A weekend with great action, this could be the resurgence of Liverpool, and downfall of Arsenal, especially seeing that the two teams will play each other next week.
Chelsea - Arsenal
Drogba never misses a chance to destroy Arsenal, it doesn't matter that he has just come back from the African Cup of Nations, Didier rolls his sleeves up and provides us with two goals that could spell the end of the title challenge for Arsenal. Drogba's first goal was off a corner, John Terry gets to it first, and Drogba ghosts in at the back post for an easy tap in, but it was the second goal that highlighted what Arsenal is missing, a true striker. Drogba takes the ball on the right side of the area, turns two defenders inside out as he cuts in, and blasts the ball past Almunia with his left foot. A spectacular goal that highlights Arsenal's weakness. But the Drogba show wasn't over, near the end of the match, Drogba blasts a free kick into the crossbar which is still shaking, and Almunia hadn't taken a step until the defense cleared the ball. Arsenal had few chances, with Arshavin either missing most of them, or being stopped by a phenomenal Cech, but it seemed like all Chelsea needed on the field to defeat Arsenal was Cech and Drogba.
Final score 2-0
In England, the Merseyside derby was intense and full of fouls, but Liverpool did what it needed to do and came out with a 1-0 win thanks to a headed effort off a corner by Kuyt, putting the reds in fourth place. Tottenham and Aston Villa drew 0-0, and so did Bolton and Fulham, while Sunderland and Wigan drew 1-1. Hull City defeated Manchester City 2-1 after a goal by the american Jozy Altidore, and a rocket volley by Boateng, and although Adebayor scored with a tap in off a corner, and Vieira made his debut for Manchester City, they were disorganized, spraying passes everywhere without precision. Manchester United seem to have lost all their troubles thanks to a 5-0 win against Portsmouth where the Portsmouth defenders scored three own goals to help United keep the pressure on Chelsea for the title race.
In Italy, Juventus have dropped down to seventh after an extremely disappointing 1-1 draw with Livorno, with Felipe Melo being sent off, it doesn't seem like Juve will pick itself up anytime soon. Not only did Juventus slow down their challenge against Inter, but AC Milan drew 0-0 against Bologna, even though Milan had 17 shots, only four were on goal, with Ronaldinho skimming the crossbar. A team which has picked itself up is Roma, even though they were outplayed for most of the game against Fiorentina, they were still able to snag a 1-0 victory which raises them up to second, only 8 points away from Inter. Inter Milan instead continue their dominance with a fantastic 3-0 victory over Cagliari, Pandev played a spectacular game scoring and creating, Inter dominated, and they didn't even have their creative player, Sneijder.
In Spain, Valencia continue to march on thanks to a 2-0 victory over Real Valladolid, the young prospect Banega scored with a long range effort along with a bullett header by the unstoppable David Villa, this puts them in a solid third position, 8 points away from Real Madrid. Mallorca remain fourth thanks to a 1-0 victory over the ever-sinking Villareal, and Sevilla are fifth after losing to Real Zaragoza 2-1, Contini scored for Zaragoza, but Kanoute equalized minutes after, then Negredo scored an own goal, lowering Sevilla out of the Champions League spots. Barcelona won 2-1 against Getafe, Messi scored in the 7th minute making it seem all simple and easy for the Spanish champions, but when Pique was sent off in the 26th, Barcelona had to make sure they could hold on. Xavi scored another one in the 67th minute, but in the 90th, Soldado scored a penalty and Marquez was sent off, leaving Barca without two important defensive players for their next match against Atletico Madrid. Real Madrid won 3-0 against Espanyol with Kaka' scoring to end his barren run without goals, Ramos scored in the fifth with a header, then Kaka' followed and finally Higuain scored in the 90th minute, keeping los blancos within five points of the Catalan giants.
Just a quick question for the gooners who are disappointed with Wenger, if insanity is repetition of the same action expecting a different result, could we say that Arsene has finally lost it with his beautiful football? What do you think? Comment below!
