WILD, WILD WEEKEND

As everybody were beginning to concede the 2008-09 Barclays Premier League title to the defending champions Manchester United, suddenly a big turn around took place during the weekend as Chelsea and Liverpool moved closer to the Red Devils making it a close fight among the three clubs with about ten games to go in the season.

The Merseysiders crushed Manchester United, 4-1 last Saturday in an awesome display of firepower. It was the worst defeat for Sir Alex Ferguson and his boys at Old Trafford in recent years.

Man-U actually started strong taking an early 1-0 lead on a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty conversion in the 23rd minute courtesy of a Pepe Reina tackle on Park Ji-Sung. But Liverpool immediately went back to work as they leveled the count five minutes later on a Fernando Torres breakaway from Nemanja Vidic. The Reds finally took the lead on a Steven Gerrard penalty shot off a Patrice Evra foul a minute to go before halftime. Fabio Aurelio gave the Merseysiders a commanding 3-1 lead on a free kick in the 73rd minute after Vidic was given a straight red card on a hard foul on Gerrard. Andrea Dossena closed out the scoring for Liverpool with a last-minute goal to make it 4-1.

It was really a crushing defeat for Man-U as their home fans were completely stunned by the unexpected Liverpool romp. With the win, Liverpool now shares the second spot over-all in a tie with Chelsea with 61 points, which is now a manageable four points away from Man-U.

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Over in Stamford Bridge, legendary mentor Guus Hiddink remains unbeaten with four straight victories for Chelsea as the Blues nosed out Manchester City, 1-0 last Sunday.

Michael Essien scored the only goal of the match in the 17th minute. Actually, Chelsea could have gone ahead as early as the first minute but the referee ruled Frank Lampard’s conversion an offside. Essien’s performance was seen as an encore of his heroics against Juventus during their Champion’s League match last week.

The pressure now is on Manchester United as both Chelsea and Liverpool closes in. Pundits are now expecting a one heck on a season finish with the title race now widely opened among the three clubs.