Let's not write off Chelsea and Liverpool. They'll bounce back

Two examples of highly energetic and fit squads getting one over their counterparts were seen in the Barclays Premier League on Sunday. If there was one thing that Tottenham Hotspurs and Manchester United got right were the tactics and the squads. Of course, Manchester United ripped apart a Chelsea squad with their usual killer instinct in front of goal and the difference of youth and energy over their title rivals was too apparent at times. Andre Vilas Boas has his work cut out…not in the form of getting a tactical advantage over other teams, but in getting the best out of an outrageously talented squad. Frank Lampard needs dropping down the pecking order where midfield is concerned. Only Ramires and Juan Mata looked exciting in the middle of the park, and the manager did well in replacing the normally inventive Lampard and getting Anelka on. If their new Spanish signing is to play through the centre, then Frankie needs to do more to stay in the team, especially with his habit of not being able to play with another similar player in midfield— in this case — Raul Meireles. If Chelsea had started with the squad they ended the match with, then the affairs would maybe have been a bit different. With Ramires protecting the defence line, Meireles and Mata playing a bit ahead and the trio of Sturridge, Anelka and Torres up front, Chelsea were more menacing. Liverpool learned the hard way how tactical juggling can backfire. With Dalglish suddenly asking his team to play with four men in the middle, it came as a bit of an extreme change for the players. Charlie Adam, not very apt at defensive duties showed that he can tackle like Scholes and King Kenny should have introduced a gradual change in tactics, rather than opt for a difficult away trip to White Hart Lane to do it. Meanwhile, Luka Modric seems to have finally come back to a ‘right frame of mind’ even though his screamer thankfully did not hit the frame of the goal and went in comfortably past the flailing arms of Pepe Reina. The Little Croat was controlling the pace of the game ala Zinedine Zidane and an early goal gave him such confidence that he steadily increased in stature for Spurs, passing the ball around in unnerving style. Liverpool surely needs a right back it seems, with Skrtel, even though successful in that part, clearly not being full back quality. With two defeats in a row, all those editorials about Liverpool finally turning a corner may just be proven wrong. [caption id=“attachment_87424” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Chelsea’s Daniel Sturridge (L) looks dangerous. Clive Brunskill/Getty Images”]  [/caption] Fernando Torres may have broken his duck in this year’s Premier League. That means two competitive goals in something like 30 appearances. Worse than Shevchenko. But I shall be the grateful man here, because even though strikers are measured by the number of goals they score, people tend to overlook the fact that his overall performance against the Red Devils was brilliant. He almost set up Ramires for an equaliser, zipped past two United defenders to fire wide in his usual silky style, scored what for me was a sensational finish and then swept past De Gea with such penchant only to end up with his head in his hands. I still think he is top class though and believe me, being a United fan and saying that is not easy. Fergie rested some players over the week, but had to be content without Rio Ferdinand, not that United missed him with Phil Jones fast establishing himself as my favourite United defender of all time. Anderson and Fletcher started off at breath-taking speed and thankfully Nani had a good day out. What excites me also is the ability to bring Valencia in at right back to cause havoc on the wings and muscle out small players in the defensive half. With Giggs, Carrick and Park still unused, United look like they have hit the perfect balance of two different starting XI’s, substitutes who can give quality back-up to them and a supply of talented youth who can chip in when required. Let me not write off Chelsea and Liverpool here. Both of them will bounce back and as a football lover, I hope they both stick to their managers for quite a few years. Lukaku looks dangerous and so does Sturridge. The only players under threat at the moment are Lampard and Drogba. Anelka is used to changing clubs and it will not matter too much at the end of the day. Right now, the only thing that matters to me, is Berbatov not doing a Torres in front of an open net, and Rooney not doing another Terry when he takes a crucial penalty.