I’ve not given up on Liverpool, not yet. For them to win the championship, three things need to happen:

1. Two losses for Manchester United. There’s now a lack of quality opponents for United; Arsenal should pose the greatest threat to their domestic campaign, but lately the Gunners have been playing lackluster football. Wigan Athletic? Hull City? Advantage: United (actually, that always is a given). Don’t count out the possibility of an upset, though, especially with United playing away from home. Sure, statistics tilt the games in favor of United, but it ain’t over ’til it’s over.

2. Liverpool must win both games. There’s already the huge possibility that United will win all three of their remaining games, so Liverpool should keep on rallying and win their two remaining games. Should they lose one, it’ll probably be the end of their championship dreams this year.

3. Liverpool should maintain their goal difference advantage. The last thing that has to happen is for Liverpool to maintain their advantage in goal difference against Manchester United. They currently have a four-goal advantage over United, but that can easily change because United has one more game to play.

Stevie wants a championship. Will he deliver?

In other news, the Football Writers’ Association voted Steven Gerrard as the 2009 Footballer of the Year. No surprise here: Gerrard’s play has ensured Liverpool’s success this season, and if not for him they’d probably be behind Chelsea, as well.

My last note? Championship or no championship, Liverpool should do one thing after this campaign: sign Carlos Tevez.

Andres pulled the trigger on the heartbreaker.

It was a nightmarish eighty or so minutes for Barcelona fans tuned in to the game when their team, the La Liga champions, failed to equalize against Michael Essien’s early goal. Too bad for Chelsea, though, that Barca’s lone goal came about in the 93rd minute, when Andres Iniesta delivered the ball screaming into the back of the net past a beaten Petr Cech. For this, he earns a Magic: The Gathering tribute.

Didier Drogba was one monster of a threat the whole game, but was contained by Barca’s defense. He would cuss about the game being “a fucking disgrace” later on, but to what avail? His team is down, and he probably will fall further down when UEFA investigates his reactions to their loss. Sorry, Didier, but you’re just a sore loser, a whining wimp of a clown.

Barcelona and Manchester United meet in the final game!

(Fergie, what the fuck were you thinking?) By the 60th minute, with the score stalled at 0-0, I thought if this went down to a penalty shootout, United will be at a serious disadvantage with a so-so goalkeeper manning the posts.

(Fergie, what the fuck were you thinking?) After 120 minutes and with both teams still unable to score, it boiled down to a shootout; Sir Alex Ferguson’s gamble early on cost United the FA Cup trophy as Rio Ferdinand and Dimitar Berbatov’s kicks were saved, and Everton advanced to the finals against Chelsea.

No, really, what were you thinking?

(Wenger, you wanker!) Poor goalkeeping twice over from Arsenal’s Lukasz Fabianski combined with Wembley Stadium’s “laughable” pitch (as Arsene Wenger complained) allowed Chelsea to advance to the FA Cup finals, winning against the Gunners, 2-1.

(Wenger, you wanker! Same goes for you, Fabianski!) Theo Walcott scored the opening goal at the 18th minute with a volley, but it was cancelled out about 15 minutes later when Florent Malouda found the back of the net after a costly error by Fabianski. The Arsenal goalkeeper made another mistake near the end of the game, allowing Didier Drogba to stab the winning dagger for Chelsea.

No, really. Andrei Arshavin and Samir Nasri on the bench? Against Chelsea? You deserved the boot from the tournament.

Heads-up: corny as it sounds, it’s Chelsea and Everton in the FA Cup finals. Now who’d want to watch that?

Side note: Is Fabregas bothered at all by the allegations by Hull that he spat at their assistant manager, Brian Horton? Arsenal and their team captain have to respond to the claim within the week.

FC Porto @ Manchester United, 2-2. I find this one a shocker: two away goals scored at Old Trafford? I expected a lot more from Manchester United given the supposed talent difference between them and Porto; the home team’s defense was a disappointment, but one can’t take away the credit from Porto’s Cristian Rodriguez (for the nice strike) and Mariano Gonzales (for the wide open shot; where was United’s defense?). Fergie himself has pointed his finger at his team’s lack of concentration especially on defense, and why not? Porto’s fighting chance and United’s demise in this tournament may very well be thanks to that late second goal.

