Now that the dust has settled on Matchday 1, Arsenal’s 1-1 draw in Kiev looks OK.
It’s a better result than Manchester United’s 0-0 against Villarreal at Old Trafford.
The agile, stocky Theo Walcott can ride a lot of tackles, and his balance allows him to zoom down the field while keeping good control of the ball. He is confident and productive now. Walcott will be the first home-made English hero of the Emirates if he keeps playing as he is at the moment. Bolton will fear him at the Reebok on Saturday.
I’d been wondering whether Inter Milan’s Jose Mourinho might be the right manager for the wayward but gifted Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
The Swede grew up in Malmo with Bosnian and Croatian parents and joined Ajax as a kid. He is six foot four and can do astonishing things with a football when he’s in the mood.
The Special One transformed Drogba and might repeat the trick. Maybe he can do for the enigmatic Ibra, 26, what Arsene did for Dennis Bergkamp : challenge him to find a new level, make him consistently dynamic, motivate him to become one of football’s most admired gladiators. On Tuesday the big man laid on goals for Mancini and sub Adriano as Inter beat Panathinaikos 2-0.
Surprise package of the week are Romanian champions CFR Cluj, who won 2-1 at Roma, with Argentinian-born striker Culio scoring both goals. No club from outside Bucharest has ever won the league title until Cluj. Are they minnows? Yes. Are they winners? Definitely. Good luck to Cluj.
By contrast, big boys Steaua Bucharest lost 1-0 at home to Bayern Munich.
Fiorentina look the best Italian side, taking a 2-0 lead at Lyon after two headers by Gilardino, who flopped at AC Milan. The were close to winning before Benzema’s late, deflected shot made it 2-2. Maybe Arsenal will play Fiorentina again this season. It’s always nice to see handsome young men in tight purple shorts.
Tactically, Villarreal are very clever and it wasn’t a big surprise that they contained Manchester United at Old Trafford.
They had done their homework, as Robert Pires said later, making a close study of Liverpool’s 2-1 win against United last week. Robbie said they looked a bit tired and slow.
United’s best style is breaking at high speed and their second best style is a collective passing game where patient moves end with a good finish. They could not do either against a side which was second in La Liga last term, so the game was all about waiting for the return of Cristiano Ronaldo, Europe’s finest footballer. He came on for Ji-sung Park in 62 and his enterprise, confidence and dynamism were phenomenal. But not decisive.
I still think Berbatov will fit in beautifully but that will take months, not days.
Manchester United need to WIN at Chelsea on Sunday and few can see them doing that.
Chelsea’s demolition of Bordeaux was impressive : two headers by Lampard and Joe Cole, a nice shot from Malouda in 82 and a tap-in by Anelka in 82.
There are 32 teams in the Champions League and only one of them won 4-0. Scolari’s Blues, aided by the brainy, tenacious Deco, like to attack and keep attacking. With both fullbacks flying forward as never before, Chelsea could score against United, then score again, then score a third. Van Der Sar had looked dodgy all season so far and Vidic is suspended.
United have only two wins in six matches. If Sir Alex plays his old favourite Paul Scholes, it could be a rout.
