During the final phase of the regular season, Aberdeen have taken major steps towards the Scottish Premier League title, while Hamilton appear doomed to relegation following a recent upturn in form for Falkirk. The season's end can't come soon enough for Hamilton, who surely will be hoping their manager gets the sack by the board.
In spite of this, the whole hopes of Scottish clubs in Europe now hinges on bottom team Celtic's performance against Fiorentina in the Europa League semis as both Rangers and Aberdeen let their fans down in their respective quarter finals in the separate competitions.
Rangers ultimately saw off Milan away from home but ran into trouble against Inter in the quarter finals. Mourinho's side are one of the few not so troubled by the recent poaching from Scottish clubs courtesy of having many veterans that were deemed unfit for being picked. Also, the Scottish clubs in Europe have had sizeable injury problems this season, something difficult to cope with considering their thin squads. Agüero was out with broken ribs for the Fiorentina doubleheader and his absence proved very costly indeed.
Aberdeen defeated Fiorentina away from home in the first quarter final, yet collapsed 2-3 at home and went out on away goals. In spite of this, it's shaping up to be a season to remember at Pittodrie, as the Dons enter the final five games ten points clear of Dundee United. Winning the early March showdown between them 3-1 sent Aberdeen double digits clear, a gap they've since managed, even though form has been comparatively shaky. After that game, Aberdeen lost 3-0 at Ibrox when Agüero went down injured, but then rebounded to win 1-0 at Kilmarnock through an unusual Maicon goal and 1-0 at Hamilton through an Ashley Young penalty to restore control of the title race.
The 33rd round also saw Aberdeen put their mid-season rivals St. Johnstone out of contention after an early injury on Buffon helped Aberdeen turn a deficit to win via a Mauro Zárate goal 20 minutes from time. Rangers in third and St. Mirren in fourth have good enough goal differences that they would overhaul Aberdeen in a 15-point scenario, but otherwise the scenario is crystal clear.
Aberdeen wins the title either through 1-3-1 or 2-0-3 if Dundee United win their remaining games. The Tangerines in the 35th round with a must-win at home. A draw there means Aberdeen only need three more points and an away win wraps up the title for Mark McGhee's men, regardless of what happened in the 34th round.
The final round of the regular season wasn't overly dramatic, with Hearts missing the cut by six points following weak spells after their European demises, even ending up behind Kilmarnock on goal difference as well as just three points ahead of Hibernian on a late-season surge. The chase for bragging rights in the capital is on and blazingly hot.
Finally, Celtic is the real shocker at the moment, performing brilliantly in the Europa, but sitting 11th, behind Falkirk, and only salvaged from relegation by Hamilton's vast problems.
The chase for the second spot as well as the Scottish Cup semi finals are going to be the main talking points going forward, assuming Aberdeen don't collapse completely or Hamilton win five straight. For Dundee United, getting to the qualifying phase of the Champions League would be an amazing turnaround in itself and a chance to grant the club some welcome revenue.
The Scottish Cup remains unpredictable, with semi finals coming up between Hearts and Motherwell and then the second encounter between Aberdeen and Rangers, that is sure to be fiery with the two sets of fans really not liking one another. I'll simulate the end of the season and come back within an hour or so
SPLTable (final points tally for regular season, 33 games)
1. Aberdeen 66 (+16)
2. Dundee Utd 56 (+8)
3. Rangers 51 (+12)
4. St. Mirren 51 (+10)
5. St. Johnstone 50 (+9)
6. Motherwell 50 (-2)
...........................
7. Kilmarnock 44 (-3)
8. Hearts 44 (-9)
9. Hibernian 41 (-5)
10. Falkirk 37 (-6)
11. Celtic 35 (-12)
12. Hamilton 25 (-18)
Final regular round form:
Aberdeen 6/13
Dundee Utd 6/10
Rangers 6/13
St. Mirren 6/11
St. Johnstone 6/8
Motherwell 8/10
.......................
Kilmarnock 7/5
Hearts 6/4
Hibernian 10/6
Falkirk 12/7
Celtic 6/6
Hamilton 6/2
Top scorers:
Agüero (Aberdeen) 20
Forlán (Dundee Utd) 20
Hulk (Motherwell) 19
Huntelaar (Falkirk) 17
Ibrahimovic (Falkirk) 16
Suárez (Kilmarnock) 16
Higuaín (Rangers) 15
C Ronaldo (St. Mirren) 15
Most assists:
Gourcuff (St. Johnstone) 13
Iniesta (Hibernian) 12
De Rossi (St. Johnstone) 11
Ribéry (Dundee Utd) 10
Ansaldi (St. Mirren) 10
Criscito (Motherwell) 10
CLRangersLast 16:
Milan (A) 3-2: Gerrard, Higuaín, Davis
Rangers through 5-4 on aggregate.
Quarters:
Inter (H) 1-1: Ramsey
Inter (A) 0-2
Full quarters:
Liverpool-Chelsea 0-0, 1-2
Rangers- Inter 1-1, 0-2
Dinamo Kyiv-CSKA Moskva 3-1, 2-3
Man United-Arsenal 3-1, 1-0
Semi final draw:
Chelsea-Inter
Man United-Dinamo Kyiv
ELAberdeenLast 16:
Zenit (A) 3-1: Kaká, Agüero (2)
Zenit (H) 4-1: Hamsík (2), Agüero (2)
Quarters:
Fiorentina (A) 2-1: Pato, Young
Fiorentina (H) 2-3: Hamsík, Pato*
Fiorentina through on away goals.
* Hey Claus I'm talking to you, I would've won this shit if I played as Aberdeen
CelticLast 16:
Dinamo Buc. (H) 4-0: Tévez, Pirlo (2), McGeady
Dinamo Buc. (A) 3-1: Cazorla, Ronaldinho, Ivanovic
Quarters:
Genoa (A) 3-1: Ivanovic, Xavi, Ronaldinho
Genoa (H) 3-1: Modric, Braafheid, Tévez
Full quarters:
Fiorentina-Aberdeen 1-2, 3-2 (Fiorentina away goals)
Genoa-Celtic 1-3, 1-3
Villarreal-Real Madrid 2-0, 3-0
Roma-Lyon 3-1, 2-0
Semi final draw:
Villarreal-Roma
Fiorentina-Celtic
Scottish CupQuarter finals:
Airdrie-Aberdeen 0-2
Motherwell-Kilmarnock 2-0
Ross County-Rangers 0-1
Hamilton-Hearts 1-2
Semi final draw:
Hearts-Motherwell
Aberdeen-Rangers
Played on neutral turf at Hampden Park.
Good luck to everyone during the final part of the season! Having us knocked off the perch by a plucky Dundee United now would really be something wouldn't it?