Side note: Is it true that, following United’s recent win over Aston Villa, Federico Macheda’s Facebook details now show, “You have been poked by 75,000 people?” Hey, how does it feel after?

Bayern Munich @ Barcelona, 0-4. A superb demolition job by Barca; it was supposed to be a high-scoring affair for both teams but the visitors got smothered big time by the home team’s three-man frontline: Lionel Messi scored two while Thierry Henry and Samuel Eto’o had one apiece. Jurgen Klinsmann’s face at the third minute and all throughout the game spelled helplessness and frustration, and that’s exactly how Bayern should feel, disappointing all fans who expected a goal-fest.

Side note: Hans-Jorg Butt, Bayern’s goalkeeper, got smacked big time time in face by Henry’s boot after defending against the charging Frenchman; it was followed by a long stoppage, then by the goalkeeper taking off his kit and walking towards the end of the box. I thought he was going to be subbed out, but it turned out that he was just going to change uniforms to replace the bloodied one. Then, with those red marks across one side of his face, he got the ball and readied the goal kick.

Chelsea @ Liverpool, 3-1. I had a hard time watching the game after Chelsea scored their second goal; sure, I was ecstatic by the fifteenth minute of this game and the other one at Camp Nou, with both of my favorite teams up by one and two, respectively. However, while one went ahead and completely obliterated the opposition, the other crumbled and conceded three goals, two to a second-string defender, even! I can’t take anything away from Branislav Ivanovic: he was so consistent he scored twice from the same spot, so props to him. It was all the more frustrating to see the Diving Ivorian seal the deal with a third goal.

It ruined my day when Chelsea eliminated Liverpool last year in this same tournament, and now it seems like it’s happening all over again.

Side note: Ivanovic’s two-goal success last night was a testament to the Big Aristotle’s wisdom. He has been quoted saying:

“If you go around the league, anybody with the last name ‘vich’ is a great shooter. Radmanovic, Vujacic… all those ‘iches.”

- Shaquille O’Neal, on his nickname Shaqovich

With yesterday’s upsets against Manchester United (by Fulham) and Chelsea (by Tottenham), Liverpool slides into second place on the table trailing United by only a point and a game.

By the way, about Manchester United’s next game on April 5: it will be against a vengeful Aston Villa. Interesting.

Liverpool first scored off a Steven Gerrard free kick which hit the crossbar and out, with Dirk Kuyt smashing the ball in off the rebound. Albert Riera then followed it with one superb touch off Jose Reina’s goal kick to hit the crossbar again, this time hitting the goal right away. Gerrard capped the goalfest with a hat trick off one free kick and two penalty shots, one of which also sent Aston Villa goalkeeper Brad Friedel off the field.

Goodbye, and thanks for letting the ball in four times.

A truly inspired effort by Liverpool today; it’s not enough to get them to the top yet, but it’s a statement game. It’s on, Ferguson!

Fulham was all over Manchester United.

Chelsea was also the victim of a huge upset today, thanks to Tottenham Hotspur’s efforts, losing 1-0.

Floppucino please: It's Didier Drogba, again! (Nah, I'm just fooling around.)

I didn’t see the league’s one-and-two’s games, but I watched Arsenal’s skirmish against Newcastle United; the match was a lot closer than the scoreline shows, with Newcastle showing a lot of heart against both Arsenal and the threat of relegation. I can’t help but feel bad for them, though in the end, the Gunners proved that they deserved the win more than the Magpies.

Hours from now, Liverpool will be taking on Aston Villa, who are no pushovers. If Liverpool wants to keep their title hopes alive (which of course is the case), they have to win this game; a win will catapult them into 2nd place, giving them a 3-point advantage over Chelsea and just a point (and a game) behind league leaders Manchester United.

Time to shine, Liverpool.