© EuroFootball.com
On Saturday, eight matches of the 36th round of the English Premier League were played. Leader Manchester United, despite falling behind by two goals, still managed to defeat Everton with a score of 4-2. Chelsea lost two crucial points in a match against Bolton, Liverpool unexpectedly lost to Portsmouth, West Ham easily dealt with Wigan, while victories were also secured by Sheffield United, Aston Villa, Tottenham, and Blackburn.
In the match between Everton and Manchester United in Liverpool, everything started quite unexpectedly. During one attack after a corner kick and Jonathan Lescott's header, the ball hit the crossbar. The first goal of the match was scored beautifully by Alan Stubbs with a penalty kick from 28 meters, after the ball ricocheted off Michael Carrick.
Manchester United responded with shots from Wayne Rooney and Alan Smith, but the first one was saved by goalkeeper Ian Turner, and the second one was a bit off target.
At the beginning of the second half, Manuel Fernandes scored a great goal from 16 meters, putting the hosts ahead 2-0 and it seemed like it would lead to Manchester United's defeat.
However, the hosts themselves added suspense - in the 61st minute, goalkeeper Ian Turner failed to catch the ball passed into the penalty box, and John O'Shea was able to score after the ball landed at his feet. The Irishman took advantage of it and sent the ball into the empty net, softening the score to 2-1.
Just 6 minutes later, Manchester United got a corner kick and a confusion ensued at the Everton goal line. Defenders tried to clear the ball, attackers tried to send it into the net, but it was actually Liverpool's defender Phil Neville who, trying to clear the ball, confusingly and strongly struck it into his own goal - 2-2.
In the 78th minute, Everton finally collapsed when former player Wayne Rooney outwitted the defender and shot the ball between the legs of the goalkeeper, putting Manchester United ahead. In the last moments of the match during the added time, debutant in the Premier League, 21-year-old Chris Eagles, secured a final nail in the hosts' coffin, scoring a goal after finding himself alone against I. Turner.
Since in other matches the defending champions Chelsea played to a draw with Bolton, the gap between the first-place Manchester United and Chelsea, with only three matches left until the end of the championship, including a match against each other in London on May 9th, increased to five points.
In another match in the Manchester suburb of Wigan, local team Wigan fought with London's West Ham United, currently in 19th place. The first goal came in the 29th minute, when after a pass from Lucas Neill, visiting goalkeeper Luis Boa Morte directed the ball into John Filan's goal. At the end of the first half, Emile Heskey missed a great chance after a pass from Emmerson Boyce, his header was off target.
In the second half, West Ham doubled their lead in the 57th minute when, after a combination of three players: Carlos Tevez, George McCartney, and Bobby Zamora, the ball was sent into the net by Israeli forward Yossi Benayoun. The London side kept pressing their opponents increasingly, until they eventually sealed the victory.
With five minutes left to play, L. Boa Morte made a great pass to substitute Marlon Harewood, who scored a precise shot in these matches. It was the fifth victory for West Ham in the last seven games, and the team moved up a notch, while Wigan faced their seventh consecutive defeat and currently occupies 17th place.
In other matches, Middlesbrough faced Tottenham Hotspur. In the 12th minute of the match, the ball reached the home team's goal when, after a pass by Bulgarian Dimitar Berbatov, who outplayed defender Emanuel Pogatetz, Robbie Keane scored.
Just a few minutes into the second half, the second goal was scored. In the 47th minute, after a pass from Egyptian Hossam Ghaly, D. Berbatov, without stopping the ball, sent it into the net from a distance of 20 meters. However, in the 66th minute, Middlesbrough managed to reduce the score. The 11th goal of the championship was scored by Australian Mark Viduka.
Sensing they could equalize, the hosts did not stop attacking and managed to block another M. Viduka shot, this time thwarted by Spurs goalkeeper Paul Robinson. With 10 minutes left in the match, the England national team goalkeeper had to save his team again from the same Australian's attack.
However, in the 83rd minute, Aaron Lennon appeared on the field and made a successful pass to R. Keane, who crushed all of Boro's hopes of achieving at least a point. It was indeed everything the hosts could do in the remaining time, despite a precise header into the goal from Middlesbrough defender E. Pogatetz at the end of the match.
Martin Jol's players gave their coach a vital victory on the occasion of his 100th match, climbing to 8th place, while Middlesbrough remains in 14th place.
In another match, Portsmouth tested their strength against a weak Liverpool squad. The first dangerous opportunity was created by the home team when, after a pass from goalkeeper David James, Gary O'Neil shot next to Liverpool's goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek's goal.
In the 27th minute, the first goal of the match was scored. After a long pass by D. James and a childish mistake by J. Dudek, the ball was headed into the empty net by Portsmouth forward Benjani Mwaruwari.
Five minutes later, the hosts doubled their lead when Croatian winger Niko Kranjcar scored with a shot into the top corner of the goal. At the end of the first half, Liverpool defender Boudewijn Zenden hit the crossbar of the Portsmouth goal with a strong shot.
In the second half, the recovering visitors managed to reduce the opponent's advantage to 2-1. In the 59th minute, after a pass from Robbie Fowler, Finnish defender Sami Hyypia scored with a header. However, Portsmouth managed to secure a crucial victory that lifted them to 7th place, while Liverpool remained in 3rd place.
In another match, Blackburn faced Charlton Athletic. The opening goal was only scored in the 60th minute when Jason Roberts opened the scoring with a precise shot to the delight of the home team. After eleven minutes, Charlton equalized, with the team's most effective player Darren Bent on the scoresheet.
In the 77th minute, the visiting team was struck by misfortune - defender Hermann Hreidarsson directed the ball into his own goal. Three minutes later, Blackburn doubled their lead, with J. Roberts scoring his second goal of the match. Charlton's hopes were buried in the 83rd minute when the young Blackburn star Matt Derbyshire scored the final goal in this match.
After the victory, Blackburn solidified their position in 10th place, while Charlton missed the opportunity to climb out of the relegation zone and dropped to 19th place.
Also in today's matches, Manchester City suffered a 0-2 defeat at home against Aston Villa. In the 24th minute, Norwegian forward John Carew put his team ahead, and with 15 minutes left, young Shaun Maloney scored a winning goal with a penalty kick.
In a clash between the championship newcomers Sheffield United and Watford, who will play in the lower Championship league next season, the hosts secured a 1-0 victory. At the end of the first half, after a shot by Michael Tonge, the ball deflected off Watford's Chris Powell and ricocheted into the goal.
Saturday's Round 36 match results:
Chelsea 2 – 2 Bolton
Everton 2 – 4 Man Utd
Wigan 0 – 3 West Ham
Middlesbrough 2 – 3 Tottenham
Portsmouth 2 – 1 Liverpool
Blackburn 4 – 1 Charlton
Man City 0 – 2 Aston Villa
Sheffield United 1 – 0 Watford
Top goal scorers:
1. Didier Drogba (Chelsea) – 19 goals
2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Man Utd) – 16
3. Benni McCarthy (Blackburn) – 15
4. Wayne Rooney (Man Utd) – 14
5-8. Darren Bent (Charlton), Yakubu Aiyegbeni (Middlesbrough), Kevin Doyle (Reading), Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool) – 12 each
League table:
