Weekend in Review

NOTE: APOLOGIES FOR MY RECENT HIATUS. I HAD ACL SURGERY LAST WEEK AND WAS IN NO SHAPE TO WRITE. BUT I'M BACK NOW AND IT'S BACK TO BUSINESS AT 90 MINUTES STRONG.



United on a Roll

Manchester United 2-0 Fulham HIGHLIGHTS

Manchester United have had trouble with Fulham at Craven Cottage, but they've had no trouble whatsoever with the mid-table side at Old Trafford. That trend continued in a routine 2-0 win for United that saw them go ten points clear atop the table.

United staved off a few early attacks from the Cottagers, and then took control of the ball, and the game, dominating the opening half of play.

Dimitar Berbatov opened the scoring on a beautifully worked goal that saw Nani beat a pair of defenders before executing a quick give-and-go with Anderson, and then sliding to the Bulgarian with space inside the box.

Luis Valencia merely had to tap in with his head in the 32nd. Another great run from Nani helped him create space for himself down the left side, then evading a charging Schwarzer, before sneaking a cross over the head of Aaron Hughes and onto the Ecuadorian.

The performance from the leaders over the last two weeks has to have them feeling quite optimistic. They showed that they have the fight to win a trophy by coming back from 2-0 down at Upton Park last week, and on Saturday they showed us the clinical, confident and comfortable side they've built their reputation on.

With just six matches left, United are looking the favorites to win the title with every week, as they look to be firing on all cylinders down the stretch, while challengers Arsenal appear to be sputtering.

Playing Fulham certainly helped matters. In fact, you couldn't pick a much easier opponent to travel to Old Trafford, as Mark Hughes' side have been hapless on the road over past seasons. They didn't put up much of a fight either, and looked satisfied with just a 2-0 defeat in the second 45 minutes while Man U cruised to the three points.

The Whites are a side to look for in the future. Bobby Zamora is back and will be fit for next season, and everyone has enjoyed the offensive spark that Clint Dempsey has provided this year, as he has evolved into one of the EPL's more consistent attackers. And despite his lack of goal scoring this season, I still like the potential of 24-year old Moussa Dembele, who has the talent to flirt with double-digit goal tallies in future years should be a bit more clinical in the box.

Arsenal Keep Pace

Arsenal 3-1 Blackpool HIGHLIGHTS

After Arsenal's high-powered attack struggled to find their rhythm in last week's scoreless draw with Blackburn, a matchup with defensively challenged Blackpool was just what the doctor ordered. The Gunners seized the opportunity, starting strong at Bloomfield Road and weathering the storm in a much more difficult second half.

The Gunners were running rampant immediately, and the Tangerine defense were quite rattled as the Gunners combined dangerously around their box. They took the lead in the 18th via an incisive pass across the box from Van Persie, leaving Diaby with a simple touch for the goal.

Emmanuel Eboue scored his first premiership goal in nearly two seasons when he combined nicely with Jack Wilshere and burst into the box before finishing well with his left foot.

The rest of the half was a clinic of sorts courtesy of the visitors. Nasri was unlucky to hit the post and Diaby spurned another chance later on. At the half, the Tangerines had to be happy that it was just 2-0, although they were just inches away from an opener when Cesc Fabregas cleared off the line.

Ian Holloway surely gave his team a piece of his mind at the half, and Blackpool did come out a much livelier side. Arsenal appeared to want to glide to the finish line, but the home side had other thoughts, and Gary Taylor-Fletcher scored in the 52nd to make the favorites sweat. It could have been worse for Arsenal, as Jens Lehmann had taken out D.J. Campbell in the box moments before Taylor-Fletchers strike, but advantage was played and the goalkeeper avoided a potential red card.

Inspired by their strong start, Blackpool continued to press forward. They had their chances, too. Taylor-Fletcher, Campbell, and Keith Southern all went close. But in the end, it would be Arsenal scoring the fourth goal of the match in the 76th, as a beautiful piece of counterattacking football concluded with substitute Theo Walcott playing Robin Van Persie in for a routine one-touch finish.

A string of sub-par results has seen Arsenal's title chase reach dire straights. But it's anything but over for the Gunners, who sit seven points back of Man U, but have a match in hand, and a head-to-head matchup with the Red Devils over their last seven matches. It's quite conceivable that they may need to take all 21 points down the stretch. However, the Gunners have shown the quality to go on such a run throughout the season, it's just a matter of showing that quality consistently for the remainder the year.

Arsene Wenger insists that his Gunners are still very much in the title race, and the numbers say he's right. But the fixture list tells a different story, as a host of tough matches await . The Gunners host Liverpool next Sunday, and the Reds appear to be firing on all cylinders after drilling Manchester City 3-0 on Monday. But even if they do take that fixture, there is plenty more to do, with trips to Stoke, Bolton and Tottenham all sandwiching May 1's faceoff with Man U. With the kind of run-in they're facing, the Gunners will need a herculean effort merely to be within striking distance of United when the two teams meet.

Chelsea's "Other" Striker

Fernando Torres £50M purchase, and subsequent struggles, have been the story of note at Stamford Bridge since January. But while the expensive Spaniard has been firing blanks in London, a young Blues loanee is scoring in bunches up north.

When Daniel Sturridge went on loan to Bolton in January, there wasn't a ton of fanfare. After all, it was hard to get a real look at the young Englishman, who struggled to break into the Chelsea lineup, often being relegated to coming off the bench for league matches and getting the majority of his starts in cup ties.

I thought he actually showed some nice flashes of his talent during Chelsea's trial of the U.S. in past years, showing off some fantastic pace to go alongside a clever left foot. He's cashed in on his vast potential since making the move to Wanderers, scoring six goals in seven matches.

Amongst those scores (with analysis from BBC's Match of the Day) have been a few of the highest class.

Keep an eye on Sturridge next season at Chelsea. At the very least, there should be a very interesting competition for playing time at striker come preseason.

Rallying Call for Tottenham and Company

With the exception of Manchester United and Chelsea's second leg, the UEFA Champions League Quarterfinal's appear to be of the anti-climactic variety, with the other three ties all but decided. Heading into their respective second legs, Inter visit Schalke trailing 5-2, Tottenham hosts real Madrid with a 4-0 deficit to cope with, and Barcelona heads to Shakhtar holding a 5-1 advantage.

Spurring a miracle comeback might not seem in the cards for the downtrodden trio of quarterfinalists. But crazier things have happened before in European Football, and we don't have to go too far back to find some examples. How about Fulham's unbelievable comeback in the Europa League last season? They trailed Juventus 3-0 on aggregate at Craven Cottage, but came back to score an incredible four goals (with American Clint Dempsey scoring one of his finest goals to win it) to shock the favored side from Turin. Or what about Maccabi Haifa's response against Kazakh side Aktobe in the third round of Champions League Qualifying in 2009? That was one to remember, and the Israeli's ended up qualifying for the UEFA Champions League.

I'm not making any predictions here. But with three teams facing similar situations as Fulham and Haifa over the next two days, let's not rule anything out just yet.