The 3rd best game of last years season was Chelsea 2-2 Tottenham. This game was crucial to both teams Champions League hopes, with Chelsea needing a win to secure a qualification, and Spurs needing a win or a draw to stay in the race.
Build Up:
Chelsea were coming off a streak of 5 wins from 7 played, including a 1-0 win over Manchester United just days before. As said above, the Blues only needed a win to secure qualification. At this point, with just 3 games left in the season, the race for the spots was really heating up. Tottenham had won two straight games, starting with a 3-1 win over City to keep them in the race. Gareth Bale had been in prime form all season, winning the PFA Player of the Year, Young Player of the Year and FWA Player of the Year awards; the only other player to win all three of those awards in the same season was Cristiano Ronaldo, to whom Bale has often been compared.
The Game:
The opening chance of the game came in the 7th minute, when Juan Mata hit a curling half volley just over the bar. The Spainard delivered a fantastic corner that Gary Cahill caught a hold of in the middle of the box; the English defender headed the ball down towards the far post, where Oscar redirected it with his head back into the net. Spurs equalized 15 minutes later, when Emmanuel Adebayor led a counter, taking the ball all the way to the edge of the box, before hitting a high shot over Petr Cech. The shot looked like it would go over the bar the whole way, until just at the end, it dipped under the bar and into the upper corner. It was a fantastic goal, worthy of the sporadic but brilliant goal's Spurs had been scoring in the season. Chelsea pulled in front again 15 minutes later, when Fernando Torres picked the ball up on the right wing, in tight space, and took several touches; he then played a through ball between two Spurs defenders, which Ramires hit, curling and fast, past Hugo Lloris, falling as he did it. So Spurs went into halftime needing a goal or two to stay in the UCL race.
Chelsea continued to look good in the second half, with Cesar Azpilicueta looking to cross to Juan Mata at the back post, but in the end almost scoring; the ball barely soared wide and high as Hugo Lloris stretched for it. Eden Hazard's beautiful touch on to set Mata on a break created another great Blues chance; the Spanish midfielder got to the box, and passed to a wide open, speeding Ramires; it was a clear goal, a game cincher for the Blues, but, just as the ball reached him, the Brazilian slipped, banging his head on the pitch. That missed opportunity proved fatal for the Blues, as, in the 80th minute, Emmanuel Adebayor touched a Benoit Assou-Ekotto cross back to Gylfi Sigurdsson, and the Icelander curled the low shot past Cech to equalize. Replays showed the Adebayor was close to being offside, and debate would rage for a day, but the goal stood, and that was that.
Aftermath:
Although some Chelsea fans may have been dismayed at the draw, there was nothing in the end to be worried about. The Blues had an extra game on Arsenal and Tottenham, and in the end finished with ease in a UCL spot. Tottenham, however, stayed close with Arsenal until the last day, when they needed an Arsenal loss; their wishes were not fulfilled, however, and they were denied Champions League play again.
Stay tuned for the rest of Pitch View's countdown to the Premier League season.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Friday, July 26, 2013
Best Games of the 2012-13 Premier League Season: Number 4
The 4th best game of last year's Premier League season was Tottenham 3-1 Manchester City. The game was critical to Spur's staying in the race for the Champions League spots; if they lost, then all of Gareth Bale's hard work, and yes, almost all the work for Tottenham had, up to this point, been done by the Welsh men, would go to naught.
Build Up:
Gaerth Bale returned for his first game since an ankle injury on April 4th, in a Europa League quarterfinal game against the Swedish side FC Basel. Spurs were coming in off poor form, having won only one of their past 7 games, but would now get the boost of having the best player in the Premier League. City, although the title race was effectively over, were picking up on a good run of form, having won 8 of their last 9 games. Both teams certainly wanted to win, but with Tottenham at home and absolutely needing a win, you could expect the North Londoners to be the more attacking squad of the two. However, it should be noted that Hotspurs had not beaten City since 2010, two years before.
The Game:
Clint Dempsey got the first real chance of the game, hitting a cross/shot hybrid that Joe Hart punched down and got a hold of. Directly off that save, Carlos Tevez dribbled to the corner flag, turned and passed a ball that split three defenders; a show of quality that only the Argentine and maybe Messi could have pulled off. James Milner took the ball down the line, and hit a waist level cross that Samir Nasri volleyed to the far post. Kyle Walker almost saved it on the line, but the ball got past him. City up 1-0, not good for Tottenham. It took almost the rest of the game for Spurs to strike back, but finally they equalised, after Gareth Bale made one of the best outside foot passes you will ever see. The American merely stuck out a foot to redirect the beautiful pass into the net. White Hart Lane had hope now. Several minutes later Gylfi Sigurdsson hit Jerome Defoe with a through ball; the striker took several touches, tapped the ball back inside, and, using Vincent Kompany as a guide, curled the ball past Joe Hart. Just 3 minutes later Gareth Bale sealed the game for the North Londoners, lobbing Hart. That put the finishing touch on a fantastic comeback for Spurs.
