A Football Report

They say pictures are worth quite a few of words. Well how much is a round-up with words, pictures, and highlights worth? Here’s the best of the past weekend in football

1. Real Madrid 3-2 Sevilla.

Rafael Van Der Vaart sealed a last-minute winner for Real Madrid in an epic affair at the Bernabeu against Sevilla, and as a result Madrid are on top of La Liga’s table (tied on points with Barcelona, but with a better goal differential).

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So I know the Champions League has taken over the headlines, but when it comes to physical (and plain dirty) play, the standard was set in the past weekend. That’s right, all of the tackles (and fights) shown above are from the past few days. From the Coca-Cola Championship to Serie A, the foul play was flying all over Europe. And you thought it was just a nice peaceful weekend of footy…

1. Everton 3-1 Manchester United. Despite an incredible mid-week victory over Milan at the San Siro, the truth was that traveling to Goodison Park proved more difficult than the highly-touted match in Italy. Everton are a force to be reckoned with at the moment, as they defeated Chelsea in their last league outing by the score of 2-1. Dimitar Berbatov actually gave the Red Devils an early lead in the 16th minute with an instinctive finish from 10 yards out. But from then on the Toffees put on a show for the blue side of Merseyside. Diniyar Bilyaletdinov grabbed an equalizer with a stunning strike just 3 minutes after United broke the deadlock, and then it was David Moyes’ youthful super-subs Dan Gosling and Jack Rodwell who scored in the 76th and the 90th minute, respectively. Since joining Everton, Landon Donovan has helped his side earn 16 points in a mere 7 Premier League games. He was great against United today, and David Moyes is starting to forget about his side’s awful start to the season (21 points in 19 games).

2. Chelsea and Arsenal defeated Wolves and Sunderland, respectively as they both notched 2-0 victories to take advantage of United’s loss. Didier Drogba has been right up there with Wayne Rooney as the best striker in the world, as the Ivorian grabbed both goals for Carlo Ancelotti’s side. Wolves played well and were unlucky not to get on the scoreboard. Arsenal beat Sunderland thanks to goals from Bendtner and Cesc Fabregas, but in truth the Gunners should have scored at least three or four more. Their lack of a traditional striker was again a major problem.

3. We all found out last weekend that Barcelona are not invincible, but they’re still the best team in the world as they absolutely demolished Racing Santander at Camp Nou by the scoreline of 4-0. Andrés Iniesta put Barça on top early with a left-footed strike in the 7th minute. From there it was total football from the Catalan club as Thierry Henry, Rafa Marquez, and Thiago all gave the 75,000 Blaugrana supporters reason to celebrate. Pep Guardiola’s side travel to Stuttgart for the Champions League, and hopefully the Germans weren’t scouting Barcelona on this occasion because they’ll be absolutely filled with despair.

4. Speaking of despair, you have to feel for Pompey. Avram Grant’s side came out in exuberant fashion, taking the lead in the first half thanks to Frederic Piquionne’s 35th minute goal against a deceivingly strong Stoke City side. The Portsmouth faithful were bursting out of their lungs the entire match, despite the fact that Robert Huth equalized for Stoke in the 50th minute with a straight-forward header from a corner kick. However, the truly valiant effort from the South Coast club in financial ruin was met with further turmoil as Ricardo Fuller made a spectacular run in injury time to set up Salif Diao, who gave 10-man Stoke the 2-1 match winner.

5. Inter 0 - 0 Sampdoria. I know what you’re thinking, how is a nil-nil draw featured in the best matches of the day? Well, this one will be remembered for a lack of discipline. It was a wild affair as Inter went down to nine men in just the 38th minute thanks to Walter Samuel and Ivan Cordoba red cards. Sampdoria, currently sitting in 5th place in the Serie A league table and on a four-game winning streak, could not make the most out of their unbelievable advantage as Jose Mourinho masterfully handled the situation to tactically frustrate the away side. As a result, Giampaolo Pazzini was received his marching orders with fifteen minutes to go in the second half, and Inter looked more likely to take the three points as the game came to a close. Nevertheless, it’s not an ideal performance at home considering that Inter will be hosting Chelsea on Wednesday in the Champions League.

Highlights will be embedded after the jump when they become available. What were your thoughts on today’s action in the world of football?

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1. Liverpool are making a strong claim on the last Champions League qualifying spot as they took all three points from the Merseyside Derby, winning the match 1-0. The goal came from Dirk Kuyt’s header in the 55th minute, after the Dutchman latched onto Steven Gerrard’s cross. Everton actually were given an advantage when Sotirios Kyrgiakos was sent off in the 34th minute, and despite dominating possession the Toffees just could not break through the Reds’ defence. Steven Pienaar was also sent off in added time, but after seeing the highlights you’ll be surprised that only two men were sent off. It was a proper derby.

