The EPL Weekend-Round 16

The EPL served up its usual dose of excitement following mid-week action of European football.

Manchester City continued their recent good form with a hard fought 1 nil win over relegation threatened Leicester. City once again ground out a result against a potentially tricky fixture. City are becoming masters of doing that lately. The win came at a cost though with City losing captain Kompany and Dzeko to injuries and the duo look set to miss out on the crucial holiday fixtures. City are now in the middle of an injury crisis and are set to face a real challenge with the busy run of fixtures coming up. With Aguero, Jovetic and now Dzeko out injured, 18year old Pozo is their only recognised striker. The 3 points were priceless in their pursuit of Chelsea. Lampard was once again the hero for City with his 175th goal in the premier league. I was sceptical when City signed Lampard but i have been really impressed by him. His professionalism and hunger even in the twilight of his career is an example to the younger players. 6 goals already from midfield and you start to understand why Pellegrini is keen on extending his loan spell. The real star of the show however was Nasri. The Frenchman seems to have rediscovered his form and has been in a rich vein of form. My man of the match against Roma in midweek, Nasri once again provided the creative spark for City in the absence of David Silva. He has been controlling play very well of late and was the creator for Lampard's goal. All in all, City got the job done in the end and will now head into the festive fixtures hoping to keep in touch with the league leaders.

Chelsea got past Hull in a match that will be remembered for the Blue's diving antics. Costa, Willian and Cahill all tried to fool the referee withblatant dives, the latter lucky to escape a second yellow card. A Tom Huddlestone red card and a Diego Costa goal were enough to make things comfortable for the Blues in the second half and help erase the memories of the previous weekend's loss to Newcastle. Chelsea were not at their fluid best but they still got the three points that mattered.

Arsenal returned to winning ways with a deserved 4-1 thumping of Newcastle. The Gunners were totally dominant and the performance was so good it made those agitating for Wenger's sacking eat their words. In what was a potentially difficult game on paper given the Magpies wonderful run of results, Arsenal came out on top and deservedly so. Giroud was deadly infront with a brace. He missed 3 months of the season but is only a goal behind Welbeck. Birthday boy Cazorla looks to be back to his best and i think Arsenal are a better side when he is playing. Arsenal's defence which has come under a lot of criticism especially following the defeat to Stoke played with better organization. Bellerin filled in at right back and gave a promising display providing good attacking threat down the right side. Oxlade Chamberlain also gave an assured display that reignited the Gunners charge back into the top four.

Manchester United v Liverpool was the highlight of the weekend. United ran out comfortable winners in the end as a lethargic Liverpool side continued their wretched run of poor form. Van Gaal once again went for a back 3 with Valencia and Young as wing backs. De Gea was in excellent form thwarting Liverpool and Sterling so many times, one lost count along the way. Carrick deserves special mention as he marshaled the defence well. There is a lot of talk about United winning without playing well but that might actually be a good thing. Six wins on the trot without playing well makes you wonder what would happen of they actually started playing well. With the injuries easing, United have every reason to feel confident heading into the festive period.


Team of the week
De Gea, Bellerin, Debuchy, Mangala, Clichy, Lampard, Cazorla, Rooney, Mata, Giroud, Hazard

Player of the week
De Gea

The EPL Weekend-Round 15

Another exciting weekend of EPL action.

Chelsea finally got beaten as their 23 match unbeaten run was brought to a sudden halt by hard working Newcastle. It is evidence to the unpredictable nature of the league this season. The Magpies started the season in terrible fashion with Pardew almost losing his job amid pressure from the fans, a run of five successive wins turned the tide and not many would have predicted them to end Chelsea's long unbeaten run.
The Blues were missing suspended Nemanja Matic in midfield but the rest of the team was the usual Mourinho first 11.
Chelsea did not work the Newcastle keeper a whole lot. Newcastle's game plan of hurrying Chelsea and hitting them on the counter worked perfectly. In Cisse, Newcastle have a striker on top of his game and he took his chances well after he came on as a second half sub. Mourinho was left mourning about Newcastle's tactics but in truth the Magpies were thoroughly deserving of the win. It will be important to see how Chelsea respond to this set back. A few days ago they were looking like near certainties to win the league, now they are only 3 points ahead of Manchetser City. All of a sudden the title race is back on and Chelsea will face a real battle to stay ahead of the pack.

Manchester City ensured they took advantage of Chelsea's earlier slip up by scrapping a win against Everton courtesy of a dubious penalty. City had Hart to thank for a late save to deny Lukaku. The win came at a cost though as their talisman Aguero looks set for a spell on the sidelines. The Argentine has been by a distance City's standout performer this season and it will be a big challenge for City, especially during the busy holiday period, to cope without him. City did what they had to do and the gap to Chelsea is now just three points. As long as they keep within touching distance, City will be confident of retaining their title. The interesting bit is City's recent run of good form has been achieved without their creative magician David Silva and Kompany has been struggling with injuries. The two alongside Hart, Toure and Aguero form the spine of the team. The feeling is that City are yet to really hit top form and when they do, the rest of the premiership will be left struggling to catch up.

