Well, well, well. Yesterday was a fantastic day in terms of twists and turns in both the relegation battle and the race for the title. We have one team an almost certainty to be relegated (barring a miracle), and a new favourite for the league title. So, let’s get right down to business and take a look…
Premier League Review: Sunderland 4-0 Cardiff
I said yesterday that this would be a crucial 6-pointer. The winner would just about survive in the Premier League, the loser would be almost certain for the drop, but a draw wouldn’t be enough for either team. And it was Sunderland who did it.
Let’s be honest, everyone had written Sunderland off, labelling them certainties for relegation, but an excellent 4 points away to Man City and Chelsea threw them right back into it. Cardiff had also clawed back ground on those above them, winning 4 points from their last two games themselves.
But the way Sunderland came out fighting yesterday was excellent. They piled the pressure on straight from the first whistle, urged on by excellent support from the home crowd. Cardiff sat back and took it, although they outlived the early pressure and after the first 15 minutes the game suddenly opened up. Even so, it was no surprise that Sunderland took the lead in the 26th minute. A Sebastian Larsson corner found in-form Connor Wickham, who got a good connection with the ball despite the difficult position he was in, and powered home a header to make it 1-0.
To be fair, Cardiff did come out fighting, and even had a penalty claim when Frasier Campbell was accidentally tripped in the box by Wes Brown. It certainly falls into the ‘seen them given category’, but there was no appeal whatsoever from any Cardiff players, particularly Campbell who just picked himself up and chased the ball down.
Then, in injury time, came the game changer. Cardiff centre-half Juan Cala played what appeared to be a terribly underhit back pass to his goalkeeper, Connor Wickham raced onto it and Cala pulled him back to prevent him from taking a shot. Wickham managed to shrug the defender off but was ushered out wide by ‘keeper David Marshall. Referee Phil Down blew the whistle, pointed to the penalty spot and gave Cala a straight red card. Despite the protests from Cala and captain Steven Caulker, there’s little to argue with in regards to the sending off. He did deny Wickham a goal scoring opportunity by preventing him from taking the shot, so even though we’ve seen players get away with decisions like that before, it’s hard to justify an alternative scenario and Cala created the situation with a very poor mistake in the first place. The award of the penalty is more controversial. When Cala initially grabbed hold of Wickham, Wickham was outside of the box, so I can only assumed Dowd awarded the penalty because the pair were inside the box when Wickham actually tried to take the shot. It’s a difficult one to call, but I think a red card and a free kick just outside the box would have been more accurate. Even so, Fabio Borini stepped up to take the penalty and he wasn’t going to miss it. 2-0.
10 man Cardiff really struggled in the second half. Despite throwing on Craig Bellamy, Wilfried Zaha and Kenwyne Jones, their only chance of note was a Jordon Mutch header from a corner that flew just over the bar. Sunderland were happy enough to make their nurmerical advantage count by soaking up the attacks and hitting Cardiff on the break, and in all honesty the home side looked much more likely to score a third than the Bluebirds did at pulling one back. So it proved in the 76th minute, when a Sunderland break led to Emanuele Giaccherini sliding the ball through Marshall’s legs to make it 3-0. Cardiff’s misery was complete when Connor Wickham headed in another goal from a corner ten minutes later.
A few weeks ago, before the Man City game, Gus Poyet claimed Sunderland needed ‘a miracle’ to survive. That’s exactly what has happened, and you have to give credit to them for that. In the last three games, they’ve been absolutely fantastic and have battled from the first minute to the last. They’ve had to give everything, which is exactly what they have done, and even though they’re not out of the woods yet, you have to fancy they’ll survive now.
As for Cardiff, they’re goners. They can still mathematically survive, but in order to do so they need to win both of their remaining games (away to Newcastle and at home to Chelsea. Unlikely…) and hope that at least three of the four teams above them fail to reach 36 points (also unlikely). I just can’t see that happening. Sunderland have a run in that they’re almost definitely going to win points from, and despite having been awful recently Villa only need 1 point to hit 36. At this point, it would be absolutely stupefying if Cardiff survived. They can, at least, take solace from the fact that they have the money behind them, as well as ‘parachute payment’ from being relegated, to ensure they can build a team that will fight for promotion once again, but they’re going to lose several of their best players this summer.
Premier League Review: Liverpool 0-2 Chelsea
Liverpool’s title hopes took a huge dent when Chelsea stunned them with a 2-0 victory yesterday. Before the game I fancied Chelsea to battle and steal the 3 points from this one. Jose Mourinho just knows how to beat the big boys, and he’s done it again.
That Chelsea sat deep and prepared for a long, hard defensive battle was probably a surprise to very few, and even though it wasn’t pretty to watch, you can’t deny that they were spot on in their approach and their effort. Liverpool chances were few and far between in the first half, and although on the rare occasions Chelsea went forward they looked susceptible on the counter-attack, Liverpool just couldn’t create enough. Their only chance of note was when Luis Suarez blasted the ball back into the danger zone following a corner, and Mamadou Sakho connected with it, only to blast his effort over the bar when he really should have at least hit the target. At the other end, Chelsea should have gone ahead from a corner when impressive debutant Tomas Kalas didn’t connect as well with a free header as he should have.
And look, ever since I started this blog I’ve said that that’s how you beat Liverpool. You sit deep, you deny them space, and leave them tap the ball about and try their hardest to create something that they simply can’t because they’re up against a big wall of defenders. Then you grab a goal on the break or from a set piece when testing their shaky defence. They’re one of those teams who have no real Plan B, and it’s why I think they’re also going to struggle to win against Crystal Palace next weekend. Their strength is their pace and the quality of their forwards, and they’ve blown teams away this season simply because opponents have either taken the wrong approach by mistake or just haven’t been good enough defensively.
