The game I really want to see is Juventus v AC Milan.  This game is not a title decider per se, but if the Old Lady wins, the black and white kit may have a nice shield on it next season.

In England there is the Carling Cup Final, but I really don’t care about that.  Of course that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go to the Lansing Claddagh to watch it.  Arsenal hosts Tottenham Hotspur, which could be tasty, and I’m interested to see the fans reaction to Arsene.  If the Gunners lose again, he could really be under some pressure.

As for Spain, Levante against Espanyol is a crucial game in the race for European places.  FCB travel to the Calderon, as Simeone’s Atleti get their first big test.  Between their defensive solidity and FCB’s subpar away form, there might be something in this match for the capital’s other team.

Huge game in Germany as Bayern Munich hosts Schalke.  Both teams need the three points to stay in the title chase.

Saturday

Sunday

As for La Liga teams in the Europa League, SpanishFootball.info gave a quick round up.  Might have to find some time in the schedule to see if Bilbao can turn it around against Lokomotiv at San Mames.

——

This weekend’s action saw lots of goals with Real Madrid putting four past Racing, an 8 goal extravaganza between Rayo and Levante, Barca’s five past Valencia and the Yellow Submarine surrendering four to Real Mallorca.  This round also saw Levante slip from fourth place.  Their slide down the table has been put on hold because none of the chasing pack can get their act together, but I don’t see Los Granotes finding the hand brake.

I can tell that Madrista Mac is really excited about this Real Madrid team and with good reason.  With Benzema and Granero giving Mourinho different options, this Los Merengues squad will take some stopping.  He also focused on Real gaining every single point they can during this relatively easy period before the anticipated war of April with battles in the Champions League and another Clasico.

Athletic Bilbao 3  Malaga 0

Searching for this game on US TV, I was at a loss.  It wasn’t on GolTV or ESPN3, so I had two options: illegal internet feed or miss it.  But thanks to the Washington Post’s Soccer Insider, I saw that it was on DirecTV channel 477, so I headed up early Sunday morning to the Lansing Claddagh to watch it.

Bilbao had a midweek game in Russia, which they lost 2-1, so Bielsa sent out a squad without Llorente, Martinez, and Amorebieta, which gave Toquero a rare start.  Malaga started with a mostly first choice side, although Joaquin was on the bench.  Los Boquerones got off a to a flyer, with Bilbao goalkeeper Iraizoz having to make several smart saves, and stayed on top of the match for the opening 15 minutes.

There wasn’t much in the middle part of the half as Los Leones came into the match.  Munain got involved and was able to get past his defender at will.  Isco for Malaga did not see much off the ball as the half progressed and his influence faded.  Toquero showed himself to a different player than Llorente, more all action, sort of like a poor man’s Tevez.

The second half started 0-0 and Bilbao substituted Susaeta and Ekiza for Llorente and Amorebieta, and the defender opened the scoring on 57 minutes after a poorly cleared corner kick.  Another corner kick was rammed home by San Jose before a 1 v 1 by Ander was roofed home by Toquero.

The second half petered out as Malaga was all over the place.  The visitors proved the adage that you must take your chances, and their profligacy in front goal cost them as much as their lapses in concentration in the second period.  Bilbao, thanks to Levante’s loss, climbed into fourth, while Malaga are mired in ninth.

Mike Barnes at A Different Liga saw a Malaga team in control but wasteful in front of goal and absent on set pieces.  Seems like the only way they can make the Champions League is to immediately correct their away form, which Mike stated:  Pellegrini’s men haven taken only eight points from a possible 36 on their travels.

FC Barcelona 5  Valencia 1

Barcelona and Valencia recently played in the Copa del Rey, and it was a tight two legged affair in which the Blaugrana could have put the tie away, but, due to poor finishing, they allowed Valencia to stay within touching distance.  This league game was a chance for Los Che to get within five points of the Champions, a gap that would have been the closest this late in the season for quite a while.

In case you have not heard, playmaker Ever Banega broke his ankle and is out for the rest of the season.  Bad enough.  But how did it happen?  His car ran over his leg because he didn’t have the handbrake on.  Wrong on so many levels.

