The summit of the Premiership cleared while the battle for fourth place tightened as the Blues and Red Devils raceed ahead of the pack. Meanwhile, in Spain, the two horsed race got neck & neck as Barcelona sputtered while Madrid took a step forwards. A picture says a thousand words, but with a few hundred words, it can say a thousand plus a few hundred words. Thus, the first edition of “the weekend in photos & text”…

In Ye Old England….

At Old Trafford, Manchester United rebounded from the defeat at Anfield with an entertaining 2-0 over Blackburn. While the Rovers did not play the part of sacrificial lamb to perfection, the highlight was the emergence of one dreadlock laden Brazilian.

Anderson, to the dismay of Ryan Babel fanatics everywhere, has largely decided to leave a bustling rap career on the shelf. For now. Instead, he sternly grabbed the helm of the United offense, freestyling delicious sliderule passes to the tune of mid90’s Tupac. The flow emanated throughout the United attack, as Nani and Valencia looked competent out wide and, gasp, Berbatov managed to score a goal. It was a victory to forget…forget about Anfield.

Meanwhile, Chelsea handed Bolton a home hiding so thorough the Blues’ own palms stung. Carlos omitted width, a superfluous presence under the Italian’s reign, instead starting four centermidfielders, two central strikers, and a partridge in a pear tree (Ricardo Carvalho). The result was a 4-o romp which solidified Chelsea’s grip on first place.

Bolton did battle valiantly in the first half, but John Terry and Chelsea manged to repel the wave of free kicks. The 0-0 stalemate abruptly ended in first half injury time when a trip on Drogba led to a classic Lampard piledriver penalty kick. And the second half was a flood of pain for the Wandering faithful.

At the Emirates, Arsenal initially struggled to break down a defensive-constructed Tottenham side, but a period of total ineptitude just before the half gifted the Gunners a 2-0 lead. First, Van Persie brought down a Sagna cross, sidestepped Ledley King, and then beat Gomes nearpost. Then, the sky opened up and God graced us with either a brilliant or comical goal, depending on your sympathies and philosophical proclivities.

Nobody can deny the brilliance of Cesc’s solo scamper, although the comical self-trippery of Wilson Palacios and the ineptitude of Ledley King played a large role as well. Regardless, when the Spaniard wrongfooted Gomes with a sick headfake to cooly finish, the game was over. Van Persie’s second was merely the icing on the cake.

At the Cottage of Craven, Fulham reminded Liverpool of the Guardian crisis headlines of two weeks ago. The Scousers struggled to find any semblance of space with Glen Johnson and Steve Gerrard on the trainer table. While the Nino Torres hit a stunning volley to cancel out Fulham’s early Zamora goal, it was a flash in the pan, an island in a sea of ineptitude.

Dirk Kuyt, who injured his hand moments before the match while playing the air guitar, failed to make any significant contributions. Liverpool enjoyed the lion’s share of the ball, but, with the Nino swarmed by white shirts, his strike partners lacked a ruthless instinct. And the defense totally collapsed in the second half, seeing two red cards and nine red faces leaving the pitch at the final whistle.

On the Iberian Peninsula…

Real Madrid recovered from the King’s Cup embarassment to defeat Getafe 2-0 and cut Barcelona’s lead to one point. More important than the result, the dedication and effort of the blanquillos left a good taste in the mouth as fans exited the Bernabeu with a renewed sense of pride. But things did not start well.

Madrid defender Raul Albiol was ejected in the 25th minute, but Madrid’s heart filled the void of the missing man. The purpose, direction, and sheer will of Real led to a host of scoring chances, with Gonzalo Higuain reminding fans he is still alive to the tune of two goals. How much longer the Argentine will decompose in the shadow of Raul remains to be seen.

At Osasuna, the Barcelona bombardeers continued playing direct football, with a Keita finish off a cross granting the Azulgrana the narrowest of leads. However, the African’s goal, his sixth of the campaign, would not hold up.

The Catalans looked set for a 1-0 victory until a last minute Gerard Pique own goal undid 90 minutes of work. A point away from home is always welcome, but with Madrid breathing down their neck, the Catalans did themselves no favors. But Pique remains optimistic – he just found a neat trenchcoat at the salvation army thrift shop.

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