It has been a strange but refreshing start to the Premiership season. Big games that had previously been cagey and cautious have produced an avalanche of goal and incident.
Mancini's Manchester City have even, unexpectedly, started to entertain. Judging from their loss of a two goal lead against Fulham at the weekend, that new outlook might have compromised their familiar defensive solidity. The absence of Nigel de Jong can't be helping that side of things either. But Nasri, Silva and Aguero are thrilling neutrals.
Two games involving the other big Manchester team have been emblematic of the adventurous start to the season. First, there was the unprecedented drubbing of Arsenal. Then, this weekend, another game of end-to-end attacking, mistakes, goals and glaring misses.
There could have been another ten goals, and this time they would have been shared more evenly. Chelsea, especially in the first half, were the better side, and can feel aggrieved to have lost by a two goal margin.
The goals were a mixture of the soft and the sublime. Early on, Smalling escaped the attentions of Chelsea's slack marking to power a header home from Ashley Young's swinging free kick. Replays showed he was marginally offside but the fact that Chelsea's players did not protest suggested that they had lost concentration. United doubled their lead with a spectacular strike from Nani, who collected the ball on the right (offside again?), swayed inside some challenges, and powered past a leaden footed Cech from the edge of the area. Right on half time, a Phil Jones run caused panic in Chelsea's rearguard, a floored John Terry attempted to clear, but the ball struck Nani and ran kindly for Rooney, who swept home from close range.
United had an interval lead that contradicted the balance of play. All their on-target shots had produced goals. They were attacking with menace at times, but Chelsea had peppered the United goal with efforts. Juan Mata was having an influence, and the Blues were playing with a swagger that suggested that Villas-Boas may be succeeding in starting to revolutionise their style of play.
Then again, there will only be rare occasions when they will face a midfield as open as United's was.
The first of the game's many glaring misses came at 1-0, and was surely crucial in shaping the outcome of the game. Mata attacked United's backline and released Torres in behind with a finely weighted pass. The Spaniard rightly squared the ball for Ramires, who seemed certain to score, but perhaps put off by Daniel Sturridge, stabbed a weak effort straight at the scrambling De Gea.
At half time, Villas Boas sized up Chelsea's predicament and, commendably, decided to chase the three goal deficit. He replaced Lampard with Anelka, moved the latter onto the left of the front three, and shifted Mata into the number 10 position. The change brought dividends almost straight from kick off. Anelka cut inside from the left, and played an excellent reverse through ball for Torres. The Spaniard, who was looking at last like his old self, full of pace and twists and turns, dinked imperiously over De Gea. It was a finish at odds with his wretched run of form over the last few months, and Chelsea were back in the game.
But now, with the schoolyard shape of the game continuing, it was United's turn to miss chances. Nani broke and smashed another thunderbolt off the bar. On the rebound, he was adjudged, harshly perhaps, to have been felled by Bosingwa. Rooney had a chance from the spot, but his standing leg gave way and he shanked the penalty wide.
He was wasteful again when an Evra run and cross found him six yards out. Rooney's left footed shot was scuffed, and dribbled off the post. Hernandez steamed onto the rebound but could only smash into the side netting, and was crippled for his troubles by Ashley Cole's nasty late challenge.
Shame then, with both sides missing easy chances, that the game will probably be remembered for the profligacy of one man, who may now struggle to ever reproduce the swagger of old. Torres was, along with Nani, the best player on the park. It was very much like watching the player of old only for one rather important factor- his finishing. While the goal was a beauty, there was a hat trick of head-in-hands moments. Early on, he conjured an opportunity for himself but snatched wide. Towards the game's final act, he jinked brilliantly on the edge of the area, and hit a decent left footed shot that was parried, but when the rebound bobbled his way, he leaned back and smashed skywards. Then, with only minutes left, the worst miss in a match of misses.
Again, there was brilliant play to make the chance. Ramires's through ball was incisive, and Torres confounded De Gea with a confident dummy. His touch brought him a little wide of goal, but the hard work was done and the finish should have been a formality. Maybe he relaxed too much, maybe he couldn't relax enough. The shot was tapped wide of the near post.
