (reviewed in the previous article) and City had come in with a draw at the Britannia. There were plenty of angles to this match up with the 'old money' v/s 'nouveau riche' and Mourinho vs. Mancini hogging the limelight. Real and Mourinho triumphed in scintillating fashion amidst Mancini's tinkering.

The line-ups:

Starting lineups

Quite surprisingly both teams did not name their starting centre backs of late, with Lescott and Ramos dropping to the bench for the two 19 year old in Nastasic and Varane. Also, the Madrid midfield lined up quite unexpectedly with Essien preferred to Modric and Ozil in almost a 4-3-3 with Alonso deepest.

Essien may have gotten the nod by dint of being the most physical midfielder Madrid possess and Mourinho knew that he simply could not allow Yaya Toure to bully the Madrid midfield which he did so anyway.

City started in their standard 4-2-3-1 with Toure playing in the hole behind Tevez and Javi Garcia and Barry as the two holders. Nasri started on the left and Silva on the right with Mancini's interpretation of inverted wing play.

1st Half:

As expected, Real started well and had a few fluent passing moves finishing in Ronaldo cutting in and having a go. Hart was forced to make a few saves and had no choice but to lump it down field due to the excellent pressing of Madrid's front line which caused them to cede possession as Tevez was stranded alone and kept company by Pepe and Varane. Toure managed a few good runs forward but was let down by wasteful finishing. Nasri was anonymous and Silva only a little better as they both drifted inward to pack the midfield but could hardly come up with any creative play.

In theory, City should have had a marked midfield advantage because Khedira and Essien are simply not creative midfielders when held up against Nasri and Silva. But,the number of bodies severely limited the amount of productive forward play and it was clear that inspiration was needed from the flanks.

Key Areas:

Maicon had been ordered to stay higher up against Ronaldo so as to push him back by attacking play but this simply did not work as City struggled to pass the ball out of defence. What this resulted in however was, Maicon getting stranded higher up leaving Kompany to deal with the threat of Ronaldo. Hart made a couple of good saves from him to keep City in it.

With Di Maria and Ronaldo cutting in too, the midfield had simply no space. The wide areas had plenty of space and Marcelo and Arbeloa (to a lesser extent) had free reign on their flanks. To combat this, Javi Garcia had to move and help Maicon out.

Nasri had to come off and Mancini sent on Kolarov as a wide midfielder on the left, allowing Silva to drift out and Toure to stay higher up as they were no longer outgunned in midfield. There was hardly any threat from City due to very few players being involved in attacking play as Toure was too high up and Tevez was already isolated.

Mancini's tinkering:

The final formations

It was obvious that City weren't going to get a result like this and could only hold out for so long, so Mancini had to change something or at least bring in better suited players. The shape was highly unclear but could be a sort of a 3-5-1-1 with Maicon and Kolarov's role being more of a wingback and Clichy, Nastasic and Kompany forming a strange back three.

Maicon's tired legs were apparent when forced against the threat of Ronaldo and Marcelo and he was taken off for Zabaleta who has had experience of playing as a proper wingback in his time at Espanyol.

Mourinho seeing the static and creativity devoid status of his midfield brought on Ozil and Modric for Khedira and Essien. This opened the game up considerably as now Madrid had players that could pick the holes in City's considerably confused defence. Mancini made a change of his own with Dzeko brought on to provide Tevez company making it a 3-5-2.

The goals:

Mancini brought on Dzeko in place of David Silva who had simply no joy as the furthest forward midfielder. This coupled with the absence of Essien allowed Toure to go on a trademark barnstorming run and slip it through to Dzeko who put it away to give City the lead.

Madrid's response predictably came from the left flank where Zabaleta showed poor discipline with his positioning. He may have been sent in to provide an attacking thrust as even Madrid's left flank had plenty of space with Marcelo and Ronaldo heavily invoved in the attacking play. Zabaleta faced the same problem as Maicon in striking a balance between attack and defence and this led to his flank being empty for the most part and both Marcelo's and Ronaldo's goals came from this flank after skipping away easily from challenges. Kolarov scored from a freekick and you would have backed them to hold on for a few minutes more but Di Maria cut in and laid it off to Benzema who put it away unlike Higuain who should have done better with the numerous chances he got.