Aftermath:
Spurs needed the win to stay in the race for Champions League; although they would end up falling short, at the time they looked like they were gonna challenge Arsenal and Chelsea. City, with the title having been lost, focused on the FA Cup, which they also ended up losing, to Wigan, who would be relegated from the League on the last day of the season. What really took away from this game was the overall quality of play. Although the goals were brilliant, the game was exciting only in the first 5 minutes and last 15.
Stay tuned for the rest of the list, as well as all of Pitch View's countdown to the start of the season.
Build Up:
Gaerth Bale returned for his first game since an ankle injury on April 4th, in a Europa League quarterfinal game against the Swedish side FC Basel. Spurs were coming in off poor form, having won only one of their past 7 games, but would now get the boost of having the best player in the Premier League. City, although the title race was effectively over, were picking up on a good run of form, having won 8 of their last 9 games. Both teams certainly wanted to win, but with Tottenham at home and absolutely needing a win, you could expect the North Londoners to be the more attacking squad of the two. However, it should be noted that Hotspurs had not beaten City since 2010, two years before.
The Game:
Clint Dempsey got the first real chance of the game, hitting a cross/shot hybrid that Joe Hart punched down and got a hold of. Directly off that save, Carlos Tevez dribbled to the corner flag, turned and passed a ball that split three defenders; a show of quality that only the Argentine and maybe Messi could have pulled off. James Milner took the ball down the line, and hit a waist level cross that Samir Nasri volleyed to the far post. Kyle Walker almost saved it on the line, but the ball got past him. City up 1-0, not good for Tottenham. It took almost the rest of the game for Spurs to strike back, but finally they equalised, after Gareth Bale made one of the best outside foot passes you will ever see. The American merely stuck out a foot to redirect the beautiful pass into the net. White Hart Lane had hope now. Several minutes later Gylfi Sigurdsson hit Jerome Defoe with a through ball; the striker took several touches, tapped the ball back inside, and, using Vincent Kompany as a guide, curled the ball past Joe Hart. Just 3 minutes later Gareth Bale sealed the game for the North Londoners, lobbing Hart. That put the finishing touch on a fantastic comeback for Spurs.
Aftermath:
Spurs needed the win to stay in the race for Champions League; although they would end up falling short, at the time they looked like they were gonna challenge Arsenal and Chelsea. City, with the title having been lost, focused on the FA Cup, which they also ended up losing, to Wigan, who would be relegated from the League on the last day of the season. What really took away from this game was the overall quality of play. Although the goals were brilliant, the game was exciting only in the first 5 minutes and last 15.
Stay tuned for the rest of the list, as well as all of Pitch View's countdown to the start of the season.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Best Games of the 2012-13 Season: Number 5
The 5th best game of last year's Premier League season is Manchester City 3-2 Southhampton. The game was the highlight of the opening weekend of the Premier League, with City, the defending champions, faced off against newly promoted Southampton.
Build Up:
Roberto Mancini's City was coming off a convincing 3-2 win over Chelsea in the Community Shield. The two biggest changes from that lineup was the addition of Joe Hart instead of Costell Pantilimon, and Jack Rodwell over Nigel De Jong. Nigel Adkins left Rickie Lambert, who had been Championship player of the year the season before, and had scored 27 goals in the league to help the Saints secure promotion, on the bench. The Merseysider would become crucial to the game, later on.
The Game:
Southampton had a good chance in the 11th minute, with Morgan Schniederlin hitting a 25 yard shot several yards wide of the post. City drew a penalty in the 15th minute when Jos Hooiveld tripped up Carlos Tevez as the Argentine was trying to turn around him. David Silva stepped up to take the penalty, hitting it low and to his right; but Kelvin Davis guessed right, easily saving the ball, whereafter Daniel Fox put the ball out for a City corner. The Southampton players mobbed Davis, the keeper reminding them to play smart with the corner coming. Tevez finally broke the deadlock in the 40th minute, picking up a Samir Nasri through ball, down the right wing with miles of space. He hit a strong shot past Davis, who was caught flat footed. Replays would show that the Argentine was offside, but, as usually, he showed no problem with scoring controversial goal (refer to this). So the Saints, for all their hard work, went into half time down a goal.
