Saturday Soccer Spotlight: Lucky #19

This was the weekend for Manchester United to set a record.  Needing just one point in their last 2 games, they set out to get that point today so that they can rest their first team in preparation for the Champions League Final.  When I saw the line-up I thought, "Poor Blackburn, they are going to get crushed.  This was an attacking minded line-up picked to win, not just get a point.  And Manchester was poised to take all 3 points and celebrate.  Someone forgot to tell Balckburn...

Brett Emerton of Blackburn looked to have spoiled the party in the 20th minute.  United goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak (getting the start instead of 40-year-old Edwin van der Sar) was having a terrible game.  Botched clearances and miscommunications led to several nervy for United, and it culminated in Kuszczak failing to get a good hand on a chipped shot that eventually fell to a another Blackburn player who fed Emerton for a goal.  Only Arsenal manages to maintain 75% plus possession and give up a goal, and it looked like United, while they were threatening, didn't have the magic touch.

But anyone who has watched Manchester United this season knows not to panic when they get behind.  They play better from behind than any other team in the league.  That's not to say their weren't a lot of nervous faces in the Manchester section of the crowd, and more goalkeeper problems just added to the tension.  But United weren't going to be denied, and once again Javier Hernandez came up with the big play. 

Giggs slotted in a perfect pass to split the defenders just outside the 18-yard box, and despite its perfection it was a very difficult ball for the Mexican to control.  But he got the touch he needed to keep it slightly away from the goalie, and one more touch as the goalie slid in to take out his legs.  After some deliberation among the sideline judge and the referee, the penalty was given, and Rooney calmly walked to the penalty spot and hammered it home into the left corner.  And from that point on it became the most boring game I've seen in a long time.  Both teams were happy with their point as Blackburn look to have secured a spot above the relegation zone, and Manchester secured their 19th title. 

Let the parties begin!  Manchester United is once again champion of English Football.  The 4th time in the last 5 years, and the 19th overall to become the most successful team in the history of English Football.

--On a side note, I think the penalty was weak.  By the rulebook it is a penalty; however, I think way too many penalties like this are given in soccer.  Hernandez's last touch away from the goalie was going straight out of bounds, and he had no chance to get it under control and set up a goal or score himself even if the goalie hadn't hit him.  So by the rules it's a penalty because the goalie did make contact after the ball was gone, but I think that rule need to be reviewed.  Maybe an indirect kick from that spot would be better...?

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.

Saturday Soccer Spotlight: Manchester Opens Up a Lead

It was another big day in the Premier League.  Teams were looking to make a push for positions as the season winds down.  Obviously the biggest race is the race for 1st, but the race for 4th is extremely important as well.  If a team makes the top 4, that means a berth in the Champions League, and that means notoriety, a chance for players to shine, but perhaps most importantly for the team, additional revenue to continue to grow in the future.

Race for 1st

It was a goal of maintaining the status quo for the top 2 teams in the Premier League.  Manchester United were at home to Bolton where they are unbeaten.  And Arsenal was away at relegation threatened West Brom.  Should be easy wins for both teams right?  Think again.  Manchester created trouble for themselves when Johnny Evans (who has been a terrible defensive replacement all year) got a straight red card for a tackle on American Stuart Holden late in a game in which Bolton had threatened plenty of times.  Fortunately for them, Berbatov came to the rescue extremely late in the game to seal the win.  No one can knock him for not scoring important goals anymore.

Arsenal's defense has been unkindly labeled as the gift that keeps on giving.  It is often the  mark of extremely offensively talented teams that the defensive is vulnerable.  In this case, Arsenal gave up a goal in the first 5 minutes to dig themselves a hole.  West Brom made that hole even deeper early in the 2nd half.  Arsenal did show fight to battle back and tie the game, but it's getting a little late in the season to be giving away points teams at the bottom of the table

Race for 4th

In this particular race, Tottenham is fighting to keep themselves in the Champions League.  This season they are making a great showing in the Champions League, but they may not make it back because they didn't do themselves any favors today.  They were at home against another team that is fighting the relegation battle: West Ham.  I got up early to watch some of this game.  And I must say I didn't see much sense of urgency from Spurs.  In the last 20 minutes or so that I saw, they didn't show much attacking spirit.  But then again, maybe West Ham's desire to avoid relegation trumped the SPurs desire to make it into the Champions League.  That seems strange to me, but who knows...?