Arsenal put in a woeful performance at Stoke. Traditionally the Potters away is always a tough fixture for Arsenal but the manner of their collapse was baffling. 3-0 down at half time and lucky not to go 4 nil down in the second half. The Gunners did manage to salvage some degree of respect to the scoreline but this was a disappointing performance. The biggest disappointment however will be that having been 3 nil down Arsenal came back to within a goal of levelling the scores with over 20 minutes still to play, yet they couldn't find that all important goal. Arsenal's defense was all over the place and the ease with which Stoke were able to score is worrying for Arsenal. Wenger started with Mertesacker and Bellerin in defence and that gave Stoke confidence that they could bully the pair. I think it's about time Wenger started pairing Koscielny and Mertesacker. The former has just returned from injury but the urgency with which Arsenal need that pairing back together is huge. Chambers had a torrid day and got himself sent off. Arsenal need to look at this result as a one off since they were on a good run anyway. They need to dust themselves up, forget about Stoke and focus on the next game.

Manchester United made it 5 wins on the trot with a hard fought, and rather fortuitous win over Southampton. The Red Devils are on a really good run and are up to third on the table without really playing well. van Persie scored a brace and looks to have rediscovered his scoring touch with 3 goals in 2 games. United's problems still lie in defense where once again they looked very vulnerable. Van Gaal resorted to a 3 man central defense system. I can understand his thinking since the two wing backs are really not defenders and needed support against a tough side away from home. The problem in defense was not the system but rather the personnel. Mcnair was looking like a disaster in the waiting and Smalling's injury made matters worse. Evans who came on as a sub is hardly a figure of reassurance in such a system and Carrick is not a defender. So under the circumstances, this was a massive win. United next face Liverpool and they will be hoping to have a few defenders back. In the meantime, they can bask in the glory of rising to third in the standings.

Liverpool were booed off by their own fans after playing out a dull goalless draw with Crystal Palace. In truth Palace should have won and left Anfield disappointed. They totally dominated and a combination of wayward finishing and the Reds keeper kept the scoreline goalless. Liverpool lacked bite and quality and it is sad to see how low they have fallen this season. It's hard to pin point exactly where the problem is. Brendan Rodgers is under real pressure and you get the feeling should they go out of the the Champion's League, the fans will apply even more pressure. What Liverpool need to do is start winning games by whichever means. And what a time it would be to start that winning run. Their next match is against Manchester United.

Team of the week,
Green, Jenkinson, Collocini, OShea, Clichy, Colback, Bojan, Sissoko,  Bolasie, Cisse, Caroll

Player of the Week,
Collocini

The EPL Weekend-Round 12

The EPL returned from a two week international break with lots of talking points.

The weekends big match was without a doubt Manchester United trip to Arsenal. Both teams were looking to build some momentum having had largely disappointing seasons. Arsenal had a poor record against United lately having only defeated United once in the last 14 games. The Gunners started the game so well and engineered wave after wave of forays into the United goal area but without making it count. In the first 25 minutes Arsenal had at least 3 good opportunities to score but the wasted their chances. United struggled to impose themselves and the inexperienced defense was looking very uneasy. Van Gaal had opted to start with 3 central defenders with Shaw and Valencia as wing backs. Blackett looked the most nervous and erratic of the 3 center halves.He had a torrid time against Chamberlain who i thought played really well and has been my best player for Arsenal recently. Arsenal however did not make United pay and after the break, United slowly grew into the game.  The first goal was always going to be key and a lot of luck and fortune swung United's way when Gibbs first knocked of Schezny before inadvertently poking the ball into his own net. That provided the games turning point since after that United were able to sit back and hit Arsenal on the counter. Welbeck had a poor game against his former employers and for me he is yet to really convince me that he was a good signing for Arsenal. If he hadn't been around, Giroud would probably have been thrust straight into action and i doubt he would have missed the couple of headers Welbeck missed in the first half. Wilshere got injured and looks set for a spell on the sidelines but crucially for Arsenal, Koscielny and Giroud are back. For United, another injury to Shaw added to their injury woes but they now need to put together a run of wins to solidify their grip on top four.

Chelsea as usual produced a disciplined performance against West Brom, it ended 2 nil but it could easily have been 7-0 had it not been for Ben Foster and some wayward finishing by Chelsea. The Blues are surely on their way to winning the title. They have the most discipline defensively and no other team understands how to defend as a unit more than Chelsea. Even Hazard who last season was criticized by Mourinho for not tracking back has been doing his own share of defensive duties. In Matic they have the leagues best defensive midfielder and with Fabregas and Costa having shaken off injuries, Chelsea only look set to stretch their lead at the top.

Liverpool once again lost, this time against Palace. The Reds are tinkering on having a crisis and Rodgers is now facing questions about the security of his job.
The Reds defense particularly appears too vulnerable whenever the opposition are attacking. Lovren in particular has been having a nightmare of a season and maybe it's time Rodgers tried out the experienced Kolo Toure. Lambert did get his first goal for the club and with Balotelli sidelined he now needs to start showing he is capabhle of leading the line.

Manchester City got back to winning ways in a tricky fixture against high flying Swansea. City had to rely on the power of Yaya Toure to see them through as they kept alive their feint hopes of catching up with leaders Chelsea. City are not the real deal so far but they will feel that as long as they don't let Chelsea get too far ahead of them, they will still have a chance. Their next match against the Saints is absolutely crucial. City are certainly not at their best at the moment but as long as they keep grinding out results, anything is possible.

