Jonjo Shelvey's Deflected Shot From Distance Sinks Manchester United

The race to finish in the Top Four in the EPL this season — which means a lucrative place in the Champions League’s next season — is going to be wild over the final 12-13 games. Manchester United’s grip on a Top Four spot took a hit Saturday in Wales thanks to Jonjo Shelvey’s long-range shot that took a super-fortunate deflection off the back of teammate Bafétimbi Gomis — just like everybody drew it up before the match — leading the Swans to a 2-1 victory and season sweep of the Red Devils.

We’ll have to see which Swansea player officially gets credit for the goal, since it probably doesn’t beat David De Gea without the deflection. Too bad the EPL officials can share it like a sack in the NFL since both Shelvey and Gomis deserve credit for their teamwork.

Manchester United’s schedule picks up in March with an FA Cup quarterfinal vs. Arsenal, followed by league games with Tottenham and Liverpool. The Gunners, thanks to their win over Crystal Palace, move one point ahead of United into third place pending Southampton’s game tomorrow. Louis van Gaal will face his customary questioning after dropping Falcao in favor of Robin van Persie to start the match.

Elsewhere, the race for the title opened up a little bit with Chelsea allowing a late equalizer to Burnley, leaving the door open for Manchester City to pick up two points should it beat Newcastle United later Saturday.