Just One More Point Will Do

After today's game between Manchester United and Chelsea, you can't help but think that Sir Alex Ferguson will soon be lifting another Barclays Premier League Trophy.  As has been so often said,  Manchester United haven't had the brilliance and star power of past teams, but it looks as if the this current squad has done enough to seal a record 19th title, and they can still win the double against Barcelona on May 28th.

This game against Chelsea was perfectly poised.  Chelsea came in needing a win to overtake first place in the lead from Manchester on goal difference.  And although a tie would have been enough for Manchester to maintain their lead, you knew they weren't just going to sit back and absorb pressure on their home field.  There was huge hype, as there should have been, and plenty of talk from both sides.  This one had everything you want and was ready to be an instant classic.  And by instant, I mean 36 seconds...

No, you're eyes are not deceiving you.  Hernandez did jut score after 36 seconds.  And the game at that point was essentially over.  In a game like this, you shouldn't need time to get into the game no matter who you are.  And this is Chelsea, a highly experienced squad defending their title, and it took them a full 25 minutes to look like they were interested in the game at all.  And that was all the time that Manchester needed to put their stamp of authority on the game and seal it with a second goal.

Nemanja Vidic has scored a lot of big goals for United, and this one couldn't be bigger as it more than likely sealed a 19th title for United.  As Ryan Giggs said, mathematically they haven't yet won the title, but only needing a point from two games against bottom teams, it's nearly a sure thing.

So an instant classic for United fans, and a game to forget for Chelsea (and possibly Liverpool fans as well).  But United showed again they have what it takes to be the best in England.  Let's just wait a few more weeks to see if they have what it takes to conquer Europe for another historic Double.

Saturday Soccer Spotlight: Winner Take All

It's come down to this.  There are 3 games left in the EPL this season, and it's once again a 2 horse race between Chelsea and Manchester United.  Arsenal were in the race until their poor end of season form took them 9 points back last week (doesn't this happen to them every year?).  However, they did open up an opportunity for Chelsea by beating Manchester last week.  Here's the situation:  Manchester is in first place, 3 points ahead of Chelsea, and they are even on goal difference, and Chelsea travels to Old Trafford tomorrow with a chance to take the lead.  Here are the scenarios:

1. The first possibility is that Manchester United wins and goes 6 points clear of Chelsea and has the edge in goal difference.  This would essentially lock up the title for Manchester because they would only need a point from their remaining 2 games, which are teams at the bottom of the table.

2.  The second scenario is a draw between the two teams.  This result would still favor Manchester because they have the easier schedule to finish out the season.  Chelsea would need to win both of their last games (Newcastle and Everton), and Manchester would need to lose a game for Chelsea to win the title.  But considering the way the season has gone up until now, Chelsea would still h ave a pretty good chance.

3.  The third choice, which I really don't even want to consider as a possibility, is Chelsea beating Manchester United.  This would blow the race completely open.  The two teams would be even on points, but Chelsea would take the top position on goal difference.  At that point, I really couldn't see Chelsea dropping any points in their last two games, and Manchester's only chance would be to overcome goal difference.  And considering the teams they play (Blackburn and Blackpool), that is still a possibility.

And as much as I hate to say it, this game seems like a total toss up to me.  Manchester have an advantage being at home where they haven't lost all season.  They've won every game except one, which was a draw.  Pretty formidable.  But then again, they haven't played Chelsea yet at home (except in the Champions League).  They also have an edge because they beat Chelsea in both legs of the Champions League.

Chelsea, however, have desperation and form on their side.  Both are powerful assets.  They are on a long streak of victories in the Premier League, bringing them back to within striking distance from 15 points behind the leaders.  So they will be fully confident they can steal a win.






I'm having some major difficulty coming up with a prediction for this game.  I really don't think it will be a draw.  Chelsea will come out attacking because they need a win.  And Manchester knows that it is a dangerous game to pack it in and just play defense against a very dangerous Chelsea team.  So a draw is out of the question (although I wouldn't mind a draw at all).  I'm banking on home field being the decider for Manchester again.  Something about 70,000 fans going crazy for 90 minutes seems to play a big roll at Old Trafford.  Manchester to win 1-0.

Daily Highlight: Manchester Utd v Chelsea

So, following up on last night's post, I thought it would be good to post the highlights from the Champions League Quarterfinal game between Manchester United and Chelsea.  Manchester won with goals from Javier Hernandez and Ji Sung Park to advance 3-1 on aggregate to the semifinals.

Champions League Quarterfinals 2nd Leg

I must say that there are few things I enjoy more than watching Manchester United defeat Chelsea.  I love that despite their billionaire owner, Manchester United continues to show them that developing players is more effective than just buying the current top players.  There is more to a team than players.
Add all that to the fact that Manchester United knocked Chelsea out of the Champions League is is most likely assured of beating them in the Premier League, and it makes it all even better.