From the start, FCB was all over the visitors and could have scored several times from the outset but it was Valencia that struck first as Feghouli hoofed the ball into the box and VV either misread it or was out of sorts and Piatti knocked home the opener.  At that moment I didn’t write off the league—if you have been following me over the last several weeks, I conceded the title to Real Madrid several weeks ago—rather I just slumped in my chair and waited for what was next.

The resulting 80 minutes or so was an absolute masterclass from FC Barcelona as they ripped apart Valencia time and time again, and if it had not been for a brave performance by Diego Alves, the match could have reached absurd heights.

The first two goals were wonderful to behold, with the first down to a moment of magic from Messi and the second involving great team play.  These goals were followed by two almost goals from the sick drawer, as in so sick in their quality and technical ability and creativity—Fabregas off the crossbar and Iniesta’s curling effort that went just wide.

But the third goal would not come and when Valdes made a nice save on Feghouli on 66′, the nerves started to show.  Eventually breathing room did come on 75′ as Messi fired home from close range after a shot from Tello (who was very active on left and created a lot of danger) was initially saved (again) by Diego Alves. FCB tore Valencia open again on 84’ and Messi scored a fourth with a delicious chip over Alves.  All the work was done by a beautiful ball from Busquets and a great run from Messi.  Xavi came on as a late sub and even scored after Valencia made a complete hash of a clearance and he flicked over the keeper.

Just a couple of more player notes. Sanchez struggled in front of goal.  Although Alves was in good form, the Chilean should have one or two.  Thought Pedro was far from his best on the left but there is still time for him to come good this season.  Nice to see Montoya out there.  Still doesn’t solve the long term problem in the middle but gives Pep options out wide.  As for Valencia, Piatti again had moments but disappeared after his goal and made way for Jordi Alba on 65 minutes.  I saw some rumors on twitter that FCB was interested in Rami.  Based on his performance this match, that interest needs to be over.  Slow, awkward, poorly positioned.  Yikes.

In the end, a spellbinding ninety minutes from the Blaugrana.  The league is gone but that doesn’t mean they can’t generate moments of the magic, of which this was one.  They have one foot in the last eight of the Champions League, and there is still the chance of a cup double this season, giving them five of the six titles on offer.  Still a nice haul.

Really enjoyed Kxevin’s recap of the game at Barcelona Football Blog as he echoed many of my sentiments but with greater embellishment and passion.  He gave big ups to Sanchez’s overall performance and thoroughly enjoyed Messi’s four goal haul while noting some areas of improvement.

I did a little searching at a couple of Valencia blogs, but they didn’t have their comments up yet.  I did find this player rating, which was pretty harsh.  Gave Alves a 5.5?  Seriously?  The man kept you competitive.  Blame your defense not the keeper.

——

Odds and Ends

Sid Lowe tried to shift through the truths and lies over the site of this year’s Copa del Rey Final, featuring Athletic Bilbao against FC Barcelona.  Bilbao don’t want it at the Mestalla because it holds too few fans, ie too few Bilbao fans, and the Bernabeu doesn’t want to host because Barcelona are involved.  There is the stadium in Seville but that is not centrally located.  Who knows where the game will end up or even what date it will be played.

Connor at El Centrocampista asked the question this week: Are the rest catching the best in La Liga?  Yes Valencia is improving and, as the first of the rest, has not been completely cut adrift so far this season, but I don’t see much for the rest of the league.  There is more parity from fourth to ninth or so, but none of the chasing pack is really closing the gap on the Big Two, and I would be surprised if any of them can challenge in Europe.  I think FCB may come back to the pack as the torch is passed from Xavi and Puyol to the new players, but once they bed in, there could be another dominant cycle in the future.  As for Real Madrid, their status will depend on the manager after Mourinho and whether the club buys wisely.  Los Merengues are well placed to challenge on all fronts for the next several years, but if the Special One is not there, will they be able to keep it together?

As for the rest of the league . . .

Listened to a fantastic pod from Forza Football this week as they had Dean Burrier Sanchis (@BurrierSanchis) to discuss how he found Levante as his club, and they discussed their great start to the season and expectations for the final months of the season.  Love hearing fans’ stories, especially for the smaller clubs.

Sid Lowe looked at all of the factors at Malaga—finances, players sales and purchases, and injuries—in his weekly column for the Guardian.  As bad as they have been this season (and they have been awful at times), they could still qualify for Europe.  Don’t see it, mainly because they don’t have a backbone, which was reinforced by Sid’s stat:  only Barcelona have committed fewer fouls this season.

