Premier League Review – Gameweek 28
Infamous chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov once said of his great rival Anatoly Karpov that he thought the expression ‘World Chess Champion’ was a natural prefix to his name. The same could be said about Manchester United and the title ‘Premier League champions’. The twelve time Premier league winners gave indication of how seriously they are taking their odyssey to win back the crown from their neighbours and rivals Manchester City by picking a virtually full-strength sides for their home fixture against Norwich City, despite the looming visage of Real Madrid on the horizon. As it turned out, this seemed to be a fairly wise decision, with United completing a routine and emphatic 4-0 win over the Canaries. Shinji Kagawa gave his first decisive performance in a United jersey, netting a hat-trick as United opened up a fifteen point gap at the top of the table. Very few people would be brave enough to bet their own money against United winning the Premier League now.
Arsenal now have it all to do if they are to retain manager Arsene Wenger’s proud record of having qualified for the Champions League in every season of his tenure as manager. The Gunners are now five points behind Chelsea and seven behind neighbours and rivals Tottenham, after losing the North London derby by two goals to one at White Hart Lane. Arsenal leaked two soft first-half goals to Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon as the centre of their defence was torn to shreds, and though Per Mertesacker’s headed effort gave the away side hope, they were ultimately unable to eke a point out of the game. The odds are against Arsenal finishing in the top four this season, and the immediate future of club and manager are uncertain.
After a turbulent week at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea completed a deceptively narrow victory over West Brom at Stamford Bridge. Although Demba Ba’s first-half strike was the only goal of the game, the home side dominated, and could have scored several more. Needless to say, few Chelsea fans gave ‘interim’ manager Rafael Benitez too much credit for the victory.
Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool cannot be said to have had a season that will thrill their supporters, given the expectations at Anfield, but they certainly seem to be heading in the right direction. The Reds walloped Wigan Athletic by four goals to nil with Luis Suarez absolutely outstanding, and new signing Philippe Coutinho impressive. At the same time, the close season will be so important for Liverpool, as if the Uruguayan Suarez is kept out of the clutches of some of Europe’s premier clubs, then they have much room for optimism. If they lose him then it’s hard to imagine that Liverpool will be anything other than a very moderate team.
Queen’s Park Rangers at last gave their fans a tiny amount of room for optimism, as Rangers secured only their third Premier League win of the season away at Southampton. Jay Bothroyd’s second-half goal proved particularly important as the Premier League’s bottom club moved to within four points of safety, giving themselves a credible chance of escaping the drop. Southampton, meanwhile, despite some good recent performances are suddenly only three points above the relegation zone.
Swansea suffered no hangover from their League Cup win, as they picked up yet another excellent victory at the Liberty Stadium over an in-form Newcastle side, by a single Luke Moore goal to nil. The Swans climbed to eighth in the Premier League table, as Michael Laudrup’s excellent first season as a Premier League manager continues.
After a period of moderate return, Everton returned to winning ways with a comfortable 3-1 home win over Reading. Goals from Fellaini, Pienaar and Mirallas were enough to see off the Royals, who remain in the relegation zone and continue to look in real trouble. However, the position at the foot of the Premier League is so malleable that it’s far too early to consider them doomed to return to the Championship.
West Ham beat Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium, in a match which was probably the least surprising in Premier League history to only feature one goal. I suppose it could be argued that it was a surprise that it didn’t finish goalless. Jack Collison’s angled shot just before the break was the difference between the teams, and whatever the aesthetic parsimomy of Sam Allardyce’s West Ham team, a comfortable mid-table position ought to be considered a satisfactory return for their first season back in the Premier League.
Finally, Sunderland came from two goals behind to pick up what could be a critical point at home to Fulham. The Black Cats cannot be ruled out of the relegation scrap yet this season, with Sunderland only six points ahead of the drop zone. And their lack of consistency will be a concern for Martin O’ Neill, for whom relegation is not a familiar threat. One silver lining for Mackems, though, was the fact that this mediocre result moved Sunderland one place above Newcastle.
Monday Fixture
Aston Villa v Manchester City
League Table
1 Man Utd 28 37 71
2 Man City 27 26 56
3 Tottenham 28 16 54
4 Chelsea 28 26 52
5 Arsenal 28 21 47
6 Everton 28 9 45
7 Liverpool 28 19 42
8 Swansea 28 5 40
9 West Brom 28 1 40
10 Fulham 28 -5 33
11 Stoke 28 -7 33
12 West Ham 28 -9 33
13 Norwich 28 -18 32
14 Sunderland 28 -7 30
15 Newcastle 28 -11 30
16 Southampton 28 -12 27
17 Wigan 28 -22 24
18 Aston Villa 27 -26 24
19 Reading 28 -20 23
20 QPR 28 -23 20
