Dimitar Berbatov is at the double as Fulham edge a five-goal thriller at the Cottage. Adel Taarabt justifies his inclusion with the visitors’ first while Loic Remy atones for a spot-kick miss by grabbing his fourth goal for the R’s but the 3-2 defeat leaves Harry Redknapp’s side another step closer to relegation:
Berbatov the Talisman
Once again, the Bulgarian proved the difference for Martin Jol’s men with another sublime performance last night. With Bryan Ruiz fit to start after shrugging off a hamstring problem picked up on international duty, Berbatov led the line for the Cottagers as the Costa Rican tucked in behind, pulling the strings from the role in “the hole”. Snapped up by almost 75,000 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers prior to the weekend deadline, the former United man opened the scoring from the spot before capitalising on a poor piece of play by Chris Samba to coolly stab home the second. Berbatov has now scored in each of his last four, with his goals earning Jol’s side 10 points in the process – last night’s win now leaves the hosts nine points clear of the drop zone and is set to earn Berbatov significant investment ahead of a double Gameweek 33 which sees his side square up to Villa and Chelsea. Indeed, with three home fixtures in four to follow his double (ARS, REA, LIV) the schedule looks strong for Berbatov from here on in.
Schwarzer on the Radar
While Sascha Riether failed to vindicate the show of faith that earned him almost 20,000 new owners last week, a couple of Fulham defensive alternatives snuck onto the radar ahead of the double Gameweek. Jol’s side had racked up three clean sheets in four prior to last night and while they conceded twice, Mark Schwarzer was amongst the points yet again – the Australian registered his third spot-kick save of the season to earn a seven point haul. At a time when injury and rotation has hit many teams hard, his consistency of game time could well appeal for those forced into shopping for a keeper – he is now fourth in the keeper rankings on 109 points. John Arne Riise also served a reminder of his attacking potential last night. The Norwegian has been kept in Riether’s shadow lately after the latter produced a goal and a pair of assists over the previous three but by snapped up his fifth assist of the campaign; he’s just 0.1 more than his fellow full-back ahead of the double.
Remy Keeps Scoring
Having started the game on the right as Harry Redknapp rolled out a 4-2-3-1, the Frenchman was shifted centrally after the break as the visitors took the game to Martin Jol’s men. Remy’s third goal in four starts – a fourth in six first XI appearances since moving from Marseille in January – wasn’t enough, with his missed spot-kick ultimately proving decisive. Nevertheless, if his side are to be relegated, Redknapp is clearly determined to go down with all guns blazing and with home clashes against Wigan and Stoke, in addition to a trip to Reading in the next four, Remy’s owners may well choose to hold, given his level of consistency.
Taarabt Back in Contention
Back in the starting line-up for the first time in four matches, the Moroccan was instrumental in the turnaround after the R’s went three goals down and has surely done enough to keep his place in the XI. Taarabt grabbed the first goal for Redknapp’s side just prior to half-time and also won the spot-kick which Remy missed – with his side seven points from fourth-bottom Wigan with just seven matches remaining, his talents will also be key as Redknapp looks to go on the offensive over the final few matches.
Certainly, after the game, a furious Redknapp was quick to acknowledge the task now at hand. While the R’s boss slammed his side’s display at the back, he talked up his side’s second-half attacking display – another positive sign for Taarabt’s owners as we head into the final stretch:
“A disastrous first half cost us, they were the worst goals I’ve seen in my life. They were scandalous goals. It was an absolute disaster. We came out in the second half and murdered them. We missed another penalty which has cost us again. We had enough possession in the second half, when it went 3-2, I thought we would win the game. We had twice as many shots as them. I was disappointed with the last 10 minutes. We suddenly started lumping balls up, we opened them up by passing the ball. We are not giving up. We have to beat Wigan on Sunday, that is where we are at now. We need another 14 points from the remaining games and we have to try to do that. We have to win four and draw two but it is getting harder.”
