Hillsborough disaster 1989 - rare match footage - RTE TV Live coverage.

This week epl review:The title race is wide open

This season title race is not that simple.As,i said before this is the most intriguing title race ever this week turned out another intriguing one.As,liverpool looking almost set to lift the title after 24 long years needing just 7 seven points from their last 3 matches.it means a draw & two wins would have done it for the reds.But,if it would have been so easy then why this season would have become the most intriguing,Remainning true to it's nature another interesting turnaround happened on sunday afternoon that just opened up the title race once again.Now,the title is not in liverpool's hands.They have to win their remainning two games & hope mancity lose or draw atleast one game out of their remainning 3 games.Only this possibility can give liverpool the title they have waiting for so long.otherwise,city are looking the clear favourites as of now.I,s because if city win s their remaining 3 games they will level in terms of points with reds but they have a much better goal difference with a 8 goal advantage over liverpool.Remaining fixtures of city have only one tough game & that's against another merseysider everton at goodison park.liverpool can only now hope that everton defeats city or draws with them as they did last year at etihad.if they can do that then liverpool can think of the title otherwise it's all over for the reds.And,another scintillating year will go without the league title & the wait will still continue.On,sunday more than the defeat the way reds got defeated was disheartening.They looked the better side but still they lost.it was an masterfully planned tactics from the special one & the master tactician of all times whose defensive tactics & attack on the counter kept the liverpool strikers at bay & they failed to score in the first half for the first tim e since the start of the year.

They got the possession more,created more chances & got more shots on target but unfortunately they were unable to break the chelsea defense.But, the most uinfortunate incident occured in the first half xtra time in which a gerrard slip-up gave the ball to Demba ba who just drove the ball past mignolet to give chelsea the lead.

And,then it was all chelsea defense in the 2nd half.liverpool created again the maximum chances & even brought two more strikers on the field aspas & sturridge but that was also not enough to break the chelsea defensive wall & in hurry of scoring a goal sturridge gave away the ball to willian who they coolly scored the 2nd goal for chelsea & again brought them back into the title race.although they arte not the favourites right now but one or slip-ups can happen from  liverpool & mancity & who knows they may be crowned the champions of england.This season has been the season of surprises & who knows another surprise might be waiting for us in the next week.

Now,let's turn our attention to the bottom of the table.Finally.sunderland are out of the relegation zone & they deserved that.with the kind of performance they have given in the last one week ,they deserved to stay in the league next year.on sunday they won 4-0 against another relegation threatened cardiff city at stadium of lights & send packing norwich city into the bottom three.who now set to ousted from the league next year with performance not showing any improvement even with their new manager neil adams.fulham drew their match on saturday but they still need to win their remainnin g games to come out of the relegation.cardiff & norwich chances looking bleak now.they need some starling performances to save themshelves from relegation zone.

So,lets see what happens next week with some interesting clashes coming up which might decide the fate of the title.The most important of them all will be the match between everton & mancity.everton will be playing for their champions league spot & city will be playing for the title.if they defeat everton then i think it will be the end of liverpool & city will become the clear favourites.while,everton sinc they sensed the chance of going into the champions league they have may be bogged down under pressure & have given some below apr perforamnces as evident from their performance against southampton.

But,we just hope they play better again st city & defeat them to give liverpool, the title because they are team of the season & they deserve the title.

Brendan Rodgers - A Year Later - Liverpool 2013/2014 HD

The good old defend hard & win games is making a return into modern football

As,seen in the last few years some teams employ a strong defensive ploy to defeat their much stronger couterparts.Mainly,popularized by jose mourinho when his inter milan side won the 2010 champions league they played a very defensive & waiting game against barcelona in the semi-finals & bayern munich in the finals.Both teams were stronger than milan so mourinho applied this method to defeat their opponents,& it worked in his favour.Barcelona were regarded to win the title that year but inter just created a terrific wall in the penalty box that it was difficult fir the catalans to break the wall.such was the frustration that even messi missed a penalty that night to add to the insult.in,the final the confident defense of milan again frustrated the bayern players & won the silverware for them

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Again in 2012 chelsea coached by rafeal de matteo was seen applying the same ploy in the finals against their much stronger opponents bayern munich.seven to eight players were employed in the penalty box by matteo that it made very hard for the bayern players to break free & score goals.it,eventually ended in the penalty shootout in which again the pressure told on bayern players & they lost again.Their star player Bastian schieweinsteiger missed a penalty & the blues were crowned the champions of europe for the first time.

