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Shameless on the field of Our Dreams!

 Posted by on May 8, 2013 at 2:55 pm  Blogs/Media, Chelsea, England, From the GFT Blogs, Global Football Today, Manchester United
May 082013
 

Manchester United 0 -1 Chelsea
2013 05 05T171237Z 1 CBRE9441BT700 RTROPTP 2 SOCCER ENGLAND Shameless on the field of Our Dreams!It was, according to my old mate and midfield partner from the Prestwich Heys team, Rob Cockcroft, in the message he sent me from Pnom Penh, the very worst single display of a team at its worse in at least 34 years. An exaggerations, perhaps, or else an apt clarification of just how mediocre the football has been in the Premier League this season. Having been crowned champions, however, good, bad, or mostly mediocre, as I would have it, the players of Manchester United have quit. All well and good for them. It’s nice to be a millionaire. But, really, for the season ticket holders, satellite dish owners and suckers who order a la carte from their cable supplier, expecting the lads to at least give enough of a damn to try just a bit seems too much. Why is this asking so much? Worse yet, is the sound of my Spurs’ fan acquaintances’ sarcasm, as, humiliated by 63 years of the F.A.’s favoritism, they sincerely wonder why United’s players would prefer not to have them in ECC instead of Spurs. Even the guys on Republica Deportivo posited the idea that not qualifying for the top four will cause Spurs’ owner to flog Gareth Bale to United(and thus why we would let them win!). That, of course, is ridiculous, but no less ridiculous than the fact that Danny Levy would rather sell the Welsh chimp boy to Les Gooners than Us.

Not that Chelsea were particularly good. Going into their 65th match of a long long season, the royal blues had to do without an injured Eden Hazard. Yet, even minus the slick Belgian playmaker, Chelsea were far more creative than a jaded United, who were bound and determined from the get-go not to score at Old Trafford for the first time in 67 league matches, and didn’t. Adding another piquant soup con of insult to treating their millions of fans around the world like a roll of one-ply toilet paper, the red devils appropriated their very first red card of the season as a dimwitted Rafael Da Silva let himself get suckered into retaliating against his fellow Brazilian tormentor, David Luiz.

Yet none of any of this would have mattered a whit had not the indefatigable Oscar not located Juan Mata with an absolutely exquisite pass four minutes from full-time. With Patrice Evra’s elderly legs having given out somewhere after the beginning of the second half, he was a frozen, grinning twit of a witness as Mata seized the moment. Firing a curving left-footer at the bulk of Phil Jones, Mata was like a sniper doing maty in his head, calculating wind and spin and the manner in which United’s goalie Anders Lindegaard–who had virtually nothing to do throughout the game–would angle his dive for the ball. And even though the goal will be credited as a Jones own goal, we’ve all seen enough of these clever Mata deflected masterpieces that they may soon deserve a category all of their own.

Hard to say much about the rest of this match. Chelsea were marginally better in a yawn of a first half. Mata missed twice after nice passes from Demba Ba. Moses shot over the bar and Lindegaard made a single save, smothering a fine shot from Oscar at the post. United’s single tactic seemed to involve always locating Robin van Persie after too many tiki-tiki-tak short passes. Indeed, only Ryan Giggs manage to surprise the flat-footed Chelsea back four as he stole the ball off RVP’s toe and shot past a diving Peter Cech, only to see the ball waylaid by a bump and go a centimeter or so past the post. The old wizard also came close with a header off a Vidic cross, but Cech was there in the way with plenty of time to to smother it.

Poor Tom Cleverley, slow on the uptake as ever, was well set up by both Anderson and Giggs, and allowed all the time in the world on the edge of the box, but twice he hammered the ball on the edge of the area, yet with a better opportunity than he possibly realized the fringe player lacked the composure to take advantage, shooting early and blazing over the bar. Those of you who are as utterly exhausted by the mediocrity of Cleverley and puzzled by Roy Hodgson’s penchant for picking him for England must remember, he simply is not very good and has regressed rather than improved. As he was such a hit under the tutelage of Roberto Martínez at Wigan Athletic, I suggest we put him in a parcel with a bow and pawn him off in some kind of part-exchange for Jamie McCarthy.

