Week 1: Premier League Tops & Flops

Sports - Football - Premier League - Picks of the Week

And it's finally back! The new Premier League season has kicked off and it started in style! This weekend we saw 27 goals, six home wins, two away wins, two draws, two red cards, seven penalties awarded, five of the spot kicks netted, five set piece goals, 17 open play goals and three headed goals. Oh, and a couple of surprises too! Here are my picks of the week:

OMG!

The three results that gob-smacked me most were Fulham's and Swansea's five-star thrashings of Norwich and QPR respectively and Liverpool's 3-0 defeat at West Brom. All three games were filled with defensive shambles and cringes as well as offensive flourishes and attacking blasts and shine. This was the first time since August 1958 we have seen two top-flight teams score five goals in the opening fixtures! Lucky number five!

WOW!

Southampton's performance against Champions Manchester City more than impressed. The newly promoted side from the South coast was given no chance, in this fixture and league. But Nigel Adkins' men showed what they are made of and gave City a good run for their money. And it was only the eighth time in Premier League history when three subsitutes  have scored in the same game (=> Steve Davis, Rickie Lambert and Edin Dzeko). Super subs ahoy!

TOP!

Zoltan Gera's smacker against Liverpool gave West Brom a well deserved lead against Brendan Rodgers' men and warned the Merseysiders of what was ahead. Pepe Reina had no chance to stop this breathtaking strike from the edge of the box! Ben Foster made some great stops and saves frustrating Luis Suarez who seemed not quite on the ball missing a handful of chances. An all-too familiar sound to the Reds who will be looking to add more names onto their team sheet before the summer transfer window closes at the end of August.

FLOP!

Daniel Agger's sending off obviously did not help Liverpool's case after the Danish defender pushed and brought down Shane Long in the box. The Irish striker's resulting spot kick could not have been softer though and was an easy stop for Pepe! It was a let off as far as Liverpool were concerned, otherwise it could have ended up being an even more embarrassing thrashing result!

Stoke's opener against newly promoted Reading was more than embarrasing for keeper Adam Federici when he let Michael Kightly's soft shot slip through his arms. The more relieved he could be when his side equalised with a last-minute penalty kick by Adam Le Fondre after Reading sub Garath McClearly was brought down in the box by Dean Whitehead who received his marching orders for his second bookable offence.

HERO!

Marouane Fellaini's unstoppable bullet header gave Everton a deserved lead and home win against Manchester United. The six-foot-four-and-a-half-inch Belgium striker was the star of the show as Toffees dominated play both at the front and the back at Goodison Park. New United signing Robin van Persie's debut was less impressive. Brought on in the 68th minute, it looked like the Dutchman could be the saviour the Red Devils needed but nothing Sir Alex Ferguson's men threw at the home side could break them. They kept strong and solid and more than deserved the three points.

ZZZERO...

Arsenal's goalless draw against Sunderland was disappointing to watch. It was a frustrating opening to the season for the Gunners, new signings German striker Lukas Podolski and Spanish midfielder Santi Cazorla impressing and enjoying much of the possession but missing the killer instinct in the final third, firing loads of blanks, giving keeper Simon Mignolet not much to do. C'est la vie sans RVP, Monsieur Wenger! Pas bon!

My Predictions => Actual Results

Arsenal 0-0 Sunderland => 0-0
Fulham 2-1 Norwich => 5-0
QPR 2-0 Swansea => 0-5
Reading 1-0 Stoke => 1-1
West Brom 0-2 Liverpool => 3-0
West Ham 2-1 Aston Villa => 1-0
Newcastle 2-1 Tottenham => 2-1
Wigan 0-2 Chelsea => 0-2
Man City 4-0 Southampton => 3-2
Everton 0-2 Man United => 1-0
Chelsea 3-1 Reading => 4-2

Liverpool end pre-season on a 3-1 high

Sports - Football - Pre-Season Friendly

Liverpool 3:1 Bayer Leverkusen

Liverpool completed their season preparations in style, beating German opposition Bayer Leverkusen 3-1 at Anfield, keeping new manager Brendan Rodgers' home record 100% successful with two wins out of two games.

Raheem Sterling curled in a beauty of a shot just a couple of minutes into the match, a magnificent right-footed curl-shot into the corner of the net after cutting in nicely. A gold-medal start for the young winger and the Reds.

