Red Devils - At Home at Anfield

Tevez Scores at 'Home' Anfield

Anfield is turning out to be another home ground for ManUtd who have not been beaten here since 2001 in the Premier League. Tevez scored the winner for ManUtd last night just before half-time, for a 1-0 win for the Red Devils.

It was a scrappy affair with Liverpool having the majority of the possession but hardly creating any chances. The couple of chances to score were from Van der Saar's blunders. Thankfully, Anderson and Evra were at hand to stuff out the danger.

It was a solid performance from ManUtd. Particularly, the midfield was superb with Anderson overshadowing Gerrard, and Hargreaves as always, a rock in front of the defence. Rio too had a great game and never gave an inch of space to Torres. My men-of-the match would definitely be Anderson and Hargreaves.

Anderson overshadowed StevieG

ManUtd are second in the league, a point behind Arsenal, who won an exciting but violent encounter with Chelsea. Gallas put one over his old team and scored the only goal of the match, thanks to a Cech mistake at a corner.

Meanwhile in La Liga, the stage is all set for a pulsating encounter at the Nou Camp between Barcelona and Real Madrid next weekend. Barca are 4 points behind Real but are in good form thanks to Eto'o's return from injury. Messi's injury means he will be out for 4 weeks but I think Ronaldinho will make it to the starting eleven for the El Classico, after being left out on the bench numerous times this season.

Btw, there is a rumour that Fergie might see this as an opportunity to bring Ronnie to ManUtd, after failing to complete the deal in 2003. But the question is do we really need fat Ronnie at ManUtd?

Did I Miss Something?

After an entertaining game of football, it was disappointing for me, the match ended in a draw. It was funny to see Arsenal players, after the game, huddled at the centre of the pitch and celebrating. Did I miss something here? It was an Arsenal home game, at the Emirates Stadium and Arsenal lost 2 points! I would never see ManU players or Fergie so happy after gaining just a point at Old Trafford.

Anyway, it was great to see ManU perform really well. Anderson seems destined for stardom...he can pass, he can tackle, he can run box-to-box, there's nothing he can't do, including a bit of gamesmanship. I am sure Fergie/Carlos will have a private word with him.

La Liga Story

Looks like it's gonna be a roller-coaster season at La Liga. Real Madrid kept winning, then drew, then won, and then lost this weekend. Meanwhile, Barca drew, won, lost, drew and won. Sevilla kept losing and then suddenly started winning and beat Real this weekend. Villareal is going great guns without Riquelme and it is good to see ex-ManU player Rossi doing great there. And, Valencia have got a new manager in Ronald Koeman and looks to turn around its season both in La Liga and the Champions League.

Henry to Barca

After the heart-break of losing the La Liga title to arch rivals Real Madrid on the last day, it was just the sort of encouraging news that Barca fans were waiting for. Although this signing would put the future of Eto'o into doubt, football fans around the world would be eager to see how some of the best attacking players in the world - Ronaldinho, Henry, Eto'o and Messi, link up. How will this transfer affect some of the clubs in Europe, we will have to wait and watch. Some random thoughts...

1. Arsenal were struggling to make it to the top four for the past two seasons and with Henry's departure and Wenger's future in doubt, it would seem Arsenal's title hopes are out even before the start of the new season.

2. Would Wenger too depart this season? He is supposed to be a man of integrity and he doesn't want to quit before his contract ends next season. However, with the departure of Henry, he knows he has to sign a world-class player to fill the void. Moreover with the departure of David Dein, he has lost a crucial ally in the Arsenal boardroom.

3. Henry loves the limelight. So do Ronnie and the outspoken Eto'o. Will there be ego clashes that could possibly threaten Barca's season? Will Rijkaard stay and be able to have control over his superstars?

4. Henry is 30 now. Does he still have it in him to prove himself like Van Nistelrooy did, in a different league?

5. I am no fan of Henry but I am a fan of Van Nistelrooy. I am no fan of Real Madrid but I love Barca. I am in a huge dilemma!

InSane Siro

In one of the best displays in recent years of the Champions League, AC Milan destroyed a tired and jaded ManU. AC Milan put up a great show of possession football and made it look so easy against the top English team. Meanwhile Chelsea faltered at Anfield in a match that was devoid of much excitement, except for the penalties. Just proves teams with rested players play a lot better, and fatigue catches up for some teams after a certain point of time, as it happened for ManU and Chelsea.
Best Players in the Semis -> Kaka, Rooney, Gattuso, Gerrard
Worst Players in the Semis -> Lampard, Heinze, Ronaldo

I think Kaka has pipped Ronaldo for the European and probably even World Player of the Year awards. Kaka has been awesome this season, especially in Europe but then his team's performance in Serie A does not invoke much praise.

