Is the league still winnable? Can we surpass CIty? A look at the remaining schedules.

It has officially become a two horse race.  Sure, Spurs, Chelsea, and even the Gunners could go on a run, but in the end, it will take a significant collapse by City and LFC to allow those clubs back in the hunt for the PL title.  Probably not going to happen.  City is on pace to bank 104 points, while LFC is on track for 99, neither will probably end up with those totals, but it is most likely safe to say they will end up one and two.  The greatest factor is, barring injuries, the remaining schedule.

I cannot stand when people try to claim that strength of schedule is not a factor in the PL.  Yes, every team plays one another twice, once at home and once on the road, but when these matches are played is very important as well.  It is better to play tougher opponents earlier in the schedule or after rest periods, especially away.  Almost any opponent on the road is going to be tough as it is.

So far this season, City has played seven out of fifteen matches on the road.  Liverpool have only played eight, but it is still one more match that they are more likely to get 3 points.  City has played Arsenal, Tottenham, and LFC away, earning an impressive 7 points, with the only non-win being at Anfield.  They were lucky to play the Gunners on the opening round, now I doubt they would have gotten away with a similar 2-0 result since Arsenal has improved significantly. That is also a factor, some clubs get better as the season progressives and Arsenal, Everton, Brighton, Newcastle, and West Ham have all showed improvement since the beginning.  This also means that City have yet to play at Chelsea and United, which I'm hoping the latter is actually a contest.  I don't think I have ever cheered United on, it will be painful, but I have to do so if I hope for the league title.  Liverpool have played at Spurs, Chelsea, and at Gunners, earning 5 points.  They had the misfortune of playing an improved Gunners side in week 11 and honestly, they were lucky to come away with a point.

Neither LFC nor City have played any significant opponents at home other than themselves at Anfield, so those fixtures are probably must wins for the Reds if they have any aspirations to win the league.  City have yet to host Liverpool, which has to be considered the most important fixture left.  A win would be monumental, but a draw is probably the best to hope for.  They play on January 3rd.

If we look at remaining fixtures, who has the tougher schedule? The hardest fixtures left for Liverpool are home to United (12/16), at City (1/3), at United (2/23), at Everton (2/3), home to Spurs (4/6), and home to Chelsea (4/13).  City has at Chelsea (12/8), home to LFC (1/3), home to Arsenal (2/2), home to Chelsea (2/9),  at Everton (2/23), at United (3/16), and home to Spurs (4/20).   That leaves Liverpool with one less 'hardest' fixture and a potential six point swing, though that is optimistic.

Between the two sides, City really only have the only bad result with a draw at Wolves, so lets look at the potential 'upsets'.  Liverpool very well could lose or concede points at Bournemouth in two days (they are sixth in the league after all), at West Ham (2/2),at Wolves (12/21), and at Newcastle (5/4).  I highly doubt points will be lost at Newcastle, but karma (Rafa) may come into play.  City have  home to Everton (12/15), at Newcastle (1/29),  and at Bournemouth (3/2).  Liverpool have it a little rougher with these mid-table/trending fixtures, but we are really only talking maybe a two-point margin.

Finally, the other onerous factor is schedule congestion with regards to opponent strength. City has to play at Chelsea, Leicester, and Southampton, and home to Everton, CP, Liverpool in a 35 day period between 1/8 and 2/3.  They play their toughest matches first (at Chelsea) and last (home to Liverpool), with only one 'challenging' in between (at Everton).  Meanwhile, LFC have to play away to Bournemouth, Wolverhampton, and City, and at home to United, Newcastle, and Arsenal.  Liverpool clearly have a tougher schedule during this period.

There is also Champions League, FA Cup, and League Cup fixtures to consider, but based on just the PL schedule, Liverpool have a slight advantage though it will take a at least one significant upset on City's part and a perfect LFC run to win the league.  I don't want to say anything is impossible though.

