The Honorable Mention on this years "Best Games of the Season" list is West Brom 5-5 Manchester United. The game was played on the final day of the season, as United celebrated their 13th title under Sir Alex Ferguson; the game was also Ferguson's last as United manager, the Scot having announced his retirement on the 8th of May.
Build Up:
Ferguson announced his retirement just 11 days beforehand, and while this game was played on the road, Sir Alex was given a guard of honor by both teams and the referees as he came out onto the pitch for his last game as a manager. As ESPNFC points out, Ferguson did not start the old timers, Patrice Evra, Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, instead going for a younger, more towards the future of United, lineup. West Brom was looking to put a winning end to a fantastic first season under manager Steve Clarke. Clarke lead the team to the 8th spot in the league, including the surprise 2-1 upset of Chelsea in November. Clarke left Chelsea loanee Romelu Lukaku on the bench. The Baggies were coming into the game with terrible form, having won just one of their last ten games.
The Game:
Although West Brom "opened with a sense of purpose," according to ESPNFC, it was United who struck first, in the 6th minute, after Javier "Chicarito" Hernandez had chased a lob pass to the corner; the Mexican then hit a cross to the near post, which Shinji Kagawa headed into the ground and past Ben Foster. United struck again just 3 minutes later, with Kagawa again involved in the goal; the Japanese player made a 15 yard run to the edge of the box, were a deflected pass landed at the feet of Anderson; from there the Brazilian passed it onto the wing, where Antonio Valencia hit a low cross into the box; Jonas Olsson stuck a foot out in hopes of pushing it around the post for a corner, but, to his dismay, the ball instead went into the net. In the 30th minutes United widended the lead, off a Valencia throw in. Michael Carrick passed a through ball to the center, touched on by Hernandez, to Tom Cleverly; Cleverly passed to Alexander Buttner, who found himself with miles of space on the left wing; the Dutchman then curled the ball past Foster into the low corner for United's third of the game. It indeed looked like United were running away with the game at this point.
James Morrison got one back for the Baggies in the 40th minute, redirecting the ball off a Graham Durrans cross. The ball just got by United keeper Andres Lindegaard. At this point United still looked in control. However, the most important moment of the game came just after half time, when Clarke brought on Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku, who has been heralded as the new Didier Drogba; the comparisons are not lacking, as Lukaku, like his predecessor, became a thorn in the side of Ferguson and United fans. The huge striker picked up a loose ball 35 yards from goal, took one touch, then curled the ball to the lower right corner, just like the spot Buttner had hit earlier; Lindegaard just got his finger tips to it, but it wasn't enough to push the ball wide. However, RVP struck back for the dark side, pushing the United lead back to two goals, at 4-2. Javier Hernandez had gotten hold of a stray ball before pushing it out wide to Antonio Valencia; the Ecuadorian hit a low cross into the box, which Van Persie buried in the top of the net. Hernandez added another goal to the tally 10 minutes later when he tapped a Ryan Giggs cross into the net. United fans and Ferguson especially could now rest easy on a day that was supposed to be a walk in the park for the Scot.
But not yet, said the Baggies. Romelu Lukaku picked up a through ball from Markus Rosenberg, and then smashed the shot past Andres Lindegaard to slim the lead. He hurried the ball back to the midfield circle, and just seconds later Youssuf Mulumbu latched onto a Billy Jones pass, pushing it to the far post, past the United keeper who stood no chance. No United and Ferguson were really worried, and it would again be a Chelsea player that ruined Sir Alex's day. A long cross went to the far post, where Mulumbu hit a bouncing ball back several feet to Lukaku; the Belgian tried to push it on, but the ball was blocked back by Rio Ferdinand. Lindegaard and Ferdinand were both caught out of position and could only watch as Lukaku, who was lying on the ground at this point, headed the ball into the net. The game ended thus at 5-5.
Aftermath:
Although Sir Alex would have wanted to win his last game, the match was a fitting send off for one of the greats. Only one other game in Premier League history has scored more than the ten scored that day at the Hawthrones; never have both teams in a Premier League fixture scored five times each. This game was well worth the money for all the fans who showed up. However, this game's downfall was that it was not significant; aside from being Ferguson's last game, it carried no weight; United had already been crowned champions, with the meaningfull games being played in London and Newcastle. That's why its an honorable mention.
Stay tuned for the 5 best games of the 2012-13 Premier League season, as well as the rest of Pitch View's countdown to the league.
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