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Football 365 only stuck to English teams in this instance though.
http://football365.com/story/0,17033,8742_5165377,00.html
Winners
Chelsea
So that's what Chelsea look like when they're on form. So that's how to beat Liverpool at their own game in their own backyard. And so that's why Luiz Felipe Scolari was paid a fortune to move aside.
Because if the routing of Anfield was Guus Hiddink's triumph then it was just also vindication of Roman Abramovich's decision in January to jettison yet another manager and call in his fifth in five years. The Russian, it can be concluded, knows far more about the game than previously appreciated.
Whereas Scolari's reign is recalled for his tactical austerity and failure to secure a single win in his five matches against fellow members of the Big Four, Hiddink's tenure - regardless of what occurs over the next few weeks - has already been made memorable by the devastation of his tactical masterclass. Rafa Benitez, the supposed Moriarty of Champions League football, had no answers - although swapping the positions of Steven Gerrard and Dirk Kuyt seemed an obvious response - and the exploitation of Pool's zonal-marking strategy carried extra resonance because Scolari advanced the same method to the confusion and rebellion of his players.
But how much closer to Rome are Chelsea after last night? As Liverpool will require at least three goals at Stamford Bridge to progress, Chelsea's name can already be pencilled into the semi-final draw. Problem is, Barcelona can be added in with felt-tip after their blitz of Bayern and the bookies' response to events on Wednesday night was to slash the odds on a Spanish triumph. They deserve better but, to reach Rome, Chelsea will probably require better performances than the one they produced at Anfield. Hiddink called it "perfect". Now all he has to do is defy the impossible and improve on perfection.
And then there's the thorny old question of momentum v fixture flexibility. Sir Alex Ferguson opined at the weekend that the winners of the Chelsea v Liverpool tie would emerge as United's main title challengers but such statements are based on gut instinct rather than an exact science. Two Aprils ago, when his side stunned Valencia in the Mestalla, Jose Mourinho celebrated news of the scoreline at Old Trafford by declaring: "I am very pleased Manchester United are also in the Champions League semi-finals because they will also have to play two more matches and their focus is also in three competitions."
The boot is on the other foot this year and no amount of tactical mastery can overcome fatigue or over-stretch. A gruelling fixture list is the price that must be paid for success but it is also the debt that can cost success and the likelihood of having to play Barcelona twice as well as Bolton, Liverpool, Arsenal, Everton, West Ham, Fulham and Arsenal again over the next 30 days is as daunting as it is inspiring or encouraging.
Arsenal
A game of two halves for Arsenal in the Estadio El Madrigal: pulled apart in the first, feisty and superior in the second. The result was a scoreline that ought to set them on their way to only the second Champions League semi-final of Arsene Wenger's reign. Nevermind a win next week, just a clean sheet will be sufficient.
Unbeaten domestically since November and maturing in Europe, momentum is building. The only cloud on Arsenal's horizon remains, as ever, their injury list. Three more names were added last week and another two on Tuesday. Johan Djourou may be the equal of any other third-choice defender in England but William Gallas has been excellent ever since losing the armband. And nor is this exactly the ideal time during a season for an essentially-untried rookie to take over in goal. The withdrawal of Tomas Rosicky, incidentally, from a reserves' match on Wednesday should be the final word on the possibility of the winger returning this season.
It is a measure of Arsenal's progression in recent months that Arsene Wenger has probably crossed off everything but a centre-half from his summer shopping list. But what the Frenchman needs more than anything else right now is some positive bulletins from his medical department. Otherwise momentum will surely be stalled sooner rather than later.
Losers
Liverpool
Manchester United must be feeling better already.
Rafa Benitez began the week by suggesting that United were "scared" of his rampaging Liverpool side but, after suffering such an emphatic mauling to burst their momentum, it is the Spaniard who must be fearful. United are still in recovery from their 4-1 humiliation at the hands of their north-west rivals on March 14; how long will it take Liverpool to recover from this crushing disappointment?
