Honours split in the six-goal Merseyside Derby

There is never disappointment in the Merseyside Derby. With Everton being rock solid at the back lately and Liverpool finding renewed hope in the SAS partnership, the clash was destined to be colourful and mind-blowing.

The usually fierce derby did not produce the first blood until the half an hour mark. Kevin Mirallas' reckless stud-first tackle on the already-limping Luis Suarez would have sent him for an early bath, but Phil Dowd took exceptionally long time to decide a booking was sufficient to suppress the temper.

Before that, Tim Howard was already beaten twice. Philippe Coutinho smartly escaped the defence and met Steven Gerrard's corner at the back post. The Brazilian calmly flicked it past Howard, who could have made himself bigger but did not react quickly enough.

Liverpool's second goal further undermined the creditability of the American goalkeeper. Howard instructed a 4-man wall to protect a freekick from outside 30 yards, while room was left between Steven Pienaar and the wall. It was as if a mental game played by Howard to challenge Suarez to beat him through the gap. Suarez accepted the challenge and completed the task, despite Steven Pienaar's attempt to narrow the gap. Whether Pienaar should have been part of a 5-man wall instead, Howard would have a lot to explain to Roberto Martinez.

In between, Kevin Mirallas managed to find his first goal of the season. Liverpool could not deal with Leighton Baines' freekick cleanly and Simon Mignolet was beaten in close range by compatriot Mirallas. The winger looked active especially with Liverpool fielding young John Flanagan at left back, who more often plays on the opposite flank.  The Belgian, though, further irritated Liverpool fans in the second half when he elbowed Jordan Henderson in a header contest but escaped a second booking.

As Daniel Sturridge was only fit to make the bench, and with Coutinho and Glen Johnson only just back from injury, Suarez was the only threat in Liverpool's frontline. Sylvain Distin and Phil Jagielka looked well prepared for the Uruguayan. When Suarez finally managed to beat the defence, with the help of the opponents, Joe Allen infamously put it wide, with only Tim Howard between himself and the goal. The Welsh's woeful Liverpool career continues.

Lukaku hit the brace against Mignolet

An accidental step by Henderson on Baines' right foot forced the dead-ball specialist to depart shortly after the interval. Still, Everton had no problems in mastering possession at home. Deulofeu was introduced to enrich their attacking options, with Barry dropping to left back. The energy on the Everton side seemed to have enlightened Romelu Lukaku.

The on-loan striker was far from his best for most of the afternoon, even with Kolo Toure and Mamadou Sakho only on the bench. When given the opportunity, the young Lukaku was able to deliver and once again he proved, maybe to Jose Mourinho in particular, himself to be a prolific striker in the Premier League.

In contrast to Howard, Mignolet had an outstanding afternoon. Ross Barkley's cunning shot towards the bottom corner in the first half could not trouble the Belgian keeper. Both Deulofeu and Lukaku also could not get the better of Mignolet in one-on-one situation. When Lukaku's deflected freekick was one again being parried out, it seems to suggest this is not the day for Everton.

Sturridge came to rescue

Persistence finally paid off. Shortly after Lukaku's freekick being saved, Everton reorganised the big Belgian calmly placed the shot past Mignolet near the penalty spot to equalise at 2-2. 10 minutes later, just as Roberto Martinez was ready to consolidate the defence by introducing John Stones, the fans ruptured into celebrations when Lukaku's header brought them the lead for the first time in the afternoon.

Martinez had overturned his Merseyside Derby debut from disastrous to delightful, but Daniel Sturridge came off the bench to deny the Spanish manager a winning one. The English striker converted captain Gerrard's freekick to conclude the eventful derby. It might be a bit disappointing to the home fans but they would be content with the results after trailing twice. On the other hand, Brendan Rodgers would count themselves very lucky. Being the second best, SAS has preserved Liverpool second position in the Premier League table. 

Does A.C. Milan have what it takes to bounce back?

