Is The Race Over?
Although the race for the Premiership title was effectively over in the first week of January, there has been some renewed excitement lately due to ManUtd's amazing winning streak...the latest casualty being Arsenal who lost 0-2, thanks to Rooney's brilliance in a match that has set a new Premiership attendance of 70,908. United used the game to mark the 50th-anniversary of the first league title won by the team that became known as the Busby Babes, with the average age of their 1956 championship side just 22 years.
Rooney was denied in the first half thanks to some excellent goalkeeping by Lehmann, ably helped by the hands of defender Kolo Toure. But I am sure there is no way the referee could have made a correct decision without the help of replays. Rooney was however not going to be denied as his shot from an excellent cross from Silvestre landed zoomed past a hapless Lehmann, who proved Klinsmann made the right decision in making him Germany's number one keeper for the WC by making a number of fine saves in the first half. Rooney's cross to Park who shot home from close range killed off the game.
Henry's absence in the starting lineup did not seem to affect Arsenal as they made the brighter start to the game. However, ManUtd got into their groove after the first 20 minutes. The ManUtd defenders - Rio and Vidic have to be applauded for some great defending. Vidic has been a great partner for Rio in the defence and has stepped into the role with aplomb ever since he arrived this year.
However, Chelsea's continued winning ways means there is very little hope for ManUtd but I guess they have to keep their form going just to achieve the 2nd position and automatic qualifying for Champions League.
The relegation battle though is far from over. Sunderland is as good as relegated but the other 2 candidates would have to be one among these - Portsmouth, Birmingham City and West Brom. However, Portsmouth has been making some inspired progress lately and there is also remote chance that either Fulham or Aston Villa might get sucked into the battle. Another exciting finish in the prospect!
In La Liga, Real Madrid drew at home against Real Sociedad...a bad result considering Valenica went past them to 2nd place after a win and Barcelona could manage just a draw against Racing Satander.
AC Milan's win and Juventus' draw with Fiorentina means the gap at the top is less but it is still Juventus' title to lose just as Barcelona's and Chelsea's.
Bayern stumbled to an embarassing defeat, delaying their league title in Germany. However, the Dutch league saw PSV Eidhoven being crowned as champions. Celtic won the Scottish league as they beat Hearts 1-0. Also, get ready to see Reading next season in the EPL!
posted by Lucas @ 6:32 AM
5 Comments:
ManU seem to be pinning a lot of hope on the 3 away matches that Chelsea have...Blackburn and Bolton I think..not bad opponents at all in their home...but beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge wud have to be a miracle....Jose hasnt lost a home game for a club for nearly 4 years it seems....a draw wud be as good as a loss for ManU...so the title race does seem over.
Wud like to see Leeds in the EPL next year....they are a club with a lot of history and I was disppointed when they got relegated...same with the Saints.
Aja.
What the hell is wrong with Manu. They beat Arsenal comfortably and then draw against Sunderland. This is something that has been happening for some time now.They seem to take the foot off the gas against weaker oppositions.
The problem with ManU is that over the past couple of seasons, they lost and drew games with teams such as Wolves, Crystal Palace, WBrom, Portsmouth etc. while they beat Arsenal and Liverpool. Unless they keep up their game against weaker opposition, it would be very diffcult for them next season...Btw, hope ManU beats Chelsea to prolong the latter's title win.
I think the title race for the Premiership is all but over...
Chelsea faces rather easy opponents in the last 2 matches, even though there would be a top-of-the-table clash against Man U on April 29. But what's the possibility of them losing both of the matches?
According to statistics, a defeat or even a draw on April 29 would mean Chelsea gets to defend the title. Being a Man U fan myself, of course I hope for the best for the team. But at this point of time, the goal of toppling Chelsea is almost impossible, and I won't put my hopes up high.
So I think Man U's main priority is to secure second place and that means a European spot. Others can wait...
@soccerguy
appreciate ur comments. as u said, 2nd place is top priority now...ManU need just 3 more points to finish 2nd...hopefully they can achieve it next weekend by beating Chelsea at SB...if it happens, it's nothing more than a mere consolation.
Post a Comment
<< Home