Ageing Like A Fine Wine: Aritz Aduriz Style

Midweek, 35 year old Aritz Aduriz scored one of the memorable goals in the Europa League. In this day an age, football relies on pace and power, normally associated with youth, but the Basque striker joins an elite club of players that effectively get better with age.

The Bilbao front man has been on fire for his club, scoring 88 goals in 121 games since he rejoined the Basque side from Valencia in 2012. That is quite a tremendous record for any striker. Aduriz is a poacher, not so much playing off the shoulder of the last defender, but more in terms only taking one touch to score. However he is partial to the odd spectacular goal, scoring a bicycle kick against Eibar in January.

This season, Aduriz has netted on 26 occasions, one behind the best player in the world, Lionel Messi and three more than Messi's partner in crime, Neymar. Admittedly though, both Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Suarez are streets ahead in the goal scoring charts. Aduriz leads the charts when compared to any of the Barclays Premier League top scorers with Romelu Lukaku on 20 goals in all competitions and Jamie Vardy and Harry Kane on 19 goals. Surely there would have been a few Premier League sides that could have needed him this season?

Rather surprisingly, Aduriz has been scoring goals at a steady rate throughout his career. Playing at Valencia, Vallodolid and Mallorca, he has scored 27, 22 and 24 goals at each club respectively, not too bad when you consider the talent he was up against. With 26 goals so far and about a third of the season remaining, you wouldn't bet against him reaching 30 goals for the season.

Looking towards the Euros, he has certainly done his chances no harm in claiming a spot in France. In previous seasons, Aduriz has been faced with fierce competition, Fernando Torres, Fernando Morientes, Diego Costa and Alvaro Morata to name a few. His style of play wouldn't have resembled something which Vicente Del Bosque's Spain would have suited, favouring a more agile false nine, rather than the strong frame which Aduriz provides.

Based on form, he has to go, particularly as he has outscored Del Bosque's favoured trio combined of Paco Alcacer, Alvaro Morata and Diego Costa, falling four short of Aduriz' benchmark. There will be severe pressure put on Del Bosque by the Spanish media to select him and rightly so but he has been speaking highly of Aduriz's form so a call up is looking likely. He has represented Spain before, just once back in 2010 as replacing Fernando Llorente in the 77th minute of a Euro 2012 qualifier. While it won't be a debut in the Euros, it'll certainly feel like it.

His only honour as a player to date has been the Super Cup win against Barcelona in August 2015, but even then he scored a hat trick in a simply terrific performance against last season's treble winners. He has become an icon in Bilbao helped and further instated his name in the club's folklore with his performance during that match. With the Europa League 1st knockout round against Marseille poised in the favour of the Basque club at 1-0 with the home leg to come, Aduriz will be looking to fire Athletic Bilbao into the round of 16. Similarly, he will be looking to get his side's faltering league campaign back on track in a bid for European football next season.

The next time you are getting bossed about by a person 20 years your senior, you can always point to the tale of Aritz Aduriz - the fine wine that got better by age.

Liverpool tie with Sion

A dull 0-0 game with very few highlights allowed Jurgen Klopp's side to top their Europa League group while FC Sion qualify for the knock-out rounds in their very first European tournament.

Despite a near mis-hap from Simone Mignolet in the first minute, Liverpool controlled the possession in the opening of the match and had a great chance when Brad Smith crossed the ball to Divock Origi who failed to finish. The Belgian was unmarked and coughed up a very good chance which should have been converted.

Liverpool were quite happy to give possession to FC Sion and the Swiss side were struggling to do anything with it. The game wasn't played at a particularly fast pace during the first half with both sides happy to let the other take take the initiative. Sion had a few half chances but Origi had another chance but the defender covered and blocked expertly.

Liverpool had another good chance when Adam Lallana skipped by a few Sion challenges into the box, but was starved of options and the chance petered out. The chance was created down the left by Ben Smith's overlapping runs and James Milner. This is where Liverpool could get in behind the Swiss defence but the end product was often lacking.

It was a pretty dull first half, with neither side really pressurising each other. Liverpool were already qualified while Sion only needed a point to guarantee qualification.

