The Centre Circle

Bad news for Barcelona, good news for Arsenal. Zlatan Ibrahimovic picked up a calf strain in the warm up for yesterday evening’s game versus Athletic Bilbao and it has been confirmed that the injury will rule him out of the second leg Champions League quarter final tie against  Arsenal on Tuesday night. Ibrahimovic, who was due to start Saturday night’s game, scored both goals at the Emirates Stadium last Wednesday and has been in fantastic form of late. He may also miss El Classico next weekend when Barcelona play their deadly rivals Real Madrid.

This is a big blow for Barcelona who may replace him for the Arsenal and Real Madrid games with Henry or maybe Bojan who scored twice tonight in place of the Swedish international. The other scorers were Jeffren and the inevitable goal from Messi in an easy 4-1 win over Athletic at the Camp Nou.

Goals from Saturday’s 4-1 win for Barcelona against Bilbao below – sorry they don’t have English commentary…

At the Emirates, Arsenal took early control but it was Wolves who had the best early chance, Michael Mancienne, on loan from Chelsea hitting a 25 yard drive which shaved the bar. Eduardo should have then scored as Arsenal responded, miss-kicking when in front of goal. In the second half Carl Henry was harshly red carded for a tackle on Rosicky. Arsenal pressed and pressed and in the dying moments the pressure exerted finally paid off. Substitute Nicklas Bendtner broke Wolves hearts scoring in the 94th minute with a diving header from a Sagna cross. A priceless goal in their pursuit of Chelsea and Man Utd, and the umpteenth time that Arsenal had scored in the last 10 minutes of the game this season. How important will this goal be come the end of the season? Arsenal now go to the Nou Camp in good spirits, and are just 3 points behind Chelsea.

There was a crazy game at Sunderland. The home team hit very early at The Stadium of Light with two Spurs old boys doing the damage. Frazier Campbell’s diving header was saved by Gomes after 30 seconds but Darren Bent buried the rebound against his old club. Then the north east club got a penalty. Walker handled after Gomes palmed out a Steed Malbranque shot and Darren Bent finished expertly from the spot to get his second. Then Sunderland got a second penalty, Campbell was brought down by Modric, but this time Bent couldn’t complete a first half hat-trick as Gomes made a great save. Into the second half and amazingly there was a third penalty given to Sunderland by referee Lee Mason. Palacios fouled Jordan Henderson and Gomes saved his second spot kick of the afternoon from Bent who was never destined to get a third. Sunderland then had a goal disallowed from Anton Ferdinand after Campbell apparently fouled Gomez. Spurs gave their fans hope when Peter Crouch pulled one back, nodding home from a Nico Kranjcar cross however Sunderland clinched their three points with a rasping volley from Bodo Zenden.

At Stoke, Ricardo Fuller kept up his good form from the previous week by latching onto a Kitson header and finishing expertly with the outside of his right boot. Stoke’s Liam Lawrence then wrapped up the points late in the second half, side-footing a neat finish. The game was marred was by a nasty head injury to Hull’s George Boateng who was taken off on a stretcher and onwards to hospital.

Aston Villa took the lead at the Reebok Stadium via a superb curling strike from Ashley Young. Slack defending allowed the Villa winger to place a shot into the top corner past a despairing Jaaskelainen. Hard though Bolton tried, they were unable to find an equaliser with Villa who took the three points and moved closer to Spurs at that time in fourth spot.

At Portsmouth, David Dunn for Blackburn went close in the first half when he struck a post. At the other end Jamie O’Hara’s header was cleared off the line by Gael Givet. Just before half-time Blackburn hit the post for a second time, Chris Samba this time the unlucky player. Portsmouth were hampered in the second half when Van den Borre was sent off for his second bookable offence but they held on for a 0-0 draw which preserves their Premiership status, for now…

At Turf Moor in the late game, Man City raced into an unassailable 3-0 after just seven minutes. First Adebayor chested down the ball when half cleared from a corner and lashed home, then Bellamy sped between two Burnley defenders and finished well. Tevez added the third who tapped home after Jensen was unable to handle an Adebayor shot. After 20 minutes, it was 4-0. Patrick Viera headed home after an Adam Johnson corner.  This was starting to look embarrassing and it got worse for sorry Burnley as Adebayor got his second and City’s fifth breaking the offside trap to finish sweetly. City made it six in the second half, Vincent Kompany, finishing with his head from a corner. By now the only thing threatening a thumping City win was the weather, the rain starting to form puddles on the pitch. After 71 minutes the Burnley fans finally had something to cheer as Steven Fletcher struck a consolation high into the net from the left hand side of the penalty area. The rest of the game fizzled out as Man City declared on six, a win that moves them up to fourth in the league.