La Liga is very close this season. Just one point separates the top 3 - Barca, Real and Sevilla. With in-form Real playing Sevilla this season, things should hot up this weekend.

In a Spot of Bother

The mounting number of injuries to key ManU players has been a growing concern lately, and with Rio ruled out for 2 weeks, I am concerned about ManU's chances in the Champions League and this weekend's away match at Everton. Not enough bench strength and player fatigue are 2 main things ManU should overcome if they have to win the EPL and reach the CL final. Meanwhile no surprises in the Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year PFA awards, both goes to Ronaldo.

It has been reported in the media that Jose can keep his job as Chelsea manager if he keeps his mouth shut and plays attractive and entertaining football, both of which seems highly unlikely. The draw at Newcastle was a major blow and they go into the semifinals against a highly spirited Liverpool, a team that has only one trophy to play for. I see Rafa, a mastermind at Europe, putting one over Jose.

Meanwhile, La Liga title race could never be closer. With Barca losing and Real beating Valencia, the title is still open. Btw, the goal Messi scored for Barca against Getafe in the King's Cup semifinals is one of the best in recent times and there are already comparisons with Maradona's wonder goal.

Dream Theatre

ManU regained their 6-point lead after a comeback 4-1 win against Blackburn, while Chelsea scraped to a 1-0 win away at Watford. The Gunners were thrashed 4-1 by Liverpool at Anfield, while relegation candidates Charlton and West Ham managed crucial wins. The relegation battle is getting really interesting and there is a danger that Villa, Fulham might get sucked into it.

The next round of the Champions League starts today after a long break. Milan could only manage a 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich at the San Siro while Liverpool scored three away at PSV. ManU plays Roma tomorrow while Chelsea take on Morientes-Valencia.

A few things I couldn't help notice...

Mascherano doing well at Liverpool proving yet again that he's a great midfielder - shows it's just that Alan Pardew and Alan Curbishley were incapable of handling such a top performer! But then, these are English managers, aren't they?

Real Madrid and Barca clashing yet again, this time off the field, for ManU's Cristiano Ronaldo. But apparently, Real is not willing to pay 50 million pounds, when they could splurge close to 50 million on a comparitively older Zidane in 2001.

Roma making too many noises about Ronaldo and diving! Italians talking about diving - now there's something you seldom come across!

Flamini is not happy being on the bench and wants to leave Arsenal and play in the first-team. Something to think about for Silvestre and Darren Fletcher!

Roy Keane-managed Sunderland's unbeaten run in the Championship this year sees them close to the automatic promotion place. 6 more good games and perhaps, we can see Sir Alex and his former protege clashing on the sidelines next year. Roy Keane at Old Trafford in the away bench...that's something no ManU fan would have dreamt of.

What's the Real Deal?

Real Madrid's fall from grace has become even more spectacular as they got beaten by relegation-threatened club Levante for the first time ever in their history, and to add insult to injury, it was their 1000th match at the Santiago Bernabeau Stadium. Real fans began to wave their white hankies towards the end of the game, demanding manager Capello and President Calderon's resignation.

Bringing Capello to Madrid was always a risky business for the Madridstas wouldn't accept anything less than an entertaining and attacking game of football, while Capello always symbolised the Italian Catennaccio style where the focus is much more on defending. While bringing in Jose Mourinho would be a prudent move, his win-at-any-cost attitude towards the game will only endear the fans for a short while, probably until they win their first trophy in a long time.

I think it would be wise for Real to appoint someone who is not afraid to play attacking football. For a glamorous club such as Real Madrid, it is not what they win that counts but how they win that matters more. I feel the club should go for either former Real-man Bernd Schuster who is doing wonders at Getafe or Didier Deschamps who took Monaco to the Champions League final a few years back. And, the new manager should be given a free-reign for at least a year or two!

Crazy Transfer Rumors

Cristiano Ronaldo to Real for 50 million...that's one among the many worthless rumors doing the rounds lately, thanks to the opening of the winter transfer window. Here are some of the other rumors...