Chelsea might have had a penalty at the start of the second half when Giggs hauled down David Luiz as he entered the area. Howard Webb waved away their claims, however, which seemed reasonable as the offense seemed to originate outside the box, though it appeared overly generous of the referee not even to award a free-kick or a red card after Luiz managed to simultaneously take the kick and dive forward as if wounded from behind my a high caliber bullet.

Even introductions of Wayne Rooney and Fernando Torres as substitutes didn’t work. Both seemed distracted. Rooney looked particularly enfeebled. All the repeated rumors of Rooney’s transfer requests to leave for new partnerships with Lewandowski at Bayern or Ibrahimovich at Paris S.G. may have been deemed absurd, but there clearly is something wrong once again with Wayne Rooney. His losing of the ball to the aggressive Ramires in his own half is clearly understandable. Goes with the territory? Right! But Wazza’s attitude, having only just arrived on the pitch full of pizzazz, was, one might reasonably expect, to give chase. Ramires, clearly Chelsea’s best, most consistent player this year, was off to the races but clearly exhausted, puffing as he looked all around for someone to pass to. Our stocky little Scouse should have easily been able to run him down, but he did not.

Consequently, although United and Chelsea had each looked deliriously happy enough to settle for a draw. Ramires urinated in the punch bowl. Ramires to Lampard to Oscar who found Mata before the Spaniard fired a masterpiece of a left-footed beauty fit to deflect in off Jones’ back and wrong foot Lindegaard at the far post.

Any last second hope of a last-second United miracle comeback evaporated as David Luiz made easy sucker-work out of his Brazilian compatriot Rafael Da Silva after elbowing him twice and then falling down tragically once again “like a dying swan,” as Fergie put it. United ‘s hotheaded right back really ought to know better now that he is no longer an adolescent. Sure, Luiz was seen all over the world smirking at the referee, Howard Webb, after he sent Fabio off. It was indeed sad for the club to receive its first red card of the season over something so petty. Yet the collective naïveté of the team is not at all touching as it is in a club full of kiddiwinkies like Paul Lambert’s Aston Villa. Nothing cute at all, just embarrassment.

Ferguson was clearly not best pleased when he made his post-match appearance before the press. With his face fixed in a sort of gargoyle state of rictus, the old veteran looked as devastated as he had more than a year ago after the club took a 6-1 home hammering to Manchester City. “The desire was not there,” he said from between pursed lips. “It just wasn’t there.”Chelseas Juan Mata and a 008 Shameless on the field of Our Dreams!

The Wages of Apathy: Manchester United Stumble Out of the F.A.Cup at Stamford Bridge

 Posted by on April 3, 2013 at 7:54 am  Blogs/Media, Chelsea, England, F.A. Cup, Global Football Today, Manchester United
Apr 032013
 

Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United
cesc 1702785a The Wages of Apathy: Manchester United Stumble Out of the F.A.Cup at Stamford BridgeAfter playing a dire, miserable game of low-risk football, Chelsea and their manager Rafael Benïtez look forward to an F.A. Cup semifinal against Manchester City while a yawning Manchester United, clearly complacent about having the Premier League Championship completely locked up, looked hungrily toward returning home to their Cheshire mansions where they could text-message their brokers and read travel brochures. Outplayed and intimidated in equal parts, the whole nightmare scenario for millions of United fans worldwide was repeatedly personified in the way which both Michael Carrick and Tom Cleverley winced and turned their bodies aside rather than challenge Chelsea’s dynamic midfield enforcer, Obi Mikel Jon, who gave neither one any quarter in midfield. To fold, mutilate and spindle an old cliché: It’s not the fight in the poodle, but the poodle in the fight! And this poodle was a pussy!

Did somebody say this was going to be a classic dog fight? With Chelsea only 22 points behind United in the P.L.? As Russell Brand put it, Roman Abramovich had a harder time getting a crew of his thugs to help Boris Berezovsky hang himself than United gave Chelsea. Indeed, having given away a two goal lead to United in the first F.A.. Cup Quarterfinal game at Old Trafford, they deserve a lot of kudos. Such endurance is applaudable in a young team in transition, especially considering the disheartening loss of its fine young manager Roberto Di Matteo. and despite the hiring of a sad-sack yes-man hack manager in the rotund shape of Rafael Benitez, they have persevered. More often than not left to try and fail minus the presence of old-school leaders Frank Lampard and John Terry, they have found a new backbone in the tough-mindedness of Brazilians David Luiz and Ramires, who perform with a passion alongside the underrated Mikel. I mention all this not because I’m a Chelsea fan but because, by comparison, although United have a more or less an equal number of high-quality performers to the much celebrated Oscar, Eden Hazard and Juan Mata, we have no warriors of our own save a worn-down, psychologically-troubled Patrice Evra and the tiny Rafael Di Silva who can be admired when there is so much negativity swirling around the club.

