SLIPPED UP AGAIN

 

Well it seemed as though United were finally starting to get their act together in the Premiership. Yes, Chelsea were stil top of the table but we had to face them one more time this season and with Wayne on the form he was, it wasn't as if anyone else was going to stop us. Still, a Golden Boot for Wayne was no garuntee of a Premiership title and not only did we need to keep our form going, we also needed to hope that Chelsea slipped up at least once more. Still, the Premiership race was very much back on and if the Blues were going to take our title then it was United's job to make sure that they'd have a hard time doing so, bring on the next games.

First up came a visit to Everton at Goodison Park. Berbatov opened the scoring for United but Everton replied through Diniyar Bilyaletdinov soon after. Both sides had chances beforew half time but neither could make them count. United ran the show early in the second have but blew all of their chances in that time and the Toffees made us pay when Dan Gosling hit the net to turn the game round. The Reds were then finished off by Jack Rodwell. A gutting performance from United, particularly late on, led to a gutting result and the fact that I was left without Sky for this match put me in an even worse mood. Could this be the moment we gave Chelsea the title.

Not if we could help it. Next up was West Ham at Old Trafford. Credit to the Hammers, they gave us a match early on but with Wayne as hungry as he would have been after the Everton defeat, it wasn't much of a surprise when he opened the scoring. Our main assasin then grabbed a second early in the second half. Wayne couldn't completed his hat-trick before being substituted but his replacement was Owen who did the honours of sealing the win. Exactly what we needed after the Everton result and in theory puts us back in the title race but the fact is, we should have been top of the Premiership by this point. Nothing to complain about as far as the match itself is concerned though.

Elsewhere, Chelsea beat Wolves 2-0 at Molineux with the Blues scoring either side of half time in a game where Wolves had slightly more chances but Carlo Ancelotti's men proved much more clinical even though they were cruising through this one. Spurs beat Wigan 3-0 at the DW stadium despite Harry Redknapp's crew being only 1-0 up for most of the match, the Latics finding themselves buried in the closing minutes. That leaves United 2nd in the Premiership, one point behind leaders Chelsea though fourteen ahead of Spurs and a detour through the Champions League preliminaries. However both teams have a game in hand over us.

Chelsea in the meantime had bigger fish to fry, a Champions League 1st knockout round 1st leg match against Inter at the San Siro. Jose Mourinho's current side didn't hang around with Diego Milito opening the scoring early on. Chelsea equalised early in the second half through Soloman Kalou only for Inter to retake the lead through Esteban Cambiasso. The rest of the match proved to be fairly even but at the final whistle it was first blood to Jose. Yet the Special One may not yet have the last laugh given that his Serie A side was only able to get a goal advantage on home turf. Chelsea need just one goal at Stamford Bridge to turn the tie round.

Going down a level, the Europa League 1st knockout round 2nd leg matches took place. Liverpool beat Unirea Urziceni 3-1 at the Unirea Valahorum Stadium. Everton were beaten 3-0 by Sporting Lisbon at the Estadio Jose Alvalade. Fulham drew 1-1 with Shatkar Donetsk at the RSK Olympyiskyi after after their 1st leg win, that was all Roy Hodgson's team to knockout the cup holders 3-2 on aggregate, a great result for one of the Premiership's lesser known clubs. So, one Premiership side has been put to the sword yet two others are still standing going into the last sixteen. That's not a bad result and there's still a reasonable chance of a Premiership side lifting the trophy.

So, how are they going to get on in the 2nd knockout round. Liverpool will face Lille with the 1st leg at Anfield. The Ligue 1 side are having a solid domestic season and can be counted on to make things interesting but the safe bet is for the Scousers to edge this. Fulham meanwhile face Juventus with the 1st leg at Craven Cottage. The Serie A giants may not quite be as awake as they used to be but they are still one of the competition favourites. Fulham are going to get caned. Still, if one Premiership sides gets knocked out at this stage and one goes on to the quarters, that wouldn't be a bad situation, particularly as an on form Pool side culd potentially lift the trophy.

Back in the domestic arena, Aberdeen faced SD1 Raith Rovers in a Scottish Cup 5th round replay at Pittodrie. The Dons had the edge early on but Raith then gave them a few headaches later in the first half and the teams went into halftime goalless. A shocked Pittodrie then saw Gregory Tade opening the scoring for Raith and a sludgy Reds side wasn't able to do anything to respond. Throwing the hitchen sink at the underdogs got them nowhere. Needless to say, Mark McGhee wasn't the most popular guy in the Granite City after that match. The latest in a string of Cup disasters mean that this looks like it's going to be another iffy season for the Reds.

Elsewhere, Rangers faced St Mirren in an all-SPL tie at Ibrox. The Gers ran the show in the early stages of the game but later on in the first half the Saints got their act together a bit more. Still, nothing separating the sides at half time. The Gers went on to run the show in the second half, having both a penalty appeal turned down then an opening goal ruled out for offside. Finally Kris Boyd was able to make something count though. That makes Walter Smith's men one of five SPL teams in the Scottish Cup quarter finals, a creditable even if fairly predictable return for the top flight sides competing in the country's main Cup tournament.

So, the Scottish Cup quarter final lineup looks like this. Kilmarnock face Celtic at Rugby Park(Celtic to go through). Dundee face Raith in an all-SD1 tie at Dens Park(Dundee to go through - would be an impressive run for a lower-division side). Hibs face SD1 Ross County at Easter Road(Hibs to go through - they're certainly the luckiest of the SPL sides, particularly on home turf County shouldn't be much of a threat to them). Rangers face Dundee United at Ibrox(Rangers to go through in what looks like the tie of the round - away from home the Old Firm side might get semi-mugged but at Ibrox the safe money is always on the Blues).

South of the border, the FA Cup 5th round replays were taking place. In the first of two all-Premiership sides, Stoke beat Man City 3-1 at the Britannia Stadium after extra time. A surprise but not an unpleasent one for a United fan. Spurs beat Bolton 4-0 at White Hart Lane. After a tight match in the original game Harry Redknapp's crew really took Wanderers to the cleaners are are looking like a good bet to make the final. That makes for seven Premiership teams in the FA Cup quarter finals so that while United and a couple other big guns may still have been mugged, we are certainly not looking at a rerun of the twilight zone of '08.

 

So, the FA Cup quarter final draw looks like this. Portsmouth will face Birmingham at Fratton Park(Pompey to win - having been saved from oblivion). Fulham face Spurs at Craven Cottage(Spurs to go through though it may need a replay). Championship Reading face Villa at the Madjeski Stadium(Villa to win the most straightforward tie of the round and go a step closer to their first FA Cup final since 2000 - and they're well in the mixer). Chelsea face Stoke at Stamford Bridge(Chelsea to go through - would have been interesting had Man City made it through but this'll be more straightforward). Chelsea are still the safe bet to win the Cup.

Next up, England are back in action.

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