HAS BARCELONA'S CRISIS PUT MESSI AND SUÁREZ IN THE SHOP WINDOW?

We're only eight days into 2015 and there is already talk of a massive crisis at FC Barcelona. Despite only trailing La Liga leaders Real Madrid by a point, circumstances at the club has caused panic amongst their fans.

D. Ray Morton, 8th January 2015.

Barcelona Director of Football, Andoni Zubizarreta, was given his marching orders this week as the Catalan club go through a period of uncertainty and turmoil

 

Barcelona look like a right mess at the moment. Ignore that they are still within touching distance of their rivals Real Madrid in La Liga and ignore that they topped their Champions League group because there is something much more worrying afoot. The last week has been full of speculation. Director of Football Andoni Zubizarreta has been sacked and Carles Puyol, Assistant Director of Football, has left the club. Zubizarreta has been made a scapegoat for what has been seen as unsatisfactory dealings in the transfer market in his time at Camp Nou. With the Court of Arbitration in Sport (CAS) slapping a two-window transfer ban on the club for the illegal signing of foreign under-age players, last summer was seen as a key period for Barça to strengthen for the coming year of transfer wilderness.

They secured a massive €85m deal for Liverpool's Luis Suárez who has underwhelmed so far in Lionel Messi's shadow. Alexis Sánchez left the club and is now excelling at Arsenal. Cesc Fàbregas also departed and is having a great season at Chelsea. Defenders Jérémy Mathieu and Thomas Vermaelen came in for around €20m each. Vermaelen has not kicked a ball for the club and Mathieu is performing just as expected for an over-priced 30 year-old. Right-back Douglas came from Brazil and is not looking anything like a Barcelona-standard player. Ivan Rakitic has shown some positives but many wonder whether he will blossom into a truly world-class midfielder. Claudio Bravo has done well in goal, one of the few positives and Alen Halilovic, at 18, will not be ready for the first team for another couple of years. The massive outlay came to about €190m with Bravo and Rakitic being the only two mild positives from that bunch of signings.

Out with Zubi but will it be out with new manager Luis Enrique too? There are some serious murmurings that he has fallen out with star man Leo Messi. He left him on the bench for their recent shock defeat to David Moyes' Real Sociedad and some believe that Messi is simply fed up at Barcelona now. Former assistant manager Henk Ten Cate thinks that Messi would have already left the club had he not promised at the deathbed of Tito Vilanova that he would stay. Chelsea are sniffing about and may find a way to meet his €250m release clause. Former team-mate Fàbregas is doing his best to lure the Argentine to London.

Could Chelsea manager José Mourinho end up managing Lionel Messi at Stamford Bridge? What was once unthinkable now seems more possible than ever

It is not unthinkable that Suárez, too, could be off. The club shelled out a huge amount of money for the Uruguayan and he has only served in a supporting role for the team. Having to play in a front three with Messi and Neymar, he is far less important than he was at Liverpool and the club might consider cutting their losses should they be able to attract a satisfactory bid. Red Liverpudlians might shudder at the thought of Manchester United showing interest with Radamel Falcao facing an uphill battle to secure a permanent move there.

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu understands the turmoil at the club and has brought forward the club presidential election to this coming summer rather than waiting until 2016. Former president Joan Laporta intends to run again and has an audacious plan to bring back former manager Pep Guardiola in the vacant Director of Football role should he leave Bayern Munich and decide to leave management for an upstairs role. Such a move would certainly inspire Barça fans who are struggling to identify with the club who have gone from being the clean-cut heroes of "tiki-taka" to being a club that cannot avoid scandal whether it be Neymar's shady transfer, Messi's tax evasion case, the CAS transfer ban and the all-round sense of instability at Camp Nou. Do they run the risk of slipping down that crevasse and becoming a European "sleeping giant" like say, AC Milan? Time will tell and the coming weeks should be very interesting. Tonight, Barcelona play Elche in the Copa del Rey. Do not expect Messi to start, though this hardly means much playing against such meagre opposition at home. Keep an eye on Luis Enrique however, a man very much under pressure.

HAVE CHELSEA SEWN UP THE EPL ALREADY?

Chelsea avoided defeat and tormented their greatest challengers for the Premier League title on Sunday. Despite conceding late on, you get the feeling that this will be José Mourinho's year and the other sides are noticing it too. Here are some thoughts on this weekend's matches in England and on the continent.

Frank Lampard may have reluctantly saved Manchester City's skin at the Etihad but Chelsea fans should not be upset as avoiding defeat and dampening their opponents' spirits was key

Chelsea manager José Mourinho must be a rather pleased man. Pleased, that is, in spite of his former player, Frank Lampard, denying him a win at the Etihad in the Blues' visit to Manchester City. Thing is, a victory would have sealed the Premier League title race shut. A draw is fine, however, especially the manner in which it was achieved. City were desperate and even resorted to weak criticisms of their opponents after the game. Manuel Pellegrini insisted that Chelsea play like Stoke! A classic case of sour grapes, the Chilean perhaps frustrated at the signs that this City side has lost that bit of hunger that delivered them the league title last season.

