When the team was announced in Florence I wasn't saddened by his absence as much as surprised by his replacement. Don't get me wrong, I adore Aurelio. His left foot, his wisdom, his 'been hit on the back of the head with a spade' look and, of course, his Old Trafford goal (the only goal against them that I've never celebrated. I was too busy staring open-mouthed at what I'd witnessed) will always earn a special place in my heart but a central midfielder? Against an Italian team? Yes, I know he's played there before, noticeably against Portsmouth last season where he was superb but what makes a manager see a left back every day and think 'Aha! A central midfielder!' We missed Mascherano in Italy and we missed a sense of urgency, not for the first time. You never realised what you have until it's gone. Course, Lucas will get the blame eventually so that's okay.
What we lacked in Italy we gained in West London. We were lucky on Tuesday as they settled for 2-0 while on Sunday we were better but unlucky. We came for a point and Masch was fantastic up until he lost the ball. It was clear where the intention lay. Soak up what you can and then rely on Torres and Gerrard. Up until the goal the back nine did their jobs but Gerrard was silent and Torres spent his time scowling at either the referee (awful again) or his feet once his chances had come and gone. The margins in those games are tiny and it was that slight error that gave them the game.
I sometimes wonder what Chelsea fans make of these encounters. They're normally pretty happy obviously but what do they make of Drogba. This is an unpopular view but I think he's the best striker in Europe on his day as I haven't seen a player beat Liverpool on his own as he did last April. He's got the lot but he also has his own players rolling their eyes when he goes down. It's not that he does it so much as that he doesn't need to do it all. I'd like to think that somewhere a Chelsea fan winced when he called Skrtel a cheat but optimism has got me into trouble more than once. There's always a sense of hypocrisy about these things. For example, Owen's glorious goal against Argentina overshadowed the dive he made for the penalty beforehand but to see your best striker do it every game and all over the pitch must be a little distressing. No, I'm probably being optimistic again.
So, three defeats in our first eight league games. I still believe in the League as United have lost to Burnley and Chelsea to Wigan - hardly expected tricky games. However, the League would have to be a poor one for us to dominate it now. Hopefully a week off and a return to form (and luck) will see us through before the truly big game of the season. Overly optimistic again? Well maybe, but as Churchill said 'a pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. I'm not sure which party I belong to at the moment.