Roundup for March 29th & 30th

 Derby County 2 - 2 Fulham

Rams confirm relegation at Pride Park. Paul Jewell knew awhile ago that his club would be playing next season in the Championship. Saturday’s result made it official as Derby hosted fellow cellar dwellers Fuham. Emanuel Villa scored his first goal for the club in the 10th minute with a deflection. Diomansy Kamara evened it up fourteen minutes later with a strong drive for the Cottagers. Both sides had their chances to net throughout, but the deadlock was only broken when Dean Leacock deflected Hameur Bouazza’s shot into his own net. County salvaged some pride when Villa headed in his second to take a point from the match. Too bad they are done after one season, but maybe Jewell can get the side put together and make a comeback to the Premiership.

  Bolton 2 - 3 Arsenal 

Gunners resurgent at the Reebok. At the half things looked pretty bleak for Arsenal. Matthew Taylor put the Wanderers up before the fifteen minute mark when he headed home Gretar Steinsson’s cross from short range. Manuel Almunia had no chance of stopping the shot and Bolton were on the board for the first time since March 6th. Arsenal played well in the first half, they just couldn’t be effective enough to dent the twine. Things went from bad to worse when Abou Diaby was shown a straight red for a shocking tackle on Steinsson in the 31st minute forcing Arsenal to fight on for the rest of the match down a man. Just before the half Taylor got his second goal when his shot deflected off of William Gallas and past Almunia.

The second half was a different affair as Emmanuel Adebayor and Theo Walcott came in on the hour to give the Gunners a different look. It worked as Gallas found the net almost immediately from Robin Van Persie’s corner, giving life to the visiting fans. Six minutes later Gary Cahill brought down Alexander Hleb in the box. RVP calmly slotted home the penalty for an unlikely comeback. Jlloyd Samuels ended up being the last to touch Cesc Fabregas’ shot in stoppage time, sending it into his own net and sending all three points back to London.

By the way the only difference between Diaby’s tackle on Steinsson and Martin Taylor’s tackle on Eduardo is that Eduardo’s leg actually broke. Diaby went in studs up and hit Steinsson in the shin and could easily have broken his leg too. Characteristically Arsene Wenger saw no problem with the tackle this time around saying “I feel it was more a protective tackle than an aggressive one but he was too high – I don’t complain.”. Well that’s very kind of you Arsene, what about holding your own players to the same standards as you seem to hold any player that wears a different jersey? The tackle on Eduardo was terrible, but the Gunner faithful need to get off of their holier than thou attitude, it’s getting very old.

 Manchester  United 4 - 0 Aston Villa

Roo, Ron and Tev run riot at Old Trafford. Ashley Young’s shot in the early minutes of the match was the closest the Villans would come to winning the game. From that point on it seemed as though it wasn’t going to be if, but by how much. The Red Devils attacked Scott Carson’s goal from all angles, coming close a few times. In the 17th minute Cristiano Ronaldo found himself in the box with the ball falling to his feet courtesy of Rio Ferdinand. The Portuguese winger hit the ball with a remarkable back heeled shot, sending it through the defense and past a very surprised Carson. Ronaldo turned provider for the second goal in the 33rd minute with a one timer cross to the back post and finding a flying Carlos Tevez, who headed the ball in for his sixteenth goal of the season (all competitions).

The two squad’s traded early post shavers as Wayne Rooney and Shaun Maloney each missed left within a minute of each other. Rooney was in an attacking mood and he looked dangerous throughout the second half. Ten minutes into the half he was rewarded when Ronaldo mule-kicked a no-look pass twenty yards to an on rushing Rooney. The striker faked a shot getting Carson to go to ground then calmly rounded the keeper and slotted home.

Maloney nearly drew one back a couple of minutes later and would have made the score-sheet but for a remarkable save by Tomasz Kuszczak. Ronaldo slid the ball to Rooney in the 70th and he found the net once more to finish the scoring at 4-0. Even though they were up by four I was impressed by Tevez’s persistence as he continued to run down the ball and whoever had it until the final whistle. 