Graham Hunter’s column for Soccernet.com chronicled the long and winding tale of  Jose Luis Mendilibar, currently of Osasuna.  Celebrating a year in charge, here is a manager who has been around the block a couple of times and has a knack for getting the most out of players.  Unfortunately the clock is ticking as he has only lasted beyond two years at one job.

Mando at Forza Football used a Valentine’s Day metaphor to explore how clubs choose their managers and how success and failure at a club can be a matter of chance rather than work or talent, focusing on Clemente’s recent hire at Gijon.

Finally, Phil Ball continues to entertain and inform every week.  This week’s column focused on Spinoza’s idea of associations.  Who is Spinoza?  Answer, an 18th century Dutch rationalist philosopher.  Anyway, Phil explained the associations that have prospered (Iniesta/Messi, CR7/Benzema) and associations that have been severed (Nilmar/Rossi, Borja/Cazorla) in La Liga this season.  Great read.

I’m out of town this weekend so will not posting next week.  Enjoy the next round of games and the Morbo Minute will be back in two weeks.

Watched bits and pieces of Spurs game against Stevenage, and when I left Liverpool was tied 1-1 with Brighton.  The pressure must surely be mounting on Arsene at the Emirates as the Black Cats dumped the Gunners out of the FA Cup andMilanabsolutely thrashed them in the Champions League.  The battle for fourth in the Premier League is going right down to the wire and I’m not sure Arsenal has the stomach for the fight.

As for Juventus, I find them hard to watch right now.  As a fan, I should support them not matter what, but game after game of grinding play and poor finishing has left me struggling to carve out time in my calendar.  Of course I didn’t watch Sunday’s match against Cataniaand, from what I’ve read, missed a commanding performance from Pirlo as the Old Lady won 3-1.

I didn’t watch the Juventus game and Aaron’s post match wrap mocked me as I missed an open game full of chances and mistakes and goals.  Catania could very well have taken all three points but the Old Lady, orchestrated by Pirlo, won the match and set up a big time game with AC Milan.

Paolo looked back at a weekend in Serie A that saw Inter running off the rails and Napoli surging back up the table.  Their fortunes continued in the Champions League with Napoli beating Chelsea 3-1 and Inter falling to Marseille 1-0 in France.

One thread I hope to develop this summer is the nature and quality of my fandom going forward.  I can’t see how I can fully devote myself to three clubs (Manchester United, FC Barcelona and Juventus).  I never really have but maybe it’s time to invest in one to the exclusion of others.

I missed the Napoli v Chelsea first leg so read Zonal Marking’s recap of the game, which focused on high positioning of Ivanovic and the lack of organization from the Blues that the hosts were able to exploit.  Down 3-1 heading back to Stamford Bridge, don’t see how Chelsea turns it around.

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Podcasts

I spent a lot of time on the road on Thursday and Friday so was able to keep up with my podcasts.

On the SI roundtable, the panel discussed the Suarez/Evra fiasco, gave some thoughts on the African Cup of Nations and talked about some possible stories this season in the MLS.

The Men in Blazers pod featured a host derby as Chelsea played Everton. Again, HandshakeGate (what a stupid name) was discussed before Aaron Ramsey’s deadly penchant for scoring was mentioned.

Anto had Phillip Delves Broughton on Beyond the Pitch to talk about his interview with Silvio Berlusconi.  Great conversation and interesting insights into the former Prime Minister and AC Milan President.

—-

Jersey Leaks

This week I also came across possible jersey leaks for next season.  Underwhelming to say the least.  The Men in Blazers had snapshots of the US kit, which hearkens back to the 1994 World Cup kits from adidas.  After watching highlights on 101greatgoals.com, I clicked on a post with mockups up kits from Barcelona, Arsenal and Manchester United.  Ugh.

Juve are scheduled to play Catania on Saturday.  After sitting through the game against Parma, not sure that I want/need to carve out time in my schedule.

Sunday sees Valencia travel to the Nou Camp.  With both teams pretty much locked into second and third, the match could be dire or a frenzied affair like the game at the Mestalla.

All time Eastern.

Saturday

Sunday

My FCB notes disappeared.  Blurgh.  To sum up, ugly green jerseys, frozen pitch, out of sorts.