Team of the week
de gea, kelly, smalling, dummet, robertson, toure, sissoko, jedinak, hazard, rooney, ings
Player of the week
danny ings

The EPL Weekend-Round 11

Another weekend of English Premiership Football bonanza.
Manchester United managed to scrape a win over Palace at Old Trafford.  If the victory was labored, the relief was almost palpable as United got their first win in four games. It is a measure of how much The Red devils have fallen that a one-nil home win over Palace would be celebrated in the manner in which it was. But then again this season has seen reduction in the gap between the 'top' teams and the supposedly 'weak' teams. Anybody can beat anybody as Arsenal, Man City and Spurs found out. United once again had a patched up central defense pairing following injuries/suspensions to Jones,Smalling, Rafael and Rojo. 
Rooney's return relegated Mata to the bench. United defensive problems have been well highlighted this season but lately i think the attack has been more of a problem. United have only conceded 2 goals in their last 3 games- 2 of those games against Man City and Chelsea. During this period, United have only scored twice. This is meagre returns for an attack force boasting the likes of Rooney,Mata,Van Persie,Di Maria, Januzaj. It is worth noting that this has coincided with Di Maria's dip in form. Prior to this period, he was the focal point of most of United's attacking play. Falcao's persistent injuries have robbed Van Gaal of options upfront and you get the feeling when he is fit, he will get plenty of time to prove he is worth his salt. Nobody doubts his abilities but the injuries will deny United the prospect of reaping maximum from his loan spell.
Januzaj's progress has been very slow and for me he shouldn’t be starting games. I would be very surprised if he started the next match against Arsenal especially if Rafael and Valencia are both fit.

At Arsenal, the perennial 'Wenger out' sentiments have started. Swansea were the latest team to expose Arsenal's defensive frailties. The Gunners are really missing Koscielny because i think without him Mertesacker is just not the same player. Monreal has been filling in at central defense and he clearly doesn't relish playing in that position. If only Jenkinson was still around as cover in the right back position then Chambers would deputise for Koscielny as he is a natural center back. As it is Arsenal have to do with Monreal. Welbeck did score a hat trick recently but he has now gone 5 matches without a goal in the EPL. Welbeck will always elicit mixed feelings because he can be exciting and disappointing at the same time. He missed a good chance against Swansea but then did very well to provide an assist for Sanchez. Alexis Sanchez is Arsenal's best player this season by a mile.The amount of goals and assists he has contributed would make every Arsenal fan cringe at the thought of him being injured. Arsenal next play Man United and that is a big game. The Gunners will be hoping they have a few of their players back from injury.

Liverpool's bad season shows no sign of improving. The Reds lost for he 5th time this season against Chelsea and you wonder where Brendan Rogers goes from here. Liverpool's problems lie in the quality of players they have. I think they are simply not good enough and those that performed last season like Henderson were performing beyond their abilities. A lot of the Liverpool players over-performed last season. Sterling at times looked like an equal to Messi and Ronaldo. There was even talk of Real Madrid being interested. This season has brought them back to the level where they actually are. Against Chelsea it was not that the players were not giving their best, they were but their best was simply not good enough. To add insult to injury, the players recruited in the summer are average at best.Their leaky defence has not helped matters and it's about time Rodgers considered dropping the suspect Lovren for Kolo Toure. Lucky for Liverpool, and United, Arsenal and City, top four is still a realistic target with only Chelsea and Saints looking consistent so far.

Manchester City have been going through a torrid run of form and this weekend was no exception. QPR exposed City's defence time and time again. In the end City were lucky to get away with a draw. With the gap between them and Chelsea growing to 8 points, Pellegrini is now under real pressure. This is despite Sergio Aguero's amazing run of form. You wonder where City would be without the Argentine's contribution this season. City have not progressed from last season and it would take a remarkable turn of events for them to catch up with Chelsea. Mangala has not impressed since his expensive acquisition and his cohort Demichelis did not fare any better. City have also been guilty of squandering a lot of chances in front of goal. They are not as clinical as they ought to be.With Silva still out injured, Dzeko joining him, Jovetic unable to show consistency, Toure and Nasri still searching for form, the gap between City and Chelsea will surely increase.

Chelsea continued their good run of form with a deserved victory over Liverpool. Quality-wise i don't think Chelsea are that way ahead of their rivals. Man for man, City and United are arguably better especially from midfield moving forward. The difference is in the confidence, organization and discipline. And that is why Mourinho is a good coach.Unlike Van Gaal, Wenger, Rodgers and Pellegrini, he has been able to have a consistent first 11. When Chelsea plays, you always know it's going to be Terry, Ivanovich, Cahill and Azpilicueta at the back, Matic, Fabregas, Oscar, Hazard, Wilian/Ramires and Costa upfront. With Arsenal, City, United and Liverpool, you are never sure who is going to start. Of course  Chelsea have been lucky to some extent with injuries but playing with the same people around you creates an understanding. Football is a game of surprises but it is hard to imagine Chelsea not winning the title this season with the kind of form and consistency they have shown.

Team of the week
Guzan, Janmaat, Collocini, Collins, Azpilicueta, Matic, Wanyama, Montero, Sigurdson, Aguero, Long

Player of the week
Sigurdson

Have a sporty week ;)

The EPL Weekend-Round 10

Arsenal easily so off the challenge of a Burnley side still struggling to get to grips with playing in the Top league in England. For about 70minutes it seemed like Burnley might hold on for a precious point but with Arsenal throwing everything at them, something had to give in the end. In Alexis Sanchez, Arsenal have a very intelligent player capable of making something out of nothing. He has so far proven his worth and it begins to seem like Arsenal might actually have got him on the cheap. Tougher tests await Arsenal but this was a good routine win, 6 points out of the last 2 games and suddenly Arsenal are looking good in the table. With their injury worries also easing, these are good times for the Gunners. Maintaining this momentum will be key.