Allegri banks his hope on Kaka

Reform is often painful, particularly when revolutionary changes are to be made to a historically successful empire. 18 times Serie A winner AC Milan decided to withdraw their veterans policy a couple of years ago and started to rebuild. It did not appear to be a tough transition when they finished 2nd and 3rd last two seasons. But parted away with the very last piece of Golden Age puzzle --- Massimo Ambrosini, Milan seems to have lost identity and is already 19 points behind league leader Roma only 12 games into the season. Frustration is surfacing in San Siro. Although coach Massimiliano Allegri is not the one being targeted, his job security still remains in doubt.

The art of managing a football team could be as complicated as rocket science. The problem with Milan, though, is fundamental  --- they don't score enough. Unavoidably, the blame will be on Mario Balotelli. "Super Mario" has single-handedly rescued Milan's season last year but has yet to hit his top form. Despite Allegri's reluctance to admit, Balotelli is indispensable to Milan, being their main source of goals, something that Alessandro Matri and Giampaolo Pazzini will not be able to replicate individually.

It is not as if Milan is completely a one-man team. Before the arrival of Balotelli, Stephan El Shaarawy quickly emerged as the star striker, but then followed by a rapid drop in form, suggesting he is yet to be physically ready for the full season of Serie A football. Robinho is another talented attacker who would form a good partnership with Balotelli, but the Brazilian has been hit by injuries, while rumours about his return to Santos do not help either.

Having not possessed adequate assets, Adriano Galliani decided against paying an insignificant transfer fees to get Keisuke Honda five months earlier than planned. Selling Kevin-Prince Boateng, who had been featured regularly in Allegri's team, is also questionable, although it could be a decision based on discipline problems. Missing out on two younger guns, Galliani has instead brought back a familiar face from Real Madrid --- Kaka. 

He knows San Siro well enough; he has the motivation to break into Scolari's squad for next year World Cup; and he is only 31, having only played about 20 games each season with Real Madrid. He certainly still has something left in the tank. This might be the fair justification of Galliani's refusal to bring in Honda earlier.

Nevertheless, it is quite a different team to the one Kaka played with in his first spell with Rossoneri. Carlo Anchelotti, a midfielder himself in his career, believes in possession football and utilised a balanced 5-man midfield to support lone striker Andrei Shevchenko. With the like of Gattuso and Ambrosini offering defensive support, the transformed Andrea Pirlo to link up plays as an anchorman, also the skills of Clarence Seedorf and Rui Costa to dictate the tempo, Kaka was able to shine in the no.10 position at the age of 21.

Those were the days

With Allegri taking charge, the Rossoneri is playing at much quicker pace than Anchelotti's era. Players of high efficiency, like Muntari, Emanuelson, Nocerino and De Jong are at the front of pecking order. Although it remains as a 5-man midfield formation, Kaka finds himself having to chase around the ball much more than he likes to, as Allegri expects his midfield to roam forward when possible and cover for each other in defence. Clearly, Kaka does not quite fit into his system. No wonder, Boateng, who is not a typical creative playmaker but more a trequartista, had been Milan's no. 10 in the past two years.  

When you cannot score, gradually the pressure on the defence grows. Philippe Mexes, their most capable leader,  is far from composed and has a long history of temperament issues. Long term servant Ignazio Abate and Christian Abbiati coincidently are suffering from a dip in form. Ultimately the defence buckles, but Allegri has little options on the bench to restore the order. French centreback Adil Rami may be the saviour, if he does not trouble the club like what he did to Valencia.

Amidst the misery, there are still some positives to take. Allegri has a lot of exciting youngsters awaiting for opportunities to break into first-team. Left back Kevin Constant is already a regular in the absence of Mattia De Sciglio. Although still error-prone in defence, his energy and potential are highly rated. Midfielders Bryan Cristante and Riccardo Saponara have both impressed in the limited playing time.

