Terry thanks his fans/photo credit: Reuters
Chelsea was put to the test against Burnley and they just barely won, thanks to a header from John Terry. The England and Chelsea skipper is in hot water on the home front (we wont go into that), but he seems to have retained some focus on the pitch.
Chelsea head to first place, regardless of what happens at Emirates Stadium tomorrow.
Chelsea not in first place? How can it be?
Losing van Persie has proven to be a blessing in disguise for Arsenal. Goal scorers have come out of the woodwork to prove that Arsene Wenger is in fact the world’s greatest talent scout.
There must be some explanation for today’s performance. Chelsea played without Drogba, without Essien, and pulled out their biggest win of the season. Sunderland clearly suffered more without their African players. Lampard and Anelka had 2 goals a piece.
Fulham came out swinging today with a goal from Gera that went unanswered until Drogba equalized in the 73rd minute. Chris Smalling conceded an own goal for Fulham, which gave Chelsea an undeserved 3 points on the day. Gera’s goal was most certainly the highlight of the match.
This was a great performance from West Ham, despite a wrongly judged penalty that saw Frank Lampard equalize from 12 yards. It ended at 1-1. Chelsea lucked out and it became perfectly clear that West Ham is bound for a huge comeback in the new year.
Without Michael Essien, Chelsea is simply NOT the team they have been all season.
We’ve got huge games to look forward to this weekend.
Tomorrow’s big fixture will be the Club World Cup final featuring FC Barcelona and Argentina’s own Estudiantes de la Plata. Barça are the favored side, though Estudiantes are sure to put up a serious fight. More importantly, any statistician will tell you that NO game can be won or lost before it is actually played. Lucky for us.
Milan face Fiorentina. These two Champions League survivors are fighting for advancement on the league charts.
Chelsea square off against West Ham in a roudy London derby. Man United will host Dempesey and Zamora as Fulham work to establish a comeback in the premiership. Jozy Altidore’s Hull City are playing a newly confident Arsenal, and Man City play host to Sunderland. Oh, and Liverpool have Portsmouth (no telling where that one will go).
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photo credit: www.totalbarca.com
Here are the Round of 16 matchups.
First off, Beckham will have his visit at Old Trafford for the first time since departing in 2003. Patrice Evra has assured the press that Beckham will receive a hero’s welcome, but we’ll believe it when we see it.
Barça lucked out with VfB Stuttgart. The German squad is incredibly good, but there are (maybe) three teams capable of beating the Blaugrana in this tournament, and Stuttgart is not one of them.
Barça will almost certainly make the final. The question is, who with?
The January transfer window will shake things up across the board. A few small adjustments at Arsenal could see this faltering team through to the final. Real Madrid are at full capacity with talent, but a couple of months in training could help smooth out their imperfections. With Ribery back in the lineup, Bayern Munich may prove to be a threat. Chelsea and Man United are either fire hot or luke warm, depending on the day. And then there is Inter. Based on the Barca/Inter matchup (Barca won decisively without Messi or Ibra) from the previous UCL round, we’re thinking that Inter will not be winning the trophy in May, but they can never been written off. Finally, we can’t write off the french clubs. Lyon and Bordeaux are both tough teams. Either could make the final, though it would be a major upset if either won.
These teams will play twice. The first fixture will take place February 16th, followed by a second leg on March 3rd.
