That's Just Champion!

Not Very Italian

Perhaps the most exciting last 22 minutes of a football match you're likely to see kicked off the 20th season of the Champions League as Manchester City came within a defensive mistake and 5 minutes of a famous victory away to Real Madrid.

That City came within 5 minutes of winning was incredible testament to their effort although, as Joe Hart said and I suggested in a previous blog post, simply going to the Bernabéu and coming close is not enough for a team of City's current stature. That the 'Blues' lost because of a serious of defensive errors is almost baffling. 

On the way to winning the league last season City conceded just 29 goals, already this season they have seen the opposition score 6 times with Arsenal to come on Sunday. Only two season's ago it was being suggested Roberto Mancini would never lead City to the Premier League title as he was too defensive, last season Mancini was able to combine defencive stability with flair and attacking prowess to win the league. Tonight, in the Champions League City looked terribly poor at the back especially Vincent Kompany, the captain and usually a rock at the back. 



It seems worrying for City that they have looked so oddly weak defensively because it is not one or two mistakes creeping in they look, as a unit, to be poor. Joe Hart has made mistakes, Vincent Kompany too, whilst Joleon Lescott looks less assured than last season- a knock on effect from Kompany's form- and the full backs have never settled under Mancini as he enjoys rotating them.

Fortunately for City their title rivals weaknesses are also prominently defensive, it means that games between the top four may turn out to be just as exciting as last season's 8-2's and 6-1's.

We're Not So Different You and I

I said in my last blog post that I thought AVB just needed time and, though the turnaround is nowhere near complete, my faith does seem a little vindicated already.

It is not just the win that has led me to gleam over AVB this week but also the manner of the football, the ex Porto manager seems to have got his system correct with Sandro and Moussa Dembele creating a fantastic midfield partnership. Villas-Boas also had a good week in the press managing to hit back at his predecessor, the shadow that is Harry Redknapp, after Harry had criticised his style of management. This was also, accidentally, a response to Martin Keown who had suggested on BBC Radio 5 Live that Villas-Boas was 'too tactical' and 'confusing' his players. 

Surely though the most pleasing thing for Spurs fans and, even more so, the manager will be the excellent form of Jermain Defoe who already has 3 league goals this season and 2 for England (which should have been 3 against Ukraine). Defoe's goals have kept Emmanuel Adebayour on the bench and the ex Portsmouth striker looks full of confidence unlikely to stop scoring.

Ironically Defoe's upturn in fortune seems to have come from AVB's man management skills and decision to give the Englishman an extended run in the team meanwhile Harry lost his job after being unable to keep his player's focus once he was convinced he'd get the England job.

Pick Your Words Wisely

Joe Hart was rightly a little mad at the end of his teams match versus Spanish champions Real Madrid. Not only had City seen their 2-1 lead to turn to a 3-2 deficit in only 5 minutes but Hart was also partially at fault for the last goal.

Hart was interviewed after the match and suggested in his answer that the interviewer wanted him to say that the team could go away from the match with their heads held high instead he apologised and then, rightly said, they were annoyed they lost from 2-1 up with 5 minutes to go and lost. He even questioned it "how can you be 2-1 up with 5 minutes to go and lose 3-2?", the answer to winning from 2-1 down is; with the will and determination to win no matter what, but then I guess he should know that after May 13th 2012!

Retain or Regain?

We're in our 20th year of the Champions League, in its current guise, and still no club has managed to defend their title as best team in Europe. On Wednesday night Chelsea begin their challenge to become the first.

Chelsea's group is tricky with Juventus and Shakhtar Donetsk to play but they should still qualify for the knockout stages. Roberto Di Matteo's side should arguably be better equipped to win the Champions League this season as their new players have made them into a dangerous attacking outfit, however this new setup will work adversely against the likes of Barcelona and this season they will also have a Premier League title challenge to contend with.

It looks like we'll be waiting till at least the 21st year till we get a defending champion!

North London- It's only 930 miles long!

Rivalries in football always make life much more interesting. Who doesn't look for their team's derbies when the fixture list first comes up?

For certain those members of the Glasgow fraternity will always look for the Old Firm matches. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately if you happen to be a policeman in Glasgow or a member of the SPL's disciplinary committee, Old Firm matches are a regular occurrence with 4 league games every season and the possibility of a cup game- or three- to look forward to.