Manuel Pellegrini's post-match comparison of Chelsea and Stoke was both outdated and inaccurate

Onto Manchester United. To anyone that watched it, my words here will not even begin to describe the autrocity that befell them. Cruising to a 3-1 away win at little Leicester City, United's woeful defence conspired to throw away a commanding lead and ended up losing 5-3 in what was arguably the most entertaining game of the season so far. Attacking play ruled the roost and United's attempt to put the game away fizzled pathetically. Young Tyler Blackett was screamed at by captain Wayne Rooney after conceding the equaliser. Rooney had been the one who lost the ball to set up the goal. His confidence damaged, Blackett was later sent off for a professional foul in the penalty area, one of two United conceded on the day. It was a mess all-round, credit Leicester, as Louis van Gaal appeared shell-shocked answering questions post-match.

Tyler Blackett's confidence must be crushed after being screamed at by Wayne Rooney, giving away a penalty and getting sent off. A bad day at the office overall for the youngster

Liverpool also lost out. This time to West Ham at the Boleyn Ground. Without Daniel Sturridge, they are missing something and the players Brendan Rodgers has signed in order to cover the Luis Suárez void are hardly filling their fans with confidence. Good manager that he is, some feel he got a tad lucky to have inherited the world class Uruguayan and perhaps only achieved last season's second place finish thanks the transitional nature of the campaign where many top teams changed managers.

Bubbles in your face: Brendan Rodgers will have to rethink things after going down 3-1 at West Ham

Tottenham flopped in front of their own fans in a very AVB-like performance in their 1-0 defeat to West Bromwich Albion. It was back to sterile possession, moving the ball slowly from side-to-side without any real aggression. This pattern of play is still rooted in the Spurs squad despite two managerial changes since André Villas-Boas was shown the door.

Mauricio Pochettino showed more passion than his players at White Hart Lane on Sunday

North London rivals Arsenal had more joy when they put away plucky Aston Villa thanks to a barrage of three goals in the space of no more than seven or eight minutes. Mesut Ozil was back to his best playing in his preferred central role though many will still write him off as a flat track bully no matter how Arsene Wenger portrays him.

Mesut Ozil and Danny Welbeck did enough to keep their critics quiet against Aston Villa

 

Across Europe, there were goals galore in Spain as clásico rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona both recorded high scoring victories away to Deportivo and Levante respectively. Real won 8-2 thanks to a storming hat-trick from Cristiano Ronaldo and Barca notched up five and kept a clean sheet in a game where Lionel Messi starred in something of a playmakers' role despite missing a penalty. In Italy, Juventus showed they are still the team to beat despite a change in management. They visited Milan at San Siro and came away with a 1-0 win thanks to a Carlos Tevez strike.

Lionel Messi has become creator-provider...penalty misser under Luis Enrique in his deeper playmaker role

 

Without Champions League or internationals and only minor cup competitions to be competed in this mid-week, this gives teams an ample opportunity to refresh and rethink now that the major European domestic campaigns are starting to take shape. We are not too far off October, the month before the sack race. Giddy up!

ANOTHER CESC SAGA ALBEIT DIFFERENT

D. Ray Morton, 6th June 2014.

Though not a horror signing, it has not been all smiles and sunshine for Fàbregas at Barcelona

Cesc Fàbregas has been the subject of a number of transfer sagas over the past few seasons. In the summer of 2011, Barcelona finally pried him away from Arsenal for £35m plus add-ons amounting to amother £5m. Last summer, speculation mounted that Manchester United were hot on his trail as he only managed to register two steady seasons with Barça, failing to take Camp Nou by storm. After another decent but unspectacular campaign, speculation is mounting about his future again.

The dynamic is slightly different this time, however. Fàbregas has been seen as something of a flop. His addition to Barcelona's squad unsettled the Busquets-Xavi-Iniesta midfield axis and his presence hastened Thiago Alcântara's departure from the club, moving to Bayern Munich in search of more first-team opportunities. Fielding Cesc became more of a problem than a solution. Do you fit him in instead of Xavi or Andrés Iniesta or do you play him in Lionel Messi's false 9 role? Whichever position he was put in, it never seemed as natural as it did at Arsenal.

Spending £40m on an ex-youth player also created an awkward dynamic. It was a vast fortune to spend on a player that the club did away with in the past only to take him back like a prodigal son. Such lavish spending happens at Barça but not for their La Masia contingent. Blending expensive signings with in-house talent has been the club's way, not spending a king's ransom on once homegrown fledglings. One could point to Chelsea's expensive re-signing of Nemanja Matic as a good example of this kind of deal but Roman Abramovich's team are known for their vast consumption and do not have a philosophy or a fanbase that they have to answer to like that of the Catalan clubs'.

New manager Luis Enrique deems Fàbregas surplus to requirements and wants to generate money through sales in order to secure his own transfer targets. I wrote on the interest in Sevilla's Ivan Rakitic lately and recent reports do suggest he is very close to signing for Barcelona, snubbing both Atlético and Real Madrid in the process. They will want to add a defender, another midfielder and an attacker to that therefore Cesc has become a target for Manchester clubs City and United, Chelsea and maybe even old club Arsenal. There seems to be an odd reluctance amongst these clubs to make a move materialise, however, and only Chelsea's José Mourinho has publicly stated he is monitoring the situation despite Fàbregas' possible reluctance to work with a former Real Madrid manager who managed to rub quite a few Catalans the wrong way during his time at the club.

