Chelsea have just kept their hopes of winning the Premiership alive by scraping past Everton 1-0 at Goodison Park. Michael Essien got the goal for the Blues (or Radioactive Yellow-Green Wastes, if you go by their hideous away kit) as they came back to within two points of Manchester United at the top. However, Chelsea have played a game more and United will have a chance to restore their five-point advantage away to Blackburn on the weekend. Honestly, Chelsea just seem to be a shell of their former uber-structured and maddeningly efficient selves since the Special One vacated London. Fine by me, but it's bad for the Premier League as a whole to lose such a personality. And seriously, Chelsea have the bloody talent to play a nice, open game. Why don't they do it? Surely fewer people (myself included) would hate Chelsea with such fervor. Maybe not their hodgepodge of fair-weather fans and brutal hooligans, but that's a different story...
Personally, I would put my money on Cristiano breaking his Ewood Park scoring duck and something like a 3-0 result for United, as long as we keep David Bentley from scoring really annoying goals against us. He has a very inconvenient habit of scoring against United. I'm also confident that Wazza will sharpen up in front of goal this weekend; he'll need to be at his menacing best against Barca in the Champions League. Being the fan that I am, I [always] err on the side of faith and optimism. I'm confident in my mighty Reds and I feel like we'll get all the right results on the way to a majestic Double.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
So I realize I'm a bit late on this season, but...
Yes, I realize that I am in fact a bit late in starting to blog about the ebb and flow of this season in world football. But I pledge to blog voraciously about the remainder of the season, especially about the Premiership and the Champions League. For now, here's my two cents regarding the Champions League semifinals. Manchester United will look to avenge their semifinal demons from last season against FC Barcelona, a club in a bit of turmoil of late. Meanwhile, the setting is strangely (and unfortunately) familiar in the other semifinal, with Chelsea and Liverpool slogging it out again. It certainly looks like two polar opposites on paper, doesn't it? Creativity and style abound in Man. United v Barca, while pragmatism and [infuriating] efficiency are at the fore in Liverpool v Chelsea. Even if I were a neutral, I would be looking much more forward to the upcoming clashes between the Lancashire outfit and the Catalan institution, simply because of the styles/ideologies of play on offer from Man United and Barcelona both. Even though, sadly, Ronaldinho is out injured (according to the club) for the remainder of the season, the jewels in both teams' crowns should be displayed in all their stylish luster: Cristiano Ronaldo. Lionel Messi. Wayne Rooney. Samuel Eto'o. Carlos Tevez. Thierry Henry. And so on. Both games should be cracking, with atmospheres to match. I am certain that the victor between these two in this semifinal will prove to be an overwhelming match for the winner of the other semifinal, and certainly worthy of being champions of Europe. Being a staunch Manc, you ought to know where I stand on who I want that to be.
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