But will King Kenny be this happy at Stamford Bridge this Sunday?
A handful of viewing options for the weekend, culled from the full set of televised matches. If you have to pick just one to watch, it’s got to be Chelsea-Liverpool on Sunday, with the £50m man Fernando Torres set to debut for the Blues against his former Liverpool teammates and manager Kenny Dalglish (pictured to the right, celebrating after scoring at Stamford Bridge to clinch the title for Liverpool in 1986).
As usual, all times ET:
Saturday, Feb 5
England, Newcastle-Arsenal or Manchester City-West Brom 10am, FSC/FSP respectively: Take your pick to see whether the two teams right behind Man U in Premier League table can keep pace. Arsenal are on 49 pts, Man City on 46, while Man U are at the top with 54 (and still undefeated, which we expect them to maintain later in the day against cellar-dwellers Wolves)–so neither Arsenal nor Man City can afford to drop points.
Spain, Barcelona-Atletico Madrid 4pm GolTV: Atletico have been severely underachieving this season, especially given their South American star strikeforce of Diego Forlan and Kun Agüero. Barcelona should get a La Liga-record 16th consecutive victory in front of their home crowd, breaking the record set by Real Madrid in 1960-61 (the legendary squad that featured di Stefano and Puskas in attack, and that had won five European Cups in a row).
Sunday, Feb 6
England, Chelsea-Liverpool 11am FSC: The main event of the weekend, following last Monday’s transfer madness. Fernando Torres became the £50m man–that’s how much Chelsea paid Liverpool for the Spanish striker, and now he’ll play his first game for the Blues against his former side. Liverpool used all that money plus a bit more to replace Torres with an odd couple of effective, exciting and infamous strikers: Luis Suarez (£23m) and Andy Carroll (£35m!).
But aside from all the recent transfer drama, this is a rivalry with a good deal of history to it–some of it featuring King Kenny Dalglish, a legendary Liverpool player, then player-manager, and as of the past couple months, manager once again. That’s him pictured above, as part of the current installment of the Guardian’s Joy of Six: “great Chelsea v Liverpool moments and matches”; here’s the video that goes with that photo (“Kenny Dalglish chesting down Jim Beglin’s clever dink down the inside-left channel and guiding it past Tony Godden. It was one of the most famous title-winning goals, the first half of a famous double sealed”):
A must-win game for both sides today with the teams jockeying tentatively for the first half hour. Neither side could settle into rhythm, and ten minutes on it looked that Arsenal were bending, a team on the brink of panic, clearing poorly and unable to hold the ball in attack. Chelsea were countering quickly, and though they held less possession it seemed like Drogba might make something happen all on his own.
It would have to be on his own too, as the Ivorian was isolated from a lagging Frank Lampard (who was not quite in sync with the team on his first game back from injury), while Malouda and Kalou were ineffectual up the wings. Even Cole, who always wants to remind the Gooners of what they’re missing, was held in check by a not-so-baby-faced-anymore Sagna. But the Blues’ defense was solid in the first third of the game, retracting into a shell and forcing Wegner’s men to pass the ball around the periphery, or neatly stepping into long passes and turning the ball upfield through the Bison.
Then Arsenal turned the tables. Walcott, who had been the most nervous of a visibly nervous Arsenal side, got a few lucky bounces to start the twist, and when Ashley Cole picked up a yellow and had to play more cautiously, Theo appropriately took the game to him. On the left Nasri was at work holding possession, making small passes and pushing the point, and up top there was Van Persie, back in a starter’s role and causing a bit of a rift across the Cult Football intranet. While we agree on the match in nearly all ways, co-author Amy Kahmille and I don’t see eye to eye on Van Persie, then we chatted during rest of the match:
Amy: Those last few minutes of the first was the turn around for the Gunners, albeit without the help of the striker van Persie, who to me does nothing in most matches, this one being no different. I was happy to see him subbed out in the 75th minute but would have been happier to see him go sooner. If Drogba were in van Persie’s position, Arsenal would really have something up top. Instead it has someone who stands around offside, misses shots at close range, touches the ball maybe three times the entire game, doesn’t play defense even when he does get back behind the ball, and when he does check-to doesn’t demand the ball to make something actually happen, and most importantly, loves to foul!
Sean: Van Persie did miss that lofted pass that gently floated in front of his favored left foot a few minutes in, and that is exactly the kind of goal Drogba lives on, but I think he moved pretty well when he came to the ball if not while trying to split the center backs. He doesn’t have the physical presence of Chamakh, but his touch is so much better, and he’s really quick. He’s just not back up to speed after his injury – guess you could say that about players on both teams.