Senderos leads in on-field assaults: EPL week 4 top performers

Aaron Ramsey  - 1 assist, 3 chances created, 60/68 passing (88.2%), 1 shot on-target, 4 tackles, 3 interceptions

Jack Wilshere - 1 goal, 1 assist, 2 chances created, 52/65 passing (80%), 1 shot on-target, 10 successful dribbles, 2 tackles, 1 clearance, 1 blocked shot

Cesc Fabregas - 2 assists, 6 chances created, 78/83 passing (94%),  2 successful dribbles, 1 interception, 4/5 crosses, 2/3 long balls

Branislav Ivanovic - 6 chances created, 4/4 aerial duels, 2 successful dribbles, 2 tackles, 1 clearance

Diego Costa - 3 goals, 4 shots on-target, 3 chances created, 24/28 passing (85.7%), 2 successful dribbles, 1 tackle

Eden Hazard - 9 successful dribbles, 4 key passes, 4 chances created, 63/68 passing (92.6%), 2 shots on-target, 2 interceptions

Andrew Robertson - 2 chances created, 1 successful dribble, 7 tackles, 5 interceptions, 4 clearances, 2 blocked shots

Mohamed Diame - 7 tackles, 1 goal, 1 shot on-target, 17/18 passing (94.4%), 2 interceptions, 1 blocked shot

Michael Dawson - 11 clearances, 6 interceptions, 5 blocked shots,  4/7 aerial duels, 1 tackle

Curtis Davies - 16 clearances, 6/6 aerial duels, 4 interceptions, 2 blocked shots, 1 tackle

Jason Puncheon - 4 chances created, 3 successful dribbles, 1 shot on-target, 2 tackles, 1 interceptions, 1 clearance

Ritchie de Laet - 2 chances created, 5/7 aerial duels, 4 tackles, 3 interceptions, 12 clearances, 2 blocked shots

Dejan Lovren - 100/118 passing (84.7%), 11/16 long balls, 7/8 aerial duels, 8 clearances, 3 tackles, 2 interceptions

David Silva - 6 chances created, 4 successful dribbles, 1 shot on-target, 2 tackles, 1 interception

Gael Clichy - 2 chances created, 2 successful dribbles,  7 tackles, 3 interceptions, 3 clearances

Ander Herrera - 1 goal, 1 assist, 4 chances created, 2 successful dribbles, 8 tackles, 1 interception, 1 blocked shot, 77/85 passing (90.6%)

Angel Di Maria - 1 goal, 1 assist, 4 chances created, 2 successful dribble, 1 tackle

Morgan Schneiderlin - 1 goal, 62/69 passing (89.9%), 1 successful dribble, 7 tackles, 2 interceptions, 1 clearance

Victor Moses - 24/24 passing (100%), 4 key passes, 10 successful crosses, 4 successful dribbles, 4 tackles, 1 interception

Christian Eriksen - 1 goal, 3 chances created, 78/87 passing (89.7%), 3 successful dribbles, 2 tackles, 1 interception, 1 clearance

Stewart Downing - 7 chances created, 58/60 passing (96.7%), 1 shot on-target, 1 clearance

Barton is right, Welbeck is a better 'team' player than Sturridge, but...

...he's no where near as good a striker nor talented footballer. Unfortunately, when someone as controversial as Joey Barton makes such revelations, they are immediately dismissed and then buried under a slew of ad hominem recoil.  It also doesn't help that he is terrible at proving his points.  Applauding goals that could have easily been scored by most any striker with the kind of service Welbeck received last night proves nothing, especially that he is a good 'team' player.

The two biggest differences between Sturridge and Welbeck is that the former is a brilliant scorer/goal-creator while the latter is a more complete footballer, though not close to a brilliant level.  The former Man U forward is merely average on attack, he will never be spectacular, not even at Arsenal were he'll be spoon-fed goal opportunities. He is one of the better defensive forwards, stifles counters before they can come to fruition and gets back for support.  Last season he posted a defensive possession efficiency of 0.636, much better than an attack-first forward like Sturridge, who had a 0.541 dpe.

Welbeck is a better overall passer as well, posting an 87.4% completion rate last season compared to Sturridge who managed a 79.3%.  When it comes to assists and chances created, Welbeck pales in comparison.  Sturridge had 7 assists and 29 chances created compared to Welbeck who had 1 and 13 respectively.  The Liverpool forward did play 800 more minutes, 55.2% more than his United counterpart, but last time I checked, that doesn't equate 7 to 1.

