Case Study: Real Madrid 3-1 Barcelona 25/10/2014
The latest edition of football's greatest rivalry featured a managerial Clasico debut of Luis Enrique - a man who had his fair share of Clasico appearances for both sides as a player - but all that experience counted for little as Carlo Ancelotti outfoxed his younger counterpart. The pre-match focus…
Retrospective: Juventus 2-3 Manchester United 1999
With the release of his second autobiography, the football news has been flooded with an abundance of stories from Roy Keane's career. Individually, they are quite amusing - him deciding against signing Robbie Savage when his "whassup" answering machine message reminded him Savage is a terrible human being or the…
Then Carragher took Mario and had him flogged
It took Jesus Christ 33 years to be crucified, so, at age 24, Mario Balotelli looks a decent bet to beat his time. It was always inevitable that at some point the Italian was going to face belligerent criticism, but the special blend of the English media's unique brand of…
Case Study: Manchester City 1-1 Roma 30/9/2014
The plans for UEFA's Financial Fair Play regulations sped up Manchester City's plans to join the Champions League, forcing them into splashing huge amounts of cash to break in quickly, but their accelerated ascension to the European elite hasn't helped them now they are in the inner circle. A lack…
Case Study: Galatasaray 2-1 Sivasspor 26/9/2014
With Super Lig attendances at a record low in protest at the new Passolig ticketing system and president Unal Aysal announcing his intentions to step down, there has probably been more serene times at Galatasaray. Luckily, Felipe Melo was back in the team to face Roberto Carlos' Sivasspor after earning…
Contrasting defending in the Madrid derby
About a year ago, we highlighted some similarities between the Real Madrid of today and the Galacticos of Florentino Perez' last spell as president. Them winning their tenth Champions League would seem to disprove the idea but after their transfer dealings over the summer. In retrospect, Gareth Bale's signing was…
Case Study: Zenit St Petersburg 3-2 Dinamo Moscow 13/9/2014
With these the two stand-out teams early on in the Russian Premier League season, this was sure to be an important clash to sort out the hierarchy among the title challengers. Moneyed Zenit looked the favourites going into the match, having seemingly shrugged off the slump that has seen them…
Case Study: Roma 2-0 Fiorentina 30/8/2014
Vincenzo Montella returned to the club where he made his name as a player and where he started his coaching career in a caretaker spell. Fiorentina have put together a talented squad that has finished fourth twice under Montella, but those three clubs above them, including Roma, pulled away last…
Man City 3 – 1 Liverpool
By Milos Radakovic It was an ominous night for Balotelli, Liverpool’s recent 16 million pound signing, as he watched his new club fall at the hands of his previous teammates in the pouring rain. Liverpool will also be hoping that Balotelli can give them sense of spark and fight that…
Liverpool vs Manchester City: Two Games, Two Results
There were two distinct sides to Liverpool last season. The Jekyll and Hyde comparisons were usually reserved for the difference between their attacking and defending, but those were typically two sides of the same coin: Liverpool conceded so many goals in part because they pushed so many men forward in…