Their own rehabilitation should be aided and abetted by the complicated acknowledgement that this defeat was actually partly a consequence of their domestic revival. It can be no coincidence that Liverpool played their loosest and least intense spring-time Champions League tie of the Benitez era at a time when, for the first time in his reign, they entered April with one eye still on the Premier League title.
In previous years, the knock-out stages of the Champions League have been their be all and end all, and the difference affected in motivation and commitment was stark. Armchair critics will pinpoint Benitez's preference for zonal marking as the root cause of defeat but the simple reality of both of Branislav Ivanovic's goals was that the Chelsea defender displayed greater determination than Xabi Alonso, Martin Skrtel or Steven Gerrard. Complacency, overconfidence, call it what you will, but it was Liverpool's undoing at both goals.
Yet it would be equally misguided to dismiss such a comprehensive defeat as a mere aberration of distraction. Chelsea could have scored twice as many and Pool scarcely deserved their one. In the second half, Petr Cech was not summoned to produce a single save of note and Benitez cannot ignore the message delivered by Michael Essien's man-marking operation on Steven Gerrard. Hiddink spoke afterwards of the task as "disarming" Liverpool's "main weapon". The Dutchman was being too kind; on this evidence, "only weapon" was the more accurate description.
Liverpool are by no means a one-man team and the stifling of Alonso by Frank Lampard - a replication of the job Gerrard did on Obi Mikel at Stamford Bridge in September - was also a salient feature in the tie. But, with Gerrard shackled, this was Liverpool exposed bare of their Emperor's Clothes - and, for the Kop at least, it was ugly viewing. The sum contribution of Dirk Kuyt and Albert Riera was precisely zilch for the final 80 minutes of the tie and the need for quality to be purchased on the flanks has never been more apparent.
Manchester United
So what is going on? Are Manchester United suffering a minor stumble or a fall that will see them crash-land flat on their faces? The situation is already critical with their hopes of progressing to the semi-final stage of the Champions League already reduced to no better than 35:65 against a side regarded as the weakest remaining in the competition. Something's not right, that is for certain.
United's injury list is as good a starting point in accounting for their slump as any because it is abundantly clear that, regardless of whether or not Cristiano Ronaldo tracks back and Wayne Rooney keeps his temper in check, they are suffering for the absence of Owen Hargreaves and Wes Brown.
Brown has a decent claim to be regarded as the most under-valued player in the league, not least because it was his availability as a stand-in centre-half two seasons ago that proved to be decisive in United's title triumph against a Chelsea squad without an equivalently-able deputy. Unfortunately for United, neither Gary Neville or John O'Shea have been able to plug the gaps that Brown has previously filled and the result has been a catastrophic loss of defensive solidity. It will not ease the concern of the United faithful that the date of Brown's expected return remains a Denilson-style mystery but the good news is that his comeback should coincide with some overdue appreciation.
As for Hargreaves, his absence was most keenly felt last month when neither Anderson nor Michael Carrick possessed the iota of intelligence to realise that filling the area just in front of the United defence from which Gerrard and Torres were rampaging would be a wise idea and it is worth recalling that the midfielder was purchased, at considerable expense, to provide precisely the sort of bite and protection that United required against Porto.
For Sir Alex, central midfield must be an area of profound concern. Although Darren Fletcher has exceeded himself this season, Carrick has continued to frustrate and, despite their ages being ten years apart, both Paul Scholes and Anderson have declined sharply over the past 12 months. Only if he has considerable faith in United's medical department and Hargreaves' dodgy knee can the United manager avoid throwing a substantial amount of money at the problem in the summer.
In the short term, a patched-up United must muddle on and try to avoid another slip-up at the weekend. The season is now at the stage where every game becomes more important than the last and the trip to Sunderland should be regarded as United's most important of the campaign. Defeat or draw at the Stadium of Light would not just spell crisis for their domestic tilt but would also have a significant negative impact on their hopes of prevailing in the Estadio do Dragao. A season that promised so much is suddenly in danger of spiralling into a collapse and only if United's stand-ins finally stand up to the challenge will a devastating fall be avoided.