Sturridge creates and scores goals at a world-class rate, while Welbeck does not.  Sturridge scored 0.83 goals and created 1.11 per 90 minutes last season, Welbeck averaged 0.55 and 0.62, not even close.  It sort of makes me scratch my head that Arsenal bought him, but I guess they were desperate.  They, like every other unbiased, somewhat intelligent manager would take Sturridge over Welbeck in a second.  No, he's not a better team player, but I'll take his goal created a match since it's much more likely to help the team win opposed to a tackle or clearance in midfield.

Ballotelli business better than Man United & Falcao

I will probably never be happy that Mario Balotelli is part of our club.  Three years from now, if he's still a productive member of the squad, I'll eat my words, but his track record speaks for itself.  He grows tired of his manager, the staff, his teammates, club officials, the press and the supporters and starts acting out in the third year.  It happened at Inter, it happened at City, and most recently, it happened at Milan, where they got rid of him before he became a cancer.  If he breaks the cycle, great, but don't hold your breathe.  Let's not wait like City did, if he starts costing us matches by his behavior either on or off the pitch, I hope whomever in charge, hopefully Rodgers, puts him in the reserves dungeon and throws away the key until he can be shipped off elsewhere.  Madrid will probably come knocking by then anyhow.

No matter how it plays out though, £17.6m to sign Balotelli is a much better deal than acquiring Falcao on a year-long loan for £6.7m plus £10m salary and an option to buy him at the end of the season for an additional £40m.  Super Mario is basically a younger, faster, stronger, and more skilled verison of Falcao.  If anyone complains, like myself, that all Ballotelli can do is score goals, well, Falcao can only score less.  Plus the Italian can physically impose himself on the opposition and worry their defence to no end, creating space for teammates.  I don't see the 177cm (5'10"), 72kg (160lb) Colombian with no Premier League experience having much presence, wait until they play Stoke.

Their career club league stats are quite comparable:

	npg90	ap90	gc90	cc90	ccv	pass%	sacc%	shot%	sdr90	tti90	gopd
Balotelli	0.47	0.14	0.77	1.33	0.1	0.757	0.382	0.121	2.14	14.6	-0.46
Falcao	0.57	0.08	0.75	0.90	0.05	0.797	0.492	0.305	0.79	11.21	0.06

First things first, Falcao is four-and-a-half years older than Super Mario.  Which means he's probably at his peak and won't improve much more, not to mention he'll have to make the adjustments for the English game.  Quick, name a 28-year-old South American and/or La Liga player who came to the Premier League and made a significant impact? Don't even try to say Valencia, he's been in the league for eight years now.  The closest is probably Coloccini, but he was 26 when he signed with Newcastle and he's a defender.  Maybe Falcao will make history, but I doubt it.

Mario is a better team player and that says mountains, since we all know what kind of a 'team player' he is.  The thing is, Balotelli has the ability to be a great asset to the club as a whole, while I don't think Falcao has the capacity to do so, because if he did, he would have already done so with Porto or Atletico or Monaco.  He has never been a significant 'defending forward' and forget about setting up others on goal.  When Balotelli cares and tries, which honestly, this is his last chance to do so before he becomes a true pariah, he is eons better than his Colombian counterpart.

In the end, it won't matter though.  If Falcao scores goals and does nothing else, even have the worst efficiency in the league, the Mangoloids won't care.  I honestly think the EPL is too physical for him and can see an injury-riddled season where he gets sent packing back to Monaco in the end.

(Oh and just a quick point because I can see it coming, 16 of Falcao's last 63 league goals since joining La Liga have been penalties compared to 15 of 55 for Balotelli, so save that rubbish for your pub trash bin banter.)

Man United the third most efficient attacking side in the Premiership? Afraid so, but...

