Regardless of league position or a potential gulf in quality between the adversaries, football fans know that derbies have an intense rivalry like nothing else in sport.
In a wonderful week to be a football fan, we have being treated to three of football’s great derbies. Adding extra spice to an already boiling pot, all three matches had a decisive impact on the destiny of their respective league titles.
London, Chelsea 6 versus 0 Arsenal
Chelsea have displayed the ability to counter-attack at breakneck speed on numerous occasions this season.
Arsene Wenger seemed to ignore this obvious fact and employed a suicidal starting XI with no less than four attacking midfielders – Tomas Rosicky, Santi Cazorla, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Lukas Podolski. Arsenal left Mikael Arteta, hardly an enforcer, as the only deep-lying midfielder.
These are players with limited expertise when it comes to tracking back and providing defensive cover.
Chelsea exploited Arsenal to no end. Excellent finishing from Samuel Eto’o and Andre Shurrle, followed by a bizarre handball in the box by Oxlade-Chamberlain, for which the referee mistakenly sent off Kieran Gibbs, and Chelsea were 3-0 up after 15 minutes.
Oxlade-Chamberlain pleaded with the referee that the wrong player had been sent off, and that he should be the one to leave the pitch. Perhaps the whole Arsenal team should have walked off! As a contest, the match was over after the first quarter of an hour.
In the shrewd Eto’o, Chelsea have finally found a striker who provides a true goal-scoring threat. Eto’o has rediscovered his finishing touch, and is now up to 11 goals this season. Most importantly, he looks a lot more interested in playing than Chelsea’s other striking option, Fernando Torres.
Chelsea continue to fight on brightly in this season’s title race. For Arsenal fans, they might have to wait quite a few seasons before getting the better of their London rivals in the Premier League pecking order.
El Clasico, Madrid, Real Madrid 3 versus 4 Barcelona
While not technically a derby in the true geographical sense, El Clasico is arguably the single contest that football fans worldwide most look forward to. For pure footballing quality and theatre, El Clasico is unmatched.
In a game that had it all, Di Maria shone. Adept on both feet, with excellent control and lightning speed, he cut the Barcelona defence to shreds on numerous occasions.
Real Madrid can thank Di Maria for their two first half goals as he twice placed the ball on a platter for Karim Benzema to find the back of the net.
However, Real Madrid insisted on being offensive in defence. Applying pressure well up the pitch provided Barcelona added space when they played through Real Madrid at pace.
Quick movement from Barcelona on two occasions allowed the accomplished Andreas Iniesta and Lionel Messi to provide the finishing touch. El Clasico was wonderfully poised at 2-2 after a riveting first half.
With stars of such superb skill on the pitch, careful defending in the penalty box can be quite a proposition! It proved the case in the second half when Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Iniesta all cleverly won penalties for their team.
The penalty won by Neymar proved pivotal – it was accompanied by a red card for Sergio Ramos who denied Neymar a clear goal scoring opportunity.
Messi finished as the hero of El Clasico with a hat-trick in the battle of football’s best players. His ability with and without the ball is unparalleled, and his capacity to involve his teammates is an art form to behold.
Barcelona’s 4-3 El Clasico win brought a new team to the summit of La Liga – Atletico Madrid. This is a title race that football fans can be enthusiastic about!
Manchester, Manchester United 0 versus 3 Manchester City
How times have changed in the battle for Manchester! City are no longer noisy neighbours, rather, they are annually among the title favourites.
Meanwhile, David Moyes’ unconvincing first season as United manager has meant that he faces intense scrutiny from the media and United fans whenever he moves a muscle.
It took no time at all for City’s stellar midfielders to magically appear goal side of the United defence! After 44 seconds, David Silva and Samir Nasri had fired shots dangerously at the United goal. The duo’s incisive play presented a hungry Eden Dzeko with a simple tap-in.
In the opening ten minutes City were able find space in the United penalty area with distinct ease. Yet, the score remained at just 1-0. City didn’t play with killer instinct in the way that helped Chelsea destroy Arsenal in the opening stages of the London derby.
So many City players found space in the attacking penalty area that the game was bound to open up for United. Sadly for them, they are totally incoherent going forward. Star signing Juan Mata saw plenty of the ball, but hardly posed a threat. Head down at times, Mata casts a frustrated figure.
Second half City goals to Dzeko and the prolific Yaya Toure ensured a comfortable Manchester derby victory.
Recently, City had lost their striking mojo as Dzeko, Sergio Aguero and Alvaro Negredo went on a run of 19 combined appearances without a goal. In that time, City were knocked out of both the Champions League and FA Cup.
However, Dzeko has scored three times in his last two games. Can he be the striker to drive City towards the Premier League title?
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