Liverpool's problems continue to mount as the season progresses. Much of the recent talk has been aimed at Balotelli but truth be told the entire Liverpool team is under-performing. Newcastle were the latest side to inflict further agony on Liverpool and Brendan Rodgers must be feeling the pressure. And their next two matches are against Real Madrid and Chelsea . Rodgers will no doubt take some of the responsibility but the players need to look at themselves and question their commitment to the course. Even players like Sterling who started the season so well seem to have caught the infection and are now barely recognizable from the team that dominated the league just a few months ago. Going out of the Champion's League might actually do Liverpool some good. They need to start focusing on putting a serious, sustained assault on top four.

The Manchester Derby was the weekend highlight and as much as the predicted goal feast did not materialize, we were treated to an intriguing encounter. United are worse off in terms of points than they were at this stage last season. Yet the fans reaction to the managers is so different. A lot of United fans were already calling for David Moyes' head yet Louis Van Gaal despite statistically trailing Moyes seems to be enjoying majority if not the entire fan support. The reason is most fans believe the team is moving in the right direction. Yes 13 points from the first 10 games is a terrible return especially for a team of United's stature but a lot of fans believe this United side is better than last season's. United's performances against the big boys Chelsea and Man City have brought a lot of hope especially when viewed in relation to the thrashings in the corresponding fixtures last season. However the love relationship between the fans and Van Gaal would be severely  damaged if United fail to collect maximum points against Crystal Palace in their next fixture. United are experiencing an injury crisis with close to 8 first team players out. Di Maria has had two below par performances against Chelsea and Man City and  United will be hoping he quickly returns to his best.
For City, this was a crucial win especially with Chelsea edging out QPR earlier. The gap would have been too big even for City. City were better organised in defence with Demichelis replacing Mangala alongside Kompany. Pellegrini needs to play Demichelis more as Kompany's partner rather than the expensive Mangala.

Chelsea were once again efficient if not impressive. The Blues were actually pushed all the way by Rangers and were lucky in the end to come away with all three points.
But the thing with Chelsea this season is that even if they play badly they still seem to come away with the points. It takes a very brave man to bet against them winning the EPL this season.

Team of the week
Hart, Chambers, Collocini, Kompany, Clichy, Wanyama, Oscar, Toure, Downing, Sanchez, Aguero

Player of the week
Sanchez

Have a sporty week ;)

The EPL Weekend-Round 8

After a 2 week break, the EPL returned to offer a bucket load of excitement. We had controversial goals, dubious penalties,sending offs, crazy own goals, spectacular strikes, last minute action and plenty of talking points.

Chelsea went into their match against Palace looking to solidify their grip on top of the table. The blues were without Costa due to injury and Mourinho brought in Remy in his place. When Oscar opened the scoring early on with a delightful free-kick, it looked like Chelsea would have an easy day.But Palace responded well with resolute defending coupled with quick counter attacks. And when Azpilicueta was shown a straight red for dangerous play, Palace had the opportunity to capitalise. The one man advantage was however quickly wiped out when Palace themselves were reduced to ten men shortly after. The second Chelsea goal did eventually arrive and when it did, it was a beauty. Palace scored a late consolation but the scoreline flattered them. This was a comfortable win for Chelsea. The blues still look unbeatable and  it remains to be seen who will put a halt to their seemingly unstoppable march towards the title. Next up is Manchester United. Chelsea enter into a phase where they are likely to be without their main striker Costa and it will be interesting to see how they cope.

Manchester United had a tricky away trip at the Hawthorns. While coming back from behind twice to earn a draw showed some bit of character, these are the sort of games you would expect United to win. United's defence showed the now all too familiar signs of fragility. Berahino's goal in particular highlighted that particular problem.

Jones was caught out and Rafael was left chasing shadows. The most disappointing thing for United was that this was after a period in which they were absolutely dominant. Before the baggies scored their second, United had produced some of the best attacking football they have played this season but without a goal to show for the efforts.

Blind's late leveller saved United from another away defeat but this was more a case of two dropped points than one gained. United enter into a phase where they will be facing Chelsea, Man City and Arsenal in their next few matches. If they are to get anything from these games a lot has to improve. The defence has to be a lot tighter and solid than it currently is. United arguably started their strongest back four of Rafael, Rojo, Jones and Shaw against West Brom. Taking into account the available options, this was their strongest back four and i would continue to play them. With time they will get used to each other. Shaw looks way below his best form and he needs to improve fast. In midfield,i am in the minority that does not rate Januzaj that high. I actually think he is over-rated. He is a delightful prospect who will be a star in the future but i think he dwells on the ball too much, doesn't do much defensively and is at times selfish. He reminds me of a younger Ronaldo but slower, lighter and a bit lazy. For me Valencia will always be first choice in the right flank.He offers more defensively, works hard, and keeps the opposing full back occupied.

Arsenal were once again their usual self, a lot of play, majority of possession, enough chances but not enough sharpness and incisiveness. Arsene Wenger was forced to put together a patched up defence due to injuries. Monreal was a center half and teenager Bellerin started at right back in the absence of Koscielny and Chambers. As if to complete the script, Arsenal picked up another injury when Wilshere was taken off injured. Arsenal need to get back at least two or three of their injured defenders back to stop the bad run they have had. Alexis Sanchez was a bright spot for Arsenal and you just think he has to be starting for Arsenal regularly. He scored a brilliant goal and did superbly to st up Welbeck's injury time equalizer. He looks well worth the amount Arsenal spent on him. Flamini for me doesn't command the midfield the way he used to. On more than one occasion this season, opposing attackers have gotten past him a bit too easily.

Liverpool were extremely lucky to get all three points against QPR. Balotelli divides opinions but for me he is not the reason Liverpool are struggling. The players are simply not performing. Lovren and Lallana continue to prove that Southampton transfer business was shrewd.