Most efficient attacking sides in the EPL:

	ape
Man City	0.700
Tottenham	0.698
Man U	0.690
Arsenal	0.674
Chelsea	0.669

City and Tottenham are not surprising here, but ManU at third? Really?  Well two things play into this, first the quality of their opponents.  Home against Swansea and at Sunderland are not very tough 'tests', the latter is eighth best in defensive efficiency so far, but they got a boost from playing West Brom.  The Cardiff club is second to last in defensive efficiency and will probably have to rely more and more on scoring goals to keep up with opponents.

Second, United are actually decent at passing and lead the league in completion percentage at 87.3%. They play at Burnley next week, so expect them to continue their competency, but once the meat of their schedule begins, their numbers should 'level out'.

Liverpool stand 6th, by the way.

Most efficient defensive sides in the EPL:

	dpe
Stoke	0.366
Chelsea	0.350
Arsenal	0.318
West Ham	0.310
Hull City	0.278

Stoke shouldn't be much of a surprise here considering their defence-oriented style of play and the fact that their first two opponents this season are currently the 17th (Hull) and 19th (Aston Villa) most efficient attacks.  Let's see how they fair at City this weekend before we pass judgement.

Liverpool currently sit 11th.

Most efficient overall:

	per
Chelsea	1.019
Arsenal	0.992
Stoke	0.974
Man U	0.943
Tottenham	0.936
Man City	0.933
Liverpool	0.897

Before anyone loses the plot, this measures 'efficiency', there is no 'extra' value given to goals nor to defensive errors that lead to goals.  It will even out as the season continues and opponents become more common.  The fact that Man U isn't at or near the top of the table after two matches against less-than-mediocre opposition says plenty.

Team stat stand-outs

- West Ham are the king of the crosses with a by far league best 19 successful at an also impressive 39.6% rate.  West Brom has completed the second most with 12 and Sunderland is the second most efficient at 29.0%.

- Stoke have been dominant in the air.  The Potters have won the most duels (59) at the highest success rate (65.6%).

- West Brom has been 'dispossessed' 44 times, 15 more than the next nearest club, which is surprisingly Man City.

- Aston Villa has one shot on goal in 15 attempts, it also resulted in their only goal by Andreas Weimann.

- Chelsea lead the league in goals scored, chances created, shots-on-goal, and successful dribbles.

- Stoke and Hull lead the league with 94 clearances a piece, 20 more than any other club.

Take note United, Moreno transfer is how it's done

If reports are true and we have captured 22-year-old left back Alberto Moreno from Sevilla for £12m, Ian Ayre has outdone himself because that's a solid piece of business.  The original asking price was €20m or £15.9m, but months of negotiating dwindled it down, though I am sure there is some fine print of add-ons and possible transfer fee reductions of Iago Aspas if they choose to keep him.  Instead of being like United and just breaking out the check book, compromise appeared to have actually taken place, and we got a player at a fair price, though he could become a 'steal' down the road.

On top of his defensive abilities, Moreno has the dribbling and passing skills to make a tremendous impact on attack as well.  It's his acumen, his ability to discern and anticipate his opponent's next move that is most impressive and helps him shut'em down. His pace and vigor will benefit him on both sides of the pitch and are definitely Premier league quality.

The stats from his two seasons at Sevilla show different sides of his skill spectrum.  In his first season he excelled on defence and the second he improved his attacking numbers though seemingly at the cost of his defensive contribution:

yr	gc90	cc90	ps%	bp%	tti90	gopd	tkl90	tkl%	int90	clr90	adw90	adw%
13-14	0.11	0.71	0.789	0.365	8.62	-0.15	1.94	.396	2.72	1.64	1.94	0.500
12-13	0.08	0.67	0.781	0.45	10	0.73	2.42	.378	3.83	3.50	1.92	0.478

He improved in nearly every attacking category, but slagged off a little on defense.  His improvement in backpass percentage and true turnover index per 90 minutes was quite impressive.  The drop in tackles, interceptions, and clearances per 90 minutes are disappointing and hopefully just a one year slump.  The drastic decline in his goals-on-pitch is alarming, hopefully going from a very impressive 0.73 to a -0.15 is just a glitch and he becomes a positive influence once again.