Although others my disagree and find the winning of a 20th championship plenty of reward, any absurd notion that this United squad is up there by comparison with the treble-winning team of 1998-1999 is imbibing opiates.

One thing is for sure. It was an absolutely out of this world goal by Demba Ba which turned Stamford Bridge’s Easter Monday into a party and basically saw United instantaneously throw in the towel. Thus, four minutes into the second half, Juan Mata, who had looked tired and jaded throughout the first half, shimmied about with the ball in the left central corner of the box before firing an exquisite tumbling floater as he simultaneously ghosted his way around Rio Ferdinand. As good as this chipped beauty was, just how Ba managed to stretch his full body diagonally to reach the ball and manage to hook it on the volley past a fully extended David De Gea is amazing to contemplate.

Just how totally United capitulated after the goal was scored is shocking to contemplate, yet no more surprising than the aftermath of surrender against Real Madrid after the issuing of a red card by a nakedly biassed referee. The incident, although it’s only a few weeks back. seems like it has turned into United’s customized version of the movie Groundhog Day.Is it possible that our beloved club has been overwhelmed by the ascension of a dominant group of weak-minded quitters? Indeed, the post-match rantings of the team’s captain Patrice Evra, “I was certain we could not lose and I still do not believe it,” are the words of a man unfit for leadership, not the skipper of one of the world’s top football teams.

My bread and butter comes from analysis, so looking back at the first half surely offers clues. One is that Chelsea’s goalie, Peter Cech, made a stupendous save off Javíer Hernandez that defied the laws of gravity. How so sweet a cross from the otherwise consistently awful Nani reached little Chicharito after some deft interaction was put together by Carrick and Cleverley was marvelous to behold. The little Mexican’s header was an arching work of art, so how could it be that vast bulk of Cech was able to twist like a one-handed reflexive human pretzel and, miraculously, save the day(dare I say it?) like a captain.

And thus it was Cech’s monstrous hand that wrote on Sir Alex Ferguson’s wall. United have not won the F.A. Cup since 2004 and this showing has to have yanked the old man’s reality chain. I am not one for using the tiredness excuse but both Cleverley and Carrick have been forced to play too much now that Scholes seems to have finally lost the ability to play more than twenty minutes and Anderson suffers from the same problems of stamina and repeated injury. No wonder Carrick looks wiped out! Valencia, too, looked exhausted and Nani seemed intent on acting the fool, a sort of Cape Verdean manifestation of latter-day Mr. Beane. Phil Jones, who always looks like he’s on the verge of somehow doing something seemed lost in midfield, perhaps so intimidated by the effortless power and bullying assurance of Obi Mikel Jon that he became a passive observer.

Our brilliant puppy striker Danny Welbeck was all enthusiasm and no bite. As with playing for England earlier in the week, every time the lad would scoop up the ball and enter into his long stride, it felt like this time would be different. A lot is being made of Robin Van Persie’s run of bad luck in front of goal and perhaps he shouldn’t have started against Sunderland, but the kind of hard work and pure graft his attacking teammates put out there for him in the first two-thirds of the season is gone. Indeed, although there are already whispers that he will not be missed by the Gaffer if he leaves, the passion of the injured Wayne Rooney is irreplaceable. Without Rooney on his shoulder and no consistent service from Carrick, Young, Nani or Valencia, RVP seemed lost in search of balls that were never coming his way me. His one good chance was a volley which he blasted over the bar into the crowd in the 87th minute. Too little, too late.

