England 4 Montenegro 1

This was the most nervous I have been whilst watching an England game for a very long time, but after some alarms and nervy passages, the victory seemed relatively comfortable in the end.

England's brisk start, as embodied by the positive runs of Andros Townsend, turned out to be illusory.  The intent was not really matched by end-product, and soon a measure of frustration and impatience entered into England's play, and the crowd became restless. That all too familiar malaise of the national team, the grip of fear and anxiety, has not been remedied.

The widespread wisdom was that an opening goal by England would dissipate much of the tension. In the event, this did not occur. Even after Wayne Rooney's effort early in the second period, England were ill-at-ease.  Even the comical second goal did not fully liberate England.  Watching them is seldom a straightforward or serene business, and the Montenegrins, who showed occasional glimpses of real quality, duly pulled one back!

At times, another old England failing showed itself; the inability to control proceedings by retaining possession in order to soak up pressure and draw the sting from teams. The initiative is surrendered too regularly for comfort.

Andros Townsend really deserved his goal, having shown enterprise and drive all evening, and crucially lacking the inhibitions of some of his colleagues.

This match did throw up some intriguing questions about the shape of the England team going forward. The Rooney-Welbeck-Sturridge axis shows genuine promise, with the kind of interplay and pace which is required to unlock defences at international level. If Townsend manages to consolidate his position, is it not desirable in this system for a proper holding midfielder to be introduced to this system of play?  This would help to provide a more durable platform for the attackers. In addition, it would give some insurance in a defensive sense.  Whatever our technical deficiencies may have been in recent decades, England have usually been quite solid at the back, giving away comparatively few goals. The current occupants of the back five do not quite inspire such confidence.

I would be tempted to be more radical still, and have perhaps two "holding" players in the middle of the field, and leave out one or two prestigious names to accommodate this innovation.  I can't see Roy Hodgson doing this, though. The England coach should be applauded for playing such an adventurous formation against Montenegro.  Time will tell whether he will persist with that formation, but it does have potential.

Of more immediate concern is the match against Poland on Tuesday evening. It should be monumentally nerve-racking!

2013 Champions League Final

A lively and entertaining encounter was expected at Wembley, and we were not to be disappointed.

I have long been an admirer of the German game, finding the mixture of physical intensity, attention to detail and technical proficiency to be a potent and captivating one.  Happily, these virtues were on display in the showpiece tonight. There is even a temptation to aver that the game there is returning to the glory days of the 1970s, in its general prowess if not necessarily in stylistic and tactical terms.

I dare say that a great many notebooks dealing with tonight's game will have been replete with references to how frustrating Arjen Robben can be.  However, for all his occasional profligacy and over-elaboration, the Dutchman delivered when it really mattered tonight, providing an admirable assist and then the late winner. His demeanour after the winning goal, and following the final whistle, indicated that he felt a sense of real vindication and fulfillment.

The early stages of the game I thought threw up a minor contrast of styles, with Dortmund's brisk style initially thwarting Bayern's plans to settle and dictate a pattern. Munich's more deliberate approach did not bear fruit early on, but it was always likely that their big-game pedigree and nous would impose themselves.   It was pleasing to witness this vigorous mode of football, proof that "pragmatic" does not have to mean ugly, predictable or negative. Evidence of the ebb and flow of proceedings was how busy the goalkeepers were. The two custodians certainly earned their keep in this game!

Although Bayern struggled for genuine penetration during spells of the first period, they did look dangerous when they managed to engineer the odd opening.  At the same time, Dortmund's work-rate and organisation were impressive, although one gained the impression that as time progressed, the Bavarians sensed a weakness or vulnerability on the left hand side of the Borussia back line.

The early minutes of the second half featured some scrappy passages of play, perhaps inevitably, lacking the fluency and relentless pace of the first forty five. It might have seemed that there was an air of inevitability about Mandzukic's opener on the hour mark, and that the initiative was passing inexorably towards Bayern, but the penalty swiftly dispelled such notions. The equaliser duly injected the game with renewed zip and urgency. Needless to say, new belief was in Dortmund hearts.

In the end, though, Bayern Munich were able to fashion that moment of inspiration, and score the winner.  Did they just possess a marginally greater will, in addition to their experience?

A satisfying and intriguing final, all in all, which held the attention throughout.