Everyone is giving their two cents worth about FCB losing the title after a vise like grip for the last three years.  As usual I read posts from Lee Roden at El Centrocampista, Meg Ryan at Total Barca and Kxevin Barcelona Football Blog, which looked at how things went wrong.  But don’t forget, two titles are still up for grabs and there is no reason why they cannot mount a challenge again next year.  Remember Manchester United doesn’t win over year, just two or three years in a row before rebuilding for another run.

Doctor Sid wrote the death sentence for this year’s title race. It is, in fact, over due to injuries, motivation and fatigue, plus Real keeping the pedal down and not letting up, which is exactly what FCB has done for the last three years. Now the focus shifts to the race for the drop and the race for fourth.

Speaking of Real, thought Madridista Mac had a great article examining Los Merengues’ formation against Levante.  Mourinho was able to start with Benzema, Higuain, CR7 and Ozil in a very aggressive formation that put Los Granotes under pressure.  Mac also mentioned the additional focus that will be needed win the league despite the cushion and how Mourinho is perfectly positioned to deliver that.

Phil Ball focused on the 3 M’s of recent Spanish club management—Marcelino, Manolo Preciado and Gregorio Manzano—before transitioning into Mourinho’s possible plans this summer.

Graham Hunter went against conventional wisdom in his column for soccernet by stating that Torres should go to the Euros this summer and doesn’t see what the fuss is about.  Hunter examined how Torres is playing not necessarily the tangible results and sees a player in tune with Mata and able to help the squad.  Very interesting take considering the current climate around El Nino.

Gaizka Mendieta was on Beyond the Pitch to talk about Valencia, the tension between Real Madrid and Barcelona, and Spain’s chances at Euro 2012.

Elisa and Ravi of Forza Futbol covered a ton of La Liga ground with Eduardo Alvarez of ESPNSoccernet.com on their latest pod.  Tons of on La Liga from players to transfers to clubs.  Definitely worth a listen.

Also on Forza Futbol was a post from Allen Dodson about the release of Deloitte’s Sports Group annual “Football Money League” report.  Not much has changed, with the rich getting richer, but one of Allen’s comments really jumped out at me:

In fact, Real Madrid’s matchday revenues (no radio/TV, no sponsorship, etc.) would ALONE be enough to get them into the Top 20 of the Money League, and those revenues are larger thanValencia’s entire revenue stream!  And Barcelona’s matchday revenues are only slightly smaller thanMadrid’s.

That’s it for this week and don’t forget to welcome Javier Clemente back to La Liga as he tries to keep Gijon up for another season.

Sunday was busy as well as I had to put my house back together. Then I headed out to meet with Aaron of Mid Michigan United to talk about future watch parties and events in the Lansing Area. Finally it was back home for church and then a well deserved rest before heading back to work this morning.

With a busy week at work and at home my reading and viewing were a little light but here we go.

Saturday

Manchester United 2 Liverpool 1

Originally I was going to watch this game later in the day because 730am is early, especially since I knew I would be out late the night before and had a long day ahead of me, but the my local pub was opening early and some of the guys were going to be there so I couldn’t resist.

I called my friend at halftime and he was like United is dominating. I told him I wouldn’t say there were dominating but they were in control. The game was much better than the league game at Snfield, but the opening goal wouldn’t come. Felt that Scholes and Carrick were able to handle a subpar Liverpool midfield and Suarez was only dangerous when he got one on one in space.

But what a second half. An absolutely blinding start from the Red Devils with a Rooney brace early to all but seal the game. Once again I felt they took the foot off the pedal as they did in the City FA Cup game and it almost bit them in the ass. The Liverpool goal was a complete cluster. First a non foul on Suarez, although to be fair it looked bad in real time, which led to the free kick that bounced off Rio’s nether regions to allow the villain to score. After that Liverpool just kept hammering away, almost getting rewarded with a Suarez header (off target and offside) and a blistering effort at the end.

United were the better team but just. They are far from the irresistible force of several years ago and may win the title only because City and Mancini don’t know how. As for Liverpool they were toothless for the most part. United were able to keep them at arm’s length pretty easily until Bellamy came on, although I felt he should have come on earlier. As for the rest of the team, they are simply not good enough. Spearing is not a replacement for Lucas, Johnson is decent but disappeared and Jose Enrique simply cannot deal with Valencia.