Thus, a week from now, the derby game against Manchester City looks like it looms more important in the minds of its fans than their team. A loss to the sky-blue Abu Dhabian rent boys would definitely, at this point, hold more dread in it for those who truly love the club rather than those ho see it as just a receptacle for a paycheck.
cesc 1702785a The Wages of Apathy: Manchester United Stumble Out of the F.A.Cup at Stamford Bridge

The Choking Kind

 Posted by on March 12, 2013 at 2:26 pm  Blogs/Media, Chelsea, England, F.A. Cup, From the GFT Blogs, Global Football Today, Manchester United
Mar 122013
 

Manchester United 2-2 Chelsea
“I think, therefore I choke!”
article 0 188DA923000005DC 184 634x464 The Choking Kind Choking in sports gets to be a painful habit. I’ve observed it for years in Everton, Spurs and the England national team. But with vices becoming habits and the same old suspects trotting out the usual litany of garbled excuses, Manchester United have not simply had an accident on the Yellow brick Road, but thrown themselves under the wheels of their very own bus. Leading 2-0, United literally had a reeling devastated Chelsea team in the palm of their hand. That the game only ended up tied at 2-2 may be the greatest miracle since Bernadette of Lourdes shared this earth with us mortals. Sir Alex Ferguson’s dog-ate-my-homework excuse, that the lads were mentally and physically knackered after the circus that was the quarterfinal of the European Champions Cup really doesn’t convince anyone in March. What a difference five days makes. How does a team go from relentlessly thinking out loud about winning the Treble and being superior to the now legendary team of 1998-99 to worrying about holding on to its twelve point lead in the Premier League? What happened?

Meanwhile, moneybags Chelsea, for all their problems, have an awesome squad of midfield players which will challenge the rest of the division for at least another decade. Their clownish manager Rafa ‘The Tapas Waiter’ Benítez is a sensitive, funny fellow who needs to grow a thicker skin vis-à-vis the temporary nature of his position and the rivalry he feels toward Sir Alex Ferguson, who has outfoxed him a multitude of times over the years. Benítez, who is proud enough of his Roman Catholic faith that he feels the repeated need to announce to the world that he goes to church at least twice a day, 365 days per year, must, consequently, believes in miracles. A couple of savvy substitutions and a sixty minute choke by United aren’t really much of a miracle when you’re an unbeliever like me, but to Rafa, a draw surely tastes exactly like a win and the refusal of a gentlemanly handshake from the ungentlemanly maestro, the Gaffer, reads like a total diss but is just the human reaction of a bad loser to another one.
All of this, of course, is gassy rhetoric. United scored two sweet goals within the first eleven minutes and, later, Chelsea scored two exquisite goals of their own. However, had David De Gea–who, to be fair, did not have the best of days between the sticks for United, his distribution repeatedly dreadful throughout–not made one fantastic save and five ‘normal’ ones, the two clubs wouldn’t be whining about finding a date in their busy schedules to go at it in a Stamford Bridge replay.

The first goal came from one of Rafa’s substitutes, Eden Hazard, and was a beauty. The second, from Ramires, followed a wonderful move of classy, incisive counterattacking. Benítez’s team have not been renowned for their perseverance and competitive courage under his watch but they would have booked a place at Wembley were it not for an exceptional save from De Gea, jutting out his right boot to deny Juan Mata in the last minute of normal time. Even then, there were still three other separate chances where Chelsea’s fluid midfield penetration might have won the match and prevented the rigmarole of trying to shoehorn a replay into an already congested fixture schedule.

The transformation was remarkable, especially considering  the way Chelsea began the match, their interplay riddled with errors, looking short of confidence and perhaps suffering their own fatigue. Ferguson was entitled to blame tired legs and minds but Chelsea, lest it be forgotten, did not get back from their Europa League tie against Steaua Bucharest until the early hours of Friday.

Thus, it only took five minutes for a perfectly weighted 40-yard lob off the foot of Michael Carrick to completely fool goalie Peter Cech. Deftly placed to a slow running Chicharito, all the Mexican striker had to do was put the softest bit of contact on the ball with the side of his head and United had the lead. It won’t win any awards at the end of the season, but  it was a goal of true, unique beauty, nevertheless. Then, only six minutes farther along, with Chelsea in a state of total disorganization, Wayne Rooney, back in the line-up, lifted a floating free kick in the direction of Peter Cech’s far post. Both David Luiz and Demba Ba leapt high to head the ball, but somehow, both missed and it eluded a distracted Cech, again, and took an awkward bounce into the net to make it 2-0.

