English Football Roundup: A dramatic weekend
As another football season reaches its dock after a laborious journey, there are still few tricky waves to maneuver in the next 7 days. Matchday 37 of the Premier League saw many issues settled, records broken and an upset at Wembley in FA Cup. Let’s have a brief recap of events of this weekend in English Football.
Wigan put Mancini and Co. to shame, clinch the FA Cup
It is the tale of two teams on the opposite ends of the spectrum in the Premier League, but here both were equals. Wembley set the stage for a dramatic cup final between the teams of two ‘Roberto’s’. While Mancini was confident of his side winning comfortably, Martinez was optimistic before the historic match for his club. Dave Whelan, the chairman of Wigan, took every opportunity available to stay in the limelight throughout the buildup to the matchday.
Wigan lined up in a 3-4-3, sans some key defenders. Mancini featured a full strength side in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Wigan rode their luck for the whole of the match, but they were actually the better side. Callum McManaman was mightily impressive on the right wing with his energy and trickery. A subdued Man City team didn’t have enough passion and motivation to switch a gear up and go for the winning goal. The 3 man defence was proving too hard to breakdown for Nasri, Aguero and Tevez. The City fullbacks were having a torrid time dealing with the overloads on the flanks as their wingers didn’t want to track back.
Espinoza, Maloney and Mcmanaman were wreaking havoc on the wings, and one such counter resulted in a sending off for Pablo Zabaleta. This was advantage Wigan and Martinez took it with pleasure. He introduced Ben Watson to add strength during set pieces and it proved to be a cup winning sub. A Maloney corner was met by the head of Watson, while Jack Rodwell and Joe Hart were left reeling. It was a historic day for Wigan fans, but party-time has to wait until 19thof May as they have a survival battle to fight.
With Norwich and Newcastle securing safety, everything depends on the match on Tuesday between Arsenal and Wigan. Wigan need a win to stand any chance of survival in the top flight while Arsenal need a win to secure a Champions League spot.
The match was followed by an emotional farewell speech by Sir Alex Ferguson and later by the trophy presentation ceremony. With the club now entering into uncharted territories after the departure of Fergie, the supporters will have to be patient. Also the manager confirmed the Wayne Rooney wants to leave the club and has submitted a transfer request. Chelsea, Arsenal, PSG and Real Madrid will be monitoring the developments on this front closely.
Frank Lampard becomes Chelsea’s all-time top scorer with 203 goals
Chelsea had a tough outing at Villa Park, but they came through it with a narrow victory, thanks to a brace from Frank Lampard. A victory would ensure Champions League football for the blues, but their day started on a wrong note after Christian Benteke easily trumped Cahill to net in the opening goal of the match. The heavy downpour wasn’t helping the blues one little bit as Villa continued to trouble the visitors with good linkups. Ramires was sent off on 43 minute mark and this added to Benitez’s woes. David Luiz came off the bench for an unimpressive Moses and changed the face of the game.
The Chelsea midfield had more control, but they were facing troubles in the attacking third being a man down. Hope arrived in the form of a red card for Benteke after a foul on Terry. This had an immediate impact as Luiz and Lampard became much freer and Villa defense dropped back. Lampard equalized 3 minutes after the red card. His shot from the edge of the box flew past Guzan and this was the 202th goal. Chelsea were set to decide their CL fate on 19th of May again, but Eden Hazard wanted to end things quickly. A quick one-two with Ashley Cole got him space and he squared for Lampard to slot in the winner and become Chelsea’s highest goalscorer.
His goal not only made him the top scorer for Chelsea but also ensured a Champions League berth for next season. In his post-match interview, Lampard expressed his desire to stay at the club. What the club management does after the season is left to be seen.
Spurs still hang on by a thread
In a do-or-die situation, AVB’s team scraped through a resilient Stoke side to grab all three points and now sit above Arsenal in the table who play Wigan at home on Tuesday. After an early Stoke goal from N’Zonzi, Spurs woke up from their midweek hangover and Bale lead the line with shots being fired at Begovic in regular intervals. Clint Dempsey equalized soon at 20 minute mark and the stage was set for an unusual tie. A flurry of cards to the Stoke players, which included a second yellow for Charlie Adam lifted AVB’s hopes of snatching a win.
But it wasn’t until the 83rd minute that Adebayor found the net. Stoke City had no reaction plan and were left to rue their defensive tactics. As Spurs hope for an Arsenal loss, Stoke will be hoping for a Wigan loss in the match on Tuesday.
Watford enter the final of the playoffs
Gianfranco Zola’s side put in a spirited performance on Sunday night to grab a 3-1 win over Leicester City to reach the final of the Playoffs where they will play either of Brighton or Crystal Palace. After their 1-0 defeat in the first leg, Zola’s team needed a miracle to tackle the unusual formation of Leicester. He employed similar tactics from the first leg, but with some minor tweaks which gave his side the advantage.
With the 3 man defence becoming more popular in English Football, both these teams fielded their own versions of it over the 2 legs. Watford going for a more of 5-3-2 formation as opposed to a 3-4-3 by their opponents. Meanwhile after a 0-0 stalemate in the first leg, Brighton and Crystal Palace take on each other on Monday night, with the winner taking the spot in the final at Wembley.