The home side continued dominating the field and possession and doubled their lead just before the half-hour mark thanks to Lucas Leiva's tap in connecting to a give-away by Luis Suarez after Leverkusen's defence just fell asleep.

So, the Reds took a comfortable 2-0 lead into the break and the visitors did not form much of a thret at the start of the second half either, the game noticeably slowing down as a consequence.

On 65, Andy Carroll saw his left-footed drive skiddle past the goalkeeper Bernd Leno's leghs, the German keeper not happy with letting that one in but it was clever play by Charlie Adam leading up to the goal plus one happy Carroll to be on the scoresheet and underline his will to stay in the side that lead Liverpool ahead 3-0.

Leverkusen's number 18 Sidney Sam hit a rocket left-footer, diagonal from outside the box, past Pepe Reina, to make it 3-1, no chance for the Spanish keeper. But Super Sam's strike was just a consolation goal for Sami Hyypiä's men, the last quarter of an hour passing ny with the home side in comfortable control and neither goalkeeper being challenged.

This was a nice win for Rodgers' Reds, a good note to end the pre-season and see more names on the scoreboard. All eyes are now on the remaining weeks of the transfer window and kick-off to the new Premier League season next weekend.
I hope and think the Reds are just warming up on both notes!

Liverpool 3-1 Bayer Leverkusen (HT 2-0) at Anfield

Liverpool Goals: 1: 2:08 min Raheem Sterling (31), 2: 28:54 min Lucas Leiva (21), 3: 64:51 min Andy Carroll (9).

Leverkusen Goals: 1: 74:54 min Sidney Sam (18).

Liverpool 1st half: 25 Reina; 3 Enrique, 10 Coates, 23 Carragher, 34 Kelly; 33 Shelvey, 21 Lucas, 8 Gerrard (c), 19 Downing, 31 Sterling; 7 Suarez. 4-5-1
2nd half Subs: All HT: ON: 9 Carroll, 14 Henderson, 20 Spearing, 26 Adam, 49 Robinson. OFF:  7, 19, 21, 8, 3.
Subs not used: 1 Jones.

Leverkusen 1st half: 1 Leno; 24 Kadlec, 3 Reinartz, 4 Wollscheid, 2 Schwaab; 8 Bender, 6 Rolfes (c), 21 Toprak; 38 Bellarabi, 9 Schurrle, 11 Kießling. 4-3-3
2nd half Subs: HT: ON: 5 Friedrich, 14 Hosogai, 18 Sam, 27 Castro. OFF: 21, 9, 38, 24. 68.: ON: 13 Hegeler, 20 Carvajal. OFF:  8, 2. 70.: ON: 7 Fernandes. OFF: 11.
Subs not used: 23 Carlinhos, 22 Yelldell.

1st & 2nd half stats: Liverpool-Leverkusen
Attempts: 4-5 & 5-3
On target: 2-1 & 1-1
Offsides: 0-0 & 1-0
Corners: 1-1 & 1-3
Free kicks: 1-1 & 5-1
Possession: 66%-34% (23.)
Passing Stats: Reina 55 (Accuracy 80%) => his best since 40 v Aston Villa (A) last season, Sterling 19 (94.74%), Coates 64 (96.9%), Kelly 61 (90.2%), Shelvey 59 (84.8%), Carragher 77 (94.8%); 1st half: Downing 34 (85.29%), Suarez 12 (75%), Enrique 21 (80.95%), Gerrard 32 (87.5%), Lucas 46 (91.3%); 2nd half: Carroll 6 (66.7%), Adam 23 (87%), Robinson 30 (94.59%), Henderson 37 (97.3%). 1st half: Coates 29 (100%), Lucas 46 (91.3%).
Referee: Martin Atkinson

Liverpool start summer tour with a draw

Sports - Football - Pre-Season Friendly - Liverpool 1:1 Toronto

Liverpool came away from their first pre-season warm-up match against Toronto with a draw thanks to Adam Morgan's fine finish off Raheem Sterling's brilliant provider's touch and cross.

New Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers chose a young line-up for his first match with the Reds, giving 23 players a run out on Saturday night. Toronto were just as experimental, giving their main players a rest midst a very competitive week and season in Canada.

It was a good, competitive match-up, an entertaining display by the youngsters with some nice one-twos. The visitors dominated the game and possession, but it was LFC's Australian goalkeeper Brad Jones who had to make the first clear save of the game off TFC striker Ryan Johnson.