Fittingly, Ronaldo's winner came from the City's right flank after he showed up Zabaleta again.

Conclusion:

Mancini's obsession with a three man defence needs to be toned down until he has the players that can play such a role. If he wanted it this bad, a pseudo libero like Javi Martinez or even Agger should have been signed. Even Kompany, arguably the best PL defender over the previous years or so was positionally indecisive and kept getting caught in dangerous positions.

Maicon is some way off from his best and this may be the beginning of the end for the Brazilian.

Mancini has tried to rectify last year's deficiencies when City looked overrun by Napoli and Bayern by buying Rodwell and Javi Garcia who can dictate the tempo with their deep lying play making. One wonders if a Carlo Ancelotti like 4-3-2-1 with Dzeko upfront may have been more suitable. Mourinho capitalised and his players responded with an effort that seems an anomaly when compared to their other performances this season.

This group however promises to show up some more surprises with the vibrant Borussia Dortmund and Ajax both capable of upsets. For now,Mancini's European credentials have taken a huge hit and this Sunday's clash against Arsenal is more important than ever.

Joe Hart could have and should have done better. Chelsea have spent the over a billion pounds trying to win the CL and in the end it was a goalkeeper that cost them half a million from a small French side Rennes who won it for them.

Sevilla 1- 0 Real Madrid, Mourinho's nightmare continues..

Real's torrid start to the season to the season continued as they fell to a shock 1- 0 defeat to Sevilla at Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. The game was a fantastic example of how tactics can help weaker teams hold their own against stronger ones.

Line-ups:

Madrid started with the standard line-up of last season except Higuain being preferred over the somewhat struggling Karim Benzema. Modric was named on the bench which in hindsight may not have been the best of decisions.

For Sevilla, a similar counter attacking 4-2-3-1 was deployed with Maduro being introduced as Medel's partner in front of the defence and Manu had to drop to the bench for Trochowski.

First Half:

Sevilla started brightly and dominated during the early stages with Casillas being tested with a shot. However ,they didn't have to wait long as Real's horrendous defending from set pieces allowed Trochowski, completely unmarked to fire home .From this moment on,Sevilla retreated just a bit and were content to pounce on the counter. With broadly similar formations it was a fairly even battle and Sevilla's defensive resolve was evident in the way they tackled and harried the Madrid players all over the pitch

Sevilla stifling Real:

Mourinho shifts to 4-3-3 and brings on Modric

Michel, the Sevilla manager had thought this through very well indeed. It was apparent in how Ivan Rakitic closed down Alonso that he had observed the sources of creativity. Alonso's incredible passing ability has been the major attacking thrust behind Real's play this season as Ozil has simply not found his touch, Modric hasn't played enough, Di Maria hasn't had the best of starts and Real have looked very disjointed. Rakitic pressed Alonso and allowed him very little time on the ball thus cutting off the supply of long diagonal balls to the forward line thus taking them out of action. Alonso swapped with Khedira but Rakitic continued to press down and even earned a booking for his efforts. The role played by him was that of a forward destroyer which quite a few teams have tried to do against Andrea Pirlo.

Their later attacks all passed through Negredo whose decent hold up play bought Jesus Navas into the game. Navas was a threat all game with his pace and should have surely created a goal if not for some poor luck.

Another important feature was the limiting of Ozil's influence by Medel and Maduro who simply did not allow him enough time on the ball. Sevilla looked to increase midfield numbers and this appears to have been the reason why Trochowski was preferred by Michel over Manu as he played quite narrow and thus assisted in midfield leaving Real to deal with the incessant pressing

Real's response:

Mourinho allowed things to run for a bit, probably looking for some inspiration from the full backs who had their hands full with Navas and Trochowski. Ozil did play a few good passes but the threat was dealt with quite efficiently. By half time, it was apparent that some changes were required with Modric on for Ozil and Benzema for the anonymous Di Maria.

