the Copa America, while the Blues' rivals all had
star men heavily involved in the draining
tournament in Chile
COMMENT By Greg Stobart Follow on
Even before a ball had been kicked in the Copa
America, Arsene Wenger expressed his concern
that an already exhausted Alexis Sanchez would
miss the start of the Premier League season.
Having watched his star man play 525 minutes in
the tournament - converting the winning penalty
for hosts Chile against Argentina - Wenger's fears
will not be allayed.
Alexis will need at least a few weeks off before
returning to England. The 26-year-old will be away
for most of the Gunners’ pre-season preparations
ahead of a campaign that start a week earlier than
usual on August 8.
And Arsenal are not the only title challengers that
will be affected by the tournament. In fact, the
Copa America may play straight into Chelsea's
hands.
Manchester City had four players in Chile - Sergio
Aguero, Pablo Zabaleta and Martin Demichelis with
Argentina and Brazilian Fernandinho.
The three Argentines, who between them clocked
up 1,166 minutes at the Copa America, have just
one month to recover physically and mentally from
the crushing blow of missing out on the trophy via
penalties - their second defeat in a final in under a
year.
Angel Di Maria, meanwhile, is in desperate need of
a full pre-season at Manchester United after his
dreadful first year at Old Trafford. Hoever, he
played 469 minutes in the tournament, including
the sensational performance in the thumping 6-1
victory over Paraguay in the semi-final, and limped
out of Saturday's clash with a hamstring injury.
Even a minor strain could disrupt his preparations
more than anticipated.
His United team-mate, Marcos Rojo, played in
every minute of Argentina's run to the final and
has had his own fitness issues since moving to
Old Trafford.
Away from the Premier League, Lionel Messi may
also be feeling the strain.
Like Rojo, Messi played every minute for Argentina
but was unable to inspire them to the title in the
same way that he led Barcelona to the treble last
season.
Unsurprisingly, he completed more dribbles than
any other player and was the most-fouled man in
the tournament, and Barcelona could fear a level of
fatigue when he returns.
But Jose Mourinho has no such worries about his
star men as Chelsea plot their title defence.
Willian and Filipe Luis featured for Brazil but their
tournament ended early with a penalty shoot-out
defeat to Paraguay, while Colombians Juan
Cuadrado and new signing Radamel Falcao are no
more than squad players at Stamford Bridge.
No player made more tackles in the Copa America
than the 20 made by Cuadrado, so Mourinho might
actually be pleased to see some of his players get
some important game time.
Mourinho's key players - the likes of Eden Hazard,
Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa - will be fully
rested and ready to repeat the flying start they
made last season when they flew out of the traps
and never looked back.
Arsene Wenger and Manuel Pellegrini are unable to
say the same. Wenger admitted that Alexis played
in the ‘red zone’ for much of last season, risking
injury and lacking the sharpness to maintain the
astonishing standard he set in the first half of the
season.
On the back of tournaments in the last two
summers, Arsenal know that they have to be
careful with Alexis, and they will have to hope that
they have enough to keep pace with the leaders
without their star man as they target a genuine
title challenge.
The most pressing concern for City will be that
Aguero is fresh for the start of the new season
given his history of picking up muscle problems.
He is an explosive player who can struggle when
not at his phyisical peak and can take several
weeks to return to form after returning from injury.
Di Maria could be buoyed by his flashes of class in
Chile and return to Manchester with renewed
confidence, looking like the €75 million signing
United acquired last summer. Alternatively, his
exertions could see him continue to appear an
awkward stranger in Louis van Gaal's often rigid
set-up.
Barcelona have one or two concerns, too. Javier
Mascherano, who has emerged from the last two
international tournaments as an Argentine hero,
saw 557 minutes of action at the heart of the
battle, and, even if Gerard Pique and Jeremy
Mathieu continue at centre-back, the Catalans are
unable to sign anybody to lighten the load this
summer.
The same goes for, Messi, who has returned to his
very best at club level in 2015 and has always
shone for Barca, even if not quite reaching the
same level for the national side. But with Neymar
having been sent home early thanks to his red
card and subsequent suspension, and Luis Suarez,
who did not start last season until October and
missed the Copa altogether thanks to his Fifa
biting ban, ready to go from the very start this time
around, Barca may not have too much to worry
about.
The same cannot be said when it comes to Alexis,
Aguero and Di Maria - and that could boost
Chelsea’s prospects of retaining the Premier
League title before a ball has been kicked.
No comments:
Post a Comment