Wherever he ends up, Fàbregas is still a player with plenty left to offer. He must be used in his best role, however, and that is in an advanced midfield role with protective players behind him and a recognised striker ahead of him, not as a deeper lying metronome or as false 9. He does not have the pace to lead the line and does not have the positional discipline to play too deep but he is a fine attacking playmaker. He needs a good World Cup to give his career another kick-start and some fine performances in Brazil could ignite some more aggressive bids for his services.

PRE-WORLD CUP VACUUM IS TEDIOUS

D. Ray Morton, 1st June 2014.

The World Cup will be here very soon, finally, amidst fears of unbuilt stadiums

We have entered June and the World Cup will hit our TV screens in eleven days. This period between the end of the domestic football season and the world's biggest international sports event has been downright tedious, however.

Rumour mills have been overloaded and changes are afoot. Possibly the most ridiculous story that has broken out over the past couple of weeks is Yaya Touré's demand for a move away from Manchester City because the club did not acknowledge his birthday. That is one for the ages. An eight year-old could come up with a better excuse and if Touré and his agent do successfully negotiate a mega-bucks move away from the Etihad, City fans will feel both frustration at having lost a great player and the frustration of having egg on their face. Questions will be raised as to why a player like Touré, a freshly-crowned Premier League winner, would flee Manchester despite the riches on offer there. He has flirted with the idea of a return to Barcelona though the Catalan club are unlikely to approach him. Paris St. Germain are the favourites for his signature.

Eden Hazard is not exactly feeling the love at Chelsea right now

Speaking of PSG's attempts to further strengthen their growing empire, Eden Hazard could also be in their cross-hairs. Chelsea's Belgian winger is unsettled at Stamford Bridge due to manager José Mourinho's public announcement that Hazard does not play for the team. A puzzling statement about an extraordinary attacking talent, a future Balon d'Or winner in the making. Could there be some massive clean-up going on behind the scenes at Chelsea? PSG are throwing caution to the wind with their spending but Chelsea are tightening that belt and raking in the cash as evidenced by their swift decision to offload David Luiz to the Parisian giants last month. Are Chelsea forced to sell Hazard for, say, €70m? They are giving the impression that it would a tactical decision which could appease their supporters rather than showing it would be for financial stability. The sale of Hazard would cause waves, however. Bigger waves than a Yaya Touré move considering his age and vast potential. It would also demonstrate that PSG really are on the up and up and Chelsea are stagnating somewhat.

Poor Montolivo. Here is a token "sickening leg-break" snap

Another feature of this pre-carnival vacuum are the World Cup warm up matches. Such drudgery, understandable I guess, but dire to watch all the same. The level of excitement between a late season international friendly and an actual World Cup match is incomparable. These friendlies come at a cost too. Italy have lost Riccardo Montolivo to a horrendous leg break in last night's exhibition against Ireland at Craven Cottage. A huge blow for the azzurri as the AC Milan midfielder was expected to play a key role in their upcoming games against England, Uruguay and Costa Rica.

The only real points of interest so far have been some major managerial appointments. Manchester United have appointed Louis van Gaal, though it is becoming clear that he was not their first choice as the Red Devils sniffed out Borussia Dortmund's Jürgen Klopp and Real Madrid's Carlo Ancelotti before their futures had been determined. Van Gaal will be flung into an arena of high expectations, that is after he is done with the Netherlands' World Cup campaign which features a tough group with defending champions Spain, Chile and Australia.

Much-loved by the Barcelona faithful, how will he do now as a manager in the Camp Nou hot-seat?

Another fascinating appointment is Barcelona's decision to hire ex-player and ex-Barcelona B coach, Luis Enrique. Leaving his role at Celta Vigo, Enrique will bring a more familiar brand of attacking possession football to Camp Nou but it should be interesting to see how his "fitness freak" conditioning systems will rub off on what is a somewhat rattled squad that could not pick up any significant silverware last season. It will also be a key season for Lionel Messi, some having accused him of taking his foot off the gas to save himself for Argentina's World Cup. Can he recapture his status as the world's finest player or will Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo seize the glory again? Winning a World Cup in-between might be just the tonic Messi needs.

With Tottenham Hotspur poaching manager Mauricio Pochettino from Southampton, one of the funnier quotes this week came from Real Madrid's Angel di Maria: "It hurts when you're always doing your best for your club and then you hear that you might be going to Tottenham." Inadvertently humiliating to Spurs, Pochettino will need to give his squad the kick up the backside to make them a serious club again. He has been challenged with providing that holy grail of a top four finish, a familiar tune from Daniel Levy, and the pressure will be on if results do not match expected standards.

So between preposterous big money transfers, broken legs in friendlies and more managerial merry-go-round, we just want to get on with the World Cup at long last. Will the stadiums be up to scratch? Will Brazil triumph as expected? Bring it on for goodness sake.