Benzema played as more of a high up winger and Modric dropped deeper than Ozil to get some time on the ball away from the strong defensive presence of Medel and Maduro. His mobility was a key feature as he allowed Madrid to dictate position with his presence also relieving some of the pressure on Alonso.

Real looked like they would dominate now and Michel came up with another effective change bringing on Manu for the tired Rakitic in pretty much the same forward destroyer role. Also, Trochowski seemed to have become a central midfielder, majorly due to Modric's ability to pop up anywhere and thus leaving his side of the pitch empty. This freed up the left flank and Arbeloa was left with hardly any defensive duties. Not being the best of attackers, he was subbed of for Callejon who is more of a winger and Madrid switched to a back three with Pepe, Ramos and Marcelo.

Luna introduced to deal with Callejon

Michel had two substitutions left and knew he could not afford Callejon any time and space on the ball so he brought on Luna (left back) for Negredo as Manu moved into the striker role. As Real pressed, Michel brought on Kondogbia off the bench to provide extra steel defensively and Sevilla withstood the barrage with surprising ease.

Conclusion:

Probably the most fascinating tactical battle La Liga has seen this season it was indeed a thrilling game and Michel held his own quite convincingly against Mourinho. Real also looked disjoint, bereft of ideas and their set piece defending was quite shocking. With Barca already quite far ahead, Real simply cannot afford any more slip ups.

The man of the match was Michel, beyond a doubt..

The Evolution of the Defensive Midfielder

The defensive midfielder is a position that could be considered a fairly modern development, coming to fore in the 70's and 80's. Herbert Chapman's innovative 2-3-5 ensured that defensive midfielders weren't required for quite some time. Sir Alf Ramsey's wingless wonders of the 4-4-2, which won the 1966 World Cup, utilised a midfield duo that could shuttle up and down for the whole game, more of all action, box to box players.

This specialisation evolved from a position called the 'sweeper'. The sweeper was a player hence named because he would sweep up after his back line. It was originally a defensive innovation, inspired by the Catenaccio system of Italy.

The points system in Serie A then was 1-for a draw and 2-for a win, and so many managers considered not losing almost equivalent to winning and they came up with a versatile centre back who could be the last resort if the back line were breached. The system was however preached majorly for a three man defence as this would enable the two centre backs to mark the opposing forwards and leave one defender free to clean up after.

Alf Ramsey's 4-4-2 or 'Wingless Wonders'

Herbert Chapman's 2-3-5

UEFA Super Cup Chelsea 1: Atletico 4

Lineups:

Both started in their usual 4-2-3-1. The teams were as expected with the only surprise coming in Terry being on the bench. Atleti gave a start to Koke, the 20 year old rather that Raul who is the more experienced player in that role behind the striker.

Atleti 4-2-3-1

Chelsea 4-2-3-1

Modric to Madrid

When Tottenham Hotspur bought a little known Croatian by the name of Luka Modric in 2008 for a club record tying (with Darren Bent) £16.5 million, there weren't any great expectations. Partly due to his previous club being Dinamo Zagreb and also due to his apparent 'unsuitability' to the physicality of the English game. Juande Ramos had inherited a good squad from Martin Jol but Modric's acquisition made it far better.

Initially, Modric found a role as the deep lying playmaker sitting alongside Jermaine Jenas in the holding role. Modric had however made his name as a left sided midfielder or an attacking midfieder. He sustained a few injuries and was derided by the British press.

Alex Song to Barcelona

Off to Catalunya..

Arsenal fans were dismayed when Alex Song was sold to FC Barcelona, because he was arguably their best creative player throughout the previous season.

Alex Song, whilst being a defensive midfielder garnered 14 assists for Arsenal in the previous season, many of them eye-catching through balls and lofted passes. He is one of the few tough tackling midfielders left, in an age where the classy regista is back. However, he is certainly one of the more unique players. There has hardly been any player that could play the Makelele role and the Pirlo role with as nonchalant ease as Song has done over the past season.