If he can get back to his first season numbers in the first third and continue his improvement in the opponent's, he'll be well-worth his reasonable price tag.  At least we didn't pay £30m for him, Shaw will have to put up at least twice the numbers of Moreno to prove he's worth that much.

Eto'o just as good as Van Persie last season

I don't understand why so many Liverpool fans are against signing Eto'o on a free.  The arguments of his 'loss of pace' are grossly over-exaggerated if not unproven and defining him as a 'mercenary' is just delusionary.  Welcome to modern football, swallow your pride or go back to being a mid-table club.

What's even more pathetic are United fans joking about Liverpool possibly signing the 32-year-old Cameroonian.  Eto'o was just as good as Van Persie last year, but that would take intelligence to understand and I don't give the Manc mongoloids that much credit.  Here is a comparison of their stats from last season:

	npg90	ap90	gc90	cc90	pass%	sacc%	shot%	tti90	gopd90	gopd
Eto'o	0.62	0.14	0.76	1.53	0.761	0.441	0.153	11.3	1.18	0.02
RVP	0.57	0.17	0.86	0.97	0.767	0.339	0.161	10.5	0.40	-0.15

Eto'o scored more non-penalty goals and created more chances per 90 minutes played.  The most damning stat is their value to their respective clubs, Eto'o may not have been the 'world class' goal scorer he once was, but at least he didn't have a negative effect on his team's performance.  Van Persie's -0.15 goals on pitch difference suggests he was detrimental toward Man United's winning efforts.  Seems like the joke's on Man United as they are definitely going to keep a 31-year-old striker who is often injured and failed to help his side's seventh place cause last season.  I guess it's good they won't be venturing far from home next season.

Liverpool 1, Man U 2: Five things learnt

1. Ander Herrera is rubbish.  How much did they pay for him? The only thing he did well is foul and was lucky not to get a yellow.  I thought he was some sort of pass master? Yeah...

2. Rooney still has no class.  He is the epitome of what United fans consider a 'scouser'.  To even act as if that was a legitimate goal is pathetic.  Then to rant and rave about the ball being played on by Ibe when he got 'hurt'.  Recovered pretty quickly from that, didn't he?  And lastly, the foul on Sterling... It's a friendly, a meaningless match, which brings me to my next point...

3.  United needed and wanted this match more than Liverpool.  When Rodgers took out Gerrard, he pretty much said, 'Who cares?'  We want to win real cups and trophies, not pseudo-Mickey Mouse titles.  United acted like their whole season depended on this match, well, considering they won't play outside of England until next summer, I guess it did.

4. Liverpool collapsed too easily, this can't happen in matches that actually count.  After the first goal, they looked like a bunch of 12-year-olds thrown on the pitch together yesterday.  It's as if they forgot all their training and how to work together.  As for the goals, what was Mignolet thinking on the first one?  He committed way too much to his right and left more of the goal exposed.  It was clear Rooney wasn't going to get a powerful shot in.  The second and third goals were deflections, so not much he can do there.  United were lucky with both of them.

5. One pass does not make a match, Glen Johnson.  An absolute horrid performance from the right back, despite setting Sterling for the penalty.  He turned over the ball nearly every other time.

5b. We need another striker, stat.  Lambert can not play up front by himself and he's looking more and more like a bad signing, but I'll hold back judgement until the season starts.  Sturridge would have made a big difference as United could not contain the pace of Sterling and Ibe as it was...

5c.  Speaking of those two, they made mince meat of the United defenders, who got a lot of favors from the ref, but the bottom line is the ball has to go in the back of the net or the performance is wasted.  Jordan Henderson probably made the dribble of the match though, nutmegging and overpowering Luke Shaw to get free in the box, too bad his cross found Sterling on the other side of the box.

5d. Ashley Young is slow.  When Kolo Toure out-paces you to the ball, you need to go play in Italy.

Liverpool 1, United 0 HT: Welcome to the Prem, Ander Herrera

This match is about as close to a real Premiership battle as you can get in the pre-season.  Just ask Ander Herrera, who looks completely out of his league, committing foul after foul, and should've received a yellow card for his donkey performance so far.  Speaking of fouls, some of these calls are mind-bottling.  Especially the foul called on Sterling I believe in favor of Phil Jones.  Are you kidding me?  How did little ole Sterling foul the ogre?

