The EPL: No Easy Road
February 05, 2014
The EPL this weekend was not like the Super-Bowl. Every game was hard fought and a coronation is far down the road.
Liverpool pommelled Everton but was held to a draw by out-of-form West Bromwich. Rodgers has an incredible aggregation of attackers – Coutinho, Suarez, Sturridge and Sterling. With Gerrard back and Henderson growing into a hard working mid-fielder, Liverpool has emerged as a formidable opponent, yet West Brom shut down Suarez and only conceded one goal. That draw set back Liverpool and will make it difficult for them to qualify next year for the Champions League.
Moyes’ woes continue. Mark Hughes’ Stoke City won an unprecedented victory over Manchester United. Moyes had all his stars back. Rooney, Van Persie and the newly acquired Juan Mata were hoping for a victory and a momentum in the last part of the season. But Stoke City prevailed and Manchester United in the post-Ferguson era is out of the running for the title and making it into the top four.
Tony Pulis set up the Crystal Palace fortress and held Arsenal at bay for the first forty-five minutes.
This was a must win for Wenger and Arsenal came through in the second half. Arsenal played well and looked like Champions even though Wilshire, Ramsey and Walcott are nursing injuries. It was Oxlade-Chamberlain’s day as he managed to score the two goals that enabled Arsenal to remain at the top of the tables.
Manchester’s Pellegrini had not lost a game at home for the season. They have become a scoring machine particularly when playing at home. But Mourinho had a different idea. Manchester City failed to score and Chelsea eked out a victory with a scorching left foot kick from Ivanovic.
Manchester City possessed the ball but Chelsea was more disciplined as a team and David Luiz was tireless in mid-field.
Manchester City played without Aguero, Fernandinho and Nasri. But Manchester City’s defense has looked untidy even with Kompany in the line-up.
Mourinho manages the game in a superior manner to his peers. He keeps saying that Chelsea is not the favorite to win the EPL but that it is the team that has the true grit to be champions. One cannot dismiss Arsenal but Chelsea has assembled an aggregation that is peaking at the right time.
Ball Harambee by Bagga Wilks
