Odds and Sods

Arsenal beat Bolton 3-2 at the Reebok, keeping mathematical title hopes alive. The Gunners, with 10 men on the pitch, scored three goals to reverse a 2-0 deficit. Diaby deserved his red card for raised studs. Poor fortune averaged itself through an unmarked corner, a penalty and a deflection.

Cristiano Ronaldo is the best in the world right now. He scored one, set up three and could have had two more as Manchester United beat Aston Villa 4-0 to retain a five point clearance. Rooney should have had four goals, only managed a brace. Had Maloney made use of his attempts, it could have been closer, but Villa got played off the pitch.

Newcastle are charging toward the top half, with a 4-1 defeat of Tottenham at White Hart Lane. Both teams forsook caution with 4-3-3 formations, but it was Newcastle that capitalized on their chances. Obafemi Martins looked light and rejuvenated.

It was another muck of Merseyside Derby, as a fortunate Torres gift gave Liverpool the 1-0 victory over Everton. The Champions League six pointer pushed Liverpool ahead by five points.

No tan from standing

in the English rain, many

bald spots exposed though

Manchester United 2 – Bolton 0 Cristiano Ronaldo may be masking United’s problems, but he’s doing a damn good job of it. His record-breaking brace bumped the Red Devils into sole possession of first – one they are not likely relinquish. He now has something else in common with George Best, besides his number, his good looks and his whoring.

Chelsea 4 – Tottenham 4 It was an advertisement for Premier League football, but not necessarily a positive one. A few spectacular goals, but simple man-marking would have muffled many of them. That said, it was the most exciting match of this season. After blowing 3-1 and 4-3 leads in the second half – scuppering their title chances – Chelsea manager/death warden Avram Grant’s seat is now hotter than Kathleen Turner’s husky voice for men in their forties.

Wigan 0 - Arsenal 0

Why play a 39th match abroad, when you can come to the Wigan and play on the surface of the moon.  The pitch aside, it was a dismal Arsenal effort.  Bendtner bumbled around negating Adebayor, who disappeared during the dreary second half.  The sails flutter and the ship is taking on water.  They are unbeaten, but broken.

Tottenham 4 - West Ham 0

Big Match Berbatov comes through in the clutch again, as Tottenham creeps closer in the riotous race for tenth.  Spurs have supplanted Liverpool as the league’s Jeckyll and Hyde outfit.  Another Darren Bent sighting as well.

Liverpool 3 - Newcastle 0

As usual for Liverpool, it was Torres, Gerrard and a tad bit of luck.  They have hit form in time to take firm hold of fourth.  Someone should ring up the Soccer Circus to alert them that Obafemi Martins is good.

Reading 2 - Manchester City 0

Coppell’s squad cobbelled together a huge victory to lift them from the relegation zone.  City are fading, but from injuries rather than a premature Sventasm.  Stephen Hunt must lead the “innocuous collision” table.

The English Premier League was on top of the world, or at least Europe, on Wednesday. Arsenal became the first English club to defeat defending champion A.C. Milan at home. Manchester United outfoxed French side Lyon. Chelsea throttled Olympiacos 3-0. Liverpool looks likely to go through with a 2-0 advantage over Inter.

Assuming that Liverpool held their lead to Inter, that would mean all four English clubs would have made the quarterfinals of the Champions League. With only two out of the seven Spanish and Italian clubs making it that far, it seemed a strong statement that the Premier League was the best league in Europe.

However, this sentiment was short lived.

Vicariously buoyed by their brethren, the overconfident English cubs received reality on Thursday.

Tottenham’s Carling-caused hangover continued as Jefferson Farfan stole a 1-0 lead for PSV, after the first leg at White Hart Lane, muddling Ramos’ stated mission to win two cups this season.

Fiorentina shocked high-flying Everton at home, taking a 2-0 advantage into the second leg. The loss would have been even worse had Tim Howard not put in a man-of-the-match performance.

Bolton as well got an unfortunate result, drawing Sporting Lisbon 1-1 at home. Desperately needing to exit the competition and focus on the relegation battle, they now stand a reasonable chance of advancing.

English success in the Champions League may supplement Sky’s hype material, but, as the UEFA Cup shows, Premier League quality is not quite so disparate.

Birmingham 4 - Tottenham 1 Spurs tried on the big boy pants, only to end up wearing them around their ankles. They had a sick party last weekend. This weekend they were simply sick. The rear guard is rubbish. Robinson has evolved from awfully fat to just awful. They are closer to the relegation zone than to tenth place. Pop goes the bombastic balloon.

Arsenal 1 - Aston Villa 1 Arsenal added to a terrible two weeks with this stinker. Walcott was wonderful. Senderos was dreadful. None of the other players decided to show up. Only luck kept Villa from putting this one away with a second goal.  The absence of goal minded players (Van Persie, Eduardo, Rosicky) has left the Arsenal attack impotent, with no one capitalizing upon their superb set-up play.

Bendtner’s substitution seemed quite odd.  Personal issues aside, he and Adebayor cross paths on the pitch because they play the same role in the same position.  This change also neutralized Walcott who had been Arsenal’s most dangerous player in the first sixty minutes.  The crucial goal came from fortune, not inspired strategy.

Fulham 0 - Manchester United 3 United came up fruitful for the first time visiting London this season.  The scoreline does not flatter Fulham, who acquitted themselves admirably.  For a club out-manned, they needed all of the luck, but received none of it, left vacant after a cavalcade of close calls.   Eddie Johnson has not yet earned the right to wear orange boots in the Premier League.

Everton 3 - Portsmouth 1 The Toffees kept the pressure on their cross-town rivals with this victory, keeping their 3 pt lead for a Champions League place.  Yakubu was in the mood and Pompey got the business end of it.  He was a far more prudent investment than Dirk Kuyt.