Chelsea took control of the Barclays Premiership title on Sunday with a commending 2-0 away win at Anfield. Goals from Drogba and Lampard ensured destiny is totally in their own hands and now only needs to win at home to Wigan to secure their first title in 4 years. Meanwhile Manchester United stayed in contention with a 1-0 away win at Sunderland. Ferguson admitted after that there was little hope and said they were clutching at straws as they needed a minor miracle to lift a 4th straight title. United need to win at home to Stoke City and hope that Wigan can get a point or better, away at the Bridge.
Hull City were the 3rd team to go down as they drew at home to Wigan, they now join Portsmouth and Burnley in the Championship. West Ham disappointed in a lacklustre defeat away at Fulham. West Ham had not lost at Craven Cottage since England last lifted the World Cup in 1966. Fulham were in buoyant mood after reaching their first ever European Cup final after beating Hamburg in midweek.
Manchester City also took control of their destiny in the battle for 4th with a tense 3-1 victory at home to Aston Villa. Both teams needed all 3 points however City took control in the 2nd half and now need 6 points from their last 2 games. City take on Spurs in midweek who also need to win at Eastland's, the winner should go on to take 4th spot and finally break the spell of the so called "Big 4".
In other games Blackburn continued their fantastic form with a 2-1 win over Arsenal. Spurs defeated Bolton 1-0 at White Hart Lane, while Everton and Stoke played out a tense 0-0 draw. In the Midlands, Birmingham impressed with a 2-1 win over relegated Burnley whilst Portsmouth gave a great send-off in their last home game in the Premiership with a 3-1 win over Wolves.
Next week is the Final week of the Premiership season. The week after Chelsea plays Portsmouth in the FA Cup final.
Chelsea
83
Man Utd
82
Arsenal
72
Tottenham
67
Man City
66
Aston Villa
64
Liverpool
62
Everton
58
Birmingham
50
Blackburn
47
Fulham
46
Sunderland
44
Stoke City
44
Bolton
36
Wigan Athletic
36
Wolves
35
West Ham Utd
34
Hull City
29
Burnley
27
Portsmouth
19
* Portsmouth deducted 9 points for going into administration.
"Christians in Sport UK" has a regular 'team talk' teaching on their web site and the 5th in the series of 'Sport and Christianity – Professional players and their public testimony'. It is well worth reading or listening to on MP3.
http://www.christiansinsport.org.uk/main/resources/resources-intro/blog/team-talk-021009