Branislav Ivanovic heads home a last-gasp winner to clinch the Europa League trophy for Chelsea. Fernando Torres is also amongst the goals, while Juan Mata supplies both assists as Rafa Benitez adds another trophy to his CV. Elsewhere, Theo Walcott is finally content with his role on the Arsenal right, while Paolo Di Canio threatens to cut short Sunderland’s summer break if they fail to impress at Tottenham on Sunday.
Rafa Benitez made four changes from the side that edged past Villa on Saturday afternoon for last night’s Europa League final. Both Eden Hazard and John Terry missed out with injury, while Victor Moses dropped to the bench and Demba Ba was cup-tied. In came Branislav Ivanovic, Fernando Torres, Oscar and David Luiz – the latter moved into central midfield, allowing Ramires to take up a berth on the right of the attacking midfield three. Ahead of the home game against Everton this Sunday, Benitez made no substitutions during the game, with the likes of Frank Lampard and Mata both retained for the full 90 minutes, though as the Chelsea manager’s lineup against Villa showed, his rest and rotation policy hasn’t been quite as extreme as anticipated.
From a Fantasy perspective, the most significant aspect of last night’s result is the knock-on effect it will have on the start of next season – Chelsea will now face Bayern Munich or Borussia Dortmund in the European Super Cup in late August, meaning that, similar to this season, there’s a strong possibility they will kick off their domestic campaign with a double Gameweek.
Theo Walcott has admitted he is now settled with his role on the Arsenal right flank. The winger has made repeated requests for a chance through the middle this season and while he was briefly handed a central berth midway through the campaign, has mainly been utilised out wide by Arsene Wenger. After Tuesday’s 4-1 win over Wigan, he spoke of the situation:
“Wherever the manager wants to play me, I will do that for the team. So if things are going well, there is no need to change anything, I believe. I’m the sort of player that if things are going well, don’t change them. I am making runs in and the manager is playing me up front now and then. I can wander at times and it works – there is a lot of rotation in that front line so when it is working, don’t change it.”
Ironically, while Wenger chose Lukas Podolski to lead the line over the last three games as a result of Olivier Giroud’s suspension, Walcott has returned to form and scored in every match in the Frenchman’s absence. As Arsenal travel to Newcastle this Sunday in desperate need of a win, over 16,000 FPL managers have already snapped Walcott up – more than any Gunners player and third most popular trade this week behind Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho as Walcott looks to find the net for four straight matches for the first time this season.
His side may be finally safe from the threat of relegation but Paolo Di Canio has threatened to cut short Sunderland’s summer break if his players don’t perform against Spurs on Sunday. The last few weeks have seen a number of clubs such as Swansea, West Brom and Fulham turn in somewhat indifferent displays but the Black Cats boss has revealed he is ready to act should his side follow suit:
“We have one game to go and we have to make sure we perform well. Our future starts now – our new mentality. I told them we can win, draw or lose with dignity, respecting the club’s name and the fans who follow them. But if not I will reduce their holiday. I will give them the minimum I can give to them, which is four weeks, 28 days instead of 38 or 40. I’m sure four or five individuals don’t need this kind of situation. But many of the others must realise we need rules to change the mentality and use punishment in some way.”
With Spurs still battling Chelsea and Arsenal for the Champions League spots, Sunderland certainly look up against it on Sunday. Given that their previous road trip ended in a 6-1 defeat at Villa, plenty Fantasy managers will be looking to a heavily motivated Andre Villas-Boas’ side to produce – Gareth Bale is second only to Daniel Sturridge in this week’s Captain Poll, which both Emmanuel Adebayor and Clint Dempsey have started to hit their stride; both have produced double figure hauls in two of their last four starts and have the potential to make the difference in many a mini league.
Di Canio also displayed some of his unique man-management skills yesterday. The Sunderland boss welcomed back Connor Wickham to the fold last week after the youngster recovered from a calf injury and switched formation from 4-4-1-1 to a 4-4-2 after the break against Southampton, with Adam Johnson moving from “the hole” to the left flank as Wickham partnered Danny Graham up front. While it remains to be seen whether the Italian will start with Wickham in the XI to face Tottenham, his manager made it perfectly clear just how frustrating the player can be:
“Maybe, with this guy, I have to slap his face a little bit. I’m talking about motivating him in a genuine way because he has so much potential. But sometimes he comes in and he seems to be looking around saying, ‘Where am I?’ I want to say, ‘You are on the football pitch, with the grass.”
