Whereas in previous weeks we have seen the away teams buck the trend and pick up some road wins, this weekend in MLS action was dominated by the home sides. Real Salt Lake, who picked up a quality win in Seattle and the New York Red Bulls, who also picked up a difficult win in Philadelphia were the only two teams two pick up the three points on the road. In other news, Houston opened up its brand new, soccer-specific stadium in great fashion as they defeated DC United 1-0. Its an exciting moment for the club to reveal such a modern, state of the art facility. As it stands with just about a third of the season gone, the New York Red Bulls are for the first time atop the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of Sporting KC having played one more game. In the Western Conference, Real Salt Lake have extended their lead over San Jose to three points, although they have played two more games.
Not to play down the MLS, but the real excitement from this weekend happened abroad, specifically in England. With the title to be decided on the final day of games, both Manchester clubs were competed against each other to prevail. City seemed the clear favorite with a home match against lowly QPR, knowing that, based on goal differential, a win would be enough to secure the title. For a while though, it seemed the unthinkable was going to happen. After leveling the score early in the second half, QPR went down a man due to the stupidity of Joey Barton, who elbowed Carlos Tevez in the face. This, however, did not stop QPR from somehow scoring again on the break to take the lead with under half an hour left in the game. With Manchester United winning their match away to Sunderland, it seemed like City were set to self destruct. The game was reminiscent of the second leg of the Barcelona-Chelsea Champions League semi-final where Chelsea, or in this case QPR, were defending ruthlessly against constant City pressure for virtually the entirety of the second half. It seemed though that, like Barcelona, City were not going to be able to find a way through. Things changed though, in the second minute of added time, when Edin Dzeko headed home a corner kick to level the score at 2-2. The self destruction then turned to QPR who, after defending so bravely for so long, allowed Sergio Aguero to maneuver his way through the box in the 94th minute to score what would be the game winner.
The scenes in Manchester were quite dramatic, and for good reason. The story of City scoring two goals in stoppage time to snatch the title away from their city rivals on the final day of the season has to be the most dramatic ending to a Premier League season. Not only were the City fans ecstatic, it was quite a disappointment for United. Hearing that City were losing in stoppage time, they began small, premature celebrations of the reclaiming the title, only to hear that the late game dramatics ensured that the title would go to their most heated rivals.
Elsewhere in Europe the finals game confirmed what we had already known. Real Madrid completed their remarkable season with a 4-1 victory over Mallorca. Madrid finish the season on exactly 100 points, the first Spanish side to ever do so. While head to head Barcelona may have gotten the best of Madrid this year, you cannot doubt Madrid’s stunning record in La Liga this year and they are deserving champions. In Italy, Juventus recorded a home win on the final day of the season. While their title was not in doubt, it is a remarkable feat as they finished the season without a single loss. Only two other clubs, AC Milan and Perugia, have even accomplished such a record. Overall it was yet another domestic season completed all across Europe with ever enticing drama. The Champions League final next weekend marks the last big event for the European season.
(image courtesy of Darren Staples/Reuters)