The one match of the day is the match of the week–Chelsea goes crosstown to take on Arsenal at the Emirates. Kickoff is at 8pm in London (3pm ET; watch it on ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, or ESPN3.com in the US).
Here are a handful of links to get you ready for the big match:
–We find it’s very useful to have the Current Squad lists in front of us, for #s, nationalities, and links to individual player bios: Chelsea & Arsenal.
–Prior to the Chelsea-Arsenal match in early October, we posted a look at the players of African origin on each squad.
–Here is Goal.com’s match preview, which also has links to lineups and match stats (updated once the match is underway).
–Here is ESPNSoccerNet’s match preview, which predictably lists Samir Nasri and Didier Drogba as the players to watch (Nasri perhaps having replaced the too-oft-injured Fabregas as Arsenal’s talisman), and lists the following as the key match-up:
Key Battle: Bacary Sagna v Ashley Cole. One of the Premier League’s finest right-backs, Sagna’s strength and pace create an excellent outlet and his defensive nous is of great importance given the sometimes shaky nature of the Arsenal defence. On the right side, he bombs forward and possesses a decent final delivery, but he will be required to track back to counter the threat of Cole. The former Arsenal left-back certainly knows a thing or two about his old team, but Sagna poses a different challenge, having joined the club a year after Cole left for Chelsea. Both are full of running and attacking ambition, but it will be how they deal with their defensive duties that settles this battle.
The Premier League has nearly reached its halfway point, and the title race has narrowed to five, as there is no reason to supsect any team from Bolton on down to make a serious run to the summit.
The current leaders Manchester United stand two points clear and have yet to lose, but have not impressed, relying on late comebacks from both ahead and behind to draw too many matches. They have good depth and teamwork under the rule of Sir Alex, but individually there is little magic to be had. Then again, maybe Berbatov has found some, but the laconic Bulgarian is not known for his consistency. They benefit from little World Cup fatigue as only Park and Chicharito had substantial roles in South Africa. They have survived, despite the only occasional presence of Rooney, mostly due to the stability along their back line, especially in the middle. Van Der Sar has been solid in goal, yet he has no depth behind him. If Rooney, Chicharito, and Rafael can find a consistent high level, they can even improve, though they must consider investing in Carlton Cole to hedge.
Players I would pay to see: Rooney, Nani, Berbatov.
Players who must play well for them to win: Ferdinand and Vidic, Nani, Berbatov, Evra, Rooney.
Players who if they play too much kill their chances: Any GK not named Van Der Sar, O’Shea, Evans.
Chelsea were seemingly running away from the pack until their recent stretch which even saw them struggle in the Champions League with MSK Zilina at Stamford Bridge. 32 shots at Birmingham produced only nine on target and zero goals. Obviously, missing both Lampard and Essien at times has hurt them significantly, as they no longer can just plug in other near-world-class players like Ballack or Deco. They have shown themselves too susceptible through the middle, as Terry and Alex also have struggled with injuries. Cech has returned to a decent form, but they are another top club with nobody behind their number one.
Players I would pay to see: Drogba, Malouda, Essien.
Players who must play well for them to win: Drogba, Malouda, Essien, Terry and Alex, Lampard.
Players who if they play too much kill their chances: Any GK not named Cech, any player with a squad number higher than 40, Ramires, Ferreira, Kalou.
Arsenal have only one player remaining from “The Invincibles”, and the six years have shown a consistent problem converting chances into goals. When combined with their penchant to become unsteady late in matches, their challenge consistently suffers from dropped points in winnable matches. Of course, the additions of regular time for Song and now Chamakh has somewhat increased their ability to deal with the physicality of the daily grind. Naturally, they possess a great depth of some interchangeable parts, and the players all believe in what they are doing under Wenger. Oh, but their woeful goalkeeping must improve.
Players I would pay to see: Song, Fabregas, Van Persie, Arshavin, Nasri, Rosicky, Sagna.
Players who must play well for them to win: Fabregas, Song, Van Persie, Chamakh, Sagna.
Players who if they play too much kill their chances: Bendtner, Wilshere, Denilson.
