Great start to the Scolari era. The cynics might argue that Pompey didn’t played to their potential and I might not disagree with them completely however the way we approached the game it was evident that this was not a performance to be taken lightly. Redknapp said in this post match comments that our movement was too much for his team and they couldn’t stay with it. He also said that it was a mistake on his side to approach the game with two forwards and he should have relied on his tried and tested 4-5-1 which would have made our movements more difficult. It wasn’t a secret but we know how the other teams are going to approach the game when they play against us especially at Stamford Bridge and may be on their home turfs too going by his performance.
Getting to the game I thought it was an excellent all around performance from the team. Having said that I think there is still scope for improvement especially from some players. I am not exactly sure what formation we were playing as there was a lot of movement especially among the midfielders. Mikel was the only one whose job looked clear. He was going to sit back and keep the game ticking with his passes. The rest of the midfielders interchanged their positions quiet a lot and took turns in attacking and defending. Anelka was upfront all on his own and Joe Cole was seemingly in a free role behind Anelka.
Coming to individual performances, I thought Mikel was the MOTM today and showed a lot of composure and awareness in that holding role. His positioning was excellent all throughout and he made some good interceptions and tackles. I don’t think he put a foot wrong in the match. I checked his stats on the telegraph website and out of his 101 passes, 94 were good. I am assuming every good pass means a complete pass so the pass completion ratio was around 94% which is phenomenal and just what is expected from a guy playing in his position. If he is good the whole team would look good.
Deco had one of the finest premier league debuts you would ever see. He looked so relaxed and at ease that it didn’t seemed as if he was playing for the first time. He distributed the ball quiet nicely and his vision and intelligence was there to see. It looked like a lost cause when Bosingwa crossed and both him and Ballack went to the ball at the same time but somehow he managed to direct it goalwards and Anelka was there to head it in. He struck the ball really well for his fourth goal and though James might have saved it but what matters is that it went in and he added his name to our list of players who scored on their debut. He also did his fair share of defensive duties and tackled well. However, his first few tackles looked a bit rash in the first half.
I am not sure why Ballack played in the first place because he only joined towards the end of our pre-season tour and would have been short of match fitness. The reports said that he picked up an ankle injury and it might have something to do with lack of match conditioning. Anyways, he looked good during the time he was on the pitch and his pass which set up Joe Cole for the first goal was world class. Scolari reckons he would be back for next week but it is not so big a worry because we have other good players here.
The whole summer was about whether Lampard would stay or not and it was great to see him pulling on the blue shirt again. He and Deco combined well in the midfield and he was as much influential as Deco in the middle if not more. His touch was class and there was this one time I think when he received the ball on his left foot and then at the blink of an eye switched it to his right and played a through ball to Anelka. He took his penalty well and set the ball rolling for another 20 goals this season.
Anelka looks a more confident player then he was last season. He lead the line well and his overall contribution to the team was good. He dropped deep at times allowing others to run into spaces and linked well with our midfield. There were a couple of times last season where Anelka deserved a goal on his performance so it was good to see him heading the ball into the net and getting on the scoresheet. He didn’t seemed as averse as last season in putting his shooting boots on and I think if Scolari is able to accomplish what he spoke about I.e ‘putting fire in Anelka’ then we would see a lot more from him this season.
Joe Cole was playing in a free role just behind Anelka atleast till the substitution of Ballack after which he moved to the right side. He was a bit more direct today than he usually is and even though he had a great game I think he could have done more. He would relish playing under Scolari by the look of things and if he maintains his consistency levels then he would be a contender for end of the season awards. I have always rated him as one of the better finishers in the team and he took the first goal really well. He also won a penalty so it was a positive contribution from his side.
The defence didn’t had much to do in the 90 minutes as we retained the ball well especially in the first half. There were periods in the second half when we dropped our tempo a bit and invited Pompey to attack. The full backs got forward well and judging only by today’s performance it looks like the 16 million for Bosingwa was money well spent. He ventured forward at every opportunity and crossed the ball well. Apart from his attacking side, he did a fine job defensively. He tackled well and made some good interceptions. Ashley took off from where he left last season and it would take some performance from Bridge to upstage Ashley. JT was as solid as ever and there were a few times when he brought the ball out of defence which he normally doesn’t do. Carvalho looked a little shaky but it is still early days. Cech was solid at the back and looked like his old usual self. A few question marks were raised about his performances in the pre-season games but he looked really sharp and up for the match today.
Among the substitutes, I thought Malouda if not great was decent. He put in a few good crosses into the box. SWP did alright and his name goes on the assist sheet for that final pass to Deco! Ferreira didn’t had much to do when he came on for Bosingwa. Overall, a satisfying performance and we can certainly build on it. The next game away at Wigan is not going to be a walk in the park. I am not sure what’s the state of the Wigan pitch. They were going to relay it in summers so it might not be so bad but nonetheless we have to be prepared for everything and if winning beautiful was the motto today we might see the ugly side of Scolari in some of the coming games.
