Aftermath

 

Derby Sunday, Chelsea Hammered, Poor Rom and others….

 

Sky Blue It Is.

What better way to start today’s piece other than the Manchester Derby. Manchester City claimed the full bragging rights over neighbours, Manchester United in their own backyard. United had not lost a game at their ground since City beat them somewhere in September last year. It was not to be for Jose as City once more continued to strengthen their grip on the bragging rights of Manchester and United loosening their hold on the dominance they once prided themselves in years back. Not that the result is a surprise to many because of the form that City have this season winning a record 14 games in a row and already eleven points clear at the top of the table. The surprising aspect is the negativity and somewhat naivety of Mourinho going into this game. Mourinho’s blueprint of playing hardball defensive games, parking the bus and relying solely on the speed of wingers Martial and Rashford to counter has helped win games like against Spurs and Arsenal but we must say that it was wrong for him to go defensive against Guardiola whose team is always more than glad to have the ball. Starting with no creative player in midfield (even though Mata was on the bench) and a not so fit Nemanja Matic paired up with Ander Herrera, he made his intentions clear. United fans will feel aggrieved that the one time that United pressured City, they forced a mistake from the City defense and Rashford pounced to score past Ederson. It is unbelievable that Mourinho played into the hands of City (even though City were not at their slithering best) and Mourinho would feel aggrieved that they conceded from set pieces but it is however now time for United fans to beat the gong against the negativity with which  Mourinho approaches   the big games. United are no small team and have all the creativity and spark needed to win games such as this and if Mourinho continues to keep backing out of challenges and going conservative in games such as this in your own backyard, United would have problems in the future.

Big Sam’s Everton is Shaping Up

 

The glamour of the Manchester Derby coupled with the direct contrast in the performances of the both Merseyside clubs probably muted the euphoria around the Merseyside Derby but it was an interesting encounter as both teams were in desperate need for pints; Everton to move further away from the relegation zone and Liverpool to strengthen their hold on the top four. Even though Liverpool were by far profligate in taking their chances, Everton’s robust but cautious approach to this game spared their blushes. Big Sam packed the midfield and managed to stifle the Liverpool midfield( Salah of course an exception) and with the Everton defence still shaky, Jordan Pickford was up to it anytime he was called upon. Everton’s hardwork was rewarded with a penalty when Dejan Lovren seemed to have pushed Calvert Lewin who made a meal of it and fell to the ground, convincing the refree to point to the spot. It seemed a soft one but Lovren just put himself in a tight spot by nudging the youngster in the back and when a striker goes to ground like that, a refree is forced to give it. Rooney stepped up and placed it through the middle to score his first ever goal in a Merseyside Derby. Job done and Big Sam would be very glad with this point earned.

Welcome Back Real Madrid.

Real Madrid bounced back from a period in the pit over the weekend with an emphatic 5 nil win over Sevilla. Madrid, after losing to Girona, have been scrapping through games and have not been at their fluent best. Coach, Zidane has had to answer questions about dressing room disputes, the lack of confidence and his misfiring team for weeks now and his team responded superbly against Sevilla. Not that we do not know that they are capable of winning like this, but the way they played good football against a formidable Sevilla side and blew them away in the space of 19 first half minutes after defender, Nacho had opened the scoring in the early stages of the game. Four goals in 19 minutes and Madrid were 5 to the good and of course Ballon D’or winner , Cristiano Ronaldo was on the scoresheet twice after presenting his award to the Bernabeu crowd.

Chelsea ‘Hammered’

Chelsea’s title aspirations took a huge dent after West Ham United pulled of a spirited performance to win the game in front of the home fans. West Ham appointed David Moyes after the sacking of Slaven Bilic (a decision most people did not agree with) and this was the latter’s first win since he took over the helm and he was a really happy man on Saturday. West Ham would have felt really hard done by after they lost to that last minute David Silva goal in the previous week against Manchester City. In a game where they played their hearts out and took the lead only for the brilliance of City to come to the fort. Against Chelsea, West Ham went for the jugular in the opening minutes. A beautifully crafted team move that saw neat interplay before summer signing, Marko Arnautovic dispatched the ball gracefully beyond Thibaut Courtois and into the far corner. Now the real test began, flurry upon flurry of attacks hit the West Ham defence but goalkeeper Adrian and his defence did well to repel them. Chelsea had a bad day at the office with Hazard and Moratta not coming to the party. Moratta missed a glorious opportunity late on but West Ham held on to win famously and keep Chelsea in the third position, three points behind United and a whooping fourteen points behind league leaders Manchester City.

 

Dortmund Crisis

The world seemed to have forgotten a once young and vibrant club who were led by now Liverpool boss, Jurgen Klopp. This group of youngsters invaded Europe in the Champions league and went all the way to the final including a memorable 4nil win over world heavyweights Real Madrid. Fast forward years later, this club is in turmoil. Sale of star players to rivals( which is the trend in Germany), unstable appointment of managers and results that do not justify why fans throng to the stadium and form that infamous great yellow wall. This season Dortmund appointed Peter Bosz ( a guy who led Ajax to the Europa League final) to manage the club after  the sacking of Thomas Tuchel last season. It’s the same old story for Dortmund, poor results, injuries and suspension of star players especially Aubameyang. Dortmund have not won a game since September and have in that period, lost five games and drawn two of those games. After the 2-1 loss to Bremen at the weekend, Peter Bosz was sacked after only seven months at the helm of affairs. His replacement, Peter Stoger, former Cologne boss was also sacked last week after poor results this season with a Cologne side that did well last season but lie bottom of the Bundesliga. Dortmund chiefs have said Stoger is only in charge till the end of the season but what is baffling is why they had to replace Peter Bosz with a coach that was equally in the same Dilemma (even worse) than Peter Bosz.

 

Bonus

Unlucky Lukaku

Romelu Lukaku had a stellar start to the season but all that is forgotten now. Lukaku is on a nine game goal drought after scoring 11 goals in 10 appearances and his confidence seems to have taken a huge blow in this past weeks and against City he was very unlucky to have contributed to the two goals his team conceded. Back helping defensively, a City corner ricocheted against his chest as he went for the aerial ball with a City player and the ball feel kindly to Silva who volleyed home beautifully. Then in the second half, after being in the right place at the right time, he only managed to hit his clearance from a corner against hhis own player’s body and it also fell kindly to Otamendi who dispatched with the technique of a striker. Lukaku was distraught and you could feel sorry for him. All game, he chased shadows and was exhausted from his travels. Fans have got on his back and have been calling for Mourinho to drop him to the bench for a couple of games.