The Reds showed some good build-up, Daniel Pacheco especially frustrating the Canadians' back line with some nice tango steps and play. Youngstes Jordan Ibe and Andre Wisdom also impressed with some confident and encouraging moves. But the first half ended goalless.

The second half saw two new elevens lined up and the game picked up in pace. The home side took the lead after Red keeper Peter Gulacsi spilled Andrew Wiedeman's shot and left Toronto's striker Quincy Amarikwa with an easy slot-in. But Liverpool kept up the pace and just over ten minutes later equalised.

Much-criticised Joe Cole missed some sitters late on, but all in all Liverpool and Rodgers can be satisfied with their youngsters first run out and display of the summer.

Liverpool 1-1 Toronto (0-0) - Rogers Centre, Toronto, Canada

Liverpool Goals: 1: 68:24min Adam Morgan (50)

Toronto Goals: 1: 57:52min Quincy Amarikwa (18)

Liverpool 1st half: 1 Jones; 3 Enrique, 23 Carragher (c), 45 Sama, 47 Wisdom; 44 Ibe, 26 Adam, 18 Aquilani, 20 Spearing; 12 Pacheco, 36 Eccleston. 4-4-2
2nd half: 42 Gulacsi; 49 Robinson, 22 Wilson, 37 Skrtel, 38 Flanagan; 51 Adorjan (21 Leiva 74.), 33 Shelvey, 30 Suso, 10 Cole, 31 Sterling; 50 Morgan. 4-5-1

Toronto 1st half: 41 Hall; 5 Morgan (38 Pasher 28.), 2 Emory, 27 Eckersley, 4 Henry; 8 Avila, 23 Dunfield, 22 Frings (c), 19 Lambe; 11 Silva, 9 Johnson. 4-4-2
2nd half: 40 Roberts; 38 Pasher, 20 Harden, 31 Williams (bkd 87), 34 Galle; 33 Camargo (16 Cordon 79.), 21 Maund, 15 Stinson, 36 Janniere (13 Makubuya 77.); 18 Amarikwa (35 Sciacchitano 84.), 32 Wiedeman. 4-4-2

1st & 2nd half stats: Liverpool-Toronto
Attempts: 3-2 & 8-6
On target: 1-1 & 3-2
Offsides: 0-0 & 1-0
Corners: 2-1 & 4-2
Free kicks: 4-5 & 5-5
Possession: 75%-25% (32.) & 70%-30% (FT)
Passes completed: 660-277

Euro 2012 - Group Stage Summary

Sports - Football - Euro 2012 - Picks of the Group Stage

Top game: Portugal's dramatic 3-2 win against Denmark thanks to Silvestre Varela's last-gasp winner kept their qualifying hopes alive whilst the Danes showed their always up for a fight and everything else but easy to beat. Another five-goal thriller saw Roy Hodgson's side beat Sweden 3-2 and end their hoodoo as England had never beaten the Scandinavians in a competitive match before. The win also showed that England are a scoring force even without their main striker Wayne Rooney thanks to Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck. The opening game of the competition between Poland and Greece was the most competitive and aggressive with two goals and two red cards which saw the game end all level, 1-1 in goals and 10-10 in players.

Top team: The big favourites in form of defending champions Spain and runners up Germany have grinded out the required results so far, the latter being the only side with a 100% record of three out of three wins, but both have failed to impress me so far. They were not their usual self, the usual impressive force nobody can stop, hold back nor defend. I thought Sweden were great when they beat France 2-0 and in a confident and stylish fashion, eventhough they were already out of the competition at that point. At least they gave their fans something to cheer for in the end, something for their money and unconditional support. I think sometimes players and sides forget who they are playing for.

Top player: Two of the most expensive players in Europe took their time to get into gear. Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo and Chelsea's Fernando Torres did not really feature much in the opening game for their sides with the prior's name not on the scoreboard till the last group game and the latter not even starting in the opening game but making up for it the next match with two out of four goals in the 4-0 thrashing of Giovanni Trapattoni's Ireland side. Top scorers so far with three goals each have been Germany's Mario Gomez, Croatia's Mario Mandzukic and Russia's Alan Dzagoev, top providers with three assists each have been England's Steven Gerrard, Russia's Andrei Arshavin and Spain's David Silva. The top goalkeeper with most saves has been Ireland's Shay Given with 17 saves.

