DON’T look now but the English Premier League is down to its last seven match days before the 2018-2019 season comes to a close.
The way it looks on the top, it’s a two-way race for the premiership title between Liverpool with 79 points and Manchester City with 77 points and a game at hand.
A far third is Arsenal with 63 points, followed by Tottenham and Manchester United with 61 points apiece, then Chelsea with 60 points.
And yet expect a heated battle between Arsenal, Tottenham, ManU and Chelsea for the coveted UEFA Champions League spots for the 2019-2020 season.
Barring any monumental collapse, Liverpool and City are assured of Champions League spots. They will be joined by the third placer for an outright place in Europe’s most prestigious tournament.
Fourth place in the prem means a trip to the Champions League playoff round. It’s definitely down the wire season again in England.
Amazingly, three English clubs have made it to the quarterfinal stage of the current Champions League season. These are Tottenham, Liverpool, and Manchester United.
Of the three, it is United that has a renewed sense of vigor, having just appointed Ole Gunnar Solksjaer as full-time manager.
Last December, Solksjaer had taken over as caretaker manager over Jose Mourinho just as the club was disintegrating. The former United forward quickly turned the club’s fate around, having won 14 of 19 matches at the helm.
A certified supersub who turned games around in his player days, Solskjaer may not just be a shot in the arm for a “struggling” big club, but for the entire league as well.
While the Premier League is without doubt the most competitive among the big four European leagues, it has suffered a decline in stature in Europe.
When was the last time an English club lifted the prestigious Champions League trophy? Seven seasons ago, in 2012, when Chelsea outlasted Bayern Munich in a penalty shootout.
While the English clubs are busy settling their domestic affairs, no doubt three of them are eyeing Europe’s biggest club prize as the knockout rounds resume next week.
Leading these clubs is Solskjaer, a man who 20 years ago, as a late substitute, scored a last-minute equalizer against Bayern to win the 1999 Champions League trophy for Manchester United.
Could the Norwegian weave his magic anew, this time as a supersub coach for a once-great team?