Arsenal 1-0 Wolves

Sunderland 3-1 Tottenham

Stoke 2-0 Hull City

Bolton 0-1 Aston Villa

Portsmouth 0-0 Blackburn

Burnley 1-6 Man City

On the day when the boxing Heavyweight Championship of the World was due to be contested in Manchester and David Haye, the current holder paraded his championship belt on the pitch before the match, how appropriate that two of the Premiership’s biggest hitters met head to head at Old Trafford, trying to land a knock-out punch to their rival. Ferguson versus Ancelotti, Manchester United versus Chelsea, red versus blue; last week everyone was anticipating Rooney v Drogba but we were denied this particular sub-plot (50 goals on the season between them) as Rooney was injured and Drogba was left on the substitute bench, having not fully recovered from a recent knee problem, so it was left to those second on the bill Berbatov & Anelka to lead the line and to try to strike the winning blow.

Both teams lined up in similar fashion 4-3-3 and the early sparring saw a slightly sprightlier Chelsea team on the front foot against a more sluggish looking United who seemed not to have recovered from their mid-week trip to Munich. The only chances of note in the first 15 minutes were Joe Cole having a scuffed shot for Chelsea, and Patrice Evra breaking down the left & hitting a low shot that Cech handled easily. Then after 19 minutes, Chelsea struck first. Malouda on the left was allowed to run way too far without a serious challenge on him. On reaching the by-line, he pulled back the ball for Joe Cole to guide a sneaky back heel past Van de Sar in the United goal – only his second of the season. Five minutes later, Park was caught by Zhirkov on the edge of the box, but to the disappointment of the United players and fans, Mike Dean the referee (who has a history of giving penalties, 16 in 24 games this season!) waved away the appeals. The man in black it seemed was in a more lenient mood today, as minutes later Gary Neville appeared to blatantly barge over Anelka as he broke into the box – again no penalty was given. On the stroke of half time, Berbatov was cut down un-necessarily by Terry on the right of the box, but Giggs’ free kick only met a Chelsea head. As half time came, United trooped off clearly having been second best to face the wrath of Sir Alex, after not having had a threatening effort on the Cech goal in first 45 minutes.

The second half began and again Chelsea came out quicker, nearly breaking through early on. Joe Cole turned in midfield, and played a fabulous ball cutting through the United defence to the on-running Ferreira, who jabbed the ball past Van de Sar, but unfortunately for him, also past the far right hand post. The Old Trafford crowd were already starting to get restless, but their mood improved after Evra volley a couple of yards wide. The volume level was raised a touch more as Fletcher went on a run from central midfield, passing to Park who screwed his shot wide. United were now buoyed by this and Berbatov had two chances, heading narrowly wide from Giggs’ right wing cross, then minutes later heading over the bar from Neville’s centre. This was more like it and the pressure mounted, Chelsea at times desperately defending their own box, like a fighter pinned on the ropes. With 20 minutes to go Ancelotti pulled off Cole and Anelka with Kalou and Drogba, Ferguson responded by substituting Scholes for Marcheda. The decisions from both managers had immediate effect. Firstly, Chelsea having cleared their heads after surviving a United battering for 10 minutes made it 0-2; Kalou played a pass through to Drogba who finished emphatically controversially from an offside position. Minutes later, Nani jinked past a couple of Chelsea defenders and his cross-shot fell to Marcheda after Cech parried, making it 1-2. United desperately tried to fight back and as 90 minutes ticked up, Giggs played a lovely pass through to Berbatov who’s half volley couldn’t beat the Chelsea goalkeeper. However, Chelsea held on in injury time to deservedly rack up a huge victory.

United have lost five of their seven league games after playing in Europe and I think it is proof that they do not enough squad depth to cover, especially in attack. They now have to go away and recover before their next test in midweek versus Bayern Munich. How they could have done today with the extra punch of the injured Rooney up front.

Quotes from Ancelotti: "We wanted to be top after this match. It was hard but we played really well. Champions League matches take up a lot of energy and that is why we started the game so quick. We knew that if we played with a high intensity they could have some problems.Now we are the favourites, yes. That's normal when we are back at the top of the league. But nothing is decided. We have to stay composed, quiet and maintain focus in our game."