There are high hopes on Honda even before his arrival

Help is on the way, as De Sciglio and El Shaarawy is close to full recovery, though the latter is likely to be on the way out, also with Rami and Honda joining, together with the experience and quality of the squad, if Allegri can keep the team motivated, formulate the formation that best executes his preferred style of play and get all cylinders firing, it remains optimistic that Milan could be back in the race.

Is it finally the year for the Gunners?

The last time they mentioned about winning silverware in 2011, Laurent Koscielny comically gave it away to the relegated Birmingham at Wembley. 10 gameweeks have past, Arsenal finds themselves at the top of the table, convincingly leading co-2nd place Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham by 5 points. Nevertheless, the Gunners have been relatively cautious in all discussions about "title hopes" so far. There are solid reasons behind this, that also drive BBC Match of the Day pundits Alan Shearer and Danny Murphy playing down their chance of topping the table next May.

The recent pain may finally be relieved

Arsenal have not had much troubles in beating weaker teams usually. Strong performance in the second half of the season has fuelled them to finish among the top four consistently in recent years. What Arsene Wenger and the team have improved further this year is the stability of the squad early in the season. late August departures of key players like Cesc Fabregas, Robin Van Persie, Samir Nasri and Alex Song had unsettled the balance of the team. More often than not, they were out of the title race by October.

The opening day defeat against Aston Villa seems to resemble the misery, but Wenger admirably led the team to win 8 of the next 9 league matches. Deadline acquisition Mehmet Ozil has already established as a key figure in North London, bagging 2 goals and 4 assists in his brief two months spell.   

They have not looked back since the opening day defeat

What Arsenal has yet to demonstrate is the quality and characters to beat the top teams. The visiting Tottenham and Liverpool were overpowered, with the former was more concerned about the transfer window and the latter was tactically outperformed for 45 minutes, but undoubtedly, getting the better of Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea is the key to winning the league.

Flamini the X-factor

It would be harsh to rule them out any chance in beating the trio, but one thing for sure is they need a healthy Mathieu Flamini. There are plenty of talents and creativity in those midfields that without a tireless warrior like the Frenchman, Arsenal looks incapable to protect the back, let alone winning possession to allow their playmakers to take charge. Their recent defeats against Dortmund in Champions League and Chelsea in Capital One Cup, playing without the injured Flamini, have proved the point.

The depth of the squad is also an uncertainty. Flamini might be the only defensive midfielder in the first team. His fellow Olivier Giroud has also growingly become irreplaceable. The in-form striker is a rare big man who enjoys success as a Arsenal striker. The concern for Wenger would be the lack of reliable substitute on the bench.

While resources in attacking midfield are more than sufficient, those on the defensive end are scarce. Carl Jenkinson is a promising youngster who could provide some cover for Bacary Sagna, but only out-of-form Thomas Vermaelen is available to back-up Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny. The likelihood they could survive from injury problems in the next 7 months is very limited. January addition is almost inevitable.

A good start is vital to success. After a brilliant three months time, the real challenge has arrived, with Manchester United, Southampton, Everton, Manchester City, and Chelsea all lined up before Christmas. If Wenger can convert the enormous confidence of the players at present into critical victories in the next few weeks, the title talk might finally become realistic after eight years of drought.   

How Moyes can get United back on to the winning track

"The higher you climb, the colder you get". By now, David Moyes should have a full appreciation of this phrase. 11 points from 8 matches is decent, but not good enough at Manchester. Instead, success are measured by how the team shows the capability to challenge for silverwares.  

Moyes might be yet to adapt to the life with mid-week fixtures and international duties. It is not the intensive training which could get the best out of the squad, but is managing the playing time of the players. Although Sir Alex was not as a fervent advocate as Rafa Benitez towards squad rotation, it was indeed a key component for the legendary manager’s success at the Theatre of Dreams.

Moyes demonstrated how to operate with limited budget and resources. Nevertheless, despite enjoying a much better squad depth now, the former Everton manager believes he needs better squad to win the Champions League. The worrying sign for United fans is that their manager seems to be far from understanding his players well enough.

