Nani Man of the match Manchester 3 – 1 Arsenal

It was clear from the start that United were ready to absorb the pressure and hit Arsenal on the break and probably Wenger should have started with a striker up front. Arshavin is not cut out to play that role and Arsenal’s passing game requires a formation with a spearhead. However, during the first few minutes chances did come in Arsenal’s way and Arshavin failed to find the target from within the box. He should have. Because from then on, it was United all the way till the end of the first half. Nani, who was the man of the match, gave a torrid time for Clichy on the right wing. He was too quick for him and was able to beat him twice, once himself, and another time with a lovely pass to Fletcher whose cross was cleared by Gallas.

Arsenal should have seen the warning signs but they did not and paid the price. Nani, who was double teamed by Clichy and Nasri, went clear with a deft touch and then past Vermaelan to deliver a beautiful floater over Almunia, who could just palm it into his own net. It wasn’t entirely the goal keeper’s fault though. Rooney and Park were just behind him in the box and would have had an easy header from six yards had the goalkeeper not palmed it. The second goal was as good a counter attack that you could ever see. United had a corner to defend and the clearance came to Rooney, who controlled it brilliantly and then cleared Nani with a lovely pass. The winger went right till the end of the Arsenal box and then delivered a beautiful weighted pass for Rooney, who had run 70 yards after the pass, to smash it past the helpless Almunia. The goal gave a sense of déjà vu from that game in the Champions League nine months ago.

Arsene Wenger blamed the defense during the post match interview and he was right for a change. Rooney went 70 yards clear and Denilson just let him run past him and jogged behind him with no thought of going after him. The third goal made Wenger split his hair. He was seen mouthing the words ‘No defense” and he was right again. Clichy was the lone defender in the Arsenal half and Park, who was released by Carrick, went all the way to slide it past Almunia, after some wonderful passing within their own half by United.

The game looked to have been over as a contest but credit to Arsenal they kept on trying. This could even be due to the fact that United were happy to sit back and defend. Arsenal’s pressure paid off and in the 80^th minute, Vermaelan’s effort was deflected into his own net by Johnny Evans. Arsenal even had a few chances after that but it was not going to be their day.

Tough fixtures beckon both sides, with United having to travel to Villa and Everton and Arsenal’s next trip is to Stamford Bridge. Arsene Wenger spoke about picking his side up after this defeat and Sir Alex Ferguson said that he hoped that Arsenal would “batter” Chelsea. But it is very tough to imagine this Arsenal side coming anywhere close to battering Chelsea. If the form of both sides continue into the next game, it would be Chelsea that would deliver the battering and if I were an Arsenal fan, I would be dreading the next game.

Alex freguson frustrated with the refree

You’d expect the referee to be strong in such a game of high stakes, and Martin Atkinson was not anywhere close to being termed “strong”. All the 50-50 calls were in favor of the home side and this is what angered Ferguson and his men. John Terry’s tackle on Valencia inside the box at the 14 minute mark was a clear example of this. Terry was clearly tugging Valencia’s shirt and it happened right in front of the assistant referee. Wayne Rooney was incorrectly marked offside when he was one on one with Cech and if one these decisions had been called correctly, we would’ve witnessed a different type of game altogether.

However, the worst of all the decisions was reserved till the 75^th minute when a free kick was awarded to Chelsea some 30 yards from the box. Fletcher is no saint and is a heel snapper, but he clearly got the ball from Ashley Cole who tumbled to the floor as if his legs were hacked. The resulting free kick found the head of John Terry who turned it goalwards. However, replays showed that Didier Drogba who had come from an offside position appeared to have pulled Wes Brown, who if he had stayed up would have cleared the goal bound ball.

United were good yesterday and must have a feeling of having been robbed of at least a well earned point. They were very well organized, with Brown and Evans immaculate in the center of defense. Anderson playing in support of Rooney was a surprise, but this was the role that he excelled in during his time at Porto. Though he came forward in support when United attacked, there were occasions where he looked as if he was playing as a sweeper in front of the midfield than as a supporting striker or an attacking midfielder.

