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Saturday’s action in the Barclays Premier League saw five games being played all over England’s top flight football. With just ten gameweeks remaining, the action is heating up at both ends of the table. Chelsea pulled four points clear at the zenith as Arsenal blew up their title hopes losing 0-1 to Stoke City. Liverpool though were clinical, dispatching Southampton by 3-0 while Newcastle and Everton recorded wins too. Here are the three talking points from the weekend.
It’s Chelsea’s title to lose:
Jose Mourinho’s men went four points clear at the top of the Premier League with a comfortable 3-1 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage. The Blues took advantage of Arsenal’s loss at the Britannia and as by the looks of the fixtures it’s for Chelsea to lose their firm grip on the title.
Manchester City who are due to play on Tuesday against Manchester United at Old Trafford can only be at par with Chelsea if they win their games in hand. Chelsea haven’t been at their clinical best this season, their defence leaking goals often while it has been a no show from their strikers, who have failed to hit the target more often than not.
Chelsea’s only huge test would be Liverpool away at Anfield and if Mourinho can get the job done at Merseyside, the shining trophy may well be on its way to Stamford Bridge.
Arsenal have perhaps blown it at Stoke:
A Jonathan Walters’ penalty ensured Arsene Wenger’s men return from the vociferous Britannia stadium with an empty hand as the Gunners perhaps blew apart their title aspirations. As a result of the win, the Potters climbed as high as 12th in the table as Mark Hughes’ first season in charge of the Britannia outfit is proving fruitful, however for Arsenal it remains the same old story. Wenger now has to rally his side to convincing victories in the coming fixtures for the final push, however any such failures will mean yet another season without a silverware at the London club. Its now or never for the Gunners.
Reacting to the result, Arsenal manager admitted that his side were poor offensively and claimed that the penalty was a gift from the referee
“I felt we had a good defensive performance and overall we are unlucky to lose this game. Offensively we didn’t create enough and our offensive game was poor considering our standards.”
“At the end of the day we didn’t score because of that. We conceded a goal that was a nice gift from the referee but it can happen. ”
Are Liverpool title challengers:
A terrific performance from Liverpool gave them a convincing 3-0 win against the Saints as the Reds for the first time this season look like a potential title challenger. Liverpool jumped to second in the league table and whether or not they can win the League is another question, but they are certain to give Chelsea and Manchester City a run for the money for the remainder of the season.
However, Rodgers was quick to play down the thoughts suggesting that Liverpool are title contenders. The manager, wants to take one step up at a time and was delighted with the result. Quoted by the Mirror, Rodgers said:
“We aren’t looking at the title at the moment. Chelsea and Manchester City are still the favourites and rightly so. We just want to win the next game and continue to take each game as it comes.
“This is a really difficult place to come. It was an all-round outstanding team performance.
“I’m delighted for the players because they showed great concentration in the game and got their rewards.”
Its for all to see but let’s assume they continue their imperious run of form and beat Chelsea and Manchester City at home, who knows. For that though they need to beat United next at Old Trafford. Can they pile further misery on David Moyes? Why not.
