Football Dispatch

Tuesday Football
26 February 2008
by Jerrad Peters

Most compelling viewing
Birmingham City 2-2 Arsenal

It was the hiccup that everyone and their uncle knew was coming. Arsenal, with a chance to increase their lead atop the Premier League table to eight points, fell harder than Eduardo da Silva under a Martin Taylor challenge. And while the Croatian international’s horrific leg-break has overshadowed everything else to do with Arsenal at the moment, a few hard truths must surely be running through Arsene Wenger’s mind.

Firstly, his players seem to lack the sort of killer instinct that wins championships. With Birmingham City reduced to 10-men for all of 87-minutes, the Gunners were unable to tighten the screw. Quite the contrary, as a matter of fact. But for a quarter-hour after the restart, they were decidedly unconvincing. Theo Walcott did well to notch a brace within five minutes; but neither Cesc Fabregas, Mathieu Flamini, or Alexander Hleb provided much in the way of opportunities from the midfield. Emmanuel Adebayor had countless chances to pop a third. And despite a superb campaign which has seen him tally 22-goals to date, the Togolese international’s finishing ability often leaves much to be desired. Nicklas Bendtner, for his part, was a non-factor after replacing Eduardo in the third minute.

Secondly, the attitudes of several Arsenal players should be of great concern to the manager. The behavior of William Gallas, in particular, was downright amateurish. After City were awarded a penalty in the dying seconds, the French defender fled, sulking, down the field. It was as if he expected James McFadden to make a successful conversion. And after the 24-year-old Scotland forward beat Manuel Almunia for the tying goal, the Arsenal captain broke down. Both he and Bacary Sagna were shown the yellow card for their antics.

Still, the players cannot and should not bear all of the blame. Their plummeting performances and inexplicable conduct are merely a reflection of the man who guides them. Arsene Wenger, for all his qualities, manages to consistently utter the most preposterous remarks at the most inopportune of times. This Saturday afternoon was case-in-point. When asked to comment on Eduardo’s injury, the Arsenal manager growled that Martin Taylor “should never play football again.”

It was an outrageous statement for two reasons. One – the tackle was hardly vicious. If anything, it was a clumsy challenge which barely qualified as a sending-off. Two – the Gunners have written the book on dangerous tackles this season. Emmanuel Eboue, it can be argued, is the worst offender in English football. It was his lunge, don’t forget, which crocked Chelsea’s John Terry for the better part of two months. And both he and Gallas made similarly foolish challenges against Manchester United in the FA Cup last week.

Saturday’s draw, however, was not the turning-point if, indeed, Arsenal lose their place top the standings. That, of course, was the 4-0 drubbing at the hands of United at Old Trafford. It was a loss which humiliated the club and its fans. And while it was altogether unforeseen in the buildup, it was a defeat which came with a disgraceful pre-qualification from Wenger.

The Arsenal boss used every excuse in the book before kick-off. It was pitiful, really, to hear an accomplished, top-flight manager whinge over the injuries in his squad. He would even struggle to find 16, partially-fit players for the match, grumbled the Frenchman. As it turned out, only a handful of his players actually turned out for the contest. And that can be blamed on Wenger. His pre-match comments did nothing to foster an atmosphere of confidence and assurance among his side.

If things are to improve, and if Arsenal are to win a first title since 2004, they will have to display the intangibles which nobody believes them to have. And Wenger will have to rebuild the self-belief which he dismantled ahead of the United debacle. Both can happen; but time is running out.

Notable results
Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Chelsea

Tottenham Hotspur are back among the trophies. The north London side defeated their local rivals in the Carling Cup final, Sunday, and lifted their first piece of silverware since defeating Leicester City in the same competition nine years earlier. On the balance of play, the result should never have been in doubt. But Didier Drogba put Chelsea ahead after 39-minutes. And given the Blues’ ability to sit back and defend a lead, it appeared as though the League Cup would be successfully defended for the first time since Nottingham Forest accomplished the feat in 1990.