There was virtually nothing to report on in the first 15 minutes of the second half, but the arrival of Philippe Coutinho was imminent and the Brazilian had every opportunity to conjure something up in the free number 10 role. Recovering after a four week lay off, Coutinho would want to lay down a marker for future matches.

Sion had several set pieces most of which were wasted poorly. One was a training ground routine which allowed a Sion player to remain unmarked and attempt to get a decent ball in but it came to nothing. Origi had a chance when the ball was slid through to him. With the keeper baring down on him, the Liverpool man had to try and take the ball around him but the keeper got hands and diverted in elsewhere.

Coutinho broke through the middle in between the defence and midfield, and slid Roberto Firmino through but the first touch from his fellow countryman was poor and the ball rolled harmlessly out for a goal kick. Inside the last 10 minutes. Smith once again broke down the left before hitting a teasing ball into the box. Origi failed to get any meaningful contact on the ball as the keeper clutched to it harmlessly.

It was a game with a draw written all over it and I probably should have guessed this from the standings before the match. Needless to say that it finished 0-0, but the Swiss supporters were incredible as they witnessed their side qualified for their first ever knockout round in Europe.

Pushing for Europe

Many people are in appreciation of some of the transfers made by the ‘not-so-big teams’ and rightly so. In particular, West Ham, Leicester City and Swansea City have caught my eye and both have made decent starts to the new campaign.

Andre Ayew and Dimitri Payet will be instrumental for both teams and pivotal if either reach the knockout rounds. Both left French side Marseille, after a topsy turvy season in the South of France. Starting superbly, Marseille were clear at the top of Ligue 1, and much of it was attributed to the Argentine tactician, Marcelo Bielsa. As for Leicester, Claudio Ranieri is achieving the best out of Riyad Mahrez. The Algerian international has made a blistering start to the season scoring 5 goals in his opening 7 games, culminating in a nomination for August's Player of the Month.

After 6 games, all three sides sit in the top half with West Ham in 3rd, Leicester in 4th and Swansea further back in 7th.

West Ham have played some nice football this season, similar to what they experienced in the opening stages last season. In the last campaign, Diafra Sakho was key and his 12 goals made him the Hammers' top goal scorer last season. While they started the season well, two wins in the last sixteen games presumably sealed Sam Allardyce's fate and paved the way for Slaven Bilic. This season, West Ham have started with confidence, and the introduction of Dimitri Payet has proved a master stroke by the former Croatian international.

Like many other clubs, West Ham are threat from full back. Aaron Cresswell, signed from Ipswich in summer 2014, was voted the club's Player of the Year last season and made an average of six defensive actions a game, according to Squawka. West Ham managed to fend off interest from both Chelsea and Manchester City during the transfer window. He is equally adept in the defensive and offensive apartment, creating 30 chances last season and 7 this season - two have led to goals.

They lead the way in the goal scoring tally with 13 and conceding 7 goals - the second most inside the top ten. Offensively they have been superb this season and they look as if they could cause problems for any defence in Europe at times. Bilic has a bit of work to conduct on the defence if they are going to challenge for the European places, but with him getting to know his new squad, I suspect this will improve in the coming weeks. West Ham look good this season and I thoroughly enjoy watching them.

Similar to the Hammers, Garry Monk's Swans have been earning praise for their style of praise this year. The loss of Wilfried Bony to Manchester City was expected to cause problems last season, but his replacement in Bafetimbi Gomis is just as good. The French international has netted on four occasions this year and is going through a streak of good form. He displays similar physical strengths to Bony, hence why he is taking to Swansea like a duck to water. Currently one goal off Callum Wilson and Riyad Mahrez in the scoring charts, Gomis is becoming one of the favourites for the golden boot when the season concludes.

Gomis has made a great start to the season, but he has formed a formidable partnership with former Marseille man Andre Ayew. Recently named Player of the Month for August, he was the star of the side for Marseille last season, creating 22 chances and scoring 10 in the league. With Swansea, he is quickly becoming a fan favourite at the Liberty Stadium and provides one of the main creative sparks in the side. While Monk has commented that the Welsh side will not rely on the Ghanian, a fit Ayew will greatly ameliorate their chances of European football.