Local derbies are always exciting in build up but not always so on the pitch, a la the first Manchester derby of this season, as the two teams nervously circle each other determined no to lose. It's amazing how quickly a teams usual attacking instincts go out of the window when it comes to derby days. This week we saw, quite frankly, the oddest ever North London derby played over two nights, during two matches, in cities roughly 930 miles away.

On Tuesday night Arsenal, away from home, were forced to abandon their usual glorious marauding style of play as they spent most of the first half of this Champions League derby inside their own half. So much were they on the back foot that, for the first time since 2002, a team managed no shots in a Champions League match. A ridiculous stat from a side that, despite the absence of Theo Walcott, included the likes of Robin Van Persie, Jack Wilshere, Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas, and that's before we get to the subs of Andrey Arshavin and Nicklas Bendtner. To simply read such a stat would probably lead you to believe that for once in his life Arsene Wenger had dropped his usual stubbornness and inability to change game plan and had realised that his best chance of progressing on Tuesday was to sit back and defend and see out the game, possibly hitting the opposition on the break. The truth is completely different, the truth is that Arsenal were forced to play only in their own half and because of their love of playing pretty football, no matter where on the pitch, Arsenal gifted the home side their opening goal, and the goal that changed the tie.

In the second half of this derby Spurs played the part of the team that have to forget the way they usually play in favour of defending for their lives as the away side came back at them. Spurs have no doubt been a sigh of relief in the often mundane world of football since Harry Redknapp took over and with the likes of Gareth Bale, Rafael van der Vaart, Aaron Lennon, Luka Modric at his disposal it is no surprise that Spurs prefer the 'we'll score more than you' approach to football. Mid week though Tottenham hung on to their lead as if it was their lives at steak. Whilst they were on the back foot for most of the game the team from White Hart Lane still managed a few shots, two even actually on goal, unlike their North London rivals- this probably had something to do with keeping 10 men on the pitch (a decision that was clearly ridiculous but did not cost Arsenal the match). Spurs of course were not trying to play on the back foot, they would have love to have been attacking the oppositions goal at every possibly moment but the sheer pressure exerted on their midfield and defence did not allow them out of their own half often enough.

As with all derbies there was some real controversy and both sides had chances at the end to clinch the tie or throw it away. Arsenal really should have given away a penalty before they eventually did in the second half, when Laurent Koscielny should have received his second yellow card for two actual yellow card offences. On the other hand Robin Van Persie clearly should not have been sent off. Van Persie's initial yellow card was his own fault but his second was harsh to the nth degree, though I don't buy his claims he couldn't hear the whistle or suggestion he didn't know he was offside, but we'd all had taken that shot- ironically Arsenal's only one. Spurs had little of the controversy but still could have thrown it all away were it not for a William Gallas clearance off the line and Heurelho Gomes' save right at the end following a brilliant move. It could have also been so different if it hadn't been for Bendtner's awful first touch.

Despite all this it is quite ironic that on the nights it was Arsenal who scored and not Spurs but that is the beauty of games played over two legs, it creates compelling 2nd legs. Fortunately for all of us none of the Champions League ties this week were anywhere near finished when it came to the 2nd legs and excitement could be found everywhere and even the most drab of games, including ones that featured sides from North London abandoning exciting football, were exciting because we did not know which way they would go.

If you didn't know I have of course been referring to two completely separate matches. One between Arsenal and Barcelona played in the Camp Nou which featured Barcelona prove why they really are the best football team on the planet as they penned the Gunners into their own half for most of the match and Arsenal couldn't cope, the immense pressure they were under really being shown as Fabregas gifted his boyhood team their first goal and Koscielny giving away a penalty when extra time was still a possibility. The second match was at White Hart Lane and features Spurs and, Serie A leaders, A.C Milan. Milan, 1-0 down from the first leg, did most of the attacking in the game and forced Spurs to play on the counter attack, arguably their favoured way of playing, for much of the match but failed to find away past the resolute defending of Michael Dawson and William Gallas. Yes the difference in class between Barcelona and Milan is hugely recognisable but the difference between going out of the Champions League, like Arsenal, and going through to the quarter finals, like Spurs, was simply being resolute and not losing.

Two matches, two cities 930 miles away, 2 different results, no winners but only one North London derby!