Sunday was a feast for fans of English soccer. League leaders Manchester United took on fourth place Liverpool, while second place Arsenal and third place Chelsea went at it in a London derby. Number twelve seeds need not have applied.

The Manchester United-Liverpool match didn't deliver much excitement. Down 1-0, Liverpool were forced to play the second half with only ten men after Javier Mascherano was dismissed. In the end, ManU dispatched the Shite 3-0.

The Chelsea-Arsenal clash was another matter. In the best match I’ve seen this year, Chelsea’s Didier Drogba scored twice in the last 20 minutes to lead his club to a 2-1 come-from-behind victory.

I shed no tears for the Arse; their match with Everton not long ago confirmed that Arsene Wegner’s current foreign legion has no more class [note: in terms of comportment] than did prior incarnations. That said, Chelsea’s fans did not deserve their club’s victory

I base this statement on the barracking that they gave the team’s Israeli manager, Avrum Grant, after he made two substitutions when Chelsea went down a goal. First, the fans chanted derisively “you don’t know what you’re doing.” Then they chanted the name of Grant’s predecessor Jose Mourinho.

Grant, to be sure, is not genius like Mourinho. But Chelsea’s loss to Barnsley aside, he’s done a creditable job. In fact, Sunday’s win moved Chelsea into second place, within striking distance of ManU, and Chelsea are also in the final eight of the European Championship (where their opponent is none other than Arsenal).

More pertinently, Grant’s two substitutions were the right moves. And this was clear at the time, not just after they helped turn the match around.

The first move was staggeringly obvious. Chelsea had Michael Essian, a world class central midfielder, filling in at right back. Not only was Essian providing no width, he was struggling defensively. Down a goal, Chelsea plainly needed to bring on Juliano Belletti, their fine attacking Brazilian right back (has anyone ever seen a Brazilian right back who isn’t a fine attacking player?). Essian could then replace defensive-minded midfielder Claude Makelele, and from a central position drive the team forward, as he does so well.

Down a goal, Chelsea also needed a second striker, specifically Nicolas Anelka, one of the Premier League’s best. At first I thought Grant should take off Salomon Kalou, the only non-world class player in the attack. But Kalou is a goal-scoring threat and was providing width on the left. Thus, it made more sense to remove a central midfielder, even one as accomplished as Michael Ballack – which is what Grant did, to boos all around.

The results were dramatic. With two lethal scorers and perfect balance in their formation, Chelsea were a transformed side. And Belletti, Essian, and Anelka all contributed to at least one of the two Chelsea goals that followed. Jeers turned to cheers, as Chelsea’s fans realized (I hope) that they had allowed their anti-Grant sentiment to overwhelm their soccer judgment.

With all four of these teams in Europe’s final eight, and three of them still in contention for the league title, plenty more drama is yet in store. Grant probably needs to win Europe or the league to keep his job. It won't hurt if the fans get behind him.

UPDATE: Everton failed to captialize on Liverpool's loss. Our 1-1 tie at home against West Ham left us two points behind the Shite in the race for fourth place.

When one also considers our shocking loss at lowly Fulham last week, it seems clear that, as happens to better and deeper teams than ours, we've hit a late season wall. With a showdown against Liverpool looming, we need to work through it quickly or else forget about playing in the Champions League next year.