Top goal: Zlatan Ibrahimovic's opening goal against France was a stunning strike. I switched over from the England-Ukraine game to check the score and caught a very special goal, the Swedish striker producing an acrobatic right-foot volley which saw Sebastian Larsson's cross from the right bash into the bottom corner of the net, sweet mother of all goals so far in the competition. Welbeck's cheeky flick-in off sub Walcott's cross which saw England beat Sweden 3-2 made Hodgson's changes look genius and his side more than capable to win without their main striker Rooney. The United striker's winning goal against Ukraine was nothing more than a simple tap-in after Gerrard's teasing cross  was spilled by goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov.

Top news: The quarter-finals are as follows: a) Czech Republic v Portugal, b) Germany v Greece, c) Spain v France, d) England v Italy; semi-finals: Winner A v Winner C, Winner B v Winner D; that means Portugal could face Spain and England could meet Germany in the semis if the results follow the match odds. Mouth-wateringly juicy, or what?! According to those odds, Germany are favourites to win the whole competition followed by Spain with hardly anything between the two - does that mean the final and competition is already decided? Or will there be more surprises and shocks? Can't wait to see the answer to that...

Flop game: The England-France game did not quite live up to its rivalry and competitive hype. There was no major controversy or many decision to make for the referee in a match with few incidences. After Joleon Lescott took the lead for England with a header off Gerrard's free kick on the half-hour mark, City team-mate Samir Nasri equalised for France only nine minutes later beating Joe Hart seeing his effort from the edge of the box go into the bottom corner. The rest of the game did not have much to write about, which was very disappointing, from a neutral point of view as well as for England as they left France in control and too comfortable. Russia's 4-1 thrashing of the Czech Republic was a joke! It just seemed surreal how the Czech's let themselves be pushed over so easily and blatantly!

Flop team: As mentioned above, the big favourites Germany and Spain have disappointed so far, not result-wise obviously but they haven't been exactly thrilling or nice to the eye. Ireland had a competition to forget although I felt sorry for Given who gave his all and created superb and stunning saves, all for nothing in the end. I think Netherlands were the biggest surprise ending up bottom of their group on zero points with a strong side and a lot of established. World Cup finalists and second in the world rankings, I am sure the Dutch will be the most disappointed fans and side of this competition, eventhough the hosts Poland and Ukraine obviously won't be happy either not being to take advantage of their home advantage, but I don't think anyone expected more from them.

Flop player: Three players have seen red so far, Ireland's Keith Andrews who has also seen the most bookings with three, Greece's Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, the latter two being sent off in the opening game of the competition. Czech's Milan Baros has committed most fouls with 14. And I still we are expecting and still waiting to see the best of Rooney, Ronaldo, Torres... The usual top picks who haven't really turned up so far. All the top players the Dutch have, from Robin van Persie and Wesley Sneijder to Arjen Robben and Mark van Bommel, amongst others, none of them really turned up nor impressed, showing that top names together doesn't mean top team unless they can gel and perform together, that's why it's called team work and a team sport.

Flop goal: For the first time in my memory there has been a decision that has gone England's way! Usually it is always the Three Lions that concede a goal that never was or cry after a goal that was never given or see their hearts broken on the penalty spot. That may still happen, but as so far concerns when Ukraine saw Marko Devic's come off the cross bar and cleared by John Terry I think everyone knew and saw it was over line apart from the referee and his additional assistant who somehow did not see it standing on the line right next to the goal! It is a joke in the age of video replays, but thanks to the technology we have at least we saw that the ball was over the line but that Devic was offside in the buildup before. So, either way, justice has been done, no thanks to the Fifa clowns though!

Flop news: Fifa boss Sepp Blatter glaims goal-line technology is "no longer an alternative but a necessity" following Ukraine's complaint of being denied a goal against England. Really?! I think you're about a couple of decades behind the general public and nearly every other major sport!!! Clown!