Even so, when Chelsea took the lead it was a bit of a surprise (albeit an hilarious one). Sakho passed the ball to captain Steven Gerrard, who mis-controlled the ball so that it rolled away from him and slipped when he turned to try and recover it. Unfortunately for him and for Liverpool, the onrushing Demba Ba ran onto it and took it in his stride, found himself one-on-one with Simon Mingolet, and calmly slotted the ball between his legs to make it 1-0. Even though his passing was generally quite awful yesterday, you can’t deny that Ba is a skillful runner and clinical finisher.
The second half began much like the first. Liverpool desperately tried to find an equaliser, but aside from a well-struck Joe Allen volley that Mark Schwarzer did well to save, all Liverpool efforts were either blocked or saved alertly-but-easily by Schwarzer, and Chelsea showed little intent on going forward.
But the victory was sealed for Chelsea deep inside injury time. Liverpool substitute Daniel Sturridge foolishly gave the ball away under no real pressure, Chelsea substitute and ex-Liverpool man Fernando Torres picked it up, and he and Willian found themselves charging forward well ahead of all of Liverpool’s outfield players. Torres could have been selfish and went for goal himself in what would have been one of the biggest ironies ever in football, but when Mignolet came out to meet him he unselfishly did the right thing and passed the ball to Willian, who dribbled into an empty net. 2-0, game over, and Jose Mourinho wildly celebrating in front of the Chelsea fans was just brilliant.
Although Chelsea still have to rely on other results to win the league, both Liverpool and Man City have games they could drop points from so the Blues have an outside chance. They’ll want to keep fighting until the end, because, well, with Mourinho you just never know.
As for Liverpool, it’s the kick up the backside that the club, the players, the fans, and just about everyone who says they’ll win the league has needed. When Liverpool beat Man City, the players celebrated like they’d already won the league and Steven Gerrard was in tears. A pre-match clip showed Liverpool fans chanting “we’re gonna win the league” at the Chelsea team bus as it entered the stadium. I’ve long argued that the title battle isn’t over until it’s over, and that’s still how it looks. It was in Chelsea’s hands, then Liverpool’s, and now it’s in Man City’s thanks to their superior goal difference.
And look, if you think Liverpool’s squad is good enough to win the title, then you’re biased. They have world-class quality up front in Luis Suarez, and a very promising youngster in Raheem Sterling, but who else? No other Liverpool player could get into the starting 11 of Chelsea, Man City or Arsenal. Brendan Rodgers and Liverpool have found a strategy that works for them, that works to their strengths. They have no Plan B, as we found out yesterday. And they’ve only been able to play this way against everyone because they’ve played, on average this season, 15 games less than the other three top four clubs. No Europe, early Cup exits. IThese circumstances have suited them well. They can still go on to win the league, but it will be one of the luckiest Premier League titles any club has ever won.
But since the turn of the 21st century, practically all of the trophies Liverpool have taken have been won by luck. If they win the title this year, it would be no exception.
Premier League Review: Crystal Palace 0-2 Manchester City
Manchester City suddenly find that the title is in their hands again. They knew Chelsea had won against Liverpool, and that beating Palace would mean they are guaranteed to win the title if they win their remaining three games, thanks to their goal difference.
And they took up the challenge excellently. In only the 4th minute of the game, the returning Yaya Touré played a beautiful overhead through-ball to Edin Dzeko, who rose between Scott Dann and Damien Delany to power home a header. 1-0. Naturally, as you might expect, Palace were set up to defend, but conceding that early was a blow to them. But they kept City out well enough after that, and City created very little until the second goal.
Yaya Touré picked up the ball in midfield, played a few one-twos with Dzeko and Samir Nasri, steamrolled his way into the box, pulled the ball back, and curled home a stunning left-footed effort. 2-0. The pace and the power of Touré is something that City have dearly missed, particularly in the Liverpool game. The second half started much as the first ended. Touré was taken off, and neither team threatened. The only effort of note was a Dzeko shot from outside the box that went straight at Speroni. Crystal Palace had two decent chances in either half that they failed to take, but both would have been ruled out for offside anyway.
So, Man City can now win the title on goal difference. Next week’s trip to Goodison Park will now be the game that everyone will have their eyes on.
As for Palace, I think they defended very well. If not for the physical strength of Yaya Touré and Edin Dzeko, they’d have taken a point from that game, and that’s why I think Liverpool will find it very difficult there next weekend. They lack that power and physical presence up front, and are frailer at the back than City.
Premier League Preview: Arsenal vs Newcastle
Tonight’s showdown is a crucial game in the battle for 4th. If Arsenal win, they will go 4 points clear of Everton with only two games left, and Everton have to play Man City in one of those games. Therefore, a win tonight will all but secure 4th place for the Gunners.
Last weekend’s victory over Hull is one that typified Arsenal’s first half of the season, largely thanks to the return of Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil as well as a very in-form Lukas Podolski, and I expect we’ll see the same starting line-up tonight as we did against Hull. As for Newcastle, Alan Pardew returns to the dugout but I think that will make little difference. It’s a game Arsenal should win, and they know it. Newcastle have nothing to play for, and have lost all of their last five games. With all due respect to them, they don’t seem like the kind of team who will battle it out for the club and the manager.
Earlier in the season, Arsenal won at St. James’ Park, with an Olivier Giroud header being the difference between the sides in what was a scrappy game. I think Newcastle will try to make it tough for the Gunners tonight, but Arsenal just have too much in their locker and can tear Newcastle apart if they so wish. So I’m going to go with a Gunners win tonight.
Phoenix’s Prediction – Arsenal 3-1 Newcastle
And that’s that for today. More tomorrow. Until then…