Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/307854
27 Sport maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 7 MAY 2014 Answers to the MaltaToday crossword will be published next Wednesday WEATHER: Fine with some high cloud at times VISIBILITY: Generally good WIND: Variable force 2 to 3 becoming locally force 3 to 4 mainly Southerly. SEA: Slight SWELL: Negligible SEA TEMP: 17 °C A B C D E F G H 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 White to play and mate in four moves A B C D E F G H 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Last week's solution Sudoku rules are extremely easy: Fill all empty squares so that the numbers 1 to 9 appear once in each row, column and 9x9 box. PARTLY CLOUDY 21 º C / 13 º C UV INDEX: 8 Today's Weather Chess Sudoku Pursuits Rd5 Kf8 Kf6 Ke8 Rd6 Kf8 Rd8# Rd7 Kf8 Rd8# ... Kg8 Rh5 Kf8 Rh8# OPINION Across 1. One who studies the climate (13) 8. Pertaining to an orbit (7) 10. Inflatable rubber bag (7) 12. Glossy (6) 13. Altercation (8) 15. Rectory (9) 18. Capital of France (5) 21. Church singers (5) 22. Expert in science (9) 27. Forebear (8) 29. Child who has lost both parents (6) 30. Office head (7) 31. Chief (4,3) 33. Mayonnaise (5,8) Down 2. Marine crustacean (7) 3. Encountered (3) 4. Encountered (6) 5. Rock (5) 6. Idle talk (6) 7. Combines (6) 9. Anybody (6) 11. Sharp pain (4) 14. Intended (5) 16. Exclamation of surprise (3) 17. Connected series of rooms (5) 19. It is (3) 20. Far distant (6) 21. Cold and damp (6) 23. Maize (4) 24. Brutal (7) 25. Occupant (6) 26. Be present at (6) 28. Cuban ballroom dance (5) 32. Donkey (3) IT was all plain sailing until the 79th minute at Selhurst Park. There were Liverpool strolling to a 3-0 win which put them three points clear at the top. It was the 24th change in the league standings and all Liverpool needed were more goals to claw City's goal difference back. More goals is what they got but not for their side. The winds of change were a gale force as a brace from substitute Dwight Gayle pegged Liverpool back and though they did still move top, their lead is now just the point and the title is Manchester City's for the taking. Liverpool will instantly look to this game as the day they (might) have lost the league, however realistically a title is not won over 90 minutes. Liverpool have played well all season and with 99 goals scored so far they lead the scoring charts. Up front it looks like the perfect picture with Suarez, Stur- ridge, Sterling Coutinho and Gerrard scoring for fun at times. At the back however Championship style defend- ing saw them leak 49 goals this sea- son, eight more than seventh place Manchester United – now that puts it in perspective. Their defense lacks quality and lead- ership and Jamie Carragher admits it's unacceptable to expect to win the league with such a leaky game. They constantly drop too deep and defend too far into the box to make a differ- ence. Looking at the third and final Palace goal both center backs are pinned back, waiting to be hit with their guard down. Sakho and Sker- tel have played 17 games so far this season and only managed one clean sheet. They look disorganized and lost at times and I am afraid with City playing at home to Villa tonight and West Ham on Sunday, its curtains for Liverpool and who knows when their next chance at the title will come around. Chelsea lacking X factor With the return of the Special One we all had high hopes for Chelsea this season. They had their main man back and made some quality signings over the summer. Jose Mourinho started off his reign in his usual manner, ad- dressing the media calmly and calling himself the Happy One for returning to the Premier League. Many had them down as title fa- vorites from the get-go but what be- came clear as the games rolled on is that despite His return, Chelsea still lacked the X factor – that cutting edge that would help them teat apart their opponents. What Jose Mourinho does bring is an element of that missing factor dur- ing the big games. He masterminded the fantastic 2-0 win over Liverpool at Anfield, using defensive counter at- tacking tactics to contain their rivals and hit them on the break. Under Mourinho Chelsea have had the best defense in the league and while normally that is a solid base to build on, they lacked the materials up top to grow taller. For the lack of goals conceded they also have a lack of goals scored with them netting a full 27 goals less than title rivals and new favorites Manchester City. With the attacking trio of Fern- ando Torres, Dembe Ba and Samuel Eto'o Chelsea have looked toothless. All three are decent footballers, with the less said about Torres the better, however my feeling is that they are all decent squad players and should not be relied on to deliver it on a weekly basis. Mourinho has now set his sights on a killer striker for the summer and with the World Cup providing the ultimate shopping window their questions can soon be answered, however my only concern is why wait so long? Signing a striker in January is not often a good move, however when they loaned Romelu Lukaku out to Everton in the close season eyebrows were raised. I have always viewed him as Didier Drogba's long time replacement and his build and physique draws many comparisons. His form this season is better than any of the current Chelsea stars, with him bagging 14 goals and claiming six assists. At Everton he learned how to lead the line and will do so again for Bel- gium at just 20 years old. He has played for a team with good tempo under Roberto Martinez and has re- ally stolen the hearts of the Everton faithful. Keeping him will no doubt be the objective for Everton, however the lure of Champion's League foot- ball might be too large to turn down. Whilst Everton may have qualified for the Europa League it is my feeling that should Jose come calling, Romelu would jump on the first train to Lon- don from Lime Street. Mark Strijbosch Leaky Liverpool bottle it Liverpool were on course for a three-point Premier League lead before Crystal Palace hit back