Full credit to Spurs, however. Juande Ramos made several, tactical changes which had his side in the ascendancy after the restart. Tom Huddlestone was introduced in the centre of midfield and Aaron Lennon switched to the right flank in order to challenge the gaffe-prone Julio Belletti. When Mark Halsey awarded a penalty in the 70th-minute, it hardly came as a surprise. The Lillywhites were in the drivers-seat by then; and while the handball against Wayne Bridge was debatable, Spurs were fully deserving of the goal.

Dimitar Berbatov’s successful conversion will only enhance his iconic status at White Hart Lane. But Jonathan Woodgate became an instant legend when he headed past Peter Cech for the cup-winning goal on 94-minutes. The Chelsea goalkeeper made a rare mistake when he fumbled Jermaine Jenas’ free-kick into the oncoming defender. It was Woodgate’s first goal for Spurs after moving to London from Middlesbrough in January.

Robbie Keane and Ledley King deserve honorable mention as well. Keane has bled for the club during its ups and downs. He always gives his 110 per-cent; and to see him in such raptures with the trophy was fantastic. King, for his part, may have played one of his final matches. The 27-year-old captain has a debilitating knee condition which will end his career sooner or later. But he played the entire 120-minutes at Wembley and was spectacular. If it was, in fact, his swan-song, it was an appropriately happy ending.

Real Madrid 0-1 Getafe

Coupled with Barcelona’s 5-1 destruction of Levante at the weekend, Real Madrid’s disappointing loss to Getafe had their lead atop La Liga cut to a mere two points. If momentum means anything – and, at this time of the season, it almost always does – the Meringues look to be following Arsenal down the road to capitulation.

Argentina international goalkeeper Roberto Abbondanzieri was superb in goal for the visitors. He made several, key saves on Guti and Julio Baptista. And whenever it appeared as though he was beaten, the likes of Raul and Ruud Van Nistelrooy consistently missed the target or skied the ball over the bar.

Still, Madrid’s constant pressure looked to have produced an opener shortly after the hourmark. Arjen Robben latched onto a Raul cross in the 64th-minute and directed the ball past Abbondanzieri. But while the Madrid players celebrated, the linesman’s off-side flag went unnoticed. To everyone, that is, but a handful of Getafe players.

Francisco Casquero raced away with the ball as the Santiago Bernabeu descended into confusion. And by the time that the hosts realized what was happening, only two defenders remained between Casquero, Ikechukwu Uche, and Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas. The resulting goal vaulted Getafe into the top half of the table. Madrid, meanwhile, were left to rue missed chances and a seven-point gap which had been reduced to two.

AC Milan 2-1 Palermo

The Rosoneri may have leapfrogged Fiorentina into fourth place in Serie A, but they may have to defend their position without the services of the World Footballer of the Year. Kaka
aggravated a knee injury, Saturday, when he was tackled by Palermo’s Roberto Guana after just two minutes of play at the San Siro. The 25-year-old Brazilian played until the interval, however, before being replaced by Yoann Gourcuff.

By then, the scoreline was level at a goal apiece. Australian international Mark Bresciano had given the visitors the lead after nine minutes when his shot struck Massimo Oddo in the chest before trickling past Milan goalkeeper Zeljko Kalac. Italian international Massimo Ambrosini replied a quarter-of-an-hour later when Oddo arched a pass from the right.

Milan applied constant pressure throughout the second period. But both Christian Zacardo and Edison Cavani nearly scored on the counterattack as the hosts pushed forward. Finally, 34-year-old Filippo Inzaghi struck the match-winner as time expired. The win leaves Milan level with Fiorentina on 41-points from 24-rounds and ahead on goal-differential

Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 Schalke 04

For whatever reason, the Bundesliga consistently produces the most entertaining title race in Europe. This season has been no exception. While Bayern Munich have set the pace since August, they have a narrow, four-point lead over Werder Bremen at the moment – a lead which was made all the more intriguing when neither side managed a win over the weekend.

Bayer Leverkusen, however, secured all three points against Schalke 04 on Saturday. The win pulled them into the top-three for the first time since 2004 and left the Royal Blues a mere two points above sixth-place Karlsruhe.

Manuel Friedrich scored the lone goal of the affair. The 85th-minute strike was his fourth goal for Leverkusen since moving from Mainz in the summer. Stefan Kiessling had numerous chances to open the scoring from the hosts before the defender finally broke the deadlock. But the 24-year-old striker was repeatedly denied by either veteran defender Marcelo Bordon or Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. Gonzalo Castro created the visitors’ best opportunity when he put Georgian international Levan Kobiashvili in the clear. The 30-year-old, however, was denied by Benedikt Fernandez in the Bayer goal.

