Are Madrid the Real deal?

The supposedly untouchable Catalan giants of Barcelona showed signs of real weakness at the weekend as they lost 1-0 to Getafe in La Liga. Juan Valera, formerly of Atletico Madrid, stooped to head in a corner in the second half to lend a helping hand to the other Madrid side.

Real Madrid are on a relentless run of 13 victories, both domestically and in Europe, and have scored an incredible 51 goals in the process. At the weekend they overcame their city rivals in the Madrid derby 4-1, with Cristiano Ronaldo again stealing the show. He levelled the scores from the penalty spot after Real had fallen 1-0 behind, then set up Di Maria for 2-1. Awful defending allowed Higuain to grab the third goal, before Ronaldo scored his second, again from the penalty spot. Atletico haven't beaten their arch rivals since 1999, and ended the match with just 9 men as their miserable run against Real continued.

But Madrid were always expected to challenge for the title, the big question will be whether or not they can topple Barcelona, who have won the league for the past 3 seasons. Defeat to Getafe marked their first loss in 27 matches though, and the reaction of the Barcelona players to Valera's headed goal seemed to be a disconsolate one. Heads went down all over the pitch, and even with a quarter of the match remaining an equaliser could not be found.

In saying that, Messi had a goal ruled out for offside, correctly, and the diminutive Argentinian also smashed a shot against the post late on. There are fine margins between winning and losing in football, but overall Barcelona certainly don't appear to be the same immovable force that they have been in recent seasons. Pep Guardiola has tinkered with his tactics at times, and the absence of Pique and Puyol on occasion has left the side looking much weaker defensively. Maxwell isn't seen as an able replacement at left back for Abidal if the Frenchman is covering in central defence, or out injured, and David Villa hasn't found his form yet this season.

Real Madrid on the other hand have really found their stride, looking dominant in most matches since dropping points earlier in the season to Levante and then Racing Santander. But the season is still in the early stages, and there are so many matches to go that it would be very foolish to discount Barcelona at this point. The title is often won or lost in the 'El Clasico' matches between the two clubs, and Guardiola wasn't overly concerned with the distinct possibility of sitting in second place when they face each other next month at the Bernabeu in the first clash of the season.

"We will prepare for El Clasico when it arrives. It is not vital for us to be leaders ahead of that match and I am not obsessive about Real Madrid."

Jose Mourinho, Madrid manager, was also quick to talk down the fantastic run his team is on, clearly attempting to remain focused following their demolition of Atletico.

"My team always played well. It was ambitious and motivated. It was emotionally controlled but we must be patient and keep our vision. Our winning streak will eventually come to an end."

If Real Madrid can start winning El Clasico matches then many will start to view them as the finished article, as this is where they have often slipped up in recent years. Their discipline has certainly improved recently, as Mourinho highlighted at the weekend, but keeping their head in an encounter against Barcelona is an entirely different matter. Patience and a good temperament are certainly qualities they'll have to show an abundance of against Guardiola's side.

The title race in La Liga promises to be a fascinating one this season, and although the power appears to be shifting in favour of Madrid, there is so much quality and resilience in this Barcelona side that few would be brave enough to write them off just yet. But next month's El Clasico match could go a long way to substantiating Real Madrid's title credentials.

By Laurie Dunsire

Time for Chelsea to cash their Cech?

 

Once the cornerstone of the meanest defence in the Premier League, Petr Cech now seems to be a mere shadow of a once great goalkeeper.

Chelsea lost five goals at home to London rivals Arsenal, the first time they'd conceded five at home in the league in over twenty years, and Cech looked less than secure. Beaten at his near post on three occasions, the Czech international stopper had only seven shots on target to deal with, and conceded five of them. His shots to save ratio in the Premier League this season is currently 46%, the lowest of any keeper in the division.

In Jose Mourinho's first season as Chelsea manager they conceded a record low of fifteen goals in the entire campaign, a figure that the current Chelsea side have already reached – after just ten matches! In that particular Mourinho year, 2004/05, Cech also set a record of 1,025 minutes without letting in a goal – although this has since been beaten by Edwin van der Sar.

At 29 Cech is relatively young for a goalkeeper, with a potential decade still remaining in his career. He did suffer a horrific head injury in 2006 following a clash with Reading's Stephen Hunt, leaving him with a fractured skull – hence the headgear that the keeper still wears.

But he appeared to make a full recovery from the injury, and although Chelsea lost his return game 2-0 to Liverpool, he then went on another fantastic clean sheet run of 810 minutes in the Premier League. However, the last two seasons have seen Chelsea concede more than 30 goals in league campaigns, something that hadn't happened for five consecutive years prior to that.

There are of course defensive issues at Stamford Bridge other than Cech, as John Terry gets older his lack of a solid defensive partner becomes more and more evident. Ricardo Carvalho provided such a partner during the height of Mourinho's Chelsea success, but at the moment question marks are still being raised over David Luiz or Branislav Ivanović's central defensive qualities. Right back is another position that no longer has a consistent performer.

But Cech certainly appears to be a far less confident and assured goalkeeper than he once did, and in recent seasons has looked suspect at cross balls as well as letting through far too many soft goals. However, he is not yet 30 and has a lot of time to recapture his once superb form. The question is, will he do so, or do Chelsea need to cash in on Cech whilst he still holds some value, and start looking for a new number one?

By Laurie Dunsire