As soon as Rooney, Fellaini and Falcao pressed Terry, Cahill and Ivanovic in the opening exchange at Stamford Hill on Saturday, I knew we were in for a ’TACTICAL EL-CLASSICO’.
Two Generals, going head to head in a game almost certain to determine the pendulum swing of the 2014/15 Premiership title. Mourinho opted for Zouma and Matic in the middle and you could see why almost immediately: Matic to track Rooney in the middle and Zouma to go head to head with Fellaini. Young and Mata have been arguably the most influential United players in recent weeks, playing down the flanks so Jose asked Ivanovic and Azpilicueta to do a job on them.
Fabregas knew he had to close down on Herrera and Oscar was chosen over William to do a job on Shaw, while Hazard on the left was a chess move to ensure Valencia was not going to venture forward as he had been doing in previous games.
Van Gaal reacted and created the extra man in Paddy Mcnair or Chris Smalling in the middle, and when Rooney had the first shot of the game, ageing Drogba had to track back to counter the threat of Van Gaal’s evolution of 4-1-4-1 into to 3-2-4-1.
Truth is United dominated possession but Chelsea dominated the game. Playing a low block and deliberately conceding possession, Jose avoided the trap of his protective midfielders being drawn apart by the Dutch passing game implemented with tremendous success by Van Gaal in recent games. This was a cup final where Chelsea had the lead and United had to score and the gladiators on both sides knew exactly what was at stake.
Manchester had 70% ball possession, Chelsea had 70% game control, while both teams had two shots on target each, the corners were also 70% in favour of United.
But when Young and Mata’s wing threat were neutralised, when Falcao knew he had his hands full against Cahill and Terry, when Fellaini who had bullied every team in previous games suddenly realised he had a beast in Zouma, when Rooney had Matic forcing him deeper and deeper into his own half, and when Herrera had nobody to pass to, it was obvious Mourinho had won the tactical battle on the bridge.
Enter the 38th minute and you could see why Jose chose Oscar over Willian. The combination play and movement off and on the ball between Fabregas, Oscar and Hazard ended with the ball at the back of United net after Terry bullied Falcao off the ball. 1-0 Chelsea in the cup final, and United had to come out to equalise, leaving them prone to more counter attacks at the back.
Was this the United team that crushed Tottenham 3-0, beat Liverpool at Anfield, humiliated Manchester City 4-2, destroyed Sunderland 2-0, killed off Newcastle at St. James Park, and finished Villa 3-1? If so, kudos must be given to Jose Mourinho once again, as he showed why he is a winning General who had mastered the art of war and winning battles.
This was not the end of the war, but this was a crucial battle at the bridge and one that defeated the whole Premiership chasing pack, and probably brings the title closer to Stamford bridge.
I have said it all season and I still repeat it again, Van Gaal is the man for United and in seven months, he has put Manchester United back to where they belong. No team has ever dominated Chelsea the way United did on Saturday, and no team has made Mourinho worry so much as he did on Saturday, yes it was a crucial game, yes he just needed to ensure his team didn’t lose, but could it also be because the student knows the master and the master can predict his student?
Next season promises to be even more exciting, but can I say congratulations to Jose Mourinho, as it is remarkable for a team, or any team to dominate the tightest league in the world, and lead from the first day of the season until now and still be in that commanding position with just five games to go. That is a class act, and shows you why the ‘special one’ is still ‘a special one’
PORTO STUN BAYERN AT HALF TIME
I have said injuries and suspension would play a major role in the quarter final of the Champions league, and we saw how Porto saw off Bayern Munich in the first ‘45 minutes’ of their champions league quarter final tie. The second 45 minutes would take place tonight at the Allianz Arena.
Can Porto endure the hostilities and avoid being drowned off the ‘inflatable boat’ tonight? They need a goal to stay in the tie as this Bayern team (without injuries) can score three, four or five goals if they are on song. For this Porto team however, they would not have a better chance of progressing to the semi final of the Champions League.
PSG TACTICS BACKFIRE AT HOME
As I watched PSG take on Barcelona at the Parc Des Prince, I noticed Laurent Blanc employed the same tactic he used to overcome Chelsea in the previous round: concede possession and let them play, then we would hit them on the fast break with pace. The problem was that this was not a Chelsea team with Hazard and the rest. This was a Barcelona team with Messi, Neymar, Suarez, Iniesta, Pique and Rakitic, and you can’t let them play or they’ll pass you to death, and that was exactly what they did. I felt sorry for Matuidi, Pastore, Cavani and the rest who put up a spirited effort on the night but got no reward for all the sweat and toil. They have the big man Zlatan back today, but maybe this one has just slipped them already unless Mr Luis Enrique decides to score another own goal at the Camp Nou.
THE MADRID DERBY
Yes! That was exactly what Real allowed the first leg to turn into, and it worked perfectly well for Diego Simone. 0-0 at half time in Madrid and the second half is about to start in Madrid. Ancelloti has Bale out which even makes it the more difficult as Ronaldo knows how to fizzle out of games like this. Again the injuries and suspensions (Marcelo, Bale, Suarez) might determine this one as there is no advantage for anyone going into this one. If it remains a Madrid derby, Real might just regret it and that may signal the end of Ancelloti.
MONACO HOLD THE ACES
1-0 to Juve, but Monaco had so many chances but couldn’t take it. Pogba and Vidal look set to miss this one which is great for Monaco who have pace upfront but just need the cool heads of a Berbatov to finish off Juve. Buffon, Pirlo (back from injury) and Tevez on the other hand are hungry and determined to see the zebras progress to the semi-final. This one promises to be a classic too.