Pete Gill
http://football365.com/story/0,17033,8742_5165377,00.html
Winners
Chelsea
So that's what Chelsea look like when they're on form. So that's how to beat Liverpool at their own game in their own backyard. And so that's why Luiz Felipe Scolari was paid a fortune to move aside.
Because if the routing of Anfield was Guus Hiddink's triumph then it was just also vindication of Roman Abramovich's decision in January to jettison yet another manager and call in his fifth in five years. The Russian, it can be concluded, knows far more about the game than previously appreciated.
Whereas Scolari's reign is recalled for his tactical austerity and failure to secure a single win in his five matches against fellow members of the Big Four, Hiddink's tenure - regardless of what occurs over the next few weeks - has already been made memorable by the devastation of his tactical masterclass. Rafa Benitez, the supposed Moriarty of Champions League football, had no answers - although swapping the positions of Steven Gerrard and Dirk Kuyt seemed an obvious response - and the exploitation of Pool's zonal-marking strategy carried extra resonance because Scolari advanced the same method to the confusion and rebellion of his players.
But how much closer to Rome are Chelsea after last night? As Liverpool will require at least three goals at Stamford Bridge to progress, Chelsea's name can already be pencilled into the semi-final draw. Problem is, Barcelona can be added in with felt-tip after their blitz of Bayern and the bookies' response to events on Wednesday night was to slash the odds on a Spanish triumph. They deserve better but, to reach Rome, Chelsea will probably require better performances than the one they produced at Anfield. Hiddink called it "perfect". Now all he has to do is defy the impossible and improve on perfection.
And then there's the thorny old question of momentum v fixture flexibility. Sir Alex Ferguson opined at the weekend that the winners of the Chelsea v Liverpool tie would emerge as United's main title challengers but such statements are based on gut instinct rather than an exact science. Two Aprils ago, when his side stunned Valencia in the Mestalla, Jose Mourinho celebrated news of the scoreline at Old Trafford by declaring: "I am very pleased Manchester United are also in the Champions League semi-finals because they will also have to play two more matches and their focus is also in three competitions."
The boot is on the other foot this year and no amount of tactical mastery can overcome fatigue or over-stretch. A gruelling fixture list is the price that must be paid for success but it is also the debt that can cost success and the likelihood of having to play Barcelona twice as well as Bolton, Liverpool, Arsenal, Everton, West Ham, Fulham and Arsenal again over the next 30 days is as daunting as it is inspiring or encouraging.
Arsenal
A game of two halves for Arsenal in the Estadio El Madrigal: pulled apart in the first, feisty and superior in the second. The result was a scoreline that ought to set them on their way to only the second Champions League semi-final of Arsene Wenger's reign. Nevermind a win next week, just a clean sheet will be sufficient.
Unbeaten domestically since November and maturing in Europe, momentum is building. The only cloud on Arsenal's horizon remains, as ever, their injury list. Three more names were added last week and another two on Tuesday. Johan Djourou may be the equal of any other third-choice defender in England but William Gallas has been excellent ever since losing the armband. And nor is this exactly the ideal time during a season for an essentially-untried rookie to take over in goal. The withdrawal of Tomas Rosicky, incidentally, from a reserves' match on Wednesday should be the final word on the possibility of the winger returning this season.
It is a measure of Arsenal's progression in recent months that Arsene Wenger has probably crossed off everything but a centre-half from his summer shopping list. But what the Frenchman needs more than anything else right now is some positive bulletins from his medical department. Otherwise momentum will surely be stalled sooner rather than later.
Losers
Liverpool
Manchester United must be feeling better already.
Rafa Benitez began the week by suggesting that United were "scared" of his rampaging Liverpool side but, after suffering such an emphatic mauling to burst their momentum, it is the Spaniard who must be fearful. United are still in recovery from their 4-1 humiliation at the hands of their north-west rivals on March 14; how long will it take Liverpool to recover from this crushing disappointment?
