Manchester City 2-1 Chelsea Having conceded the lead in the race for the title the weekend before last and witnessing their rivals Manchester United pull away at the weekend, with a 5-0 hammering of a dilapidated Wolves side, Manchester City had it all to do tonight. It was made all the more harder by their opposition – a rejuvenated Chelsea team, who, since firing Andre Villas-Boas, have had their fortunes turned; firstly turning round a two goal deficit from their last sixteen first leg away tie against Napoli and then strengthened further by Sunday’s cup result against Leicester, 5-2, that was made all the more memorable with two Fernando Torres goals.
The first half saw David Silva and Samir Nasri both waste chances in front of goal, yet Chelsea couldn’t put them to the sword and punish them for their mistakes before half-time. One victim from the first half was Mario Balotelli, however: having acted as a passenger for much of the first half, including a squandered shot one-on-one with Petr Cech, the enigmatic Italian was whipped off at half-time and Match of the Day pundit Alan Hansen denounced the forward, stating that he “won’t start again this season.”
The second half didn’t get off to the best of starts for the home side, who had only conceded six at The Etihad all season, when Gary Cahill’s half volley, feeding off of the ball made loose by the pushing presence of Brazilian centre back David Luiz, was deflected past a wrong-footed Joe Hart by Yaya Toure.
Yet, Carlos Tevez’ introduction to the game, his first since his controversial exploits in 2011, following the goal, acted as the catalyst for City’s comeback. Firstly Sergio Aguero converted a penalty, earned by Pablo Zabaleta, to equalise the tie with twelve minutes left, before Carlos Tevez was involved with a neat one-two with Nasri, who finished with aplomb past an oncoming Cech to complete the turnaround.
Lessons learned:
- Manchester City have the fighting spirit to push United all the way.
- But, Balotelli is unlikely to be the hero.
- Time is a healer for Carlitos.
QPR 3-2 Liverpool
With a Wembley semi-final place confirmed at the weekend, having already made the trip once this season to beat Cardiff to the League Cup trophy on penalties, Liverpool returned to their Premier League campaign with confidence running high, European football confirmed next season (irrelevant of their league finish) and Luis Suarez’ returning to his best in a Liverpool shirt.
QPR, on the other hand, have had very little to be positive about recently and going into the game, they were trying to grip at a very slippery rope. Financially, they cannot afford to get relegated – it is as simple as that. Wednesday’s performance gave Rangers fans hope that they won’t.
Although their goal was under siege for much of the game, Paddy Kenny only saw two goals go past him. The first was simply unstoppable, falling perfectly for Uruguayan defender Sebastien Coates to beautifully craft his lumbering figure into an elegant mould that succulently met the ball in the air, scissor kick-esque, to fire the ball past Kenny, combining backspin, power and control harmoniously. The second was less spectacular but typical of its scorer – Dirk Kuyt. His tireless running and constant determination saw him react quickest to a fumbled shot, poking in from close range.
Yet, for all the beauty of Liverpool’s performance in the first 75 minutes, it was the closing fifteen that could define QPR’s season. 2-0 down against Liverpool when you are facing a relegation battle is an ominous presence: however, two headers from Shaun Derry and ex-Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse, set up a grandstand finish for Jamie Mackie to steal the headlines with an acute finish from close range to steal all three points from The Reds in a fifteen minute three-goal turnaround.
Lessons learned:
- QPR have glimmers of hope and an unexpected three points, amidst the hardest run-in of the relegation battling sides.
- Liverpool’s failure to score has cost them bitterly this season, but when they do score they’ve struggled to shut up shop.