As someone usually very critical of the Carling cup, previously questioning its position in the already jam packed football calendar, I was overwhelmed by the shocking results and performances shown by the eight teams involved. Lets start with the most enthralling game of the four and one of the biggest upsets of recent Carling cup history, Manchester United against Crystal Palace. I grew up in Crystal Palace and went to many games of theirs during their Premier League days when Andy Johnson and Tommy Smith were the stars of their humble squad. Despite not directly supporting them, ( i'm a Chelsea fan if you were wondering) I have always followed their progress and I will always have a special fondness for them. It was unsurprising when United were drawn against the lowest ranked side left in the competition and it was hard to see Palace getting any sort of result against the current Premier League champions and a team a division above them who finished 39 places higher in the football league last season. Nevertheless there was a glimmer of hope for Palace who were on the up sitting in a comfortable 12th position in the championship with players like young Ivorian Wilfred Zaha coming in to some great form. However to the the whole stadiums dismay, Palace opened the scoring through Darran Ambrose who struck a 40 yard belter; reminiscent of Cristiano Ronaldo's strike for Manchester United against Porto in 2009. It was a truly stunning strike from an underrated player who has produced some moments of magic for crystal palace in seasons gone by. However the travelling fans' glory was short lived and normality was restored when United won a penalty. There was bound to be a game changing desicion to go Manchester United's way as there is whenever they are loosing at Old Traffod. Macheda coolly stepped up and slotted home for the equalizer. Zaha was Palace's main threat throughout the second half however, after a poor start, United began to settle into a passing rhythm and create a number of good goal scoring opportunities. Despite this place managed to hold out until extra time however were looking fatigued. To the travailing fans delight, completely against the run of play, Palace snatched a goal through a superb Glen Murray header. Evans' continual poor defending finally caught up with him as he completely lost Murray leaving him with a free header. The late goal cued a United onslaught on the Palace goalkeeper and a late equalizer looked likely. However Palace held out to win a place in the last four for the first time in ten years. After the result against Newcastle last weekend it now seems like United's ongoing luck is finally come to its long awaited end and could spell danger for Ferguson's men.
In other shocking news Owen Hargreaves managed 79 minutes of football for Manchester City in there 1-0 win over Arsenal on Tuesday. Arsenal were unfortunate to lose with 7 attempts on target to City's 2 however Wenger's side look's much improved especially considering the dire situation they were in just a month ago. Sergio Aguero got the winner as City carry on their amazing run, which I can't see being stopped looking at the strength and depth of their squad. Chelsea on the other hand are looking quite the opposite loosing again against a mediocre Liverpool side. With their defense being torn apart week after week, Chelsea need to pull together and start getting the results. I'm not going to go into too much detail as I am going to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday to see them play Valencia in a crucial Champions League tie against Spanish giants Valencia. I will write a in-depth post on Wednesday the 7th about the game and Chelsea's prospects for the rest of the season and I will try not to be too pessimistic however i'm not too hopeful about Chelsea's future with Villas-Boas in charge.
I hope you have enjoyed today's post and please leave a comment telling me about your views on this weeks fixtures
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Joe Bloggs
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