MINI-HIT: BECKS, RODGERS & JANUZAJ ON VAN GAAL WAGON

MINI-HIT: BECKS, RODGERS & JANUZAJ ON VAN GAAL WAGON

D. Ray Morton, 21st May 2014.

Van Gaal seems to be universally backed at the moment

Aside from Jose Mourinho's prior, almost predictable, slap on the back towards new Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal (Barca buddies!), it's interesting to see other soccer personalities' views. David Beckham is full of praise, encouraged by LvG's promotion of youth products. Brendan Rodgers is looking forward to challenging one of the great senior European managers and had glowing respect towards new assistant manager, Ryan Giggs. Adnan Januzaj hopes to excel under the new boss although it will be interesting to see how he fits into his 4-3-3 system.

FUNDAMENTAL TACTICS BACKFIRE IN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMIS

D. Ray Morton, 1st May 2014.

Mourinho must sense that Chelsea went too defensive last night

Jose Mourinho and Chelsea's recent run of good results playing ultra defensive football had not won over many fans these past few weeks and there were some neutral smiles last night as their approach back-fired sending Atletico Madrid into their first Champions League final in its modern guise. On Tuesday, Bayern Munich and Pep Guardiola's obsessive possession football was completely dismantled by a ruthless Real Madrid side who ended up conquering the Germans by four goals without reply on their own turf at the Allianz.

Mourinho and Guardiola approached their respective ties as football fundamentalists turned up to eleven as the pressure of late season crunch time reared its asymmetrical head. Bayern continued with what has become a sterile possession game since they won their domestic league weeks ago. Whether it was a loss of focus on the players' part, a deep overall strategic issue or even Real Madrid's finishing efficiency, the Bavarians were left with a substantial amount of egg on their faces. Chelsea's attempt at dealing with Atletico was borderline repressive, the London side setting themselves up so defensively that the visitors must have felt flattered. The supposed underdogs had been made the belle of the ball.

Ronaldo, who tormented Bayern with a brace of goals, signifying to Bale that La Decima is on

Questions over team selection can be made for both matches. Guardiola reverted to playing Philip Lahm in his natural full-back position which allowed Thomas Muller to start behind Mario Mandzukic up front. €37m signing Mario Gotze and €40m Javi Martinez both failed to make the starting eleven. Chelsea's selection was so conservative it could have had a punchline attached to it. Cesar Azpilicueta had been chosen as some sort of additional full-back meant to destroy the play in wide areas by sitting in front of, or alongside, Ashley Cole and Branislav Ivanovic. Who knows?

Whereas Bayern had set themselves up to play and pass Real to death, Chelsea wanted to smother Atleti but handed them far too much of the iniative. Not even thinking about adapting to a brave approach in front of their own fans, Mourinho's side simply allowed Diego Simeone's "big-balled" dark horses to play without any pressure. A bizarre tactical angle, personally crushing as it adds to Mourinho's semi-final hoodoo that has haunted him since his days at Inter.

Simeone praised his players' mothers for giving them "big balls", maybe a pop at Chelsea's feeble defensive set-up

Real and Atletico advance to the Lisbon final, the two teams least overloaded with tactics in the semi-finals. Of the four teams, there wasn't a whole lot to separate them on paper but it appears as if the two teams that simply reacted to fundamentalist approaches triumphed comfortably. Though the defeats ended up being heavy, Bayern and Chelsea fans should probably hold some optimism for next season. Chelsea are one world class striker away from being a far more dangerous machine and Bayern can do a lot better once they resolve how to play "tiki-taka" without a Messi.

HAVE LIVERPOOL BLOWN THEIR BIG CHANCE?

D. Ray Morton, 27th April 2014.

 Demba Ba scores Chelsea's opener capitalising on Gerrard's mistake

Sunday's Premier League action saw Chelsea defeat Liverpool 2-0 at Anfield as Manchester City later put two past Crystal Palace on their travels to add yet another twist to this incredible title race.  City have three remaining matches and barring an unlikely turnaround of their goal difference advantage, a trifecta of victories will hand them the championship crown.

Manchester City's destiny is now in their own hands
 

Liverpool's horror afternoon was largely due to the poor performance of their captain, Steven Gerrard, whose erroneous slip cost them Demba Ba's opener. Chelsea sat very deep with the second string side Jose Mourinho had warned he would field in order to rest players for their second leg Champions League clash against Atletico Madrid in mid-week. The underdog mind game comment worked a treat.

 

 Captain Gerrard's performance was poor at the time they needed him the most

Gerrard's game was panicked and he wasted possession several times with speculative long shots. Reds' talismanic striker Luis Suarez struggled to make an impact and was marshalled effectively by rookie defender Tomas Kalac.  Daniel Sturridge couldn't find spaces and his dismal showing lead to Chelsea's second when substitute Fernando Torres combined with Willian on the counter who walked it into an empty goal.

Willian had all the time in the world after he broke free with Torres during a late counter attack
 

Liverpool will take part in the Champions League next season and it should be interesting to see how they will deal with the busier schedule. Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal are used to that situation but Brendan Rodgers' squad will have to be strengthened in the summer. Mourinho's Chelsea will be very strong as soon as they sign a world class striker, most likely Atletico's Diego Costa. City will spend too. Manchester United, Tottenham and Everton will also do their best to improve.
 

The chance of winning a title for Liverpool doesn't come along too often and there is now a sinking feeling about this season and that maybe the talk of it being their year had been too premature.

