I've posted a brief preview for the game tonight but here are a few things of note going into this game. Manuel Pellegrini is one of those coaches that commands stability at a club. He has spent 4 years now with the Yellow Submarines and therefore is capable of putting out a side that can leave a venue like OT with a win. If you know how many points they finished above Barcelona last season, you'll know what I mean. Much as we matched each other 3 years ago when United were in transition, it cannot be guaranteed that we shall walk over them this time round. If there is one glaring weakness that they will try to exploit against us, it's the DE-FENCE. Could somebody,... anybody please tell me what has gone wayward with the best defence in Europe? How did Obafemi Martins come to out-leap men of 6ft? How did Danny come to skip past a whole flood of red-shirts to put Zenit 2-0 up? And more comically, how did Liverpool, after spending 5 seasons without scoring against United, help themselves to 2 goals in a single match? Much as the attack may get stick whenever we do not perform, the defence has got to take their fair share of the blame. Many people have compared last season to this--in the name of calming themselves down during this crisis of sorts, but one should realise that even though we started poorly last season, our defence got us points that we should have at least shared with our opponents. Several times we won 1-0 and this went on till our forwards found their scoring touch. We could then afford to conceded. On the contrary, this season, we have been, for most of the time, trying to equalise rather than take the lead. The group is not as hard as it looks as we are the strongest team in the group, but again football has a way of kicking you in the teeth. If we allow the Spaniards to execute that kick, then we might find ourselves looking for points in places that are not OT. Ten points will do but for as long as we remain unbeaten, the greater our chances of winning an unprecedented 4th European title...and establishing a few more exclusive records. SO COME ON UNITED!
Labels: PRE-VIEWS
