Aaron Ramsey finds the net as Arsenal clinch the Community Shield with a comfortable win over City. Philippe Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge pick up a goal and assist apiece as Liverpool cruise past a weakened Dortmund, Cesc Fabregas steers Chelsea to victory against Ferencvaros, while Moussa Sissoko grabs Newcastle’s winner over Real Sociedad:
Gunners Sweep Aside City
Goals from Santi Cazorla, Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud helped Arsenal to an easy 3-0 win over City in the Community Shield yesterday.
Arsene Wenger made just a couple of changes from the Gunners’ previous line-up, as Kieran Gibbs and Yaya Sanogo came in for Nacho Monreal and Giroud. This saw Ramsey fielded in the centre of the attacking midfield three, with Alexis Sanchez and Cazorla on either side before the Chilean made way for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain at the break. Ramsey’s strike – his first of the summer – brings him to prominence ahead of next Saturday’s opener at home to Palace and with Wenger set to rest Mesut Ozil, the Welshman’s more advanced role could push his current 24% ownership higher before the Gameweek 1 deadline. Cazorla looks the differential in the pack, though – the Spaniard has been picked up by only 2% of FPL managers but is offering early indications he could find his stride quickly this time round.
As the days tick down until the deadline, Wenger conceded that the 26%-owned Sanchez is not yet fully fit after his World Cup exertions with Chile, though was complimentary on the wide man’s brief performance:
“Sanchez was lively, still not completely ready physically but he was very exciting. He was always dangerous, always a threat and gives us great qualities on the counter-attack.”
At the back, Callum Chambers continued alongside Laurent Koscielny for the third successive match. With Per Mertesacker just returning to training today, the summer signing now looks poised to start against Palace next weekend but, despite a kind 4.5 price tag, his acquisition looks a very short-tern option as the German builds up his match sharpness. Wenger confirmed that, although he is still looking to bring in another central defender, Chambers will certainly have a part to play over the course of the season ahead:
“For a 19-year-old he had an outstanding performance today. He can challenge both centre backs and that’s what you want. You cannot play with two centre backs the whole season; that means he will play. You saw Monreal who played one or two games at centre back and he did well…What it does in my head is [make me think that] Chambers is among the best three and if I can find another one I will do it. But to find another one of that quality will not be easy.”
City Slump to Wembley Loss
Manuel Pellegrini handed starts to new boys Willy Caballero and Fernando, while in-form Stevan Jovetic was partnered by Edin Dzeko up top in yesterday’s 3-0 loss to the Gunners. Despite starting regulars such as Samir Nasri and Yaya Toure in midfield, it’s fair to say City were far from full strength; Gael Clichy continues to fill in at right-back, while Matija Nastasic partnered Dedryck Boyata in the heart of defence. Elsewhere, David Silva was afforded 45 minutes off the bench as a replacement for Nasri, while up front, although Jovetic managed the full 90 minutes, Dzeko owners will be a little concerned after the Bosnian was replaced by James Milner on 59 minutes.
According to the City website, Pellegrini hinted to journalists that little should be looked into yesterday’s line-up, though. With the likes of Sergio Aguero, Vincent Kompany, Bacary Sagna, Pablo Zabaleta, Fernandinho and Martin Demichelis only returning to training last Monday, the Chilean admitted he has yet to size up his options for the Sunday’s trip to Newcastle:
“We’ve had seven players who only played five days who weren’t in consideration – lots more who only played eight or nine days. It’s difficult to be ready in two weeks. We’ll see during the week which players are ready and which are not. We were missing key players but I think the lack of pace in the first-half was the main problem…The goalkeeper is the same as any other position – most of the players who played today played all of pre-season. All the 22 players in the squad are number 1 in all of the positions – we need them all.”
Coutinho Orchestrates Reds Romp
The little Brazilian turned on the style as Liverpool hammered an under-strength Dortmund 4-0 at Anfield yesterday lunchtime. Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge both delivered a goal and assist against the Germans, while new signing Dejan Lovren and Jordan Henderson also found the net in a commanding display.
Rarely seen in many RMT’s around the site, Coutinho fired more shots than any midfielder last season but a dire conversion rate meant he netted just five times. With an 8.0 price tag attached, he sits in just 5% of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) teams, compared to Henderson’s 14% and the popular Raheem Sterling’s (who earned an assist yesterday) 27% ownership but his display offers a degree of optimism that the Brazilian may be set to step up in light of Luis Suarez’ departure.
After the game, Rodgers hailed the Coutinho’s display and admitted yesterday’s role in “the hole” behind Sturridge – with Henderson and Sterling out wide – gets the best out of the midfielder:
“He’s so gifted as a player. He’s just magical. His ability to get out of tight situations and his view of the game is incredible. And that’s his best position – playing between the lines, he doesn’t get marked. He drops to the back of midfield, he draws defenders out, and the weight of his passes is phenomenal. He was outstanding, and what he’s added to his game is that relentless pressing. He’s very strong under pressure on the ball, and puts pressure on the opposition when he’s not on the ball.”