Don’t concede if you don’t want to lose

Fielding the aging Vidic and Ferdinand for 6 consecutive matches within 35 days was astonishing and reckless. Maybe Moyes was still indulged in the Jagielka-Distin partnership who played week in week out for Everton. With Rafael injured, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling was deputised at right back, though both, who are natural centrebacks, were horrid at times.

Fabio might be still too raw, but Antonio Valencia, who was used occasionally at right back by Sir Alex, was not even considered to replace Phil Jones who limped off at Anfield. If this resulted in Vidic and Ferdinand clocking up so many minutes, it is inexcusable --- Moyes just do not know his players well enough.  Johnny Evans and Rafael has now returned from injury, but the damage has already been done. Two clean sheets in eight games is not the standard of a champion.  

Score if you want to win

There is little doubt that Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney are the first-choice strikers. Nonetheless, Chicharito, who scored numerous important goals last season, is limited to only three appearances (one start) this season.

Praying for his chance to come

Moyes has to give Rooney playing time to persuade him in a new deal and you can hardly bench a fit van Persie. However, with Danny Welbeck preferred on the flank, you would assume the Mexican finisher could manage more game time than he had.

Van Persie is a lethal centre forward but he could also be deployed as a no.10 with his exquisite ball control and neat passes. At times when Rooney was out of action with his horrendous scar, Moyes decided against the above idea and chose to field Giggs or Ashley Young in support, leaving Chicharito out in the cold.

Shinji Kagawa was not in scintillating form so far and was taken off at half time against West Brom – a blunt indication of the manager’s dissatisfaction; yet that was more because he was played out of position. Kagawa was occupied with the Confederations Cup and may not have many opportunities to impress Moyes, but if Moyes continues to overlook Kagawa, a player Sir Alex has rated above Chelsea’s Eden Hazard, he would be missing out on a potentially deadly striker partnership that brought Dortmund back into the spotlight (Kagawa-Lewandowski).

Youth Development

Nurturing young talents has been pivotal in United’s success throughout the years. Moyes appears to be following the tradition by promoting Adnan Januzaj, who did not disappoint him with the brace at Sunderland. If Moyes could help keep the prodigy on his feet then he has every chance of becoming a second Cristiano Ronaldo.

What about Wilfried Zaha, though? The England international has yet to make a league appearance for United this season and could only join Kagawa, Hernandez and Valencia as regular bench-warmers. While the other three could easily find suitors if they intend to, Zaha, at 20 years of age, will struggle to be recognized with his limited top-flight experience.

Moyes recently implied that Zaha is not ready for Manchester United yet and is looking to send him  on loan, making Zaha potentially becoming the most expensive player Sir Alex brought in to be loaned out. Instead, offloading Ashley Young seems to be a more reasonable option. High wages, poor form and cynical dives have already put the winger on the unpopular list, both in and out of the club.

Let’s hope the biased treatment between Zaha and Januzaj is not because of the former’s rumored love affair with Moyes’ daughter.

When will Zaha be featured?

Sir Alex revealed his eight core beliefs that was behind his managerial success earlier and his successor should read it if he hasn’t. In particular, Moyes needs to dare to rebuild his team. Some might argue Ferguson quitted his job in the best time, because the current crop has peaked. It is true in a way as van Persie turned 30, Vidic and Ferdinand looked only half of their best and Rooney was contemplating his future.

On the other hand, with his affection towards the Red Devils, Ferguson always possesses the long term vision despite having retirement in mind. Promotion of Welbeck, Cleverley, Rafael, so as acquiring Smalling, Phil Jones and Zaha have already helped equip Moyes with a balanced age groups in the squad.  Senior like Ryan Giggs would be of great help in addressing authority and garnering support, while the younger generation might provide elements of surprise during this rebuild through the managerial transition period.

Alex Ferguson has a glorious spell of 27 years with Manchester United, but it was not catalysed by one single winning formula. If David Moyes is to steer United back on the right track, he must forget about his sweet memories at Goodison Park and adapt to the new managerial environment  he is currently at.