Sturridge's latest injury set back is a big blow to Liverpool. Balotelli still hasn't fit into Liverpool's system and style. Individually he can be good but Rogers needs to fit him into the system. I would play 2 strikers, Balotelli and either Borini or Lambert with Balotelli playing in a withdrawn position behind the main striker. He doesn't seem to thrive in the lone striker role for Liverpool.

Manchester City were impressive in their 4-1 thrashing of Tottenham. Aguero finally seems to have gotten past his past injury struggles. He is some player when fully fit and he seems to be enjoying himself scoring goals at will. City look the most likely challengers to Chelsea and on this performance, it is easy to see why.

Team of the Week:

Hart, Coleman, Jagielka, Dawson, Baines, Fabregas, Diame, Tadic, A.Sanchez,  Aguero, Pelle

Player of the Week:

Sergio Aguero

The EPL Weekend-Round 7

 

Liverpool got the weekend rolling with a hard fought victory over West Brom. The Reds appear to be struggling with having to play in the Champion's League in mid week and the EPL on the weekend. It ended the Reds winless run and provided Brendan Rodgers with much needed relief going int the international break. Adam Lallana finally looked like the player he was at Southampton marshaling the left side of Liverpool's attack. His touch, movement and goal was pure class. Rickie Lambert preferred to Mario Balotelli provided the flick for Lallana to finish. Liverpool were then unlucky to concede a penalty for a foul committed outside the box but Jordan Henderson showed good awareness to stroke home a loose ball after Sterling had been brought down in the penalty area. Liverpool's central defensive pairing of Lovren and Skrtel struggled all day to cope with the intensity and runs made by West Brom's attack and more than once Berahino should have punished them. It remains to be seen whether Lovren was really worth 20M. Liverpool will have Sturridge back on by the time they next return to the field and with Lallana and Henderson showing signs of regaining last season's form, Liverpool have reason to hope. What needs to be sorted though is the defence.

Manchester United won for the second match running, something of a rarity these days. Valencia and Mata came in for Herrera and Rooney. And like last weekend against West Ham, it was a nervy affair to the very end. As is becoming routine, United took the lead only to be pegged back by Everton's equaliser.  In between De Gea saved a Leighton Baines spot kick. Angel Di Maria continues to justify the amount paid for him and once again produced the goods for United with a goal and an assist. His abilities with the ball has given United a boost and opposition defenders have struggled to cope with him. But for all the talents United have in attack, it was De Gea who ensured United got away with all the 3 points. De Gea has lately come in for criticism, and rightly so. I mentioned earlier that he needed to start producing match winning performances and he did not disappoint. Not many fancied De Gea to stop Baines spot kick, based on De Gea's poor record in penalties in England and the fact that Baines doesn’t miss penalties. There's always a first time for everything. United's defensive struggles continue to haunt them though and this is a game where Everton would easily have pinched 3 points let alone 1. De Gea's saves to deny Oviedo and Osman were outstanding. More worrying though for United, they appear to have acquired this trend of having a fine first half and a poor second half. Traditionally United are known to finish matches strongly but not this season. United are now into top four and they will hope to remain there come end of the season,

Chelsea v Arsenal served up an exciting London derby. Both teams boasted the only remaining unbeaten records in the league.It is remarkable that Wenger has never beaten Mourinho in English football in 10 plus games. To be honest it didn't seem like this was going to be the occasion when Wenger picked up that first win. Chelsea have developed a good understanding through out the entire team. Every player knows their role and they do it well. With quality on the bench, it is also possible for Mourinho to call on reinforcements that actually add value to the team. One thing Chelsea do so well is to maintain their shape either when defending or attacking. The back four has been superb. Fabregas and Costa have added a different dimension to the team. This has made Chelsea complete. What Chelsea did so well against Arsenal was to deny them space. They hurried them whenever Arsenal had possession. The Chelsea midfielders including Hazard showed tremendous work rate whenever they lost possession and ensured the back four and the keeper were protected. That was where Arsenal failed. At times and especially on the two occasions when Chelsea scored, the defence was exposed. Arsenal barely created anything. Chelsea look the real deal. It remains to be seen for how long. For Arsenal, this defeat showed they are not yet title contenders and they now need to dust themselves and concentrate on finishing in the top four.

Manchester City, for long periods, appeared headed for a damaging draw until Yaya Toure popped up with a class goal. In all fairness City should have been ahead by then. Villa had frustrated City with a well organised defence. Toure, so often critised this season for being below par, came up with the goods when it mattered the most. Class is permanent. Aguero made it safe with another good finish to ensure City kept up the chase of leaders Chelsea. Pellegrini knows he cannot let Chelsea get too far ahead. It was a good win and once again showed City's never say die attitude as they kept coming and coming at Villa as they did against Hull. The EPL now goes for a 2 week break with the International Matches coming up this week.

Team of the Week

De Gea, Ivanovich, Kaboul, Davis, Kolarov, Di Maria, Hazard, Henderson, Fabregas, Fletcher, Cisse

Player of the Week

David De Gea

Have a sporty week ;)

Mark Macheda

The EPL Weekend-Round 6

Rooney's seemingly buried ghosts re-appeared, two closely contested derbies, the Chelsea juggernaut continuing with its march.. another weekend of exciting footballing action.

