If there is a silver lining behind the dark cloud hanging over Newcastle, I can't see it. Though they played a little better in a 1-0 loss to Stoke, the Magpies extended their scoreless streak to over 360 minutes. The game's only goal came on a cross that was so bad it turned into an awesome shot, completely fooling Newcastle Tim Krul. But the long stretch of poor form is not the real concern here. Absent substantial new blood, it's hard to see Newcastle as a mid-table team next year. They've not filled the giant hole left by Cabaye's departure and Remy's likely exit at the end of the season will create a similar-sized problem up top. Defenders Debuchy and Colochino are also probably gone. With a front office in disarray or indifferent or both, effective signings to address these losses are hard to envision. Here's hoping that I'm wrong.
Not much better in the Midlands. Aston Villa lost to relegation rival Crystal Palace 1-0 and several of the other bottom table teams got three points as well, leaving the Villans very exposed at this point. Dennis reports on the game below (including how many times he got up to make a sandwich in apparently vain attempts to spur the offense) but again, it's hard to find the silver lining here. Dennis notes:
The second 1-0 loss to CP this season (need I really say more?) wasn't as soul-crushing as the first since we conceded well before the 93rd minute this time. But it came at a much more crucial point in the season and to a team that was tied with us on points before the game. Announcers keep implying that Aston Villa is essentially safe as 36 points is usually enough to avoid relegation and we have 34 points. However, and check my math on this one, that means we need 2 whole points. And after the sloppy, uninspiring show on Saturday, I am not even sure where we are going to get 1 more point. A sandwich at halftime was not enough to spark the Villans and I am seriously worried about their fate.
To Dennis's point, they finish the season on the road at Man City and Tottenham and play Southampton this weekend. The matches against Hull and Swansea loom as the critical places to get enough points to keep them in the Premier League.
Since I haven't seen any of their matches, I don't know exactly what's up with the Red Bulls. A loss to DC United wasn't likely part of the plan. Perhaps Chris can comment on whether there is a silver lining to their 0-2-4 start.
But as I said at the start, sometimes even winning isn't all that it seems either. Take Arsenal. Surely, you say the FA Cup semi-final win over Wigan, and the chance to end a nine-year trophy drought mean things are good. Shirley, you might be wrong. First, the Gunners' play of late has been uneven and they struggled mightily to defeat the second division Wigan squad. Only late game heroics by Mertesacker even got them to extra time and the penalty shoot out. And now they are heavy favorites to beat Hull City in the final. As in, it's a no-win situation, though that's a bit unfair because you don't get to choose your competition. It gets worse. While they were out gallivanting around in FA Cup land, Everton was beating Sunderland in EPL action to move passed Arsenal for the last Champions League spot. I'd say Everton has a tougher run-in so it's not over yet but you can see why Luke P has been cheating on the Gunners.
The Union got a result too - a 2-2 draw with a Real [Good] Salt Lake side, with Maurice Edu getting the equalizer in stoppage time. There are many things to like about the Union right now. Last year their goals seemed like accidents where this year they seem like the logical conclusion to a clever sequence of passes. They've lost just once so far. But it's hard to say yet whether the Union are half full or half empty. They are good for two to four astounding defensive break downs per game. The play is pretty but it is not a high powered offense that can easily overcome those gaffes. And they need to put up some W's; draws will not get you to the playoffs (playoffs? playoffs?).
Hey, look at this. Red Bulls and Union in a mid-week MLS contest on Wednesday night. That should be fun. Show of hands, who would like to see Hackworth give MacMath a day off and start number one draft pick Andre Blake in goal? Yeah, that's what I thought.
Speaking of draws, Tottenham spotted West Brom a 2-0 lead, missed a PK of their own, allowed another tally for the Baggies and then decided they'd better get moving. Managed a draw. Keeps them firmly anchored in 6th. For which they will likely be
There was quality action this weekend as the Match of the Year (at least until the Liverpool-Chelsea contest) delivered the goods. Sterling got the festivities off to a great start with a deft move in the box to open the scoring in the 6th minute. Skrtel (Slovakian verb which means "to grab a fistful of an attackers' jersey in the box and not get called for it") added another on a what I grudgingly must concede was a great header at 26 minutes. Man City was reeling but held on to keep the deficit at two for the rest of the half. A revived Citizen side showed up for the second half (Milner's appearance at 50 minutes might have had something to do with it) and were eventually rewarded with a nifty tally by Silva. A short five minutes later they got the equalizer that went as an own goal against Liverpool defender Johnson but really was a good piece of work and totally deserved. Thoughts of a 4-2 rout must have danced in Pellegrini's head. Not so fast. A totally botched clearance by Vincent Kompany (get that out of your system now so we don't see anything like that when you represent Belgium at the World Cup), landed at Coutinho's feet and the young Brazilian made the most of it, slotting the winner past Joe Hart. Liverpool ends the weekend up two over Chelsea and seven over Man City (i.e. more points than you can make up with two games in hand); run the table and the title is theirs.
Chelsea had a good week. Got the 2-0 win over PSG they needed to advance to the Champions League semi-final. They kept pace with Liverpool - barely - by eking out a 1-0 win at Swansea. A 10 man Swansea (Chico sent off at 16 minutes for a second yellow that sure looked like was the result of Chelsea whining). Though they are just two points back and play Liverpool at Anfield on 4/27, they technically don't control their own destiny because Man City could sneak past them by winning all their remaining matches. Mourinho Fake Sound Bite of Week: "The race is over. I have already turned my attention to preseason preparations for next year. And maybe a little for the Champions League semi-final. But mostly preseason because Atletico will thrash us. We have no chance there either."
Every game is critical now but the match ups this weekend aren't really going to grab you. Man United at Everton is likely the best of the lot. Getting a little excited about Fulham's late charge to avoid relegation. Of course, that charge this week would come at the expense of Tottenham, though Michael B might prefer another loss so as to be sure the Spurs miss out on Europa League.
Please, La Liga fans, tell us of your experiences so we can see a silver lining to this supposedly beautiful game.
Good game from Red Bull tonight. They haven't gotten perfect results early, but 4 of the first 6 were on the road and they haven't had all their best players...plus they played some difficult teams. Not worried at all, I won't even look at the standings until July when things start to even out.
ReplyDeleteSevilla travelled across town for its derby at Betis - a civilized 3p start time on Palm Sunday that allowed for church before and tapas after the match. Sevilla took advantage of a Betis red card at 24' to score a goal soon after, plus a late insurance goal - and win 2-0.
ReplyDeleteWith 5 matches left in the season (as opposed to the EPL, all La Liga teams have played 33 matches to date), Sevilla is solidifying its hold on 5th place in the table - 6 points behind Athletic Bilbao, who's in the last CL spot at 4th place. Sevilla has a date in Bilbao, so a win there could make it possible to catch that last CL spot. Hang on for the final ride.