Football Dispatch

Tuesday Football
13May 2008
by Jerrad Peters

Most compelling viewing
Wigan 0-2 Manchester United

The pundits are already waxing ecstatic over the 2007-2008 Premier League season. “The best ever,” they attest, and gush about a title race that came down to the final day. Technically, they are right. Never before in the 16-year history of the top flight had the stakes been so high ahead of the last fixture of the programme.

But why be distracted by a mere technicality? Not once over the course of the campaign did Chelsea deserve to win the title. Not even for an instant. If anything, Sunday’s results from JJB Stadium and Stamford Bridge allowed for a collective sigh of relief throughout England and the football world. The ABC camp was out in full force. Anyone But Chelsea.

And for good reason. Had the Blues lifted the trophy at the weekend, they would have been the most forgettable, uninspiring champions of all time. As a matter of fact, if the writers and commentators are at all eager to go overboard in their commendations of this recently-finished season, they are probably expressing nothing more than a collective thankfulness for avoiding the post-championship interviews with Avram Grant.

Fortunately, nothing of the kind occurred. Instead, the script played out exactly as it was supposed to. United, after storming past Arsenal to top the standings, held onto their lead despite some late jitters. And in erasing a mid-winter, five-point deficit, the Red Devils put together the finest stretch of football from any team in any league in recent memory.

Through the month of March, United won all five of their league fixtures by a combined score of 13-0. Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Carlos Tevez developed a rare chemistry which left defenders befuddled and onlookers dazzled. And the backline of Wes Brown, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, and Patrice Evra were immaculate.

April draws against Middlesbrough and Blackburn Rovers and a loss at Chelsea allowed the Blues to make ground. But there was only ever one worthy champion. And with a 2-0 win over Wigan on Sunday, United sealed the deal.

That said, the hosts did not make it easy. Emile Hesky was a constant menace – troubling the central pairing of Ferdinand and a barely-fit Vidic at every opportunity. Antonio Valencia made good use of the wide areas as well. Sir Alex Ferguson’s attempt at throwing off the Ecuador international by stating his intentions to bring the 22-year-old to Old Trafford had no negating effect. In fact, the former Villarreal winger only boosted his chances at the move with his performance.

Battling to find their rhythm, United were nearly dealt a death-blow when Paul Scholes escaped a second booking after a clumsy challenge on Wilson Palacios. Steve Bennett, however, showed mercy – perhaps making amends for showing Ronaldo a straight red card at Portsmouth in August and awarding a controversial penalty to Chelsea in the final moments of United’s 2-1 loss at Stamford Bridge on April 26.

The tide finally started to turn after half an hour. And when Emmerson Boyce tripped Rooney inside the area on 33-minutes, the visitors had one hand firmly on the trophy. Ronaldo sent goalkeeper Chris Kirkland the wrong way for his 41st goal of the campaign.

Kirkland, for his part, was spectacular on the day. He made several, superb saves in the second period – most notably on a swirling Ronaldo free-kick just after the re-start. With Chelsea leading Bolton Wanderers in London, the 27-year-old’s resilience kept the guests from settling until Ryan Giggs potted a second goal in the 80th-minute.

The 34-year-old Welshman had come on in the 68th-minute to replace Ji Sung Park. The appearance was his 758th for the club – knotting him with Sir Bobby Charlton atop United’s all-time list. His intelligent run into the box prevented an offside call; and after accepting Rooney’s pass, he sent the visiting sections into raptures.

Mindful of the scoreline at Wigan, Chelsea allowed a late equalizer against Bolton – negating the possibility that the trophy would be awarded on goal-differential for the first time. Not that it would have mattered. Over the entire 90 minutes, the Blues never appeared to believe that they might actually pip United to the title. It was a microcosm of their season. “The best season ever?” Perhaps. But “The most relieving conclusion” seems much more appropriate.

Notable results
Lille 2-1 Lens

Lille Metropole are one step closer to European football after beating relegation-threatened Lens in the Pas-de-Calais derby on Sunday. Coupled with St. Etienne’s 1-1 draw at Paris St-Germain, Les Dogues moved into sole possession of fifth-place in Ligue 1 with a single match to play.

Yohan Cabaye opened the scoring just prior to the interval after running onto Jean Makoun’s cross. The hosts might have been 2-0 up by that point, however, as both Kevin Mirallas and Frank Beira came close to drawing first blood.

Lens, with everything to play for, came out gangbusters in the second period but were repeatedly thwarded by either stingy defending or the effective goalkeeping of Gregory Malicki. They were dealt a further blow when Pierre-Alain Frau scored against the run of play in the 66th-minute. The 28-year-old former PSG forward headed past Vedran Runje after connecting with Ludovic Obraniak’s accurate cross.