My predictions - Actual results

Group A
Poland 2:1 Greece - 1:1
Russia 2:1 Czech Republic - 4:1
Greece 2:1 Czech Republic - 1:2
Poland 2:1 Russia - 1:1
Czech Republic 1:2 Poland - 1:0
Greece 1:4 Russia - 1:0
Group B
Netherlands 2:1 Denmark - 0:1
Germany 2:1 Portugal - 1:0
Denmark 1:1 Portugal - 2:3
Netherlands 1:2 Germany - 1:2
Portugal 1:1 Netherlands - 2:1
Denmark 1:1 Germany - 1:2
Group C
Spain 2:1 Italy - 1:1
Ireland 2:1 Croatia - 1:3
Italy 1:3 Croatia - 1:1
Spain 2:0 Ireland - 4:0
Croatia 2:2 Spain - 0:1
Italy 1:0 Ireland - 2:0
Group D
France 2:1 England - 1:1
Ukraine 2:1 Sweden - 2:1
Ukraine 0:1 France - 0:2
Sweden 0:1 England - 2:3
England 0:0 Ukraine - 1:0
Sweden 1:1 France - 2:0

Final Group Standings

Team P-W-D-L-F-A-Pts

Group A

Czech Rep  3-2-0-1-4-5-6

Greece        3-1-1-1-3-3-4

Russia         3-1-1-1-5-3-4

Poland         3-0-2-1-2-3-2

Group B

Germany     3-3-0-0-5-2-9

Portugal       3-2-0-1-5-4-6

Denmark      3-1-0-2-4-5-3

Netherlands 3-0-0-3-2-5-0

Group C

Spain           3-2-1-0-6-1-7

Italy              3-1-2-0-4-2-5

Croatia         3-1-1-1-4-3-4

Ireland          3-0-0-3-1-9-0

Group D

England       3-2-1-0-5-3-7

France         3-1-1-1-3-3-4

Sweden       3-1-0-2-5-5-3

Ukraine        3-1-0-2-2-4-3

Week 38: Premier League Tops and Flops

Sports - Football - Premier League - Picks of the Weekend

This weekend was the grand finale weekend of the season and it was the first time ever the title was decided on the last day, in the last match/half/minute/second of the season! After 1,066 goals were scored in total in the Premier League this season, Manchester City ended up top scorer and title winner. But it was not just Manchester that was sweating, screaming, crying, laughing, dancing. The relegation battle, Champions League spot(s) and a hell lot of honour were still left to play for:

Top game: The title deciders at the Stadium of Light and Etihad stadium had EVERYTHING! All the thrills, spills, cheers, tears and drama the game and sport can bring! Manchester United and Wayne Rooney could have bagged 4/5/6/7 goals against Sunderland but in the end it didn't matter. City had fought back late and won the game against relegation-battlers QPR and the title with two goals in the last three minutes of time added on.
United did not know where they were at after their full-time whistle had gone. The suspense was like there to grasp, close to edible in the air. Sergio Aguero will never forbet the moment he scored and won the title for City, their first after 44 years, 22 managers, five relegations, five promotions and right out of their local rivals' laps! Un-be-lievable climax to and unforgettable season! Martin Tyler's and Guy Mowbray's loss of voice control as well as the fans' and team's reactions, faces and body language, covered and summarised that moment and the whole occasion brilliantly!!!

Top team: City ended up on top in the end and were rewarded and celebrated for not giving up the game, match and title. It is not over until the final whistle! United know that the best! Now City know it better! But the juicier next season will be, United's fight-back! As Sir Alex Ferguson said with a smile on his face, he is not going anywhere. And hats off to him, respect to Fergie for congratulating City and saying they deserve the title as the league is the long haul and not just won by accident or some good fortune (after having a dig at the fact that five minutes were added on for City to come back. Sir Alex obviously did not see or watch all highlights and action of the match at the Etihad, with the whole Joey Barton malarkey... More an that below...).

Top player: Rooney could have scored a hat-trick with all the chances he missed and saw saved. Sunderland goalkeeper Simon Mignolet was on top of his game and did brilliantly to bounce back onto his feet after stopping Paul Scholes' shot to also deny none other than Ryan Giggs parrying the latter's shot over the crossbar. Brad Friedel also showed he still has what it takes for Tottenham against Fulham, his terrific stop against Moussa Dembele in the first half proving his awareness and actions/reactions are still up to speed.

Top goal: AGUERRROOOOOOOOOOO!!! Need I say more? More? More? Wigan's third and Emmerson Boyce's second of the match against Wolves at the DW Stadium was outstanding! With a wonderful right-foot swerving volley from the edge of the box, the Carribean defender smashed in Hugo Rodallega's header into the back of the net to make it three goals and three points for the Latics, ending their season on a high at home.

