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Last EPL weekend was built around two derbies, Manchester and London. Coincidentally all the previous champions of Premier League except on one occasion have been from these two cities. So the incidents taking place in these derbies are followed with great interest all over the world.

Sunday’s Manchester derby between Manchester United and Manchester City at Old Trafford was mother of all Manchester derbies I have ever seen. It had goals, feisty challenges, tactical battles, everything. City settled really well after conceding an early Wayne Rooney goal. A former Red Devil, Carlos Tevez showed good composure throughout the game, especially after getting a hostile reception from United fans. Though City showed great character to comeback thrice in the game, one can not deny that at least two of those goals were gifted by United’s defensive blunders. But the real drama came in the injury time when the score was 3-3. Though the added time shown by the fourth official at the end of regular 90 minutes was four minutes, the game was extended by two more minutes and of all people it was Michael Owen who popped up with the winner in the 5^th minute of injury time to celebrate his first goal at the Theatre of Dreams as a United player. Not surprisingly, it left City manager Mark Hughes and fans angry. I was completely baffled to see how on the earth those two minutes were added. Yes, Sir Alex made a substitution in the injury time, but that does not mean that you have to add so much of injury time. I am very sure that we would hear a lot of comments over this issue in the days to come.

The other derby i.e. London derby in stark contrast was a total one sided affair. Chelsea just dominated the proceedings from the word Go. One would have expected Tottenham Hotspur to offer more, but once Chelsea scored the opener, they bossed the entire game and kept on scoring at regular intervals. Once again they showed they are “The” team to beat this season, as I have mentioned in my previous posts.

If there was any other game which came closer to the excitement levels of Manchester derby, it was the game between West Ham United and Liverpool. Upton Park has now become a difficult place to go and get the right result and much credit goes to Gianfranco Zola and his West Ham team. They play the right brand of football which is pleasing to watch. They have some terrific youngsters in their ranks, who are always up for the big games. But on this occasion, they were undone by the double strike of “Anfield Messiah” Fernando Torres, which helped the Mersrysiders to win 3-2. It was very important for Liverpool to continue their winning streak, having already lost two games so early this season.

The game at Emirates Stadium was a “Walk in the park” for Arsenal. Gunners were all over Wigan Athletic. Though the 4-0 score line described the nature of the game, it could have been worse for the Lactics, if Robin van persie would have converted his easy chances. This result was very important for the Gunners, as it helped them revive their Premiership campaign after two painful trips to Manchester.

Elsewhere, Burnley have continued to impress with their 100% home record with 3-1 victory over Sunderland. Everton’s season seem to have come back on track with 3-0 demolition of lowly Blackburn Rovers. Aston Villa piled more agony on Paul Hart and his pointless Portsmouth side by beating them 2-0. Portsmouth, for me, are in real danger, if they are waiting for the transfer window to reopen in January to change their fate, may god bless them.

REAL MADRID VS FC ZURICH ( CHAMPIONS LEAGUE )

The new season of the premiership has begun and how…  There have been some great results, some great matches over the last few weeks. Its pity that there won’t be any EPL matches in the first week of this month because of international matches but this provides a great opportunity to look back on the start of the new season

The Usual Suspects

Of the famous “Big Four”, Chelsea really looks like “The” team to beat at this moment of time. They have the team which looks settled and above all they have not lost any key player. They managed to keep “Mr. Chelsea” John Terry and Didier Drogba at the club. Their new manager Carlo Ancelotti seems to have found the most effective system to play. Hence, at this moment my money would be on Chelsea.
When Manchester United kicked off the season, everybody knew that they would be light weight in front of goals this season in the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez. But The Red Devils recovered pretty well especially after the shock defeat from the hands of newly promoted Burnley, to thump Wigan and beat the in form Arsenal. I think Manchester United would be a bit inconsistent this season considering their lack of depth in the strike power.
If Xabi Alonso would have stayed at Anfield, I would have tipped Liverpool to be the strongest contender for the premiership crown. But his departure has disrupted the Rafael Benitez’s entire system. Steven Gerard can not play freely in that midfield because there is no Alonso. It was Alonso’s vision and his ability to see the runs Gerard and Torres that made Liverpool so dangerous. But this season, like Manchester United, Liverpool too would be inconsistent. Also the fact that they have already lost against Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa, puts more pressure on them.
Nobody would have expected Arsenal to start the season, the manner in which they have done. They destroyed Everton on the opening day, made the meal of Portsmouth and were too good for Celtic in Champions League play-offs. But their juggernaut came to a halt at Old Trafford. They Lost to Manchester United in a very tight match. They were better than their title rivals for most of the match. But it was that period of ten minutes, for which United were superior, rattled the Gunners. They lost it in the physical battle and not in the footballing battle. Its how Arsenal can handle such physical challenges thrown towards them by the opposition teams, will decide their fate this season.

Dark Horses

Manchester City with their star studded squad are looking good.   Though they have just edged past their oppositions in all the games, the important thing is they are having 100 percent record until now and that’s what matters in this tough league. But their big test will be on this weekend when Arsenal will visit blue half of Manchester.
Harry Redknapp has revolutionized the fortunes of Tottenham Hotspur. This season he has really a fantastic squad with two good players available for each position. This change can be seen in the performance of Spurs this season. Aaron Lennon is really looking in menacing form. If they can continue their current form, they can really push “Big Four” all the way.
One would have expected Everton and Aston Villa to really challenge the others for the Champions League place. But both have started slowly and don’t really look the threats to “Big Four”.

Rest of the pack

Burnley have really caught the eye with the upsets against Manchester United and Everton. Stoke will again be a hard team to beat. I think the battle to avoid the relegation would as intense as the battle for the title. I think seven to eight teams would be involved in the Relegation battle. Wolves and Portsmouth really look in danger.