Their own rehabilitation should be aided and abetted by the complicated acknowledgement that this defeat was actually partly a consequence of their domestic revival. It can be no coincidence that Liverpool played their loosest and least intense spring-time Champions League tie of the Benitez era at a time when, for the first time in his reign, they entered April with one eye still on the Premier League title.
In previous years, the knock-out stages of the Champions League have been their be all and end all, and the difference affected in motivation and commitment was stark. Armchair critics will pinpoint Benitez's preference for zonal marking as the root cause of defeat but the simple reality of both of Branislav Ivanovic's goals was that the Chelsea defender displayed greater determination than Xabi Alonso, Martin Skrtel or Steven Gerrard. Complacency, overconfidence, call it what you will, but it was Liverpool's undoing at both goals.
Yet it would be equally misguided to dismiss such a comprehensive defeat as a mere aberration of distraction. Chelsea could have scored twice as many and Pool scarcely deserved their one. In the second half, Petr Cech was not summoned to produce a single save of note and Benitez cannot ignore the message delivered by Michael Essien's man-marking operation on Steven Gerrard. Hiddink spoke afterwards of the task as "disarming" Liverpool's "main weapon". The Dutchman was being too kind; on this evidence, "only weapon" was the more accurate description.
Liverpool are by no means a one-man team and the stifling of Alonso by Frank Lampard - a replication of the job Gerrard did on Obi Mikel at Stamford Bridge in September - was also a salient feature in the tie. But, with Gerrard shackled, this was Liverpool exposed bare of their Emperor's Clothes - and, for the Kop at least, it was ugly viewing. The sum contribution of Dirk Kuyt and Albert Riera was precisely zilch for the final 80 minutes of the tie and the need for quality to be purchased on the flanks has never been more apparent.
Manchester United
So what is going on? Are Manchester United suffering a minor stumble or a fall that will see them crash-land flat on their faces? The situation is already critical with their hopes of progressing to the semi-final stage of the Champions League already reduced to no better than 35:65 against a side regarded as the weakest remaining in the competition. Something's not right, that is for certain.
United's injury list is as good a starting point in accounting for their slump as any because it is abundantly clear that, regardless of whether or not Cristiano Ronaldo tracks back and Wayne Rooney keeps his temper in check, they are suffering for the absence of Owen Hargreaves and Wes Brown.
Brown has a decent claim to be regarded as the most under-valued player in the league, not least because it was his availability as a stand-in centre-half two seasons ago that proved to be decisive in United's title triumph against a Chelsea squad without an equivalently-able deputy. Unfortunately for United, neither Gary Neville or John O'Shea have been able to plug the gaps that Brown has previously filled and the result has been a catastrophic loss of defensive solidity. It will not ease the concern of the United faithful that the date of Brown's expected return remains a Denilson-style mystery but the good news is that his comeback should coincide with some overdue appreciation.
As for Hargreaves, his absence was most keenly felt last month when neither Anderson nor Michael Carrick possessed the iota of intelligence to realise that filling the area just in front of the United defence from which Gerrard and Torres were rampaging would be a wise idea and it is worth recalling that the midfielder was purchased, at considerable expense, to provide precisely the sort of bite and protection that United required against Porto.
For Sir Alex, central midfield must be an area of profound concern. Although Darren Fletcher has exceeded himself this season, Carrick has continued to frustrate and, despite their ages being ten years apart, both Paul Scholes and Anderson have declined sharply over the past 12 months. Only if he has considerable faith in United's medical department and Hargreaves' dodgy knee can the United manager avoid throwing a substantial amount of money at the problem in the summer.
In the short term, a patched-up United must muddle on and try to avoid another slip-up at the weekend. The season is now at the stage where every game becomes more important than the last and the trip to Sunderland should be regarded as United's most important of the campaign. Defeat or draw at the Stadium of Light would not just spell crisis for their domestic tilt but would also have a significant negative impact on their hopes of prevailing in the Estadio do Dragao. A season that promised so much is suddenly in danger of spiralling into a collapse and only if United's stand-ins finally stand up to the challenge will a devastating fall be avoided.
Pete Gill