ManU - Owen Hargreaves (yawn!) from Bayern for 17 million GBP, Gareth Bale from Southampton for >3 million, Barton from ManC and Bentley from Blackburn!

Chelsea - Micah Richards from ManC for 20 million, Upson from Birmingham, Sol from Portsmouth, Andrade from Deportivo, Ayala from Valencia.

Liverpool - D.Bent from Charlton, Mascherano from WHam, A.Young from Watford.

Arsenal - Ribery from Marseille, Gareth Bale from Southampton.

West Ham - Matthew Upson, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Mark Viduka.

Other crazy rumors include Crouch to Juventus!

Champions League Draw!

The pick of the draw is the clash of recent winners - Liverpool and Barcelona. And, there's Bayern against Real Madrid. The draw has been kind to Chelsea, Arsenal and ManU.

Courtesy: UEFA.com

Can we expect some shock results in this round?

Ruud and Ronnie to the Rescue

In the La Liga, Ruud scored 4 goals in Real's away win over Osasuna, while Ronaldinho scored 2 and set up another in Barca's 3-1 home win over Zaragoza. It's good to see my favorite players leading the race for the 'pichichi' with 8 goals, although I am not too happy Real is getting too much for a bargain price of 10 million pounds. But, with the galacticos era over at Real Madrid and that fool of a president Perez out, my antagonism towards Real has diminished to a certain extent. And, Ronnie was at his inpirational best yet again, rescuing his team from a goal down to a morale-boosting victory.

Now, it brings us to the question....who is the world' s best striker/forward at present?

Shevchenko
Ruud Van Nistelrooy
Henry


For me, it has to be Ruud simply because he has proven time and again that he can go to any club and score at will. Unlike Shevchenko, who seems to struggle at Chelsea, not something expected from someone regarded as the best striker in the world by many pundits not long ago. Henry has been terrific for Arsenal over many seasons but then we would never know if he can be the same prolific striker if he was at a different club. What do you think?

Farewell to the Greatest!

There's so much happening at the moment in football but so little time to write about them.

ManU defeating Liverpool very easily - is it because ManU played that well or Liverpool played really bad? Rafa Benitez will know the answer to that. 97th consecutive game he has changed his team and now Liverpool are 11 points behind ManU and Chelsea!

Barca's defeat at Real - Do Barca miss Eto'o? Will they slide down the table or will Rijkaard make sure Barca regain their top form? Anyway, it must be great relief for Capello, who had to clear rumors that he might quit after Real's defeat at Getafe.

Arsenal playing terrific football again, beating Reading away 4-0. Does anyone know when Arsenal are playing Bolton?

Shevchenko finally opening his account in EPL. Will he improve his form now?

'Bite Hart Lane'- terrific headline in 'The Sun', denoting Jermaine Defoe's bite on Javier Mascherano. Martin Jol called that a comical incident but Mascherano's reaction to the bite was even more comical. He rolled about on the ground and acted like a man who was shot!

Glenn Roeder (Newcastle), Ian Dowie (Charlton), Alan Pardew (West Ham), or Stuart Pearce (ManC)...your pick for the first manager to get sacked this season?

I know this is not football but...

Formula Without #1

Farewell Schumi...Thank you for all the memories...We'll miss u!

Schumi, the greatest F1 racer ever, definitely ranks among my all-time top 5 favorite sportsmen.

Cech it out!

Highs
ManU putting up a terrific second half performance to come back from behind to beat Wigan 3-1 at the JJB stadium. If the introduction of Giggs at half-time was the catalyst, Rooney showed why he is still the best by having an inspired second half.

Ronaldinho is back to form as Barca beat high-flying Sevilla 3-1 at the Nou Camp. Ronnie's brace and Messi's great strike takes Barca to top of the table, 3 points ahead of Valencia who lost at Celta.

Lows
Chelsea keeper Peter Cech injured his skull in a clash with Reading's Hunt. He has had surgery and is out until the end of the year. His deputy Cudicini too was injured towards the end of the game and Chelsea finished with John Terry between the goalposts!

Real Madrid suffered their first defeat in Spain this season as they were beaten 1-0 away by Getafe. Real played one of its worst games under Capello and they were lucky to escape with that scoreline. And, Ronaldo got sent off in his first game after a long injury layoff.

West Ham, Newcastle continued their losing streak, against Portsmouth and Bolton respectively. Alan Pardew and Glenn Roeder's days at the helm might just be numbered.