Weekend In Review Is Haunted By Federico Macheda: 4/13

So, since Liverpool is already done before their Champions League match even starts at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, I was hopeful that the Reds might at least be able to make a final push to win the league this year. When I saw Liverpool cruise to an easy victory this morning, and then subsequently saw Sunderland battle back against ManU, things were looking good. That is, until sudden Italian wunderkind Federico Macheda came on to the pitch. Much as he saved the Red Devils last week against Aston Villa, Manchester's new hero took almost no time putting his team in front for good.

In the interest of being civil, all I will say is this has reaffirmed my hatred for all things related to Italian soccer. Seriously, had I used blastbao's Photoshop skillz to put an attractive woman next to Mr. Macheda in the above picture, it would be a sureshot to feature on hotchickswithdouchebags.com.

Liverpool 4-0 Blackburn

I think this might have been the first time all season the Reds actually demolished a team they were supposed to demolish, so congrats!

Chelsea 4-3 Bolton

The Blues raced out to a four goal lead and barely held on for the win. Is this a sign of hope for Liverpool on Tuesday????????? No. No it is not.

Middlesbrough 3-1 Hull City

Boro finally gets a win with their backs securely against the wall, and needs continued efforts like this to have any hope of staying up and ruining Liverpool's 2010 chances of winning the league title.

Portsmouth 2-2 West Bromwich Albion

The Baggies aren't mathematically dead, but at least they're trying their damndest to stay up. Unfortunately they need wins, not draws, to have a fighting chance.

Sunderland 1-2 Manchester United

Taste the sadness, Michael.

Tottenham 1-0 West Ham United

Spurs temporarily jumped to eighth place overall, and are officially back in contention for next year's UEFA Cup!!!!

Wigan 1-4 Arsenal

The Gunners are actually rounding into superb form late in the year, and, on form, they might be the new favorites to make the Champions League final from their half of the draw.

Stoke City 1-1 Newcastle

ZOMG ALAN SHEARER IS A TYNESIDE HERO ONCE AGAIN!!!1!!1!!ONE!!

Aston Villa 3-3 Everton

The Villans pull a come-from-behind point in an early Sunday goalfest.

Manchester City 1-3 Fulham

Clint Dempsey scores a brace for the Londoners, as Robinho once again exhibited as much influence over a Man City match as the drunk soccer hooligans at Manchester bars.

Elsewhere:

In Spain, Barcelona and Real Madrid both picked up 2-0 victories, which left the Barca lead at six points.

In Italy, Inter Milan could not hold on to a 2-0 lead and collected only one point at home against Palermo (a.k.a. the Pink McDonald's Team of Italy). However, Juventus lost to Genoa later in the day, and the Inter lead expanded to ten points.

In Germany, Hamburg lost on Sunday to Stuttgart, ceding second place to Bayern Munich, who recovered well from their midweek embarrasment at Camp Nou, winning 4-0 over Eintracht Frankfurt. Wolfsburg grabbed a 2-1 road victory over Borussia Monchengladbach to take a three point lead over all comers in the Bundesliga. Former leaders Hertha Berlin lost another match to fall five points back, as well as outside of a Champions League slot.

Top Of The Table:

Man U 71 Pts. +33
Liverpool 70 Pts. +38
Chelsea 67 Pts. +35
Arsenal 61 Pts. +26
Aston Villa 53 Pts. +6
Everton 52 Pts. +13
West Ham 44 Pts. +1

The brilliance of Federico Macheda keeps Man U on top for another week, and the clock is now starting to run out on Liverpool and Chelsea. Arsenal is quite comfortably in next year's Champions League, and could even surprise Chelsea for third if the Blues should falter. The Villa/Everton draw is nearly meaningless as both squads are securely in next year's Europa League, and the third spot is currently being held down by the Hammers, though Fulham, Tottenham and Wigan are close on the Hammers' heels.

Relegation Musical Chairs:

Portsmouth 34 Pts. -14
Hull City 34 Pts. -19
Blackburn 34 Pts. -19
Sunderland 32 Pts. -13
Newcastle 30 Pts. -15
Middlesbrough 30 Pts. -22
West Bromwich Albion 25 Pts. -31

A fun fact that came out of yesterday's Fulham/Man City tilt was that West Brom have more points at this stage of the league than Fulham had last year at the same stage, which underscores the insane escape they made. I doubt the Baggies have similar capability for a miracle. Newcastle and Middlesbrough are both still able to set their sights on survival, if they can surpass the Black Cats in the final weeks.

Goal Of The Week:
Barcelona score 45 seconds in to their victory over Recreativo De Huelva:



Midweek Action:

It's European! If ever Liverpool needed a performance reminiscent of Istanbul, it is on Tuesday at Stamford Bridge. Bayern Munich need even more help, going home four goals behind to the best team in Europe. The real interest lies on Wednesday, when Man U will likely need to become the first English team ever to win at Porto* to move on to the semifinals. Also, Arsenal heads home with a road goal from a first leg draw vs. Villareal.

*Source: blastbao

Weekend In Review posts Mondays at 8:15. By peaking so early, Federico Macheda is going to be banging soccer sluts every day for the next twenty years, minimum.