FA Cup Final: Chelsea 2 - 1 Everton
Chelsea rebounded from the disappointment of their Champions League semi-final loss to Barcelona to lift the FA Cup in manager Guus Hiddink's last match in charge. It was a fitting end to the brief Hiddink era at Stamford Bridge, as the Dutch manager turned around an under-achieving team under former manager Scolari. Hiddink now returns to coach Russia full time as they attempt to qualify for the 2010 World Cup.

 

But it didn't start out well for Chelsea. Like their semi-final win against Arsenal in the FA Cup, Chelsea fell behind early. This time, they fell behind extremely early as Everton's Luis Saha scored the fastest goal in FA Cup final history. From the opening kick, Everton worked the ball into the left corner of the pitch where Steven Pienaar crossed the ball into the box. Jon Mikel partially cleared the ball away with a header, but Marouane Fellaini headed it down into the path of Louis Saha. And Saha fired a low shot past Chelsea keeper Petr Cech to give Everton the lead after only 25 seconds.

 

But after the initial goal, Chelsea began to dominate possession and put Everton on the defensive. The Blues were particularly successful attacking down their left flank with Ashley Cole getting forward in support of Florent Malouda. Everton right back Tony Hibbert could not match their pace and struggled to contain the threat. It was from the left wing that Chelsea found the tying goal. In the 21st minute, Frank Lampard picked out Malouda on the left wing. And with Hibbert playing well off Malouda, the French winger had plenty of space and time to play a perfect cross into the box. There were five Everton defenders in the box, but Didier Drogba drove forward and out-jumped Jolean Lescott to head the ball into the corner of the net.

 

The score remained 1-1 at the half, but Everton boss David Moyes made a change to start the second half, brining on Lars Jocabsen for the ineffective Hibbert. Despite the change, Everton still struggled to maintain possession, and Chelsea looked more likely to score. Saha and Tim Cahill both had half-chances on goal, but their shots were off target.

 

With just less than 20 minutes remaining, Chelsea broke the deadline, and it was Frank Lampard - who else? - to the rescue. Lampard received the ball just outside the box, and it looked like he was teeing up a right footed shot. Instead, he pulled the ball back to his left foot to avoid a challenge from Phil Neville, slipping in the process. But he got to his feet quickly and fired a superb left foot shot that swerved into the top left of the goal off the fingertips of Tim Howard. Lampard ran to the corner flag and danced around it in celebration, just as his father, Frank Lampard Sr., had done when scoring a winner against Everton for West Ham in the FA Cup semi-final.

 

Moments later, Chelsea should have gone up 3-1 when Florent Malouda fired a long-range pile-driver of a shot off the underside of the crossbar and just over the line. The pace and back-spin of the shot caused the ball to spin back out of the goal so quickly that neither the referee nor the linesman could be sure it had crossed the line. So the score remained 2-1 for Chelsea.

 

Nicolas Anelka also could have increased the lead on two occasions. Twice he was played in behind the defenders, but on both occasions his chip attempt past the charging Tim Howard sailed high and wide of the goal.
In the end it didn't matter. After four minutes of stoppage time, referee Howard Webb blew the final whistle and Chelsea were FA Cup winners. The players took the long walk up the Wembley steps to receive their winners medals, and captain John Terry, along with goal scoring hero Frank Lampard, lifted the FA Cup for Chelsea. It was second FA Cup in three years for the Blues, both at the new Wembley. Congratulations Chelsea, and congratulations Guus Hiddink. What a way to go out!

 

Champions League Final: Barcelona 2 - 0 Manchester Untied
I wasn't able to watch the Champions League final live, but I have since seen the reply twice, and it was truly a remarkable performance by Barcelona. Manchester United started well, with Cristiano Ronaldo getting a couple early shots at goal, but after the first eight minutes, it was all Barcelona. Andres Iniesta and Xavi dominated the midfield, controlling possession and playing accurate passes to their attacking teammates: Thiery Henry, Lionel Messi, and Samuel Eto'o. And their play paid off with a goal in the 10th minute. Samuel Eto'o took a pass on the right wing, cut inside, and dribbled around Nemanja Vidic before stabbing the ball past United keeper Edwin van der Sar at the near post. The goal was against the run of play at the time, but after Barcelona were up 1-0, they took control of the game completely.

