Favourites Chelsea, Man City still far from perfect

This week’s excursions into Champions League territory served to confirm strong suspicions in these parts that not all is well with England’s biggies.

It was only the opening game of what will be a long-drawn-out battle of the elite and none of them was humiliated (not even Arsenal); but considering that England’s European envoys had delved into preseason earlier than their continental counterparts, they should have been out ahead but were far from.

There still exist ailments that were not quite nursed to health during the transfer window, as well as plenty of rough patches that still need smoothening out, most of them already stumbled upon tellingly.

Chelsea
When in the immediate aftermath of last season’s failed title charge he promised to put out a more attack-minded team, Jose Mourinho will have known in his heart of hearts that he would not have his cake and eat it too.

Inescapably, even in sweeping away all before them in the first four games this term, the new Chelsea have left gaping holes behind them explored often enough to ensure that the league leaders have kept just a single clean sheet thus far.

That was always going to be the case as Nemanja Matic would be left as the lone shield of the back four where Mourinho at the very least had two bodies and at most (controversially) an entire second layer of defence.
And yet the Serb himself has got such offensive weapons that the lure of happenings in the final third can be too much to resist, as his strike in the nine-goal thriller at Everton attests to.

That Everton game and the midweek visit of Schalke have shown that Mourinho will have to go against his promise and re-introduce a second ball-winning midfielder for the big games, and he indeed did that against the Germans in sacrificing Oscar for Ramires, the Brazilian joining Matic deep and allowing Cesc Fabregas to shift into the advanced slot from which he got his goal.

Creative skills
Even then, Chelsea were still exposed often enough and not just because of the creative skills of Julian Draxler, Sidney Sam, Kevin-Prince Boateng and Klaas Jan Huntelaar, but also because of a change in the back four Mourinho is yet to bring himself around to effecting.

Because of sticking with Terry-Cahill central defensive partnership and yet having to reward Branislav Ivanovic for his all round consistency, Mourinho continues to play the Serb out wide and natural right back Cesar Azpilicueta on the left at the expense of new boy Felipe Luis.

When the Brazilian came in for the Schalke game, the Spaniard lost out. In the long run it should be Terry to lose out to Ivanovic, the talismanic captain visibly slowing down as seen when being caught out by Burnley and Everton, putting through his own net against Swansea, getting booked against Schalke ...

Man City
In decisive contrast to Chelsea last season, Man City were the rampaging attackers that would have won the title on goal-difference if they hadn’t secured it on points.
To start this term, the bluntness of that attack manifests itself a lot more than in the simple fact that they have scored less than half as many as Chelsea and are also behind Everton, Swansea and Southampton in those stakes.

Edin Dzeko is yet to find his feet and Stefan Jovetic’s promise has always been stalled by injury, and so despite Sergio Aguero’s best efforts one wonders why Alvaro Negredo was discarded.

It might be that Pellegrini fancies his talented midfield to top up, but more than half the goals from that department came from Yaya Toure, who I envisaged would not manage to repeat the feat, and who is already proving me right.

Yet the bigger worry is that that midfield can protect the back four and control games well enough to give the attack a chance to take over.

He retains his class and will decide many a game, but Toure’s endeavour and output of the last six years will catch up with him; Samir Nasri is yet to show up, and the in-form David Silva has endurance challenges of his own; a lot will depend on the form and fitness of Fernando and Fernandinho, but as is currently the case, when their attack does not impose itself the back five are under way too much pressure - cue Munich and the Emirates.

Plenty to iron out then, the irony being that they have to start doing that against each other this weekend.

THE NUMBERS GAMES
Trailing. To start this season, the bluntness of Manchester City’s attack manifests itself in the simple fact that they have scored less than half of Chelsea’s total, and are behind Everton, Swansea City and Southampton in those stakes.
Tactics. Mourinho continues to play the Serb out wide and natural right back Azpilicueta on the left at the expense of new boy Felipe Luis. When the Brazilian came in for the Schalke game, the Spaniard lost out. In the long run it should be Terry to lose out to Ivanovic.

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