In the end, it only took 6 minutes for Chelsea, via a sweet Nicholas Anelka strike, to insure that any final day drama in the English Premier League title race would be averted. The London-based club had entered their game against Wigan knowing that a win at home would render anything Manchester United did against Stoke City irrelevant and give them their first Premier League title in four years.
Although Wigan stuck around after Anelka had opened the scoring, the contest was effectively ended on the half hour mark. Chelsea's Frank Lampard glided past Gary Caldwell in the Wigan penalty box and the turned-around defender, in desperation, stuck out his arms making light contact with the English midfielder, who hit the turf. Without hesitating, referee Martin Atkinson pointed to the spot before harshly showing Caldwell a straight red card.
After Lampard slotted home the ensuing penalty kick, there was no way back in the game against Chelsea's stingy defense for 10-man Wigan. The floodgates opened and Chelsea tacked on six more goals to win the game 8-0 and wrap up their title denying Manchester United, who beat Stoke 4-0, a record fourth consecutive title.
For much of this season, no team really separated itself from the pack in the race to the Premier League title. Indeed, Chelsea's final points tally of 86 is the lowest total for a Premier League winner since Manchester United's 83 in the 2002/03 season. Moreover the last team to lose six games and walk away with the trophy, as Chelsea did, was again United, nine seasons ago, during the 2000/01 campaign.
All of the top English teams showed frailties during the course of this season. Liverpool dropped out of the running early, losing two of their first three EPL games, and were unable to get back into it. Arsenal admirably played the role of third wheel for the year, never falling too far behind the front two but never getting within striking distance either.
This brings us to Chelsea and United who, for the last four months on the season, week after week traded pole position in the EPL. A monster showdown between the two clubs on April 3 at Old Trafford ended with a Chelsea victory, just as it had in their first head-to-head at Stamford Bridge in November, and put the Blues back on top with a two point lead. After United were held to a 0-0 by Blackburn the following weekend, it seemed the title race might completely fizzle out. But Tottenham produced a gutsy performance at White Hart Lane to beat Chelsea 2-1 and reignite it.
The loss to Spurs turned out to be the last sign of weakness Chelsea would show during their run-in. They produced three strong performances against Stoke, Liverpool and Wigan to win out and cling on to their one point lead over United.
All in all, United's inability during the off-season to find the offensive firepower to replace Cristiano Ronaldo, and to a lesser extent Carlos Tevez, turned out to be a decisive factor in this year's title race. United summer signings disappointed for the most part. Winger Antonio Valencia had a decent season but could not possibly match Ronaldo's production: he's just not that type of player. Gabriel Obertan barely got an field and was a non-factor. Michael Owen scored a important winner in the Manchester derby but was a part-time player before tearing his hamstring in February.
As for United's other offensive players, Nani was brilliant in flashes, but United's management probably expected more of him this year. Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes began to show their age as the season wore on. Perhaps the biggest disappointment of all was Dimitar Berbatov, the Bulgarian striker who cost United $45 million in 2008. Berbatov managed only 12 goals in 43 matches, and was guilty of a number of really bad misses, particularly late in the season. Only Wayne Rooney's fantastic year, 34 goals in 44 games (by far the most prolific season of his career), kept Man United in it until the season's final day. Both Rooney and United chief executive David Gill have already hinted that United will make moves in the transfer market over the summer to address their offensive issues.
Chelsea, on the other hand, showed offensive firepower in bucket loads during the campaign: on four occasions they scored seven goals or more, and led the league with 103 goals on the season. The potent strike partnership of Anelka and Ivorian striker Didier Drogba coupled with a great season by the much improved Florent Malouda and the consistent production of Lampard made the Blues almost impossible to shut out. Had they shown more consistency, and avoided a catastrophic December (9 points dropped in six games), they might have wrapped up the title a few weeks earlier. They now have the opportunity to wrap up a league-FA Cup double against relegated Portsmouth next Sunday.
Showing posts with label Premier League. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Premier League. Show all posts
May 9, 2010
Nov 8, 2009
Man Utd vs Chelsea
So often when the top teams in the Premier League clash, the first goal is crucially important. And when that goal comes in the 76th minute, generally it's enough to take the win.