Chelsea, on the other hand, must be ecstatic with the result and will go about consolidating their lead before January, when they will lose 4 players to the African Cup of Nations. Terry, in particular, was over the top after the goal, and should feel a sense of redemption for his famed and well advertised slip in Moscow.

United should move on now and concentrate on their upcoming games. The qualification to the next round of the Champions league should ease the pressure during the midweek games and will allow Ferguson to rest his first team for the Premiership games. The league is not yet out of their hands as they’ve come from far worse positions to win the league. But the question that is beginning to form in the mind of every United supporter is whether Chelsea or Arsenal will slip up.

There have been a lot of articles over the past few days on the plight of Benitez and Liverpool but very few seem to be discussing about the situation that Barcelona have landed themselves in. This could be because Barcelona have control over their destiny, but still it’s going to be a difficult journey.

One of their 2 matches is against a rejuvenated Inter side who won a game in Europe after a year and the other against a very attacking Dynamo Kiev. The game against Kiev might be able to guarantee 3 points, as Kiev seems to struggle when they are being attacked as Inter showed this the other day. However, the game against Inter could be a very different story as both teams would be looking to qualify as the group leader. Inter seemed to have finally found a way to win in Europe and they never looked like they were going to lose against Kiev the other day, even though Kiev took an early lead through Schevchenko.

Barcelona find themselves in this position thanks to the Russian Champions Rubin Kazan, who came with a clear game plan and have nicked points off the champions of Europe. During the return leg, they showed that the win at the Nou Camp was no fluke but was a reward to their committed efforts.

In Russia, for the second time, Barcelona found the Kazan defense a tough nut to crack. Even though there were a few chances, Ibrahimovich’s effort against the post the best of them, there were no clear cut ones and the Barca midfield had to pass among themselves, 30 yards out.

Kurban Berdyev, the Turkman coach of Rubin, had to say this after the game at the Nou Camp. “”I watched all of Barcelona’s games, I learnt a lot from the Valencia match. It became clear that in the centre of the pitch, the assistance of a second forward was extremely important, one who would go back and close off the holding midfielder. This work fell to [Alejandro] Dominguez, who carried out a great deal of work. Without him, I don’t think we would have beaten Barcelona”.

Dominguez was excellent once again, helping the midfield while defending and also going forward on the break. He was their best player on the pitch and was rightfully UEFA’s player of the game. He was ably assisted by Semak, the Russian captain whose career has been revived by Berdyev.

It was incredible to watch a team collectively absorb pressure and maintain composure. The way Xavi and Iniesta were denied space in the midfield was a lesson to the world, especially to Manchester United whose horrific tactics (a bloody 4-4-2 against Barca!) let them down in last season’s final. Iniesta always cuts inside and Xavi plays to the D, so the best way to restrain them is to play narrow and straight and exploit the space in the wide areas. Of course, this is easier said than done, but Rubin played exactly the same way at the Nou Camp and to some level in Russia.

However, the best thing that happened in the game was how Rubin transformed themselves after the 75 minute mark. Suddenly, they seemed to have notched up a gear or two and were playing the 1-2s and the nonchalant flicks that you normally associate with Barcelona. They even had a few chances to win the game in the end but squandered them. But the job had been done.

Barca, however, need to put Rubin out of their mind and have to focus on the job in their hands. Their squad appears too thin and when Guardiola was looking for options on the bench on Wednesday, he only had a half fit Henry to rely on and in fact he was the only one to be brought in. Inter will try and sit back and absorb the pressure and hit back on the counter and they also have the ammunition in midfield to succeed in that mission. Sneijder has been excellent so far and was the best player at Kiev.

It is foolish to write off Barcelona’s chances. But they haven’t played well in Europe this season and Guardiola does look as if he could use the holy beads that Berdyev frets over at the touchline during the game.