Zonal Marking summarized the game and focused on Giggs’ position, which was a narrow left sided midfielder, that created a numbers up behind Gerrard and Henderson and around Spearing.

I checked out the Red Rants blog to get their perspective on the game. Daniele gave a quick summary of the game before chiming in on the actions and comments of King Kenny and Suarez, ending the post with, “Liverpool should worry about clinching a place in Europe for next season, rather than spending energies to defend Suarez.”

Sunday

After my meeting with Aaron I had planned to watch Bologna versus Juventus, but the game was cancelled by the recent coldsnap in Italy.  I believe of their last three matches, only one has come off.  AC Milan’s late win against Udinese put the Rossoneri two points up but Juventus has two matches in hand.  Lazio has moved up to third with Inter truly out of the race after several recent poor performances.

Adam Digby examined the lack of creativity in this year’s Juventus squad.  Although the Old Lady is battling Milan for the title, the scudetto may have been out of sight had some of their draws been turned into wins, but goals have been hard to come by, especially against well organized provincial sides.

Paolo Bandini looked back at a Serie A weekend during which Novara did the double over a fading Inter, Milan stunned Udinese and Lazio held on to third.

Avi Creditor gave an update on Charlie Davies, back at Sochaux and fighting for a spot in Europe.  Had totally forgotten about that guy.

Podcasts

Rog and Mickey of Men in Blazers had another great show with a fantastic I Testify telling the story of one couple’s discovery of each other and soccer.

Gabriele Marcotti was on Beyond the Pitch to review the transfer window in Serie A and the futures of some of the teams.

I got to the 2/7 SI.com Soccer pod a little late, so the news that the panel covered (the draw between Chelsea and Manchester United and Suarez’s return against Spurs) was a touch stale but their comments about the managerial situation at Chelsea were interesting.  Steve Davis also shared some notes about MLS preseason.

Last weekend’s World Football Phone In was pretty entertaining as the panel discussed the nature of fans of Argentinean league; Porto post-AVB; the drama at  Ajax; and an African Cup of Nations final preview.

Bilbao put a strong side in the first leg and seemed to be cruising at Mirandes, up 2-0 by halftime but the hosts pulled one back and have something to fight for at San Mames.  Did’t see how they could score twice at the Cathedral but they had made it this far.  Turns out they scored twice but gave up six.  I was able to watch the opening quarter an hour or so, by which Los Leones had put the visitors to the sword.  They eventually ran out 6-2 winners on the night and 8-3 on aggregate.  Don’t want to pat myself on the back but I did predict them to make the final.

As for Valencia v Barcelona, Los Che travelled to the Nou Camp with a shot at progressing.  From reports I read on the first leg, FCB woke up in the second half and could have put the tie to bed but a missed penalty and some poor finishing gave Valencia at least a chance.  The second leg kicked off with the Blaugrana fired up and putting Los Che under all sorts of pressure.  Fabregas scored early but the second goal would not come. Valencia were set up for the counter but couldn’t punish FCB.  In the second half, they came out in much better spirits and turned the table on the hosts.  Barca eventually regained control but the decider didn’t come until late through Xavi. Valencia then suffered a second yellow and that was that.

The date and site of the Final still have to be decided.  It depends on Barcelona’s progress in the Champions League.  If they make the Champions League Final, I believe that the Copa del Rey Final will be May 19 or 20, possibly at the Bernabeu.  If they don’t, then I heard that the Final will be May 25.  Whenever it is, should be a great game as the two most successful teams in this competition square off.

On Sunday, Juventus travels to Bologna.  They need three points to keep the pressure on their rivals but this trip is never easy.  The day ends with Los Merengues hosting Levante who need to turn around their form if they hope to finish in European places.

Saturday

Sunday

Saturday

Athletic Bilbao 3  Espanyol 3

I have seen a couple of fantastic games this season—Valencia 2 FCB 2; Bilbao 2 FCB 2; Villarreal 2 Valencia 2—but this game might be the best of the lot.  I picked this game out of the weekend’s program because it featured two teams vying for European places and I had been following both in the Copa del Rey.  I was rewarded with an energetic goalfest featuring fantastic finishes, shambolic defending and end to end action.