John Terry rose above the Manchester United defense to flick in Frank Lampard's free kick with 13 minutes left to hand Chelsea all three points and leave them five points clear at the top of the Premiership table.
The last few meetings between these teams, who have dominated the English Premier League for the past five years, have been extremely close and Sunday was no different.
The teams traded blows throughout the afternoon, with neither creating an abundance of real clear cut chances.
The first half was particularly tight, with both teams primarily restricted to taking a number of low long range shots. Either side the half hour mark, each side had their best chance of the half.
First, Ryan Giggs flicked first time over Petr Cech but also also over the crossbar when he might have taken a touch. Then Nicolas Anelka cut inside from the right channel, and struck a left footed shot across goal that Edwin Van der Sar kept out with a one-handed save.
The game opened up a little in the second half, but the flow of opportunities did not increase as both sides defended stoutly. Lax refereeing on the part of Martin Atkinson, who allowed the players to get away with too much, meant the game became more and more chippy as it wore on.
A flashpoint occurred with 15 minutes to go when Johnny Evans went up for a header with Didier Drogba and caught the Ivorian striker in the chest with his boot. Much to the frustration of Chelsea who felt Evans' action was intentional, the defender escaped punishment and it was Drogba who went into the book.
A couple minutes later, Chelsea was in front in controversial circumstances. Darren Fletcher was penalized for a challenge on Ashley Cole where he seemed to get the ball. On the ensuing kick, which Terry headed in, United argued that Drogba was not only in an offside position, but also tugged Wesley Brown to the ground.
Their protests fell on deaf ears, and as Chelsea looked to protect their lead, off-the-ball infractions and fouls grew more and more frequent.
Chelsea defended admirably in the last few minutes, withstanding United pressure who rained balls into the box and won a number of corners. The last opportunity of the game fell to Antonio Valencia when a loose ball fell to him in the box. He snatched at the chance however, and pulled his shot well wide ending United's hope of repeating their late midweek comeback against CSKA Moscow.
John Terry rose above the Manchester United defense to flick in Frank Lampard's free kick with 13 minutes left to hand Chelsea all three points and leave them five points clear at the top of the Premiership table.
The last few meetings between these teams, who have dominated the English Premier League for the past five years, have been extremely close and Sunday was no different.
The teams traded blows throughout the afternoon, with neither creating an abundance of real clear cut chances.
The first half was particularly tight, with both teams primarily restricted to taking a number of low long range shots. Either side the half hour mark, each side had their best chance of the half.
First, Ryan Giggs flicked first time over Petr Cech but also also over the crossbar when he might have taken a touch. Then Nicolas Anelka cut inside from the right channel, and struck a left footed shot across goal that Edwin Van der Sar kept out with a one-handed save.
The game opened up a little in the second half, but the flow of opportunities did not increase as both sides defended stoutly. Lax refereeing on the part of Martin Atkinson, who allowed the players to get away with too much, meant the game became more and more chippy as it wore on.
A flashpoint occurred with 15 minutes to go when Johnny Evans went up for a header with Didier Drogba and caught the Ivorian striker in the chest with his boot. Much to the frustration of Chelsea who felt Evans' action was intentional, the defender escaped punishment and it was Drogba who went into the book.
A couple minutes later, Chelsea was in front in controversial circumstances. Darren Fletcher was penalized for a challenge on Ashley Cole where he seemed to get the ball. On the ensuing kick, which Terry headed in, United argued that Drogba was not only in an offside position, but also tugged Wesley Brown to the ground.
Their protests fell on deaf ears, and as Chelsea looked to protect their lead, off-the-ball infractions and fouls grew more and more frequent.
Chelsea defended admirably in the last few minutes, withstanding United pressure who rained balls into the box and won a number of corners. The last opportunity of the game fell to Antonio Valencia when a loose ball fell to him in the box. He snatched at the chance however, and pulled his shot well wide ending United's hope of repeating their late midweek comeback against CSKA Moscow.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)