 

Sir Alex Ferguson's tactics looked wrong as well. Rooney was playing on his own up front, with Ryan Giggs in the middle of the pitch with Ronaldo and Park in the wide positions. Rooney struggled to get a touch on the ball all game, and Giggs was largely ineffectual. After the half time break, Ferguson put Carlos Tevez into the game in place of Anderson, but it did little to help.

 

In fact, United's tactics may have been irrelevant as Barcelona looked far and away the better team in terms of technical ability, passing, and attacking runs. Even had Ferguson opted for two strikers from the beginning with Giggs in a more accustomed role, it likely would have made no difference.

 

In addition to the superb midfield play of Iniesta and Xavi, Carlos Puyol was brilliant for Barcelona at right back. He usually plays in the center of midfield, but was forced wide because of injuries to other defenders. And Puyol thrived in that role. Near the 70th minute mark, Puyol intercepted a long pass from van der Sar, and then another clearing attempt, to set up Xavi on the right. The quick counter attack caught United off guard, as Xavi played a perfect cross over Rio Ferdinand to a wide open Messi in front of goal. The cross was slightly behind him, but somehow the 5'7" Messi soared in the air, leaning back as he defied gravity, and headed the ball over van der Sar and into the net. It's not the type of goal that Messi usually scores, but it will go down as one of the most memorable goals in Champions League final history.

 

Up 2-0 with twenty minutes to go, Barcelona looked certain to win. And you got the sense that the United players were resigned to that fact too. Dimitar Berbatov and Paul Scholes came on as substitutes, but they did little to improve United's chances. Berbatov headed well over the goal, and Scholes' impact was limited to a typical, clumsy tackle that earned him a yellow card.

 

At the end, Barcelona fully deserved the 2-0 victory, a win that gave the Catalan club a unique treble: Spanish League title, Copa del Rey, and Champions League. And all this in manager Pep Guardiola's first year in charge. It was also the first Champions League medal for Thierry Henry, Man United's nemesis for so many years at Arsenal. Also worth mentioning was the play of former United defender Gerard Pique, who was excellent at left back, blocking cross after cross from the right wing.

 

Congratulations to Barcelona! They completely outplayed Manchester United. In fact, Chelsea's semi-final performance, holding Barca scoreless for 180 minutes, now looks like an even more impressive feat, even if it ended in defeat.

 

Newcastle and Middlesbrough are relegated from the Premier League.

 

All of the clubs facing relegation lost today. That means Sunderland and Hull City stay up, Newcastle and Middlesbrough go down. Here is the bottom of the table:

 

Final Standings
16: 36 pts - Sunderland
17: 35 pts - Hull City
18: 34 pts - Newcastle
19: 32 pts - Middlesbrough
20: 32 pts - West Brom

 

Full Time Scores
Sunderland 2 - 3 Chelsea
Hull 0 - 1 Man United
Aston Villa 1 - 0 Newcastle
West Ham 2 - 1 Middlesbrough

 

17:56: Full Time all around. Well, none of the clubs facing relegation really made a strong case to stay in the Premiership. I guess Sunderland were the least poor on the day. At least they scored twice. Middlesbrough didn't really have a reasonable shot at survival, but Newcastle were very disappointing. No goals, not many chances. Nicky Butt had a particularly bad day. But it was a very, very bad day indeed for the northeast, except for Sunderland that is. They stay up, while their neighbors Newcastle and Middlesbrough go down.

 

17:55: Sent Off: David Edgar (Newcastle), second yellow card.

 

17:54: Full Time: Sunderland 2 - 3 Chelsea.

 

17:51: Into stoppage time at Aston Villa. Newcastle have an added 4 minutes to save themselves. Four minutes left at Hull too.

 

17:49: Goal, Kenwyne Jones (Sunderland); Sunderland 2 - 3 Chelsea. Not so fast. Sunderland are just down by a single goal now.

 

17:45: Goal, Ashley Cole (Chelsea); Sunerland 1 - 3 Chelsea. Looks like Sunderland are going to lose, but thankfully for them, the other three clubs in the relegation race are all losing too. The Black Cats should be safe despite the loss.