2. Wayne Rooney… I mean Manchester United dominated Portsmouth at Old Trafford with a fiver. Rooney led the 5-0 thrashing by breaking the deadlock in the 40th minute, continuing his incredible form. While Berbatov got on the scoresheet in the 62nd minute, Pompey inflicted quite a bit a pain on themselves as Anthony Vanden Borre, Marc Wilson, and Richard Hughes all put the ball into David James’ net. United are currently top of the league by a point (even though Chelsea have a game in hand), but Portsmouth looked in despair as they stay at the bottom of the table.

3. The upset of the day took place at the KC Stadium as Hull City snatched three points win a 2-1 victory Manchester City. The Tigers’ scintillating performance was capped off with goals from Jozy Altidore and George Boateng. It was Altidore’s first Premier League goal, and the American international gave homage to his Haitian heritage with his celebration.

4. Now the world expected Barcelona to defeat Getafe with ease, but the Blaugrana were given quite the challenge at Camp Nou. The scoreline was 2-1, but Barcelona had to fight for three points as Gerard Pique was sent off in the 25th minute. Lionel Messi gave Barça an early lead in the 7th minute before Xavi doubled the tally in the 67th. Rafa Marquez also was sent off in the closing stages of the game, also allowing Roberto Soldado to convert a penalty that the Mexican conceded.

5. Cristiano Ronaldo was still enjoying his birthday as he watched Real Madrid defeat Espanyol, 3-0 at the Bernabeu. The Portuguese winger was suspended for the match, but that didn’t prove to be a problem as Sergio Ramos, Kaká, and Gonzalo Higuaín all took part in the wonderful performance by Los Blancos.

Other notable happenings today were: Juve couldn’t beat Livorno as they tied 1-1, continuing their poor run of form. Bayern Munich had an emphatic victory as they travelled to Wolfsburg to win 3-1. Despite a goal-less draw, fourth place hopefuls Tottenham and Aston Villa put on a show with positive play, but defence proved supreme on the evening at White Hart Lane.

Highlights from today’s matches are/will be posted after the jump.

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1. Manchester United made a huge statement of intent to hold on to their Premier League title with a 3-1 thrashing of Arsenal. It was a terrible afternoon for Arsene Wenger’s squad as Wayne Rooney, Nani, and Park Ji-Sung rose a class above the North Londoners on the day. It should be noted that Wayne Rooney has now scored 100 goals in the Premier League. Facing Chelsea and then Liverpool in the next two matches, Arsenal will need to compose themselves from this defeat to have any hopes of fighting for the title.

2. Egypt (yes, the Egypt that will not be in the World Cup) has won its third consecutive Africa Cup of Nations as substitute Mohamed Nagy, or “Gedo” propelled the Pharoahs to 1-0 victory over the Ghanaians thanks to his 85th minute goal. This is Egypt’s seventh Africa Cup of Nations, but it is tough to see such a talented and flamboyant side miss out on the big show in Africa this June.

3. A Ronaldo-less Real Madrid outclassed the in-form Deportivo La Coruna as the Galacticos travelled to El Riazor to claim a 3-1 victory. Karim Benzema scored twice, and Esteban Granero also had one. But the true spotlight fell on Guti, who masterfully set up Benzema’s first goal with what is being called, “The Golden Backheel”. How good was it? Well Deportivo coach Miguel Angel Lotina said, ”After what I saw, Guti should take part in the World Cup.” Barcelona also won 1-0 as they travelled to Sporting Gijon, and sit five points above Madrid atop the La Liga table.

4.  Speaking of being top-of-the-league, Chelsea continue to push forward atop the Premier League table as they clinched three points in a hard-fought 2-1 away win against Burnley at Turf Moor. Nicolas Anelka put Chelsea ahead before Steven Fletcher scored a world-class equalizer in one of Burnley’s only true chances. But it was John Terry who scored the winner for the Blues with a wonderful header with less than 10 minutes left in regulation.

5. Roma defeated Siena 2-1 to move into second place with AC Milan on 41 points in Serie A thanks to a Stefano Okaka’s cheeky backheel with two minutes left to play. AC Milan failed to capitalize once again as they could only manage to draw Livorno 1-1 at the San Siro despite having nearly 70% of possession throughout the match.

Highlights from today’s matches are/will be posted after the jump.

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1. Who said the Carling Cup is meaningless? In a Manchester Derby for the ages, United got themselves through to the Carling Cup final and evaded extra-time thanks to Wayne Rooney’s injury-time header. While City went to Old Trafford after their 2-1 victory in the first leg of the semi-final, United prevailed by the score of 3-1. Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick seemed to have sent the Reds to Wembley with their respective goals before Carlos Tevez evened the goal differential at 3-3 with a spectacular effort. Nevertheless, the White Pele has done it once again.

2. Reclaiming its spot atop the Premier League table, Chelsea handsomely defeated Birmingham City by the score of 3-0 at Stamford Bridge. Carlo Ancelotti showed no mercy to Alex McLeish’s squad that held Chelsea to a draw in Birmingham a month ago. After Florent Malouda latched onto Joe Cole’s cross to open the deadlock in the 5th minute, Frank Lampard’s brace ensured three points for the Londoners. With a game in hand, Chelsea are on 51 points, while Manchester United has 50 and Arsenal have 49.

