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I know it’s bit delayed for a match reaction post. I just couldn’t find time to write a blog. Anyway, that was a great match. On Saturday, Man Utd had just beaten Tottenham. That was supposed to be their biggest hurdle of their run-in. And they won it with a two-goal margin. That meant Chelsea had to beat Stoke. Some thought that the goal difference didn’t matter so much because as long as we win our matches, we will be champions. But Chelsea had other ideas.
Much has been said about Chelsea’s third 7-goal haul this year, after 104 years not having scored 7 in a match. The fact that Chelsea has scored 7 goals in a match thrice in a few months shows how much this team has improved under Ancelotti. Whether Ancelotti wins the league or not, whether he wins the FA Cup or not, I cannot deny the fact that the team has certainly improved under him.
Against Stoke, we had several great performances. But the man of the match for me was Super Frankie Lampard. His performance was just sublime. He was creative, he was box-to-box, and he was playing like it was some training match. His penalty was brilliant. If you’ve been following his penalties this season, his penalties have just been top class. It’s good from a world cup point of view, because I don’t see England avoiding a penalty shootout if they are to progress. Even otherwise, I’m pretty pleased with the assurance with which he smashes his penalties.
And then, his second goal should contest for the goal of the season contests. Traditionally, all your goal of the season contests are heavily biased with the long range efforts. I agree these 40-yarders are pretty difficult to pull off, but they are also 70:30 on luck and skills respectively, while the close range finishes such as the second goal from Lampard are very high on skill. When Lampard scored a blinder against Barcelona at Nou Camp a couple of years back, I had written that Lampard was not getting enough credit for his efforts. I’m saying it again. If that goal was scored by a Xavi or an Iniesta or a Messi, you’d have the whole world raving about it. But since it’s Chelsea’s Lampard, no one’s even talking about it for the second time.
The mystery of Kalou continues. He has this knack of playing like a complete novice one day, and coming up with some crucial goal the other day. He manages to maintain this inconsistency so consistently. In a barrage of goals, it was strange to see that Drogba couldn’t find one, but he was immense too.
Under the circ*mstances, it was a fantastic performance from Chelsea. If we had finished a little better, we could have had a record scoreline like 10-0 or 11-0. When Man Utd beat Tottenham, the momentum was certainly with them. While a 1-0 or 2-0 win from Chelsea would have retained our one-point lead, only a big win like the 7-0 win could have recaptured the momentum from Man Utd. That’s what happened exactly. As Chelsea demolished Stoke, the confidence of the team has absolutely skyrocketed. Also, with fewer games to go, and with a smaller lead, the goal difference does have a value.
I heard some people saying that this league would not be decided on goal difference anymore. That’s wrong. There is indeed a possibility. If Chelsea draw both their matches, and if Man Utd win one and lose one, the points will be tied. In this scenario, Chelsea will be champions on goal difference. There is also another possibility that’s not widely expected or even discussed.
If Man Utd lose to Sunderland on Saturday, a Chelsea win on Sunday would clinch the title for the Blues at Anfield. So, Chelsea can win the title with a game to spare if Sunderland beat Man Utd. Do I expect Sunderland to beat Man Utd? Nope. Why? Steve Bruce is from Ferguson’s school. Expect him to completely surrender to Ferguson, and lay a red carpet for them to start their procession. After the match, he might probably talk about what a great manager Fergie is and that Man Utd can be deserving champions. Disgusting. There are a bunch of such british managers who love the idea of succumbing to Man Utd. Yo Steve Bruce, prove me wrong!
As I’m typing this, Inter have eliminated Barca from the champions league at the Nou Camp. Barca got their usual quota of support from the referee, but still The Special One held out with a 10-man Inter against a 11-man Barca in front of 100,000 Catalans. I can’t tell you how much I love this result. I take this as a sweet revenge on Barca by TSO on behalf of ‘his boys’ at Chelsea. In the recent times, when Barca won the champions league in 05-06, Shevchenko’s goal in the semi-final was atrociously ruled out, and the equaliser Barca scored against Arsenal in the final in the 76th minute was offside. They won it though. In 08-09, the semi-final against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge—need I say more?
Let me end this blog with the funniest picture of the night. You may not see this picture anywhere else because I had taken this picture myself by pausing the action on the TV, especially for you. That was of Sergio Busquets falling down like he was shot by a missile, rolling on the pitch clutching his face and cunningly peeping out to see what’s happening outside with a ‘has the ref sent him off’ kind of look. He is either a complete idiot or a cheeky bastard—probably both.
By the way, I remember Lionel Messi doing this to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and he got Del Horno sent off. That runs in the Catalan blood probably. Hello Barca! You are NOT going to MADRID! Wow! I feel so better now
Back to Chelsea, here’s to Steve Bruce proving that he is not the step son of Fergie. Sunderland to beat Man Utd (Darren Bent! Darren Bent!) and Chelsea to beat Liverpool at Anfield. Chelsea to win the title this Sunday. Cheers!