The Mersey-side derby kicked off the weekend action with both sides desperately in need of good performances. Liverpool have been poor so far this season and this match presented the perfect setting for them to begin their recovery. Everton were surprisingly very poor in the first half even going by their low standards this season. The Toffees have struggled to recapture the level of performance and standards they attained last season. Having held on to their key players in Barkley, Baines and Lukaku, and with reinforcements arriving, top four looked a real prospect this year. On current evidence, that now looks a tall order. Liverpool should have been ahead by halftime but they struggled to create chances despite enjoying majority of possession. In the second half, Gerard, as he has done on numerous occasions, provided the spark for the Reds when he scored with a free-kick after Balotelli had been fouled just outside the area. Tim Howard should have done better though as his shaky start to the season continued. Soon after Balotelli had a decent chance to make the game safe but hit the crossbar when he really should have scored. That miss proved costly as Jagielka scored a screamer right at the death. Overall a draw was a fair result as both teams failed to show inventiveness and hunger for all three points. What was clear though was that both teams need to start producing results. For Liverpool once again there was lack of creativity in the middle of the park until the introduction of Coutinho. Sterling was his usual burst of energy and Tony Hibbert struggled to keep up but Liverpool will need more than that.

Arsenal against Tottenham was also lacklustre in the first half with Spurs content to defend in numbers and invite Arsenal to come to them. Excitement was at a premium to the point where the major talking points of the half were the injuries Arsenal suffered. The Gunners have a well documented history with injuries and that trend is already taking shape again this season.Ramsey and Arteta joined the growing injury list and look set to miss the games against Galatasaray and Chelsea. It sometimes feels like Arsenal enter into matches with two objectives, to win and to avoid injuries. The addition of the former German National Team fitness coach Shad Forsythe doesn't seem to have helped matters. Maybe the only consolation is atleast no defenders were injured. Ozil failed to follow up his good showing against Villa and i still think Arsenal need a classic no.9 forward. Sanchez has got to start the next match.Welbeck was his usual hard work but i'm sure majority of the Arsenal fans would prefer a lazy forward 'a la Berbatov or Nistelrooy whose only contribution would be to score goals. It's like having a 4 wheel vehicle that is so fast on a flat road but struggles on rough terrain. Welbeck ought to thank Oxlade Chamberlain for saving him embarrasement after his miscued shot was fired home by the English-man.  That was after Spurs had taken a shock lead courtesy of a Flamini error. Like i have mentioned before, Arsenal need to convert dominance in games into 3 points.Spurs were very poor offensively and were there for the taking.  Kaboul produced a man of the match performance and thwarted Arsenal on several occasions. And when the Gunners got past Kaboul, Lloris was on hand to produce brilliant saves. The Frenchman made at least two top class saves. On a positive side for Arsenal, Chambers filled in well at right back, and the back four generally looked composed. Next up for Arsenal is Chelsea and that will be massive.

Manchester United got back to winning ways with a hard fought narrow win over West Ham. As they did against Leicester, United raced into a 2-goal lead only to concede and put themselves under pressure. It is testament to United struggles that a seemingly straight forward home match against West Ham can cause so much tension that every United fan was left praying for the final whistle to go. Rooney got himself foolishly sent off and United had to withstand wave after wave of West Ham attack. With better finishing and luck West Ham could easily have nicked a point. As I have said before, De Gea needs to get out of his comfort zone and start producing for United. He was at fault for the West Ham goal and it almost proved a costly error. On a positive note for United, Mcnair making his debut at center half did well and Rafael produced a man of the match performance. Overall it was an important win for United but still a lot needs to be done especially defensively with matches against the big boys looming. Rooney's 3 match suspension offers LVG the chance to experiment in midfield.

Chelsea were once again impressive in their 3-0 demolition of Villa and you begin to wonder who will stop them. The team looks so balanced and almost all the Chelsea players are showing good form. Willian was outstanding and the link up play between Fabregas, Willian, Hazard and Costa was simply brilliant.

Manchester City came out good in a 6 goal thriller as Hull threatened to cause an upset. City needed to keep in touch with Chelsea. When fit Aguero can be some player. City look the most likely challengers to Chelsea at the moment.

Team of the week

Lloris, Ivanovich, Kaboul, Jagielka, Rose, Chamberlain, Sterling, Dorrans, Wilian, Dzeko, Pelle

Player of the week

Younes Kaboul

Have a sporty week ;)

Mark Macheda

The EPL Weekend-Round 5

Another weekend, another round of astonishing football action.

 Let's start with the last fixture of the weekend, Manchester City v Chelsea. Last season i didn't like how Mourinho approached away games against the big teams, and ultimately it cost Chelsea the title. Chelsea were too negative and there were games you felt they would have won had they gone for it especially against Manchester United and Arsenal away. Against City this weekend Mourinho again went defensive. From the onset it was clear he wanted a point. It was an odd choice considering Chelsea have been the team to beat this season. They gave City too much respect. City were the better team up until Zabaleta was sent off. Chelsea then dominated the game for 4 minutes leading up to Schurrle's goal before once again retreating and trying to hold on to their slim advantage. Against the 10 men Chelsea could not hold on and in the end it was Chelsea legend Lampard who broke the Blues hearts with a well taken strike after some good work by Milner. Mourinho will argue that a point away to City-arguably their biggest rivals, is a good point but you just feel the 3 points were there for the taking. Hazard was dangerous every time he ran at the City defence. Mourinho brought old boy Drogba late on and once again his performance was summed up when he sent a good free kick high into the stands. He clearly is past his best and cannot deliver. City played well and it was an improved performance from their recent matches. Kompany was so composed and nullified the Chelsea attack threat. He comfortably controlled Costa and showed why he is the best center half in the EPL. Yaya Toure looked like the player we know he is and controlled midfield well keeping Fabregas and co. quiet. Mangala had a good game and he will only get better. But my player of the match was James Milner who had such an effect on the game both defensively and offensively, his run and cross for Lampard's goal was simply magnificent. It's a wonder City were thinking of selling him in the transfer window. He is an effective utility player able to slot into  any position in defence, midfield and also chip in with assists and the occasional goal.

