Via Bleacher Report
Chelsea v Manchester United was the best match of the season so far. There was plenty to learn, especially for referee Mark Clattenburg and the FA.
A
growing number of people are absolutely fed up with what FIFA calls
"simulation." Referees are clearly under pressure to deal with it,
because apart from the obscene money factors, this is killing the game.
Many
bemoan all the foreign players coming into the game because they are
squeezing homegrown players out. Yes, they have brought great flair and
skill to the Premier League, but they've also brought the ugly face of
cheating.
It is suspected that in some countries abroad, players
are told to take every advantage and also coached as to how to get an
unfair decision.
FIFA wants to keep the game unsullied by video
technology and rely on the "human factor," but today, Chelsea fans would
have every right to feel aggrieved because of decisions that could have
been resolved by a second look.
OK, so in rugby, Rugby League and
cricket, replays are helping to bring fairness to decisions, but
football is a much faster game than any of those. It is a game based on
momentum.
For example, when Chelsea scored their second goal today
they had the momentum and could have gone on to win the match, having
been 2-0 down.
So you can't keep stopping the game to check
whether somebody dived. That would kill spectator interest faster than
the simulation itself.
But something has to be done. Surely, a
"dodgy dives" panel on a Monday, with an automatic three-match ban if a
dive is proven would sort the matter out in less than a month.
Two days ago, they predicted a 3-2 United win, with the following teams on the pitch.
Chelsea
Cech
Ivanovich Luiz Cahill Cole
Ramires Obi
Oscar Hazard Mata
Torres
Manchester United
De Gea
Rafael Ferdinand Evans Evra
Carrick Anderson or Cleverley
Valencia Rooney Young
Van Persie
Nobody
could have predicted how the result would come about. What they could
safely have expected, however, was an exciting game with loads of
quality football.
Anyone who thought that this would be a cagey
affair doesn't understand the Premier League. With United having been
top dogs for much of Sir Alex's reign and Chelsea nicking the Champions
League last season, this match was all about bragging rights. Both sets
of fans have a case.
We didn't learn much that we didn't already know or suspect, but there were some standout points.
They say Manchester United were lucky
There are more cliches in football than you can shake a stick
at. Great players and teams make their own luck. Great teams win ugly.
It
is so sad after an enthralling match that the referee is the main
talking point once again, and once again, it was Mark Clattenburg
getting a key decision wrong.
Fernando Torres
was probably yellow carded as much because of his reputation as
anything. Watching the incident of his second yellow card over and over
from the referee's point of view, you can see why he missed the contact
by Evans and also how he can clearly see what looks like a clumsy dive.
However,
Torres was probably lucky to be on the pitch anyhow after a dreadful
lunge with his foot into the throat of Tom Cleverley, for which he got
only a yellow card.
There was nothing wrong with Ivanovic's
sending-off because whether intentionally or accidentally, he stopped
Ashley Young's forward run. The referee consulted with his assistant,
who was in line with the incident and was then clear in his decision.
United then had the momentum.
In the event, the biggest decision
turned out to be what should have been an offside against Chicharito for
the winning goal. But that's the referee's assistant's decision, not
the referees.
The assistant didn't have a clear view, but surely,
this is the one exception that should be made for video technology. In
both Rugby Union and Rugby League, the referee can use video replay to
answer the question "can I award a try?"
The footballing equivalent would have been "can I award a goal?"
In the case of Luis Suarez's disallowed goal at Everton,
the answer would have been yes, and for Chicharito's winner, it would
be no. Chelsea would still be four points clear of United, and Liverpool would be on the way back towards the top.
But
to suggest that United didn't deserve to win this match is pure
hypothesis. Chelsea were down to 10 men and had changed to a more
defensive formation, taking off their most creative player.
United's
history is one of driving forward to the very end. Who is to say they
wouldn't have scored a legitimate winner rather than coasting to the
finishing line on their questionable winner?
Manchester United Should go on with their traditional style
Not for every match, but Sir Alex's tinkering with tactics hasn't been an unqualified success.
For
60 years or more, people have watched United for the way they play
football: an uncompromising attempt to win every match, based on out and
out attacking football.
To play this way, you have to be strong
in defence as well. Because of injuries, they are creaking at the back.
Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra aren't getting any younger; Jonny Evans
was pressed into service barely back from injury. They need Smalling and
Jones back for relief and their captain for leadership.
United
aren't just an attacking team, however. They have showed in Europe for
years that they can also counter-attack at pace and with precision.
And
so, it was that Chelsea found themselves 2-0 down in less than 15
minutes. The home team had the lion's share of possession, but United
had started to look like they could score at will.
So, full
credit to Chelsea that they got themselves back into the game. After the
first goal, they had United on the back foot. That was nothing to do
with the tactics and they were doing nothing wrong. It was just that
they had been driven back into their own penalty area rather than the
high line they had taken earlier.
