Ras' Football World

I would call the result early this morning as a get out of jail result. Encounters between Manchester United and Villareal in the Champions League have all ended in 0-0 draws and I remember in every match, we have found it tough to break them down and score. We played each other as recently as last season’s Europa League final which also ended as a draw. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljTZtMDSVig Great Villareal Performance Manchester United got off to a strong, purposeful start, trying to press high and playing with energy but slowly that faded. Villareal started carving us open and created chance after chance denied time and again by David De Gea. The performance was reminiscent of that on Saturday against Aston Villa. In possession, as usual, we looked clueless on how to get past the organised Villareal team. In possession, Villareal was everything United were not, neat, tidy, attacking with pace and verve. Before recording my latest episode on my podcast show, Back Passt With ...

It feels like Inter are cursed to struggle and score goals in the Champions League. Two games played and 0 goals scored but yet are the top scorers in Serie A. Another game against Shakhtar Donestk and another goalless draw. To be honest, it's more our doing than a curse. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-xT_xg7mfE Difference Between This Season & Last The difference between this match and the two matches we played last season was that Shakhtar played better this morning compared to last season. They passed the ball better, kept possession longer and threatened more. They had good technical and fast players and made good use of them. Roberto De Zerbi used his in-depth knowledge of Inter to set his team up tactically to dominate us. Poor Performance From Inter Inter played better in the first half than we did in the second but overall, a poor performance. In the second half, we struggled to keep possession, hardly mustered anything going forward and couldn’t pass the bal...

I have finally got around to writing this. Inter and Atalanta played out a breath-taking match, full of drama and incidents at the San Siro on Saturday. It was a good thing that after the match I went to sleep as I was left breathless and needed to lie down. Inter Start On Top The match ebbed and flowed. Inter started the match very well and should have been at least 2-0 up had we been clinical. Instead, we were only one goal in the lead and it was a great goal too. A great assist by Nicolo Barella and a fantastic volley by Lautaro Martinez. In this moment of ascendancy, we lacked a bit of precision with our finishing and touches in the final third. Atalanta Gains Control Atalanta grew into the game, had some half-chances but never really threatened our goal until Ruslan Malinovskiy unleashed a typical howitzer. There was nothing any goalkeeper in the world could have done to stop that. I was disappointed with the defence because it’s no surprise what Malinovskiy is capable of bu...

If this morning’s Fiorentina vs Inter was played at the back end of the season, it would bode well for Inter in terms of their quest of retaining the Scudetto and adding a second star to their crest. Nevertheless, it was a strong response from a poor first-half. Over the seasons, we have seen Juventus respond in similar clinical and strong fashion when they are losing or not playing well. I have just looked on in envy and respect but this morning, my team showed similar resolve and quality and I feel proud. Off The Pace In The First Half Inter was struggling to get to grips with Fiorentina in the first-half. Fiorentina pressed us aggressively high up the pitch, they were sharp, moved well with pace and passed the ball quickly. The tactic of pressing us high so that we are not able to build moves from the back and our midfielders don’t have time on the ball was used with varied success previously by Hellas Verona and Sampdoria as well. The pace of our game played into Fiorentina’s str...

It was a dramatic and breathless night for Manchester United fans; night for those of us living in Asia. The Olympic Stadium in London has witnessed some bad days for United, the best memory I have of United playing against West Ham in that stadium is the 2-0 win in Jose Mourinho’s first season at United, 2016-17. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhKVqNZ-HCA United Dominance I felt United dominated the game which is not something we can say often of our matches played there. Even in the 3-1 win last season, it was exaggerated as West Ham was on top in the game but we had a period of 10-15 minutes where we were clinical. United had a lot of possession but space was a premium as West Ham sat back in numbers and made it tough for us to penetrate. However, unlike other matches where we have faced a low block, I felt United navigated it well with some good off-the-ball movement and runs to the byline. We created a lot of chances but Kurt Zouma and Angelo Ogbonna were immense in West Ham’...