PRAGMATIC CHELSEA ADVANCE AND COULD WELL WIN IT

PRAGMATIC CHELSEA ADVANCE AND COULD WELL WIN IT

D. Ray Morton, 9th March 2014.

There was an air of inevitability about Demba Ba's late strike at Stamford Bridge last night, the same inevitability that haunted Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi two seasons ago at the same ground, albeit representing Napoli and not Paris St. Germain. José Mourinho had promised beforehand that Chelsea would progress. He was confident that his side would outscore the Parisians on the night and record the sufficient victory to guide them to the Champions League semi-finals.

They'll be an exceedingly tough nut to crack. With Liverpool and Manchester City pulling away in the Premier League to form their own two-horse, "Champions League-less" Premier League title race, the Portuguese has chosen his words very carefully over the past few months. He had warned Chelsea fans that, this season, it wasn't possible to win the league with the players at his disposal. The Champions League, however, is a very a different kettle of fish. A kettle of fish José knows like the back of his hand.

Barcelona and Manchester United, tonight, travel to Atlético Madrid and Bayern Munich respectively hoping to join Chelsea, along with Real Madrid, in that prestigious last four. Of all teams potentially left in the competition, Chelsea should fear no-one over two legs. Bayern were the football purists' darlings throughout the season but a recent slump in performances after winning their domestic league with their eyes closed has left many doubting their ability to complete back-to-back Champions League triumphs, a feat yet done in the competition's modern guise.

In a lot of ways, Chelsea are the perfect team to go on to win this tournament now. Barcelona aren't quite the Barcelona of old and even when they were, the Londoners were always a bogey team of theirs. Mourinho will not be ashamed to batten down the hatches and defend deep against any opponent should he see fit. If anything, last night's game against PSG represented "Big Money, Big Sam" tactics at their finest. A strong defensive unit, capable of dealing with a Zlatan-less side, long balls and long throws becoming their main threat once Eden Hazard was taken off injured. To watch a player like Willian scurry and track like a ball-winning midfielder was an unexpected sight and he performed in this unorthodox role admirably.

Willian was all-action, all energy last night

Indeed, the Brazilian could be vital for Chelsea with only two games between them an appearance in the lucrative final, to be played in Mourinho's native land at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon. With Juan Mata sold and Oscar starting to show signs of tiredness due to the insane amount of matches he's appeared in for club and country over the past two years, Willian is starting to look like the freshest of their attacking midfielders, finding his form at the perfect time for what might be a heroic late season surge.

They lack a striker still, obviously, but the way they're set up doesn't require a world class No. 9. Demba Ba is no Marco van Basten but he's certainly capable of troubling defenders and his impact was predictably devastating last night. Chelsea are a team of big, powerful no-nonsense men for the most part. John Terry, Gary Cahill, Branislav Ivanovic etc. They will bully teams who are not up for it. Teams that are not at 100%. Teams whose game plans aren't at their zenith. And looking across what's left to compete with, they should be quietly confident with whatever comes their way.

CHELSEA HUMBLED IN PARIS AMIDST GAZE OF THE "PREMFACE" BRIGADE

CHELSEA HUMBLED IN PARIS AMIDST GAZE OF THE "PREMFACE" BRIGADE

D. Ray Morton, 3rd April 2014.

Substitute Javier Pastore reels away in celebration after making it 3-1 in late injury time

José Mourinho and Chelsea were dealt a tough night in Paris last evening thanks to goals from Ezequiel Lavezzi, Javier Pastore and an own goal from David Luiz to cancel out Eden Hazard's penalty for the visitors.

It was a game that lulled at times but this suited Paris St. Germain as a tired-looking Chelsea were not able to play at full intensity. Nemanja Matić was cup-tied after his involvement with Benfica earlier on in this Champions League season, and his calming defensive midfield presence was sorely missed.

The Parisians stunned Mourinho's side early on when Lavezzi was able to pounce on a loose ball in the penalty area and volleyed home beautifully with his left foot. Zlatan Ibrahimović had received all the attention before kick-off but it was his supporting cast of Lavezzi and Edinson Cavani that stole the spotlight on this occasion. The wide attacking duo tormented Chelsea not only with their offensive movement but also by covering back and preventing the visitors from exploiting the flanks.

Ramires diligently covered ground in midfield, pressing Thiago Motta and Marco Verratti with regularity but picked up a yellow card in process which will see him out of the second leg in London next week. PSG have a worry of their own in that Ibrahimović was hauled off with what looked like a hamstring injury. Such strains don't heal that rapidly and there's a good chance he'll miss next week's encounter also. Such as the strength of their squad however, they should be able to cope. Brazilian starlet Lucas Moura came on during the second half and troubled Chelsea with his elusive dribbling skills.

Chelsea's equaliser was somewhat fortuitous. Oscar went down in the penalty area under an awkward challenge from compatriot Thiago Silva. Such was the centre half's positioning that the referee cannot be blamed for awarding the spot-kick although replays seemed to indicate that Silva had at least gotten a bit of the ball. Hazard buried the penalty and that was Chelsea's last shot on target for the evening. After only 28 minutes.