Olivier Monterubbio pulled one back for the visitors just three minutes later after Toufilou Malouda was brought down by Malicki in the area. But Lens were unable to build on the momentum. And with 39-points and a date with Bordeaux forthcoming, Les Sang et Or will almost certainly go down to Ligue 2 on Sunday.

Werder Bremen 6-1 Hannover 96

Bayer Leverkusen will be desperate to cling onto a European place when Werder Bremen pay a visit to the BayArena on Sunday. Of four clubs level on 51-points with a single round to play, only three will finish the season with UEFA Cup aspirations. Just two will qualify automatically. Bremen, meanwhile, are in a dogfight for second-place with Schalke 04. A berth in the Champions’ League Group Stage is at play. It will surely make for an eventful final day in the Bundesliga.

With 63-points from 33-matches, Bremen are two points clear of Schalke. They have recently found a vein of form which, had they discovered in September or October, would have been more than enough to challenge Bayern Munich for the championship.

Never was this more evident than on Sunday. With three goals in less than seven minutes, Bremen completed a 6-1 demolition of visiting Hannover. Ivan Klasnic got the ball rolling after heading Diego’s saved penalty past Robert Enke in the 80th minute. Just two minutes later, Klasnic turned provider with a crisp pass to the head of Markus Rosenberg. Aaron Hunt completed the dismantling when he rounded Enke in the 87th-minute.

The sudden onslaught of goals followed strikes from Tim Borowski in the 73rd minute, Naldo in the 27th, and Hugo Almeida in the 14th. Naldo had a hand in the opener as well when he tempted Enke to one side before passing to Hugo Almeida. He then latched onto Diego’s free-kick before beating the goalkeeper from in close. Borowski’s goal came after a poor bit of defending from Hannover sent the 28-year-old midfielder in clear.

Fiorentina 3-1 Parma

La Viola are one win away from pipping AC Milan to the fourth Champions’ League berth in Serie A. While the Rossoneri dropped a 3-1 decision at Napoli on Sunday, Fiorentina came from behind to beat Parma 3-1 at Stadio Artemio Franchi. The win left the hosts with 63-points from 37-rounds – two points ahead of fifth-place Milan.

Fiorentina started brightly against their relegation-threatened opponent. Zdravko Kuzmanovic had the first opportunity in the early going before goalkeeper Nicola Pavarini’s fine save denied the 20-year-old Swiss-born Serbia international.

Moments later, and against the run of play, Igor Budan opened the scoring for Parma after Ferdinand Coly delivered a cross to Sebastien Frey’s far post. Kuzmanovic came close again at the half-hour; although his header was cleared off the line by Francesco Parravicini.

Less than ten minutes later, Mario Santana restored a level scoreline – the 26-year-old Argentine directing Riccardo Montolivo’s cross beyond Pavarini in the 39th-minute.

Parma dug their heels in after that. Desperate to keep place with 17th-place Catania, the Ducali nearly earned their draw. But as news of Milan’s performance spread around the grounds, the hosts found the impetus to fire a match-winner.

After accepting Montolivo’s through-ball, Martin Jorgensen delivered a lovely ball from the right flank which Franco Semiola headed past Pavarini in the 77th-minute. Parma were visibly defeated; and Pablo Daniel Osvaldo’s goal in the 86th-minute rounded out the scoring.

Roma 2-1 Atalanta

With Inter Milan drawing 2-2 at home to Siena, Roma pulled to within a single point of the Serie A leaders with their 2-1 win over Atalanta, Sunday. Christian Panucci gave the hosts the advantage after 23-minutes – connecting with Roberto Mancini’s free-kick and directing the ball past Ferdinando Coppola.

But for the 29-year-old goalkeeper, Roma might have had two goals by the time Panucci scored. Shortly after kickoff, Mancini forced the on-loan Milan ‘keeper into action when he unloaded from in close. And in the 12th minute, Cicinho’s long-range effort had Coppola scrambling yet again. But with manager Luciano Spalletti informing his players that Inter had gone ahead against Sienna, Panucci finally made good.

From there, Roma struggled to settle with the lead. After trading chances with their guests following the restart, however, Daniele De Rossi provided some insurance when he successfully converted a free-kick in the 68th minute. Coincidentally, the Italy international’s go-ahead strike came just as Siena equalized at the San Siro. And while Gianpaolo Bellini brought the visitors to within a goal in the dying seconds, Roma were able to hang on to the three points and, with a win over Catania coupled with an Inter loss at Parma on Sunday, can win a first Scudetto since 2001.

Villarreal 2-0 Espanyol

In 2006-2007, Real Madrid won La Liga with 76-points. Twelve months on, the Meringues are champions once again – although runners-up Villarreal will have an opportunity to eclipse Madrid’s points total from last season when they visit Deportivo la Coruna at the weekend.

Now ten points ahead of third-place Barcelona, the Yellow Submarine’s latest win came at home to Espanyol, Sunday. With Champions’ League football assured, Estadio El Madrigal took on a festive air – with color and pageantry befitting the finest of Spanish footballing tradition.

