Around the English Premier League – Round 21

The Spurs continue being a menace for the United even though they were unable to win over the Wolves on Saturday.
By Camilla Mancini

The Red Devils are being closely followed by the revelation team of the season, Tottenham, which actually on Wednesday 11th tied them on points. The Spurs had their pending match with Everton at home few days before round 21, where they defeated 2-0 their northern rivals, earning the 3 points to reach United. Although Tottenham drew even at 45 points with the Red Devils, it remained in the third position due to the Goal difference between them, as the Spurs counted with +18 goals, while the seconds had +29.

Nevertheless, on Saturday both clubs had their 21st fixture and the chance to either continue tied or to take a lead. At the same time that Harry Redknapp’s side was hosting the Wolves, United was hosting Bolton at a packed Old Trafford, so the pressure on the clubs was huge especially when the first goal was score. For Sir Ferguson’s relief, his group took advantage of the low performance Bolton has been given during the season and crushed it 3-0 in the end; two goals less than their 1st leg game but still 3 points nicely earned.

On the other hand, Tottenham won a point in its meeting with Wolves that ended-up in a 1-1 tie. At 21’ Wolverhampton opened the scoreboard after a controversial corner from Jarvis; just when Friedel was clearing the area Steven Fletcher caught the ball and sent it to the bottom of the net. The dogs’ 1-0 lead got Redknapp’ side by surprise, but immediately it started replying back over and over, nonetheless the Wolves managed to clear all threats. Luka Modric, Gareth Bale and Rafael Van der Vaart were some of the Spurs that had the closest opportunities from scoring, but in the end Croatian was the only one to achieve it. At the 50th minute Bale made a simple pass to Modric that with no hesitation shoot the ball below Hennessey and into the middle of the goal. The draw left Tottenham 2 points behind United and 5pts under Manchester City that defeated Wigan with a goal from Edin Dzeko; winning that keeps the Citizens on top with 51pts.

The second-placed Manchester club did quite a good job against the Trotters, although at some points were a little reckless; fortunately Paul Scholes made his great return at home just in time. Scholes retired at the end of 2010/2011 season and since then had been coaching at the Old Trafford. However, United’s injury crisis, led Ferguson to ask the 37 year-old midfielder to support his fellow ex-teammates and wear the red uniform at least until the end of season. So he came back a week ago for the FA Cup match against City; yet against Bolton was his first clash as host. The experienced Paul Scholes gave the advantage to his side right before the referee’s whistle at 45 minutes; with assistance from Rooney he could score his first goal since August 22nd 2010. By the beginning of second half and most of it, United kept the 1-0 lead, until Danny Welbeck and Michael Carrick grabbed a goal within the last 15 minutes, which settled the final score, 3-0.

The other matches from round 21: West Brom 1-2 Norwich; Liverpool 0-0 Stoke; Newcastle 1-0 QPR; Chelsea 1-0 Sunderland; Blackburn 3-1 Fulham; Aston Villa 1-1 Everton; Swansea 3-2 Arsenal; Manchester City 1-0 Wigan.