Three things we learned from last night?s football

Ger McCarthy

TUESDAY night offered armchair and internet football supporters a feast of action from right across the continent including three Carling League Cup quarter-finals plus a marvellous Serie A encounter between Napoli and Juventus. Barcelona took the opportunity to remind any doubters of their attacking abilities whilst the race for promotion to the Premier League intensified with a full programme of Championship fixtures.

 
1. Arsenal don’t miss Samir Nasri
TRANSFERRED to Manchester City for €28m back in August, Samir Nasri signed for Roberto Mancini in the hope of capturing the silverware that had eluded him during his time at the Emirates Stadium. Last night’s Carling League Cup quarter-final saw the French international come in for plenty of stick from the home supporters and even an alleged altercation with Emmanuel Frimpong in the tunnel after City’s 1-0 victory.
Nasri has only appeared ten times in the Premier League for City this term contributing one goal and six assists although the French winger has looked lively whenever chosen by Mancini. The truth is the French midfielder has struggled to nail down a regular first team place since his multi-million pound move. Consistency was an issue with Nasri whilst playing under Arsene Wenger and since his departure both Gervinho and Theo Walcott has flourished in a three-pronged attack behind the in-form Robin Van Persie. A third of the way through the season and Samir Nasri remains on the fringes of the Man City first team having yet to justify his huge transfer fee. A resurgent Arsenal have €28m burning a hole in Arsene Wenger’s pocket and have the last 16 of the Champions League to look forward to in the new year suggesting they have benefited most from the trasnfer deal.

 
2. Italian football is far from boring
ITALIAN football has endured some dark days in recent years with the 2006 Calciopoli scandal uncovering a web of match fixing and referee bribes. A far-reaching enquiry resulted in a sporting tribunal stripping Juventus of two Serie A titles and demotion to Serie B while Inter, Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio, and Reggina were also implicated. Nowadays Serie A is back in the limelight for all the right reasons and Tuesday night’s marvellous 3-3 draw between Napoli and Juventus at the Stadio San Paolo highlighted all that is good about modern day Italian football.
The Grand Old Lady of Turin is back on top of the table under the tutelage of former midfielder Antonio Conte with a revitalised Andrea Pirlo pulling the strings in midfield. A brand new stadium has breathed new life into Juventus who remain unbeaten after 12 matches (seven wins and five draws). Despite dropping two home points, a Napoli side led by the mercurial skills of Edinson Cavani, Marek Hamsik, Gokhan Inler and Ezequiel Lavezzi are on course of place in the last sixteen of the Champions League. This season’s Serie A title race also includes a free-scoring Udinese, a star-studded AC Milan team led by Robinho, Pato and Zlatan Ibrahimovic and dark horses Lazio and Palermo. Serie A is amongst the most interesting leagues in Europe right now despite the stereotypical negative comments usually attributed to it by pundits who rarely watch it.

3. Catalan’s reassert their authority
SPANISH football expert and regular Irish Examiner contributor Joseph Sexton correctly pointed out in a recent article that Barcelona may be human after all following some indifferent performances and their weekend capitulation at the hands of Getafe. Pep Guardiola’s star-studded squad began last night’s Primera Liga encounter with Rayo Vallecano six points behind Real Madrid and on the back of their first defeat of the 2011-’12 season. A nervy opening aside the current Champions League holder s quickly reminded anyone doubting their attacking ability that they remain a frightening prospect on the counter-attack with Chilean Alexis Sanchez contributing two goals in a much-needed 4-0 victory.
Real have scored more goals than the Catalan’s this term and still enjoy a three-point lead at the summit of the standings but there is little doubt that a Barcelona side which has scored 34 league goals and conceded none at the Camp Nou remain a threat both domestically and in Europe. Barca’s defence is often overlloked with the likes of Messi, Xavi and Iniesta regularly hogging the media spotlight. Yet the Catalan’s possess the best defensive record in Spain so far this season having conceded a paltry seven goals. As ever the two El Classico matchups will have a major say in the destination of the 2012 league title and it may well be Barcelona’s defence rather than its much-vaunted attack that proves the decisive factor in bringing the Primera Liga title back to the Camp Nou.

Follow Ger on Twitter: @offcentrecircle

Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/iesportsblog/~3/3movPPJGVtM/post.aspx

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