Los Leones were in charge for the opening half hour with Espanyol seeing very little of the ball, having only one shot of note. Pochettino sent them out very defensively, with two banks of defenders and trying to hit the hosts on the counter. Bilbao were fluid in attack with Muniain buzzing about, and they missed a couple of quality chances before being gifted the opener.  Didac, who had a mixed bag, headed the ball back into danger and Oscar hit a shot that was initially saved by Casilla but trickled in.

Los Pericos got right back into match after the hosts did not clear their lines and Romaric slammed in a shot from just outside of the box.  After that the game became stretched and Espanyol actually came into the game, with captain Verdu doing a decent job of pulling the strings.  They had a goal chalked off for a marginal offside call and just before the half, they were cut open but the ball was headed wide (although slightly deflected).

Bielsa made two subs at halftime, bringing on Ander and Susaeta for Lopez and Perez.  I figured this was due to their Copa involvement midweek, and he expected the two younger players to step the game up a gear, but Bilbao went immediately behind as Weiss started the half with a bang as his blistering shot gave the visitors the lead.  The goal seemed to knock the stuffing out of the hosts and Espanyol went for it, with Weiss having a nice spell of play.

Llorente got Bilbao back on track on 58’ as he continued his rich vein of form. Great service from Susaeta and Didac lost him as the big man headed in to equalize.  Espanyol almost responded quickly but Susaeta saved off the line.  Javi Martinez then gave Los Leones the lead with a fantastic header with 25’ to go.

Coutinho (on loan from Inter) saw very little of the ball and was subbed off for Thievy after a possible foot injury.  Albin then came on at the 72 minute mark for Rui Fonte, and Llorente made way for Toquero with 15’ to go.  Another new signing for Espanyol. Uche, entered with 10′ to go.

All of these moves set up the grand finale.  Susaeta made space for himself but his curling effort crashed off the post.  The game looked like it would finish with three points for the hosts but then the ball was played into Uche and as he flicked the ball into space, the defender slipped, and Albin absolutely smashed a shot off the crossbar and in to share the spoils.

Draw might have been a fair result but both teams needed all three points in their quest for Europe.  There is still a chance that one of these teams may claim fourth, which is good and bad.  Good in that both teams can entertain, but bad in that I don’t see either lasting long in the Champions League.

Sunday

Atletico Madrid 0  Valencia 0

Shortly before the Super Bowl started, I watched Atleti v Valencia in a game that I was really looking forward to.   I had not seen Simeone’s Atleti play so was curious to see how they would set out.  Los Che were coming of a grueling game against Barca and I wasn’t sure they would be up for it.  The resulting 90’ were painful in every meaning of the word.

The first fifteen minutes were chippy and scrappy, with not much to speak of.  Ruiz got a yellow after hauling down Falcao, and then on 28’ the first real chance of game fell to Piatti as a poor header provided him a chance to give it a lash which Courtois saved.

Not much more to say about the first half, filled with 19 fouls, other than Adrian had a decent header saved

The second half started with Soldado being played in.  There was a scramble and on another day a penalty may have been called.  Felt like Valencia was coming into the game, with Emery eventually subbing Soldado with Aduriz on the half hour mark.  Probably was looking for fresh legs after a Copa game in midweek and another to follow.

Godin got knocked the fuck out by the GK punching clear and had to be subbed.  Minutes later, Falcao created a chance for himself but it was saved off the line.  Piatti went out around 67’, and I thought he had a decent game.  And by that I mean that he was more involved and influential than he had been in the previous times I had watched him.  Alba nearly punished lazy passing out of the Atleti rearguard, but his shot fizzed just wide.

In the end a forgettable game.  Simeone has stabilized things and if Atleti can sort out their attack, they will be playing European football next season.

Here is my twitter commentary with @AtleticoFans:

this game is awful. if teams would stop fouling each other and knock the ball around, that would be nice. #Atleti #ValenciaCF #LaLiga

@AtleticoFans This is Atleti’s new style I’m afraid. I do hope the forwards will be able to connect a bit better, doesn’t seem to b a plan b

new style as in foul everyone in sight or their build up play? adrian has been decent, diego poor, arda invisible

@AtleticoFans Both, but mostly the latter. Defence has been told not to take risks. Biggest change is that entire team “haunts” opponents

Feel like I’m watching anMLS game. Not a good feeling

Derek at Atleticofans summed up the game perfectly in his post game review:  Good football didn’t seem a priority to either coach, who instructed their teams to play with aggression and intensity.

