Match Of The Day a few late thoughts
Dan Tracey
April 11, 2016
1,735 Views
- Another delayed edition this week due to the two biggest games of the week being played Yesterday (sorry Liverpool and Stoke fans)
- Wins for Leicester and Tottenham sees nothing really change in terms of the status quo at the top of the Premier League
- Leicester were 10 points clear for a couple of hours but Mauricio Pochettino’s side refuse to lay day and keep the chase alive
- You can read more about the Leicester game here http://realfootballman.com/football/sunderland-vs-leicester-quick-thoughts/
- While you can read more about the Tottenham game here http://realfootballman.com/football/tottenham-vs-manchester-united-quick-thoughts/
- Liverpool kept their hopes of a Europa League place alive with a comfortable win over Stoke Yesterday, that defeat for Mark Hughes’s side probably kills off any faint chances of qualifying for next year’s competition while Liverpool don’t just want to qualify for next season edition they would rather win this one and give themselves a backdoor entry to the Champions League
- One side who have done their chances of Champions League qualification no harm are Manchester City who benefited from their two nearest rivals dropping points this Weekend. They had to come from behind to beat West Brom at The Etihad but their win coupled with United’s defeat at White Hart Lane and West Ham dropping points to Arsenal means it was a good weekend for the blue half of Manchester
- The game of the weekend and arguably the season was at Upton Park as Andy Carroll grabbed the headlines with a sensational 8 minute hat-trick. His flurry of goals turned the game on it’s head as Arsenal threw away a 2-0 lead and with that any hope of winning the title this season. They did manage to salvage a point through Laurent Koscielny but it was a case of what might have been not just on Saturday but over the cause of the whole campaign
- Alan Pardew’s Crystal Palace finally got their first win since December 19th and allayed any real fears of being dragged into a relegation battle, they will now look to get another win next week and secure safety and set themselves up nicely for the F.A. Cup Semi Final against Watford
- As for Norwich nothing really changed as they were second best in this 6 pointer, with defeats for Newcastle and Sunderland they keep their gap to the dropzone in tact but next week’s game at home to Sunderland is going to be a massive one
- Newcastle are still looking for their first win under the tutelage of Rafa Benitez, defeat away at Southampton means time and opportunities are running out for The Magpies. Defeat sees them 6 points from safety they are going to need Sunderland to do them a favour and beat Norwich but that in turn won’t really help Newcastle. It looks as if the writing is very much on the wall up at Tyneside
- Southampton’s win keeps them in the hunt for a Europa League place, they will now hope Manchester United or West Ham win the Cup as 7th place might mean they just miss out but Ronald Koeman won’t want to rely on any one else and will be looking to get the job done himself
- Talking of the Cup the other two Semi Finalists faced off on Saturday. Everton ahead for less than a minute as a Draw sees them slip to 14th place, Roberto Martinez really needs that Cup win over he could be having a very awkward meeting with Everton’s new majority shareholder come the Summer
- Swansea’s revival continues as they managed to end Guus Hiddink’s unbeaten run in the league since taking charge of Chelsea for a second time. Swansea’s win sees them 12th and on the magical 40 point marker, now talk will turn to whether Francesco Guidolin stays on next season or whether we see the return of Brendan Rodgers
- And finally Aston Villa, they haven’t quite got the (R) next to them but they are as good as done, they have to win all their games (they won’t) and hope neither Norwich, Sunderland and Newcastle don’t pick up a solitary point along the way, Yeah good luck with that and more importantly good luck in The Championship. You’re going to need it.
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