Saturday proved to be a good day for some of those sides who did not
play, as Tottenham delighted the likes of Arsenal and Newcastle by
failing to give themselves a three-point boost in the hunt for Champions
League places, while Bolton and Blackburn registered results that
favoured QPR in the relegation battle.
Liverpool will wish they had not played at all after another
disappointment against Aston Villa, but the most telling goal of the day
surely came from Chelsea's Juan Mata, who broke Wigan hearts at the
death.
Chelsea's resurgence under Roberto Di Matteo may yet end with
Champions League football being secured at Stamford Bridge next season
after the Blues won 2-1 against
Wigan to move within two points
of the top four. Di Matteo, who has already led his side to a
blockbuster European semi-final with Barcelona, had to do without John
Terry, Frank Lampard and John Terry against the Latics, and Chelsea
claimed a dramatic victory in the dying minutes thanks to Mata.
The match was shrouded in controversy in west London after Branislav
Ivanovic appeared to be at least a couple of yards offside when he found
the net midway through the second period for Chelsea's opener. Wigan
players surrounded the officials, but the goal was given much to the
dismay of Roberto Martinez.
Defeat ends the Latics' sparkling run of form, which has included wins
against Liverpool and Stoke, and they head into the final six games of
the season adrift of safety on goal difference, having played the extra
game.
Martinez had his men well-drilled at Stamford Bridge and it took some
magic from Mata to cause a rare moment of panic in the Wigan defence
during a tight first half. The Spaniard danced his way into the box and
when the ball rebounded to Didier Drogba, the Ivorian really should have
done better with what was a weak header.
The opening goal came just after the hour, with Ivanovic clearly
offside, and within moments there was more frustration for the visitors
when the Serbian cleared off the line from Victor Moses. However,
Mohamed Diame levelled with eight minutes left to seemingly deny Chelsea
the win only for Chelsea to have the last laugh, Mata poking home after
a vital contribution from Fernando Torres.
Tottenham are now only three points ahead of fifth-placed
Chelsea, although they are temporarily above Arsenal by a point, after
they could only secure a 0-0 draw with
Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
Unchanged from their recent 3-1 win against Swansea, Spurs started well
on Wearside with Benoit Assou-Ekotto shaving a post in the sixth minute.
Luka Modric then kept Simon Mignolet honest with a low drive before
Phil Bardsley's arm appeared to block an Emmanuel Adebayor header inside
the area.
However, Sunderland began to grow into the contest and applied plenty of
pressure close to half-time, Sebastian Larsson particularly dangerous
with his set-piece delivery. Spurs simply could not find their usual
tempo and it was Sunderland threatening again 15 minutes into the second
period, Kyle Walker forced into a last-ditch challenge to deny James
McClean at the far post.
Aaron Lennon added an extra threat out wide for Redknapp's men but 0-0
was a fair result on a day when neither side showed a cutting edge
around the box.
Liverpool's horrendous run of form in the league continued as they drew 1-1 with
Aston Villa
at Anfield. £35 million signing Andy Carroll found himself benched
after his show of frustration at Newcastle, and pressure grew on boss
Kenny Dalglish thanks to Chris Herd's early goal, which was only
cancelled out late by Luis Suarez.
The Reds started brightly at Anfield and Shay Given was forced into
early action after Stewart Downing's raid down the left flank, but they
were stunned in the 11th minute when Herd beat Liverpool's deputy
goalkeeper Alexander Doni. The Reds' shot-stopper was hardly faultless
as he flapped at a cross in front of the Kop, and when Barry Bannan
pulled the ball back to Herd he curled into the top corner.
Liverpool struggled for any type of first-half reply although they did
have a big penalty shout five minutes before half-time, Suarez
exchanging a one-two with Dirk Kuyt before going down under the
attentions of Bannan. Replays showed there was marginal contact and the
referee could not have been blamed had he pointed to the spot.
Blame certainly could be attached to Kuyt moments later though, when the
Dutchman missed an open goal from two yards out. Once again it was
Suarez causing problems with the initial cross, and when Steven Gerrard
drove across goal Kuyt somehow managed to divert the ball over when it
was easier to score.
Liverpool's luck continued to elude them in the second half, Gerrard and
Suarez combining again for the latter to hit the inside of the far post
with a header. The ball then rebounded directly at Given, who showed
smart reactions to scoop the ball away from goal when he was in danger
of diverting into his own net.
Craig Bellamy came off the bench to hit the woodwork again, but the Reds
finally got their equaliser when Suarez nodded home from a yard after
Daniel Agger's back-post header. Carroll could and should have won it
for Liverpool, but his free header from six yards was soft.
Blackburn remain in the relegation zone after they followed up their loss to Manchester United with a 3-0 defeat at
West Brom.
The latest setback leaves Steve Kean's men adrift of safety on goal
difference after an own goal from Martin Olsson, in addition to strikes
from Marc-Antoine Fortune and Liam Ridgewell, won it for the Baggies.
No Premier League team has conceded more goals on their travels than
Blackburn this season, and it took just seven minutes to leak their 36th
as Olsson diverted into his own net. Gareth McAuley was the man who
caused chaos at the far post, and Olsson was the man in the wrong place
at the wrong time for Rovers.
Blackburn pressed for an equaliser but were always open to the counter,
and so it proved as Fortune doubled the Baggies' lead 20 minutes from
full-time. Ridgewell then completed the job late on for Roy Hodgson's
men.
Bolton's fight to beat the drop also looks set to go to the final week of the season after they were beaten 3-0 by
Fulham
at the Reebok Stadium. With Blackburn failing to win Owen Coyle's men
sit one point clear of the bottom three with seven games of their
campaign remaining.
Clint Dempsey, one of the outstanding performers of the season in the
Premier League, broke the deadlock on the half-hour, rattling a 30-yard
free-kick past Adam Bogdan. The American then doubled his tally on the
stroke of the interval after showing perfect timing with his run towards
the area. Mahamadou Diarra added the gloss in the final ten minutes.
Elsewhere,
Everton remain above Merseyside rivals Liverpool after a 2-2 draw at
Norwich.
Nikica Jelavic's opener was cancelled out by Jonathan Howson's first
goal for the Canaries, but Everton regained the lead in controversial
fashion after Jelavic netted again with Norwich players expecting play
to be stopped for obstruction. It did not prove to be the winner though
as Grant Holt levelled with 15 minutes left.