This match was poised to be a great one from the start.  Chelsea had to come out attacking because they were down a goal in the 2 game series, and they were away from home.  And Manchester is never going to sit back and strictly absorb pressure in their home stadium, the Theater of Dreams.  But I must say that the starting line-up was more of an attacking line-up than I expected.  The defense was exactly what I expected with O'Shea, Ferdinand, Vidic, and Evra.  The midfield caught e a little by surprise with Park starting in place of Valencia.  But I really expected Rooney to be the lone striker, with Sir Alex adding an extra midfielder.  But as is usually the case, Ferguson picked the perfect line-up.  The two surprise inclusions (at least according to me) played big parts in the game.

The game began with Chelsea dominating possession and chances on goal.   For the first 10 or 15 minutes, Manchester was limited to one shot on goal from long distance, while Chelsea had several good chances.  Fortunately for Manchester several of those fell to the constantly misfiring Fernando Torres.  You'd think with the 50 million pounds he cost, and who knows how much he ears, he'd be able to buy a goal.  But that's not the case, and that's Chelsea's problem.  However, after that first period, Manchester began to regain their feet and maintain more possession.  And it looked like they went ahead midway through the half, but Hernandez was flagged for offside after Rooney sent him through on goal.

But as it turns out, Hernandez would make up for it, and get his goal right before half time.  It almost seems inevitable that the "Little Pea" (as his nickname translates) will score in any game that he plays in.  And they all seem to be important.  In the 43rd minute, Manchester won a free kick just outside the Chelsea box, and Chelsea wasn't able to get a good clearance.  The ball fell to Rooney, whose vision always amazes.  With no open lane on goal, the forward sent the ball across the field to Giggs.  O'Shea, so often overlooked when talking about important players, came up in support and received the ball from Giggs.  And as soon as Anelka overcommitted on the pass, he sent Giggs free into the box.  It was a great interchange between the two, and the pass that Giggs sent across the box was perfect.  Just out of reach of the goalie, and any defender, Hernandez snuck in at the back post and smashed it into the top of the net.  It's the type of goal that can destroy your spirits.  But Chelseas wasn't about to give up.

Shortly into the first half, Chelsea brought Drogba in for Torres.  And I still don't understand why they don't start him in games like this.  Since they signed Torres, Drogba has proven better time and again.  But even with Drogba, the game looked over when Ramirez got red carded in the 70th minute.  Not an extremely harsh tackle.  But he did come in from behind and take down Nani, and it certainly deserved a yellow card.  Too bad for him that he already had one.

But still, Drogba and Chelsea were not about to go away quietly.  Less than 10 minutes after the red card, Drogba beat an offside trap and slammed home a goal after going in on Van der Sar one on one.  The game at that point was poised for a crazy and nervy finish.  Enter Ji Sung Park.  Virtually directly from the kick off, Giggs found Park practically alone and in acres of space inside the Chelsea 18 yard box, and he cooly chested the ball down and found the side netting past Petr Cech.  Game over.

PS - Barcelona won 1-0 over Shakhtar Donetsk to advance as well.  Lionel Messi scored his 48th goal of the season, which is a new record, beating the Brazilian Ronaldo's record back in 196-97.

Daily Highlight: Man United v Chelsea Champions League

Ahhh, sweet revenge.  Manchester United  hadn't won at Stamford Bridge in 9 years.  And a couple of weeks ago they were denied a chance to end that streak after some questionable calls from the referee.  Not this time.  Manchester got a crucial away win at Chelsea in the first leg of the Champions League Quarterfinal.

Champions League Quarter Final Draw

The draw has been made for the Champions League Quarter Finals.  We're down to the top 8 teams in Europe, so every matchup is going to be challenging, but as always, some teams receive more favorable draws than others.  These are the matchups:

Real Madrid v Tottenham Hotspur

Chelsea v Manchester United

Barcelona v Shakhtar Donetsk

Inter Milan v Schalke 04

My first impressions are that Inter Milan and Barcelona got the favorable draws this time around, but as the cliche says, you're going to have to beat the best eventually, so even if you get a favorable draw now, it's not going to stay easy.

The Manchester United v Chelsea games are definitely going to be interesting.  They have developed quite the rivalry over the last several years.  And after the game a few weeks ago when Chelsea won so controversially, Manchester will be itching to avenge that loss.  But Chelsea will have revenge on their minds as well after losing in a shootout in the Champions league final 3 years ago.

I'm also really looking forward to Tottenham v Real Madrid.  Tottenham is in the Champions League for the first time and they're having a great run.  They also have a former Real Madrid player Rafael Van der Vaart.  It's also always fun to watch Ronaldo play.  Whether you're a fan or not.