City to give Benitez the Blues
By Dave Walker
Two contrasting football cultures clash in
London’s west end when the champions of Europe meet the champions of England.
Whereas Chelsea’s chances of retaining
their title are slim, Manchester City have high hopes – neigh – expectations, of
winning consecutive Premier League crowns.
Such an outlook goes some way to explaining
the actions of the respective mega-rich owners as the royal blues and sky blues
front up to Champions League adversity.
Roberto De Matteo is unemployed just six
months after delivering the CL ‘Holy Grail’ to oligarch owner Roman
Abramovich. On the other hand, Roberto
Mancini appears secure at the Etihad, despite the bitter disappointment of
exiting the CL at the Group stage for the second year on the bounce.
Abramovich’s ‘hire and fire’ policy is
indicative of a ruthless regime, devoid of any medium-long term strategy, but
one that continues to bring success. It must, however, have the likes of Pep Guardiola
seriously questioning their sanity if ever tempted to take charge at Stamford
Bridge.
Mancini will doubtless come under close
scrutiny if he fails to keep City at the pinnacle of the PL. Back-to-back PL
success would surely make him fireproof and render him a ‘third time lucky’
shot at the Champions League.
Sheikh Mansour’s patience - as well as his
pockets - runs deeper than that of Abramovich, much to the relief of an
overwhelming majority of Manchester City fans.
Mancini can justifiably point to two Groups
of Death in his CL campaigns thus far. That fact notwithstanding, he’d do well
to acknowledge that it would surely be three strikes and out if City were to
falter a third time come December 2013.
As if this fixture were not sufficiently
intriguing we have the substantially added spice of Rafael Benitez’ return to
the English game.
The appointment is about as popular as
flatulence in a space suit with Chelsea fans. It prompted one West End hotel to
rename its penthouse the ‘Rafael Benitez Suite’ not in honour of the Spaniard,
simply it was ideal for short stays!
City will certainly be out to give short
shrift to an opponent of whom they have had the better in recent outings,
clocking up an impressive five wins in the last seven encounters.
They destroyed Chelsea in the Community
Shield 3-2 but there’s a sense of déjà vu as City roll into the capital as the
only undefeated team in the professional game in England.
The champions-elect were 14 games without
defeat when they last visited the Bridge. 1-0 up after five minutes City had a
stonewall penalty claim when David Silva was up-ended. Everyone bar referee Mark
Clattenburg, knew it was a City spot kick. Mario WOULD have converted and, at
2-0 to City, there would have been no way back for Chelsea.
As it was a 10-man City – Clichy was
dismissed – went down 2-1 with every reason to hold grudges against the
official who loves to stitch up the blue side of Manchester.
It’s illogical and tongue in cheek, but if
City made a baseless allegation against Clattenburg would it mean him not
officiating City games forevermore – worth a punt, Roberto?
Back to commonsense, it’ll be a tough test
for City, especially if Benitez can get a positive reaction from his new
charges, in particular a certain Fernando Torres.
When it comes to goal machines, Carlos
Tevez has scored six goals against Chelsea in the PL – bettered only by Thierry
Henry and Alan Shearer. On that basis a hat-trick would come in handy for the
history books as well as City.
Chelsea will be without John Terry and
Frank Lampard, while City have concerns over skipper Vincent Kompany who faces
a late fitness test. Gael Clichy should be back but it’s too soon for Micah
Richards and Jack Rodwell. As for Mario – who knows?
A City win would be a massive title boost
putting them seven points clear of their opponents - even a loss would keep
them a point in front.
If the best defence in the PL can hang
tough against Hazard, Oscar and Mata, City have the calibre, experience and
mental strength to reward Abramovich’s madness with all it deserves… absolutely
nothing.
You can also follow Dave on Twitter: @djwskyblu
(c) The Sky Blue View 2012
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