CHAMPIONS YET AGAIN

 

 

Wierd to think that when we faced Arsenal in the Premiership at the Emirates Stadium earlier this season, we actually looked like we'd have trouble getting into the title race. Sure enough, the Gunners beat us 2-1 on that occasion. Now at the tail end of the season, the situation couldn't be clearer. Draw with our old rivals at Old Trafford and we would be Premiership champions while Arsene Wenger's crew looked like they'd have to settle for a Champions League preliminary spot. There were some changes in the United lineup since the two sides locked horns in the Champions League. Rio and Vidic in central defence, Carrick, Giggsy(captain) and Fletcher in midfield, Rooney, Tevez and Ronaldo up front.

Well we may have only needed a point but we certainly opened the game on the attack and should have hit the net. However, the thinking was that we had plenty of time to do so. Arsenal did look like they meant business this time round though and started to get enough of the ball to make me nervous. Still, the defence seemed solid enough. While I don't think we were playing for a draw, we certainly weren't quite firing on all cylinders. Arsenal ended the half with a Robin van Persie free kick...which went right into the wall. Text message sent at half time: "45 mins till we win the title, could do with a goal though". For peace of mind if nothing else.

Arsenal were the team that started the second half on the front foot and sure enough that meant more nerves, particularly with United's passing looking a bit dodgy. Fergie put some fresh legs on, but in a way that suggested he merely wanted to hold on to the clean sheet. Those fresh legs belonged to Park however and he did hit the net but as just as I roared I saw an offside flag. As the game wound into it's closing stages, both sides had further chances. Injury time. Still no goals. For either side. The full time whistle blew, and then I had the right to celebrate. The game itself felt a bit anti-climatic. The bottom line was though that before they even got the chance to respond, they had to abandon all hope.

So, Manchester United, Premiership champions. By four points with a game still to play. The story sounds familiar. It's our third Premiership title in a row, matching our 1998-2001 run during which I finished my GCSE's and did my A Levels. It's Berbatov's first Premiership title and hopefully it'll go down as Macheda and Wellbeck's first title as well. Fingers crossed. This season has had it's messy moments though and a lot of credit has to go to Liverpool. Rafa Benitez's stupidity aside. This has been the Scousers best league campaign since the start of the Premiership era. For now though, we are still the team that knows how to win titles. The Anfield crew, and anyone else that wants to take a shot at us, can wait for another season.

North of the border, Aberdeen faced Rangers at Ibrox in the SPL. Well the Gers had the stronger first half overall but the biggest headlines of the half was the fact that it ended 10 a side and neither team was happy with the ref's decision making. The Dons hit the net in the second half. Slight problem, it was their own net, Foster the one responsible for the blunder. Kenny Miller put the Gers two up soon after. Michael Patton, a striker signed from Brechin last season, then scored his first goal for the Dons. Congratulations to him but the Reds couldn't find an equaliser, banking on getting three points out of Ibrox proved to be aiming two high.

Elsewhere, Dundee United faced Hearts at Tynecastle. The Tangerines were ripped apart by the home side with Lee Wallace and Bruno Aquiar hitting the next before half time, leaving the visitors with their work cut out. Eggart Jonsson made it three with a penalty in the second half. It wasn't that Hearts really dominated the match, but they were a lot more lethal despite not having anything to play for before the match kicked off. That result means that the Dons remain 5th place in the SPL, three points behind Dundee United and a Europa League spot. Yet again though they have ridden their luck! The race for that European spot is still on though they'll need one last favour to pull it off.

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