© EuroFootball.com
On Saturday, eight matches of the 35th round of the English Premier League were played.
The team leading the table for almost the entire season, "Man Utd," lost two crucial points unexpectedly at home against "Middlesbrough," who are currently in 14th place, finishing the match in a 1-1 draw.
Playing at their home ground "Old Trafford," the "Red Devils" could not have expected a better start - in the 3rd minute, Paul Scholes passed the ball accurately to Wayne Rooney, who easily outsmarted the goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer and passed the ball to Kieran Richardson from a few meters, who easily scored a goal.
Despite initially appearing to struggle, the visitors gradually recovered and soon, thanks to their well-playing defenders, began to control the game. Although "Man Utd" managed to defend for some time, in the end of the first half "Middlesbrough" restored parity - Stewart Downing crossed the ball into the penalty area, where Mark Viduka headed in a goal.
The favorites were unable to break through in the second half, during which the visitors even had some good opportunities to beat Edwin van der Sar for a second time. Worth noting is that after the interval, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer appeared on the pitch and managed to send the ball into the net, but the goal was disallowed due to a foul on the goalkeeper.
W. Rooney attempted several long-range shots to snatch the victory, but "Middlesbrough" held on and secured what was probably an unexpected point for them.
After 34 matches in the season, "Man Utd" increased their lead over their closest pursuer, London's "Chelsea," to four points. However, Jose Mourinho's team will play their match of this round away against "Newcastle" tomorrow and could reduce the deficit to a minimum.
The crucial battle, perhaps deciding the champion, between "Chelsea" and "Man Utd" will take place on May 9 in London.
In the league table, occupying the third place, "Liverpool" secured their spot in the next season's UEFA Champions League qualification matches with a comfortable 2-0 victory at home against the struggling "Wigan."
The hosts at "Anfield" clearly aimed for a win and focused on defense, but the Liverpool players quickly scored a goal and relieved the pressure - in the 30th minute, Jermaine Pennant crossed the ball into the penalty area, and in the struggle for it, Dirk Kuyt beat not only the defender but also the goalkeeper John Filan with a precise header.
"Wigan" had no choice but to seek an equalizer, but the attacks of Paul Jewell's team were not particularly dangerous. Eventually, in the second half, D. Kuyt sealed the victory, scoring for the second time after a combination of John Arne Riise and Peter Crouch.
At the end of the match, the Dutchman had a chance to complete a hat-trick, but his header was too weak, and "Wigan" managed to defend.
Meanwhile, the main competitor of "Liverpool" in the battle for the 'bronze' position, "Arsenal," played a 2-2 draw in the London derby away against "Tottenham."
In an intense match, the hosts took the lead in the 30th minute when Michael Dawson put the ball to Robbie Keane, who had an easy task of scoring from a few meters.
"Arsenal" did not falter, and soon the two Emmanuels had a chance to equalize the score, but Eboue hit the crossbar, and Adebayor missed from a comfortable position.
The 'Gunners' continued to dominate, and after the break, in the 64th minute, they rightfully equalized - Cesc Fabregas passed the ball into the penalty area towards the far post, where Kolo Toure evened the score.
Furthermore, a few minutes later, "Arsenal" once again capitalized on a set-piece situation, as C. Fabregas accurately delivered the ball towards the goal, and E. Adebayor, who jumped higher than all defenders, left no chance for the goalkeeper Paul Robinson, putting the visitors ahead.
Just when it seemed that Arsene Wenger's team would celebrate a victory, "Tottenham" miraculously salvaged a point - in the 94th minute, Jermaine Jenas played a one-two with Jermain Defoe and struck a powerful shot from 25 yards out.
With three rounds left until the end of the competition, "Liverpool" and "Arsenal" are separated by a significant 4-point gap.
Similar stakes are present in the battle at the bottom of the league table, where three teams will drop to the second division based on their performance.
The first such team, who had lost hope of remaining among the strongest, was "Watford," who played a 1-1 draw at their stadium with "Man City" on Saturday.
The hosts, aware of their dire situation, started the match enthusiastically, but they could not break through the resilient Manchester defense, and early in the second half, their hopes to escape faltered - in the 53rd minute, goalkeeper Ben Foster failed to clear the ball, and Darius Vassell ruthlessly sent it into the net.
However, in the 75th minute, substitute Tamas Priskin restored parity, but it was not enough.
After 35 matches, "Watford" had only collected 24 points, lagging behind "West Ham," who occupy the second-to-last position, by 8 points, with a secure 17th position having a 10-point difference.
The mentioned "West Ham" eleven can celebrate today - after a dramatic battle, they triumphed 1-0 against Liverpool's strongest six, Everton, in front of their own fans.
The hosts' victory was determined by an early magnificent strike by Bobby Zamora from 23 meters, after which Tim Howard had to perform the unpleasant duty of retrieving the ball from the net.
The visitors had several excellent opportunities to restore balance, but their striker James Beattie did not make the most of them - initially lacking speed, and later precision, and "West Ham" goalkeeper Robert Green could happily enjoy a 'dry' match.
By securing three crucial points, the London team remained in 19th place, just one point behind "Charlton," who are one step above, and three points away from the 17th position that guarantees survival.
This drama was further intensified by the fact that in this round, "Fulham" played a draw against "Blackburn," and also shared points with "Charlton" and "Sheffield," all of which were only one point away from potentially changing the outcome of the match.
The possibility of being relegated still looms over "Wigan," who will face "West Ham" in a crucial battle in the next round.
Saturday's Results:
1 - 1
3' [1 - 0] K. Richardson
45' [1 - 1] M. Viduka
2 - 2
30' [1 - 0] R. Keane
64' [1 - 1] K. Toure
78' [1 - 2] E.S. Adebayor
90' [2 - 2] J. Jenas
1 - 3
64' [1 - 0] N. Shorey (own goal)
84' [1 - 1] K. Doyle (pen.)
89' [1 - 2] K. Doyle
90' [1 - 3] S. Hunt
1 - 1
59' [1 - 0] T.E. Karkouri
69' [1 - 1] J. Stead
1 - 1
9' [1 - 0] V. Montella
60' [1 - 1] B. McCarthy
2 - 0
30' [1 - 0] D. Kuyt
68' [2 - 0] D. Kuyt
1 - 1
53' [0 - 1] D. Vassell
75' [1 - 1] T. Priskin
1 - 0
13' [1 - 0] B. Zamora
League Table:
