Sworn English rivals forced to think the unthinkable

Sworn enemies were forced to think the unthinkable in the Premier League on Saturday with fierce foes cheering on hated rivals through gritted teeth.

Manchester City fans endured the torture of hoping neighbours Manchester United would win at Old Trafford against Tottenham Hotspur, whose fans in turn were praying north London rivals Arsenal would beat City at the Emirates.

Chelsea, beaten at Tottenham last week, would have been happy to see Spurs add United to their list of illustrious victims at a crucial point in the championship chase.

Liverpool's red army, with their team in action at relegation-threatened Burnley on Sunday, hardly knew who to cheer or curse.

A victory for local foes United, particularly one taking them closer to the title, is rarely palatable on Merseyside.                           

But a win for fourth-placed Tottenham, battling City for a place in the Champions League next season, would have been another blow to Liverpool's fading hopes of returning to Europe's elite competition next seson.

"Today, I support Arsenal," declared one fan on the supporters forum on the Tottenham website (www.tottenhamhotspurs.tv). "Hope they win, let's pray."

"I think 'support' is the wrong word," wrote another. "I just want City to lose".

In the end, there were mixed feelings. Arsenal drew, but ended up mathematically out of contention for the title. Tottenham lost 3-1 but stayed fourth a point ahead of City.                                    

Few chances                                    

The only clear winners were the United crowd, whose team took a two-point lead over Chelsea with two games remaining and enjoyed the discomfort of the light blue half of the City.

With Tottenham still to visit City at Eastlands and Arsenal's title hopes all but over, the focus on and off the pitch in Saturday''s late game was the battle for fourth place. 

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger suggested City had played for a draw with the future fixture in mind.

"I believe they made a different calculation. They think that if they get a point here and beat Tottenham at home, they will get above them," he told reporters after the stalemate. "That is how I explain it.

"It was an afternoon that I'm not used to because we created very few chances and Man City didn't create anything," added the Frenchman.

"They were highly focused on defending well, they didn't give us any space and we didn't find the opening. It was a locked game basically."

Arsenal fans could at least amuse themselves, on an afternoon full of changed loyalties, by booing their former favourite Emmanuel Adebayor every time the City striker touched the ball.

By contrast, defender Kolo Toure -- who appeared after the match in an Arsenal shirt after swapping with former team mate Abou Diaby -- and ex-Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira were cheered on their return.

Tottenham supporters could also feel gratified that, even if their team had lost, their ex-marksman Dimitar Berbatov had at least fired blanks against them.