Chelsea Crisis

Chelsea’s woes in the league continued as they were yet again seen dropping points away from home. This time it was away to Newcastle. Chelsea has managed only 4 points from a possible 15; the resultant lapse in performance has seen them drop to second place for the first time this season. Chelsea has had all the problems at once and a smooth sailing ship only a month ago is now argued to be under ‘a serious crisis’. Assistant coach Ray Wilkins who was doing a great job at the club was relieved of his duties; news that has rocked the fans and players alike. Chelsea’s sporting director Frank Arnesen has also decided to leave the club at the end of the season pointing question marks about what is going on inside the multi-million dollar franchise. There has also been speculation that Chelsea are lining up a replacement for Ancelotti in the form of Pep Guardiola. The media has thrown literally everything at the club, but still the blues are second in the league just two points behind Manchester United, who will be visiting Stamford Bridge mid December - Crisis? What Crisis? Chelsea has, I believe, done very well considering the fact that the former chapions were missing the likes of Frank Lampard, Michael Essien and John Terry. How can a team perform if it is without its two best midfielders and the Captain who insures that there is stability at the back? It is to be kept in mind that there is always a part in the season when everything is going against you and luck just won’t be on your side. Take the Birmingham game for example; Chelsea had more corners in that game than any other game this season. And mind you, the Blues have been winning 6-0’s on their day. Had it not been for a certain Ben Foster, this would have been yet another walk in the park as the former Manchester United goal keeper arguably had the game of his life to keep the defending champions away. Again, in the Newcastle game, the Blues were dominant in the second half and came close on many occasions to taking the lead, but again lady luck was to deny them. However, it could be considered as a good point away from home considering Newcastle’s heroics recently against Arsenal. Reinforcing the point though, Chelsea has set very high standards since the start of their 2010 title defence and should have won these games. As Ancelotti has said things are going to get fine once the trio of Lampard, Terry and Essien is back in the team. Chelsea has been missing the defence penetrating passes of Lampard, the energy of Essien and the solidity of Terry in the heart of defense. Yes, Chelsea has been poor in the last one month. Yes, the Stamford Bridge outfit have failed to live up to expectactions but the reality of life is that the Blues are just two points behind the leaders in the league and have won all five of their Champions leave matches and find themselves on the verge of making history as the first British side ever to win all 6 of their group games. So where is the crisis? A lot has been said in the papers about the club lacking ‘stability’ and that the Russian owner, Roman, is not happy with the style of play. However it is worth reminding that Chelsea scored 103 league goals last season under the same manager - an all time record. The league champions were the league entertainers, easily surpassing expectations. Considering their not-so-far season performance last time, it seems rather foolish to work the mind on the possibility that Roman is not happy with the way things are going. The crux of the matter is that all the problems have hit the Blue ship at the same time. However, such things are part of the business and potential title rivals should not be in any illusion that the Blues are going to let the championship slip easily. The players and the manager definitely have a point to prove to those that question their credentials this term – Things are bound to spice up within the next month and it would therefore be unwise to write off Roman’s Army just yet.
Credits : blogs.bettor.com

Barcelona thrash Real Madrid 5 - 0

Jose Mourinho had a nightmare first Clasico as champions Barcelona crushed his Real Madrid side 5-0 at Camp Nou on Monday to go two points clear of their bitter rivals at the top of the Spanish first division. Spanish World Cup winners Xavi and Pedro Rodriguez put Barcelona into a two-goal lead after just 17 minutes and David Villa marked his first Clasico with a brace inside two minutes (54 min, 56) before Jeffren added a late fifth as Mourinho stomached an unforgettable first defeat in charge of Real. "It was an important win by a big margin and it puts us top two points above Real in the table which is what we wanted," said Villa. "However, it is only November and there are lots of games left and we have to keep on winning." For Barcelona it was a fifth successive Clasico win over their arch rivals as coach Pep Guardiola maintained his 100 percent record in the fixture and exacted revenge over Mourinho, whose Inter Milan side defeated Barcelona in last season's Champions League semi-finals. Real went into the game unbeaten and hoping for a first win at Camp Nou since December 2007. However, Barcelona gave old boy Mourinho, who used to work for the Catalan club as a translator under Bobby Robson, a night to forget with an emphatic win, one of the heaviest defeats in his glittering career, that evoked memories of the 6-2 drubbing of Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in May 2009. "One team played to their potential and one didn't," said Mourinho. "It was a defeat that we fully deserved but I don't think you can say it reflected the difference between the two sides. "The championship isn't over today. We are two points behind the leaders but there are lots of games left to play. We have to show character, train hard and get back to winning. I wish we were playing tomorrow." It was a huge psychological win for Barca in the title race and the omens are good with the winner of the first Clasico going on to be crowned champions in the last six seasons. Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain was a last-minute withdrawal for Real due to injury so French international Karim Benzema was handed a chance to shine on the biggest stage. Guardiola said Real were the best counter-attacking team in the world but said Barcelona would attack and they were good to their word. In the fifth minute Messi surprised everyone by curling a beautiful left-footed chip onto the post with Iker Casillas well beaten. It was a warning that Real didn't heed and on nine minutes the hosts took the lead through Xavi. Andres Iniesta fed a pass into the penalty area with Marcelo failing to intercept the pass and Xavi took advantage of a fortunate piece of control to prod calmly past Casillas to the delight of the home fans. Real had the best defence in the league beforehand and this was only the seventh goal they had conceded under Mourinho. The visitors responded with Angel di Maria forcing Victor Valdes to tip over a fierce shot but Barcelona were looking dangerous and struck again on 17 minutes through Pedro. Villa went past Sergio Ramos by the touchline and Casillas could only fingertip his cross into the path of the inrushing Pedro who fired home. Cristiano Ronaldo, top-scorer in the league with 14 goals, then took centre stage with his pass almost reaching Benzema only for Eric Abidal to avert the danger. On the half hour mark Ronaldo started a melee when he pushed Barca coach Guardiola for holding the ball, earning him a yellow card, and then whistled a fine free-kick past the post of Victor Valdes. Real brought off the ineffective Mesut Ozil at half-time with Lass Diarra replacing him but it was more of the same as Barcelona dominated. Villa went close with his goal-bound shot blocked but on 54 minutes Messi fed the Spanish World Cup winner, who took the pass brilliantly in his stride before firing past Casillas. Real complained that Villa was offside but the goal stood and two minutes later the 40-million-euro signing from Valencia struck again with his eighth league goal of the season. A defence-splitting pass from Messi released Villa, who beat Casillas again and left Real 4-0 down before the hour mark. Substitute Jeffren Suarez netted a fifth late on and Sergio Ramos was sent off in the final minute for a terrible foul on Messi and then shoving Carles Puyol as tempers boiled over.
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Credits : AFP

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