There was still time for one more scramble, as Rooney broke clear and squared to Berbatov, but a goal line clearance denied the Bulgarian's scuffed effort. United ran out, according to the scoreline, comfortable winners, but rarely has a scoreline been so misleading. Firstly, there should have been at least a few more goals. Secondly, Chelsea outplayed the hosts for long periods, particularly during a first half that somehow only produced goals for United.
While United's goalscoring exploits and their relentless attacking vigour are impressive, pundits are being a little rash in predicting a procession towards another league title. Statistics show that De Gea has been the busiest keeper in the whole league so far; as with City, United's new adventure has had an inevitable impact on their defensive solidity. The Champions can point, of course, to the absences of Ferdinand and Vidic. They have faced Arsenal and Chelsea with an unfamiliar back four featuring three youngsters, and while they never looked solid in either game, it doesn't matter much when you score eleven goals.
So the early advantage is undoubtedly theirs, but for City and, on this showing, Chelsea, there is still plenty of hope.
Showing posts with label Nani. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nani. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Eight Two.
Eight fucking two.
It has taken me a week to recover enough to write this thing, and it has been an eventful few days since. Reinforcements have finally arrived, but I'll leave that for a seperate post. This one will focus on a game that will never be fully erased from the memory.
Manchester United 8-2 Arsenal
Even the most optimistic of Arsenal fans surely feared the worst. Sagna was added to the list of casualties, meaning the full backs were Jenkinson and Traore. The midfield consisted of Coquelin, Rosicky and Ramsey.
Given the personnel, there is an argument that attack was going to be the only form of defence. The front three was Arshavin, Walcott and Van Persie, so it was certainly a lot stronger than the makeshift back four. And Arsenal have, in the last few years, been incapable of shutting up shop and staying solid.
Sure enough, the game started in an open fashion, and kept going that way. It was immediately apparent that Arsenal were struggling to deal with the tempo of United's passing. The absence of Michael Carrick and the rejuvenation of Anderson invests their midfield with a lot more dynamism than was the case for much of last season. Their strength on the flanks and their fast, direct style meant they were set up to hit Arsenal where they were weakest.
With United playing Rooney and Welbeck up front, Arsenal had an apparent numerical advantage in midfield, but they only sporadically made it count. The tempo of United's passing stood in stark contrast to Arsenal's half-assed pressing. Wenger spoke afterwards of the draining effect of the Udinese game but to hear such excuses so early in the season is a bit much.
The Gunners needed the "senior members" of the back four to stand firm, but the first United goal exposed Djourou's alarming regression. With Walcott, yes Walcott, ranting at Jenkinson over some poor positional play, United took a quick throw and worked the ball infield to Anderson. The Brazilian's scooped pass initially looked more speculative than incisive, but Djourou inexplicably refused to attack the aerial ball, instead trying to block off Welbeck and allow Szczesny to claim. The ball bounced through, Djourou was outmuscled, and Welbeck nodded the ball over the keeper. An absolutely shocking goal to concede.
Soon afterwards, Arsenal found an apparent route back into the game. Arshavin played a nice ball behind Evans for Walcott, who made the most of some contact and went down. Shock horror, Howard Webb gave the penalty, but equally predictably, the usually reliable Van Persie's nerve failed him in Arsenal's theatre of nightmares. He abandoned the usual tactic of hitting hard to the keeper's left, and rolled it to De Gea's right. De Gea read it and made a routine parry.
Straight away, Ashley Young collected a pisspoor defensive header by Traore, weaved his way inside Coquelin, and bent an exquisite shot into the top corner from long range. That's when you knew it could get ugly.
The frightening thing is- it could have been even worse. Arshavin was throwing himself into reckless challenges and could have been sent off twice over.
Just before half time, goals at both ends. A panicky foul by Jenkinson on the edge of the area was punished by a spectacular Rooney free kick, then Walcott ran onto Rosicky's slide rule pass and fired through De Gea's legs. 3-1 at half time.
Easy to forget now, Arsenal's strongest spell came after the interval. There were two gilt-edged opportunities to turn the game back into a genuine contest. First, Rosicky flipped a ball over United's static backline, and Van Persie volleyed first time with his chocolate leg, only for De Gea to again deny him with a save at the near post. Van Persie had oceans of time to take the ball down and if he did so it surely would have been 3-2. Then Arshavin got through down the left and bore down on goal but snatched his shot just wide of the near post.
