Well, to be honest with you all, I didn’t expect what I saw at St. Mary’s Stadium yesterday. Since Tim Sherwood took over from Aston Villa, they’ve been a different beast from the tame side Paul Lambert managed and their newly-found confidence and overall play saw them defeat Liverpool at Wembley to book a place in the FA Cup final. However, yesterday was an aberration and if I was a Villa fan, I would have… oh well, thank Heavens I’m a Gooner. Saido Mane smashed in the fastest hat-trick in Premier League history (beating Robbie Fowler’s record) and Shane Long got himself a brace in the 6-1 demolition of the Villans.
Already relegated Burnley hosted Stoke in a dead-rubber encounter with both teams having their fates sealed already. The Clarets were heading back from whence they came while Mark Hughes probably matched the expectations of the Stoke hierarchy to have a mid-table finish. As expected, the game ended in a stalemate. With QPR already doomed, one would have expected Newcastle to go to Loftus Road and pick up the points they need to stay up but John Carver’s men messed up again, losing 2-1 which meant that the Magpies have lost nine of their last 10 games.
Sunderland and Leicester were two teams that were in need of maximum points to secure their league status but a draw did more good than harm to Leicester as the Foxes have 38 points, which is motetre than enough for them. Credit must go to Nigel Pearson and his lads. They are the form team in the table with six wins from their last eight games. I hope they’d improve next season because they might not be that fortunate to escape again. As for Sunderland, they face a daunting task of visiting Arsenal and Chelsea and two defeats coupled with favorable results elsewhere for their relegation rivals could see them drop.
Tottenham showed off their new home kit for next season as Nacer Chadli and Danny Rose scored the goals that put Hull in a very precarious situation. Romelu Lukaku scored a last-gasp winner for Everton and West Ham and Steven Gerrard’s Anfield party was pooped by Crystal Palace.
Today, Swansea hosts Manchester while Manchester United takes on their eternal rivals, Arsenal.
Sayonara
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