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Sunday, February 05, 2012

How to be objective about Chelsea-Man Utd

My two Golden Retrievers went crackers as I went crackers, and they clearly shared my astonishment that Howard Webb could give two penalties in 10 minutes against Chelsea when the Blues were 3-0 up. Now, a few minutes after the game and with my blood pressure returning to somewhere near normal, I can perhaps offer a slightly more level-headed view of the two penalties.

The first, by Daniel Sturridge against Patrice Evra, was a daft penalty to give away. Sturridge had just been berated by his manager for not helping out in defence and tracked back  All he had to do was cover Evra but he tried to tackle him and they collided, not giving Howard Webb much choice.
However, I felt when I saw it the first time and it's been conformed by replays that Danny Welbeck cheated to get himself a second penalty. Ivanovic did nothing wrong, but Welbeck stuck his foot out looking for something to trip over - and found it. A cheap trick that Webb really should have been onto.
That said, it was a thrilling match. Both teams have plenty of flair but also plenty of weaknesses. Man City will be chuckling tonight,

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