20/08/2015
Season Has Started, but Manchester United Goalkeeper Stuck in Limbo
Titles are not won or lost in August, but the manner in which Chelsea has begun its defense of the Premier League could hardly be more encouraging to its rivals. Held 2-2 at home by Swansea City a week ago, and blitzed 3-0 at Manchester City on Sunday, is the worst start to a new season that Chelsea has made since 1998.
Some of the pain appears to be self-inflicted. The team manager, José Mourinho, cast in the role of the Machiavelli of soccer, wasted too much energy over the week by feuding with his medical staff over a simple matter of a player needing treatment on the field.
Maybe he did that to detract from the foul that caused Chelsea to go a goal — and a goalkeeper — down after an impetuous challenge from Thibaut Courtois in the Swansea game. At City’s Etihad stadium, the replacement goalie Asmir Begovic performed heroically at times but still could not prevent Sergio Agüero, Vincent Kompany and Fernandinho scoring for the light blues, while no one scored for the dark blues of Chelsea.
It was feisty, at times ugly, between the champions of the last two English seasons. Blood flowed, and at one time when two Chelsea men, Gary Cahill and Diego Costa needed patching up for head wounds, the crowd taunted when Chelsea’s replacement doctor and physiotherapist came on, and then needed the Man City medical staff to give them a hand.
Following an elbow by Fernandinho into the back of Costa’s neck provoked retribution from the Chelsea striker that continued down the players’ tunnel at halftime.
But don’t be fooled. Chelsea was not beaten by being roughed up, it was outwitted by the nimbleness of the City attack, by the speed, the desire, the greater commitment to forward play.
The portents to this were already there. In the last six visits to the Etihad, Chelsea has scored 0, 1, 0, 1, 1 and 0 goals. Its game plan has been to stifle what Manchester had, and to hit the home side on the break.
This time, there was no chance of that. Agüero danced like a Pimpernel in and around Chelsea’s heavy, slow defense. He scored on his fifth attempt on goal after three times being thwarted by Begovic’s reach and reflexes.
The reward for Agüero’s perseverance came on 31 minutes when, with three defenders within touching distance of his shirt, the little Argentine twisted, turned, moved the ball in delicate controlled steps, and finally shot low out of the keeper’s reach.