article 0 188D3BA3000005DC 30 634x351 The Choking Kind What happened to United then can only be conjectured upon. First the tricky Nani, who had been turning Chelsea’s left back Ashley Cole into a frustrated pretzel, pulled himself out of the game, claiming a hamstring injury. His substitute, Antonío Valencía, never got to warm up properly and somehow never seemed to get his head into the game.  This bit of bad luck was followed by  Cech, who had suffered an abysmal beginning, finally start to make some fine saves. To be sure, just on the cusp of half-time Cech stopped a shocking David Luiz miscue from scoring an own goal, right after stopping a superb shot on the edge of the box from Rooney. Unfortunately, at the same time, a passing rot had already set in as numerous one-touch give-aways saw Cleverley, Carrick, Nani, then his substitute Valencia, and then Rafael and Evra make it simply seem as if no one wanted the ball or felt even the slightest sense of responsibility. In the five minutes before the half time whistle I counted eleven United passes missing their target.

And for Chelsea, before that whistle blew for blessed half time, it’s enough to say that their best chances–when they weren’t being presented with gift passes by Cleverley, who might have been wearing a blue shirt–was a Victor Moses snap shot which hit the corner flag. Indeed, as Benitez left the field, the Chelsea fan entourage–clearly louder than United’s fans who seem to have left it all behind in the Real Madrid match, too–kept singing ‘You don’t know what you’re doing!” Did the tapas waiter feel lonely on his walk to the dressing room? You betcha by golly!

As of Monday morning, Fleet Street has heroicized Rafa as a savvy coach for seeing fit to bring on Eden Hazard and, more importantly, Obi Mikel Jon, but, really what alternatives did he have? With Hazard free on the right flank, Juan Mata and Ramires were no longer burdened with handling Carrick and Cleverley. Free to go where they pleased and gifted the ball repeatedly by Cleverley, Carrick and Valencia, Hazard, Ramires and Mata simply overwhelmed the Reds. And if Carrick and Cleverley felt any sense of adventure or machismo, Obi Mikel, grinning his gargoyle grin repeatedly kicking them into a state of cowed submission. Mikel, who has been relentlessly and repeatedly criticized by the press for his lack of football gravitas, also took on the John Terry role, repeatedly screaming at and cajoling Chelsea’s two erratic center backs, Gary Cahill and the sometimes brilliant-but-childlike David Luiz. For the whole second half, after Mikel took charge, Chelsea quit making goofy errors and the Chelsea midfield performed like a dream.

Chelsea scoring became simply a matter of time. Carrick, so gobsmackingly awesome in the first half hour, suddenly looked like the Gaffer had issued him a velvet smoking jacket and a pair of slippers. Locked in competition with Cleverley, Carrick’s passes were each more and more impetuously misplaced. To their credit, with a visibly aging Patrice Evra repeatedly left gasping in midfield and Rafael Da Silva running from flank to flank trying to stop every opposition run, Jonny Evans and Rio Ferdinand held the fort with an almost perverse stubbornness. In the 59th minute, however, the levee finally cracked. A few minutes after coming on for Victor Moses, Hazard picked up a Cleverley pass, wrong-footed Rafael twice, shifted gears, approached De Gea at an extremely acute angle before curling the ball into the net.

Nine minutes later, gifted the ball by Carrick, Demba Ba took off next to the tiny Oscar. Executing a beautiful double give-and-go they dissected United’s defense before Oscar connected with a sprinting Ramires, who cut into United’s box before firing a perfect left-footer past De Gea, who, although he made fingertip contact with the spinning ball, could not prevent it from squeezing in at the far right post.

All that was left was for United to hang on by their blessed fingertips. Indeed, only an absolutely fantastic reflex save off David De Gea’s foot one minute from time prevented Juan Mata from scoring with a wickedly accurate shot after a fine, mazy run through United’s defense.

There was an incident during the last ten minutes of the game where the cameras caught Rio Ferdinand laying a cheap-shot on his old foe Fernando Torres. Ferdinand may face censure and a suspension over an infraction that the referee, Howard Webb, clearly never caught. These two have been going at it for years and one only needs to go to You Tube to see a number of incidents both were involved in during Torres’ Liverpool days. As Rio has probably been overused by Ferguson lately, however, a few matches off might well do him good.

Just when the F.A. will pick a date for the match replay is a conundrum. Still, provided United can manage to maintain their twelve point lead at the top of the Premier League, a Sixth Round replay should now be a stress-free affair as winning a treble is a vanquished dream. With the prospect of facing Manchester City at Wembley as thee reward for beating Chelsea, a victory would be nice, but is certainly not a priority.

