Leaving it late

Indeed Chelsea left it really late to grab the 3 points against Everton at Stamford Bridge this weekend. A high intensity game which was ultimately decided by a solitary goal. By the way they played specially in the latter half of the game Chelsea deserved to win this but the defeat was a little tough on Roberto Martinez and his men. They gave it their all and pushed Chelsea to the limit. It's tough for any team against Jose Mourinho's side at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League and it is proven by the fact that now his unbeaten streak as BPL manager at the Bridge is 74 games. That is one hell of a ridiculous record. But Everton did go for the goals in the first half only to be denied by the Chelsea defense.
This was the sort of game where experience mattered more than talent for both sides. Players like Terry, Lampard & Distin played a crucial crucial role in keeping their team in the game. And it was ultimately Lampard & Terry who combined to get 3 very important points for the Blues. The Chelsea defense was again at it's very best with Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry & Azpilicueta. Cesar Azpilicueta is turning out to be one of the best LB's of the season, performing exceptionally well and doing all that a great left back needs to do. Matic played the role of a CM perfectly yet again and he is growing from strength to strength. The problem was with Chelsea's strike force yet again. Even the creative midfielders weren't at their best in the game. Oscar getting a knock didn't help the cause. This is the time of the season where squad depth will come into play and players like Schurrle and Salah will have important roles to play.
Getting a result out of somewhere that's what champion teams do and that's what Chelsea did yesterday, they somehow managed a late goal and got the 3 points to secure the pole position in the league and that's all that matters ultimately.

Champions League - Round of 16

The greatest club football competition in the world is back again with 8 mouth watering clashes to look forward to in the Round of 16.
MANCHESTER CITY vs BARCELONA
BAYER LEVERKUSEN vs PARIS SAINT GERMAIN
AC MILAN vs ATLETICO MADRID
ARSENAL vs BAYERN MUNICH
ZENIT PETERSBURG vs BORUSSIA DORTMUND
OLYMPIAKOS vs MANCHESTER UNITED
GALATASARAY vs CHELSEA
SCHALKE 04 vs REAL MADRID
Frankly some of these matches are worthy of being a final.

Man City vs Barca, the best in England vs the best in Spain, this is all set to be the clash of the titans as both the teams are filled with superstars, even though City will be missing their key man Sergio Aguero in the 1st leg but I am pretty sure they will put up a brilliant fight against the Spanish champions at the Etihad. Yaya Toure will look forward to beating his old team and progressing in this tournament and he will surely have to play a major role if City are to go ahead.

Leverkusen vs PSG, this in all likelihood will be a one sided match as the Paris side look too strong on paper compared to the Germans. With Ibrahimovic leading the line it won't be too much of a surprise if the french take a big lead with them into the 2nd leg.

Milan vs Atletico, another game which looking at the current form of the two teams looks set to be a one sided affair, but with Milan you never know what might happen. Two good teams with 22 capable footballers, this will be a good match if Milan are able to take the lead first up by breaching the best defense in Spain this year.

Arsenal vs Munich, a game worthy of being a Champions League Final, the defending champions taking on an in-form Arsenal team. On paper Bayern is by far the best team in Europe at the moment with the entire squad let alone the playing 11 filled with stars. On the other hand this season Arsenal have worked really well as a team and have been very good defensively if we exclude a couple of games. Bayern will be missing some of their key members and Arsenal should look to capitalize on that in the first leg. This along with the City-Barca game are the top clashes in this year's Round of 16.

Zenit vs Dortmund, battle of the underdogs of the competition, all set to be a riveting clash. The first leg being at home for Zenit can turn out to be a big advantage for them if they can manage to take a lead with them to Germany. The two forwards for their respective teams will have to deliver when it matters most. The germans will be a little worried because of their defense but hopefully will be able to win the battle in the midfield against a team like Zenit.

Olympiakos vs United, any other season I would rate this as a very very easy fixture for United but considering their form this season and Moyes' woes you never know what might happen. They will be missing their assist man Juan Mata as he is cup tied for the competition hence Moyes will have to look at someone else to get the balls into the box. But all said even with United's form this season they still look too much for Olympiakos to handle who are now without their star striker from the group stages Mitroglou.

