Twenty-Second Week Premiership Football Conclusions

What a fantastic week in the world of Premiership football; Birmingham lost their 15-match unbeaten streak, Emmanuel Adebayor returned to the Man City line-up, John Terry was exposed as a cheat and Wayne Rooney continued his superhuman run of form.

Four for Four. The race for that fourth Champions League spot – the one Rafa Benitez guaranteed would end up at Anfield at the end of the season – tightened up this weekend. With Spurs drawing, and Liverpool, Manchester City and Aston Villa all winning, just two points currently separate the four teams. Spurs will especially be ruing the injury-time equalizer from Birmingham that deprived them of all three points and the opportunity to distance themselves from the rest of the pack. Instead, they exit the weekend with serious doubts about whether they have enough backbone to last the challenge.

Terry Soldiers On. As revelations about his private life exploded around him, John Terry likely would have preferred to be anywhere but the Turf Moor yesterday. Maybe holed up in a pub somewhere. Alone. With the doors barred shut. And the curtains drawn. The Burnley faithful didn’t make it any easier for him either, booing him every time he touched the ball.  But it’s a testament to either Terry‘s doggedness or pigheadedness that, with his side struggling to land a knockout punch, it was the captain who popped up in the 82nd minute to score Chelsea‘s winning goal – and with a very fine header at that.

Arsenal v Manchester United. And what a treat it was. It’s indicative of this season’s heightened competitiveness that either side could have been leading at halftime. As it was, United returned to the dressing room 2-0 up – and they maintained that advantage until the final whistle. Worryingly for Arsenal, this was the second time they’ve been swept aside at home by one of their title rivals. (They lost to Chelsea 3-0 in November.) Equally worryingly for Chelsea, with a wonder goal and a gorgeous assist for United‘s second, Manchester‘s Nani finally looked like Ronaldo‘s heir apparent.

Adebayor Soldiers On. Like Terry, Emanuelle Adebayor is another player battling personal demons at the moment – although not of his own making. Playing in his first game back since he and his Togo teammates were ambushed by gunmen on their way to the African Cup of Nations, Adebayor scored to inspire the Sky Blues to victory over Portsmouth. If he can continue to find the back of the net, and Carlos Tevez can continue his inspirational form, then it won’t be long before the name “Robinho” is the answer to some random trivia question on the back pages of a Man City program.

Welcome Back - Adebayor returned to action with a goal against Pompey