 

17:42: Less than ten minutes remaining. As it stands, Newcastle and Middlesbrough are going down along with West Brom. A late goal from Newcastle could still save them, but I'm afraid there's no chance for Middlesbrough.

 

17:34: Goal, Salomon Kalou (Chelsea); Sunderland 1 - 2 Chelsea. Sunderland are behind again, but that won't matter unless Both Hull and Newcastle come back and win.

 

17:31: Aston Villa nearly scored a second goal. Nicky Butt's poor back pass was intercepted by Gareth Barry, but Barry shoots wide. Reprieve for Newcastle.

 

1727: Michael Owen enters the game for Newcastle as a substitute for Kevin Nolan. Alan Shearer's taking a chance on Owen, who is probably not 100% fit. But Newcastle need a goal to have a shot at staying up. Can Owen provide it? We'll see.

 

17:19: Goal, Junior Stanislas (West Ham); West Ham 2 - 1 Middlesbrough. That might be end of the road for Middlesbrough. They're down 1-2 and they need a big win to survive.

 

17:11: Goal, Kieran Richardson (Sunderland); Sunderland 1 - 1 Chelsea. Chelsea's lead didn't last long. The goals are flying in now, and Sunderland are back on level terms after Richardson's goal.

 

17:10: Goal, Gary O'Neil (Middlesbrough); West Ham 1 - 1 Middlesbrough. Some hope for Boro, but they need a couple more goals at least.

 

17:06: Goal, Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea); Sunderland 0 - 1 Chelsea. That's a blow for Sunderland. They are still safe for now, but a Newcastle comeback could send them down. All four teams facing relegation today are losing 0-1. For Anelka, that goal means he will be the leading scorer in the Premier League this season as Ronaldo is not playing for Man United.

 

16:49: It's half time, and we are right back to where we started. Hull safe in 17th; Newcastle and Middlesbrough are going down unless they can turn it around in the second half. It looks very bleak for Boro, but one goal from Newcastle might be enough. Sunderland look to be in a good position. They stay up even if Newcastle come back and earn a draw.

 

16:40: Goal, Damien Duff (own goal - Aston Villa); Aston Villa 1 - 0 Newcastle. Gareth Barry's long range shot is deflected into the Newcastle goal by Damien Duff. That should go down as an own goal. And with that goal, Hull City are back out of the drop zone. Hull, Newcastle, and Middlesbrough are all losing 0-1.

 

16:36: Goal, Carlton Cole (West Ham); West Ham 1 - 0 Middlesbrough. It's not looking good for Boro.

 

16:26: Goal, Darron Gibson (Man Utd); Hull 0 - 1 Man United. What a goal, a screamer from 35 yards out for Gibson! That goal means that Newcastle would be safe on goal difference, and Hull would go down if things stay as they are now. Sunderland would be safe too.

 

16:16: No goals yet. The updated standings above reflect the 0-0 scores in the games so far - each team getting a point for a draw. The points will be updated as results change.

 

16:00: All games have kicked off.

 

Socceword is bringing you up to the minute updates on the relegation race in the Premier League. Live scores and the table as it stands now appear above. At the end of the day, the teams in 18th and 19th place will be relegated, joining West Brom who are already down. 16th and 17th place teams will be back for another season in the Premier League. All times listed are GMT.

 

Going into the final day of the Premier League season, there is not much drama at the top of the table. Manchester United will be the league champions, Liverpool and Chelsea will finish second and third, and Arsenal has the fourth spot locked up. But the battle to avoid relegation promises to be most dramatic. Only West Brom are certain to be relegated. The other two clubs in the bottom three - Newcastle and Middlesbrough - can still avoid the drop, but they need help. Sunderland and Hull City can ensure another season in the top flight with wins, but they face Chelsea and Man United respectively, so a win is not at all certain, or even likely. If they stumble, then Newcastle and even Middlesbrough could overtake them.