Galatasaray vs Chelsea, Didier Drogba against the club he loves most. Drogba & Sneijder against their 'footballing father' as Sneijder said in a recent interview. The first leg in Turkey will be really crucial, if Galatasaray manage to bring a lead to Stamford Bridge then we will be in for a tremendous clash, but if Chelsea manage to get a result in the first leg then I feel it will be too tough for the turkish side to make a comeback at the Bridge. The second leg though will be important for a different reason altogether. The King returning to Stamford Bridge. I am pretty sure there's a rousing ovation awaiting Drogba at the Bridge. We still love him, we always will. But it would be an irony if he's the one knocking Chelsea out of the competition.

Schalke vs Madrid, the Germans have shown lots of grit this year to qualify for the Round of 16 but now it will be really tough for them against a star studded Real Madrid who's attack will be led by the costliest player in the world (Bale) and the ballon d'or winner (Ronaldo). It is next to impossible for the germans I feel to beat this Madrid side but they will have high hopes and with nothing to lose they will go all out for it which might just work in their favour and catch Madrid off guard.

All in all this will be a brilliant Round of 16 like always. The Champions League nights are back. Fun times.......

Disappointment at the Etihad

It was indeed a disappointing game at the Etihad stadium from Chelsea. One of those games where all eleven players had a bad day. It was as if they didn't turn up at all. The players looked tired and exhausted. On the other hand the City players looked fresh and more agile, which was obvious cause of them having no games during the week.
Chelsea failed to create anything whatsoever. They were too wasteful in the final third and also kept having defensive lapses time and again. Even Petr Cech looked out of form from the start of the game. Ramires & David Luiz seemed to be in a world of their own, below par would be too good a term to rate their performance yesterday. Even the likes of Hazard and Willian looked completely uninfluential during the entire game. That was proven by the fact that Chelsea managed zero shots on target in the entire match. Although Chelsea had a poor game but I don't understand why some fans have already started gunning for Salah calling him a misfit in this team. He should be given some time to settle in these playing conditions and I am pretty sure he will come good.
Few things that became pretty obvious from yesterday's game was that Chelsea need John Terry at the back leading the defence. David Luiz has become a complete misfit as a CB, he is at his best when he plays as a CDM. Mikel and Matic shouldn't start together. And lastly, Chelsea desperately need a world class striker in the summer.
It was a very poor performance from Chelsea but as Jose Mourinho put it in his post match conference 'football is at peace because the better team won', and at the start of the season if anybody had given Chelsea 6 points in the league against Manchester City and a bad defeat in the FA Cup I am pretty sure everyone at Chelsea would have taken that happily.

The New KKR Part-II

So finally the new KKR is ready. The squad comprising of 21 players. Led by Gautam Gambhir the squad comprises of Chris Lynn, Debabrata Das, Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav, Manvinder Bisla, Robin Uthappa, Andre Russel, Jacques Kallis, Ryan Ten Doeschate, Shakib Al Hasan, Sayan Mandal, Yusuf Pathan, Morne Morkel, Pat Cummins, Piyush Chawla, Sunil Narine, Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Veer Pratap Singh, Kuldeep Singh Yadav.
The squad seems to have a perfect mix of experience and youth. Gautam Gambhir will be hungry for success and will want to make a point to the national selectors. The non-Indian players will add solidity in the middle order and bowling department specially with Sunil Narine. The team has some pretty good all rounders in Jaq Kallis, Ryan Ten Doeschate, Shakib, Russel and Yusuf Pathan. Of course all of them wont play together in the XI but it adds to some solid squad depth at KKR. A lot will be expected from the Indian players, they are the ones who will have to perform really well for the team to go the distance in the tournament. And if the tournament is partly or fully shifted to South Africa then also the team seems to have the players to cope with the conditions there.
Gambhir, Uthappa, Kallis, Pathan, Narine and Shakib/Morne will be the key to Kolkata Knight Riders' success this season. Hopefully we will have a great season ahead. Korbo Lorbo Jeetbo re.

