adminThere’s no escaping it, this weekend is judgment day, and it’s a brutal cut to the chase; win or lose, stand or fall, succeed or fail. The season hinges on 90 minutes for top and bottom clubs and third fate can be sealed This is not a drill, this is it.
Liverpool vs Chelsea
Come on, admit it. We all expected them to blow it. Liverpool as champions of England! They’ve not been in this lofty position in so long, they’ve forgotten how to do it. They won’t be able to stand the heat or handle the colossal pressure of the title race, not a chance.
But then they walloped Arsenal 5-1 at the start of February and we thought “that’s a nice result, but there’s a long way to go yet.” Then in March, they played Manchester United off the park at Old Trafford but we thought “fine, but United are having a shocking season, they’re not the force they once were.”
Yet, Liverpool kept finding ways to win, at Cardiff, at home to Sunderland, at West Ham. Perhaps they did have the mental resolve, they certainly now had the momentum.
Then they beat Manchester City 3-2 and as Steven Gerrard delivered that impassioned team talk on the Anfield turf at the final whistle, most of us finally started to believe they were going to do it. Brendan Rodgers’ team then went to Norwich and put in the kind of performance that is the hallmark of champions in tricky away assignments.
Now, one big hurdle remains and yet it’s a crumbling one. As Liverpool have romped ahead, Chelsea have stumbled. The home defeat by Sunderland last weekend was an almighty blow to all concerned and now they trail the Reds by five points with just nine more to compete for.
What’s more, Jose Mourinho, conscious of managing his ill-timed injury crisis, seems more interested in reaching the final of the Champions League. After losing captain John Terry and goalkeeper Petr Cech to injury in Madrid midweek, Mourinho hinted at resting players at Anfield for next week’s second leg.
Frank Lampard and John Mikel Obi will likely form the midfield on Merseyside, given they are suspended for the Atletico return, while Nemanja Matic and Mohamed Salah may well play a part given they’re cup-tied for the Champions League. Beyond that, who knows.
Chelsea are a wounded animal and if Liverpool can produce another of the high-energy, attacking performances that have become their trademark this season, they could blow their title rivals off the park.
Should that happen, only Manchester City, assuming they beat Crystal Palace tomorrow — not the easiest task at present — would be able to catch them.
Manchester United vs Norwich City
You wait a quarter-century and then you get two managerial changes at Manchester United in the space of a single year.
In case you’ve been spending the week in a cave, David Moyes paid the inevitable price for failing to keep up with the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea in the table, conducting a poor PR campaign and, perhaps most tellingly, losing United money by not qualifying for the Champions League.
There is no doubt that Moyes worked hard but, at the end of the day, he wasn’t the right fit for United. He wasn’t able to command respect because he wasn’t a proven winner of trophies. And when it became painfully apparent that the club would win nothing and finish up seventh, his sacking was a matter of time.
Still, United must and will go on and it will be the familiar face of Ryan Giggs who takes the hotseat in the Old Trafford dug-out for the visit of Norwich City.
There are four matches left in United’s season and Giggs can go in to them safe in the knowledge that even four defeats would not diminish his reputation.
Shortcomings will still be pinned on Moyes.
For a club legend making the transition from player to coach, the next month will offer the kind of experience that can never be taught at a Uefa coaching seminar and it probably won’t be the last time we see Giggs at the helm given the esteem he is held in at the club.
The best United can do is rediscover a bit of the attacking verve that disappeared when Sir Alex Ferguson waved goodbye last summer, score some goals, win their games and gain some momentum and some optimism for whoever takes up the reins over the summer.
You have to pity relegation-haunted Norwich. They had Liverpool last weekend, United this and then have games at Chelsea and at home to Arsenal to round things off. If anything, today night’s match is the easiest of what’s left.
With just a two-point cushion above the relegation zone, it’s little wonder they are odds-on to lose their top flight status.
Neil Adams is in a similar position to Giggs. He may go down with the sinking ship but he’s tried his utmost following the departure of Chris Hughton. He can’t really be blamed for their demise should it happen, he will emerge from this with reputation intact.
Sunderland vs Cardiff City
Talking of relegation, much will be decided at the Stadium of Light in this “High Noon” encounter tomorrow. We are in the thrilling situation where any member of the bottom three could be back above the water line by the end of the weekend.
Sunderland, despite having the lesser points, still arguably have the best chance given they are still owed a game (at home to West Bromwich) because of their Capital One Cup run.
They also have the superior goal difference (if a tally of minus 24 can be ever considered “superior”) and a win against Cardiff will be priceless.
Entering the matches at Manchester City and then Chelsea, their manager Gus Poyet would have been barmy to say they would take four points out of six. He said after losing at Tottenham as recently as April 8 that his team needed “a miracle”.
The words have been digested and used as a source of inspiration by the squad and fans alike. A banner reading “Miracles happen Gus” greeted him at Stamford Bridge and something miraculous did indeed unfold.
“As soon as I said we needed a miracle, things changed,” Poyet said. “I’m a believer, I am committed and I know what we can do.”
It’s almost like he believes a higher power is smiling on his club, but Cardiff’s faithful might think so too.
They were hopeless earlier in the year but an improbable late fightback at West Bromwich and a completely unexpected 1-0 win at Southampton have suggested they will be the lucky ones.
Boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who knows all about great escapes, has targeted six points from forthcoming visits to the North East to play Sunderland and then Newcastle.
“We are more than capable of doing that,” said goalkeeper David Marshall, whose heroics earned a 1-1 home draw with Stoke last time out. “Picking up points on the road has given us belief.”
With so much at stake, that little bit of extra belief might well determine tomorrow’s showdown. — Daily Mail
Online Reporter