Oh, to be a Chelsea fan now that winter’s here. When they play tough French outfit Paris St Germain in Champions League Group H at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, the scarf-and-Russian-hat wearing Blues brothers will be yawning with contentment.
I mean, they’re perfect, aren’t they? The job is done before they even kick off. They’re already through to the last 16 in Europe and coasting, while Premiership rivals Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool sweat it out for the last two rounds.
And how good is that, given that Chelsea are now comfortably top of the Premiership?
Those two thoroughly efficient wins over owner Roman Abramovich’s ‘sister clubâ€, CSKA Moscow, were just too good to be true, with no real effort in London and a missed penalty in Russia.
Like Juventus, Chelsea go in to game five of the Champions League with a perfect record. And while the Old Lady has scored a miserly four and conceded none in Group C, where they play faded Ajax Amsterdam on Tuesday night, Chelsea have scored nine and conceded one, sitting a huge eight points clear of CSKA and PSG.
And what of Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho’s former club Porto, the holders of the world’s most prestigious club trophy? Yup, there they are, rock bottom with two points and heading out of Europe. They’ll be lucky to get into the Uefa Cup (places are reserved only for third placed finishers) at this rate.
What a difference a year makes.
For Arsenal fans, it’s more a matter of what a difference a month makes. Nasty November is not a new concept at Highbury, where Gooners are accustomed to a dip in form before Christmas. Perhaps Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira take their shopping too seriously as the festive season approaches, or they are particularly susceptible to the onset of frost.
I know Arsenal have special machines at their training ground in Shenley to warm their clothes before training. But surely the onset of winter and a club full of foreigners can’t explain Arsenal’s slump.
Okay, they beat Spurs 5-4 at White Hart Lane last Saturday, but before that they drew with Southampton and Crystal Palace, lost to Manchester United and we all know how they’ve thrown away the lead in three successive Champions League games (Rosenborg and Panathinaikos twice).
Now that they’re off the top of the Premier and Champions League qualification is far from assured. The only place where they’re cruising is in the League Cup, where their third-string juniors have eased past Everton and Manchester City to earn a place in the quarterfinals.
And the League Cup just doesn’t cut it for spoilt Arsenal fans, who have waited so long — make that forever — for a real crack at the European Cup.
This week, it’s PSV Eindhoven, the only side Arsenal have managed to keep a lead against in the competition this season — and that was thanks to an Alex own goal, way back on September 14.
Away from home, PSV could be a tough proposition. That defeat at Highbury constitutes the Dutch club’s only blip this season — they’ve beaten Rosenborg twice and Panathinaikos since.
A win in The Netherlands and Arsenal are virtually through. Anything less and they could be struggling in Europe, which is how it has been for all seven years of Arsène Wenger’s otherwise imperious reign. I predict non-qualification for the Gunners — who will go on to win the Uefa Cup.
For Sir Alex Ferguson’s United there is a more comfortable scenario. They’re two points behind Lyon, who come to Old Trafford on Tuesday.
In France in September, United came back from 2-0 down to grab a point. You’ve got to fancy them for all three points and qualification at home.
International week threw up real problems for Liverpool. Their in-form Czech Republic striker Milan Baros tore a thigh muscle in Macedonia and is probably out for two months.
And that comes just days after the hat-trick against Crystal Palace, which had Baros saying: ‘I feel like I am back to the form I was in last summer when I was top scorer at Euro 2004.â€
Liverpool go to Monaco, who are third in Group A, just one point behind them. Olympiakos, who head Liverpool on goal difference, host struggling Spaniards Deportivo la Coruna.