Chelsea had opted for a "strikerless" formation with André Schürrle up front on his own, a tactic only used twice this season, once against Bayern Munich in the European Super Cup and again against Manchester United early on in the campaign where a 0-0 result seemed solid at the time. Here, it worked to an extent. With Schürrle dropping into the midfield, Motta and Verratti found themselves pressured more often than they would in an average Ligue 1 match. It was Mourinho's decision to replace the German with Fernando Torres in the second half where things began to unravel.

Sky Sports' panel came up with the ludicrous conclusion that Chelsea were in complete control by half-time. Perhaps they were, if control means aimlessly pressing to the point of exhaustion and playing into the hands of a highly technical home side with many individuals capable of coming up with a match-winning moment of flair. The lead goal didn't require any flair, however. The ticking defensive time bomb that is David Luiz couldn't get the ball out of his feet from Lavezzi's whipped free-kick and ended up putting it in his own net. It became a calamitous night for Luiz after being one of Chelsea's better players in the first half.

The visitors looked tired but seemed content to take a 2-1 defeat back home. That was until substitute Javier Pastore came up with a bit of magic late on in injury time. Picking the ball up on the right flank, he managed to slip into the Chelsea penalty area near the by-line, skimmed Frank Lampard and smashed home past Petr Čech from a narrow angle. That little bit of magic made it 3-1 and makes next week's proposition much harder for an infuriated Mourinho.

Mourinho described PSG's third goal as "ridiculous"

He dubbed the third goal as "ridiculous" and didn't write off their second leg prospects but described it as "a difficult job, not impossible". Clearly dissatisfied at Fernando Torres' contribution he thought the substitution would give them more depth: "a bit more". The Spanish club record signing is clearly in the doghouse and there's very little chance he'll remain in Mourinho's first-team squad next season.

The Sky trio of Jamie Redknapp, Jamie Carragher and Glenn Hoddle seemed perplexed at what they had just seen. In unison, thinking Chelsea were "in control" at half-time, they didn't offer any real explanation as to how Chelsea had just been outclassed. Hoddle even went as far as suggesting that PSG were weak at the back despite having Brazil's captain and arguably the world's best defender in Thiago Silva. Classic "premface" opinion again on display.

The second leg should remain a decent spectacle and Chelsea are not necessarily out. Lavezzi and Cavani will remember from their time at Napoli that Chelsea are capable of overturning a 3-1 first leg defeat but considering PSG's overall quality, it's a much bigger ask this time.

GUARDIOLA'S SELECTION BLUNDER AND ATLÉTICO'S RESILIENCE

GUARDIOLA'S SELECTION BLUNDER AND ATLÉTICO'S RESILIENCE

D. Ray Morton, 2nd April 2014.

The talk beforehand had been about how much of a mismatch this would be. Struggling Manchester United taking on the cream of Europe in the form of Pep Guardiola's mighty Champions League holders Bayern Munich. And mighty were the Bavarians' possession statistics no doubt but leaving Old Trafford with only a draw and having Bastian Schweinsteiger sent off was never part of the script.

The team selection immediately raised some eyebrows. Mario Mandžukić, a serious tormentor of defences, was left on the bench leaving Thomas Müller up front on his own with the trio of Franck Ribéry, Arjen Robben and Toni Kroos in behind. Müller didn't offer a focal point for the visitors' attacks and the United defensive pairing of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidić enjoyed a rather pleasant evening as a result.

As the first half wore on and Bayern racked up the passes, it suddenly dawned on those watching that maybe this side just wasn't going to be all that incisive on the night. It was described as "sterile possession" in some quarters, reminiscent of Pep's Barça when Lionel Messi wasn't available for selection.

United grew in confidence, defended with spirit and unrattled the Germans. They took the lead on 58 minutes when Vidić glanced home from a corner kick. The old vulnerability from set pieces remains as a Guardiola trademark, something which wasn't obvious in last season's treble winners lead by Jupp Hynckes.

Though Bayern did equalise on the night and set themselves up to take control of the tie in Munich, the other potential semi-finalists will be pleased that die Roten have had some weaknesses exposed. It was the eventually red-carded Schweinsteiger who got the goal, finishing sweetly from substitute Mandžukić's knock-down header. Surely the big Croat will start in the second leg. The result has hurt Guardiola it seems. His post-match press conference was uneasy as he cut a frustrated figure in front of the English media's bombardment of questions.

In the other clash last night, Atlético Madrid will be delighted to have secured a 1-1 draw at Camp Nou against Barcelona meaning the Catalans have failed to beat Diego Simeone's men in four attempts so far this season. Simeone will point out that the same goes for Atléti failing to beat los culés but Diego Ribas' sensational strike could make a key difference should the second leg be as cagey.

Barça still struggle against defensive-minded teams and though Atléti are well capable of playing attacking football, they change up their game plan when they face "Tata" Martino's side. Neymar managed to get an equaliser late on getting on the end of Andrés Iniesta's sumptuous through pass but surely the side from the capital will be happier with the result. Barça's woes continue today with the news that FIFA has banned them from signing any new players for the next two transfer windows.

Looking ahead to tonight's clashes, a game of huge interest should be Paris St. Germain vs. Chelsea in the French capital. José Mourinho gets reacquainted with Zlatan Ibrahimović in a potential classic between the ambitious Parisians versus the defensive and tactical toughness of the Londoners. Chelsea don't have Nemanja Matić available to them which is a big loss, so PSG will try to inflict as much damage as possible tonight in order to set up the away trip. It's a very hard one to call because as much quality as the French champions have, Mourinho's tactical nous in big European clashes is unmatched.

