Goodbye and good luck El Nino

The news of Fernando Torres leaving Chelsea for AC Milan was polarizing news for the Chelsea fans. Some rejoiced while others were sad, no one could stay indifferent. The much maligned striker could never replicate the form he showed at Liverpool and was demoted to third choice this season. To be fair he was the best striker in the league (possibly the world) when Chelsea bought him and it wasn’t his fault they agreed to pay Liverpool £50 million for his services. The Chelsea faithful stood by him through the bad times. They sang his name and were generally supportive but that was severely tested by the end of last year as the season ended trophy-less mainly due to lack of goals upfront. However, during his stay at the club he did provide the odd moment of brilliance. Most notably his goal at the Camp Nou will forever be etched in the minds of the supporters. His biggest contribution was that he never gave up trying and was a team player and although he won’t be missed everyone at Chelsea will wish him luck and hope he turns it around at Milan. Goodbye and good luck El Nino.

Chelsea’s Juggernaut rolls on

“Fabregas to Costa… and Costa scores” will be repeated many times over this season. The vision of Fabregas combined with the lethal finishing of Costa gave Chelsea the lead only 35 seconds in at Goodison Park. Everton at home last season was one of the toughest fixtures for any team and last week Arsenal only just escaped with a point thanks to two late goals. This was to be the first true test of Chelsea’s title credentials. Two goals in the opening three minutes seemed to have killed off the game but you cannot write of Roberto Martinez’s men and as Chelsea eased off they pressed forward, Mirallas scoring leaping highest to head past Courtois at the stroke of half time. The second half started where the first ended with more pressure from Everton. But what happened in a space of ten breathtaking minutes justifies football’s claim to being the beautiful game. Chelsea scored against the run of play, Hazard forcing an unfortunate own goal from Coleman. Everton closed the gap through a goal by Naismith. Chelsea again scored off a counter attack, Matic scoring his first league goal for Chelsea. Everton replying within seconds, Eto’o scoring with almost his first touch for his new club. The frantic ten minutes ended with Ramires taking advantage of some poor defending from Baines to restore the two goal lead. Everton kept up the pressure but the game was effectively killed when Costa finished off a fast break making the final score 6-3.

The result takes Chelsea to the top of the table but the signs are there, that come May, Chelsea will be in the mix for the top position. Costa has already scored four goals, three of them away from home and looks a good bet for the golden boot. His goals upfront have changed the way Chelsea play, gone are the days of shutting shop and silenced are the chants of “boring boring Chelsea”. At 25 he is just about hitting his peak and who knows he may even go on to be one of the best the EPL has ever had.

Man Utd’s season yet to take off

The inclusion of Di Maria in the starting lineup at Turf Moor did not have the desired effect on the score line for Manchester United. A team boasting of Rooney, Van Persie, Mata and Di Maria in its attack needs to do better than produce a goalless draw. Though he looked short of match fit Di Maria did produce some moments that showed why United paid a British record fee for his transfer. Van Persie should have done better than fire straight at the Burnley keeper when put through on goal by Di Maria’s lob. His contributions will be more telling as he gains match sharpness but he will also have to bulk up a bit to adjust to the physical nature of the Premier League. He will be a great asset not just to United but to the league as a whole in the days to come.

United look disjointed and lacking in self belief at the moment that needs to change and quickly. The imminent arrival of the versatile Daley Blind, Marcos Rojo and return of Luke Shaw would add the required defensive solidity. The concern remains over the wing back positions in the 3-5-2 system Van Gaal employs. Valencia and Young are not able to provide the assistance in attack and look susceptible in defense. Hopefully by the close of the transfer window LVG will have the personnel to plug these gaps. Their season would actually begin against QPR next week.

