Football Dispatch

Tuesday Football
19 February 2008
by Jerrad Peters

Most compelling viewing
Liverpool 1-2 Barnsley

Liverpool were sent reeling out of the FA Cup, Saturday, after an embarrassing 2-1 loss to Barnsley at Anfield. Already sinking out of Champions’ League contention ahead of next season and faced with a daunting match-up against Inter Milan in the current Round-of-16, it appears more and more likely that the Reds’ dismal campaign will conclude without a trophy and with the inevitable sacking of Rafael Benitez.

That the manager will be in his job beyond Tuesday’s visit of the Nerazzuri is anything but assured. A comprehensive thumping at the hands of the Italian champions would surely see the 47-year-old’s departure hastened – if, for no other reason, than to prevent his club from sliding further and further toward the middle of the Premier League ledger. After all, Saturday’s debacle came at the hands of the 37th-ranked side in England.

Full credit to Barnsley, however. The Tykes were fully worth the result. After making an honest contribution to the first half, they were provided a well-earned equalizer by Stephen Foster after Martin Devaney’s superb cross from the left of the box. Liverpool goalkeeper Charles Itandje got a hand to the ball; but, as was the case with Brian Howard’s match-winner, the Frenchman could have done better.

Having said that, the criticism which has landed at the feet of the 25-year-old since the weekend has been completely unjustified. Granted, he was found lacking on two, critical occasions. But to single him out from such a collectively horrible squad is decidedly unfair.

Xabi Alonso is a far more suitable scapegoat. The 26-year-old did little more than stand and watch while Howard built up a head of steam and dribbled by him before cranking the winning goal in added-time. Sami Hyypia, as well, might have tackled the Barnsley captain. Furthermore, Alonso’s initial contempt at Howard’s request for his jersey after the final whistle was preposterous. The 25-year-old had every reason to request the shirt after having already undressed the Liverpool midfielder just moments before.

Notable results
Manchester United 4-0 Arsenal

Try as he might – and he did, there is no way for Arsene Wenger to excuse his way out of this one. Arsenal were absolutely pummeled at Old Trafford on Saturday. Manchester United dominated every facet of the match. And had Wayne Rooney not been consistently adjudged offside, the final score might have read 6-0. As it happened, the scoreline more than flattered the visitors.

Rooney, for his part, was brilliant. His rare header on 16-minutes set the tone; and his constant menacing of Kolo Toure and William Gallas constantly had the opposing backline stretched to the maximum. He created the space which Nani used in creating Darren Fletcher’s first goal in the 20th-minute before adding his own name to the sheet in the 38th. Fletcher, it should be said, was exceptional in his own right. Whether fluently passing the ball, withdrawing into defense, or launching accurate headers, the 24-year-old Scotland international made a good case for his inclusion in Sir Alex Ferguson’s squad going forward.

As for Wenger, he shrewdly pre-qualified the humiliation by reciting Arsenal’s injury-list in his pre-match comments. It was a ridiculous approach – hardly the sort of remark to nurture confidence in his squad. Ferguson might have mentioned his own exclusions of Carlos Tevez, Paul Scholes, Owen Hargreaves, Ryan Giggs, and Cristiano Ronaldo. He didn’t, of course; and it only made Wenger look even more the fool.

Juventus 1-0 AS Roma

Inter Milan’s 11-point lead in Serie A might be insurmountable; but in beating second-place Roma 1-0 in Turin on Saturday, Juventus drew to within a point of the Giallorossi and automatic qualification in next season’s Champions’ League Group Phase.

This is not pre-Calciopoli Juventus. The tedious, albeit effective football of Fabio Capello’s reign is a thing of the past. Under Claudio Ranieri, the Bianconeri have resurrected the closest thing to champagne-football that exists in the Italian game. With 43-goals from 23-rounds, only Inter have scored more often than Juventus. Captain Alessandro Del Piero has notched 13-goals so far this term and often plays a withdrawn role behind strikers David Trezeguet and Vincenzo Iaquinta.

It was the 33-year-old Del Piero who vanquished the Romans. His free-kick from 20-yards in the 45th-minute beat goalkeeper Doni. And while Roma had appeared to be in the ascendancy throughout the first-half, the hosts were thoroughly deserving of the three points after a better second period.

Real Betis 2-1 Real Madrid

Just seven days after crushing Valladolid to the tune of 7-0, Real Madrid dropped a dud at Manuel Ruiz de Lopera, Saturday. In losing 2-1 to 14-place Real Betis, the Meringues saw their lead atop La Liga cut to five points after second-place Barcelona defeated Real Zaragoza 2-1 in Aragon.

The loss seemed to come out of the blue. After just six minutes, Royston Drenthe ran onto a lovely Arjen Robben pass before stroking the ball past Portuguese international goalkeeper Ricardo. The joy would only last a half-hour, however. A sluggish Madrid defense allowed Mariano Pavone to dance around them on the left before crossing to the head of Edu for the equalizer. Former Liverpool winger Mark Gonzalez was johnny-on-the-spot for Edu’s cross just four minutes later.

The 23-year-old Chile international excelled throughout the 90-minutes. Why, exactly, he was sold by Rafael Benitez remains a mystery.

Le Mans 1-0 Lyon

Ligue 1 leaders Olympique Lyonnais suffered the same fate as their Spanish counterparts on Saturday. With manager Alain Perrin opting to leave the balance of his artillery resting on the bench ahead of Manchester United’s visit in the Champions’ League on Wednesday, the reigning six-time champions were dealt a 1-0 loss at Le Mans.

Coupled with Bordeaux’s dominating 6-0 win in the principality, Lyon’s lead in the standings has been reduced to a single point. With just seven wins over their past 16-matches, Les Gones are in free-fall. Perrin is unlikely to survive the season and, barring a sudden adjustment in form, his side will crash out of Europe in a fortnight.

Full credit to the hosts, however. In beating Lyon for the second time in a month, Le Manceaux climbed to sixth in the ledger and just a single point adrift of Nice and a place in the UEFA Cup. Lyon, meanwhile, face a difficult schedule in the coming weeks which will culminate in a showdown with Bordeaux on March 8 at the Gerland.

Key contributors

Mario Gomez

Super Mario pulled Stuttgart into the top-half of the table, Saturday, with his brace away to Duisburg. In what has, perhaps, been the most disappointing season in recent memory at Gottleib-Daimler Stadium, the 22-year-old Germany international has provided the odd pocket of joy. In leading Stuttgart to the Bundesliga title last season, Gomez tallied 16-goals in all competition. He has already bettered that mark this time around. With 17-goals in 20-matches, he has been one of the most lethal, and underappreciated, strikers in Europe.

Adrian Mutu

Adrian Mutu knows better than most that Florence was the heart of the Italian renaissance. He would argue, however, that it still is. Largely a disappointment since moving to Inter Milan from Dinamo Bucharest in 1999, Mutu has experienced a renaissance of his own for La Viola. His 16-goals in 2006-2007 helped the Fiorentina faithful to forget the devastating departure of talisman Luca Toni; and with 17-goals in all competitions this term, at 29-years-of-age, he has established himself as one of the most reliable goal-scorers in Serie A. He was at his timely best against Catania Calcio at the weekend. With the match deadlocked at a goal apiece through more than an hour, the Romanian international unleashed a corker from 30-yards. Ciro Polito was helpless between the sticks; and fourth-place Fiorentina stretched their lead over AC Milan to three points.