Mourinho and Zlatan, best of chums at Inter

In the other game, Real Madrid face an off-form Borussia Dortmund at the Santiago Bernabéu. Though the Germans triumphed in the same clash last season, injuries have ravaged their squad and the side from the Spanish capital should have enough to kill this one off in the first leg provided the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale have their shooting boots on.

LA DECIMA ON COURSE WITH CHELSEA LURKING IN THE SHADOWS

LA DECIMA ON COURSE WITH CHELSEA LURKING IN THE SHADOWS

D. Ray Morton, 19th March 2014.

La Decima has been a Real Madrid obsession since 2002 when Zinedine Zidane's inspired strike against Bayer Leverkusen secured the side's record-setting ninth victory of the European Cup/Champions League crown. Despite continuing to spend a fortunate on the world's top stars, "Old Big Ears" has eluded them season after season in the meantime. This year, however, they're as good a bet as anyone to win it outright considering the ease in which they steamrollered German side Schalke last night.

Cristiano Ronaldo slotted home a brace and Alvaro Morata added another to cancel out Tim Hoogland's deflected strike for a 3-1 win. Real didn't need to get out of second gear but at full flow, they seem like a team well capable of competing with the other top dogs in the competition such as Bayern Munich, Barcelona and perhaps Jose Mourinho's Chelsea or Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid (or maybe PSG? Very hip).

Chelsea had an easy night of their own at Stamford Bridge. Goals from Samuel Eto'o and Gary Cahill allowed them to cruise past Galatasaray and no-one will want to face them in the next stage. Real, Barca and Bayern each play with their own distinctive attacking style but the defensive resilience and never-say-die attitude of Mourinho's men could stand them in good stead as we reach the business end of the competition. Atletico are something of an unknown quantity as of yet but they will be very hard to beat.

Real, though more of a possession team this season under Carlo Ancelotti, are still devastating on the counter attack with the pace of Ronaldo and Gareth Bale. Karim Benzema's form has also returned to its best and with the likes of Luka Modric and Xabi Alonso in midfield, they are a side capable of barnstorming anyone if they get things right on a given evening. Barca are still a passing machine with a few long(er) ball tweaks and Bayern are something of an all-round juggernaut such are the tactical and positional options available to them. Atletico's main strength is their aggressive pressing which was what helped last season's inspired Borussia Dortmund to reach the final. Pressing, however, can get exhausting over the course of a long season.

Don't write off Chelsea though. Mourinho, and even Chelsea under other managers, have proven time and time again that they deliver their best European performances with their backs against the wall, looking to pick apart pretty, attacking teams by being forceful in the set-piece and defending like demons.

As all names go into the hat for the quarter-finals with no more seeding in the competition's structure, anything can happen and the real drama begins. The winnners of Borussia Dortmund vs. Zenit St. Petersburg and Manchester United vs. Olympiakos have yet to be decided but the two sides that get through there won't stand much of a chance lest there be a huge surprise in store for us.

SHERWOOD RIGHT TO LAMBAST ABJECT SPURS

SHERWOOD RIGHT TO LAMBAST ABJECT SPURS

D. Ray Morton, 9th March 2013.

Chelsea proved they were the cream of the London crop yesterday evening with a comfortable 4-0 win that keeps fueling their Premier League title effort. Mourinho's men won convincingly thanks to goals from Samuel Eto'o, a penalty from Eden Hazard and a brace from substitute striker Demba Ba. Chelsea look as likely as anyone to top the table at the end of the season now but the focus here will be on the hopelessness of Tottenham Hotspur, manager Tim Sherwood's reaction to it and how a certain other in the media sees it.

Any 4-0 defeat makes for bad reading but, as mentioned several times this season about Spurs, the manner in which they lost was most disappointing. This wasn't Chelsea at their best. They didn't need to be. Each of the four goals could be classified as gifts. Though Spurs made themselves compact in the first half, giving away few clear cut chances and even looking like they might create a few of their own, their second half capitulation was abysmal.

Eto'o opened the scoring in the 56th minute after an error by Jan Vertonghen in what was probably his worst performance as a Spurs player. Barcelona have been sniffing around for his signature due to their need for a ball-playing defender and after such a miserable performance, Daniel Levy should consider cashing in.

The second goal came only four minutes later. Eto'o was picked out inside the penalty area, took a heavy touch and fell under the momentum of Younes Kaboul's covering run. There was very little contact and there were plenty of players around but referee Michael Oliver still felt the need to issue a red card and a penalty. I have examined the penalty/dismissal laws before but in this incident, there was nothing cynical about Kaboul's approach and the referee seemed to get it completely wrong as agreed with by Gary Neville in his Sky Sports commentary. Hazard slotted home the spot-kick and the game was over as a contest effectively.

