The Weekend Awards – SuperBale to the rescue

The Weekend Awards are a somewhat serious, somewhat tongue in cheek affair in summary of the best and worst of the Premier League. Touch and go at top and bottom so here’s what stood out.

Highlight of the Weekend

Wigan make the relegation fight interesting

If Wigan had lost to West Brom, they would have been 5 points from safety with 3 to play. Instead, with the win they are just two points behind Sunderland, 3 behind Norwich and Newcastle and 4 behind Southampton. And they’ve got a game in hand on Tuesday at home to a Swansea side who have nothing to play for. Interesting. If they win that and Sunderland beat Stoke tonight, then suddenly Fulham up in 12th would be just 2 points off the drop and in poor form. For the neutrals a Wigan win over Swansea would make for an incredible end to the season at the bottom.

Lowlight of the Weekend

‘Super’ Sunday

What a let down the two Sunday games were! The Merseyside derby was a fairly uninspiring 0-0 and Manchester United-Chelsea didn’t get going until it was too late. All four teams looked like they knew they had done their important business for the season, even though Chelsea needed to beat United. There was a distinct lack of quality and edge to both games and made for an unsatisfying few hours.

Goal of the Weekend

Gabby Agbonlahor (2nd) vs Norwich

This was both an aesthetically pleasing and vitally important goal. The inch perfect pass from Ashley Westwood followed Agbonlahor’s clever run between the two centre backs and he ended up peeling all the way around Bassong from his blind side. By the time Bassong had seen what was happening, the perfect positioning of the pass combined with Agbonlahor’s express pace meant that the Villa striker was through on goal. He kept a calm head to slot home and was able to celebrate in front of the travelling Villa fans as his side recorded another key win.

Really?! Moment of the Weekend

Rafael’s Red Card

So the clock is running down on what is a meaningless game for United when Rafael gets embroiled in a little squabble with countryman David Luiz. Rafael has a little kick out and Luiz throws himself to the floor before looking up and smiling at his compatriot. He then makes sure to look anguished as referee Howard Webb arrives on the scene amidst a sea of card waving from Oscar and Ramires (both Brazilian) and the inevitable denouement. So much for national pride.

Most Deceptive Result of the Weekend

Fulham 2-4 Reading

This one is deceptive for two reasons. Firstly, the temptation is to say ‘Well if Reading had played like that more often they would have stayed up’. Yeah well they didn’t, so they haven’t. They played with the freedom and abandon of a team that had no pressure. For Fulham, the temptation is to think ‘Oh well, they’re safe anyway’. But the thing is, they’re not yet. If Sunderland and more importantly, Wigan, win their respective game in hand then Fulham would only be two points off the relegation zone with 5 defeats in their last 6 games. They are quietly in a tailspin and need to find a win but they have a potentially rampant Liverpool visiting next before a tricky trip to Swansea. If they get zero points, they will be looking nervously elsewhere.

One man team of the weekend

SuperBale vs Southampton

It’s getting a bit old now but Spurs really are dependent on Gareth Bale. Without him, they’re certainly not a top four team. He was kept quiet all game with some canny tactical set up by Southampton which resulted in an awful Spurs showing in a grinding 0-0. It looked like it would end like that before SuperBale cut in from the right and, in trade mark style, hit a fading shot in to the far corner of the goal.