Chase the Devils...

               Yet another win,even after failing to dominate almost the entire game.Yet another comeback,after being outplayed for large periods,but most importantly,yet again 3 points added to the total.Some may say,Manchester United were plain lucky to survive,some may say they displayed the Spirit of the Champions.Whatever it may be,the fact is that United now have a Rock-solid Grip on the Title.Defending Champions Chelsea are 10 points short,which is a footballing equivalent of the Gap between a Ferrari and a Maruti 800,while let's not kid ourselves,Man City and Arsenal are just not good enough for the title.

Roberto Mancini,is he too defensive-minded to win the English League?

                 Let's just start with Manchester City only.I was totally baffled by their Midfield selections vs Aston Villa.De Jong,Barry,Yaya Toure and David Silva.Three defensive midfielders in the same line-up?? Against a team you beat 4-0 less than a month ago?? That's not title winning mentality,Mancini.That's the Problem with City.They can talk about World Domination as long as they want,but they themselves don't seem to believe they are good enough to beat the Manchester Uniteds and Chelseas.Even though they beat Chelsea,their goal came on the counter-attack only,and before that they seemed happy enough to play for a draw.Same thing versus Man United and Arsenal.You don't win titles like that.All they have managed so far,is to give away Huge Christmas presents to Arsenals and Barcelonas and Wolfsburgs by paying extravagant money for their players.Just look what they are doing,paid 25 millions for Adebayor,and less than 2 seasons later,they are ready to send him on loan,just to splash 25 millions more on Edin Dzeko.24 millions for James Milner,like he's the next-Gen Steven Gerrard or something! But,the biggest windfall went to Barcelona.29 millions for a want-away player in Yaya Toure! I mean,who are they kidding? Harry Redknapp got Rafael Van der Vaart and Gareth Bale together,for half that price!
                  Talking about Harry Redknapp,Spurs have been more than decent this season,with all those heroics in Europe as well.But the talk of the title challenge still seems far-fetched.They failed to take advantage against a Ten-men United recently and followed it up with a draw at Newcastle.We can already consider them out of Title Race.Their London neighbours,Arsenal,remain very much in with the chance.But,with their amazing ability to Self-destruct,I feel they aren't ready to go the distance yet.They might push their bid all the way to the end,but then this is a team that beats Chelsea 3-1 spectacularly on a day,and then fails to beat 10-men Wigan 2 days later!
                     I still think,even after suffering a massive dip in form for last 2 months,which included Defeats at unimaginable places like Wolves and Birmingham,Chelsea are the only team,which can really challenge United.And even Sir Alex seems to agree,as he's already declared their game at Stamford Bridge as the Season-defining game.The Blues looked almost back to their Best in the 4-0 demolition of Bolton.The ruthless desire to win was back in the team,the ability to turn a victory in a Rout was on display again.And although the 10-point gap that has been created due to ,what Carlo Ancelotti described as a "Bad Moment" (a moment which lasted just about 3 months,that's more than a Quarter of a season!) might yet prove too much.Manchester United may have massive points on the Board,but the Champions will not be willing to give away their Crown, without a Fight!

Can Chelsea's striking Duo Replicate their last season's Heroics?

                     So,at the moment, the Title looks Manchester United's to lose.Still unbeaten in the League,having Dimitar Berbatov in such Red-hot form,but I should remind those already jumping on the "Invincibles" Bandwagon,that United are yet to visit Stamford Bridge,and the Emirates,and the Anfield,and the White-heart Lane! Anyone still ready to bet they will be unbeaten,come the end of the season?
                     Well,United are running away at the moment,demolishing some teams,and grinding out results against the remaining ones.But,in Football,you can never promise what's gonna happen next.May be that's why,It's the Beautiful Game!

Of Arsenal's "Mission Impossible" and Spurs' Italian Adventures

Who would get to lay his hands on the Europe's most coveted Trophy,this year?

        
  So,finally the Draws for The Champions League knockout stages are out,and although some of the biggest teams in World Football are involved,there isn't really a Adrenaline-raising,Mouth-watering clash at least in the Last 16s. Manchester United and Chelsea got comparatively easy draws,while Arsenal managed to find the worst draw possible in Barcelona,Real Madrid face Olympique Lyon,the team that knocked them out last year,so that would be an interesting clash too.Here are the 3 best fixtures I thought,came out Yesterday's draw:


3. Inter Milan vs Bayern Munich

with the "Special One" gone,and Diego Millito not emulating his last season's goalscoring heroics,Inter will find the goings hard in Europe's elite competition this year

It's the clash between last year's Finalists,but this doesn't look as exciting as last year.Both teams are struggling in the Domestic Leagues,especially Inter,who have really found it tough to cope with the loss of Jose Mourinho to Real Madrid.Struggling with so many injuries,Inter languish at the sixth place in Serie A ,and if their form doesn't improve soon,we could have a different man from Rafa Benitez in the Dugout by the time they face the German Giants.Although,Bayern themselves are not in the best of forms,the Bavarian Giants would be my pick in this tie.




2. AC Milan vs Tottenham Hotspur


This one promises to be a cracking tie,the Defensive Strength of Milan versus the free flowing Spurs.Although AC Milan would be a different opposition altogether from their neighbours Inter for Spurs,who were impressive against the Defending Champions in the Group Stages,the Londoners do have the talent to compete with the very best of Europe.One thing that could go against them is their inexperience at this stage,although they score goals for fun,keeping clean sheets is so vital in Champions League,especially in the latter stages,and Spurs look like they can concede anytime.Milan are in very good form domestically,on top of the Serie A,and with Ibrahimovic finding his goalscoring form,they would be my favourites in what promises to be a Roller-Coaster ride of a game,but then which game involving Spurs isn't??




1. Arsenal vs Barcelona

Will Fabregas and co. be able to match the Catalans,or will it be a repeat of last year's Messi mania??

This was the fate everyone wanted to avoid,and Arsenal have gone and found it again! Points dropped against Braga and Shakhtar look so costly now,as they find themselves in a tie,which ,at the moment,seems to have only one possible outcome.The Catalan Giants have re-discovered their devastating form,and since Destroying Real Madrid in the "Classico",they haven't bothered to look back.While their dazzling scoring records catch every one's eye,they have silently turned into a Rock-Solid Defensive Unit.6 straight clean sheets in all competitions in a row,and the number only looks set to increase as La Liga action continues.Arsenal haven't been that impressive,although they sit 2nd in the Premier League,they have already lost at home to the likes of West Brom and Newcastle,and unless Someone can produce a Miraculous performance for the Gunners (and of course,there is a condition that no one does it from the Spanish side,which looks unlikely,remember what Messi did last year to them,don't you?) ,This looks a tie heavily tilted towards the "La Blagurana"