Half an hour of Jose Mourinho smiles followed until Demba Ba, this time, was given a present by the continually struggling Vertonghen. Slipping in possession inside his own third, rather than knocking the ball out of play, he attempted a desperate pass back which Hugo Lloris couldn't reach. The Senegalese took the chance with aplomb. About a minute later, more madness from Spurs at the back. Lloris cleared away with his feet only to receive a header back from Nabil Bentaleb who must not have seen Demba Ba standing way beyond what would be the offside line. Ba competed with the French goalkeeper and slipped it past him to score the easiest of tap-ins. Tim Sherwood looked on furiously as Jose Mourinho made an early escape for the dressing room barely able to disguise his elation.

Tactically, there wasn't a whole lot that Sherwood did wrong. Jokingly nicknamed "Tactics Tim" for the perception that he doesn't like to bog down his side with the instructions that made Andre Villas Boas so unpopular with the playing staff, Spurs were set up quite well yesterday. He had fielded Kyle Walker at right midfield in order to double up on Eden Hazard and, removing individuals errors and some dodgy refereeing, it might have worked.

Sherwood went on the offensive in his post-match interview: "You can't legislate for the capitulation - you can't have that" he stated. "Lack of characters, too many of them too nice to each other and you need to show a bit more guts and not want to be someone's mate all the time. They need to drag it out of each other."

Sherwood was right. It wasn't strategies that cost them such a heavy thrashing. It was attitude. This is the same poisonous attitude that has persisted all season and resulted in two heavy defeats to Manchester City, another from Liverpool and an utterly humiliating 3-0 defeat to West Ham at home.

Glenn Hoddle, whenever there is speculation over a manager's future, again took the opportunity to criticise whilst subtly flying his kite for the Spurs job which might not necessarily go to Louis van Gaal, as expected, in the summer. In response to Sherwood's post-match views, he interjected: "I agree he was very honest but personally that's something you say in the dressing room to the players. You might come out and disguise what your feelings are." Words of wisdom from a man who lost the England job for suggesting that disabled people were being punished from "past lives".

Tottenham do deserve to be criticised publicly and Sherwood would only have been untrue to himself if he had stated otherwise. No-one expects Tottenham to get into the top four now and no-one expects Sherwood to stay on as their boss. His honesty was refreshing however and it's a shame that he's now caught between a rock and a hard place when it comes to landing his next job. Primarily a coach, will he want to take that step back after being in the main hot seat? Will Spurs even want to keep him on as a coach? Regardless, the message has been clear. Tottenham have not been good enough this season and don't deserve any credit after what was a grim performance at Stamford Bridge yesterday.

MAN UTD WERE ATROCIOUS AND CHELSEA WERE LUCKY

MAN UTD WERE ATROCIOUS AND CHELSEA WERE LUCKY

D. Ray Morton, 27th February 2014.

It's no secret by now that Manchester United are having a nightmare season, unprecedented in this era but their performance against Olympiakos on Tuesday night might have been their most degrading yet. After watching their team get eliminated from two domestic cup competitions by unfancied smaller sides and languishing well outside the top four in the league, United fans were clinging on to the Champions League as their great hope for the rest of the campaign. With their 2-0 away defeat, they now have a lot of work to do to save the tie and many would question whether they are capable of turning it around.

It is difficult to analyse such a weak, disjointed performance. Olympiakos looked hungrier and had a more effective gameplan where they were able to focus on United's weaknesses, capitalising on their poor passes and taking their chances very well. Argentine Alejandro Dominguez gave the home side the lead after 38 minutes with a neat technical finish after some woeful defending in the United penalty area.

The second half got worse as United continued to give the ball away and struggled to deal with the Greeks' pressing game. Costa Rican international (watch out England!) Joel Campbell extended their lead with a sublime strike ten minutes into the restart. As the ball flew into the back of David de Gea's net from distance, you could sense the collective sigh of despair from the red half of Manchester.

To make matters worse, £300,000 a week man, Wayne Rooney had an awful game where he was continuously frustrated by the home side, thoroughly man-marked and given some rough treatment which the referee would not sympathise with in front of such a hostile crowd.

Robin van Persie chipped in on the torturous spectacle with a terrible late miss which, based on his comments to members of the Dutch media, may have been about teammates occupying his preferred positions on the pitch. David Moyes' post-match interview was more of the same worn-out clichés and meek optimism that surely United fans are sick and tired of by now.

Moving on to Chelsea...

They rode their luck somewhat against Galatasaray after starting very positively with Fernando Torres getting on the scoresheet after nine minutes. On paper, a tough place to go, Chelsea will still feel a little disappointed not to have killed the game off and allowing the Turkish side to get back into it with Aurelien Chedjou's 65th minute equaliser. As time ran out, Roberto Mancini's men started to look superior to Jose Mourinho's and Chelsea should be glad they did not concede again during the late onslaught. They are likely to sort out this tie at Stamford Bridge however and are looking like they might be the only English team left in the competition come the quarter-finals.

In the other games, Borussia Dortmund thumped Zenit St. Petersburg 4-2 away on Tuesday in what was somehow an awful game despite its goals. The game was played on a poor surface and the Russian side did not look up for it, paving a way to the next round for the German side who have not been at their best this season. Real Madrid were the heroes of this week however, as they hammered Schalke 6-1 in Gelsenkirchen. Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo all bagged braces in what was a flawless attacking performances and makes Real many peoples' favourites to win the tournament outright.