Liverpool stood three games
and seven points away from their first title in 24 years – with Chelsea the last
significant challenge to their once unlikely coronation. But as has so often
been the case this season, something funny happened on the way to the trophy,
and the powder blue of Manchester City wrestled control away from Liverpool red.
The game of the weekend, framed as a potential crowning-in-all-but-official-terms
for Liverpool and the final-nail-in-the-Mourinho-title-challenge-coffin, turned
in the cruelest of ways, as an errors by captain and star Steven Gerrard in the
48th minute sent Demba Ba in on goal for the opener after Liverpool
had dominated the first half (though without creating many clear chances). The
Reds then chased the equalizer that would have still left them as favorites for
most of the second half, before ceding a late second goal on a two-on-goalie
counter, finished by Willem after a nice pass from Torres in close. Man City
then confirmed the shift in odds with a 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace, led by
an assist and sublime goal from the just returning Yaya Toure in a dominant
first half that held up.
In the top four race, there
were big ramblings as well as Everton barely showed up for a near must-win game
at Southampton, losing by the same 2-0 score that cost David Moyes his job last
weekend (as United’s minute chances of sneaking back in disintegrated). Everton
not only lost, but were outplayed from beginning to end, reminding of the
Southampton team that took the EPL by storm earlier in the season, before a
serious tailing off around the New Year. This should give Arsenal a little breathing
room in the race to 4th (assuming they win at Newcastle tomorrow).
Even with an unlikely loss, they would still hold a one-point lead – meaning Wenger
will probably sign that extension to his contract, as the rumour-mill has been
predicting this week (alas). At the bottom of the table, Sunderland continued
their impressive Houdiniesque escape effort, grabbing all three points against
Cardiff City and sneaking into 17th place – while making Cardiff
owner Tan look foolish for sacking the coach who got them up in the first place
and had them above the bottom three during his entire short reign in the EPL.
Fulham suffered a heartbreaking draw after holding a 2-0 lead at home against
Hull and now look likely to exit the Premier League for the first time in 13
years. And Norwich dropped into 17th themselves, losing 4-0 to
Manchester United, in their first of four games under interim manager Ryan
Giggs. The bottom three will have a
tough time climbing out now, as the three teams above them all have a game in
hand (including Sunderland). But who knows in this crazy season.
Some thoughts on the weekend
and what it means for one of the most highly contested title/top
four/relegation battles in recent memory …
Thinking back over the course
of the season, City were the title favorites before Arsenal went on an
impressive run and led the league for the longest stretch of anyone all season.
But their expected second-half fade opened the door for first Liverpool, then
Chelsea, then City, then Liverpool and now City. And upstarts Everton and
Southampton looked likely to crack the top four at various times before fading
late, as Tottenham spent a fortune to finish a place lower than the past two
seasons (actually, it looks like they will go from 4th to 5th
to 6th).
1. It’s hard to ignore how impressive Mourinho’s
tactics are in big games. It led him to two Champions League titles earlier in
his career (at Porto and Inter, of course), title after title challenge and a
host of other cups – though his record against Barca and inability to win the
UCL with Real dented that record. Looking at his performance this year, and the
real chance of moving onto the UCL final yet again with a win at Stamford
Bridge Wednesday, reminds both of his flexibility and the deep contrast with my
man Arsene Wenger. Chelsea played a wide-open game against City at the Etihad and
beat them 3-2, then sat back for most of the game against Liverpool at Anfield
and won 2-0. They did the same thing on the road at Arsenal in December,
playing to a dull 0-0 draw that stifled Arsenal’s chance to forge further ahead
and then crushed them with a blitzing attack at the Bridge in April. And they
parked the bus against the favored Atletico on the road, escaping with another
0-0 draw that makes them the favorite to advance to the final yet again.
Mourinho can be obnoxious, demonstrate complete lack of class and fall back on
negative tactics whenever he feels overmatched, but it is hard to fault his
record. Ironically, it is Chelsea’s record against lesser opponents and the
surprise ending of his undefeated record at the Bridge last weekend that will
probably cost them the title.
2. Poor Steven Gerrard: the captain of Liverpool
who has won the Champion’s League, FA Cup, League Cup and Europa League title
looked ready to claim his first EPL crown in the waning days of his illustrious
career. And then a bizarre error on the wrong side of the midfield line and a
slip in trying to recover might have cost the team that title he so coveted.
The sick irony, particularly given his impressive form all season, after two
years of injury-ridden declining returns, must be hard for anyone in Liverpool
to stomach (except those pesky Everton fans, of course). A few weeks ago, it
looked like Liverpool would win the league and Everton snatch fourth from under
Arsenal’s grasp. Today, both look more likely to come up just short … though
Everton, ironically, provide the toughest test to City’s attempt to win yet
another title on goal difference alone (assuming both clubs win out).
3. Stats Only Tell us So Much: coming into the
game today, Liverpool had lost only once since December 29th (to
Arsenal in the FA Cup), when they were beaten in the opposite fixture at Chelsea.
They led in possession in the game today 69-30 percent and outshot Chelsea 26
to 11 (and 8 to 4 on goal). They played a Chelsea team that was without Hazard,
Terry, Eto’o, Oscar and Cahill (until late on). Ashley Cole played for only the
15th time all campaign and Tomas Kalas made his debut as CB. And yet
Mourinho’s bank of four and three, with two additional mids pushing up on the
ball was all but impossible for Liverpool to break through, and their lack of
width (and the absence of Sturridge until the 60th minute) failed to
find the necessary break through. Gerrard actually had a rather average game,
after trying to make up for the error, Suarez was largely ineffectual and
Sterling’s sterling start failed to produce the goal it sometimes seemed to
deserve. In the end, the reality is that errors lead to goals and goals trump
every other statistic. Arsenal have been losing games where they dominate
possession for years and the Liverpool offensive juggernaut just seemed unready
for the defensive wall they faced from the first moment to the last.
In this crazy season, don’t
bet against the most unlikely of results when all is said and done – with a
late six-point charge by Fulham somehow saving them, an Arsenal flop leaving
Everton in fourth or Chelsea squeaking by for the crown. But both City and
Arsenal now have their destiny in their own hands … let’s see if they can seize
the moment for the last few games of the season.
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