As for the penalty that was called, it was suspect to say the least, but the penalty that wasn't called later negates it.  Sterling took on three defenders, got taken down from behind while still in possession of the ball in the box, and that's not a penalty?  Just adds to the horrible calls throughout and makes it feel like more of a Liverpool-United Prem match with the Mancs getting the mystery calls.  That goal kick called for United when it clearly goes off Sterling-beaten Smalling was just laughable.

As for individual performance, Coutinho and Sterling have been outstanding.  Some of the dribbling by Coutinho has been Suarez-esque and Raheem is just being himself.  I really wish he would take a more 'straight at the opponent' approach at times, a la Messi, sometimes when he hesitates it appears to work against him.  Gerrard and Kelly have played well also.

No one has played particularly bad, well, Johnson made that brilliant pass to Sterling to win the penalty, but that positive memory is fading fast as he continues to be useless since.  Sakho is giving me a cardiac arrest, why does he feel the need to go forward all the time?  Stay back, son, and play some defense.

It appeared early on, United was playing a Chelsea-like 'play back and wait for Liverpool to make a mistake strategy', but what it really was they were waiting to forge a massive counter attack forward and it was about the only time they've been 'scary'.  Clearances from Sakho and Skrtel saved the day, but Chicharito should have put the ball in the back of the net.

Okay, onwards and upwards to the second half...

Let Man United waste their dosh on Cavani

Is Edinson Cavani the most overrated player in the world? If not, he's up there.  He can't pass, he can't shoot, he can't dribble, and he does not create goals.  What is the big deal?

His stats from last season do nothing to justify his £50m+ estimation:

npgp90	gcp90	ccp90	ap90	ccv
0.55	0.71	0.9	0.08	8.7
pass%	bp%	sacc%	shot%	TTI90
85.5	62.3	36.5	16.7	9.5
gsp90	gap90	gop90	tgop	gopd90
2.12	0.63	1.49	1.61	-0.12

His pass success rate of 85.5% is excellent, at being misleading.  I'm not sure If I have ever seen a back pass percentage above 60, even Iago Aspas had 58.1% last season.  He does have a low turnover rate, but he wasn't exactly the primary ball carrier for PSG, they do have a few other well-known footballers on their squad.  In fact, he only averaged 28 pass attempts and 3.8 shots per 90 minutes last season, for perspective, Ibrahimovic averaged 50 and 5.2 respectively.

Further proof that his passing rate from last season was an anomaly:

year	age	club	comp	app(sub)	pcom	patt	pass%
2012-13	26	Napoli	Serie A	33(1)	544	598	77.9
2011-12	25	Napoli	Serie A	32(3)	551	758	72.7
2010-11	24	Napoli	Serie A	32(3)	495	678	73
2009-10	23	Palermo	Serie A	31(3)	523	682	76.7
				totals	2113	2716	77.8

His previous four year average is nearly 8 points lower.  All those expensive teammates make him look like a Pirlo, when he's really just a Kevin Nolan.  Oddly enough, his 8.7 ccv is his lowest in five years, while his career high was 18.8, his first season in Napoli.  His five year average though is only 11.

Cavani is far from worth £50m, he's probably not even worth £15m. I hope Van Gaal buys him though, it will just add to the horrible deals they made this summer.

Glen Johnson vs Kyle Walker

A recent comment stirred my interest.  I'm actually a big fan of Kyle Walker, but I'm not sure if he's more effective than Glen Johnson.  Let's take a look at the stats.