 

Current Standings
16: 36 - Sunderland
17: 35 - Hull City
18: 34 - Newcastle
19: 32 - Middlesbrough

 

Last Day Fixtures
Sunderland v Chelsea
Hull v Man United
Aston Villa v Newcastle
West Ham v Middlesbrough

 

Looking at the fixtures, the clubs that are currently safe, Sunderland in 16th and Hull in 17th, have a distinct advantage. One, they currently have more points, and two, they are at home for their final match. Hull also have the edge in that Manchester United will be resting some of their first team players in advance of the Champions League final in mid-week. So here's what it would take for each of the teams in question to avoid relegation:

 

Sunderland
1. Win against Chelsea.
2. Draw or lose against Chelsea AND either Hull or Newcastle loses or draws.

 

For Sunderland to go down, Hull and Newcastle would have to win.

 

Hull City
Because of their inferior goal difference, Hull has to at least match Newcastle's performance to avoid relegation. A win and they are safe regardless of what Newcastle does. If Newcastle get a draw, then Hull has to draw. If Newcastle wins, then Hull has to win too. If Newcastle loses, then Hull could still remain safe, unless they lose and Middlesbrough win by enough goals to overturn the goal difference tie breaker. Hull currently has a +4 advantage over Middlesbrough on goal difference. So if Hull loses by 2 and Middlesbrough wins by 3, then Boro would go above Hull in the standings.

 

Newcastle
Newcastle's best chance at survival is to better Hull's result on Sunday. If Newcastle wins and Hull draws or loses, then Newcastle will be safe. Likewise, if Newcastle gets a draw and Hull loses, then Newcastle will be safe. Newcastle will also avoid the drop if they win and Sunderland loses. A loss, and Newcastle are relegated. Bottom line, they need to get a result and hope for help.

 

Middlesbrough
Boro cannot catch Sunderland, so their survival hopes rest on negative results for Newcastle and Hull. Number 1, Hull and Newcastle have to lose or Middlesbrough has no hope. A draw for Hull would put them at 36 points, beyond the reach of Boro. If Newcastle draw, then they are at 35 points with a much better goal difference than Boro. So for Boro to have any chance, they must hope that both Hull and Newcastle lose. Secondly, Middlesbrough has to win and win by enough goals to beat Hull in the goal difference tie breaker. Hull are currently +4 in goal difference compared to Boro, so Boro need a net +5 advantage on the final day to go above Hull. That being a combination of a loss by Hull and a win by Middlesbrough equaling 5 goals. Boro win by 3, Hull lose by 2. Or Boro win by 1, Hull lose by 4. It's very unlikely, but not impossible.

 

Based on a review of the possible scenarios, the most likely result is that Sunderland will be safe, Boro will go down, and the drama will come down to Hull or Newcastle. The wild card is the team Manchester United will field against Hull. With nothing to play for, if the United reserves fail to challenge Hull, then Hull may run out winners and survive for another year. But if Hull can't cope with United and lose, then I think it's very possible that Newcastle can get at least a draw at Aston Villa.

 

For some reason, I think Mark Viduka may score the all important goal for Newcastle. He was on the wrong end when Leeds were relegated from the Premiership, so he knows first hand what the consequences will be. And with Hull City's shockingly bad form over the second half of the season, I'm not at all confident in them, even against United's reserves. If I had to predict the outcome, I would say Newcastle and Sunderland survive, Hull and Middlesbrough go down. Tune in tomorrow to find out. We will have live updates here on soccerword.com.

 

Soccerword's Premier League Awards for 2008-09

 

Player of the Year: Nemanja Vidic, Manchester United

Manager of the Year: Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United

 

Premiership Player of the Year
2008-09: Nemanja Vidic, Manchester United
2007-08: Rio Ferdinand, Manchester United
2006-07: Didier Drogba, Chelsea
2005-06: Frank Lampard, Chelsea
2004-05: John Terry, Chelsea

 

Premiership Manager of the Year
2008-09: Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United
2007-08: Roy Hodgson, Fulham
2006-07: Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United
2005-06: Alan Pardew, West Ham
2004-05: Jose Mourinho, Chelsea

By now, I'm sure you're well aware of what happened during the second leg of Chelsea's Champions League semi-final against Barcelona. After drawing 0-0 in the first leg at Barcelona, Chelsea led 1-0 in the second leg until Iniesta scored in stoppage time to give Barcelona a 1-1 draw, which meant Barca advanced to the final on the away goals tie breaker. For Americans and others unfamiliar with the away goals rule, it is one of those quirks of European football, designed as an apparently preferable alternative to penalty kicks as a tie breaker. I'm not sure I agree that it's a better solution, but that is the rule. If both clubs are tied on aggregate after the second leg, then the team that scored more goals in their away leg advances. Thus Barcelona's goal at Chelsea gave them a 1-0 advantage in terms of away goals. Why this is better than Chelsea's 1-0 advantage in terms of home goals I don't know.

