With the conclusion of last weeks Round 16 of UEFA Champions League, England once again showed its dominance in football. Four English Premier teams have advanced to the next round, which accounts for half of the teams left in the tournament. It is no surprise that those 4 English teams are at the top of the Premier League right now: Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Arsenal. The Champions League could see an all English final.
As the European Theatre heats up, England is red hot. New life has been instilled in Liverpool and Chelsea as they frantically try to catch Manchester United for top spot in the league. With the Reds defeating Man Utd on their own turf this past week and clenching a crucial 3 points, Manchester United’s lead has been cut to 4, but with a game in hand. Chelsea cleaned up Manchester City with a 1-0 win to match Liverpool and move into second place.
The Premier League Title is not the only coveted trophy up for grabs in England though. The FA Cup is still going on with Manchester United, Chelsea, and Arsenal still poised at a chance to collect hardware.
Manchester United has already won the Carling Cup. Many supporters and experts believe that they could sweep all the English championships and claim the Champions League to add 4 trophies to the season’s success.
Liverpool seems to be living up to their hopes of cracking the top 3 in the league and making a run for the Premier League Championship. Liverpool’s future success will be closely tied with the health of Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres.
After all of the controversy at Stamford Bridge regarding managers and the return of Michael Essien, the Blues are showing signs of their earlier swagger. Chelsea has been undefeated in their last 4 outings under new manager Guus Hiddink and has begun to rebuild fans’ confidence in the club. Chelsea showed off their skills by scoring late in Tuesday’s game against Juventus to advance in the Champions League, as well as scoring in the first 17 minutes against Manchester City and hold them off the board in a 1-0 win in the Premiership.
Manchester United will recover from this loss. They are not going to roll over and let any team take any trophy from their grasps. The Red Devils still have a game in hand, and previous to this lost, they were unbeaten for the last 16 games. One of those victories includes a 3-0 win over Chelsea. Expect the Red Army to be in full force on Sunday when they compete against Fulham.
This week has made the Premier League much more interesting, one mistake can and will end the hope for some of these clubs to hoist up a trophy after the smoke clears. This means every game counts. No game can be overlooked. It is still a must win situation for Chelsea and Liverpool. As these two clubs compete against each other to reach to the top, Manchester United is waiting for them. We will see how this will play out…
Great job Reds and Blues
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