Here we go again.
Just when Arsenal seemed to show they had what it takes to hang with Manchester United and Chelsea in the race for the EPL title, a stoppage time goal Saturday from Birmingham City’s Kevin Phillips put a dent into the Gunners’ dreams.
"I think it's a big blow for our title," said Wenger, who also resorted to an expletive during his press conference. "We were in a position where we had to win all our games. Not to win today is a big blow for our chances."
The 1-1 tie leaves Arsenal four points behind Manchester United, which thumped Bolton 4-0 on the road. Adding insult to injury, a knee injury suffered by Arsenal star Cesc Fabregas may keep him out of the midweek Champions League quarterfinal first leg.
Keeping pace with Manchester United were Chelsea, behind a 7-1 demolition of Aston Villa. In the nets for all seven goals was Aston Villa’s American goalkeeper Brad Friedel.
On the other end of the EPL table, several Americans are entrenched in the relegation fight. Jonathan Spector’s West Ham will likely be looking for a replacement for Gianfranco Zola after a 1-0 home loss to Stoke City, West Ham’s sixth straight loss.
Hull City and Jozy Altidore received a boost in their fight for EPL survival with a 2-0 home win against Clint Dempsey and Fulham. Altidore drew the 16th minute PK that put Hull ahead to stay and his coach gave him glowing reviews.
U.S. goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann and Wolves earned a 0-0 home point against Everton and are five points clear of danger.
Barcelona’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic is getting into a groove, scoring in his third straight match in a 1-0 win at Mallorca. Real Madrid can catch Barcelona at the top of La Liga with a win on Sunday.
The race is now tighter in Italy, where Roma earned a 2-1 win over league leaders Inter to move to within a point of the defending champions. Luca Toni got the game-winner in the 72nd minute for Roma. AC Milan can also come within a point of Inter by winning Sunday.
American midfielder Maurice Edu was a second half sub and DaMarcus Beasley rode the bench in Rangers’ 4-1 road win at Hearts. Rangers maintained their 10-point lead over Celtic.
Gale Agbossoumonde did not dress for Sporting Braga as they dropped their final real hopes of capturing the Portuguese title with a 1-0 loss at Benfica.
Steve Cherundolo’s Hannover were humiliated at home 4-1 to FC Koln. Cherundolo had the hosts’ 81st minute consolation goal.
There’s a new leader in Germany as Schalke’s 2-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen allowed them to overtake Bayern Munich, which lost at home to Stuttgart 2-1. Schalke has a chance to move closer to its first title in 52 years when they host Bayern next week looking to extend its two-point lead over the Bavarians.
Marseille won the French League Cup by defeating reigning league champs Bordeaux 3-1. It was Marseille’s first trophy since the Champions League in 1993.
In Norway Clarence Goodson and Hunter Freeman played all 90 minutes in IK Start’s 1-1 home tie vs. Molde.
Chris Rolfe came in for the last 15 minutes of Aalborg’s match at FC Nordsjælland in Denmark. Rolfe’s club snatched the tie in the dying moments of the game.
In England’s Championship, Jay DeMerit captained Watford in a 1-1 draw against Middlesbrough. Frank Simek was an unused substitute for Sheffield Wednesday in their 1-1 road tie against Coventy.