With the win, Leverkusen are just two points adrift of Werder Bremen and six off Bayern’s pace. They are joint-third with Hamburg and ahead on goal-differential.

Newcastle 1-5 Manchester United

For about 20-minutes, it appeared as though Kevin Keegan’s first, positive result as new-again Newcastle manager was in the cards. Then everything fell apart. Newcastle are an absolute embarrassment at the moment; and the 57-year-old manager has some very hard decisions ahead as his club battles relegation in the Premier League.

Struggling to cope with the speed of left-back Charles N’Zogbia, United’s Cristiano Ronaldo swapped wings with Portuguese countryman Nani just after the opening 20-minutes. The move paid immediate dividends as the 23-year-old lost his marker and delivered a beautiful cross to the feet of Wayne Rooney. It was a tap-in for the United forward. One of many for the visitors, as it would turn out.

Ronaldo doubled the lead just prior to halftime when he ran onto a lovely through-ball from Michael Carrick. And while the finish was grand, it should be noted that Carrick was splendid on the night – his passing ability catching out the Newcastle defenders time and again.

It was Ronaldo again just prior to the hour-mark. Steven Taylor having tripped as the winger approached, Europe’s top goalscorer proceeded to round goalkeeper Steven Harper for his second of the evening and 29th of the season.

Newcastle only ever looked dangerous from set-pieces; but Abdoulaye Faye’s goal from a corner-kick in the 79th-minute only seemed to incite the visitors. Rooney scored his second just moments later with a lovely, curled effort from the edge of the box before feeding Louis Saha for his fourth of the season in added-time.

Key contributors
Samuel Eto’o

Making his first appearance for Barcelona since returning from the African Nations Cup, Samuel Eto’o did nothing to dissuade the notion that he remains the most lethal striker in Europe. In a deadly tandem with Lionel Messi, the 26-year-old Cameroon international fired a hat-trick within a half-hour as Barcelona destroyed Levante 5-1 at the Nou Camp. The first goal, on 56-minutes, was particularly eye-catching. Eto’o rounded Vladan Kujovic after a brilliant Messi pass before stroking the ball into the back of the net.

Luis Fabiano

Luis Fabiano is continuing a rather unbelievable pattern. Since arriving at Sevilla in 2005, the Brazilian forward has doubled his goal-scoring total from the previous season every year since. In his debut campaign, he tallied seven times. Last term, he scored 15. And with a third of 2007-2008 yet to be played, the 27-year-old has already notched 27-goals. Two of those came in a 5-0 trouncing of Real Zaragoza on Saturday. Brazilian right-back Daniel Alves was involved in both. Fabiano’s first goal came after 20-minutes when his countryman swung a seeing-eye pass from the right that the former Porto striker had only to tap in.

Man of the weekend
Lionel Messi

Barcelona are roaring back to the top of the Liga table; and their 20-year-old phenom is largely responsible. Lionel Messi’s 15th-goal of the season was the match-winner as the Catalans ran roughshod over Levante on Sunday.

Making a trademark run from the right of the 18-yard-box, the Argentina international played a neat one-two with midfield marshal Xavi before blasting past Vladan Kujovic. Messi turned from goalscorer to provider after the restart. Samuel Eto’o scored two of the easiest goals of his career in the second half after connecting with a pair of marvelous passes from the former Newell’s Old Boys prodigy.

The convincing victory pulled Barcelona to within touching distance of league leaders Real Madrid. Since losing to their archrivals before Christmas, they have gone eight matches without defeat; and, after upcoming tests against Atletico Madrid and Villarreal, have a decidedly straightforward schedule until journeying to the capital in May.

Your questions

Football fans, and North American football fans in particular, are often left puzzled by many of the sport’s quirks and peculiarities. In upcoming editions of my weekly column for the Winnipeg Free Press, I will be answering your questions directly. While only one or two will be printed in the newspaper, I will do my best to respond to each query sent my way. You can email your questions to jerradpeters@gmail.com.