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Champions League Debate: The tide has turned - Inter & Manchester United are now favourites against Chelsea & Milan
Italy versus England: Part 20,000. It’s a familiar sight of late...
9 Feb 2010 12:19:00
By Kris Voakes
It’s like deja-vu all over again. The Champions League knockout stages commence next week with yet more Anglo-Italian encounters headlining. Recent history tells us that the English teams have swept the board of late, foiling their counterparts from the peninsula in all six two-legged fixtures between representatives of the two countries in the past two years. So what can we really expect of the Milanese giants as they square up to Premier League opposition once more?
The draw for the last 16 of the Champions League is always, but always, deceptive. Made a week before Christmas, but not played out for two months, the pairings can often look very different come match time. And this month’s clashes of Milan against Manchester United and Inter versus Chelsea provide perfect examples of that.
Back on December 18, the draw paired the Rossoneri with the English champions at a time when they had just seen Palermo end their 13-match unbeaten run. Whilst the side still had clear issues to deal with, they nonetheless had confidence about them as a result of their positive streak, and management, players and fans alike greeted the draw with a degree of belief.
And rightly so, for not only were Milan showing that their attacking talent had the ability to make up for defensive deficiencies, but United were stuttering along in the Premier League, going down to landmark defeats against Aston Villa – notoriously ‘bunnies’ of United’s over the past 20 years – and Fulham, in a display which screamed of sheer defensive incompetence.
But things change, and Milan’s belief in their attacking system, which served them well in early 2010 before the true, inconsistent, unreliable Rossoneri was unveiled from minute one of the Derby della Madonnina, has well and truly been extinguished. This is now a side who look ropey at best when Alessandro Nesta is missing from the starting XI. Add to that United’s recent revival, which has seen them hit 15 goals in the last four games and, perhaps more impressively, has brought with it some quality performances from Nani, and the Red Devils have suddenly become runaway favourites.
For as Milan’s cutting edge going forward has started to deteriorate, United have gradually welcomed back Wes Brown, Jonny Evans, Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand and are likely to field a much stronger back four than they were able to put out two months ago. Throw in Milan’s susceptibility to pace and United’s excellent counter-attacking abilities, and the pendulum has well and truly swung. If Nani can turn in another performance like the one against Arsenal when the sides get together at San Siro next Tuesday, I can’t begin to predict how badly the defensively weak Ignazio Abate or Luca Antonini are likely to deal with the Portuguese.
In the other match-up there is suddenly more reason for optimism from an Italian point of view. When the lots were drawn in Nyon, Inter were coming off the back of a far from convincing group stage, whilst Chelsea were riding high, having all but walked through their Champions League fixtures and created a buffer between themselves and the rest domestically.
Right now there would seemingly be few concerns in west London, with the Blues having chalked up a 13-game unbeaten run. But their performances have not been of a particularly convincing standard, with their win at Burnley coming at a struggle and points dropped against Hull City, before a display against Arsenal reminiscent of Frank Bruno winning the world heavyweight title from Oliver McCall back in the day… two big hits, then hang on for dear life.
Meanwhile, Inter have chalked up some really impressive performances in building an eight-point Serie A lead and adding a Coppa Italia semi-final lead to their list of achievements. Jose Mourinho’s side have started to turn in performances matching their status as Italy’s No. 1, battering Milan early on in the derby, before taking Cagliari apart at the weekend. The Nerazzurri have also added to an excellent summer in the transfer market by bringing in Goran Pandev and McDonald Mariga during January, staking a claim for the crown of wheeler-dealers of the season. They now look like a side who have not only strength and stability, but have also added flair and adaptability to their make-up. And they now have an enviable forward line ahead of Wesley Sneijder.
The age-old question with Inter focuses on their ability to transfer domestic results onto the European stage, but they are better placed than ever to take on Europe’s best. Their tie with Chelsea is possibly their most important pair of games in 45 years, for if they can overcome Carlo Ancelotti’s side they could well go on to stake a claim for the trophy itself.
