The penultimate weekend in the Premier League was an exciting one that saw a couple places get locked up and a couple more up for grabs. Blackburn joined Wolves in the Championship while the Manchester clubs stayed level at the top after City’s impressive win over Newcastle at St. James’ Park. Here is how the 10 games played out plus a recap of the FA Cup Final.

Arsenal 3-3 Norwich

I have to admit; I did not see this one coming. Yossi Benayoun gave Arsenal a quick lead just over a minute into the contest and it looked like they would be off and running. Norwich had other ideas, however. Their attacking play was rewarded with Wes Hoolahan and Grant Holt goals, both of which were deflected in. Norwich should have had a penalty but that would even out later. In the second half it was Arsenal who pressed and Robin van Persie came alive. The Dutchman had a couple of chances before burying two, the second of which was another “alley-oop” from Alex Song, to make it 3-2 Arsenal. There was another twist in the tale as Steve Morrison clinically finished to level it a three all. RVP had another chance saved and a penalty claim denied as this wild finish came to a close. 

Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool (FA Cup Final)

It was Cup Final day at Wembley Stadium on Saturday and the matchup was a classic winner, Liverpool, against a recent powerhouse in the competition, Chelsea. Ramires and Branislav Ivanovic, two players who are ineligible for the Champions League Final, were given the start for Chelsea as well as Didier Drogba over Fernando Torres. For Liverpool it was their second Cup Final of the season and they fielded an experienced team with Luis Suarez acting as the lone striker and Andy Carroll on the bench. The match started as a tense affair but Chelsea started to gain some momentum and the lead through Ramires just 11 minutes in. Neither side created very many chances and we would go into halftime with just the lone Chelsea goal. Early in the second half, the 52^nd minute to be exact, Drogba added to his list of Wembley goals as he became the first person ever to score in four different FA Cup Finals. His low, left footed shot left Kenny Dalglish with no option but to bring Andy Carroll on and try to get something back. It turned out to be a great move as Carroll was outstanding and got a goal in the 64^th minute to make it 2-1. Liverpool mounted more and more pressure on Chelsea and eventually looked like they had tied it when Carroll headed a Luis Suarez cross towards goal. It was not given, however, and replays suggest that the whole of the ball did not cross the whole of the line. It was gut wrenching for Liverpool but a fantastic save by Petr Cech as his Blues held out for the remaining minutes to take home the trophy. One cup down, one to go?

Newcastle 0-2 Manchester City

Yaya Toure came through again for City as his two goals all but wrapped up the title for the blue side of Manchester. The first half was pretty entertaining and both sides created a couple of chances, but it was 0-0 at the break. It stayed scoreless as the match wore on and the City fans had to be feeling incredibly tense. But then, the substitution happened: Nigel de Jong for Samir Nasri. It sounds defensive, yes, but it allowed Yaya Toure to get further forward, which paid off mightily as Toure and the outstanding David Silva linked up for the Ivorian to curl it in. It wasn’t over though as Newcastle kept coming. Sergio Aguero and Toure both had chances to double the lead but eventually Toure did so on a swift counter attack that left the Newcastle defenders no chance. 2-0 to City and the title is almost, almost theirs.

Aston Villa 1-1 Tottenham

With Arsenal drawing on Saturday, this was a golden opportunity for Spurs to jump them in the table and have the inside track on third place. They did not take that opportunity and a disappointing draw was all they could conjure up. The first chance fell to Villa but Emile Heskey couldn’t get away from the defense and Tottenham were safe, but only for a couple minutes. In the 35^th minute Ciaran Clark’s shot took a huge deflection off William Gallas and gave the home side a lead. The job was made harder in the second half when young Danny Rose was sent off for a very high and reckless tackle. Ten minutes later, though, Spurs were given a penalty that Emmanuel Adebayor put away. Tottenham pushed but a winner never came.

Bolton 2-2 West Brom

West Brom is playing for a manager who is about to take a much higher profile job and Bolton are trying desperately to stay in the Premier League. Bolton struck first, on a penalty after Mark Davies was knocked down and Martin Petrov put the spot kick away. It was 1-0 at halftime and the second half saw both teams go for it. It was then 2-0 to Bolton after a ridiculous own goal. Chris Brunt got West Brom back in the match with a great finish. The away side continued their good play and leveled when James Morrison poked home in the 90^th minute. It was heartbreaking for Bolton as three points were turned into just one.

Fulham 2-1 Sunderland

An early Clint Dempsey free kick gave Fulham the lead, but a powerful Phil Bardsley strike made it 1-1. Just a minute later Fulham were back in front after a great run and shot from Moussa Dembele made it 2-1. That was the score at halftime and at full time as Fulham, and their star Dempsey, continued their impressive run.

QPR 1-0 Stoke

A late, late Djibril Cisse goal may have saved QPR’s Premier League lives as he tapped in a flicked on header from Anton Ferdinand. Loftus Road went nuts as these three points lifted QPR out of the drop zone.

Wolves 0-0 Everton

This was a match that meant very little, if anything, in the table and the score line showed it. Everton did put it in once, but was ruled offside.

Manchester United 2-0 Swansea

Due to Manchester City’s win earlier in the day, United knew that they not only had to win, but win big. They did not do so and only a 2-0 win, thanks to Paul Scholes and Ashley Young, was all that was in the cards. They are still level on points but eight back in goal differential.

Blackburn 0-1 Wigan

It was a wet Monday night at Ewood Park and the home fans used the occasion to vent their frustration with just about everyone involved with the club. There were signs, chants, and protests, but most of all just bad play. Antonin Alcaraz got the lone goal late in the match for Wigan, which sealed their place in the league next season. I have to say that I feel bad for Steve Kean as he looked like a helpless figure on the sidelines. Blackburn is going down and I am going to guess that Kean will not be going with them.

Liverpool Chelsea

This was a Tuesday league rematch of the Saturday Cup Final ironically, and this game really didn’t mean much as fourth place was fairly unattainable for Chelsea before the match and impossible after the match. Liverpool can actually look good at times and the first half of this match was one of those times. The Reds took the lead after a great run from Luis Suarez and his pass bounced off of Michael Essien and into the net. It was 2-0 just minutes later after Jordan Henderson took advantage of a John Terry slip and slotted the ball home. Daniel Agger made it three on a corner and it could’ve been four but Stuart Downing missed a penalty that probably never should’ve been. In the second half Chelsea pulled one back through Ramires but Liverpool regained their three goal lead in the 61^st minute when Jonjo Shelvey took advantage of a terrible clearance from Ross Turnbull and powered a shot home. It finished 4-1 and Chelsea’s immediate future as a club now rests solely on the Champions League Final.