Thirty-Second Week Premiership Football Conclusions

With only a handful of fixtures left before the summer, there’s still plenty to play for. In another spectacular week in the world of Premiership football, Gareth Bale finally announced his arrival in the top flight, Joe Cole confirmed he will not be on the plane to South Africa and Manchester United pounced late at the Eastlands to keep the title race alive.

Gareth Bale comes of age. First Arsenal and now Chelsea. After scoring Tottenham’s decisive second goal against Arsenal in the mid-week North London derby, Spurs’ marauding left midfielder did it again over the weekend, out-pacing Chelsea‘s right-back pair of Paulo Ferreira and Branislav Ivanovic. Bale capped a sensational week with an expertly taken right-foot snap shot to win the match for Spurs. Next up, Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Joe Cole’s World Cup dream ends. When Joe Cole was hauled off at half-time of Chelsea‘s 2-0 loss at White Hart Lane, any hopes he still harboured of representing England at this summer’s World Cup evaporated. Watched in the stands by the England trio of Fabio Capello, Franco Baldini and Stuart Pearce, Cole executed a handful of trademark flicks during his 45 minute run-out but failed to make a lasting impact. We’ll be surprised to see him play again for Chelsea let alone England.

Bent buries Burnley. Darren Bent is a player on a mission. Booted out of North London after a loss of form and  a highly publicised feud with manager Harry Redknapp, Darren Bent packed his bags and moved North. Settling at the Stadium of Light, Bent has excelled this season under the tutelage of Steve Bruce, regaining his form and hitting a career high 24 league goals. His most recent winner put Burnley to the sword effectively ending the Clarets historic first season in the Premiership.

Manchester United win without Rooney. Dumped out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich and leapfrogged by Chelsea in the race for the Premiership, it’s hard not to link Rooney‘s recent injury with Manchester United‘s loss of form. But for the first time since Rooney hobbled off at the Allianz Arena several weeks ago, United scored a winner without their star striker on the pitch. Rolling back the years, Paul Scholes stepped in to the void to head a crucial winner against rivals Manchester City and blow the title race wide open.

Paul Scholes breathes new life into United's Premiership challenge