This weekend was full of intense games from 7:45 a.m. Saturday morning when Manchester City played West Ham United, all the way until Manchester United hosted Chelsea at noon, Sunday. Games that proved to shape the league table into a more concrete example of what we should expect to see the rest of the season.
Or so we thought.
Manchester City started the ninth week of matches with a test in London as West Ham welcomed the reigning English Premier League champions into their home. City was just coming off a difficult 2-2 draw with CSKA Moscow in the UEFA Champions League after holding a 2-0 lead for much of the match.
On paper, City looked to be the much stronger side of the two, loaded on offense with high-scorer Sergio Aguero and a solid midfield, it was widely thought that this would be a win for City to put pressure on the league leaders in Chelsea. West Ham scored first in the 21st minute and then West Ham’s goal-scoring machine, Diafra Sakho, scored his sixth goal in as many games to seal a 2-1 victory. From Champions League to the BPL, City looks to have many issues they need to fix, and quick.
A lot of teams throughout Europe have been bi-polar when it comes to playing in the Champions League and domestically. Arsenal is one of those teams.
The Gunners have yet to find their consistent stride this season, but it looks to have poked its head out as Arsenal got their second straight win this week. Beating Anderlecht mid-week after two goals in the last three minutes propelled the Gunners to a 2-0 win on Saturday over woeful Sunderland.
Southampton, the little team that could, has been the shock of the season. No one thought that the team full of unproven youngsters could keep up this incredible start, but an 8-0 victory at home last week and a 1-0 win Saturday over Stoke has proved many analysts wrong. I still do not think they can hold a Champions League spot, but their defense has only given up three goals in seven games. Let that sink in.
Now, to the game of the week. Chelsea and their three-point lead entered Old Trafford to face the rising Reds of Manchester United on Sunday. With the potential of gaining six points on City, Chelsea needed a good win. If United wanted a chance at the top four at the end of the season to get into the Champions League next season, they, too, needed a good performance.
Striker Didier Drogba scored in the 53rd minute for Chelsea to take the 1-0 lead after the electric midfielder Eden Hazard earned a corner kick. But it would not be a Premier League match without some controversy. This week, the controversy came in the form of yellow cards, nine to be exact, the last of which sent off Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic in the 93rd minute.
With the ball set up on the side of the penalty box, former Real Madrid-star midfielder Angel Di Maria ripped in a free kick to striker Robin Van Persie who whipped his left leg into the ball which sailed past goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to tie the game with 23 seconds left in the four added minutes put on by referee Phil Dowd.
The game-tying goal was enough for a late point for both teams, one that helped United stay in the hunt for the top four, while Chelsea used it to become four points up on the defending champions on the road. With Chelsea, Southampton, City then West Ham leading the top of the table, it is still anyone’s game after week nine.