TOUR EVENT
“Manchester United” and “Chelsea” maintained a six-point distance , although during the course of Saturday night it seemed more than once that the status quo would be ruthlessly violated. First, the Mankunians 61 minutes of the match with Blackburn encouraged the opponents, but then, led by Scholes and Ronaldo, they gave out almost the best half hour of the season and even managed to bring the matter to a rout. The Chelsea player who played next even more sophisticatedly strained the nerves of his and other fans, only in compensated time, having managed to avoid the primitive Watford trap and not ruin the champion’s intrigue. Everything turned out according to the laws of soap operas: the 31st episode of 38 - time is not for the climax, but only for its plausible illusion. Just if the director will be able to delay the denouement to the very end, and what other artistic techniques remained in his creative arsenal?
HERO TOUR
Inimitable Peter Crouch turned the central match of the English weekend into his own presentation video with cute spontaneity, making a hat-trick in the style of "he is straight, he is sideways, with a turn and with a jump, and with a run, and in place, and with two legs together". Arsenal, who had no knowledge of the defeats in the season, was beaten easily and naturally, while Liverpool saved energy and, on the eve of the Champions quarter final, was charged with the life-giving energy of the jubilant Anfield. The restrained smiling face of Crouch, devoid of the visible consequences of a recent nose fracture, will remain a symbol of the tour going into history.
TOUR FAILURE
Injuries continue to haunt players, “Manchester United” on the eve of the most important part of the season. Having thoroughly walked along the forwards, the evil rock reached the defenders too - after Nicholas Sylvester and Gary Neville, Nemanja Vidic went to the infirmary. At the end of the first half hour of the match with Blackburn, the Serb unsuccessfully fell into someone else's penalty area and damaged his collarbone. Now Vidic will miss about a month, and Sir Alex Ferguson will have to solve another personnel puzzle.
TOUR SENSATION
The Manchester City guest victory over Newcastle resolutely put an end to the hopes of comprehending the logic of Stuart Pearce’s performance this year. As if imbued with the depths of the nickname of their boss, the “townspeople” at first four times in a row lost their homes dry, went down into the tournament dungeon, and now the second round is won by serious rivals away, again seeing the sunlight. Difficult times came to Newcastle again - Glenn Raeder was dissatisfied with the players, the fans - Glenn Raeder, and the team that had lost any tournament motivation would dispel the boredom of seven-hour distance from the relegation zone.
TREND
The victories of Charlton and West Ham in sync with the defeats of Sheffield and Wigan mean the long-awaited consolidation of an outsider group . Now fighting for survival will go in one peloton, although jerks in it can be expected already in the next round. The position of the “hammers” is still the least attractive - the team of Alan Kerbisley still has a gap with competitors, and the calendar of the remaining matches is the most unfavorable. But three other clubs are ready to hold the spectator tension until the end of the championship. After all, they have their own series, albeit low-budget, not as artsy as the leaders, but very masculine, sincere and unpredictable.
CM. ALSO
Portsmouth's Croatian midfielder adapting to England with some problems, Nico Kranjčar, reminds himself of himself with a stylish goal against Fulham. The spring sun and a slight defect in the image at the most crucial moment add an additional charm to the hammered ball.
TOUR DIGIT
It is unlikely that the Argentinean Carlos Tevez is well acquainted with the Russian epic, and therefore will not be able to appreciate the comparison with the epic hero Ilya Muromets. Nevertheless, the performance of the chunky forward “West Ham” this season gives rise to just such associations. Tevez couldn’t open the score of his own goals for the new club for 19 matches, but once having scored, for the third round in a row he can’t stop. To save the "hammers" and develop an analogy, many more deeds are required from him.
Dmitry LONGICH