And then Arsenal fell to pieces. Coquelin was taken off, and United exposed the hole where a holding midfielder should have been protecting an awful defence. The wretched Djourou gave away a free kick within range, and again the foul was punished, again by an imperious Rooney free kick. He disguised his intention, wrong-footed Szczesny, and bent his shot in off the far post. Game over again, but that was only the beginning of the nightmare.
The next goal arrived a minute or so later and was an even better illustration of Arsenal's shambolic defending than Welbeck's opener. A swift United counter attack found Rooney on the edge of the area, and with half the back four stepping up, and half standing still, he slipped an easy pass through to Nani. The winger had all the time in the world to conjure yet another impudent piece of showboating for his Arsenal scrapbook, shaping to drill the ball and then dinking it over the flailing Szczesny. Exhibition stuff from United, but atrocious defending.
Park Ji Sung was introduced as a sub and it was not long before he scored his customary goal against Arsenal, benefitting from more woeful "defending" from Djourou and burying a left-footed shot into the corner from the edge of the box.
Van Persie was presented with an easy chance at the other end after good work from Jenkinson, and blasted home an angry shot to make it 6-2. Normal service was quickly resumed as Jenkinson was caught by the pace of Hernandez and bundled over the Mexican on the edge of the area. Second yellow for the young defender, but Rooney failed to complete a hat trick of free kicks.
A regular hat trick would do though, and he got that after Arsenal's nemesis Evra stormed into the box and was tripped by emergency right back Theo Fucking Walcott. Rooney sent Szczesny the wrong way. Seven goals conceded- unprecedented stuff. Another three goals for Rooney against Arsenal- and on the subject of Rooney, has any player been so awful and so sublime in the space of less than twelve months???
United were not finished. Near the end, they piled on the misery with a fourth belter, this time Young's second. Eight two. Amazing. As bad as Arsenal were, you could only admire the ruthlessness of United's finishing. At least four of the goals- Rooney's two free kicks and Young's two curlers- could only be classed as half chances.
To some extent, the result stemmed from exceptional circumstances- you would hope Arsenal will never again field a team like that in any league game, let alone at Old Trafford- but those circumstances were partly of Arsenal's making. Wenger did not ask for a lengthy list of injuries and suspensions, but he did discard players like Clichy, Denilson, and Eboue and failed to replace them with players ready for Premiership action. That's not to even mention the slow response to the Fabregas and Nasri debacles.
And for all the talk of Arsenal's makeshift defence, United's defence, midfield and even attack were all completely different to the norm from last season. Jones and Evans at centre back? Smalling at full back? Anderson and Cleverley in the centre of the park? Welbeck partnering Rooney? None of this is particularly familiar, but Ferguson and United are making it work, whereas Arsenal played like a bunch of strangers, and seemed resigned to their fate from the off. The game showed up the terrifying discrepancy between the two squads.
Whatever about the subsequent transfer action, the most worrying legacy of this game is the growing sense that nobody at Arsenal football club can coach defence. Arsenal have been ripped apart by good, bad and indifferent sides at pretty regualar intervals over the last few years and there is still no sign of anything being done about it. There has been too much talk, in fact, of a makeshift defence being an excuse for the result. Ok, two naive full backs, but Djourou and Koscielny were first choice players almost all last season. They are not awful players but Djourou in particular has suffered a worrying loss of form and you wonder if that would have happened if he was at a club that put more emphasis on the defensive side of the game.
As I said, this has been a problem for some time. You only need to look at the regular ridiculous scorelines Arsenal have been involved in since the start of 08/09. 4-4 at home to Spurs. 4-4 against Liverpool. Some crushing home defeats to both Chelsea and United. Losing at home to Spurs after leading 2-0. Drawing 3-3 with Spurs at the Lane after, yet again, leading by two goals. And who could forget the second half collapse at St James' Park.
And now this. But there is, perversely, more optimism around the club now. Maybe it needed a catastrophic result like this to open Arsene Wenger's eyes. Maybe the season can be salvaged from the wreckage of one result.