Inter responded very well to a couple of disappointing results with a 6-1 thrashing of an in-form Bologna. However, it was far from easy in the early parts of the match. Strong Start By Bologna I felt Bologna started well and played with confidence. They moved the ball around well with authority without threatening our goal too much but were looking to penetrate our defence while we were misplacing some of our passes and when in the Bologna half, our passes went sideways more than forward. We were excited to see the partnership of Joaquin Correa and Lautaro Martinez but we hardly saw any combination from both players. Clinical Inter The difference between this game and the ones against Sampdoria and Real Madrid was that we were ruthless and clinical in front of goal. We scored from our first chance and first shot on goal. Milan Skriniar made it 2-0 after missing from good positions in the last two matches. Bologna was still in the game up until 2-0. We killed them off at 3-0 and ...

 It’s nice to qualify for the Champions League; the prestige and honour of being the best or one of the best four teams in your country playing amongst others of equal standing. Then there are the memories of glorious Champions League nights of the past as well. For the club, it is financially beneficial if a club is involved in the Champions League as well. After a long period of absence, Inter has been qualifying for the Champions League for the past three seasons now but have disappointingly exited the tournament in the group stage in all three seasons. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFKNJiTSBTE Another Defeat To Real Madrid We started this campaign against Real Madrid as champions of Italy at home in the San Siro. The last time we played them at the same venue, we were beaten and outplayed with 10 men for large periods of the game. Like in that match, I felt Real Madrid was no longer the power that they were and can be beaten. They had experience on their side from having ...

It appears Cristiano Ronaldo or no Cristiano Ronaldo, the Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde Manchester United refuses to go away. We slumped to our first defeat in the season in our maiden Champions League match this season. You can’t win them all and at some point during the season, a team will lose, a fact that I can accept. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6IxCiumYYk Great Start We got off to a great start early in the game when Cristiano Ronaldo converted a great assist from Bruno Fernandes; it was our first real attempt on goal. On a counter-attack after scoring the first goal, Ronaldo nearly made it 2-0. That was as good as it got for us in an attacking sense. We had a shout at a penalty in the second half when Ronaldo raced clear of the Young Boys defender, Ali Camara appeared to nudge him in his back. Turning Point The turning point in the game came in the 35 th minute of the match when Aaron Wan-Bissaka was sent off. I will not criticise Wan-Bissaka for getting sent off as he made a genui...

 The last time Inter lost in Serie A before they secured their 19 th Scudetto was against Sampdoria at the Luigi Ferraris. It was a highly frustrating match as Inter missed several chances including a penalty and conceded twice on the counter-attack. Inter made a return there in the early game on Sunday. Dimarco Smashes One In The Top Corner It wasn’t the perfect performance as Sampdoria hounded our midfielders which resulted in erratic and erroneous passing.  We were fortunate to take the lead as we were awarded a soft free-kick. Federico Dimarco didn’t turn down the gift and thundered in a superb free-kick. Before that goal and after it, we carried little threat going forward. Lautaro Martinez had a decent chance that was saved by Emil Audero after Inter had scored. Fortune Favours Sampdoria Sampdoria got a fortunate equaliser too although you can argue that we should have done better in dealing with the corner that led to Maya Yoshida’s goal. The fortune part was tha...

 It was a dream come true, the return of a legend after 12 years, returning to the club that developed him into becoming one of the greatest of all time. The player in question, Cristiano Ronaldo and the club, Manchester United - no big surprise there. It has created a major buzz among United fans worldwide and every one of United persuasion was waiting for 11 th September 3 pm (UK time) for his first official steps back onto the hallowed turf of Old Trafford in the red jersey of Manchester United. Cantona 1995-Ronaldo 2021 Leading to that moment, my mind raced back in time to think if I ever remember a moment like this. The first thing that came to mind was Eric Cantona’s return against Liverpool in 1995 after serving his suspension for kicking a fan. Like that day in October 1995, Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Old Trafford and scored. While Cantona’s goal that day was crucial to seal a 2-2 draw, Ronaldo opened the scoring against Newcastle and scored a second goal at a crucial...