 

The Kids Are All Right!

 Posted by on November 2, 2012 at 12:28 pm  Chelsea, England, Global Football Today, Manchester United
Nov 022012
 

“I hate to lose more than I love to win.”———-Jimmy Connors

224075hp2 The Kids Are All Right!

“When he was good…”

Chelsea 5 -4 Manchester United
Wednesday night I needed oxygen and cold shots. It’s been a wild wild week thus far and there’s still Saturday’s match against the Arse coming up! Now let me see. Thus far. Two brilliant games against the royal blues of Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. The one we ought to have lost, we won because of bad officiating and a lot of luck. The one we definitely deserved to win we lost because of mistakes made out of simple exhaustion and a complex act of stupidity by a single hubris-ridden player. Either way, both were brilliant, breathtaking spectaculars which showcased the beautiful game at its spectacular best and mediocre worst.

Having thrown all their expensive toys out of their gold-plated perambulator on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday accompanied by much rhetorical hysteria about racist corrupt referees, Chelsea did not care too much about the refereeing that went against Manchester United’s favour on the part of Lee Mason on Wednesday. To their credit, Chelsea were brave, worthy warrior opponents, behind three times, stumbling into extra time with the gracious gift from United of a 94th-minute penalty before, finally, nicking a spot in the Carling Cup quarterfinals by the odd goal out of nine.

In all fairness to the referee, Lee Mason was under a microscope from the get-go. He yellow-carded nine players and Eden Hazard’s penalty spared him what was clearly going to be a vicious post-mortem after, minutes before, a Juan Mata pass clearly hit Michael Keane, United’s 19-year-old center half, on his arm. Worse than the pressure on Mason was the stress piled upon Keane and his partner, Scott Wootton, 21, which saw each deteriorate out of a state of sheer exhaustion as the game passed into extra time. Nevertheless, despite what most of the pundits and bloggers have to say about how Sir Alex Ferguson’s decision to play two raw and inexperienced center-halves killed the team, they both acquitted themselves respectably until their tired bodies gave out. Wootton, 21, gave away the penalty Hazard converted when he tripped over Ramires in his own box in the 94th minute. The same player then gave Sturridge the chance to put Chelsea ahead for the first time when he failed to get enough on his header back to the goalkeeper, Anders Lindegaard. These are the cruel facts. I, for one, have been hollering for the Gaffer to play the kids repeatedly simply because both Jonny Evans and Rio Ferdinand are clearly both mentally and physically exhausted. Nevertheless, over the whole of a physical no-quarter type duel of the titans, Wootton and Keane played well.

Football is a cruel game. All things considered, Chelsea did not ‘deserve’ to win, just as United had not ‘deserved’ to win in the P.L. on Sunday. In both matches both teams were achingly guilty of dreadful defending. What made the difference this time, in spite of Mr. Mason, was the fine art of substitution practiced by Roberto Di Matteo. Clearly, the Chelsea manager, who, by bringing on his three marquee midfield players, Hazard, Ramires and Oscar, has affected their fitness levels for this coming weekend’s match against. Swansea City. It was a throw of the dice, to be sure, but Chelsea’s psychological need for a victory far outweighed the Gaffer’s need to keep his best squaddies fit for Saturday’s Arsenal visit.

Things went well for both sides as they cautiously probed at each other early on. Then, 22 minutes in, goalie Petr Cech stumbled as he made a short goal kick to Oriol Romeu. The Romanian expatriate out of the Barcelona academy panicked, lost the ball to Anderson and stood frozen as Giggs picked up the ball and casually fired home to make it 1-0.

Eight minutes later, the game was back on a knife-edge again as David Luíz’s penalty barely beat Anders Lindegaard who guessed right but was a second too late after rookie left back Alexander Büttner’s ill-advised tripping of a fast driving Victor Moses. This was a sad mistake on the young Dutch left back’s part because Moses was barely in control of the ball and most likely would not have scored. For the rest of the half the game went entertainingly back and forth until two minutes before half time. Why David Luiz decided to start a dribble out of his own box no one knows. At any rate, Rafael was there to pick his pocket and chip to Anderson. Ando, playing his best game since the 8-2 humiliation of Arsenal at Old Trafford a year ago, put in an exquisite pass to the spring-heeled Javíer Hernandez who fired home on the diagonal to make it 2-1.