	G. Johnson	K. Walker
apps (sub)	29	26
tackles/pm	2.2	2
interceptions/pm	1.7	2.2
offsides won pm	0.1	0.3
clearances pm	2.4	2.6
dribbled past pm	0.8	1
blocked shots pm	0.3	0.2
aerial duels won pm	1.4	1.8
own goals	1	0
goals	0	1
assists	2	2
chances created	28	31
shots pm	0.7	0.7
passing %	84.1	82.2
passes pm	50.2	53.7
back pass %	45.6	34.9
crosses pm	0.2	0.7
cross %	9.8	20.2
long balls pm (total)	2 (57)	3.8 (100)
long ball %	54.3	60.2
key passes pm (total)	1 (28)	1.2 (31)
successful dribbles pm (total)	1.6 (46)	0.8 (22)
fouls drawn pm (total)	1.3	1.2
dispossessed pm (total)	1.2	1.3
turnovers pm (total)	1.1	0.6
TTI	11.9	12.7

Well, I was wrong.  Walker is more effective and the overall better right back.  He is just as turnover prone as Johnson, but he at least makes it up more on the defensive end.  The stats that stand out most for me are his 34.9 back pass percentage, 20.2 successful cross percentage, and especially his 60.2 long ball success percentage with 100 attempts.  The latter is just ridiculous when you consider he only played in 26 matches.

How is Kyle Walker not in the England side for the WC?  Apparently Phil Jones is second choice and that's just laughable.  Might as well put a cardboard cut-out of a donkey out there, it will do the same as 'El Terminator'.

Nemanja Vidić vs. Martin Škrteľ

Apparently Nemanja Vidić is the current odds on favorite to win PFA Player of the Year this season, and well, that sort of baffles me. I'm not saying Vidić is undeserving of recognition as one of the best center backs in the world, but our very own Martin Škrteľ has been just as, if not more impressive this season. The only thing going against the Slovakian back is that he's played in less matches, but the statistical comparison is, well, not much of one.

First we have what center backs are supposed to do best, stop the opposition. This is best represented by tackle success rate, tackles per match, and interceptions per contest. Škrteľ surprisingly takes all three of these categories. He easily beats his Man U counterpart in tackles per match with 1.82 tpm compared to 1.19, he dominates on tackle success rate with a resounding 88.2% to Vidić's 74.4%, and finally, he edges out the Serb, 2.18 to 1.96 in interceptions per. Pretty impressive if you ask me.

Another important trait is the ability to not only pass the ball effectively, but also to get to where you want it to go, in other words, pass success percentage. Once again, Škrteľ is superior, though only by a hair, 87.5% to 86.6%. Our boy also leads on assists with one to none and has created more goal attempts, 4 to 3, in 10 less matches played might I add.

The only category where Vidić dominates is goals scored and if we were talking about strikers that might make a huge difference, but we're not, and in almost every other single category, Škrteľ reigns supreme. Not to mention Liverpool's sweep of Man U exposed the weaknesses of Nemanja.

Riera appears to have refound his form

There have been many factors in our current impressive vein of form, our relative return to health that allows us to play our best eleven being the most important and the overall career peak performances of Xabi Alonso, Steven Gerrard, and Fabio Aurelio, among others, also being crucial. Yesterday appeared to mark the continued resurgence of Albert Riera, whose controlled-chaos dribbling, spot-on passing, and nasty volley goal, produced minced-meat of the Villa defense, who were lucky the scoreline did not end worse.

In his first few matches for our club, Riera looked golden. His league debut against Man United in September was one of legends, as he made their defense look not only less than superhuman, but frankly porous, as we beat our bitter rivals, 2-1. It was our first league win against the Mancs since 2004 and our first at Anfield in nearly seven years. His gangly-legged, two-steps-forward-one-step back style then continued to leave Premier League defenders dazed and confused as his cleats chewed up the left sides of pitches across England. It was appearing that his £8m price tag was quite the bargain.

Suddenly though, he disappeared. After scoring his first league goal against Wigan, the energy that seemed to spark his unpredictable and unstoppable flair seemed to dissipate. Though flashes of brilliance would occasionally sneak through, for the most part Riera was ineffective, if not invisible. It appeared the physicality of the English game had worn him thin, sapping his mental strength and severely depleting his creative juices. To put it bluntly, His game went from grand to bland.