The performance on the pitch was equally bright. Nihat Kahveci came close to scoring after just four minutes. The 28-year-old Turkey international has scored 23-goals this term and was barely denied a 24th after Espanyol defender Pablo Zabaleta played an ill-advised ball back to goalkeeper Carlos Kameni. Still, the hosts were kept off the scoreboard until Javi Venta latched onto Marco Senna’s cross in the 31st minute.

Nihat, despite being thwarted in front of goal throughout the 90 minutes, created Villarreal’s second tally when he sent a superb, seeing-eye through-ball to Robert Pires in the 43rd minute. The Frenchman took full advantage – chipping Kameni from in close.

Assured of victory, the hosts took their foot off the petal in the second half. Goalkeeper Diego Lopez stood tall, however, and kept his clean sheet.

Key contributors
Julien Toudic

Stade Malherbe de Caen have more than exceeded expectations this season. After earning promotion with a second-place finish in Ligue 2 last year, the Normandy side can finish no lower than 11th in Ligue 1 this term. With 16 league goals between them Yoann Gouffran and Juan Eduardo Eluchans have earned much of the plaudits. But Julien Toudic, with his timely brace away to Strasbourg on Sunday, earned a first win in three matches for the visitors.

His first goal, after just six minutes, was a thing to behold. After Benjamin Nivet released a high cross from the right, Toudic leaped into action – blasting the ball into the net with a spectacular bicycle-kick. His second strike was somewhat less emphatic. With the Strasbourg defense having made a poor attempt at clearing a free-kick, the 22-year-old Caen-born striker slotted home for his third goal of the season.

Lukas Podolski

With Bayern Munich having won the Bundesliga with a fortnight to spare, manager Ottmar Hitzfeld has awarded valuable playing time to many of his younger players. Lukas Podolski, who languished on the bench behind the preferred, attacking tandem of Miroslav Klose and Luca Toni for much of the campaign, made the most of the opportunity. With two goals, the Germany international boosted is season total to ten – three ahead of last season but well back of his career-best tally of 29, set in 2004-2005 with Cologne.

The 22-year-old, named the Best Young Player at the 2006 World Cup, struck twice in less than three minutes after Andreas Ottl had put visiting Bayern ahead of Duisberg shortly after kick-off. Three-goals ahead after 20-minutes of play, Bayern allowed the hosts back into the game in the second half. Goals from Mihai Tararache and Markus Daun brought the result into doubt for much of the second period.

Nacho Novo

With two matches at hand, Rangers are four points adrift of leaders Celtic in the race for the Scottish Premier League title. Only Motherwell, St. Mirren, and Aberdeen stand between Walter Smith and an eighth championship. And while the run-in appears manageable at first glance, Rangers will be forced to play all three, in addition to the UEFA Cup final, over a span of nine days.

With that in mind, Smith will require positive efforts from the entire squad. Nacho Novo did his bit as the Glasgow Giants ran out 3-1 winners over Dundee United at Ibrox on Saturday. It remains to be seen who will rise to the occasion as the schedule comes to a close.

With Kris Boys and Jean-Claude Darcheville starting on the bench as Smith rotated his squad, Novo headed past goalkeeper Lukasz Zaluska after running onto Kevin Thomson’s free-kick in the seventh minute. Just 11 minutes later, the 29-year-old Spaniard was at it again – unleashing a left-footed rocket after Daniel Cousin provided the ball on a platter.

Man of the weekend
David Villa

Incredibly, a top-half finish looks to be very much in the cards as La Liga enters its final weekend. After hammering Levante 5-1 at Ciudad de Valencia in Sunday’s local derby, Los Che have 48-points from 37-matches. They are level on points with Espanyol and just two points back of ninth-place Athletic Bilbao.

David Villa had the visitors ahead by a pair after the opening half-hour. After a positive start from Levante, the 26-year-old Spain international beat goalkeeper Manuel Reina with a curling free-kick from 25-yards in the 14th minute. The goal came soundly against the run of play. But it was a sign of things to come as the guests hit top gear.

Villa struck his brace after tapping a double-rebound past Reina on the half-hour. His hat-trick marker was rather more impressive, however. After accepting Juan Mata’s pass near the penalty spot, Villa made no mistake in blasting a hard, low shot into the heart of the goal.

Have a question about football? Email your query to jerradpeters@gmail.com.

Jerrad Peters is a football journalist based in Winnipeg, Canada. His weekly column for the Winnipeg Free Press is the largest of its kind in the country. A regular contributor to Soccer Three-Sixty, Soccer365.com, and ESPN Soccernet, his work has also appeared on TheMirror.co.uk, Canadian-soccer.com, Footy247.co.uk, Foot2ball.com, and Squadinfo.com.