Liverpool 0 : Arsenal 2

Match-day 3

In this widely anticipated clash of two teams who were still searchig for their first win (goal for Arsenal) in this year's PL, it was Arsenal who came out on top in what can only be termed as an impressive display. Liverpool's encouraging showing against City had raised expectations that they could adapt to Rodgers's brand of possession football quickly. However, up against Arsenal, the team that preach possession football, this was a stern test. And while Liverpool dominated for certain periods, one can hardly find fault with the result.

Oliver Kahn

Throughout your lifetime, there are some players that you are just lucky to witness live in action. One of them being Oliver Kahn, popularly called Der Titan (The Titan).

Born on 15th June 1969, Kahn started his footballing journey at the age of 6 playing for Karlsruher FC where he made the transition from being an outfield player to a goalie. In 1994, he was signed by Bayern Munich for a record fee of 2.385 million euros. He played some amazing football with this club and retired here in 2008.

His achievements speak volumes about his talent and charisma. 8 German Championships, 6 German cups, the UEFA cup, the UEFA Champions League, the Intercontinental Cup. He has been phenomenal when it comes to taking his team out of tricky spots. His performances for Germany earned him 2 German Footballer of the Year trophies. He was also graced with 4 consecutive UEFA Best European Goalkeeper.

But his biggest personal achievement was getting the Golden Ball in 2002 FIFA World Cup. He is the only keeper in the tournament’s history to get this prestigious trophy.

His determination in front of goal was one of the prime reasons that Germany made it to the finals of 2002 World Cup. Klose and Ballack admitted that Kahn covering the post gave them a lot of confidence up front to push for goals. His unmatched reflexes and his ability to push the ball out of danger were acclaimed by one and all. He was a dominating figure in front of goal who commanded the respect of his teammates and opponents alike. You could hit the best shot in the world and just be stunned by the brilliance of Kahn shows to stop you from scoring. Freekicks, penalties, through balls, corners, you name it and he has saved it all.

He retired in May 2008 in Kolkata when Bayern Munich played Mohun Bahgan in a friendly. We really miss this Number 1 walking into tumultuous applause at the Allianz Arena.

The woes of AC Milan

Berlusconi in happier times

At first glance, AC Milan looks to be a club that has it all. Probably, the most successful club of all time as far as titles are to be reckoned. The only other club apart from Liverpool and Real Mardrid to own a Champons League trophy by virtue of having won it 7 times (five or more). This is the club of Sacchi, Ancelotti, Van Basten, Kaka, Sheva and old legends such as Gunner Nordahl and Nils Liedholm.

As far as history is concerned, few can boast of one as rich and proud as Milan can. However, things haven't always been rosy and matters have come to a head in recent times. The story would have to begin in 1980, when the club were relegated to Series B as punishment for their invlovement in the Totonero scandal. They quickly returned but were relegated again the following season due to their poor performances, standing 18th.

This led to huge debts that were absolved when a certain Silvio Berlusconi bought the club in 1986, taking measures such as the appointment of Arrigo Sacchi (we'l come back to this gentleman in another article) and the start of an era of European dominance thanks to the Dutch trio of Rijkaard,Gullitt and Van Basten. The 90's and the new decade passed by with considerable success and brought stability to the club. Indeed, Champions league victories in 1994, 2003 and 2007 would have you believe that all was rosy and the future bright.

Today is a very different story. Despite finishing second to Juventus in the Scudetto, Milan are at a financial crossroads. Berlusconi's initial willingness to plonk down huge sums of money has all but vanished and now the club are paying careful attention to balancing their books.

