Match analysis week 4: Dmitri Kharine says ...

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Hello and welcome back to the Premier League after the international break. We hope you enjoyed some of the world’s centre-stage football, but now it’s time to get back to serious business and crack on with the domestic campaign.

*Unfortunately all the teams we follow played on Saturday and all but Manchester United had a 3.00pm kick off – this means that we could only bring you match analysis for two games, which were the following.

Sunderland 1 (Ji Dong-Wong) – 2 Chelsea (Terry, Sturridge)

GK: Cech

DR: Bosingwa DC: Ivanovic DC: Terry DL: A. Cole

CM: Ramires CM: Meireles CM: Lampard

RF: Sturridge FW: Anelka LF: Mata

Igor: Prior to this game Andres Villas-Boas was quoted saying “if Fernando Torres’ inability to score compromises the team, then he will be dropped.” Well today Torres found himself on the bench as Nicholas Anelka lead Chelsea’s attack with Daniel Sturridge joining him as he came back from his 3-game suspension. Mata was also given a starting debut and last minute signing Raul Meireles stepped into the holding midfielder role instead of Jon Obi Mikel.

Meireles is a fantastic signing for the Blues.

Dmitri: It was apparent right from the off that inclusion of the two new boys and re-emergence of Sturridge had a huge impact on Chelsea’s transition from defence to attack. Meireles is certainly a much more attack-orientated player but his skill and ability to keep and distribute the ball makes him a suitable holding midfielder. The Portuguese international has a lot more creativity and can provide goals and assists from that position, something that I feel Mikel cannot. It will be very interesting to see how the team is shuffled when Essien comes back, but from our prior analysis, I say drop Lampard.

This boy is brimming with talent.

Igor: One word that we have not been able to use when discussing Chelsea is flair – something which both Mata and Sturridge provide. The Spanish winger has sped Chelsea’s game up significantly; his silky skills, great vision and passing ability all resemble David Silva and will no doubt serve Chelsea well. He was also incredibly unlucky not to get a goal from the free kick that consequentially led to John Terry’s opening goal. Sturridge is another example of a more creative individual that certainly helps to give the Blues something a little different to their stagnant approach we have witnessed recently. His back-heel goal says it all really, full of confidence, brimming with talent and plenty more time to grow and mature into one of Chelsea’s best players.

Dmitri: We saw the introduction of Malouda, Torres and Romeu as the 3 substitutes, with Malouda being the only one that contributed significantly. Torres continued to his goal drought while Romeu didn’t really have time to become an influence in the game, but it was nice to see the young lad make his debut.

Igor: When Sunderland scored Chelsea began to panic and momentum shifted very quickly back to the home side, who were absolutely terrible all the way up to the 90^th minute. The point is that with such experienced players, Chelsea should be able to control situations like that much better – it seems that considering the age and wisdom, the Blues’ composure is still not quite up to scratch, but perhaps that’s rust that needs to still be shaken off.

Star player:

Igor: Juan Mata was involved in all of Chelsea’s transition play and his free kick was the catalyst to the first goal, a kind of third-party assist if you will. I think there’s plenty of opportunity for the Spaniard to become a star man in Chelsea’s squad.

Dmitri: Ashley Cole had a brilliant game; almost all of Chelsea’s threat came from the left wing as the veteran defender partnered with Juan Mata. The left wing should get star player as far as I’m concerned!

Bolton 0 - 5 Manchester United (Hernandez x2 & Rooney x3)

GK: De Gea

DR: Jones DC: Ferdinand DC: Evans DL: Evra

RM: Nani CM: Cleverly CM: Anderson LM: Young

ST: Hernandez FW: Rooney

Igor: The score line suggests that international week certainly didn’t break United’s stride after an incredible performance against Arsenal. Continuing on exactly as they left off, Wayne Rooney bagged another hat trick while Javier Hernandez made his first start since coming back from concussion and bagging a well-deserved brace. The Red Devils looked pretty much unstoppable and if not for the unfortunate injury to Cleverly (broken foot), there would have been no negatives to come out of this game.

De Gea's confidence is growing.

Dmitri: David De Gea’s confidence is clearly growing and a strong showing between the sticks will no doubt but benefit the young keeper. There has been a little bit of debate in the papers whether Sir Alex was going to drop the Spaniard, but his inclusion suggested his manager’s backing. This was repaid with a few decent saves, impressive distribution that at one point cleared Hernandez into a 1-on-1 and a couple of strong showings in the air (a clear weak point in the past few games for De Gea). Overall, I was impressed with what I saw from him.

Igor: Everything Rooney touches continues to turn to gold. 6 goals in 2 games, that’s not bad is it? There are so many things you can say about this wonderful player, but his composure, work ethic and clinical finishing stood out for me – he really is in the form of his life.

Dmitri: Kevin Davies breaking Cleverly’s foot is a frustrating blow for United. Sir Alex I’m sure will be very upset but that’s where United’s strength in depth comes into play. Michael Carrick replaced the youngster and put in a great shift, which all United fans know he can do. I wish Cleverly the speediest of recoveries and look forward to seeing him play as soon as possible.

Igor: Ashley Young had a relatively quiet game considering his explosive start to the season. We didn’t really see much of the English winger and Nani seemed to have the bulk of the chances off the wing. Nevertheless, United’s two wide-men continue to cause serious problems for any defence and it was obvious Bolton just couldn’t handle the ruthless efficiency that is Manchester United.

Star Player:

Igor: Wayne Rooney for me, another perfect day with 3 more goals, such tremendous form.

Jones is quite strange looking, but boy can he play football.

Dmitri: Phil Jones had a terrific game at right back – it seem Sir Alex is fond of playing his new centre backs in the right back roll to perhaps try and install versatility into their games, but it’s clear that both Jones and Smalling can put in terrific shifts in the aforementioned position. A beautiful cross to set up 1 goal and a fantastic run to set up another made Jones’s performance stand-out for me.