In Other News
Rafa Benitez rolled out an injury updated after Chelsea’s FA Cup win over United yesterday afternoon. The Blues admitted his side have problems building in defence after Ashley Cole was subbed off with a hamstring problem and also spoke on his need for squad rotation, after making seven changes to the side that lost at Southampton on Saturday afternoon:
“We wanted to win against Southampton and use a lot of players, especially when you have another one in less than 48 hours. It’s not playing one game in three days like we have for months, it is two games in less than 48 hours. We can’t kill players playing them two games in a row, because then they get injured and we lose them. We had injuries like Cahill and Ashley Cole today, so you have to approach every game carefully, make substitutions or rotate players and sometimes it will go well, sometimes not so well. Our squad is not too big but we can manage if we don’t have injuries. The problem now is that Cahill will be out for another 15 days at least, and Ashley the same so we have to manage with the other players.”
With the club still in the FA Cup and Europa League, however, the Blues’ schedule remains relentless. At present, Benitez’s side have six games between now and their Gameweek 34 trip to Liverpool on April 21 – with Cole and Cahill both sidelined, Ryan Bertrand is likely to pick up extra game time at left-back, while David Luiz’s versatility may boost his chances of avoiding rotation, with John Terry likely to deputise on Thursday’s European clash against Rubin Kazan. With both Spurs and Arsenal winning in the league last weekend, Benitez can now ill-afford to take further chances in his attempt to steer Chelsea to third – while they remain in the driving seat, two points behind Spurs with a game in hand, his decision to bench both Juan Mata and Eden Hazard for the St Mary’s clash backfired spectacularly. Indeed, since arriving at Stamford Bridge, Benitez has rolled out a starting XI without Mata and Hazard just twice – in Gameweek 21 at home to QPR and Gameweek 31at Southampton. On both occasions, Chelsea lost.
According to an article on the United website, Wayne Rooney is expected to return in time for next Monday’s vital home match with City. The forward was rested for Saturday’s trip to Sunderland after picking up a groin problem on international duty with England but suffered a recurrence of the problem during training on Sunday. As a result, Sir Alex Ferguson partnered Javier Hernandez and Danny Welbeck in yesterday’s cup loss at Stamford Bridge in a game that Jonny Evans also missed due to a hamstring issue. Post-match, the United manager was quick to turn his attentions to next week’s game with City – with a win against their rivals signalling a huge step towards the title, Ferguson’s comments certainly suggest he’ll be fielding his strongest side as he looks to recover from yesterday’s defeat:
“We must kick on. We’re disappointed and the players are down. They’re disappointed because they know they can do better. To be honest with you, for the ninety minutes I thought only Antonio Valencia reached the standard that we expect of them. Phil Jones, for a good part of the game, and David De Gea did well. But in terms of the ninety-minute performance, Antonio was the only one. But we need to forget this result and look forward to the game with City. A positive result for us next Monday will just about seal the title for us.”
Alan Pardew is optimistic on the availability of a number of Newcastle players ahead of Thursday’s Europa League clash with Benfica.
“Cheick (Tiote) could be OK for Thursday, and Santon was perhaps a day’s training away from being involved. Sadio’s (Haidara) close. Tim’s (Krul) close. I need them all back for Thursday. We know the next two are really important games for us. I think all those players I mentioned have got a great chance for Fulham, of course. Whether they make Thursday, we’ll have to wait and see.”
Having watched his injury-hit side hammered 4-0 at City last weekend, Pardew’s need for reinforcements is more crucial than ever, with Newcastle just three points ahead of the drop zone. While the Magpies boss admitted Mathieu Debuchy is unlikely to feature against Fulham, Haidara’s potential return is a real boost for both club and player, given many thought his season was over after Callum McManaman’s tackle a couple of weeks back. Krul’s return will signal the end of Rob Elliot’s brief run of first-team games in goal, while Tiote’s midfield bite was sorely missed at the Etihad. With three home games in four (FUL, SUN, LIV) there’s reason for optimism, then, despite skipper Fabricio Coloccini remaining on the sidelines with a back problem.
Paul Lambert will be breathing a sigh of relief after scans revealed Andreas Weimann has suffered no serious hamstring damage last weekend. The Austrian was subbed off early in the second-half defeat against Liverpool on Sunday and was initially regarded as doubtful for Saturday’s vital trip to Stoke – Weimann is now expected to return to training later this week, however, as Lambert looks for a return to the form that saw the youngster grab two goals and a pair of assists over his previous four appearances.
