Gameweek 4- Diamond, Diego Costa and a 2-2 draw
With
the transfer market distractions behind us, the premier league was up and
running again after the international break. As I write this, another manager(
Alan Pardew) finds himself on the brink of getting fired after yet another
hapless Newcastle performance. And if Liverpool needed a reminder of how
difficult life is going to be without their talismanic striker, Aston Villa
provided that. Elsewhere, while Manchester United recovered from their false
start to the season, Chelsea continued their superb run. Arsenal and Manchester
City were involved in a thrilling 2-2 draw at the Emirates.
Diamond does the trick
The
injuries to both Smalling and Jones came as a blessing in disguise for
Manchester United and Louis Van Gaal. It forced him to go back to playing 4
defenders. And with Rafael and Rojo playing as full backs, United looked much
better as a defensive unit. And the diamond in the midfield suited Di Maria and
Mata perfectly. When Juan Mata has players in the team who has real pace, he is
a different player. And Di Maria, playing in the left of the diamond, provided
exactly that. With all due respect to the Rooneys and Carricks, United have
lacked that precision in attack ever since Ronaldo left. Watching Di Maria
making those marauding runs and eliminating opponent full backs from the game
with his dribbling was a treat. From whatever little we have seen, he is worth
every bit the 60 million Van Gaal paid. Blind was also superb playing as a
pivot in the midfield. But it remains to be seen whether Blind and Herrera can
hold their own defensively when they come across the big daddies Chelsea and
Manchester City in just above a month’s time from now.
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| Di Maria was outstanding in his Debut |
Diego
Costa is a bully. If ever there was a striker suited to the premier league, he
is the one. Seven goals in four matches is absolutely unbelievable. And scoring
goals is not his only contribution. He tracks back every single time Chelsea
loses the ball. Now, we know why Mourinho played a season with Ba, Torres and
Eto’o. Diego Costa surely is worth the wait. Along with Fabregas, who has an
equally mind boggling tally of six assists in four games, he has solved the
final pieces in Chelsea’s jigsaw puzzle. Once again, Mourinho showed his
masterclass with the introduction of Ramires at half time. After an indifferent
first half, Chelsea looked a completely different side in the second and romped
home to another resounding victory. Teams across Europe have definitely started
to take notice. Mourinho’s second season in charge at Chelsea is going exactly
the way Mourinho’s second season goes.
An Even battle at the Emirates
Manchester
City and Arsenal have both not had the smoothest of starts in the league this
season. Without the Yaya Toure of 2013-14, City have not yet looked as menacing
as last year. Arsenal, with the arrival of Welback, looks much more balanced.
The arrival of Welback also freed Sanchez of the burden of playing as a centre
forward. A player of Sanchez’s caliber can be lethal when he is allowed to run
with the ball, and not by playing with his back to the goal. The end result was
justified as there was no single team which dominated proceedings. Sergio
Aguero with his neat finish once again reiterated why he is one of the best in
the world. Sanchez and Wilshere scored brilliant second half goals, but Arsenal
was again let down by poor defending against set pieces. One major worry
for Arsenal is the painfully shorn of confidence and out of touch Mesut Ozil.
He looks a shadow of the player he was last year. And because he doesn’t work
hard enough when Arsenal is not in possession, he was a liability in the field.
So if this form continues, I think Wenger will have to start looking at other
options.
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