Saturday Soccer Spotlight: Arsenal Fail to Take Advantage

So, It's been an interesting week for Arsenal.  Desperately in need of some sort of trophy this season, they lost their first chance in the Carling Cup final to a way overmatched Birmingham City.  At that point I thought they would be too demoralized to finish off any of their trophy chances.  Away to Barcelona in the Champions' league will prove to be too much for them.  And in the FA cup and Premier League, they have to go through Manchester United.  But then Manchester lost to Chelsea, and I thought that they would have new hope with the chance to move within one point of Manchester with 10 games to go.

And that brings us to today's game against middle-of-the-pack Sunderland.  A week ago I mentioned that losing Fabregas could potentially hurt them, but that Sunderland shouldn't really pose a threat.  Especially without Welbeck (on loan from Manchester United), who is their biggest attacking option.  But I didn't realize that they wold be without van Persie as well, who has absolutely been on fire lately. 

Without those 2, Arsenal didn't have any of their normal fluidity in the attack.  Nikolas Bendtner may be the self-proclaimed best attacker in the world, but he had little impact on this game.  Sure, the Gunners had the better possession and the advantage in shots, but because of their style of play, that is almost always the case.  In the end, they didn't trouble the defense and the goalkeeper enough to take the win.

Once again Arsenal proved to me that they don't have the experience or the depth to win the Premier League.  Without one or two of their star players they can't even beat Sunderland.  I must say that after Manchester United unjustly lost to Chelsea, I was worried about the title race.  But now, I feel like Manchester's character is stronger than Arsenal's; and that will be the difference.

Daily Highlight: Manchester United 4-0 Wigan Athletic

Javier Hernandez (Chicharito) continues to make a big impact at Manchester United in his first season.  I don't think we've had a striker with a first season this good in years.  Hopefully it leads to a title.

I'm pretty excited to be able to put up a soccer video.  Youtube usually blocks them.

Saturday Soccer Spotlight: EPL Title Race

The EPL season is 27 games in out of 38, and most would admit that it is a 2 team race for the title.  Currently Manchester United is in first and Arsenal 4 points behind in second.  As a Manchester United fan, I would generally be very comfortable at this point in the season with that kind of a lead, but this has been quite a strange season.  Let's take a look at both teams' chances.

Record: 17-9-1

Goal Difference: +36

The biggest thing that worries me about United is their inability to finish teams off.  They have a disturbing habit of winning small (except for the occasional 5-0 thrashing that skews the stats a bit).  They are particularly prone to giving up cheap goals, and away from home they don't play well at all; reverting to a defensive strategy that is more likely to earn a draw.  And that has never been a characteristic of United.  They always go out to win, and this acceptance of away draws bothers me.

However, they are in first place.  And at this point in the season, that is no laughing matter.  And they still have highly experienced and talented players.  Vidic has been a great captain, Nani has been superb all year, the strikers are getting better (Berbatov, Rooney, and Hernandez), and Smalling has proven capable in place of Ferdinand.  What worries me is the midfield.  There is no dynamic quality other than Nani, and he plays more of a strikers' role these days.  United desperately needs Valencia and Park back so other players like Carrick and Fletcher can go back to there normal roles.  All of this is crucial as they head into a brutal ending schedule: going to Liverpool, Chelsea, and Arsenal, as well as playing host to Chelsea all in the final 11 games.

 

Record: 17-5-5

Goal Difference: +30

The biggest thing for Arsenal is consistency.  For almost as long as I've been following the EPL (except for the "Invicibles" season) Arsenal has had major problems with consistency.  They can obviously play with, and beat, the best teams, passing them to death with "total football."  But when they lose to teams like West Bromwich and Newcastle you have to wonder.  And then they also gave up the biggest comeback ever in the EPL.  Up 4-0 in the second half to Newcastle, they allowed 4 goals and ended up drawing the game.  This has to be partially blamed on Wenger for his trust in such young players.

Injuries have also played a part in Arsenal's season.  But that happens with every team, so it's hardly an excuse.  However, the Captain, Fabregas, could be out for a few games, which could affect them.  But in the EPL he will probably only miss the Sunderland game.  And Nasri and van Persie have been doing more than enough to get Arsenal past them.

The biggest positive that Arsenal has over Manchester United is their schedule.  They only really have 2 big games left, and both are at home: against Manchester United (a possible title decider) and Liverpool.   Away to Tottenham could also be a big one, and Fulham is always tricky at Craven Cottage.  But these are all games that Arsenal should be able to win.

So I think the pressure is on United, with so many big games left, to go out and play attacking, risky football.  They can't really afford to continue drawing all of their away games.  But as a Manchester fan, I certainly will pick them to bring home a record 19th title.  Who's your title pick?