Ah the riches of the Middle East have been showered upon Manchester City, yet instant success has not arrived upon a horse-drawn sleigh. World class players all over the pitch and in the stands watching have done little to implement a plan to harness this advantage. At times, they appear forlorn to have to play, especially at some of the lower-ranked outposts around the country. They must solve their owners versus manager versus players versus fan expectations dilemma. Mancini should start by breaking up his DeJong, Yaya Toure, and Barry central midfield, and move decisively toward pairing somebody with Tevez up front. They can, at least, be assured of the best goalkeeping in this group, with an established backup to Hart.
Players I would pay to see: Tevez, Silva, A Johnson, Balotelli, Yaya.
Players who must play well for them to win: Tevez, Kompany, Silva, A Johnson, Tevez.
Players who if they play too much kill their chances: Yaya&Barry&DeJong, Vieira.
Tottenham live on the edge each match and sit fifth in this race, yet from owner to substitute, they possess the most belief in themselves. Only their supporters continue to doubt, as they have been conditioned to do. Clearly, they remain unafraid of the big matches, but they must increase their readiness against the “lesser” teams. Having earlier dismissed Bolton, Tottenham actually possess a lower goals differential, as leaving every victory to late will bite them before long. Solving their center and right of their backline would contribute mightily, as would finding a regular defensive midfielder. Maybe, just maybe, it’s time to move to a 4-5-1 to provide their width without having to force Hutton and Assou-Ekotto. Gomes has come around to being perfectly adequate, and might become good if he sheds his habit of making the worst possible mistake at the worst possible time. At least they have good depth behind him. Ouch, not only is Van der Vaart out for a month, its for the most possible matches in a month as well.
Players I would pay to see: Van der Vaart, Bale, Modric, Assou-Ekotto.
Players who must play well for them to win: Van der Vaart, Bale, Modric, Defoe, Assou-Ekotto, Huddlestone or Palacios.
Players who if they play too much kill their chances: Crouch, Jenas, Bentley, the crappy version of Lennon.
Now some of these players deemed useless may prove needed if the spate of freezing weather continues. The snowy, uncertain pitches will bring out the necessity of direct targeting from open play, which will highlight the necessity of an aerial presence. Lots to play for, and, if the pressures don’t overwhelm them, many great matches to see.
The X-Factor coming back to fitness for the second half of the season
[Editor’s note: Here’s the inaugural edition of something we’d like to make a semi-regular feature: a look at the top of the table. Here we look (once again) at the Premier League table, but we plan to check in on other tables around the world over the course of the season.]
Someone eventually has to win the Premier League title–but from recent results, it’s hard to figure out who. Here’s the top of the table as of today–it’s virtually certain to be one of these teams that ends up on top at the end:
But alas none of the top contenders have been especially impressive:
Chelsea lost again over the weekend, this time to lowly Birmingham–their third loss in four weeks, following losses at Liverpool and at home to Sunderland. And the latest loss came days after unceremoniously dumping their assistant manager; whether or not it contributed to the latest loss, it has precipitated close to a full-blown crisis at Stamford Bridge, with manager Carlos Ancelotti saying “I am not in control at Chelsea.”
Man Cityhad been the team in crisis-mode over the past month, with their home fans booing a scoreless draws against Man U and Birmingham–until they broke out of their doldrums this past weekend in a big way, with a 4-1 thrashing of Fulham. Following which, Fulham’s manager (and Man City’s former manager–and Man U legend), the “super classy” Mark Hughes, said Man City are still in the hunt: “On their performance today certainly they’re contenders. They were excellent. If they have belief and there’s some forward thinking, and maybe they’re a bit more attack-minded as they were today on more occasions, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be. They’ve got as good a chance as anybody.”
Man U? Somewhat surprisingly, still undefeated–but hardly dominating, with a record of 7 wins and 7 draws. And let’s not forget they had been the team in crisis not too long ago; in fact, young Mr. Rooney returned to the pitch this past weekend.
Rounding out the top of the table, tied with 22 points apiece, are the victors of that North London derby, Spurs–whose manager thinks they’ve got a shot at the crown; and Bolton (not sure who thinks they have a legitimate shot at the title). But who knows, the way things are going…
In fact, the situation can be best summarized by Uncle Harry’s comments referenced above:
This is the best chance anyone is going to get, this season. The league has never been more open. Sunderland go to Chelsea last weekend and win 3-0, Manchester United were losing by two goals at Aston Villa until late on. It’s wide open for somebody who can put a run together. It’s there for someone to have a real go at it. Why be fearful and say ‘we can’t win it’. Why can’t we win it?