Former Liverpool star Jonjo Shelvey is also a key player for the Welsh side. He has a terrific range of passes and is the heart beat of the midfield for the past season. Lying a bit deeper, he is able to break up the play and offer defensive reinforcement, and has adopted this role since the arrival of Ayew. Swansea may not have scored many goals, but their creative players Ayew, Jefferson Montero and Shelvey have the guile to produce more chances for Gomis to feed off. I do think they will able to qualify for Europe, whether through the league position or else a cup victory.

Last for now is Leicester City. The pundits among us may have been able to predict West Ham and Swansea's terrific start. but there won't be many to have predicted the start of Ranieri's men. I remember back to when Ranieri was appointed, there was much criticism about this and why Nigel Pearson was sacked. Pearson steered the Foxes away from relegation with a magnificent run of form that culminated in them finishing 14th, not bad considering they were rooted to the bottom from game-week 13 right through to week 31.

Undoubtedly, Riyad Mahrez has been their star performer this season and leads the way in terms of goals with five and has been grabbing the headlines. He seems to be the player that is able to create something out of nothing this season and if he continues this form, then Leicester will be a real force. They have had their fair share of luck, including a 3 goal comeback to seal the victory against Aston Villa as well as scoring two goals to snatch a draw of Stoke City. While people may say that they have been lucky up to this stage so far, I am a firm believer that you are the architects of your own luck.

Will Leicester be able to keep this run of form up? We all long for a fairy tale story but I'm not convinced. Squad depth around Christmas time will be a major factor as to whether they can retain the momentum. At the same time, not many people thought that Southampton would be able to continue their form for so long last season, so there is every possibility that the Foxes can follow in the Saints' footsteps. Leicester City should be aiming for a high mid table finish either 6th, 7th or 8th however should not be too disheartened if they finish 10th or 11th. It would be steady progress to build on for next season.

West Ham and Swansea really should be pushing for a Europa League spot as both have the squads capable of challenging. In the domestic cups they also have a great opportunity with the ties generally being one match. The ground work has been laid for these sides, now it is time for the respective managers to act upon it.

FC Midtjylland Surprise Lacklustre Southampton

The European dream is over for Southampton as Danish outfit FC Midtjylland overcome the odds to send the seaside team crashing out of the competition.

In the opening exchanges, Southampton did have chances. Jose Fonte had a diving header cleared off the line within 5 minutes. It was excellent defending from the Danish side but the Saints really should have broken the deadlock.

Southampton had the majority of the possession, but were unable to capitalise as their passing was often too slow and laborious. Midtjylland were able to get organised behind the ball which made it difficult for Southampton to break down. Steve Davis had an excellent chance after a chest down by Pelle around the 20 minute mark but his shot was straight at the keeper.

It was FC Midtjylland who broke the deadlock after a sloppy pass from Jay Rodriguez found Bach-Bak. The right back centred the ball for Duncan to nip in front of the Southampton defender and finish the ball past Maartin Stekelenberg in nets. The first half performance was pretty poor from Southampton. They lacked conviction in any move they tried and eventually paid due to some slack defending.

The Saints started the second half brightly and, unlike the first, they moved the ball about quicker. Both full backs were able to get beyond their man however the final ball often disappointed. Southampton didn't have many clear cut chances during the match and I cannot recall any in the second half. Starting the season more sluggish, it's back to the drawing board for Ronald Koeman.

As the game drew to a close, Southampton were leaving gaps at the back in order to pursue the goal to send them into extra time. To be expected, Midtjylland countered but were unable to extend their lead. Jose Fonte had a nightmare, making countless mistakes and allowing Duncan to steal in front of him for the goal. Southampton did have a handle ball appeal dismissed by the referee and replays show that it really should have been a penalty.

Southampton are in need of a decent result at the weekend against Norwich in order to build confidence up and break the bad rut of results. With Koeman rumoured to be in the market for Virgil Van Dijk, he is a solid player, winning Celtic's player of the season in his first year. A disappointing performance from Ronald Koeman's men that will need plenty of work if they are to reach the heights of last season again and have another attempt at reaching a European group stage.