Fortress Etihad breached

Like any team vying for the title, Manchester City take great pride in their home record. They only lost once (vs Chelsea) and drew once (vs Sunderland) at home in the league last season. After a “6 point” result against Liverpool last week they came unstuck against Stoke City and a spectacular solo goal by Mame Diouf consigned them to a first defeat of the season. The goal, reminiscent of Amalfitano’s goal at Old Trafford, was a beauty. Receiving the ball just outside his own box he ran three quarters of the length of the pitch, past a static Fernandinho and scored through the legs of Joe Hart. Both Fernandinho and Hart could have done better to prevent the goal. That combined with Stoke’s no nonsense defense ensured three points for Mark Hughes. These results, Chelsea will testify to it, can be the difference between the title and finishing third.

Yaya Toure has played a big role in City’s triumphs over the last three seasons but has been off colour so far. Maybe the cake is still playing on his mind. If City are to defend their title he has to be their main driving force.

Liverpool have a picnic at the Lane

Last season Liverpool beat Tottenham by a combined 9-0 margin home and away. This year, however, with the departure of Luis Suarez and the loss to City last week the result wasn’t supposed to be a foregone conclusion. Tottenham had won both their opening matches and had kept two clean sheets to boot. The focus was more on how new signing Mario Balotelli would gel with Sturridge and Sterling. Liverpool cleared all doubts with a convincing 3-0 win. Balotelli missed a few good chances but Sterling added to his growing reputation by scoring the opener after some fine work from the born again Jordan Henderson. Liverpool should have added a couple more in the opening minutes and were almost left to rue those misses as Spurs asserted themselves. Adebayor missed the target while Chadli’s shot was blocked. However, it all came undone as the hero of their opening match Eric Dier brought down Joe Allen in the box and Gerrard mad no mistake from the spot. But the highlight of the match was the goal scored by full back Moreno. A driving run finishing off with a fine strike into the far corner.

Spurs have ambitions of a top four finish but based on today’s performance, they need to pull up their socks. Worryingly for them this was just a routine performance by Liverpool. For Liverpool, Sturridge had a fantastic 2013-14 while playing off Luis Suarez who had a hand in a large number of his 21 league goals. Suarez had created 87 chances and had 12 assists last year Balotelli numbers were 32 and 6, Sturridge managing only 29 and 7. Both will have to modify their game in order to forge a successful partnership.

Arsenal’s lack of strikers worrying

Despite the injury to Olivier Giroud whose broken leg will keep him out till end of the year, Arsene Wenger has refused to sign a proven striker and has put his trust in Yaya Sanogo and Joel Campbell. Both are unproven at Premier League level and the decision may come back to haunt Wenger and Arsenal as the fight for a top four finish looks more intense than ever. Last week, at Chelsea, Leicester City showed they are not going to park the bus but are here to look to win. Against Arsenal at home they could have had all three points but had to settle for a draw. Sanogo missed an easy chance when put through by a Cazorla lob but fortunately Alexis Sanchez was at hand to tap in his first league goal for Arsenal past Kasper Scmeichel who couldn’t recover in time after saving Sanogo’s shot. Leicester responded almost immediately with their record signing Leonardo Ulloa’s powerful header drew them level. The rest of the match was regular Arsenal stuff, lots of passing around with little end result.

Ozil’s sharp decline in form has been a major worrying point. After a bright start he has dropped off alarmingly and could end up as Arsenal’s Torres. The transfer window closes in about 24 hours from now and news is filtering in that Wenger may bid for Sevilla’s Carlos Bacca who scored 14 league goals in 2013-14. Arsenal fans might feel dejected after being linked with the likes of Falcao and Cavani all summer and still without a signing in the striker department.

