Another Call for Goal Line Technology?

The FA Cup final was set today, with Chelsea facing off against Liverpool on May 5th at Wembley Stadium in London. Liverpool defeated cross city rivals 2-1 on a Andy Carroll header, but the more exhilrating match came today, where Tottenham and Chelsea faced off in a London darby.

The first goal came one minute from half time, with Didier Drogba weaving a strike past Tottenham goalie Carlo Cudicini, who was picked over American Brad Friedel. Lampard sent the ball to Drogba on the run, who chested it, then took a touch and a shot, sending a streak past Cudicini. The half ended with Chelsea up 1-0.

The second half was where things got exciting. In the 49th minute, a stray header in the box landed at Juan Mata's feet. He tapped the ball towards a pile up of several Tottenham players and John Terry, who, in the process of trying to head the ball in off a cross, had knocked a few Tottenham players, including Cudicini, to the ground. This should have been a foul, but we must move on to the more controversial call. The ball was batted and stopped by a Tottenham defender, BEFORE it crossed the line. Referee Martin Atkinson called it a goal, though both he and linesmen Mick McDonough were completly blocked by the pile up. The goal was not overturned, and though Tottenham scored off another controversial goal just 7 minutes later, Spurs could never recover.

The goal 7 minutes later came off a near sending off for Petr Cech, when he tripped a wide open Emmanuel Adebayor, and Gareth Bale saved the Chelsea goalie by scoring. David Luiz pulled up lame on the play, and Gary Cahill came on for him. Now Chelsea led 2-1, though it should have been 1-1. The game was one of attacks and counter attacks, with no one side controlling the ball for long enough to make a difference. Then, with Harry Redknap trying to find a man who could provide the crucial goal, Rafael Van der Vaart, the very heart of Tottenham, was taking off for Jermaine Defoe. That was when everything collapsed for Tottenham, when just two minutes later the Blues led 3-1 off a clever through ball from Mata and a Messi-like finish from Ramires. Five minutes after that, Spurs truly fell apart after Frank Lampard smashed a 30-yard free kick in. Florent Malouda came on and scored the fifth goal for Chelsea with just a minute left in the game.

The score line, however uneven it may have looked, did not do true justice to the quality of the game. It was high paced, with the possesion 51-49 in Tottenham's favor, and exhilarting. Both teams played well but in the end, Chelsea were too much.

Chelsea have now drawn near to a success that may very well be counted as a lone one in this 2011-12 campaign. The BPL is out of comprhension, the League cup is over, and a semi final matchup against UEFA Champions League holder Barcelona surely means that the Blues are out of sed competition also. On the other hand, the FA Cup presents a very close and very winnable challenge, with Chelsea facing off against a struggling Liverpool side. The Reds occupy the eighth spot in the BPL table, and are very likely to finish out of Europe. Though they did win the League Cup, a FA Cup victory is vital for Kenny Daglish's men. For the Blues, the Premier League is more worrying, with Chelsea outside of Europe by 2 spots. Unless the Londoners win the Champions League, it seems unlikly for the Blues to be joining Europe's elite next fall. A lot rests on these last two months for both FA Cup finalist sides.

Di Matteo proves his worth.

Today, with Chelsea pulling out a 1-0 win over Stoke City, Roberto Di Matteo, the interim manager for Roman Abrhamovich, has strengthened his case for the head managerial job. Last Sunday, 34 year old Portugese manager Andre Villas-Boas was fired, with Chelsea in 5th place. They are still in 5th place, only trailing Arsenal on goal difference. This was Di Matteo's first home game as interim manager, following a 2-0 win over Championship side Birmingham. This week, Chelsea play host to SSC Napoli in the Champions League. They are down 3-1 on aggregate, and only a miracle will propel them into the Round of 16.

Di Matteo didn't start Juan Mata, who has racked up 5 goals and 9 assists for the West Londoners this campaing, because he thought it would be a physical game, with goes against the finesse filled Juan Mata's game. "We are gaining confidence and belief," he said in a postmatch interview, "and that is we need to go forward."

Among the names of replacements for Villas-Boas are Jose Mourhino, Rafa Benetiz, and even the successful Pep Guardiola, even though that is very unlikely. The next couple of weeks and months will be carzy ones.

"The Game Before the Game"

Sunday brings around one of the biggest sports days in America, as the Super Bowl is being played. But, across the pond, on of the biggest soccer days will be played out, as Manchester United travels to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea, while Newcastle takes on Aston Villa. "The Game before the Game," as Fox Soccer is calling it, will be one of the biggest games of the year.

In the first clash between these giants, out of whom have come the last seven champions, Manchester United dominated the game, winning by a tally of 3-1, with Fernando Torres missing an open goal shot that brought boo's and a hail of abuse from the media. The game was Manchester United's to lose from the start, and the advantage of Old Trafford helped very much. Now, Chelsea are at home, and though they are coming off an exceptionally weak performance at Swansea, they can be expected to perform better. All title hopes are gone for the Blues now, with a hope residing only truthfully in the FA Cup, or, a very, very unlikely Champions League trophy. Andre Villas Boas is truthfully on the hot seat with Roman Abrhamovich.

Yesterday's riots in Egypt after a Al-Masry and Aly-Ahly where 74 people were killed has resulted in the Egyptian FA's board being disbanded by the prime minister Kamal el-Ganzouri, as FIFA were demanding reports as to why such a tragedy was allowed to happen. Hundreds more people were injured. This is the worst show of soccer violence since 1996.