Quotes from Ferguson "What I can't understand is the linesman's directly in front of it. He has no-one near him and he gets it wrong. A game of that magnitude, you really need quality officials and we didn't get them today. It was a poor, poor performance. Five games left, they're two points ahead and four goals better than us - they're in the driving seat. Chelsea are favourites now, there's no question. I'm certain we'll respond but we could win the next five games and not win it."

Dunno what it is you know, some people find it so difficult to be happy. I’ve always had this impression, rightly or wrongly about Aston Villa fans. If at the start of the season you were to tell them that with around half a dozen games to go, their team would have made it to the Carling Cup final, got to Wembley again in the Semi Final of the FA Cup and be with in with a shot of making 4th place in the Premier League, I bet you 99% of them would have been utterly delighted to accept such a position to be in. Yet all I hear out of Villa fans is moan, moan ,moan, Martin O’Neill and the team are not making progress etc etc etc… Maybe it’s a result of all the short-term attitudes we have unfortunately got used to these days, with the insatiable drive for news from 24 hour sports news and talk radio looking for the latest angles in their reporting. Hey I hold my hands up! I wouldn’t have this blog if it wasn’t for all the reporting that goes on.

Anyway, Villa fans I urge you for a bit more patience. As the old saying goes, “Rome wasn’t built in a day” and I personally think that Martin O’Neill and his admirable chairman Randy Lerner should be given a little more time for this young team to develop. This year, as Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor have found the going a little tougher (they will be back firing next season), James Milner has come to the fore, picking up the baton from the long since departed Gareth Barry. Milner has been nothing short of superb, and no wonder that no less than Sir Alex Ferguson has reportedly been showing some interest in the young Englishman, who should be a certainty to be on the plane to South Africa this summer. Fabian Delph is another one for the future who has been dipped in and out of the first team and next year I am sure he will have a more prominent role. Stephen Warnock has been a very shrewd signing, and James Collins and Richard Dunne in the main have been rocks in central defence, popping up with the odd vital goal. Apart from the 7-1 mauling against Chelsea last week, which I think was a freak result, there is still plenty to look forward to at Villa Park and as a neutral (as my team has been eliminated form the competition), I would love to see Villa get to the cup final and pick up the FA Cup, just to prove the doubters wrong. For all the hard work and patience that O’Neill & Lerner have shown, I personally think they deserve it.

As for the longer term, I believe Villa are one, maybe two signing away from being a real force to contend with. A top class striker to compliment Agbonlahor’s speed and maybe a creative midfielder who can open up teams and provide a balance to the counter-attacking threat and pace that Villa have in abundance.

Not good signs coming out of Upton Park. There seems to be an air of panic, the latest sign is the report that West Ham will attempt to sue Fulham for fielding a weakened team at Hull City last weekend. How laughable is this? There is no way that the Premiership will rise to the bait and no way that it could be held up, especially as West Ham themselves left out several key players in their 2-0 defeat at the Emirates stadium a fortnight ago. It smacks of a club in complete turmoil.

The team have lost six games on the spin, are playing with little coherence and with even less confidence and one of the last places you would want to visit would be Goodison Park this coming Saturday against an Everton side who has been in sparkling form in the last month.

The desperation is obviously coming from the top where the realisation that the gamble owners David Sullivan and David Gold took in buying out the original Icelandic owners maybe turning into just that – a huge gamble that could cost them a fortune. The stress has further been shown with the two top men split over support for Gianfranco Zola. Sullivan has been banned from the training ground after critical e-mails were circulated to all supporters who attended the Wolves game, whereas Gold when quizzed by the press after the latest defeat to Stoke showed staunch backing for the manager.

If ever a united front was needed, now is the time for the East London club. By the end of Easter they could be in the bottom three again and facing relegation in the face. I hope they survive, as West Ham are one of those clubs when on form are a joy to watch, however the brittleness of their current confidence makes me worry for their chances. 

As we go into the Easter period, Carlo Ancelotti probably can’t believe his luck just two weeks after things were looking so bleak for his prospects. The Fabregas and Rooney injuries have removed the two kingpins from Chelsea’s main rivals. They are still in the FA Cup and gearing up for the last seven games after plundering 12 goals in their last two games against Portsmouth and Aston Villa.