Arsenal got back to winning ways with a comfortable win at Villa. The game was decided in 6 crazy minutes when Villa totally collapsed. The game was actually balanced until Welbeck's incisive pass set up Ozil for the opener. Wenger had played Ozil in wide positions in earlier games but chose to deploy him behind Welbeck in a more central position and he flourished. Welbeck is starting to enjoy his game and if he can combine his hard work with goals then he will prove a good buy. It was a good weekend for Arsenal as their top four rivals, United, Liverpool, Everton and Spurs all lost. Ramsey didn't have a particularly good game by his high standards but in the end those around him produced the goods. A bonus for Arsenal was that there were no fresh defensive injuries.

Manchester United had a weekend to forget. Nothing in the first half suggested that Leicester would get anything from the game. In fact up until the controversial first penalty for Leicester, United were cruising. The penalty decision was definitely wrong but even so you would expect a United side with such quality to still win such games. Rafael's retaliation was uncalled for and it brought back memories of a Champion's League quarter final match against Bayern a few years when he got himself sent off and allowed Robben to knock out United. From then on, United were shambolic in defence. Louis Van Gaal still has a lot of work to do in defence. To further compound matters, Blacket was sent off and will be suspended, Evans was injured afresh and Jones is still recovering. I wont be surprised if Blind starts at center half next weekend against West Ham. United forward play also went flat with the withdrawal of Di Maria for Mata. LVG obsession with making everybody happy got the best of him as there was absolutely no reason to make that change. United's next game was 7 days away so why the need to rest Di Maria. In deed Mata's error led to the fourth goal. David De Gea has potential to be a great keeper but his below par performances have gone unmentioned so far. You would struggle to remember the last time De Gea made a penalty save or even a game changing save. His reputation was built around him being a shot stopper and his penalty saving heroics. That looks a distant memory now. Maybe it's time he got some competition.

Liverpool's performance was abject to say the least. West Ham thoroughly deserved their win and could have won by a bigger margin. The Reds face an uphill task to finish in the top four if the performances this season are anything to go by.  The back line is so porous that every time West Ham came forward you felt they could score. Sorensen for me is not World class. He does not command his area the way Hart or Howard would and his decision coming for crosses is poor. Brendan Rodgers isn't sure whether to play with a back 5 or back 3. Sakho, Skrtel and Lovren are weak. Gerard is still relied upon to provide the midfield spark when it's obvious his best years are behind him. The only players who came out of this match with their reputation intact were Sterling and Balotelli. Liverpool brought in a lot of average players after selling Suarez but now that they are there, Rodgers has to get the best out of them. Service to Balotelli must improve. The number and quality of crosses coming in not good enough. Liverpool need to start improving sooner rather than later.

My Team of the week
Mannone
Reid
Kompany
De Laet
Betrand
Ozil
Di Maria
Milner
Hazard
Vardy
Cisse

Player of the week
Milner

Have a sporty week :)

The EPL Weekend-Round 4

Another high octane football weekend full of goals, debuts, upsets, hat-tricks, records and talking points.

Chelsea once again underlined their title credentials by ending the only other 100% record in the league as they hosted Swansea.

Diego Costa continues to thrive at Stamford Bridge. He poured cold water on doubts about his fitness by once again producing a striking masterclass to score his first (and certainly not his last) hatrick in English football. The Spain international now has 7 goals in his 4 league matches and it remains a mystery why the same success has not been replicated on the international scene with Spain. His understanding with Cesc Fabregas has formed the foundations upon which Chelsea have flourished this season. Fabregas already has 6 assists this season and seems to have reinvented himself  at Chelsea. With Hazard looking like getting back to his pre-World Cup form, Chelsea are looking more dangerous by the day.

Liverpool's indifferent start to the season continued as they lost at home to a battling Aston Villa. A lot was made about Liverpool's signings being a sign that Brendan Rodgers was beefing up the depth of his squad in readiness for Liverpool's participation in the Champions League. In deed that was the thinking behind Rodgers leaving Raheem Sterling on the bench as he kept one eye on the mid-week Champion's league match against Ludogorets. That plan did not work as a combination of Villa determined performance and Liverpool’s lack of creativity going forward ultimately led to a Villa win. Balotelli had another disappointing game as he struggled to create anything. It was one of the days where you thought that a certain Luis Suarez might just have produced one of his famous match-winning performances. Liverpool need Sturridge back and for Coutinho to take some of the creative responsibilities off Sterling's back

Arsenal, like against Everton earlier in the season, produced a performance that left mixed feelings among the fans. Credit to Arsenal, unlike last season they didn't cave in when City took the lead. Wilshere gave a promising display in midfield and you only wonder the type of a player he would be if he did that on a regular basis. Arsenal however relinquished 2 points as they let City equalize in the last 10 minutes. Arsenal need to turn these good positions into maximum points. Against Everton it should have been 3 points and again today against City. More play and incisiveness is needed from Ozil.To rub salt to the wound, Debuchy appears to be out for sometime and the decision to let Jenkinson go might leave Arsenal short in defence. With only Chambers, Mertesacker, Koscielny and Monreal fit, they cannot afford any more injuries at the back. Welbeck made his debut and reaffirmed the view that he works hard for the team but lacks a cutting edge in front of goal when he hit the post early on.

