What A Weekend!

What a weekend! Like, what an explosive sporting weekend we've just had!! On a scale of 1 to 10, I'll gladly give last weekend's sporting events an 8 based on a couple criteria. To start with, what cheap drugs was Mitrovic on yesterday? Or, is this the end of the once successful Hamilton-Mercedes partnership? Will the Warriors make the top 6 in the Western Conference? Is there any route back to the top for Usman? Are Chelsea back to their horrible self?

Overconfident Blues or Unlucky One?
I didn't watch Chelsea's game at Stamford Bridge against Everton, but I did watch the highlights. Having won three games in a row for the first time in a while, I have to admit I suspect complacency. From their forwards wasting good goal scoring chances to their defenders allowing Simms past him for an easy equalizer, it was all too mediocre. With this, it's safe to say Chelsea's best this season will be an Europa League spot though they may surprise us all and win the Champions League. But with Madrid in the waiting and either City or Bayern in the semis, their chance of winning is incredibly slim.

Road Terrible Warriors
Golden State Warriors are back to where they do not want to be - at .500 win %. It's been an abysmal season on the road for the defending champions. They are now at 7-29 away from San Francisco (29-7), a record that has seen them drop to 7th on the Western Conference table and just one win ahead of 10th placed Lakers. If their road jitters continue, their best bet will be a better avoided Play-In. Well, their next play is at Houston.

The Rockets are rock bottom of the Western Conference standings, but the Warriors have found a way to make the most terrible of teams look world class away from San Fransisco. The hope has been that they will eventually get it right at some point this season. But with a defence as terrible as theirs, they won't even make the Western Conference finals. Despite my assertion, I won't write them off completely. They've won four of the last eight championships for a reason.

League Title Battles
Of the top five football leagues in Europe, the German Bundesliga is the only one with no clear favourite at the moment. Dortmund are one point ahead of Bayern, with nine games to go. Early pacesetter and surprise package, Union Berlin are gradually reverting to the mean with just one win in the last five games. I hope they seal a Champions League spot.

Of the remaining four leagues, the EPL seems to be the only one with a realistic chance of a title battle. Arsenal leads with eight points having played one more game than City. Factor in the showdown between both teams in April at the Etihad and you just know the title race is far from over. But with Arsenal out of all cup competitions and City still in the FA Cup and Champions League, Arsenal do have a clear edge.

Barcelona put a very long nail in the coffin of Madrid's title challenge by coming from behind to record a 2-1 victory in the latest installment of the El Clasico. With a 12 point gap and 12 games to go, Madrid will need a miracle to reignite a title fight with Barcelona not to talk of winning the title. I think this is all wrapped up already.

In the Italian Serie A, Napoli's lead now stands at 19 points. Both Milan sides suffered unexpected defeats, opening the gap for Lazio to squeeze into the second position after winning against their Eternal City rivals, Roma. The only battle worth keeping an eye on here is that of European qualification slots. The gap between Lazio in second and Roma in fifth stands at just five points. A lot can still happen with 11 games to go. Also, it will be incredible if Juventus squeeze themselves into the Champions League slot. They were docked some heavy points this season, remember?

A Lesson In Self Destruction
If you are a speaker or lecturer and your next topic of discussion is Self Destruction, all you have to do is play some parts of Fulham's game against United last night. You really don't need to utter a single word. Yesterday, I watched Fulham not only ruin their chance of playing in an FA Cup semi finals for the first time in like two decades but also destroy their very good chance of snatching an European cup slot. What was Mitrovic thinking? What was Marco Silva doing? Common guys!

Fulham were completely dominant; they were by far the better team. And with a goal up, it looked like the end for United. The London guys lost their heads, got too excited and exposed themselves to an inevitable counterattack. With a man down and a penalty conceded, I'll comfortably bet on that team to drag a lacklustre United to extra time and try their luck from the penalty shootout. Instead, Mitrovic lost his head. Even with two players down they still gave United some hairy moments. Bournemouth, West Ham and Everton don't look like the most daunting of fixtures. But with their two most experienced attackers out, they won't win those three matches. They lost it all in a moment of madness. When the season ends, they will remember that moment with a tinge of regret and sadness. Leans from them!

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