Nearing the end of the first two weeks of the Premier League makes me excited for the Champions League. 'Why?' you ask? Well, because the EPL usual suspects are off to an unusually slow start, which will level the playing grounds more. In other words, we will not be seeing all four EPL teams in the quarter finals like last year. 'It's too early to tell' you say? Lets take a quick glance at the beginning of the season, because serious tell tale signs are lurking.
Week 1:
Showed us that Manchester United could only win 1 nill against newly promoted Birmingham FC. Yes, this is a blunt statement considering the domination on the pitch by Manchester, but the facts are facts and not finishing will be less and less of an excuse when the big games roll around later on. This goes especially for Michael Owen, who has shown that Manchester's thrifty buying spree over the summer has not exactly displayed the genius of Ferguson as he may have innately hoped. He could have three goals on his record for his new club and a better place in the heart of England manager Fabio Capello, who showed up to the latest game (more on that later). However he missed, and missed poorly on multiple occasions.
Meanwhile Chelsea skim past Hull City with a very late moment of complete class by Didier Drogba in the 90th minute. A chip shot at an angle I feel uncomfortable even describing, from a good distance, dropped perfectly over the Hull keeper's grasp. However, new coach Carlo Ancelotti is still working with his new team and thus cannot be judged harshly. Quite to the contrary, with Chelsea's depth they look poised for a great season.
In Anfield, we saw what happens when a complete midfielder of Xabi Alonso's class is not on the team. They lose 2-1 to Tottenham, their only goal being a penalty. The passing was piss poor. Yes Aquilani is part of the 'long term plan,' but Benitez can't keep talking of 'the plan' forever without delivering, and as of the moment, there seems to be no short term plan. While great players feature in the starting 11, you just feel that if Gerrard, Torres, or Carragher happen to succumb to injury, there is no one to hold the team erect in the wake of Alonso's absence.
Arsenal thrashed Everton 6-1. However, their latest Champions League qualifying match on Tuesday against Celtic showed that they can be very frustrated offensively, as they never were allowed more than a couple decisive moments near net, but luck saw them put in two goals- one off of Gallas' back, and another off of a Celtic defenders attempted clearance. But Vermaelan looks to have been a great signing to cover for Toure who left for Manchester City, and if Fabregas and Gallas can stay healthy there's no reason they can't become serious title challengers at least.
Week 2 (part way through):
Liverpool have improved with a 4 nill thrashing of Stoke City. But again, only when Gerrard is an absolutely dominating force. Similar to Totti's influence on Roma, Liverpool live and die by their captain. Great performance, but what if Gerrard is injured, or what if he is man marked by Michael Essien as he was in the last Champions League Quarter Final? They lose, because, well, that's what happened.
Chelsea improved their flow with a 3-1 win over Sunderland. Chelsea look very strong this season and will win the Premier League. They have a great coach in Ancelotti who is already putting together great line ups. Just watching the preseason friendlies, Chelsea's second team of mostly subs looked just as strong and together as their first. Ancelotti even seems to have Schevchenko's confidence up, which is always a bad thing for opponents, because yes he doesn't have the same legs he used to, but his know how is still there.
For the defending Champions Manchester United, we saw a regression from the previous week losing 1 nill to newly promoted Burnley FC, and no Burnley's stadium locker rooms from the 70's are no excuse. Michael Owen's confidence is anything but growing, and Cristiano Ronaldo is anything but forgotten. Owen had to be subbed out in the 63rd minute for being terrible, and in general, the Red Devils were frustrated and defeated by the newly promoted Burnley FC. Yes, the goal by Burnley's Robbie Blake was nothing short of jaw dropping, but to be fair, United hardly looked threatening. Ronaldo's 60+ goals over his three seasons with United were crucial to their success. Not just the goals, but his ability to run at defenders, making it happen late in the game when no one else can - that was the comfort level that Ronaldo provided for United supporters. In this case, there was none of the above happening, no clutch player to count on. Time will only tell how this loss effects their mentality come the tough league matches and Champions League.
This will surely be an interesting season in all of football.
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