For Manchester City, this was another difficult day. Pellegrini was looking for a response to the Stoke defeat and a draw is not good enough for their lofty ambitions. The energy and dominance of Yaya Toure was missed. City probably had one eye on their mid-week match against Bayern Munich but they need to be wary of letting Chelsea get too far ahead of them. City are yet to really get going this season but soon as their key players come to form and the new signings get used to the system, they will be a force.

Manchester United fans must have felt like they finally woke up from a long nightmare this weekend after having waited for so long to taste victory. They surely must be forgiven for going a little overboard with their celebrations after their win albeit against a poor QPR. When you are used to winning every other day, you sometimes take it for granted. The win and the performance were much needed. For LVG to finally be able to use a majority of his new signings was a welcome boost. Tougher tests await but this is progress in the right direction. LVG started with a back four moving away from his favoured back three, although claiming this was necessitated by injuries rather than a shift from his 3-5-2 system by choice. The players were more comfortable with the system and Di Maria was able to play in his favoured position in the midfield diamond. Blind provided good cover in the holding role and appears destined to hold onto that position even when Carrick comes back from injury.Mata did well at the apex of the diamond.

Team of the week 
Speroni, Koscielny, Kompany, Sanchez, Clichy, Blind, Fabregas, Di Maria, Wilshere, Hazard, Costa

Player of the week
Diego Costa

Have a sporty week!
Mark Macheda

POST TRANSFER BLUES

The transfer period is finally closed and when the dust finally settles, verdicts will be passed on who did the best bit of transfer business and like-wise who came up short.
A lot of people seem to think Chelsea came out the window the biggest winners and it is hard to argue with that. Jose Mourinho did his business early on in the window, getting the much needed quality centre forward in Diego Costa, a midfield architect in Cesc Fabregas and Defensive cover in the form of Luis Felipe. Mourinho even had the luxury of bringing in Thibaut Courtois from his hugely successful loan stint at Atletico Madrid and Loic Remy as a striking option. Not bad to have Petr Cech as cover.Chelsea of course also shipped out Ashley Cole, Lampard, David Luiz, Samuel Etoo, Torres and Demba Ba, none of them will be particularly missed. So overall Chelsea do look stronger and it is easy to see why most pundits are tipping them to lift the title. The only weakness i'm seeing is in striking where an injury to the Diego Costa might leave them with the prospect of playing either Drogba(best days behind him certainly) and Remy(not proven at the highest level). Either way, Chelsea will be overwhelming favourites to take the title back to London.
Liverpool have been likened to Spurs who sold Bale for a huge sum of money only to spend it all on a whole bunch of average players. Liverpool's tidy some gotten from the sale of Luis Suarez has been spent on the likes of Divorck Origi, Balotelli, Lambert, Lallana, Can, Markovic, Moreno and Lovren. Their key exits have been Agger and Suarez. Unlike Spurs, Liverpool have more than once shown that they can win without Suarez. What Rodgers has done is to continuously ensure his players do improve under him. A lot of players are looking much better on the ball. Despite the signings, i suspect Sterling will be their key man and if they can somehow get the best out of Balotelli then another top 4 finish is guaranteed.
Manchester City have had a rather quiet transfer window by their standards. Even so they still managed to bring in Sagna, Fernando, Mangala, Caballero and Lampard. They have shipped out Lescott, Garcia, Negredo and Rodwell. Overall Pellegrinho looks to have strengthened although it's difficult to understand why the paid 32M for Mangala who i think should be worth around 12M, Fernando, Sagna and Lampard will most likely spend most of the time warming the bench albeit with attractive bank account balances. All in all City will be a formidable force once again and especially when their key players- Toure, Silva, Aguero, Kompany, Zabaleta hit top form. They are no doubt stronger after the transfer period.
Arsenal despite scepticism by most fans have been quite active in the window. Whether they have emerged stronger though remains to be seen. Debuchy for Sagna is more or less like for like, Chambers is a very good signing and for me the best business they did this summer,more than makes up for Vermaelen in the long term, Ospina provides good cover between the posts, and Sanchez might well prove a smart signing. Welbeck divides opinion but i think the transfer was good business for all the parties involved-Arsenal, Man U and Welbeck. So overall Arsenal are stronger, but probably the dissatisfaction by the fans is due to the knowledge that of their key rivals, those stronger than them last season have strengthened i.e Chelsea, Man City and Liverpool, and those weaker have also strengthened i.e Man U, Spurs and Everton. Wenger did good business but he could have done more.
Manchester United have had a record breaking summer in all aspects. The players to have exited Old Trafford could probably form a squad, Evra, Rio, Vidic, Buttner, Nani, Kagawa, Giggs, Welbeck, Chicharito, Powell. 6 new faces, all likely to be in a starting 11 have come in. Surely United cannot be as bad as they were last season-although Moyes did make a better start. The feeling is that United will get better as the season progresses and players get used to the system. The problem is how far off the top will they be by then. Playing 3 at the back has disorganized United, The defenders don't understand the system, midfielders are less confident when they have a shaky defence behind them. A non-functioning mid means zero supply for the attackers. It is worth noting that LVG has not had the luxury of playing his new signings due to problems with injuries, work permit, fitness etc. That's why United's next match-vs QPR is of extra importance as LVG will be able to play a number of his new signings. It also gives us a chance to see how he solves the Rooney-RVP-Falcao problem. Should United's new signings perform upto 80% of their potential, United will be in the top 4.

Have a sporty week!!
Mark Macheda