Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool: it’s been a rollicking Premier League title race
WITH the EPL title going on the line on Sunday between Liverpool and Chelsea, we chart the ups, downs, twists and turns of a fascinating year.
WE thought we’d seen it all when Sergio Aguero thumped the ball home against Queens Park Rangers in May 2012, while Fergie was watching his watch anxiously at the Stadium of Light thinking he had another EPL crown.
But with three rounds to go in the 2013-2014 race, Premier League fans the world over are absorbed and bristling with excitement over this year’s race in three, with an extra spring in the step as a changing of the guard looks more and more likely.
But nothing is assured until Sunday’s veritable grand final between Brendan Rodgers’s Liverpool and Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea.
After the humdinger we witnessed between Liverpool and Manchester City, the tension and pressure will enter rarefied terrain for another six-pointer on Sunday at Anfield.
Sunderland’s recent run might make it might seem like the stars are aligning for Liverpool’s first win since 1990.
But where Jose Mourinho’s involved, you can never be quite sure.
And as a glance at this year’s tale of the tape tells us: you can’t take anything for granted in this year’s title race.
PHASE ONE: ARSENE’S MIDAS TOUCH HAS RETURNED
The Leader: Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshire couldn’t be stopped; Mesut Ozil looked like the signing of the season and Arsene Wenger’s dream style of football was being rolled out, to the point that the Gunners enjoyed a seven-point lead in November after beating Liverpool 2-0. Chelsea started slowly – including needing a fortunate 96th minute penalty against West Brom to keep Mourinho’s Stamford Bridge record intact; City was a ponderous mix of rampant at home, complacent away; while Manchester United’s narrative turned from title defence to what’s going wrong, including back-to-back Old Trafford defeats. Liverpool was bubbling nicely – but did you believe the hype?
What happened to Arsenal: An injury toll that read Ramsey, Wilshere, Oxlaide-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott cruelled Arsenal’s campaign, as Ozil and Olivier Giroud’s form regressed with the burden placed on them. Arsenal’s record in big games became a laughing stock and although the fall came later than expected, it inevitably came. Wenger’s biggest criticism? His stubbornness in the January market.
What they said: “Six or seven teams will be fighting for the Premier League until the end and this will continue exactly the same as the first half, that within four or five points, you have five teams. I think this will be exactly the same.” - Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini on the title race
“Let’s go a few more games. It’s still a bit early for me but what is good for us is that we can show consistency and that’s always a very good sign for a team. Every win makes you a bit stronger. If we can take care of the concentration level and the desire to improve then we will have a good chance.” - Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger on the title race after going seven points clear at the top of the table
What now: Arsenal sits fourth, with 70 points, with Newcastle (H), WBA (H), Norwich (A) to come.
It’s a cruel irony for Wenger that a year that looked so promising in the league could be the year he breaks his trophy drought in the FA Cup, but also miss out on fourth spot for the first time. Arsenal cannot afford to slip up from here with Everton, one point adrift in fifth, lurking.
NO ONE WILL CATCH THE CITY JUGGERNAUT
The Leader: Once Manchester City found its stride, it looked as though Manuel Pellegrini’s side was going to make a mockery of the competition – see United 4-1, Arsenal 6-3, Spurs 6-0 and 5-1 and a clutch 2-1 win over Liverpool – and 100 goals in record time. Then Sergio Aguero succumbed to a string of hamstring injuries.
What happened to City: Chelsea won at Etihad, and points were dropped at Carrow Road, Emirates and, of course, Anfield, before the weekend’s shock – and lucky – draw at home against Sunderland. A congested calendar means City’s position is deceptive, with two games in hand, but it handed the ascendancy over to Liverpool at Anfield last weekend.
What they said: “I prefer to have the destiny in my hands, and only City have destiny in their hands. If I win every game until the end of the season, all 10 - which we won’t - maybe we are not champions.” – Jose Mourinho said of City’s deceptive position on the table.