In December, a seasonal renaissance occurred with Riera scoring three goals in five matches, but still he seemed to lack the dynamic fortitude that he displayed earlier in the season. His first Champions League goal against PSV was followed up by a disappearing act against Hull and an uninspired effort versus Arsenal, only to end the year with a goal against Bolton, in an otherwise forgettable showing, and begin 2009 with a stunner against Preston North End in the FA Cup.

It ended up being more a mirage than glint of hope as the Spaniard once again fell into a lull. His lackluster play reflected our results as we went 1-1-5 over the next seven matches he played, including crashing out of the FA Cup in a loss to Everton. Then came the CL tie at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Being back in Spain seemed to rejuvenate Riera. Maybe a renewed hatred of Real Madrid or the familiarity of surroundings reignited the left winger as his effort was encouraging and reminiscent of early season form. Following that, he was left out of the match against Middlesborough, which we lost, 0-2. His omission was a bit baffling, but I'm not sure if he would have made much difference.

Then came a tremendous performance against Sunderland, where his spot-on passing, though wasted for the most part, certainly kept up the pressure on the Black Cats defense. He appeared to regain the confidence of his teammates as well, as their shyness to go to the left flank became less apparent. Real Madrid came to Anfield that following Tuesday and shockingly, Riera did not even make the bench. His omission leads me to speculate that Rafa does not believe Riera has the physical ability nor mental sharpness this late in the season to play more than one match a week. It's also convenient that we have plenty of left-side coverage in Ryan Babel, Fabio Aurelio, and Andrea Dossena, if needs be.

In our second meeting with United, Riera was solid, but not as scintillating as he was in the first match. Dossena once again played well and I think that may have caught the Spaniard's attention since he came out on fire against Villa, putting on one of his best performances of his short Liverpool career. It wasn't just his world class finish, but his pass completion percentage was a ridiculous 94% on a season high 52 balls played. Not to mention his making Nigel Reo-Coker not an option at right back for Villa anymore.

I'm not sure you could go as far as to say that Riera is the main factor in our results, but he's certainly an important one. When he's playing well, he takes out the right side attacking options of our opponents and those who lack all-round right sided wingers, like say, Manchester United, are completely exposed. I have to concur if Rafa is resting the Spaniard for one match a week, as he has shown the wear and tear has had effect, which leaves Benitez with some strategy to ponder with our four upcoming ties.

Chelsea was the worse possible draw

I would have much preferred Barça or Man U to the Blues. Sure we've beaten them twice in the league this season, but that was without their best player, Michael Essien. Now that he's back, we cannot enter thinking these matches will be anything like the previous two. Being one of the best players in the world, he is a large enough factor to push them past us. It will take a monumental effort to overcome the Blues and I hope our boys approach them with tremendous respect, because without it, we won't advance.

12 points from Man U & Chelsea

It's a bit baffling to think we've taken the double from the two top squads in the league, but it may be a bit more confounding to realize that we've managed only six pts in six matches against four of the eight bottom sides (Tottenham, Hull, Stoke, and Middlesborough). In the end, those results are probably going to be what keeps us from the title.

Though not impossible, it is very much improbable, and as Benitez states, we must win our final nine contests to have any sort of chance. Taking a gander at our remaining schedule, closing out the campaign with twenty-seven points is a doable feat. The toughest matches left being versus Arsenal and Villa, but both of those are at Anfield. Away to West Ham and a visit from those pesky Spurs aren't going to be easy either, but then again, no match is nor should be approached as so, something United's defenders should have probably taken into account before today's contest.

The most impressive feat about today's match? That unless soccerbase.com is incorrect or my eyes have failed me*, Man U has never allowed 4 goals in a Premiership match at Old Trafford. NEVER. In fact, you have to go back to December 30, 1978, when the Mancs lost to West Brom, 5-3, in the old first division, to find a result of four or more allowed in the league. 30 years ago. Quite impressive.

Well, six days until we find out our next Champions League opponent and eight until we face Villa at home. Until then, cheers.

*EDIT - I stand corrected (or maybe I should look into wearing glasses). They allowed 4 goals against QPR at Old Trafford on January 1st, 1992. Still though, that was a first division match, so they truly never have allowed 4 at home in the Prem.