Up until a couple weeks ago, it seemed as if Chelsea were going to run away with the Premier League title (even the Special One chimed in all the way from Madrid to that effect!), as they rolled through the first 10 games of the season: 8 wins (a few of them blowouts), a draw, and a hard-fought 1-0 loss to Man City. Then came a surprising 2-0 loss to Liverpool. Perhaps that could be explained away: the game was away at Anfield Park, Liverpool is actually a “big club” (according to tradition if not the current table), and Fernando Torres suddenly rediscovered his scoring touch. But after yesterday’s shocking result–a 3-0 loss at home to Sunderland!–Chelsea no longer looks invincible, and we have at least a 3-horse race for the title.
Sunderland had performed doggedly but modestly through their first 9 games–2 wins, 1 loss…and 6 ties. Then came an embarrassing 5-1 loss against their rivals Newcastle. That’s the kind of loss that can derail a season–but they bounced back with a win against Stoke City and a draw against Spurs last week. Still, no one expected them to go into Stamford Bridge and dominate the mighty Blues.
An odd Sunderland stat: all of their mere 10 goals in the 12 games prior to yesterday had been scored by only 2 players: Darren Bent and Asamoah Gyan. But that changed yesterday, as Nedum Onuoha waltzed through the Chelsea defense to score first for Sunderland, and Danny Welbeck finished nicely for their third. (Onuoha, incidentally, is a 24-year-old defender, born in Nigeria and raised in Manchester, on loan to Sunderland from Man City. Welbeck is a 20-year-old winger/striker, born in England to Ghanaian parents, on loan from Man Utd. Both have appeared for England’s U21 team–we may see them in the future for the senior squad.)
But in between those two goals, Gyan got his fourth goal in the past three games–he’d scored all of Sunderland’s goals in their games against Stoke and Spurs. (In fact, these have been the first three starts of Gyan’s nascent Premier League career, as Bent had been starting ahead of him until he went down with an injury. It’ll be interesting to see if Sunderland manager Steve Bruce finds a way to get them both on the field from the beginning, once Bent recovers.)
And so Gyan did his dance at Stamford Bridge–a dance we may be seeing in England with some regularity in the future, if Gyan can keep up this sort of finishing. See all three goals here:
We got some good feedback after posting to Facebook Pirlo’s cracker v Parma from this past weekend. Here is the video clip of goal–plus three others that are early contenders for goal of the season:
Also from last weekend, Brazilian Alex’s unbelievable free kick, which put Chelsea up 2-0 over Arsenal:
Here is Nani’s spectacular individual effort vs –#2 in the following, to Tevez’s similar strike against Chelsea, but I think Nani’s is clearly the better goal: <a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/video?vid=eaf06da7-6363-4b5d-a7ed-66caa82afdf7" target="_new" title="">PL: Goals of the Week</a>
And finally, Berbatov’s spectacular individual effort against Liverpool on Sept 18 (assisted by Nani, btw)–the 2nd goal of Berbatov’s hat trick in Man U’s 3-2 victory that day, #1 in the following: <a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/video?vid=086649be-68c7-4f94-8142-41a31e0bad0b" target="_new" title="">PL: Goals of the Week</a>
Thanks to our very own Blues supporter Sumit Sasidharan for this surprisingly fair & balanced evaluation of Chelsea’s latest victory, over London rivals Arsenal (with video highlights of the match embedded below Sumit’s comments):
No bogarting, it's puff puff pass, Jon.
That was the best match all week. Tempo, width, muscle and touch on display–exciting.
Drogba’s touch seems better than ever. I was more surprised by Gunner lack of possession by their big men; Diaby and Song failed to exert the kind of muscle that could’ve been the edge.
After reading the beebs’ and guardian reports on the game and listening to Wenger, must’ve been a different game than I was watching. It really felt pretty even. Both sides had chances and possession seemed pretty even. A. Cole’s goal should’ve made the margin 3 and Anelka’s 4.
Instead of the past two beatings, Arsenal seemed to have clawed their way to an even showing but the reality is goals decide the difference. Wenger’s been the best coach in the EPL for a long while but he’s got to stop putting kids out there. I love his approach to the game and the way his team plays but that place looks like an ER.
Blues in front by 4 points seven games in.
What does everyone think of Obi Jon Mikelobi for the newest line of Michelob?
A must-win game for both sides today with the teams jockeying tentatively for the first half hour. Neither side could settle into rhythm, and ten minutes on it looked that Arsenal were bending, a team on the brink of panic, clearing poorly and unable to hold the ball in attack. Chelsea were countering quickly, and though they held less possession it seemed like Drogba might make something happen all on his own.
