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"I
think either Arsenal or ourselves will win it”, said Manchester United
manager Sir Alex Ferguson at the end of February.
At
that time, Chelsea were fifteen points off the top, leading many to
believe that the Premier League title race was between Arsenal and Manchester
United, with United the clear favourites.
As
is always the case in football, however, it’s not quite that simple. To say,
with over three months of the season remaining, that a side five wins away from
the top is out of the title race is hasty to say the least.
Ferguson made
those comments shortly before his United side thumped Wigan 4-0. Just
two weeks before, the Red Devils lost to Wolves away from home, which was their
first loss of the season. Wins against Manchester City and Wigan suggested
that normality had returned, with United winning games without actually
performing particularly well.
Defeats
away to Chelsea and arch-rivals Liverpool mean that United
are three points above second-placed Arsenal, who have a game-in-hand. The
Gunners meet United this weekend in the FA Cup and also face their old nemesis
at The Emirates Stadium on the 1st of May.
While
United have faltered of late, Chelsea have been picking up results,
quietly going about their business, with manager Carlo Ancelotti dismissing his
own side’s title credentials whenever questioned, so that attention is not
drawn to his club.
Between
the 14th November and 27th December, Chelsea didn’t
win a Premier League game, succumbing to defeats against Sunderland, Birmingham and
Arsenal.
In
the last seven games, though, they have lost just once (against Liverpool)
while the victory against United at the start of March, and the second half
performance in particular, has led some to believe that The Blues could still
be crowned champions for the fourth time.
There
may not have been many stand-out performances for Chelsea recently,
but they’re getting points on the board, fighting and battling for results
every step of the way. The win against United was clearly important but
emphatic victories over Blackpool, Sunderland, Bolton and Blackburn mean that
Chelsea currently sit fourth in the table, nine points behind United, with ten
games left to play (they, like Arsenal, have a game-in-hand over United and
Manchester City).
Ten
games left to play means a possible thirty points can be won. They play City
next in the Premier League while Tottenham and United face Ancelotti’s side
within the last four games of the season.
But,
on the whole, their run-in will please Ancelotti. They face Wigan, Birmingham and
West Ham before May, all of whom are struggling for form. Ancelotti will also
expect to gain three points over West Brom, Newcastle and, on the
last day of the season, Everton.
United
have a startlingly similar run-in, with Bolton, Newcastle, Everton and
West Ham all to play, as well as Arsenal and, six days later, Chelsea.
Their final game of the season sees Blackburn, who will surely be
scrapping for their lives by that point, play host to the current league
leaders, whereas Everton will have very little to play for other than pride.
Arsenal
have West Brom, Liverpool, Tottenham and Aston Villa to play before that crunch
match against United, which will surely be seen by Chelsea as an opportunity to
make up yet more ground.
Just
as the outcome of the relegation battle is impossible to predict this season,
the title race seems to be wide open and certainly isn’t a two-horse race. Ferguson was
wrong to rule out Chelsea, although this could have been purely mind
games. The Manchester United manager, though, could regret such public
statements, as Chelsea look to claim the Premier League title for the
second season in a row.
There
are just over three months left to go in the Premier League – that’s plenty of
time for Chelsea to catch up.
This article
originally appeared on sports website Sports Haze, which is now unfortunately
defunct.