So.defense hard & attack in the counter has again been revived.In,older days this type of football was played but in the modern era teams preferred a more attacking approach towards the game.But,it seems that the good old defensive game is making it,s return into the game once again.As,seen this week in the champions league matches almost every team tried to play defensively & attack on the counter.And,it resulted in success & some unexpected results also came out.first,is the match between Manchester united & defending champions Bayern munich.No on gave united a chance but their doggediness inside the penalty box not only helped them to keep the star studded bayern players at bay but it was united who scored the first goal of the match.Although the match ended in a draw,bur even a draw is a great result for united.And,they can hope now to put a similar performance in the allianz arena & win the tie.similarly,atletico madrid played a similar type of game against barcelona at camp nou.They were happy at giving away the possession to the opposition but attacked on counter & looked very dangerous at times.like manu atletico were also the first one to score in the match with a brilliant strike from diego outside the box.And,it frustrted the barca players throughout the match.although they pulled one back & the match ended in a draw but it was barca who looked more frustrared than the atletico players.And,atletico not only enjoyed success in europe this season but they are sitting at the top of the their domestic league this season & haven,t lost a game against either real or barca.It shows how strong their defensive line-up is & how they have able to play according to their plan.They are serious title contenders now both in europe & la liga.

Even in english premier league we have seen such ploys been applied by lots of managers.those teams which does'nt boast of a very strong attacking force they apply such techquinues to defeat their opponents.chelsea which does,nt have a great seson in terms of goals given but have maintained the most no of clean sheets in the league.But,even their plan backfired against them some tim es when other weaker teams applied similar ploy & defeated them like the defeats at crystal palace & stoke.stoke has been brilliant this season with this kind of play this season with handing defeats to manchester united,chelsea,& lots of scare to other teams like liverpool etc.similarly gas poyet's team have a similar ploy this season & they have been qutie succesful this season with a defensive play.they defeated man city in the league,man united in the league cup enroute to the final etc.

So,the good old defend hard & win games is making a comeback into the modern era & teams are finding it as a great weapon against stronger oppositions.

Review of this week's epl's key clashes & how it's going to affect the league table

come this weekend quite interesting ties waiting in the wings for you.another weekend whose results can just unfold the next chapter of the premier league.this season has so far given us the most interesting situations at the top as well as the bottom of the table.last weekend liverpool went to the top of the table with a two point advantage over title contenders chelsea.chelsae remain on second with 69 points.city remain on third with 67 points with two game in hand.if they win all their remaining games no doubt they are going to lift the title.But,as the league has gone so far this situation will happen or not time will tell.

last weekend city drew their match against arsenal & have two drop points.But,still they are one of the favourites to lift the silverware.This,week they are facing southampton,who have some exciting english players who can cause some problems for city.But,still city ae the favourites to win  the match.next,chelsea face another tough test at home to stoke city who have been unbeaten in their last few games & are enjoying a very good run this season.they love to play the big teams & have given a run for their money this season.They have already defeated chelsea at britannia stadium & will expect to repeat the same this saturday. But,still chelsea are the favourites & mourinho needs to find a way to defeat these lower rung teams otherwise their title chances will quite be over.they have already lost against crysta;l palace & aston villa in the last two weeks,so they hope they will put a good performance this time around & again get back to be the major title contenders.

Next,comes the table toppers & the talk of the town this season, liverpool who have just taken everyone by surprise this season by their performances especially this year they have been phenomenal.they are the only team who lost not lost a league game since the start of 2k14.And,they,ll hope to continue in that fashion.They face a tricky opposition in west ham.Although,they are expected to win it the defenders need to counter the andy carroll factor.otherwise,their would,nt be a problem in defeating them.They started the season with the hope of a champions league spot but now they are already done that they are eyeing the top spot.Although,rodgers clearly,does,nt say the same because of the city factor but still he knew it is a very good chance for them to win the league.let,s see what has destiny for them in the coming weeks.will their 24 years wait will be over  remain to be seen.

NeXt,comes the gunners whose title chances may be looking a little bleak as their recent performances have shown but now they should concentrate on fixing their champions league spot because everton is catching them fast.everton are on fifth with 4 points less than arsenal but with a game in hand.so,if they win this game against the gunners this saturday they are going to pose a real threat to wenger's arsenal.And,seening the recent forms of both the teams it looks like everton will go into the match as the favourites.then,let's talk about the bottom of the table.with already seen a intriguing match between cardiff city & west brom last week,in which two goals were scored in the extra time for the draw.we saw what it takes to play in the premier league & noboby wants to get relegated from the league.with fulham almost set to be relegated as seen by their performances the other two are still up for grabs.any team starting from west ham to cardiff can go under the hammer.crystal palace will be really boosted by their shock win over chelsea & they'll hope to continue their winning run by defeating norwich city.on, the other hand chris houghton's team will also be under pressure to win the game.as,hjoughton's cross cross theory highly disliked among the norwich fans houthton will be on  relentless pressure to wi n this game.He will bank mainly bank on their striker robert snodgrass to win the match for them.sunderland just like manchester city have game in hands & can prove as the deciding factor as who gets relegated & who stays on.Both,sunderland& cardiff have their matches this week & both will hope for  a win to bolster thier chances of staying in the league.So,another interesting week of excitin g football awaits for u.