Top news: New England manager Roy Hodgson has announced the full 23-man England squad for Euro 2012, leaving out Rio Ferdinand and naming Steven Gerrard as the England captain. Full England Squad for Euro 2012

Flop game and team: Swansea's home win summed up Liverpool's season. With chances galore, in an otherwise mediocre game, the Reds ended up pointless, miserable and frustrated. This season in 11th place, seven points clear of the relegation zone, it has been Swansea's best and highest finish in 30 years. In 8th place, 37 points behind the champions, this has been Liverpool's worst finish in nearly 50 years! Carling Cup win aside, King Kenny had a lot of soal- and fault-searching, explaining and changing to do in order to keep his crown and throne at Anfield. And as we all know since yesterday, he has failed in doing so and succumbed to the Amercian owners and their demands. This may be an understandable decision and action after this season, but that does not mean it is the right thing to do to make things better in the long run. I just wonder how John Henry and Co will come up with anything and anyone more successful and profiting LONG TERM if they make cuts and changes every year! It took even Sir Alex four years to win his first trophy with United (the FA Cup 1989-90) and seven years for the first league title (1992-93)! It shows, time and patience is of virtue and essence for success and with that comes all the money and profit the owners are looking for and not vice versa. But as long as there are teams like Chelsea and City, I guess owners like Henry will always plead their cases on those examples (and not the others, i.e. Leeds, Newcastle, Blackburn, ...). Only time will tell what all this will mean for Liverpool... I am not too optimistic though! :-(

Flop player: Barton, what were you thinking?! First you elbow Carlos Tevez. Then, whilst arguing your case with the referee and after handing over your CAPTAIN'S ARMBAND, you follow on to your idiotic act with an even more moronic act by kicking into the back of Aguero. I don't know how you can explain your way out of this one!!! = LOOOOOOOONG ban will hopefully follow! Shame on you! DISGRACE!

Flop goal: Marton Fulop had an absolute nightmare against Arsenal! In his league debut for West Brom, the Hungarian goalkeeper first produced a terrible error, letting Yossi Benayoun pass him and score with ease after failing to claim the ball in his own box. Then he punched the ball back to Laurent Koscielny and into the back of his own net. After a fine fight-back by West Brom, giving their England-bound manager Hodgson a good send-off, Fulop flopped and held his head in shame after throwing these three points out the window and into the back of the net with the ball(s) and goal(s) he gave away.
And I don't know how both goals for Stoke against Bolton were given. The first was a fowl on goalkeeper Adam Bogdan with Jon Walters tumbling all over him and the ball over the line with him. The second was a very soft penalty with Peter Crouch going down with hardly any contact made with Bogdan. The game ended up 2-2 and the Wanderers religated. Heart-break after everything that has happened to Bolton this season and especially unfair after their brilliant comebacks and fightbacks of late and it looked like they had this match in the bag too. QPR are very lucky!

Flop news: The first boss on the end-of-the-season hanger was Aston Villa's Alex McLeish after only 11 months in the job. Kenny Dalglish followed soon after with only four months longer under his belt this time round. The big question is, who is next? Betting odds

My predictions - Actual results

Chelsea 2:1 Blackburn - 2:1
Everton 2:0 Newcastle - 3:1
Man City 4:0  QPR - 3:2
Man City are champions
Norwich City 2:2 Aston Villa - 2:0
Stoke City 1:2 Bolton - 2:2
Bolton are relegated
Sunderland 1:2 Man United - 0:1
Swansea City 0:2 Liverpool - 1:0
Tottenham 3:0 Fulham - 2:0
West Brom 1:2 Arsenal - 2:3
Wigan 1:1 Wolves - 3:2

Week 37: Premier League Tops and Flops

Sports - Football - Premier League - Picks of the Weekend
Top game: The early kick-off on Saturday was a juicy delight! The six-goal thriller at the Emirates opened up the race for the guaranteed Champions League spot in third place for Tottenham and Newcastle who were both playing on Sunday. Norwich were top-quality and fought hard and could have had a dozen of goals. Great entertainment, great watch.
Liverpool's thrashing of Chelsea gained the Reds a hint of revenge for their FA Cup final defeat against the Blues. The first half was cracking, action-packed end-to-end stuff that had everything in it! Goals, penalty, misses, shouts, bouts, slips, tricks, kicks...

