Reading, QPR go down; Blues win
Source: AFP |
April 29, 2013, Monday
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Print Edition
READING and Queens Park Rangers were relegated from the English Premier League yesterday after the strugglers played out a 0-0 draw at the Madejski Stadium, while Chelsea beat Swansea City 2-0 to cement its place in the top four.
A win for either Reading or QPR would have kept alive their slender chances of staying up at least until Aston Villa's clash with Sunderland today.
But both looked wracked with nerves during a goalless stalemate which condemned Nigel Adkins' Reading and Harry Redknapp's QPR to starting next season in the Championship.
Bottom club Reading and second bottom QPR are both nine points behind fourth bottom Villa with three games remaining, but a complicated equation means there is no chance of either avoiding the drop.
If Wigan Athletic and Villa lose their next three games they will go into the final day on 32 and 34 points, respectively, while back to back wins for QPR and Reading win would give them 31 points ahead of the last match.
However, with Wigan and Villa playing each other on the last weekend, only one of them could be overtaken by QPR and Reading, meaning QPR and Reading are guaranteed to be in the bottom three at the end of the season.
Reading return to the Championship just 12 months after being promoted as second-tier champions and Adkins wants them to learn the lessons of their top-flight failure.
"I have told the players to bottle up the feeling as it is never nice to get relegated, and make sure they never feel that way again," he said. "For any new promoted team, it is a challenge to stay up. The Premier League is a ruthless division."
At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea cruised to a comfortable victory over Swansea which lifted the team into third place.
Rafael Benitez's side showed no signs of tiredness despite its recent gruelling schedule and Oscar gave it the lead with a fine finish from Frank Lampard's pass in the 43rd minute.
Lampard, who had come on as a substitute for the injured Ramires, netted the second goal in first half stoppage-time.
That was enough to move Chelsea three points clear of fifth-placed Tottenham in the race to qualify for the Champions League.
A win for either Reading or QPR would have kept alive their slender chances of staying up at least until Aston Villa's clash with Sunderland today.
But both looked wracked with nerves during a goalless stalemate which condemned Nigel Adkins' Reading and Harry Redknapp's QPR to starting next season in the Championship.
Bottom club Reading and second bottom QPR are both nine points behind fourth bottom Villa with three games remaining, but a complicated equation means there is no chance of either avoiding the drop.
If Wigan Athletic and Villa lose their next three games they will go into the final day on 32 and 34 points, respectively, while back to back wins for QPR and Reading win would give them 31 points ahead of the last match.
However, with Wigan and Villa playing each other on the last weekend, only one of them could be overtaken by QPR and Reading, meaning QPR and Reading are guaranteed to be in the bottom three at the end of the season.
Reading return to the Championship just 12 months after being promoted as second-tier champions and Adkins wants them to learn the lessons of their top-flight failure.
"I have told the players to bottle up the feeling as it is never nice to get relegated, and make sure they never feel that way again," he said. "For any new promoted team, it is a challenge to stay up. The Premier League is a ruthless division."
At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea cruised to a comfortable victory over Swansea which lifted the team into third place.
Rafael Benitez's side showed no signs of tiredness despite its recent gruelling schedule and Oscar gave it the lead with a fine finish from Frank Lampard's pass in the 43rd minute.
Lampard, who had come on as a substitute for the injured Ramires, netted the second goal in first half stoppage-time.
That was enough to move Chelsea three points clear of fifth-placed Tottenham in the race to qualify for the Champions League.
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