This Saturday Chelsea face a Rooney-less Manchester United in the crunch game of the Premiership so far. Rooney who has suffered minor ligament damage will most probably be out for a month or so, missing the Chelsea game, the Bayern Munich return leg next week and more than like the Manchester derby. Whereas United can more than likely survive his loss against lower teams, I think United will struggle to have a cutting edge against this weekend and I expect Chelsea to at least get a draw and I also expect them to drop points on their visit to Eastlands.

The other title aspirant Arsenal has also got major injury worries. Fabregas has fractured his leg in the epic 2-2 draw with Barcelona ruled out now for at least 6 weeks and Gallas also looks to have suffered a calf injury that may end his season early. Andre Arshavin too suffered a calf strain and despite a favourable run-in I fear that Arsenal may now just come up short in the end.

So advantage Ancelotti. The pressure is on him and his team as Abramovich will now expect no less than major silverware at the end of the season. What a turn around from just a fortnight ago? It’s time for him and his aging team to deliver. For many it may be their last chance.

Phew! I think I’ve just got my breath back after an amazing, special match. A game that had absolutely everything. Firstly hats off to both sides, firstly to Barcelona whose opening 20 minutes of football was as mesmerising an period of football as I think I have ever seen by any team at any time in my life. Simply stunning!! It could have been 5 or 6-0 without several stunning saves from Almunia. Wave after wave of attack rained down on a bewildered Arsenal rearguard. I have never seen an Arsenal side denied the ball so much and I think the Gunners just plain froze, just like rabbits in the headlights. Surely the dam was going to break as profligate Ibrahimovic, Xavi and Busquets missed chance after chance but goalless it remained. Xavi and Messi continued to weave pretty patterns, yet Arsenal could have taken an undeserved lead when Nasri’s curling effort flew narrowly wide. Arsenal’s task was made doubly difficult with calf injuries to both Arshavin and Gallas, both having to be substituted with Eboue and Denilson, and Fabregas was harshly booked for what seemed to me a perfectly timed sliding tackle, ruling him out of the second leg at the Camp Nou.

How it was scoreless at half-time nobody knew, but 30 seconds into the second half, before many of the Emirates faithful, had taken their seats (including Arsene Wenger), Barcelona caught Arsenal cold. A simple pass through to Ibrahimovic who glanced up to see Almunia charging off his line before sending a lovely chip floating over the stranded keeper into the net. On the hour, the magnificent Xavi sent a clever ball through a static Gunners defence for Ibrahimovic to smash home the second. Maybe it was arrogance or over confidence I don’t know, but The Catalans seemed to sit back a touch, maybe thinking the tie was done and dusted already, but it was to cost them dearly. Wenger threw on his last card and brought on Theo Walcott. The flying Englishman had an immediate impact terrorising Maxwell, and it was no surprise when Walcott sped past the aging central defender, latched onto a ball from Niklas Bentner and fired home a shot which Victor Valdes should have held. The tide had turned and Arsenal poured forward looking for an improbable second. With five minutes remaining it was Walcott again who reaching the by-line pulling back a cross to Bentner whose cushioned header fell for Fabregas. As he tried to strike home, a challenge from Puyol brought down the Arsenal number four, the referee pointed to the spot and then sent off the offender off for the foul, a touch harsh in my view. Taking responsibility into his own hands, Fabregas stepped up and buried the spot kick. It has now transpired that the Arsenal captain scored with a fractured leg and continued on hobbling until the final whistle. If anybody doubted him they shouldn’t now; here was an act of complete loyalty to the Arsenal cause which should be applauded. An example for the rest of the team how a captain should act in leading his troops in the heat of a battle.

So at half time in the tie, 2-2 and the outcome incredibly still in the balance. The cost of the night to both teams may be considerable. Fabregas is definitely out & Arsenal wait on injury news to Gallas and Arshavin, whereas Barcelona will have both central defenders missing for the return leg. The fact that Arsenal survived the battering that they did will I think in a strange way encourage them that they can go to Barcelona with some hope. They certainly have the speed up front to frighten Guardiola and his team and it will be interesting how Wenger decides to switch his team around. I would play the experienced Rosicky in central midfield (his natural position) Nasri on the left and Walcott on the right. I expect Campbell to come in place of Gallas. Barcelona though on their home patch remain clear favourites to progress.

I hope the second game can live up to the drama produced at the Emirates in game one. Monsieur Wenger promised us a masterpiece before match began. Guardiola, Wenger himself and all the players involved did not disappoint.