If you watched Manchester United play Chelsea last night, I’ll forgive you if you started to clutch at straws.
The game finished 0-0 which, frankly, was thoroughly unsurprising. Before the game we all predicted a scoreless game with two of the most turgid and uninspiring teams in the league this season came up against each other in a stadium that has seen an alarming number of goalless draws and narrow Manchester United wins this season.
We were left declaring that it was entertaining, that even though it was 0-0 there could have been goals. We were left in shock that Manchester United actually seemed to try to attack Chelsea and go for the win. It may have been more exciting than your typical 0-0 involving United this season, but it was hardly a Premier League classic.
[ffc-gal cat=”premier-league” no=”5″]
Tonight, however, we’d be surprised to see a scoreless draw.
Manchester City travel to Leicester City for a top-of-the-table clash where both teams seem to know how to score, but seem to care very little about defending. Leicester City and Manchester City have conceded the most goals in the top six, but both have the best scoring records in the division.
That bodes well for the spectators, of course, both teams will have to play to their strengths and attack, and with City looking like a team with an overwhelming array of firepower at their disposal, surely they’ll have to do most of the provoking. That means Leicester can do what they do best, hitting City on the counter, where they’ve looked vulnerable all season.
So already this is a game set up to look like a real classic. A top of the table game played with passion and intent, a hammer and tongs struggle we like to think of as emblematic of the Premier League – something completely different from the damp display we saw last night.
The new kind of excitement we seem to draw from football seems to stem from something we always used to admire in the English game: speed.
For years, this league has favoured the fitter, more athletic players, the midfield powerhouses, the dominant defenders, the pacey wingers. The typical English footballer was technically proficient, sure, but that seemed like a quality secondary to ability to run all day long.
Nowadays, things have changed. Players like David Silva and Mesut Ozil are lauded as the geniuses they deserve to be called and teams like Stoke can attract players like Bojan and Shaqiri.
But we still don’t want to lose that speed we’ve always enjoyed in the Premier League.
So when teams like Manchester United play with such a slow conservatism, it’s just boring. Watching Van Gaal’s team, you might feel like you’re learning something about the game, about possession retention and attack-building. But that’s a case of labour over love.
WANT MORE? >> Man City transfer news | Leicester City transfer news
But there’s a balance being struck. It used to be a case of midfield pairing versus midfield pairing. Two different sides of the 4-4-2 battling it out for midfield superiority in a breathless war of attrition.
Nowadays, with the rise of the silky playmaker, teams have learned to be more solid, to stay compact so as to close down the space for the creators on the opposite side, and to draw the opponent out of position so as to create the opportunity to counter attack. Just like Leicester this season.
Leicester embody the new English style, in a way. They are direct and fast, when they get the ball. And so are Manchester City. And although City will look to be patient and work an opening from time to time, they are, themselves, deadly on the counter attack.
Both sides, despite their foreign management, are two teams who play with some thoroughly English virtues – speed, athleticism and the ability to be direct.And what’s more, they have a never say die attitude. Both teams are famed for coming back from losing positions and fighting until the end. So tonight’s game shouldn’t disappoint, because at the very least it will be played in a way that is sure to thrill a modern English audience.
It will be the game Manchester United v Chelsea should have been.
[ad_pod id=’writeforus’ align=’center’]