Paul Wilkes (@laligauk) did a guest post at Forza Futbol to discuss the tactics of this game, which he did far better than me.  Another clean sheet for Simeone’s men, an away point for Los Che, and improvement in fringe players Adrian and Piatti.

—–

Results

Saturday

Barcelona 2-1 Real Sociedad

Looks like Liverpool aren’t the only club to deal with cat invading the pitch as Meg Ryan at Total Barca looked back on a Barca game that featured youth but also some of the issues that have been plaguing the Blaugrana this season: lack of finishing, injuries and vulnerablility to the counter-attack.

Getafe 0-1 Real Madrid

Bassam gave tongue in check awards to at Real Madrid Football Blog.  He was able to have some fun with Los Merengues as the game against Getafe was not even worth writing about.

Mallorca 1-0 Real Betis

Levante 1-1 Racing

Sunday

Real Zaragoza 1-2 Rayo Vallecano

Sevilla 1-2 Villarreal

Marcelino was fired the next day.  No surprise really.  With their downturn in form, I thought he would have hit the road after last round’s loss to Malaga.  As for the Yellow Submarine, they are slowly pulling away the relegation zone.

Sporting 1-1 Osasuna

Monday

Granada 2-1 Malaga

That can’t be good for Pellegrini.

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Articles

Sid Lowe dug into the challengers for fourth place this campaign, finding several candidates but not one that seems ready to take the position and make it their own.  In a weekend of key confrontations, draws were the order the day, and, in the end, nothing much changed.

Phil Ball travelled to Barcelona with his daughter to catch the game against Real Sociedad in a half filled Nou Camp.  On one of the coldest nights in almost 50 years, it was a game with chances for both sides and Tello and Griezmann catching the eye (besides Messi of course).

La Liga Loca praised Sergio Ramos, Espanyol and Atlethic Bilbao among others after a round that produced the sublime or the staid.  More of the latter.  Marcelino went down, Zaragoza is going down and the Atleti/Valencia should be flushed down the toilet.

Olly Dawes recapped the latest transfer window in La Liga.  Several of the middle to bottom sides looked to bolster their squad, while Espanyol made a couple of pick ups to strengthen a team fighting for a European place.

Graham Hunter drew parallels between J. Edgar Hoover and the Special One is his weekly column for soccernet, advising Mourinho to not burn too many bridges in his search for possible leaks.  Hunter also touched on Valencia’s new sponsor and an amazing Copa del Rey.

I did a little research and found Jinko Solar’s press release about partnering with Valencia.  I read their ABOUT section several times and still don’t know what they do other than provide solar energy options.  Maybe it really is that simple.

Graham Hunter’s anticipated book on FC Barcelona, Barca: The Making of the Greatest Team in the World is out and SI.com published an excerpt, which retold Messi’s trip from Argentina to Spain and the tense weeks that unfolded until he actually signed with the club.  Fascinating stuff and can’t wait to get my hands on the book.

I wasn’t able to catch the FCB game this week, so I when I read that Tello not only started but scored, I couldn’t wait to see the highlights.  Iain McMullen at El Centrocampista shared a brief history of yet another Barcelona youth product ready to help Pep’s Team.

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Here is the current table.  The battle for fourth in Spain should be as dramatic as the one in England.  Stay tuned.

Saturday morning I woke up to start a busy day.  In checking scores and texts and twitter, I knew something was happening at the Emirates, but my god, what a performance by the Gunners.  My guess is that they were inspired by my Strip Club post on Friday.

This is how sad I am.  I went to pub, with the family, to watch a game . . . online.  I watched Athletic Bilbao against Espanyol as I nominally put in Family Time, and I didn’t even bother having the bartender turn on the City/Fulham game because a) I didn’t want to be distracted any further, b) I have not caught Deuce Fever, and c) I was hoping that by not watching, somehow the Cottagers would further dent City’s title charge.  No dice.

Sunday morning I headed back to the pub for Chelsea v United.

Chelsea 3 Manchester United 3

In the lead up to the game, all I could focus on was United’s poor form at Stamford Bridge and their injuries, so I wasn’t very confident heading into the game.  But the game kicked off and the Reds were in control, not necessarily dangerous but having Chelsea in their pocket.  And then it went sideways.  Sturridge skinned Evra and his cross went off de Gea, struck Evans, and then fell into the back of the net. Chelsea and United traded blows and I felt that if United got a goal before halftime, they would be fine.  But to score you have to shoot and for some reason, the Red Devils, in particular Rooney, wouldn’t pull the trigger.

