Which team has created 53 scoring chances yet only scored 3 goals? Actually, they have only scored 1 themselves, the other two were own goals. It's Arsenal! Wenger's side played some really good possession against Newcastle on Saturday. Walcott started up front, Giroud on the bench. The
Magpies attempted to intimidate Arsenal with a physical approach in the form of harsh tackles and body checks. Lots of fouls during the first half hour or so. Mitrovic was rightfully sent off in the 18th minute for trying to make Coquelin suffer a broken foot. That guy has been a loose cannon from the start of the season. Anyway, not much wrong with how the
Gunners played, but the problem of finishing chances surfaced again. Sub Giroud came on in the second half, got at least two 100% chances and Krul saved them both. Coloccini handed Arsenal 3 points with an own goal. Wenger left the North-East with a smile on his face, still, this is becoming a serious problem. What to do?!
The same kinda applies to the
Mancunians, who have still not signed a forward and who have still not sold De Gea to Real Madrid. It seems to me like they are in a dark tunnel with no light in sight. You can't just rely on your defense to collect clean sheets and keep your fingers crossed that Rooney and Depay will score a goal from time to time. The EPL is four weeks underway and no goals from either of them. Hernandez replaces Son at Leverkusen, does Van Gaal really want to continue the season with Rooney and Fellaini as forwards? And since when is the Belgian a striker? Man United's midfield is drenched in incompetence and an endless passing game. Depay is a threat to opponents, Mata is sparkling occasionally, but how about the other (attacking) midfielders? This team lacks players who bring something extra to the table and that's a sad conclusion after spending over €120m....
Time for another statistic. What team has now won 8 of their last 10 away games? Crystal Palace! So, was it really a shock to see them beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge? Ofcourse not. Pardew is a magician, who can pull things off with his squad that other managers with more financial resources can not. Excellent result. Mourinho, however, needs to fix his defense quickly as conceding 9 goals in 4 matches equals the average of a team fighting relegation, lol. Terry is not fast enough, Zuma simply doesn't know how to play football, Ivanovic is hopelessly out of form, Azpilicueta constantly wants to attack rather than defend, and Cahill has always been overrated. I just don't know what to say about the
Blues. There's no significant improvement. It's the same mess every week. Mourinho preaches "we didn't deserve to lose" in post match interviews, but should the world take his comments serious if his team keeps losing matches like this?
Elsewhere in Europe.... Bayern Munich easily defeated Bayer Leverkusen. A perfect display from Guardiola's team and an awesome Robben goal. So happy that he's back, cause we need him badly in the upcoming Euro 2016 qualifiers this week. Dortmund did well too beating Hertha 3-1. Wolfsburg lost two players during the weekend. De Bruyne has officially moved to Manchester, while Perisic joins Inter. Oh, and Thomas Muller has already scored 5 goals in the Bundesliga so far... will he stay or will he go?
Italian champions Juventus remain pointless after an away defeat in Rome. Gareth Bale got two in for Real Madrid against Betis. I watched Sevilla vs Atletico Madrid (0-3) with an impressive Antoine Griezmann! PSG had no problem scoring 3 goals at Monaco. Zlatan is back, Di Maria came on the pitch in the second half, Cavani scored twice. All those superstars are ready to win another league title and try to reach far in the Champions League. I'd say they are a dangerous outsider to win the big trophy.
DEADLINE DAY
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/34091368
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/34055347
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.