A Tale of Two Derbies

It is not every day that you have the luxury of watching two of the fiercest derbies back to back. A few observations from the North London and the Madrid derby:

The Rise and Rise of Harry Kane

For any young kid living in North London, growing up in the era of the invincibles, and supporting Tottenham Hotspur, it must have been quite difficult. Obviously, each one of them would dream of becoming a footballer, play for Spurs against the Gunners at the White Hart Lane, and show the Gunners their true place. And they would achieve it too, albeit in a video game. Unless, of course, you are Harry Kane, and you fulfill your dream with 2 goals in your first ever home derby in front of a roaring crowd. On Saturday, Harry Kane showed once against why he is being heralded as the next Alan Shearer. His 2 goals against an in form Arsenal team in front of the adoring crowd took Tottenham above Arsenal in the table. And for the first time, there is real belief at White Hart Lane that, come May, Spurs will be amongst the top 4. Replace Harry Kane with Soldado or Adebayor, and Spurs would still be struggling to be in the top half of the table.

Harry Kane is the talk of the town in English football 

Despite him scoring 22 goals in all competitions so far, goals are not the only positives that he brings to the team. His intensity and pressing off the ball is integral to Pochhetino’s philosophy. With a striker like Adebayor, this just could not work. Both his goals were classic examples of his being the perfect striker for the premier league. The first was a poacher’s goal when Ospinia was finally made to pay for his inability to clear the ball away from the danger area while making saves. The second, being a looping header from a deep cross, was even better. Kane, a complete unknown at the beginning of the season, has transformed to a lethal striker taking apart premier league defences on a weekly basis. This story is one for the romantics, and be rest assured, that the hurricane will keep striking for years to come.

Wenger tactically outplayed

This is a very thin line between soaking up the pressure and hitting on the break, and defending without conviction for the whole game and eventually conceding. Against City, a few weeks back, Arsenal knew what they were doing. Today, knowingly or unknowingly, they crossed that line. And Tottenham made them pay. Scoring against the run of play, Arsenal did lead till the half time. But, once play resumed after the interval, it was always a question of when, and not if, Tottenham will score.

Cazorla, who has easily been Arsenal’s best player in their recent revival, was nowhere close to the level that he was against City. And that hurt Arsenal. Spurs’ creative players were provided too much time on the ball. And if not for some ordinary decision making by Spurs while in the attacking third, the scoreline would not have looked so respectable. In his post match interview, Wenger admitted his mistake of focusing too much on defence. When you boast an attack of Ozil, Giroud, Welbeck, Ramsey and Cazorla, this tactic obviously does not make much sense. It will be interesting to see what the Professor is up to when he faces his next big away match.

Simeone’s boys spank  Real Madrid

At the Calderon on Saturday, Real Madrid got a spanking that they will not forget in a hurry. Athletico came into the match staring at a 10 point deficit if they were to lose the match. Instead, the gap is now reduced to 4, and the defending champions aren’t going to give up the title without a fight. Tiago, Saul, Greizmann and Mandzukic might not be household names everywhere, but they rendered Ronaldo and co helpess, as they smothered Madrid straight from kick off up until the final whistle.

This was a display of utter dominance. Let alone creating chances, Real could not even get a decent string of passes together. Agreed that Real were missing key players in Ramos, Pepe, Rodriguez, Marcelo and Modric. But, it still can’t serve as an excuse for such an insipid display. The first goal confirmed the fact that Casillas is a shadow of his former past. Khedira, making only his third start of the season, was equally bad. The forward line of Bale, Benzema and Ronaldo was left stranded and seemed bereft of any ideas. The midfield pairing of Khedira and Kroos was easily overrun. One can only speculate whether the scoreline would still have been the same if a certain Xavi Alonso was not allowed to leave for Bayern Munich in the summer.

Saul scored with a delightful bicycle kick

On the other hand, it was a display of creative and attacking football by Athletico. For long, they have been associated with gritty and unattractive football. But, this match was anything but that. Saul’s bicycle kick to make the score 2-0 was a strike that will be remembered for long. Greizmann and Mandzukic were also outstanding and thoroughly deserved their goals.

It is not the first time that Athetico defeated Real Madrid. Before today, Simeone’s men had outfought Madrid. But today, Athletico Madrid outplayed Real Madrid.