After halftime I expected United to move through the gears and maybe get a point but instead the Blues added a second.  As I tweeted right after the goal: wow. as scrappy as 1st goal was, the 2nd was absolute class.  Torres’ cross was inch perfect and Mata’s finish was spectacular.  From there things went from bad to worse, as Rio didn’t get tight to Sideshow Bob, who headed in to put the hosts up 3-0.  At this point, I was having flashbacks to the game against City in October.  Even the first penalty I felt was nothing more than a consolation but from there United pressed on, winning the second penalty.  At 3-2, I started shaking and went white knuckle as United tried to find the equalizer, which came from the Little Pea.  After that my nerves were shot as both teams had chances to win, especially Mata’s free kick, stunningly saved by de Gea.

The game was not fantastic on a technical level, with both teams guilty of loose passes, poor positioning and lapses in concentration but more than made up for it in fire and finishing. Chelsea are ashambles.  Malouda and Essien were simply passengers, especially for the last 30 minutes.  As for Torres, he was great in the link up play but man is he struggling in front of goal.  How does a player that short of confidence try to dribble three guys in the box?

As for United, their performance as a whole was good.  The move of Welbeck to the outside is a waste.  (Not was a waste because it’s happened before.)  Not sure why Sir Alex does that.  I would have brought in Park for that position much earlier.  De Gea got off to a slow start came into the match, culminating with fantastic saves on Mata and Cahill.  Rooney was muted for most of the game, but the penalty conversions seemed to wake him up.

Couple of thoughts about Howard Webb.  If he is England’s top ref, then that’s not good.  Several very questionable calls and no calls and a couple of dodgy penalties.  Inconsistent game to say the least. Chelsea didn’t deserve to win but the ref of the 2010 World Cup Final did not help.

In the end, United dropped two points but in an away match at a tricky venue, down 3-0, and your best player is not on song, I’m ok with it.  My final tweet of the game was: great fightback but shouldn’t have been in that hole. regardless stay within touching distance.

The comments from The Republik of Mancunia were spot on, especially regarding Fabio, Rooney and Fergie. Make sure to check out the post.

The post game comments from Zonal Marking were informative as well, as he focused on the tactical permutations during the game.

The panel on the Manchester United Redcast contributed a lot to the swear jar this week in their recap of thrilling game against Chelsea and their preview of the game against Liverpool.  Add a little talk about Suarez and Terry and this pod was not for the faint of hear.

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Transfers

I really missed the boat on transfers.  Zamora and Cisse to QPR?  Saha to Spurs?  Some Belgian guy to Chelsea?  Everton brought in a load of players in their effort to finish tenth in the EPL.  Of course Arsenal were involved as well, picking up Thomas Eisfeld from Dortmund who, as Amy Lawrence noted on Football Weekly Extra, ticks all of the boxes, “young, technical and injury prone.”

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Stuff

The boys on Men in Blazers reviewed the week that was in the Premier League and FA Cup, with Rog on a high after Everton’s week and Mickey at a low asChelsea continue to wallow in fourth.  They interviewed Gerry Baker, who was the firstUS player to score a hat trick in the English First Division.  Sounds like he was a pretty decent player as well.

Uli Hesse looked at the situation in the middle of the Bundesliga table, in particular Hoffenheim,Stuttgart andLeverkusen.  I wish I could make time for German football, but unless I give up Juventus and Serie A, don’t see how I can make that happen.

Marco and Aaron reviewed another solid effort at home against Siena from the Black and Whites.  Unfortunately they only gained a point, and it may be these sorts of results that cost them the title.  I’m hoping to catch the game against Bologna this weekend and see how they are doing.

Tim Vickery gave a quick preview of the Copa Libertadores on the SI.com soccer page, pointing a couple of key players and clubs to watch, including possible swan songs for Riquelme and Ronaldinho.

The SI Soccer Podcast panel looked at transfer deadline day and the goings on at the Philadelphia Union.  Plus Grant Wahl interviewed Jay Demerit about his time thus far in Vancouver.  Still have not seen The Jay Demerit Story.  Hoping to pick it up this