 Tottenham 1 - 4 Newcastle United

 Toon trounce Tottenham at White Hart Lane. Darren Bent has had quite a forgettable season so far. It’s hard to score when your ass never leaves the bench. He got the start against the Geordies and in the 26th minute he popped in a cross from Steed Malbranque putting the hosts on the board. Juande Ramos went with Bent, Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane on the attack and in the beginning it looked like it would work as each player had chances to score. Nicky Butt opened the second half with a goal in the first minute to tie the match courtesy of Geremi. Geremi gave his side the lead seven minutes later with a free kick from the edge of the box that Paul Robinson never had a chance to save.

Newcastle kept up the attack and were rewarded by Michal Owen’s curling shot in the 65th minute that was vintage Owen. Mark Viduka showed great presence of mind when he let Obafemi Martins’ pass run through to Owens for the goal. An unselfish move that resulted in a score. Martins showed his skill at the end of the match when he went forward on the counter attack, left Teemu Tainio on his rear and made Robinson look foolish for the fourth goal.  

 

What a Sunday

The top four clubs went at it today in two battles for supremacy. All four are in the Champions League quarter-finals, so this is a good indicator of what is to come in the fight for the European title.

Game One:

 Manchester United 3 - 0 Liverpool

United came into the match three points ahead of Arsenal and coming off of a solid outing against Bolton on Wednesday. For their part Liverpool had newly regained fourth position in the league and have played some decent football of their own. The hosts opened up the game with Wayne Rooney making a statement of intent by beating Jamie Carragher and forcing Pepe Reina to make a save. Javier Mascherano got into referee Steve Bennett’s book in the 11th minute with a hard tackle on Paul Scholes, setting the tone for the Reds.

Wes Brown surprised the Old Trafford faithful in the 34th by deflecting Rooney’s cross into the net for his first goal in a dog’s age. The match remained close until just before the half. Fernando Torres took exception to some questionable tackles by Manchester United players and started an argument with Bennett. The referee showed Torres a yellow card for dissent prompting Mascherano to join the conversation. To be fair, by booking Torres already Bennett had no choice but to book the Argentinian. If there had been no previous booking in the incident Mascherano would probably have stayed in the game. His second card of the match meant that he had to hit the showers. Not that he was willing to go and brought him an escort off of the pitch.

Liverpool’s chances in the match left the pitch with their midfielder and in the 79th minute Cristiano Ronaldo headed Nani’s cross home to give the home side some breathing room. Ronaldo looked like he was destined to score throughout the match, coming close on more than a couple of shots. Nani closed the door for good on the Reds two minutes later with a beautiful move to create space and a powerful shot to dent the twine. The Red Devils gave Liverpool a lot of trouble with high balls into the area (Hmmm… that might come in handy to remember).

Game Two:

  Chelsea 2 - 1 Arsenal 

A month ago Arsenal had one hand on the Premiership trophy, but that’s why they play all of the games. Chelsea knew that with a win they would leapfrog the Gunners into second. Both sides went on the attack early getting the keepers into the flow quickly. Robin van Persie has been out with injury for most of the season. He got back into the swing of the game early and tested Carlo Cudicini a couple of times with nicely taken shots. Not to be out done Michael Ballack and Didier Drogba each put pressure on Manuel Almunia.

Each side had their own plan of attack with Arsenal opting for moving the ball forward with short passes and Chelsea utalizing the longer more direct approach. There was plenty of excitement at both ends of the pitch, but the Gunners drew first blood through Bacary Sagna’s header from Cesc Fabregas’ corner in the 59th minute. Cudicini was left out in the cold as Frank Lampard failed to close down on Sagna (or move for that matter). After going down at home Avram Grant made an overdue substitution by bringing on Nicolas Anelka and Juliano Belletti. The move payed off quickly as Didier Drogba scored the equalizer three minutes later. The ball rebounded off of Lampard and into the path of Drogba who made no mistake and powered the ball past the outstretched Almunia.