It has taken me a week to recover enough to write this thing, and it has been an eventful few days since. Reinforcements have finally arrived, but I'll leave that for a seperate post. This one will focus on a game that will never be fully erased from the memory.
Manchester United 8-2 Arsenal
Even the most optimistic of Arsenal fans surely feared the worst. Sagna was added to the list of casualties, meaning the full backs were Jenkinson and Traore. The midfield consisted of Coquelin, Rosicky and Ramsey.
Given the personnel, there is an argument that attack was going to be the only form of defence. The front three was Arshavin, Walcott and Van Persie, so it was certainly a lot stronger than the makeshift back four. And Arsenal have, in the last few years, been incapable of shutting up shop and staying solid.
Sure enough, the game started in an open fashion, and kept going that way. It was immediately apparent that Arsenal were struggling to deal with the tempo of United's passing. The absence of Michael Carrick and the rejuvenation of Anderson invests their midfield with a lot more dynamism than was the case for much of last season. Their strength on the flanks and their fast, direct style meant they were set up to hit Arsenal where they were weakest.
With United playing Rooney and Welbeck up front, Arsenal had an apparent numerical advantage in midfield, but they only sporadically made it count. The tempo of United's passing stood in stark contrast to Arsenal's half-assed pressing. Wenger spoke afterwards of the draining effect of the Udinese game but to hear such excuses so early in the season is a bit much.
The Gunners needed the "senior members" of the back four to stand firm, but the first United goal exposed Djourou's alarming regression. With Walcott, yes Walcott, ranting at Jenkinson over some poor positional play, United took a quick throw and worked the ball infield to Anderson. The Brazilian's scooped pass initially looked more speculative than incisive, but Djourou inexplicably refused to attack the aerial ball, instead trying to block off Welbeck and allow Szczesny to claim. The ball bounced through, Djourou was outmuscled, and Welbeck nodded the ball over the keeper. An absolutely shocking goal to concede.
Soon afterwards, Arsenal found an apparent route back into the game. Arshavin played a nice ball behind Evans for Walcott, who made the most of some contact and went down. Shock horror, Howard Webb gave the penalty, but equally predictably, the usually reliable Van Persie's nerve failed him in Arsenal's theatre of nightmares. He abandoned the usual tactic of hitting hard to the keeper's left, and rolled it to De Gea's right. De Gea read it and made a routine parry.
Straight away, Ashley Young collected a pisspoor defensive header by Traore, weaved his way inside Coquelin, and bent an exquisite shot into the top corner from long range. That's when you knew it could get ugly.
The frightening thing is- it could have been even worse. Arshavin was throwing himself into reckless challenges and could have been sent off twice over.
Just before half time, goals at both ends. A panicky foul by Jenkinson on the edge of the area was punished by a spectacular Rooney free kick, then Walcott ran onto Rosicky's slide rule pass and fired through De Gea's legs. 3-1 at half time.
Easy to forget now, Arsenal's strongest spell came after the interval. There were two gilt-edged opportunities to turn the game back into a genuine contest. First, Rosicky flipped a ball over United's static backline, and Van Persie volleyed first time with his chocolate leg, only for De Gea to again deny him with a save at the near post. Van Persie had oceans of time to take the ball down and if he did so it surely would have been 3-2. Then Arshavin got through down the left and bore down on goal but snatched his shot just wide of the near post.
And then Arsenal fell to pieces. Coquelin was taken off, and United exposed the hole where a holding midfielder should have been protecting an awful defence. The wretched Djourou gave away a free kick within range, and again the foul was punished, again by an imperious Rooney free kick. He disguised his intention, wrong-footed Szczesny, and bent his shot in off the far post. Game over again, but that was only the beginning of the nightmare.
The next goal arrived a minute or so later and was an even better illustration of Arsenal's shambolic defending than Welbeck's opener. A swift United counter attack found Rooney on the edge of the area, and with half the back four stepping up, and half standing still, he slipped an easy pass through to Nani. The winger had all the time in the world to conjure yet another impudent piece of showboating for his Arsenal scrapbook, shaping to drill the ball and then dinking it over the flailing Szczesny. Exhibition stuff from United, but atrocious defending.