The New KKR Part-I

Yet another IPL Auction, yet again so many players up for grabs. 8 teams fighting/bidding it out to get the players of their choice. After the end of day 1 in the auction process there were certain players for whom teams fought it out in auction wars. But at the end of the day this is how our team Kolkata Knight Riders look like.
GAUTAM GAMBHIR, retained by the team before the auction as their captain. Though a little poor as far as current form is concerned but his leadership and hopefully his batting in Indian conditions will help the team perform well.
SUNIL NARINE, another star player retained by KKR before the auction. The most deadly weapon in KKR's armory. He has the capability to run through batting line ups all by himself. And even on days when he doesn't pick wickets it is extremely difficult to score of him, specially in Indian conditions, more so at the Eden Gardens. He will again this year need to be KKR's star if they have to do well in this competition.
JACQUES KALLIS, KKR's first buy in this auction, they used the joker card to get him back, of course it was mostly certain that they will do so. He is called King Kallis for a reason. Still one of the best all rounders around in world cricket. He will provide the stability in the batting order and his expertise and experience in medium pace bowling will be helpful for KKR.
ROBIN UTHAPPA, a new Knight Rider, has proved himself time and again in this format of the game. Will solve KKR's opening and wicket keeping (most likely) problems. On his good days he can win matches for his team single handedly. But the biggest concern with him, lack of consistency.
YUSUF PATHAN, another one bought back by KKR using the joker card. He can be the trump card for KKR this season. But have been saying that for quite a few seasons now but he has failed to deliver for the team so far. Like Uthappa this guy can also win matches for you single handedly on his day. But that "on this day" comes very rarely these days. Albeit his power hitting in the middle overs and spin bowling can be really crucial for the team.
SHAKIB AL HASAN, I still feel he is the best all rounder when it comes to sub continent conditions. The improvisation he can bring in his batting and his left arm spin bowling is a perfect combination for a limited overs game. With the bat he can provide stability when needed as well as get cheeky and become a hitter. And a wicket taker with the ball in his hand. Will play an important role in turning wickets, specially in the home games.
UMESH YADAV, a real fast bowler, that's what he is. Will be wayward at times, will be inaccurate, will go for runs, but will also pick wickets, and that's pretty important in a T20 game. One of the very real quicks that India have, so KKR have done a very good job landing him in the team.
VINAY KUMAR, over the years one of the most successful bowlers in IPL. A national player, available for the whole tournament, wicket taker. That's pretty much what every team needs. I personally feel this will be a very important and good buy for the Knight Riders.
MORNE MORKEL, one of the best fast bowlers in the international circuit currently, I am not sure how much purchase he will get from the Eden surface but having him in the team automatically has an intimidating effect on the opposition. A brilliant buy considering the price he was bought for.
PIYUSH CHAWLA, the Indian spinner who will partner Sunil Narine. Again another one who can be very good on his day. But on his off days he can be really costly. Gambhir will need to use him really well to get the best out of him. And also hopefully in some close run matches his lower order batting will come to the aid of the Knights.
10 player so far, another day of auction beckons, it's not an excellent team but so far pretty happy with the buys and the amount of money left for the second day. More purchases tomorrow, more clear how this team will do in this upcoming season of the Indian Premier League.

Top of the League

After yet another fantastic weekend of the football it's us the Chelsea fans who're smiling the most. An awesome game against Newcastle at Stamford Bridge to back up our victory against Manchester City at the Ethiad.
This game was very important for Chelsea specially considering the result last game week and boy did they give a performance and a half. The Blues played a brilliant game of football stamping their authority over Newcastle. Three goals, a clean sheet, most of the players performing exceptionally well. The manager couldn't have asked for more this weekend.
EDEN HAZARD, what can you write about that guy, he is slowly becoming one of the best midfielders in the world game let alone in the Barclays Premier League. Not only his goals and assists but the way he has been defending for his team is brilliant. Him getting his first hat trick for the Blues was the icing on the cake.
Chelsea's luxury buy WILLIAN is proving day in day out that he is worth every penny that the club spent on him. Exceptional work rate. Runs his heart out for the team. Right from winning the ball back to running at defenders and providing exceptional through balls, this guy is doing it all.
NEMANJA MATIC, what a beast he is. Interceptions, tackles, pin point passes. Always at the face of the opposition players. He is proving that he actually is one of the best holding midfielders in the modern game.
GARY CAHILL, he was yet again a rock in the back four for Chelsea. Without John Terry this week he marshaled the defence brilliantly with Ivanovic, Luiz and Azpilicueta.
The only hitch which i felt was David Luiz as a CB. Was a tad bit too aggressive and vulnerable at that position providing Newcastle a few shots at goal.
This weekend MOHAMED SALAH also made his Chelsea debut coming on as a substitute. Everyone seems to have been talking about his poor finishing but nobody is talking about the runs he made to get into such brilliant goal scoring positions. Over time his finishing will improve and he'll become a very important player in this Chelsea squad.
Overall it was a brilliant performance this weekend under the captaincy of Frank Lampard. Plus the other results involving Arsenal and Manchester City going our way brought about added happiness.
All in all a brilliant weekend of football. Next up West Brom......