Mid-Week Premier League Review
Tottenham gave an excellent account of themselves at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday evening, and at least went some way to dispelling the terrible record that Spurs have against Chelsea. This may be small consolation indeed for Spurs, though, as their Champions League hopes are now hanging by a thread. Should they fail to win in their next Premier League fixture, and Arsenal do so, then they can kiss the Champions League goodbye for another season.
Chelsea displayed both their great strengths and palpable frailties during the game. Some of their attacking play was mesmeric, with Fernando Torres looking an increasingly more confident figure in front of the implacable and gifted trio of Mata, Hazard and Oscar. The Brazilian Oscar in particular had a superb game, and is clearly settling into the Premier League nicely. One would have to say that if Jose Mourinho takes over at Stamford Bridge in the summer, as appears about as likely as the sun coming up tomorrow morning, then he has a pretty formidable squad of players to work with. The Chelsea first eleven for this fixture looks mighty impressive on paper, and it’s hard to believe that the Portugese taskmaster won’t mould them into a tough, winning team.
On the other hand, he will know that there is work to do at the back, where the Blues are not even close to the well-oiled machine that they were during his last tenure of the club. Chelsea lead twice against Spurs, through Oscar and Ramires, yet gave away equalisers on both occasions. One of the goals, by Emmanuel Adebayor, it must be said was simply a tremendous effort. But the second equaliser by Sigurdsson could have been prevented, and Chelsea must cut out such sloppy errors if they are to entertain serious title prospects next season.
Meanwhile, the situation at the bottom of the table also appears a little less murky after Wigan lost at home to Swansea by three goals to two. It is fair to say that Wigan hugely contributed to their own downfall in this fixture, gaining a lea that they barely deserved, and then conceding two of the most avoidable goals that one could ever hope to witness. Had the Latics managed to win, they would have climbed out of the drop zone. Having lost, it is debatable whether they will do so again.
The style and verve with which Roberto Martinez’s team plays has made him a much sought after manager, and with Sir Alex Ferguson voluntarily putting himself out to pasture, and David Moyes taking his place, Martinez has already emerged as one of the major candidates to take the hotseat at Goodison Park. This would surely result in a vastly changed style of play at Goodison Park, as Martinez’s teams play a swaggering brand of football with a tactical flexibility that the manager must be credited with. Conversely, their defence is about as watertight as a sieve that has been exposed to a chainsaw. Perhaps with better players, we will see that Wigan’s defensive failings are about individual mistakes not systemic flaws in Martinez’s approach, but it will be interesting to see what sort of football Everton play under Martinez, should the Spaniard move to the Merseyside club, as is being mooted.
While Wigan huffed and puffed, their rather more salubrious north west neighbours cantered to a routine 1-0 victory, in a match which was about as meaningful as the series of Dallas that all turned out to be a dream. Swansea had nothing whatsover to play for, City had nothing whatsoever to play for. It was perhaps not surprising then that the home side ran out marginal winners, and certainly not remotely surprising that it was the ever industrious figure of Carlos Tevez that provided the game’s key moment of inspiration, setting Edin Dzeko up for a tap in. Thus, City achieved a win in their last game before the FA Cup final, which will completely dictate whether or not their season has been a lame success or palatable enough for Roberto Mancini to renew the rental on his house in Alderley Edge.
Premier League Results
Tuesday 7th May, 2025
Man City 1-0 West Brom
Wigan 2-3 Swansea
Wednesday 8th May, 2025
Chelsea 2 – 2 Tottenham
Premier League Table
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