3. Arsene Wenger will be frustrated to leave Villa Park with only a point after Martin O’Neill’s side did well to prevent the ever-potent Arsenal from getting on the scoresheet. Despite the nil-nil draw, title-chasing Arsenal were the better side, as Villa keeper was saved by his skinny white friend twice as Cesc Fabregas and Tomas Rosicky both hit the woodwork. Arsenal have gone a remarkable 12 years since their last defeat at Villa Park, but, once again, no fan of the Gunners cares about that at the moment.

4. Continuing a run of good form, Everton dominated Sunderland at Goodison Park to move the Toffees into 9th place in the Premier League. Tim Cahill nodded Maroune Fellani’s cross into the Sunderland net, and then Cahill flicked on a header for Landon Donovan, who cooly struck a left-footed effort past Craig Gordon. Donovan continues to impress David Moyes, and this was his first Premier League goal. Fellow American Tim Howard also did well to keep a clean sheet.

5. Racing Santander will meet Sevilla in the Copa Del Rey final. Racing Santander travelled to Osasuna in the second-leg of the semi-final only to thrash its opponents 3-0 and progress 5-1 on goal differential. Sevilla, having won 3-0 at Deportivo La Coruña in the first-leg, lost to Deportivo in Andalucia 1-0, but still went through on goal differential. Sevilla are early favourites to bring the Copa Del Rey trophy back to the south of Spain.

In other news, Algeria will face Egypt while Ghana will take on Nigeria tomorrow in the African Cup of Nations semi-finals. The Algeria-Egypt match-up will be an incredibly heated affair because, as I’m sure you all remember, it is the rematch of the World Cup playoff that Algeria won 1-0 to book their ticket in South Africa. England, the United States, and Slovenia will not be happy to see Algeria doing so well, as the North African side defeated tournament-favourites the Ivory Coast in the quarterfinals in extra time.

As highlights from today’s matches become available, they will be embedded after the jump.

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Top 5 things that happened in the world of football today:

1. Arsene Wenger’s squad is now sitting atop the Premier League table on goal differential as Arsenal fought back from 2-0 down to defeat Owen Coyle’s Bolton 4-2 at the Emirates. Wenger said: “Chelsea have a game in hand, but it is good. We had two difficult games against Bolton with a new manager, two cup games almost, and our mental and physical strength was tested again tonight. We are certainly much more physically resistant.

2. After a ten-year cup final drought, Aston Villa are finally heading to Wembley after an instant-classic 10-goal thriller at Villa Park. Also falling 2-0 behind, Martin O’Neill’s fierce side battled on to a 6-4 win against Blackburn Rovers, giving Villa a spot in the Carling Cup final 7-4 on aggregate.

3. Liverpool, through means of Dirk Kuyt’s double, hushed the English media’s slander against the Reds with an impressive 2-0 performance over fellow Champions League-hopefuls Tottenham. Liverpool are now sitting just one point away from Harry Redknapp’s team, who are in 4th place on 38 points.

4. Egypt cruised into the African Cup of Nations quarterfinals by maintaining its perfect record in the by downing Benin 2-0. Nigeria also booked their place in the quarterfinals with a 3-0 victory over Mozambique. Ghana, the Ivory Coast, Angola, and Algeria have already qualified for the quarterfinals. Gabon and Cameroon look favourites to claim the final two spots tomorrow in Group D action.

5. (Two things!) Pep Guardiola has signed a one-year contract extension with Barcelona, and Clint Dempsey will not miss the World Cup. In fact, the Fulham and United States marksman will probably be back in action before the end of the Premier League campaign.

Today’s match highlights are embedded after the jump. Once higher quality highlights become available, those will be posted.

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Top 5 things that happened in the world of football today:

1. Chelsea scored seven goals for the first time in 50 years, demoralizing Steve Bruce’s Sunderland 7-2 at Stamford Bridge. Ashley Cole scored the Premier League’s 18,000th goal, which was a quality strike.

2. After humanizing Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona by knocking them out of the Copa Del Rey, Sevilla were demolished 4-0 as they returned to Camp Nou.

3. Roberto Mancini’s Manchester City were humbled at Goodison Park by Everton. Steven Pienaar scored a classy free-kick, and Louis Saha added the second by converting a penalty that he won. Landon Donovan also made his home debut for the Toffees, and was given a standing ovation when he was subbed off in the 90th minute.

4. Real Madrid could not manage to get on the scoreboard as Fernando Llorente’s 3rd minute goal snatched a victory in Basque country as Athletic Bilbao won 1-0.

5. Liverpool thought they were headed to a much needed victory before Robert Huth scored a last-minute equalizer for Stoke City at the Brittannia Stadium.

Also, Nigeria and Egypt are headed to the African Cup of Nations Quarterfinals after winning by the scores of 1-0 to 2-0, respectively.

Highlights are embedded after the jump.

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