“We’re just focusing on winning games and no-one’s really talking about us for the title. Everything’s about Chelsea, [Manchester] City and Arsenal. We’ll continue trying to improve. We’ve been outstanding this season but we’ve still got 11 games to go and there’s a lot of work to do,” Brendan Rodgers
What now: Crystal Palace (A), Everton (A), Aston Villa (H), West Ham (H).
HERE COMES JOSE, TIMING HIS RUN
The Leader: As much as Mourinho tried to play down his side’s title aspirations, a solid Christmas period, an in-form Eden Hazard, a rejuvenated John Terry, some goals from Samuel Eto’o and other sides’ results saw Chelsea assume the ascendancy.
What happened: Mourinho’s side is outstanding in big games – only Everton has beaten them from the top six. When Chelsea put six past Arsenal, it looked as though the Blues’ machine was going to hit full flight. But in a complete anomaly for a Special One side, Chelsea has dropped points unexpectedly to lower sides, losing to Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and in the shock of them all, at home to Sunderland, ending Mourinho’s mythical run at Stamford Bridge and handing all the momentum to Liverpool.
What they said: “There are two big horses and a little horse, A horse that next season can race,” Mourinho said of the title race after beating Manchester City.
“Little (horse) but very rich,” Pellegrini retorted. “This is the team that has spent the most money in the last 10 years, the team that has spent most money this year and the team that spent the most money in the transfer window. Maybe it is a small horse if the manager thinks like that but he has shown in the last few games he has a strong team with some great players.”
“Jose [Mourinho] is very good at all that. We may be the chihuahuas that run in between the horses’ legs. But we’re just about improving with each match,” – Brendan Rodgers
What now: Second, five points behind league leaders Liverpool, who they face at Anfield on Sunday night before Norwich (H), Cardiff (A). There’s UEFA Champions League commitments too, with the semi-final against Atletico Madrid sandwiched in between as well.
HISTORY IN THE MAKING
The Leader: Can they do it? Can they really do it? The hype has turned into reality turned which has turned into genuine squeaky bum anxiety for Liverpool fans. Rodgers’s men trailed Chelsea by seven points ahead of its clash with Manchester United, but embarked on what is now an 11-game winning streak to sit five points clear on the top. The last time the side lost in the EPL was in two, tight back-to-back clashes with City and Chelsea, away, during the festive period. The streak to the top has not been without the defensive hiccup along the way, but they’ve bounded to the top of the table with flair, panache and exhilarating attacking intent – with 96 goals in the back of the net, a league high. The Manchester City clash was a breathtaking spectacle on a night of high emotion, commemorating 25 years since the Hillsborough disaster.
What they said: “For us, our focus and composure and mentality is just to work hard, because there’s a process to dreaming. You’ve got to get the work done, or else it doesn’t happen,” Rodgers said.
“To be honest, it’s the biggest thing on the agenda because I have got to manage them,” Steven Gerrard said when asked how he will manage his emotions over the next few weeks. “But they are there – the nerves, the excitement. They are there because we have earned the right to have those kinds of feelings. The challenge for me, which just as important as being on the pitch now, is can I control myself and can I get on with my life for the next four weeks. Can I control it.”
“No-one expected anything from Liverpool and they are in contention and that is why they play without pressure so far, but let’s see how they are going to cope when it comes to the last hurdle,” Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech, trying to put pressure on Liverpool.
What now: Liverpool’s destiny is well and truly in its own hands. Win each of the following games, and the title returns to Anfield after 24 years away: Chelsea (H), Palace (A), Newcastle (H). But there’s a potential spanner in the works. Just like Sunderland has bolted from nowhere to rattle City and Chelsea’s claims, Liverpool needs to travel to Selhurst Park. Mile Jedinak’s Palace outfit is the top flight’s other current success story, winning five in a row, including 1-0 over Chelsea, to secure safety. Tony Pulis’s men also face Manchester City.