Shrek-less Devils face stern test

APRIL 3 — Can anyone really recall a season as dramatic as this? I never thought I would ever say this but, boy am I tired from watching all the roller-coaster action of the top three clubs in the English Premier League (EPL) this season, let alone their exploits in the Champions League.

Seriously, I dare say that most Manchester United fans ‘felt’ a tinge of hurt in their own leg as they watched Wayne Rooney pull-up injured, then hobble off the pitch in the last few minutes of Tuesday’s match at the home of Bayern Munich.

Even the negative score-line would really have escaped their thoughts as they worriedly pondered on the extent of injury their hero had suffered.

I know that because the same pain rushed through my leg the next day as Cesc Fabregas almost instantly turned a miraculous back-from-the-dead performance by Arsenal with his penalty goal into a worry-fest for all Gunners around the world.

The reaction on his face told the whole story.

Though it is Easter tomorrow, when Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and Arsenal showed some form of resurrection too after going down two-nil to an outstanding Barcelona performance but that’s where the miracles end for this week. Fabregas was not going to play for the Gunners again this season.

It was the major disaster we feared it would be for him as a player and for the club, which was still hopeful of ending the season with at least one title despite last week’s setback at Birmingham City. But it will be a much tougher task now, if it wasn’t already previously.

Of course, all this has made it the best week of the season for Chelsea. Nevermind the fact that they are out of the Champions League, just the massive boost from winning 7-1 win against a team that had beaten them earlier this season and their closest rivals’ most influential players suffering injuries in mid-week action, will now make the Blues firm favourites to win the Premiership this season.

And they have a chance to prove this when Chelsea visit Old Trafford for the match of the weekend tonight.

Is this the right time to meet MU though? Alex Ferguson is renowned for stirring up his players with his hair-dryer treatment. Many players would certainly have faced that after the less than satisfactory performance which saw them lose 2-1 to Bayern Munich despite taking the lead in the second minute.

The Scot didn’t seem too perturbed with Rooney’s injury as he spoke yesterday in the press briefing for tonight’s blockbuster clash of the titans in England (7.45pm Malaysian time).

He confirmed that the Shrek look-alike just had a minor ligament strain and that he expected the England international to be back within three weeks.

Meanwhile, a player who has been out for too many weeks to count could be back in the MU squad tonight. Ferguson has revealed that he is considering bringing Owen Hargreaves, who has not played a first-team game since September 2008 after undergoing surgery to both knees, and John O’Shea back into the fold over the coming week.

Although it appears O’Shea is further forward on the comeback trail, the fact that Hargreaves was not part of MU’s European squad and is therefore not available for Wednesday’s second-leg clash against his former club Bayern Munich, lends weight to the belief Ferguson will have the 29-year-old on the bench against Chelsea.

All interest in this match will be to see how MU cope without Rooney. The man entrusted to take over the lead in attack will be no other than the slack-’n-casual Dimitar Berbatov. This will be the first ‘big’ game (that is to say, against one of the top three, or in the Champions League) he’ll start since the trip to Anfield.

As ever with debates over Berbatov’s worth to MU, the truth lies somewhere between those who say he’s worth every penny of that £30 million (RM148 million) and those who think David N’Gog is better. The Bulgarian has all the attributes to be a decent lone frontman. He is strong, deceptively quick and has an almost flawless first touch. Well, that’s in theory, anyway.

The stats in fact are contrary to what we may think. Berbatov scored five goals in his last six league starts and a very credible 12 goals in his 19 starts all season. It suits the English media to paint Rooney as the best player in the world, while the foreign and languid Berbatov is an easy target with his massive price tag and his grumpy face.

Fans are happy to join in with the booing of the pantomime villain, whose only real crime is to not sweat quite as much as we think he should while being really very good at football.

One way Ferguson must help his man is by giving him proper support. Even though Berbatov is not the sloth that many would have you believe, he does not have Rooney’s stamina and willingness to roam. My suggestion would be to play Ryan Giggs at the gap behind Berbatov. This could add to his work-rate and craftiness.

Ferguson’s counterpart Carlo Ancelotti, however, has an attacking dilemma that other teams only dream of having. The Italian faces an interesting decision on Saturday, if the evidence of the last two games are anything to go by. It seems that playing either Nicolas Anelka or Didier Drogba is the way to go, rather than both of them.

Drogba started as the centre-forward in the 5-0 win over Portsmouth, while Anelka filled that role as Chelsea spanked Aston Villa 7-1. If it is a choice between the two, it’s a no-brainer but Ancelotti could also choose to push Anelka to the wing where he doesn’t feel comfortable.

Also, to play Drogba could mean that Frank Lampard may not be at his best. The stats seem to back this theory. Lampard has scored 17 league goals this season. Eight of those were from the penalty spot and of the remaining nine, eight were scored in matches that Drogba missed.

Besides that, there appears to be no concern in the Chelsea camp as they are currently in top form netting 12 goals in their last two matches. Though any review of the thrashings of Portsmouth and Aston Villa has to be written with the prominent caveat that neither side put up a proper fight.

Despite the resilience of MU to sustain the fight for the EPL title, going by recent performances, Chelsea are expected to be back on the top of the table. Expect fireworks in the form of good, flowing and positive football, as the Blues get a narrow win over the Red Devils.

* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.