Still, Chelsea is in a good spot to sneak the Championship away from right under Man Utd's noses.
If both teams win their remaining games, Man Utd will have the advantage. But that still means they each must win their remaining games. With Man Utd lining up Barcelona in their sites and Chelsea preparing for what will likely be a grueling game with Liverpool, the job of winning these remaining games can be daunting. Will one of these teams slip?
Aside from the exciting match, two important points stood out. Firstly, who is this Nani guy, and why does he get so much playing time? And the second, how professional can a team really be when two of their stars begin arguing like teenagers on who will take a free kick.
First, Nani. Highly overrated. Fancy skill, but no real creativity and really only creates space for himself. With a bench that is as stacked as Man Utd it's hard to understand why he gets so much playing time. Many will argue that Sir Alex Ferguson is trying to mold Nani in the same way as he did Ronaldo. It was two seasons ago that I used the same criticism for C. Ronaldo. Yet, C. Ronaldo has developed into a potent player, arguably the best in Europe to many people. Does Ferguson think he can turn both these young Portugese stars into World Class players? I admire his tenacity but he should continue to work with Owen Hargreaves who has been showing much more potential and consistency than Nani.
Now to the spat between Drogba and Ballack. Who was supposed to take that free kick? Has Avram Grant not sat down with his players and went over important things like set pieces? I know when there are multiple dead ball experts, especially those that have different techniques or are opposite footed, the position of the dead ball will help determine who will step up. But if there is any doubt, there has to be someone who holds the trump card. And this should be taken care of on the training ground. Furthermore, where was John Terry, this great leader the English keep advocating? From what I saw, it was Ricardo Carvalho trying to talk some sense into the two and Micheal Essien just put his shirt over his head so he didn't have to watch the embarrassing display of unprofessionalism. The scene did dampen the game for me personally. In the end, Drogba took the free kick and got on target. Which he needed to do, or else things between Ballack and himself could have heated up even more. In the end, it was Ballack who converted the dubious handball penalty kick.
I don't really blame the players on this. And I do believe Avram Grant has done a good job this season, but dead ball responsibilities is definitely something that needs to be established on the training ground. The damage in the relationship between Ballack and Drogba may be minimal. As how mad can you really be when you have won a game of such high importance. I think this will be an important learning experience for Avram Grant. He better make sure things are in order and running smoothly if he hopes satisfy his ambitious owner.