The financial turnaround can best be seen by the net spend over a certain period.
While Milan spent over €250 million from 1999-2003, their net spend over the next nine years amounts to a profit of a few million, made by selling of Thiago Silva and Ibrahimovic. The days when Milan bought superstars such as Seedorf ($24.35 million), Inzaghi ( £17M), Rui Costa ( £30 million), Nesta ( €30.9M) and others such as Pirlo and Shevchenko. As long as these players stayed at the club, Milan were moderately successful reaching three CL finals in 2003, 2005 and 2007, winning two of them. The rise of Kaka helped to prolong this period even though domestically, Inter's five consecutive titles showed that all was not well. With the retirement of Maldini and sale of Kaka to keep the finances in check, the team became an ageing group of superstars with the only bright spots being Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva who were sold in this transfer window. With the departure of these two, Nesta, Seedorf and Van Bommel, Milan is horribly short on squad depth and first team quality. One wondered what replacements would be signed, but was left dumbfounded when Pazzini and Bojan Krkic were brought in.

Off To PSG

Even Antonio Cassano opted to join Inter because he felt Milan didn't have a chance of challenging for the title. So, what exactly is the reason for this enforced austerity even at the cost of success ?

Here are some stats that may help:

• Revenue grew by 7% to €234.8 million, but this was matched by a €13.7 million increase in the wage bill to €206.5 million, a record high for Milan(for the fiscal year 2011).

• The last time that the club made money was 2006 and even then the €11.9 million profit was heavily influenced by once-off factors, namely the €40 million profit from selling Andriy Shevchenko to Chelsea and a €27 million once-off payment for an option on future TV right.

• Milan are not the only leading Italian club to find themselves in this situation. Indeed, in 2010/11 the losses were even higher at Juventus (€95.4 million) and Inter (€86.8 million). The big three contributed 89% (€252 million) of the total Serie A losses of €285 million.

• Since 2005 Milan have managed to grow their revenue by just €20 million (9%), which is only ahead of Juventus among leading European clubs. In that period they have been overtaken by Barcelona, Bayern Munich and  Arsenal. Most strikingly, Barcelona’s revenue was €7 million lower than Milan in 2005, but is now far over the horizon at €216 million higher, while the investment in new stadiums at Bayern and Arsenal has really paid  dividends.

• The most glaring revenue weakness for Milan is match day revenue. Even though this is the highest in   Italy at €36 million (ahead of Inter €33 million, Napoli €22 million and Roma €18 million), it is dwarfed by major clubs in other countries, especially England. Chelsea earn more than twice as much €81 million, while Manchester United €130 million and Arsenal €112 million generate around three times Milan’s figure.

• Although Milan have the highest average attendance in Italy of 51,400, this was a 4% reduction from the previous season and means that only 64% of the stadium’s capacity was filled. In fact, Milan’s crowds have dropped         significantly from the 64,500 average achieved in 2002/03. In fairness, this is a generic problem in Italy, where total attendances in Serie A have slumped from 9.4 million in 2008/09 to 8.9 million in 2010/11 (per the  FIGC), despite low ticket prices, due to a combination of obsolete stadiums, poor views and the match fixing cloud.

• The most important challenge for Milan is the wage bill, which rose €14 million in 2011 to a totally unsustainable €206 million. Even though most of this increase was due to higher bonuses for winning the scudetto in 2011, the fact remains that this is the highest wage bill in Milan’s history and the second highest ever for Serie A, only surpassed by the €234 million paid out by Inter in their 2009/10 treble winning season.

Can he replace Ibra??

All these facts sum up the malaise that dogs Milan. It could be said that Germany's successful bid for WC 2006 gave them government funds for new and modern stadiums and ditto will happen for Euro'16 in France. Italy seems bound to be the poorer cousin of all these nations due to a combination of mismanagement and lack of long term planning. However, there are certain bright spots in the shape of Napoli and Juventus who have managed to achieve considerably on a moderate budget and revenue generated from new stadia.

The erosion of world class talent from Milan looks set to continue and even as this is being written, there is hardly a single world class player on the books at Milan. When transfer targets start to include Nicklas Bendtner, you know things have gone downhill for the club that gave us Sheva, Kaka, Maldini and Van Basten.