 

But the away goal rule was not the center of controversy in the game at Stamford Bridge. It is totally accepted as a legitimate tie breaking rule in Europe. What caused the controversy was the fact that the referee in the match, Norwegian Tom Henning Ovrebo, failed to give Chelsea a penalty kick on four separate occasions. Any one of the penalty claims would have given Chelsea the opportunity to go up 2-0 and virtually ensure their place in the final.

 

So here's my verdict on the penalty claims. Two were 100% no doubt penalties.

 

1. Florent Malouda was hauled down inside the Barcelona penalty area. Referee Ovrebo spotted the foul, but inexplicably awarded Chelsea a free kick just outside the area rather than a penalty kick. Verdict: horrible call, definitely a penalty.

 

2. In the second half, Nicolas Anelka kicked the ball into the penalty area where it hit Pique's raised arm. Overbo waved play on. Verdict: Another clear penalty. It was a handball in plain view that the referee could not have missed.

 

There other two claims were less obvious, but nonetheless, they are given at least 50% of the time.

 

3. Didier Drogba went to ground after contact from Abidal. This one could go either way. There was contact, Drogba went down, so it could have been called a penalty. However, the contact was minimal and Drogba has a reputation for going down rather easily. Drogba's reputation probably caught up to him this time. Verdict: I'll give Tom Henning Ovrebo the benefit of the doubt on this one.

 

4. After Barcelona tied the match, Chelsea played a corner kick into the box. It was played out to Ballack, who fired a shot on goal. It hit a Samuel Eto'o near the shoulder. Ballack screamed for a penalty, chasing the referee as he waved play on. Again, this was a close call. The ball appeared to hit the shoulder or chest as much as it hit the arm. In any event, the player's arm was held against his body, not extended up like Pique's handball. Verdict: Overbo could have given a penalty as a "make-up call" for missing the other three. But it was not a 100% penalty claim, more of a 50-50.

 

As it turned out, Chelsea should have been awarded at least 2 penalties, but Tom Henning Ovrebo blew it big time and Chelsea miss out on the final as a result. The Chelsea players, particularly Drogba and Ballack, understandably felt robbed and voiced their anger at Ovrebo after the final whistle. Their expression of anger was well over the top and will certainly draw punishment from UEFA. But UEFA should also review the performance of Ovrebo. In addition to the two (or four) missed penalties, he also incorrectly sent off Abidal of Barcelona, proving that he was an equal opportunity blunderer.

 

I'm not buying the conspiracy theories that UEFA didn't want two English clubs in the final and instructed Ovrebo to make sure Barca won at all costs. I think incompetence is more likely than conspiracy. To be fair to Ovrebo, he had previously worked over 20 Champions League matches, but he did come under criticism for his handling of the Italy-Romania match at Euro 2008 for a late penalty he awarded to Romania. Ovrebo admitted the mistake after the match and was not selected for any other games at Euro '08.

 

One final point about the Chelsea game. Yes, the Blues were denied at least two solid penalty claims, but they also have themselves to blame for not extending their lead. Up 1-0 in the second half, Chelsea had several goal scoring chances that would have wrapped up the win, but they failed to convert. The best chance was when Didier Drogba was played into the box with one defender to beat. He pulled the ball back past the defender but fired his shot right at keeper Victor Valdes. Chelsea could have made the penalty controversy moot, but they failed to kill the game off with a second goal. As a result, Ovrebo's incorrect penalty decisions loomed large. Condolences to Chelsea, but a word of advice. Screaming at the referee after the match rarely gets you anything except maybe a fine or suspension.