Park Ji Sung was introduced as a sub and it was not long before he scored his customary goal against Arsenal, benefitting from more woeful "defending" from Djourou and burying a left-footed shot into the corner from the edge of the box.
Van Persie was presented with an easy chance at the other end after good work from Jenkinson, and blasted home an angry shot to make it 6-2. Normal service was quickly resumed as Jenkinson was caught by the pace of Hernandez and bundled over the Mexican on the edge of the area. Second yellow for the young defender, but Rooney failed to complete a hat trick of free kicks.
A regular hat trick would do though, and he got that after Arsenal's nemesis Evra stormed into the box and was tripped by emergency right back Theo Fucking Walcott. Rooney sent Szczesny the wrong way. Seven goals conceded- unprecedented stuff. Another three goals for Rooney against Arsenal- and on the subject of Rooney, has any player been so awful and so sublime in the space of less than twelve months???
United were not finished. Near the end, they piled on the misery with a fourth belter, this time Young's second. Eight two. Amazing. As bad as Arsenal were, you could only admire the ruthlessness of United's finishing. At least four of the goals- Rooney's two free kicks and Young's two curlers- could only be classed as half chances.
To some extent, the result stemmed from exceptional circumstances- you would hope Arsenal will never again field a team like that in any league game, let alone at Old Trafford- but those circumstances were partly of Arsenal's making. Wenger did not ask for a lengthy list of injuries and suspensions, but he did discard players like Clichy, Denilson, and Eboue and failed to replace them with players ready for Premiership action. That's not to even mention the slow response to the Fabregas and Nasri debacles.
And for all the talk of Arsenal's makeshift defence, United's defence, midfield and even attack were all completely different to the norm from last season. Jones and Evans at centre back? Smalling at full back? Anderson and Cleverley in the centre of the park? Welbeck partnering Rooney? None of this is particularly familiar, but Ferguson and United are making it work, whereas Arsenal played like a bunch of strangers, and seemed resigned to their fate from the off. The game showed up the terrifying discrepancy between the two squads.
Whatever about the subsequent transfer action, the most worrying legacy of this game is the growing sense that nobody at Arsenal football club can coach defence. Arsenal have been ripped apart by good, bad and indifferent sides at pretty regualar intervals over the last few years and there is still no sign of anything being done about it. There has been too much talk, in fact, of a makeshift defence being an excuse for the result. Ok, two naive full backs, but Djourou and Koscielny were first choice players almost all last season. They are not awful players but Djourou in particular has suffered a worrying loss of form and you wonder if that would have happened if he was at a club that put more emphasis on the defensive side of the game.
As I said, this has been a problem for some time. You only need to look at the regular ridiculous scorelines Arsenal have been involved in since the start of 08/09. 4-4 at home to Spurs. 4-4 against Liverpool. Some crushing home defeats to both Chelsea and United. Losing at home to Spurs after leading 2-0. Drawing 3-3 with Spurs at the Lane after, yet again, leading by two goals. And who could forget the second half collapse at St James' Park.
And now this. But there is, perversely, more optimism around the club now. Maybe it needed a catastrophic result like this to open Arsene Wenger's eyes. Maybe the season can be salvaged from the wreckage of one result.
Monday, November 15, 2010
United Stumble On Undefeated
Hard to believe it after Sunderland swept Chelsea aside, but until the whirlwind finale of Saturday's game at Villa Park, it seemed the performance of the weekend was going to be Aston Villa's.
Ok, this is by no means a vintage United side, but nobody had really shown them up either. They had drawn a lot of games but nobody had come out and played them off the park.
After a dull, goalless first half, Villa came out and battered United. Pressing hard in midfield, springing quickly onto the front foot. Stewart Downing looked a player for once, tortured Wes Brown and swung in teasing crosses. Albrighton headed one just wide. Collins hit the bar, Agbonlahor a post. United could barely mount a meaningful attack.
Finally the home side took a deserved lead, when Brown shoved Ashley Young over after Agbonlahor had, in a signature move from recent encounters, left a sluggish Nemanja Vidic floundering. Young buried the penalty, minimum fuss. Minutes later, Villa struck a classic counterpunch. Macheda lost the ball, Villa zoomed forward. Young fed the onrushing Downing, whose cross was perfect for Albrighton, the finish a formality. The goal recalled Germany's swashbuckling football from the World Cup and seemed to herald the end of United's inexplicable unbeaten record. Their performance had been abject and they were getting the roasting they deserved.