There were two teams in this
match committed to getting a win. No nonsense about both being prepared
to settle for a draw. Once City had beaten Swansea, it was game on and
no-holds barred. That suited Chelsea's new style, but it also suited the
way United have played for years.
Ferguson still has his magic touch
It could be said that Sir Alex has made some errors of
judgement recently. It is to the credit of the man that he has admitted
to those errors, like getting things wrong in the first half against
Tottenham. He rectified that and nearly came away with a result.
He
has wrestled with the possible need for change. Alright, he has
constructed a squad that is built on pace, flair and technical skill in
depth with attackers who can interchange and make it difficult for
stolid defences.
But he's also seen teams like Liverpool, Swansea,
Wigan and Chelsea move to a different style of football. He and Rene
Meulenstein have thought about this. They have come up with a "diamond"
formation and 4-2-3-1 as variants to combat the new styles and still get
a result.
Nowhere was this more clear than in the matches against
Newcastle and Braga. The Geordies were stunned by a formation that
Pardew clearly couldn't have planned for, and they were basically
thrashed.
But when Ferguson tried to play the diamond against
Braga, it backfired badly and they were 2-0 down in 20 minutes,
compounded by the daft experiment of yet again playing Carrick in the
back four.
There again, and helped by Kagawa's injury, Sir Alex
showed his nous and experience. Where a Brendan Rodgers might have
stubbornly stuck to the plot, the Scot changed shape and United ended up
with a comfortable win.
Of course today, he was desperate to get
his team into the dressing room unscathed as Chelsea mounted wave after
wave of attack. He didn't manage it, and the Blues took momentum into
halftime that carried them through to an equaliser in 53 minutes.
Even
allowing for the double sending off, the match still had to be won. He
had the courage to replace Rooney with Giggs, just in case Clattenburg
was tempted to "even up" with a second yellow card.
But the
masterstroke was to bring on Chicharito. He has pace, he is a natural
finisher and, like last year in the astonishing three goal come-back, he
delivered.
Whatever the feelings and opinions about the result
and the circumstances, Sir Alex still has that magic touch to drag a
result out of the fire when the chips are down.
The race for the title is wide open
Right now, Sir Alex is probably the most confident of all the top managers in the Premier League.
Once again, he has had an injury crisis in defence, but he's got Chris Smalling and Phil Jones available for the Arsenal
match next weekend. United may have lost two matches they didn't expect
to lose, but they are one point off the top with half a dozen easier
matches to come after Wenger's side visits.
Chelsea have lost
their first match of the season, but now they're back in the pack with
the other two fancied teams. Arsenal keep scraping results and Tottenham
are on a roll.
For a few years, we have said "this could be the most open season ever."
This season, it looks like coming true. You get the feeling that most teams could beat most other teams on the right day.
It
will be interesting to see how Chelsea and City react if they don't
reach the knockout stages of the Champions' League. They both had
disappointing results this week, and City were unconvincing against
Swansea.
The Robin Van Persie and Wayne Rooney combination has come together nicely, even if the ex-Evertonian was a bit below par today.
Sir
Alex now has four or five tactical formations he can use and a squad
that has strength in depth that will soon have a fully-fit defence.
They say Chelsea have the markings of champions
Let's be honest here. The football Chelsea played and the way
they drove themselves back to 2-2 in the absence of their inspirational
captain made a statement.
A couple of days ago, we reviewed the
threat of Mata and Hazard, but actually, it is the combination of them
and Oscar that is the magic at the core of the Chelsea team.
However, and this is a big however, they don't have the strength in depth that United have, or even that of Manchester City.
The standout aspect of this is the dearth of strikers.
United have four: Van Persie, Rooney, Chicharito, Welbeck, with genuine young talent in reserve.
City have four: Aguero, Balotelli, Tevez, Dzeko.
Chelsea have one and a half: Torres (who is a shadow of his Liverpool self), Sturridge.
But
Chelsea have a style and a presence which, if they can keep the squad
fit, has a real shot at the title this year. If they add another striker
in January, watch out.
RVP and Juan Mata are truly world class
Of all the decisions he's made in a long and illustrious career, buying Robin Van Persie might just be the best.
To
spend £24 million on a 29-year-old who has had injury problems in the
past looked like a massive gamble at the time, but now looks like
genius.
Last season, it could have been contended that RVP was one
of the top three strikers in the world. This season, under Ferguson and
with the service he is getting from United's attacking armoury, he has,
if it is at all possible, gotten even better.
He is the Eric Cantona signing of the 2010s.
And
because we believe in being objective and fair, it must be said that
Juan Mata is probably the best signing Chelsea have made in a decade.
How
on earth can this guy not get a regular place for Spain? One thing is
for sure: When Xavi or Iniesta step aside, Juan Mata can step onto that
stage and not look out of place, adding pace as well as technical skill.
And as for Chelsea, if they can keep him for the rest of his career, they can build their new dynasty around him.
This is a great time to be alive and watching Premier League football. We are blessed.
RVP and Juan Mata are both truly world-class, as they showed last Sunday and every week.
Source: Bleacher Report
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