Saturday 17th March
In a way, it was probably a good thing that Chelsea were away to Liverpool the following day, I thought, as I looked out of the window. Tomorrow was Mother’s Day – a major sore point, given the circumstances of what had happened in June.
It was, however, a very pleasant day; definitely a day worth doing something. Something that it had been too cold to do since the end of September.
“Dinky, do you want to go for ice cream?”
“On my way!”
“Table for four, please. Somewhere quiet.” Twilight said, as she, Rainbow Dash, Derpy and Lyra entered Sugarcube corner.
“Thank you for coming at such short notice,” Twilight said to Lyra, as the four of them sat down and ordered a pot of tea, “Given how difficult this weekend is going to be.”
“I know I’ve said this every time we’ve been here, but whoever decided to open up a football-themed ice cream parlour is a genius,” I said, as the two of us enjoyed our “Sixty-sixes”.
“...Lita, to give Reading a two-nil lead against Everton at The Madejski,” came the voice from a nearby radio, “Still goalless, meanwhile, between Watford and Manchester United at Vicarage Road…”
“Hang on,” I said. “Excuse me,” I called to the person behind the counter, “What did he just say the United score was?”
“Nil-nil.”
“So if it stays like that – and remember, they nicked a point off us in January,” I said to Dinky, “And we beat Liverpool tomorrow…”
Dinky’s eyes widened.
“...has finished Blackburn one, Newcastle two.” the voice on the radio in Sugarcube Corner announced. “And we are getting news now from Vicarage Road, and the news is that Watford have held Manchester United to a nil-nil draw, which will have huge implications at both ends of the table…”
“Oh, get in there!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, as she pulled Derpy into a hug. “This is where we start to reel them in!”
Sunday 18th March
Away from all the hustle and bustle of the main bar, four ponies sat in a quiet area of the Traveller’s Rest, as the build up to the game began.
“An intriguing contest for us today,” Kick Off announced, “Liverpool versus Chelsea, with both sides due to meet in the Champions League after the international break. Liverpool came to Stamford Bridge when the Blues were in turmoil, but things could not be more different today. Chelsea are on a run of six straight victories, and Liverpool have struggled as of late…”
“We’ve won on our last three league visits here,” I said, as the two of us took our seats, “I can’t see anything other than a fourth today, the way we’ve been playing.”
“This is a big, big match in the title race,” Kick Off said, as the teams walked onto the pitch, “Eight games of the Premier League season left, and with Manchester United being held to that shock draw at Watford yesterday, if ever there was a time for Chelsea to bloom, it is now!”
Liverpool edged the tentative opening stages, with a long ball from Xabi Alonso being headed clear by Terry and another evading everyone.
Just after the fifteen minute mark, however, Chelsea went on the attack. A shot from Gudjohnsen struck the post, and Steve Finnan then lost the ball to Lampard. Gudjohnsen pounced on the loose ball out wide and looked to cross. His cross was cleared by Carragher the clearance only got to Michael Ballack, who chested the ball down, let it bounce, and sent a shot past Reina and into the Liverpool net.
Things nearly got even better five minutes later. Gudjohnsen passed the ball to Drogba, whose shot was saved by Reina.
On the half hour, Alonso held Lampard off and passed to Gonzalez. Gonzalez held Ballack off and got into the area, but despite having Kuyt and Bellamy as options, looked to shoot, sending the ball straight at Cech.
This would come back to haunt Liverpool two minutes later. Wright-Phillips’ pass found Ballack, who played the ball on to Drogba. Drogba ran at Sami Hyypia before passing to Gudjohnsen, who sent a bending shot past Reina to double Chelsea’s lead.
Liverpool tried to drag themselves back into the game, and four minutes until half time, John Arne Riise sent a cross into the area, which was headed clear by Ferreira.
Chelsea were looking to send a clear message to Old Trafford, and five minutes into the second half Lampard played a one-two with Ballack before having a shot saved by Reina.
Two minutes later, Ballack was pulled back by Hyypia. Rob Styles diffused the situation before it could escalate into handbags, and Lampard sent the free kick over the wall and into the net.
Chelsea were now rampant, and just after the hour mark, a cross by Ashley Cole was cleared into touch.
As the second half reached the halfway point, Ballack passed to Makelele, who played the ball on to Lampard. Lampard played the ball through Carragher’s legs to Gudjohnsen, who passed to Wright-Phillips. Wright-Phillips, from the edge of the box, sent the ball into the roof of the net.
Dinky now realised as to why the Chelsea fanzine added a trademark symbol after the phrase “Famous Anfield Atmosphere”, as the home support had fallen virtually silent. It was only until the last five minutes that Liverpool threatened, with shots by Kuyt and Riise being deflected behind.
Liverpool 0-4 Chelsea (Ballack 16, Gudjohnsen 32, Lampard 52, Wright-Phillips 68)
“The final whistle puts the hosts out of their misery, and what remained of Liverpool’s title bid is surely all over now,” Kick Off said, as Rainbow Dash was glomped by Derpy in the Traveller’s Rest, “But what an emphatic performance from the visitors this was! In this dress rehearsal for the Champions League quarter final, Chelsea were simply word-perfect!”
As the visiting supporters made their way back to Lime Street station, Dinky looked up at the sky.
“Happy Mother's Day, Mommy,” she whispered, wiping a tear from her eye.
Saturday 31st March
The match at home to Middlesbrough was entering its closing stages, and the result was long beyond doubt. With seventeen minutes gone, Gudjohnsen had converted a pass from Robben to open the scoring for Chelsea, before Lampard had doubled the lead with just over twenty minutes to go.
With Chelsea evidently conserving their energy for the upcoming Champions League tie, it looked as though the last five minutes would pass without incident. But as stoppage time loomed, a commotion seemed to break out from various parts of the ground.
“What’s going on?” I asked. Many other supporters seemed to be asking the same thing.
“It’s United!”
“What about United?”
“Who’s got a radio?”
“Turn it up, turn it up!”
The supporter next to Rainbow Dash did have a radio, and he duly obliged.
“-qualiser, it's Portsmouth one, Manchester United one, Matt Taylor has cancelled out John O’Shea’s opener! A huge moment in the title race, Chelsea still leading Middlesbrough by two goals to nil as well!”
A huge roar went up from the home supporters. Three minutes later, the final whistle blew at Stamford Bridge, followed in due course by the one at Fratton Park.
Chelsea 2-0 Middlesbrough (Gudjohnsen 17, Lampard 69)
Portsmouth 1-1 Man Utd (Taylor 89; O’Shea 30)
At the start of March, Manchester United had led the table by nine points. As March turned to April, that lead had been cut to five.
Premier League Table
1 Man Utd 75pts
2 Chelsea 70pts
3 Arsenal 68pts
4 Liverpool 61pts
5 Bolton 53pts
6 Tottenham 49pts
…
16 Wigan 33pts
17 Charlton 31pts
18 Sheffield United 31pts
19 West Ham 29pts
20 Watford 21pts