Top team: City continued their unbeaten run against Newcastle who have now failed to gain a single point against the Premier League leaders in their last eleven meetings. The Sky Blues will remember St James' Park (now called Sports Direct Arena) fondly, not just for this crucial win, but this is the same ground they were crowned champions in the last time round - 44 years ago! We will see next weekend whether their long wait for another title will have finally come to an end or they will be kept waiting, longing, wishing, dreaming...

Top player: Yaya Toure's double won it for City after being pushed forward by Roberto Mancini after bringing Nigel de Yong on. It turned out to be a super-sub for the league leaders, which gave the Ivory Coast midfielder the freedom he needed to score two sublime and crucial goals.
Cisse has fallen heals-over-head into his fifth goal in seven games for QPR. If Rangers stay up, they have him to thank and hope his heals will stay put.

Top goal: With 19 minutes to go in one of the most crucial games in the title race, Toure was the one to thank and celebrate for a sweet goal to give City the lead against Newcastle. It was one of those unstoppable curls. After a nice one-two, exchanging passes with Sergio Aguero, Yaya produced a precise bend which led the ball right into the corner beyond Tim Krul, impossible for the keeper to reach and stop.
Sunderland's equaliser against Fulham was a smacker by Phillip Bardsley from outside the box past Mark Schwarzer. But only 15 seconds later, straight from kick-off, Mousa Dembele was able to run free and create a fine shot but this time with a wicked deflection off Michael Turner to turn it past Simon Mignolet. Gob-smacking couple of minutes at Craven Cottage which ended up rewarding Fulham with the three points and leave the visitors empty handed.

Top news: This is the first time I remember the title race going to the last weekend - the goals being the only gap between the two Manchester sides. It is going to be an unforgettable crunch-and-a-half next weekend, that's for sure! Can't wait! Oh, and one more relegation place and the last automatic Champions League qualification spot are all still to be decided too, so it's crunch-crunch-crunch-crunch time!

Flop game: Everton's goalless draw at the Molineux stadium was a scrappy draw with relegation-bound Wolves avoiding equalling a Premier League record of 10 straight home defeats. It was their first home point since 4th December and they earned it the hard way, holding through and keeping out a stubborn Everton side who controlled most of the match but ended up the more frustrated going home with two points dropped rather than a point gained, with their Merseyside neighbours creeping up on them in eighth place, only one point between the two going into the final weekend of the season.

Flop team: Bolton dropped points again against West Brom after giving away a precious two-goal lead. James Morrison came off the bench to score a last-minute equaliser, earning his side a point and putting a severe dent in Bolton's chances of surviving the relegation battle. The Wanderers now need to win their last match of the season away to Stoke and rely on Manchester City not to slip up against QPR, who are two points ahead of Owen Coyle's side in 17th and nine goals better off in goal difference.

Flop player: John Terry had a night to forget at Anfield. Suspended for the Champions League final, the skipper did not give Roberto Di Matteo much reason to miss him giving away three goals, one nuts through the legs, one slip and one set-piece giveaway. The defender can call himself luck if he will find his name on the England Euro 2012 team sheet!
It is a rare occurence to find Robin van Persie under this category, but the way the Dutch striker went down in the box instead of converting the chance there and then, fool him! No penalty for his antiques and two points dropped for Arsenal in the race for thirs and automatic Champions League qualification!

Flop goal: Bolton's second goal had a stroke of luck in it, the ball smashing from one defender to another, ending up in the back of the net as an own goal thanks to Billy Jones' deflection. Coyle will be wondering where the luck went to for the rest of the game and whether it will finally be on their side when it comes to the relegation crunch at the final weekend of the season or they are destined for the drop and going to join Blackburn and Wolves in the Championship next season.

Flop news: I cannot believe I have to work next weekend, i.e. I am going to miss the whole epic episode with all the crunches, deciders and drama! Argh! Thank god for Sky+! I will be ignoring any social media and news input or output on my way home, to make sure I can catch the highlights and still be part of all the blood, sweat and tears!