The Ivornian striker was on the receiving end of Anelka’s header and he flicked it past the Arsenal keeper for the win. Arsenal were unable to put any real pressure on Chelsea down the stretch. The Blues pulled to within five points of Manchester United and they will host the leaders  at Stamford Bridge April 26th in what may be a title game.

             

Super Sunday!!!!!!!!!!! (again?)

December 16th these clubs all met for the first time this season. This Sunday is round two:

  Manchester Utd  v  Liverpool 

When these two met at Anfield, Manchester United came away with a 1-0 win courtesy of Carlos Tevez’s goal late in the first half. The Red Devils are currently top of the league and can’t afford to drop any points at home. Liverpool are back in the top four with a very slim chance at reaching third. Both clubs are still in the hunt for the Champions League title and would love to make a statement. Liverpool are a fantastic tournament side, but this is a league match. United are looking to show the world that they are truely a world power. It will be close. Manchester United 2-1 Liverpool.

  Chelsea  v  Arsenal 

Chelsea lost to Arsenal at the Emirates 1-0 earlier. The Gunners have had to scrap out draws in their last four Premier League matches and it has cost them dearly. The Blues have played well enough, but they have been iffy in a couple of matches that they should have won. Some questions have come up as to whether Avram Grant has any clue how to manage in the big game. Sunday will be a huge test and could be a make or break match for him. Arsene Wenger’s side seem to have lost their focus lately. Without a talisman like Thierry Henry, Patrick Viera or Dennis Berkamp to lead them they seem to be losing direction. Bad timing for the Gunners. Chelsea will probably take a lead, but Arsenal will draw late. Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal.

Midweek Magic

  Tottenham 4 - 4 Chelsea  

Mayhem at White Hart Lane. A midweek replay of the Carling Cup final had the potential to be exciting, but who could have predicted this? Didier Drogba opened the scoring for the visitors in the 3rd minute when his free kick was blocked. The ball made it’s way to Claude Makelele who sent it on it’s way to John Terry. Terry crossed it to Drogba for an unstoppable header to put the Blues on the board. Nine minutes later Jonathan Woodgate had a header of his own from a Jermaine Jenas cross to draw the score. Chelsea answered with goals by Michael Essien and Joe Cole to go up 3-1 and put the Spurs against the ropes.

Tottenham pulled themselves back into the match when Dimitar Berbatov and Tom Huddlestone each found the net. Joe Cole beat Pascal Chimbonda and pounded the ball past Paul Robinson for a 4-3 score line. Things looked bleak for Tottenham until Robbie Keane beat Carlo Cudicini from distance to knot the score again. Berbatov had the chance to win outright late in the match, but Cudicini was up to the task and saved the point.

There was some craziness in this match between Huddlestone’s 10.0 dive to Ashley Cole joining the Brat Brigade. With the money these guys make you would think they could buy some balls.

                      

  Man Utd 2 - 0 Bolton 

Captain Cristiano sets tone at Old Trafford. Manchester United knew coming into this match that a win would put them in first place in the league. Would they be up to the task? Would they ever! Ronaldo was given the honour of leading out the Red Devils as their captain and he didn’t disappoint when he fired home a volley that Ali Al Habsi was just not up to. Manchester United came out in the first half like they had something to prove, and they did. Ten minutes after his opener, Ronaldo sent in a free kick that didn’t look like much until you see it from behind. What a shot.

My wife despises the Portuguese international (something about a flop and a wink in Germany), but even she has to admit that what that boy does with the ball is amazing.

Bolton made a stronger appearance in the second half with good attempts by Kevin Davies and El-Hadji Diouf each putting the home side on edge. Diouf’s free kick beat Tomasz Kuszczak only to have referee Alan Wiley disallow it on the grounds that he hadn’t blown his whistle to re-start play. United took back control of the match about midway through the period and though they didn’t score again they showed that they were the defending champions by shutting down the Bolton offense.

Kuszczak’s return was good, however I had hoped to see Ben Foster get another crack in goal. He needs the reps against these teams not Arsenal or Roma. Nani’s selfishness helped keep the score from getting worse for the Wanderers as he repeatedly took terrible shots intead of passing the ball to an OPEN teammate.