For more than 48 hours this weekend, Chelsea wasn’t alone at the top of the table – and it felt weirdly exciting.
With Manchester City winning – without even using a striker – vs. Crystal Palace and the Blues playing on Monday afternoon, the defending champs drew even with the runaway league leaders.
Just knowing that the nearly invincible Blues can be caught and are just at arm’s length makes this season all the more interesting.
With the fixtures coming fast and furious over the holidays, it’s very realistic that Jose Mourinho’s men can slip and open the door for City.
Or, of course, we could see the Citizens drop a point or two and then we’re back to seeing Chelsea running away with the title again.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Manchester United got Radamel Falcao and Angel di Maria back from injury, but that still wasn’t enough to take down a feisty Aston Villa side … Strange news from Villa Park, where a father and his son were reportedly kicked out for cheering Falcao’s goal while in the family section. While I understand why stands are divided into supporters sections, that seems a bit harsh … Liverpool put up the most fight they have in weeks, but if it weren’t for Arsenal playing down to its competition, this one should have been different … Quite the game for Martin Skrtel’s head. First he gets busted up by Olivier Giroud, then he scores in the ninth minute of injury time to secure a draw … If you didn’t think that Sunderland would go all out to win the Tyneside Derby, you don’t know Sunderland. The Black Cats are always more likely to get fired up for the derby than Newcastle … It looks like Southampton has found its goal-scoring again, potting three against Everton. Whether the Saints can keep it up against better defensive teams than the Toffees remains to be seen. Southampton faces another massive test in terms of fixtures coming up shortly … Happy holidays and enjoy the Boxing Day slate.