-
Champions League – Week 1 Results & Tables (Groups E – H)
There’s no doubt that the result of the first week in the Champions League belongs to FC Basel shocking Chelsea and Europe with a 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge, making it quite complicated in Group E, while Barcelona had no problem dispatching of Ajax with a 4-0 win, getting three goals from Lionel Messi.
-
Arsenal FC – Luis Suarez Would Have Been a Better Signing Than Mesut Ozil
Even if Mesut Ozil is an excellent signing for Arsenal, being able to get Luis Suarez from Liverpool would have been better for the club in terms of both getting the better player and filling in an actual need.
-
FC Barcelona – Gerard Pique Isn’t the Only Defensive Problem
The defensive problems for Barcelona aren’t going away, and it’s not only on the head of Gerard Pique and Javier Mascherano at the heart of the defense, although they certainly are the easiest players to blame for the goals they concede.
-
Liverpool FC – Mamadou Sakho Has a Bright Future at His New Club
It seems like Mamadou Sakho arriving at Anfield has come just in time, with Daniel Agger picking up a rib injury that might keep him out for at least one match. The French centre back isn’t completely match fit, speaking English or in sync with any of his defensive partners, but there’s plenty to be optimistic about.
-
Arsenal FC – An Endless List of Injuries
As Arsenal are about to embark on another Champions League season, their first match of the campaign will force them to put on a lineup we haven’t seen from the before, as Arsene Wenger has to deal with injuries to Santi Cazorla, Mikel Arteta, Lukas Podolski, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Tomas Rosicky, Yaya Sanogo, Abou Diaby and Nicklas Bendtner.
-
Miss of the Season – Robin van Persie or Wayne Rooney?
The fact that Manchester United won only 4-2 in a very dominant display against Bayer Leverkusen can partially be blamed on Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney (who both scored, by the way) conjuring to incredibly impressive missed in front of wide open nets. Rooney’s miss came with United leading only 1-0, and was quickly […]
-
Juventus FC – Fernando Llorente Needs to Start Playing
With Juventus playing in a two striker formation or something that’s very similar to it, it’s hard to understand why Fernando Llorente has seen only one minute of football so far this season, making way for small, quicker forwards, even though it might be better to try and combine the Spaniard with a different player in order to get the best out of both worlds.
-
Bayern Munich – Toni Kroos & Philipp Lahm Make the Guardiola Plan Work
Even if the opening formation was listed as a 4-1-4-1 everyone loves to criticize Pep Guardiola for, Bayern Munich looked a lot more like the conquering team from last season with two in the middle of the park, as Toni Kroos played next to Philip Lahm as the team produced its best match of the season so far.
-
Real Madrid – Cristiano Ronaldo Has Isco to Count On Now
The start of the Champions League campaign and the chase after the Decima couldn’t have gone any better for Real Madrid, with Cristiano Ronaldo getting his scoring groove on with a hat trick while Isco provided another example of why he has been the perfect signing for the club this summer, leaving his fingerprints on almost anything good that happened on the pitch before he was substituted.
-
Manchester United – Wayne Rooney Back in a Happy Place
All transfer rumors are gone; all thoughts of leaving disappeared. Wayne Rooney is simply happy to be playing football again; starting, scoring, leading. Manchester United enjoyed his influence as they opened the David Moyes era in the Champions League with a dominant display, that could have gone a bit easier if it wasn’t for some hair-raising misses, mostly coming from Robin van Persie.