Manchester City are back on course for a second league title in three years, following yet another dramatic afternoon in the Premier League.
Having won their previous 11 matches, Liverpool knew they would win a first league crown since 1990 if they could secure maximum points from their final three fixtures. This began with the visit of Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea who, five points behind their hosts, realistically had to record a win on Merseyside to keep their own chances alive.
The Portuguese coach had to pick a side with one eye on Wednesday evening, when Atletico Madrid are in town to contest the second leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final. However, with the likes of Frank Lampard, Nemanja Matic and Mohamed Salah ineligible to face the Spaniards, the Blues were still able to field a fairly strong side at Anfield.
With the game heading for a half-time stalemate, Steven Gerrard slipped to give possession to Demba Ba. The Senegalese, so often overlooked this season, had a clear run on goal, and he made no mistake to slip the ball beyond Simon Mignolet. Liverpool pushed for an equaliser against a resolute defence in the second half, and this allowed Fernando Torres to break and slide the ball for Willian to score a second in stoppage time.
Whilst this win will likely see the title race go down to the final game of the season, Mourinho continues to insist that his side will have no say as to who will get their hands on the trophy in a fortnight’s time. Speaking after the game, the 51-year-old again reiterated his opinion that the celebrations will either be at Anfield or the Etihad Stadium.
“We’re back in nothing,” Mourinho told Sky Sports. “At this moment we are almost third. With Everton’s defeat (at Southampton on Saturday) we were automatically qualified for the Champions League. Now with these three points we need one point to finish third. Champions are only one (team) and the champions will be City or Liverpool.”
This result allowed City the chance to assume control of the destination of the title. Manuel Pellegrini’s side made no mistake at Selhurst Park to beat Crystal Palace 2-0, with Edin Dzeko and the returning Yaya Toure hitting the goals. Although they remain three points behind Liverpool, they have a game in hand, and due to their superior goal different of eight, the 2012 champions are now back in pole position.
Of the three matches City have left to play, their most difficult is undoubtedly the trip to Everton next weekend. The Manchester club have not won at Goodison Park since 2009, and Roberto Martinez’s men have arguably improved under the leadership of the Spaniard. But if Pellegrini’s team can overcome that hurdle, they will feel confident of finishing the job as they end the season with two home matches. Their Chilean coach, though, is refusing to admit his side are favourites for the title, and is certainly taking nothing for granted.
“I repeat, in football there are not favourites,” the former Malaga head coach told Sky Sports. “Liverpool have three points more than us and we have one game in hand that we must win, so I think that nobody is favourites. Now it depends again on what we can do. We lost that chance when we lost the game against Liverpool.”