A Rollicking Start for ChelseaFC

Two weeks into the season and some of the pre season ambiguity is clearing up while some is being added. Manchester United despite a great pre season tour of the US where they beat the likes of Liverpool and Real Madrid, have yet to win a game or even look like title contenders. Liverpool are looking to avoid a Tottenham like situation after selling Luis Suarez and buying the likes of Lambert, Markovic and Balotelli to fill the gap. Arsenal look defensively frail and yet again try to convert a winger, Alexis Sanchez, into a world class striker as Wenger did with Henry. Tottenham, under new boss Pochettino, struggled a little against West Ham in the opener but easily dismantled QPR in round two and all signs suggest the signings made last season might come good after all. Manchester City ground out a win against Newcastle without being too flashy. City and Liverpool’s credentials will be tested a little more severely when they meet tonight, although I suspect it’ll be a cagey affair with both sides not wanting to lose so early in the season.

Chelsea have however got everyone talking with two performances of note, albeit against promoted teams who are widely regarded weaker. The first game against Burnley at Turf Moor had threatened to turn into an exhibition match at half time before Chelsea eased up in the second half and were content with the three goals scored before the break. Burnley did take the lead unexpectedly but the gulf quality was soon evident and Diego Costa opening his CFC account with a poacher’s finish leveled scores. The goal of the night and an early entry for goal of the season, however, was scored by Schurrle but was created by a fantastic through ball by another CFC debutant Cesc Fabregas. Fabregas actually had a hand in all three goals and had two assists. The second match, at home to Leicester City, was a little more closely fought than expected. Leicester came to play and had their moments. They could have even snatched the lead but Courtois came off his line to block David Nugent when the striker was through on goal. After a sedate (and seemingly lethargic) first half, Chelsea came out with much more purpose and Costa again showed his physical presence to control the ball in the box and stab home under pressure and Hazard produced a fine jinking run to fire into the far corner with some help from Fabregas.

Despite doing the double over City and Liverpool and getting 4 points off United, Arsenal and Tottenham Chelsea’s season came unstuck against Palace, Sunderland, Stoke and Aston Villa, teams that were ready to defend resolutely. In Fabregas and Costa Chelsea seem to have found the answer to this problem. Costa gives them the big presence in the box who can bully defenders, score and can hold up the ball for others to join in attack. Something Torres was sorely lacking and was often playing more as a false number 9. It is sad to see him relegated to the third choice striker behind Costa and Drogba but more disheartening is to see him give up without a fight and stay on just for the money. Costa has scored two in two and has been given the thumbs up by team mates including Hazard who said it would be easier for him to concentrate on creating goals now. The biggest problem has been taken care of.

With the addition of Fabregas in the midfield there is a lot more fluidity. He can play as the number 8 or the number 10 and so can Oscar. With them playing together and exchanging positions it is easier to keep possession and bring the wide players into the game to unlock teams that sit deep in defense. Possession was also a concern over the last season where the creative players, although quick, could not keep the ball for long putting John Terry and co under pressure. The passing game, though not exactly tiki taka, has been pleasing to the eye. The calm presence of Matic as the defensive midfielder adds to the solidity. When you consider the fact that Ramires, Van Ginkel, Willian and Salah are waiting on the bench no opposition manager will sit easy. It has also ensured that though Frank Lampard will be missed, it will only be emotionally and not on the pitch.

Last but not the least it seems Petr Cech’s time at Chelsea FC has finally come to an end. Cech and Courtois can comfortably be counted as two of the three best goalkeepers, along with Neuer, at present. To keep one of them away from the game would be criminal. Cech has been one of the Premier Leagues finest goalkeepers with the second highest ever number of clean sheets (would be the highest if not for that terrible head injury). But as Jose has reiterated, the club is bigger than any individual and Courtois is the future.

The season is still in an infant stage and there is still a week to go before the transfer window shuts. Man Utd will be looking to sign some more players and have already stated that money will not be a hindrance. Angel di Maria has reportedly been signed for £64 million while Arturo Vidal and Daley Blind have been heavily linked with Utd. Liverpool and Arsenal are in the market for a marquee striker, namely Falcao and Cavani, who can give them the edge. A very promising season is in the offering for the neutral where the fight for a top four will be more intense than ever.