So whilst originally it looked as though David Beckham was most likely to claim the spoils at his old stomping ground, it’s now Jose Mourinho who will be quietly confident of biting the hand that once fed him. Over the next 30 days we’re going to see the Milanese clubs given their toughest tests of the season, and only on March 10 will we find out whether there are potential Champions League winners in the city.
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The draw for the last 16 of the Champions League is always, but always, deceptive. Made a week before Christmas, but not played out for two months, the pairings can often look very different come match time. And this month’s clashes of Milan against Manchester United and Inter versus Chelsea provide perfect examples of that.
Back on December 18, the draw paired the Rossoneri with the English champions at a time when they had just seen Palermo end their 13-match unbeaten run. Whilst the side still had clear issues to deal with, they nonetheless had confidence about them as a result of their positive streak, and management, players and fans alike greeted the draw with a degree of belief.
And rightly so, for not only were Milan showing that their attacking talent had the ability to make up for defensive deficiencies, but United were stuttering along in the Premier League, going down to landmark defeats against Aston Villa – notoriously ‘bunnies’ of United’s over the past 20 years – and Fulham, in a display which screamed of sheer defensive incompetence.
But things change, and Milan’s belief in their attacking system, which served them well in early 2010 before the true, inconsistent, unreliable Rossoneri was unveiled from minute one of the Derby della Madonnina, has well and truly been extinguished. This is now a side who look ropey at best when Alessandro Nesta is missing from the starting XI. Add to that United’s recent revival, which has seen them hit 15 goals in the last four games and, perhaps more impressively, has brought with it some quality performances from Nani, and the Red Devils have suddenly become runaway favourites.
For as Milan’s cutting edge going forward has started to deteriorate, United have gradually welcomed back Wes Brown, Jonny Evans, Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand and are likely to field a much stronger back four than they were able to put out two months ago. Throw in Milan’s susceptibility to pace and United’s excellent counter-attacking abilities, and the pendulum has well and truly swung. If Nani can turn in another performance like the one against Arsenal when the sides get together at San Siro next Tuesday, I can’t begin to predict how badly the defensively weak Ignazio Abate or Luca Antonini are likely to deal with the Portuguese.
In the other match-up there is suddenly more reason for optimism from an Italian point of view. When the lots were drawn in Nyon, Inter were coming off the back of a far from convincing group stage, whilst Chelsea were riding high, having all but walked through their Champions League fixtures and created a buffer between themselves and the rest domestically.
Right now there would seemingly be few concerns in west London, with the Blues having chalked up a 13-game unbeaten run. But their performances have not been of a particularly convincing standard, with their win at Burnley coming at a struggle and points dropped against Hull City, before a display against Arsenal reminiscent of Frank Bruno winning the world heavyweight title from Oliver McCall back in the day… two big hits, then hang on for dear life.
Meanwhile, Inter have chalked up some really impressive performances in building an eight-point Serie A lead and adding a Coppa Italia semi-final lead to their list of achievements. Jose Mourinho’s side have started to turn in performances matching their status as Italy’s No. 1, battering Milan early on in the derby, before taking Cagliari apart at the weekend. The Nerazzurri have also added to an excellent summer in the transfer market by bringing in Goran Pandev and McDonald Mariga during January, staking a claim for the crown of wheeler-dealers of the season. They now look like a side who have not only strength and stability, but have also added flair and adaptability to their make-up. And they now have an enviable forward line ahead of Wesley Sneijder.
The age-old question with Inter focuses on their ability to transfer domestic results onto the European stage, but they are better placed than ever to take on Europe’s best. Their tie with Chelsea is possibly their most important pair of games in 45 years, for if they can overcome Carlo Ancelotti’s side they could well go on to stake a claim for the trophy itself.
So whilst originally it looked as though David Beckham was most likely to claim the spoils at his old stomping ground, it’s now Jose Mourinho who will be quietly confident of biting the hand that once fed him. Over the next 30 days we’re going to see the Milanese clubs given their toughest tests of the season, and only on March 10 will we find out whether there are potential Champions League winners in the city.
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