City continued to have good chances early on in the second half, as Edin Dzeko, David Silva and Gael Clichy all shanked balls into the keepers mitts or over the bar. Adkins finally brought Lambert on in the 55th minute, and hit impact was immediate, scoring a goal in the 59th minute. After several deflections, Lambert found the ball on the edge of the area and tried to play the ball into the box to Guilherme Do Prado, only to see the ball come right back to him. He took advantage of it, smacking a curling shot past Hart. The Saints fans were sent into euphoria, with the stewards just barely holding them back. Southampton took the lead ten minutes later when, after breaking away off a City set piece, Steven Davis picked up a deflected pass that he, much like Lambert's goal, had passed, and curled it again around Hart. This goal was eerily similar to the second goal QPR scored in the last game of the previous season. The Saints and their fans were now ecstatic; a win in their first Premier League game, and against the defending champions too! But City had another thing coming. Edin Dzeko drew even off a corner just 4 minutes later, and finally, in the 80th minute, Samir Nasri won the game for the Manchester club, when a Gael Clichy cross, which was hit long to the back post, was headed back towards the middle by Daniel Fox; Nasri took it on a half volley, slamming the ball into the old onion bag.
Aftermath
The game, for City, was quite similar to the finale of the previous season, where they went down 2-1 to a small team, QPR, but made a late comeback to win 3-2; that game, of course, carried much more weight, as it was to decide the title. City went on to have a poor campaign, going out of the Champions League in the group stage, losing in the final of the FA Cup and losing their title back to United. So'town stayed up, finishing a respectable 14th place. This game's biggest detraction was that it was the opening weekend, not as crucial to the season as other game later on.
Stay tuned for the next four Best Games of the 2012-13 Premier League Season from Pitch View, as well as the rest of the blog's countdown to the start of the season.
Build Up:
Roberto Mancini's City was coming off a convincing 3-2 win over Chelsea in the Community Shield. The two biggest changes from that lineup was the addition of Joe Hart instead of Costell Pantilimon, and Jack Rodwell over Nigel De Jong. Nigel Adkins left Rickie Lambert, who had been Championship player of the year the season before, and had scored 27 goals in the league to help the Saints secure promotion, on the bench. The Merseysider would become crucial to the game, later on.
The Game:
Southampton had a good chance in the 11th minute, with Morgan Schniederlin hitting a 25 yard shot several yards wide of the post. City drew a penalty in the 15th minute when Jos Hooiveld tripped up Carlos Tevez as the Argentine was trying to turn around him. David Silva stepped up to take the penalty, hitting it low and to his right; but Kelvin Davis guessed right, easily saving the ball, whereafter Daniel Fox put the ball out for a City corner. The Southampton players mobbed Davis, the keeper reminding them to play smart with the corner coming. Tevez finally broke the deadlock in the 40th minute, picking up a Samir Nasri through ball, down the right wing with miles of space. He hit a strong shot past Davis, who was caught flat footed. Replays would show that the Argentine was offside, but, as usually, he showed no problem with scoring controversial goal (refer to this). So the Saints, for all their hard work, went into half time down a goal.
City continued to have good chances early on in the second half, as Edin Dzeko, David Silva and Gael Clichy all shanked balls into the keepers mitts or over the bar. Adkins finally brought Lambert on in the 55th minute, and hit impact was immediate, scoring a goal in the 59th minute. After several deflections, Lambert found the ball on the edge of the area and tried to play the ball into the box to Guilherme Do Prado, only to see the ball come right back to him. He took advantage of it, smacking a curling shot past Hart. The Saints fans were sent into euphoria, with the stewards just barely holding them back. Southampton took the lead ten minutes later when, after breaking away off a City set piece, Steven Davis picked up a deflected pass that he, much like Lambert's goal, had passed, and curled it again around Hart. This goal was eerily similar to the second goal QPR scored in the last game of the previous season. The Saints and their fans were now ecstatic; a win in their first Premier League game, and against the defending champions too! But City had another thing coming. Edin Dzeko drew even off a corner just 4 minutes later, and finally, in the 80th minute, Samir Nasri won the game for the Manchester club, when a Gael Clichy cross, which was hit long to the back post, was headed back towards the middle by Daniel Fox; Nasri took it on a half volley, slamming the ball into the old onion bag.
Aftermath
The game, for City, was quite similar to the finale of the previous season, where they went down 2-1 to a small team, QPR, but made a late comeback to win 3-2; that game, of course, carried much more weight, as it was to decide the title. City went on to have a poor campaign, going out of the Champions League in the group stage, losing in the final of the FA Cup and losing their title back to United. So'town stayed up, finishing a respectable 14th place. This game's biggest detraction was that it was the opening weekend, not as crucial to the season as other game later on.
Stay tuned for the next four Best Games of the 2012-13 Premier League Season from Pitch View, as well as the rest of the blog's countdown to the start of the season.
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