TOUR EVENT
The home defeat of West Ham in the first of three consecutive battles of outsiders re-qualified the position of the “hammers” from heavy to desperate. The team of Alan Kerbishli, having the composition to fight for a place in the European competition, could not do anything with the modest but proud “Watford”. For guests who have long since relieved themselves of psychological stress, this victory was the first guest in the Premier League. The lag of a group of outsiders (the third in this unpleasant company - “Charlton”) is already 8 points for the lost. The mini-tournament between them threatens to turn into an open rehearsal of future battles in the championship.
HERO TOUR
Reading midfielder Steve Sidwell, in addition to traditional concerns in the middle of the field in a match with Aston Villa, also took over the bombing chores. The red-haired midfielder scored both goals of the team. At the 16th minute, Sidwell gave the Birmingham goalkeeper a welcoming nod to a successful serve for Hunt's namesake, and at the very end of the game he logically completed the combination he had invented, which Manchester United would have envied with its brilliant simplicity. “Reading” is eager for European competition, and in the winter, English grandees were already peeking at Sidwell, a pupil of Arsenal.
TOUR FAILURE
The defender Fitz Hall and his “Wigan” until the 81st minute of the Sunday match with “Arsenal” everything was wonderful. At the ominous Emirates, the humble outsider won 1-0 and prepared to crown the tour with a sensation. However, in the last 10 minutes of the match, the tale broke. Cutting the ball into his own goal, Hall instantly turned from a hero into a loser. In the remaining time, “Wigan” also missed a draw, and a frustrated defender also earned a yellow card. In order for us to have no doubts about choosing a winner in this nomination, Fitz Hall was injured in the time added by the referee.
TOUR SENSATION
The failure of the “Liverpool” in Newcastle did not stem from either the pre-match handouts, or from the logic of the meeting itself, held to the accompaniment of heavy rain. “After the first half, the score should have been 0: 3 or 0: 4. However, we missed a stupid goal, and then earned a stupid penalty on our own. After that it was already very difficult to win,” Rafael Benitez bitterly sums up. The defeat from the “forty”, apparently, puts an end to the hopes of the Merseysiders to get Chelsea, but it aggravates the intrigue of the struggle for third place.
TREND
“Bolton” regains second wind and re-enters the fight for the Champions League. Before the New Year, Sam Allardyce's team confidently took third place, but then followed by a recession, resulting in four consecutive matches without victories. Liverpool and Arsenal did not lose this time in vain and created a gap. When it seemed that the dominance of the quartet of giants and this season no one will be able to break, “Bolton” revived again. In the previous round, the club beat away not the easiest, as it turned out, “Watford”, but in the current it confidently defeated the unyielding Fulham at “Reebok Stadium”. The dream becomes real again.
CM. ALSO
Not wanting to be behind the best player for Manchester United today, Cristiano Ronaldo, team veteran Ryan Giggs scored an amazing form. And even sometimes it displaces the Portuguese from its right flank to demonstrate corporate dribbling there.
Dmitry LONGICH
English accent
Dmitry Navoshi conference on English football