[sumitrocks]

So, the clash of the titans ends! Advantage Chelsea!! Well, a chess match was what this was supposed to be, right? Devoid of excitement, dull...yada yada yada....

Chelsea nicked it 2-1, and even though United do have a huge Goal Difference, their momentum seems to have slackened this week. They were nowhere close to their best. And if the Catalans were watching, they'd be hugely confident of their upcoming match now.

Of course, the race is now a photo finish. (I am eating my words now...remember I said earlier that the EPL was a one-horse race....CHOMP CHOMP...:innocent

[gvi.shekar]

An intruders attempt at a live update

Bir 0 Liv 0 (22min)
Performance
Bir :neutral: Liv :dontgeti:
come on you reds what are y'll doing

Forsell missed oppurunity at 15 min. Controlled the ball, turned and hit it over his head straight at the goal keeper.

Bol 0 : tot 0
sun 1 : mid 1 (both goals within space of minutes)

[sumitrocks]

Originally Posted by gvi.shekar

An intruders attempt at a live update

Bir 0 Liv 0 (22min)
Performance
Bir :neutral: Liv :dontgeti:
come on you reds what are y'll doing

Birminghammaking quite a fight out of it, leading 1-0. Winning this one will pull them out of the relegation zone..barely! And with 9 changes to the team, Rafa seems to be focusing completely on Tuesday.

Come on you Reds!

[gvi.shekar]

Originally Posted by sumitrocks

And with 9 changes to the tam, Rafa seems to be focusing completely on Tuesday.

Come on you Reds!

Agreed.
But with chelsea winning over Man U and if the reds do lose today then the blues still have a psychological advantage. In Europe thats all that counts

[swagatsinha]

Well, well, well...seems people missed me.
To be quite honest, as I told Sumitbhai on SB, I couldn't get myself to watch the match, I was too nervous. Ballack paid back some of his 130,000 pounds/week wages.

About the penalty, as I haven't seen the match..no comments from my side. But from what I've been reading on live commentary now, it seems it was a fair call. Many consider Mikel's sending off in the reverse fixture controversial as well. As the BBC live commentary team put it, "if that hadn't been given, Chelsea would have felt hard done by."

I have seen the Chelsea side show affection for team-mates before (remember Drogba making 26 in the air against Arsenal in the Carling Cup final against Arsenal), so showing Lampard's mother's name on the jersey was a nice gesture as well.

I was almost sure that Drogba would leave the club at the end of the season. Now that almost is gone. He'll surely go. Fighting over free-kicks. I read that Clarke gave him a dressing down. Nicely done, Steve-O.

Regarding the title race, I still don't think the title is ours yet. But watching Newcastle playing at West Ham, and West Ham's history against United; there still might be something in it. But regardless of the destination of the title at the end, I must say I'm proud of the Blue Brigade. They've fought back extremely well.

Will post regularly now till tomorrow, after which I leave home to return sometime later. Might be missing from PG for upto 3 weeks.

Cheers, FOREVER BLUE!!

[sumitrocks]

Originally Posted by gvi.shekar

Agreed.
But with chelsea winning over United (or Man Utd, or Manchester United) and if the reds do lose today then the blues still have a psychological advantage. In Europe thats all that counts

I still maintain that we have the psychological advantage, irrespective of the result. That's because:

1) If we lose, we'll still have fresh players on the field, on the 30th.
2) If we win even with a 'reserve' team, our full strength team will surely be a tough one to handle.

Honestly, I'd be delighted if we win the second leg. But even if we don't, as long as we play good quality, attacking football, I won't be as disappointed. YNWA!!

[sumitrocks]

Originally Posted by swagatsinha

Ballack paid back some of his 130,000 pounds/week wages.

I have seen the Chelsea side show affection for team-mates before (remember Drogba making 26 in the air against Arsenal in the Carling Cup final against Arsenal), so showing Lampard's mother's name on the jersey was a nice gesture as well.

I must say I'm proud of the Blue Brigade. They've fought back extremely well.

Might be missing from PG for upto 3 weeks.

Ballack is one of my all-time favourite players, and I felt he deserved many more starts at Chelsea than he got. Today, he vindicated that point.

It was a really touching gesture to honour the late Mrs. Pat Lampard by the team. Kudos to the gesture, and may her soul rest in peace.

The Blues hit back strongly at all those who talked about their 'boring' football style. Which of the 95 minutes was boring? :tellme:

P.S. Swagat, all those threads that you and I were spamming together, will miss you for these 3 weeks. You have a great trip, and enjoy!

[ajeet_kumar]

Originally Posted by sumitrocks

Brimingham making quite a fight out of it, leading 1-0. Winning this one will pull them out of the relegation zone..barely! And with 9 changes to the team, Rafa seems to be focusing completely on Tuesday.

Come on you Reds!

But Rafa is being disrespectful to Bolton and Reading this time. It was Rafa's help, which kept Fulham alive last year.

I understand that Rafa's job is limited to liverpool but you can't make 9 changes to the team. It shows disrespect to league because he would have sent his best team if 4th place was not assured.

[sir roy keane]

Originally Posted by ajeet_kumar

But Rafa is being disrespectful to Bolton and Reading this time. It was Rafa's help, which kept Fulham alive last year.

I understand that Rafa's job is limited to liverpool but you can't make 9 changes to the team. It shows disrespect to league because he would have sent his best team if 4th place was not assured.

hi ajeet ,

its not at all about 'disrespect'. its about taking the best route to win a trophy.

and yes , 'unfortunately' thats how things work.

take carling cup for example , over the years , SAF , AW have used this only as a platform to groom their second string side.

if you were in rafa's shoes , what would you have done. rest the biggies for the Champions league or care about the 'respect' factor.

gimme a very honest answer

It shows disrespect to league because he would have sent his best team if 4th place was not assured.

thats the whole point really . 'if'.....

i'm pretty sure , if united had won the title before coming to the bridge , SAF would have fielded his second string team out here

cheers n regards

[swagatsinha]

Originally Posted by sir roy keane

i'm pretty sure , if united had won the title before coming to the bridge , SAF would have fielded his second string team out here

cheers n regards

Like last year, when United actually did so. It all depends on the circumstances. For example, I doubt that Porto are playing their best XI in the remainder of the Portugese season after winning the league with 5-6 games to go.
All this serves another purpose as well. It brings the junior and reserve players right upto the big stage and gives them an opportunity to put pressure on the players in the best XI to perform. So it's beneficial in a way. Peter Crouch is showing his credentials to Benitez and forcing him to take notice of him.