Have you seen anything better?
Has the world ever witnessed a football season as thrilling as the 2013/14 Barclays Premier League season? Let someone bring that to my attention because for all intents and purposes, this has been a real emotional roller-coaster which has produced smiles and tears in equal measure. As the curtain falls tomorrow afternoon, a number of significant milestones will have been recorded in the league’s history.
The latest of the dramatics in the league took place on Monday night when my Liverpool, who had broken the jinx on several occasions over the course of the season, were looking to get one more monkey off their backs — failure to win at Selhurst Park, home to Crystal Palace. Such a result could have fully eliminated Chelsea from the title race and keep their own slim chances of winning it alive.
That feat seemed on course to being achieved as they went into half-time a goal to the good and became even more assured when two goals in as many minutes took them out of sight, well seemingly. The game then became too easy for the Reds such that there was more probability of them adding to their goal tally than what eventually happened in some mad nine minutes that shocked the world of football.
That remarkable comeback by the Eagles ensured that Selhurst Park remains a difficult pitch for Liverpool, but also effectively ensured that Manchester City’s advantage in the title race was increased further. And the Citizens grabbed the chance in style when they swept away a hapless Aston Villa to put one hand on the title and effectively remove any mathematical chances that Chelsea had of winning the title.
What it means, therefore, is that Manuel Pellegrini’s charges only need to avoid defeat tomorrow to confirm their status as the 2013/14 champions of the Barclays Premier League. They were deemed as favourites even before a ball was kicked and they have lived up to their reputation. They have by far the best and most balanced squad in the league and have played their way to the title in the proper way.
The only way City could fail to complete their mission tomorrow is for them to lose at home to West Ham United while Liverpool win as they host Newcastle United. I fully expect the Reds to win their home game, but it would be a huge miracle for City to lose to a team that has been struggling until last weekend and has nothing to fight for. Of course, stranger things have happened in football.
But whatever happens tomorrow, Liverpool fans have no reason to feel bad. They had no right to be involved in the title race in the first place. Here is a team that finished seventh last season and was only hoping to make position four. They were not even favourites for that and the fact that they go into the final day of the season still in with a mathematical chance of becoming improbable champions is, in itself, quite sensational.
Personally, I cannot lose tomorrow. Before I knew that my Liverpool could be involved in the title race, I had picked City as my team in that battle while I hoped that my team would make the Champions League. European football has been assured and I am happy. Of course, a title would have been the icing on the cherry, but this has been an excellent season anyway because it suggests that Liverpool are, at last, back in the big time.