The Reds boss also took time out to praise Lovren and fellow new boy Javier Manquillo. Fielded at right-back, the latter’s (5.0 in FPL) display at both ends of the pitch had his manager purring:
“Dejan was perfect – he’s what we’ve been looking for since Jamie Carragher left. He’s a very dominant centre-half. He’ll go and attack the ball, reads the game incredibly well and you can see his leadership qualities with his talking and guidance of the back four. Like he showed us last year, he is dominant in the air in the other box, attacking it. I thought he was excellent. And young Javier Manquillo was outstanding, at 20 and playing his first game at Anfield having only joined this week. His fitness level was very good. He’s the type of full-back I like – he can get tight to people, stop crosses and defend well, but also then has the energy to attack and get forward. He was very, very good.”
Rodgers also discussed the strength and depth of his squad for the season ahead. A raft of second-half changes saw Liverpool shift to a 4-3-3 and afford new boy Rickie Lambert game time off the bench – with Champions League duties also on this season’s agenda, the Northern Irishman reckons his summer signing spree will stand his side in good stead:
“One of the pleasing things for me today was that I could make changes in the game, put players on and still feel we were strong. That hasn’t been the case since I’ve been here just because of a lack of depth. But today I felt we could still make changes and keep the desire and commitment – and the quality, very importantly – within the team. With maybe one or two more to come, by the end of August we’ll hopefully have good depth in our squad to challenge.”
Sissoko Wins it for Magpies
Having fielded a 4-4-2 for the previous two matches, Alan Pardew rolled out a 4-4-1-1 formation for yesterday’s 1-0 win over Real Sociedad. With Siem de Jong missing yet again, Remy Cabella tucked in behind lone striker Emmanuel Riviere, with Yoan Gouffran and Moussa Sissoko fielded on the flanks, while at the back, Mike Williamson got the nod to partner Fabricio Coloccini, with Massadio Haidara again selected at left-back ahead of Paul Dummett. Sissoko’s strike came courtesy of a Gabriel Obertan assist and takes the Magpies record to five wins, a draw and two defeats from eight pre-season matches. De Jong – who was sidelined on five separate occasions for Ajax last season – has now failed to play since limping off against Wellington Phoenix on July 26 and his 5% of FPL owners may be forced to turn their attentions elsewhere.
Bruce Rings the Changes
For yesterday’s trip to Stuttgart, Steve Bruce named an entirely different starting XI from the side that defeated AS Trencin in the Europa League last Thursday. The likes of Nikica Jelavic and new boys Thomas Ince, Andrew Robertson and Harry Maguire were all handed starts as the Tigers prevailed 2-1 against the German outfit. Robertson and David Meyler provided the goals in a game that saw Bruce made nine alterations over the second period – in spite of some impressive showings, it seems likelier that the midweek line-up against Trencin is more indicative of the Hull manager’s intentions for the opener at QPR. Intriguingly, Ince partnered Jelavic up front, suggesting he could be utilised centrally in addition to out wide over the course of the campaign.
Cesc Seals Chelsea Win
An excellent sole effort from Cesc Fabregas helped Chelsea to a 2-1 win over Ferencvaros last night. Having played two 45-minute matches on Friday evening, Jose Mourinho made several alterations to his starting XI last night, with Cesar Azpilicueta and Filipe Luis fielded as the full-backs on either side of Kurt Zouma and Andreas Christensen. Petr Cech retained his place in goal, though, after Thibaut Courtois was ruled out with a minor knock.
Elsewhere, Mourinho fielded Andre Schurrle, Willian and Fernando Torres behind Didier Drogba further up the field before the latter was replaced by Oscar after being forced off injured during the first-half. With a game against Real Sociedad tomorrow evening in mind, Mourinho made a number of half-time changes, which saw Luis withdrawn and Mohamed Salah fielded as a full-back as the Blues, chased a 1-0 deficit – once again, we’re no nearer to solving the Chelsea defensive conundrum with concerns surrounding Mourinho’s intended back-four.
Chelsea’s two most popular FPL midfielders made their appearances after the break. Fabregas came on for Willian at half-time while Eden Hazard was handed a half-hour run out after replacing goalscorer Ramires – the Spaniard’s second strike of the summer sealed victory and the manner of his goal suggests he’s high on confidence ahead of the season opener against Burnley. After the game, Mourinho explained the former Arsenal skipper is vital to his side’s prospects next season:
“My opinion, and the opinion of my players, is that Fabregas is the right player to occupy that central position in midfield. Fabregas is the player we need to modify a little bit the profile of our game, which we need. We want to give the next dimension to our game in midfield and Fabregas is this kind of player which I like to call ‘the seven’, because he’s not the six and he’s not the eight. Normally the seven is the winger, I also call the seven the guy in midfield who’s not the six, he’s not the eight. Or he’s a six and eight at the same time. So he’s a seven and we need him a lot.”