My predictions - Actual results

Arsenal 1:2 Norwich City - 3:3
Newcastle 1:1 Man City - 0:2
Aston Villa 1:3 Tottenham - 1:1
Bolton 3:2 West Brom - 2:2
Fulham 0:0 Sunderland - 2:1
QPR  2:0 Stoke City - 1:0
Wolves  0:3 Everton - 0:0
Man United 3:0 Swansea City - 2:0
Blackburn 1:2 Wigan - 0:1
Blackburn are relegated
Liverpool 0:2 Chelsea - 4:1

Four-star Liverpool thrash Chelsea

Sports - Football - Premier League - Liverpool 4:1 Chelsea

Liverpool gained a hint of revenge for their FA Cup final defeat by thrashing a much-changes Chelsea side 4-1 and giving John Terry a night to forget at Anfield.

Liverpool's cup final loss was King Kenny's first defeat as Liverpool manager against Chelsea in 14 matches (W10, D3, L1) and he made four changes from that disappointing performance with Andy Carroll starting and Steven Gerrard and Jose Enrique not even on the bench. Only John Terry, Branislav Ivanovic and Ramires survived from Wembley for Chelsea - all three of them ineligible for the Champions League final.

The home side started an action-packed first half strong, ripping into the visitor's back line from the start. Terry's nightmare started with Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan forward danced, tapped and tipped his way through and forward from the right, nutmegging Terry on the way, his cut back eventually coming off Michael Essien into the back of the blue midfielder's own net in the 19th minute.

Six minutes later, England international Terry slipped, allowing Jordan Henderson to break clear and score comfortably with a calm finish into the bottom corner beyond Ross Turnbull. And soon/only seconds after that, Terry failed yet again, this time to clear Jonjo Shelvey's corner, to see the ball headed back into the six-yard box by Carroll and eventually headed into the back of the net by Daniel Agger to make it 3-0.

Fernando Torres' first return to Anfield since his £50m-move to Chelsea saw the Spaniard's every touch jeered and scorned. But the striker created a stunning touch and strike from an acute angle on the right, to see the powerful shot come off the underside of the crossbar. Earlier in the game, before Liverpool's onslaught, Ivanovic had seen his free header come off the post with the score at 0-0.

Stewart Downing equaled the woodwork scoreline for Liverpool seeing his dip shot, nice volley come off the bar bar on 42 and his spot-kick drill against the base of the post on the stroke of half time after Ivanovic had elbowed Carroll in the chest. This was the fifth time the Reds have missed from the spot in the Premier League this season with only 1/6 ending in the back of the net.

Chelsea soon pulled one back after the restart, Ramires getting his body in the way to divert Florent Malouda's free-kick and curl it past Pepe Reina at the near post five minutes into the second half. But with half an hour to go, Shelvey took advantage of Turnbull's hashed clearance giveaway and drilled a fine shot from long range into the back of the net to make it 4-1 and erase any hope Chelsea had of a comeback.

With this the defeat, the Blues have only taken 7/27 points out of the last nine away games (W1/D4/L4) and with Bayern Munich next on the card for the Champions League final in the Allianz Arena in Munich, Roberto Di Matteo can only hope the suspensions will end up for the better, against all odds, as Chelsea will certainly not miss Terry after this awful display!

In the last meeting before this clash at Anfield, Torres scored two to make it 2-0 to Liverpool under Roy Hodgson. A lot has changed since, but Di Matteo can only hope Torres can do a little bit of the same to Bayern in Munich after failing to impress against his former side.

Meanwhile, Liverpool ended their home run on a high after only five wins previously at Anfield saw them in their poorest form since 1949. The question for Kenny Dalglish is, does this display and result provide signs of a promising future for the Reds, with signings like Carroll finally clicking and showing form, and youngsters like Shelvey shining high-class? Or does this win just tint the glasses rosey and paper over the cracks? Only time will tell...

Liverpool: Reina; Johnson, Carragher, Skrtel, Agger (goal 28, bkd 71); Downing (Sterling 84), Henderson (goal 25, bkd 65), Shelvey (goal 61), Maxi (Kuyt 84); Suarez, Carroll. (4-4-2)
Subs not used: Doni, Coates, Spearing, Kelly, Bellamy.

Chelsea: Turnbull; Ferreira (bkd 45), Ivanovic (bkd 47), Terry (bkd 22), Bertrand; Essien (OG 19, bkd 44), Romeu, Malouda; Ramires (goal 50), Torres, Sturridge (Lukaku 68). 
Subs not used: Hilario, Cole, Lampard, Mata, Kalou, Hutchinson.

Referee: Kevin Friend (Leicestershire)
Man of the match: Andy Carroll