I know we aren’t supposed to read a lot into friendlies but
however meaningless, there’s a couple of things that one could glean from
Manchester City’s 3-2 defeat of Chelsea yesterday. For those who live under a
rock, Chelsea took the lead through a rejuvenated Fernando Torres goal before
Branislav Ivanovic went for an early shower. City replied with goals from Yaya
Toure, a slim Carlos Tevez and Samir Nasri. Ryan Bertrand scored his first
Chelsea senior goal but it was too little too late. Anyway, this is what I took
from the game.
1. David Luiz is still calamitous.
A whole year and half in England hasn’t helped David Luiz
reign in his Latin recklessness and full blooded nature. Gary Neville’s ‘he
plays like he’s controlled by a 10 year old on PS’ was a bit harsh but one can
see where he is coming from. His positional sense is atrocious at times and he
gets these moments of delusion where he thinks he’s a forward. Maybe his hair
makes him think he is Carlos Valderamma...
 |
| Having the hair doesn't make you a forward David. |
One particular instance in the match summed up how much of a
walking time bomb Luiz can be; Carlos Tevez received the ball just inside the
Chelsea box and Luiz just ran into him and bawled him over. With Tevez on the
turf, but still in some sort of control of ball, Luiz proceeded to kick out at
his mid-section TWICE!! Tevez stood up and retook possession of the ball. Luiz
then went on to tug at his arm. If it wasn’t for the fact that it was a
friendly and Ivanovic had already been sent off, the referee would have had no
choice but to send him off.
2. Fernando Torres is back, sort of.
The confidence is back. The swagger is back. He even made a
couple of direct runs at City’s defense. Though he didn’t get much change out
Vincent Kompany (then again, who ever does?), he looked a bit like the striker
who terrorized Premier league defenders two years ago. If Chelsea is going to
be successful this season, they are going to need Torres to be on that kind of
form for most of the season. If this doesn’t happen, one of Edinson Cavani,
Hulk or Radamel Falcao will be London residents soon.
3. Yaya Toure is a beast.
This isn’t something I noticed from that match but it has to
be said. Yaya Toure is now the most complete midfielder in world football. He
has the strength, the pace, the vision, the technique, defensive awareness, versatility,
goal scoring ability… You name it, he’s got it. Why Arsene Wenger had him on
trial and declined to sign him is mind boggling. Why Guardiola found him surplus
to requirements is also intriguiging.
Yaya Toure is one of those sportsmen who is almost a freak
of nature. Like a LeBron, or a Bolt. Large human beings are generally supposed
to be slow and immobile. They aren’t supposed to be the most mobile players on
the park. Toure played the 2009 Champions’ League final against Man Utd, in the
centre of defense and I never once saw him being troubled for pace by any
United play including Rooney.
4. Mancini is overrated.
Since no one will say it, here goes; Mancini is not a good
manager. I guess it’s a harsh thing to say about a man who just won the English
Premier league, and won three Scudetti with Inter. We all know, at Inter he was
playing in a one league team because of Calcciopoli.
Last season, with the most star studded team in Europe, he won the title in the
last seconds of the season. The fact that United were minutes away from the
title despite having their weakest team in the Premiership era speaks volumes.
His management of the Tevez, Kolo Toure and Balotelli situations also shows a
lack of resolve.
In four seasons or so
of playing in the Champions League, Mancini’s teams have never progressed
beyond the quarter final stage. I rest my case. I guess his ideal job, after
City, would be to coach Celtic now that Rangers doesn’t exist anymore.
5. CFC defense needs to improve.
For a team that used to hang their hats on defense, Chelsea’s
defensive lapses are worrying. I know people think Chelsea won the Champions
League due to defensive doggedness but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
If the woodwork was counted as part of the defense, then I’d agree. Also, Messi
and Robben missing penalties isn’t because of good defending. I think Chelsea
won because the footballing gods decided to even things out after the
misfortunes of Moscow, Tom Henning Ovrebo, the ‘ghost goal’ at Anfield etc.
Chelsea’s defending is acceptable at best but calamitous at
worst. It could be the nocturnal activity or all the booing but John Terry has
lost his legs. His coolest trick nowadays is to retreat, in the face of attack,
to the goal line and hope to make a heroic clearance. David Luiz is a calamity
as we already covered. Gary Cahill hasn’t settled in and Ivanovic is rash at
times(see yesterday’s red card, suspension from the CL final etc). The only
dependable man in defense is Ashley Cole and he isn’t getting younger. This is
an area that Chelsea need to address if last season’s heights are to ever be reached
again.
6. Argentine telepathy at City.
From yesterday’s match, and the entire pre-season, I have
noticed that Sergio Aguerro and Carlos Tevez have a telepathic understanding
that could cause many a Premiership defense headaches. Tevez is looking trimmer
and more hungry. Kun has always been a handful. Together, they’ll score goals
for fun this season. This partnership has the makings of Dwight Yorke and Andy
Cole. Mancini is going to have a hard time getting playing time for Mario
Balotelli. Knowing Roberto’s aforementioned man-management skills, a sulking
Balotelli will deliver many laughs over the season. As for why City wanted to
buy RVP, I reckon they think soccer is a 15 man sport.
Thanks for reading. Don’t forget to register your fantasy
teams. Enjoy the new season.
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