But this is United.
They may lack the class of Ferguson's great United sides but they have character, because Ferguson's teams always do. When Villa lost the attacking impetus, United responded, as if a switch had been flicked. Ferdinand had already had an effort cleared off the line before Fletcher's clever back flick was whacked in by sub Macheda. The writing was on the wall for Villa, who have a wretched record against United.
Still, they were unlucky. Downing drove down the left again, cut in onto his right and unleashed a piledriver that shaved VDS's bar. The near miss probably only cemented the sense of destiny in the minds of both sides. Sure enough, Nani duly redeemed his otherwise poor display with a peach of a ball, left-footed to the back post, and Vidic arrived on cue to nod it in.
Five or so minutes still to play, it seemed inevitable that United would complete the turnaround, but Villa stood firm for the remainder. Obertan did pierce their rearguard, only for Friedel's face to stop the ball finding the net.
So another away draw for this stuttering United team. Had they come from 1-0 down to salvage something having played badly and been lucky not to concede more, you could call them flukey, but you have to give grudging respect to any team that recovers a 2-0 deficit. And surely only United could play THAT badly for more than 70 minutes, and still find the belief to salvage something from such a gloomy position.
Absurdly, having played so poorly, they could feel frustrated at the end not to have plundered three points. But their frustration will have been tempered on Sunday, watching an unfamiliar, flat Chelsea get flattened further by a top-notch Sunderland performance. United have fallen well below their self-set standards this season, but they are still in touch at the top, and we all know how United tend to get after Christmas...
Ok, this is by no means a vintage United side, but nobody had really shown them up either. They had drawn a lot of games but nobody had come out and played them off the park.
After a dull, goalless first half, Villa came out and battered United. Pressing hard in midfield, springing quickly onto the front foot. Stewart Downing looked a player for once, tortured Wes Brown and swung in teasing crosses. Albrighton headed one just wide. Collins hit the bar, Agbonlahor a post. United could barely mount a meaningful attack.
Finally the home side took a deserved lead, when Brown shoved Ashley Young over after Agbonlahor had, in a signature move from recent encounters, left a sluggish Nemanja Vidic floundering. Young buried the penalty, minimum fuss. Minutes later, Villa struck a classic counterpunch. Macheda lost the ball, Villa zoomed forward. Young fed the onrushing Downing, whose cross was perfect for Albrighton, the finish a formality. The goal recalled Germany's swashbuckling football from the World Cup and seemed to herald the end of United's inexplicable unbeaten record. Their performance had been abject and they were getting the roasting they deserved.
But this is United.
They may lack the class of Ferguson's great United sides but they have character, because Ferguson's teams always do. When Villa lost the attacking impetus, United responded, as if a switch had been flicked. Ferdinand had already had an effort cleared off the line before Fletcher's clever back flick was whacked in by sub Macheda. The writing was on the wall for Villa, who have a wretched record against United.
Still, they were unlucky. Downing drove down the left again, cut in onto his right and unleashed a piledriver that shaved VDS's bar. The near miss probably only cemented the sense of destiny in the minds of both sides. Sure enough, Nani duly redeemed his otherwise poor display with a peach of a ball, left-footed to the back post, and Vidic arrived on cue to nod it in.
Five or so minutes still to play, it seemed inevitable that United would complete the turnaround, but Villa stood firm for the remainder. Obertan did pierce their rearguard, only for Friedel's face to stop the ball finding the net.
So another away draw for this stuttering United team. Had they come from 1-0 down to salvage something having played badly and been lucky not to concede more, you could call them flukey, but you have to give grudging respect to any team that recovers a 2-0 deficit. And surely only United could play THAT badly for more than 70 minutes, and still find the belief to salvage something from such a gloomy position.
Absurdly, having played so poorly, they could feel frustrated at the end not to have plundered three points. But their frustration will have been tempered on Sunday, watching an unfamiliar, flat Chelsea get flattened further by a top-notch Sunderland performance. United have fallen well below their self-set standards this season, but they are still in touch at the top, and we all know how United tend to get after Christmas...
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