Victory for the Pragmatists

The two standout matches in the big European leagues on Sunday were Chelsea's encounter with Arsenal and Roma's visit to Fiorentina.

In both games, pragmatism triumphed over style. Didier Drogba, so often Arsenal's tormentor, scored two first-half goals to earn Chelsea a 2-0 win, while Roma struck late through Mirko Vucunic to win 1-0 in Florence.

At Stamford Bridge, it was a case of same old Arsenal. They weaved pretty patterns, playing in Chelsea's half of the pitch and dominated much of the possession. But their susceptibility at set-pieces saw Drogba put Chelsea into an 8th minute lead, and after dominating the next phase of the match, they were undone by a swift counterattack.

Chelsea were then able to sit back and soak up the pressure, with John Terry and co outstanding at the back. Chelsea are managed by an Italian, Carlo Ancelotti, and this performance reinforced the national stereotype of strong defending and an ability to close out games.

Ancelotti's countryman Claudio Ranieri has been criticized in some quarters for taking the element of fantasy out of Roma's game since replacing Luciano Spalletti at the beginning of the season. But it has garnered results, and Roma are now into a season high second place off the back of this result. The soccer may not have been expansive, but Philippe Mexes and his comrades excelled in defense, repelling everything a dominant Fiorentina had to throw at them.

And let's make no mistake about this, La Viola threw the kitchen sink at the visitors, but were caught by a sucker punch when they left the Montenegrin Vucinic on his own in the penalty area to hammer the ball home on 82 minutes.

Vucinic's international team-mate, the outrageously talented Steven Jovetic, admitted his Fiorentina side would have preferred to play worse and win. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger will no doubt be feeling the same way on a day where ruthlessness and some streetwise defending proved the difference. Complimenti to Messrs Ancelotti and Ranieri.

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