After an excellent first half, both managers must have ranted up a dressing room storm about defensive lapses, but with so many youth players representing their clubs, sloppiness was surely to be expected. Chelsea brought on Ramires and Hazard at the break and Ferguson could clearly see that Di Matteo was in it to win it. Making a rare appearance, Daniel Sturridge missed three beautiful chances before a fantastic Juan Mata corner found Gary Cahill in the 52nd minute. Rafael was there behind the line inside the goal mouth to head it away, but Mason had no doubt that the ball crossed the goal line and the game was tied again.

Chelsea dominated for the next few minutes but then United struck again. Wing substitute Nani slipped inside, dummied two defenders, did quick give-and-goes to Hernandez and Anderson, before getting the ball back and chipping over a diving Cech. It was a beautiful goal and reminded fans as to just how good the Cape Verdean can be.

Now with Büttner much troubled by Hazard, Ferguson took him out, moved Darren Fletcher to right back and Rafael to the left flank. This was when things began to fall apart. With Fletcher still not fully fit and Wootton and Keane often unsure of their positioning, Rafael tried too hard to be everywhere. As the clock ticked down all Manchester United had to do was hold the ball. Why Nani chose to act cocky against the Belgian flash Eden Hazard is beyond all common sense. Hazard stripped Nani clean and took off before feeding Ramires. A goal bound Ramires was then clearly tripped up by a desperate Scott Wootton and Hazard fired home the penalty to tie it 3-3 and drag the game into extra time.

Exhausted now and worn to a frazzle, neither side seemed to pay much mind to defense. And eight minutes in, Sturridge, who had squandered at least a half-dozed gilt-edged opportunities, took advantage of a soft, patty-cake header from a stumbling Wootton, casually walking the ball around Lindegaard to give Chelsea their first lead. of the match at 5-3. Hazard then set up Ramires with another lightning run to make it 5-3.

Seconds later Giggs made it 5-4 . It was yet another another penalty after Chicharito was brought down by César Azpilicueta. With seconds to go, Sturridge clearly tripped Giggs off the ball as he sprinted in the box in a run that defied his looming 39th year and 121 minutes. The referee Lee Mason and his crew clearly missed it, but it’s fair to say that everyone was running on empty at this point.

I shall refrain from talking about Mark Clattenburg and the first game from now on until all the facts are in. As I write, Sir Alex Ferguson has been angrily savaging Nani for his act of selfishness in losing the ball to Eden Hazard in the 94th minutes with, literally, fractions of a second left on the referee’s watch. Such public vilification of one of his own players is rare for the wily old Scot. Despite scoring rather a tasty goal, Nani, as in a crucial losing game against Liverpool three seasons back, went AWOL at the wrong moment. It’s a cliché to say “ There’s no ‘I’ in team!” but Nani has crossed the line one time too many this time. Let’s hope we don’t sell him too cheaply!

155063325 The Kids Are All Right!

“Oh Nani! Nani! Nani!”

Barclay’s Premier League Week 2 Wrap-up

 Posted by on August 26, 2012 at 11:39 pm  Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, England, EPL, Everton, Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Norwich City, Queens Park Rangers, Reading, Southampton, Stoke City, Sunderland, Swansea City, Tottenham, West Bromwich Albion, West Ham United, Wigan
Aug 262012
 

Swansea 3 – 0 West Ham
Could Swansea be a contender this season? Well, it’s a bit early for that conversation, but Michael Laudrup has Swans flying high at the top of the BPL table. Now they have played two of the lesser London sides in QPR last week and West Ham on Saturday. They’ve look great doing it last week and they made it look easy against West Ham. Now here is the weird part, they’re doing it by scoring lots of goals. They’ve score the most goals of all the teams so far this season with eight goals in two matches. Last season, they were one of the least goal scoring teams with 44 goals in 38 matches. What’s the difference? Miguel Michu. The man is the engine for Swans. He was instrumental in winning the ball in the midfield and creating the Swans’ attacks. But it was a fluke goal from Angel Rangel in the 19th minute that opened the scoring. Rangel was put into the area by Michu who then dribbled wide toward the goal line. He then hit a blind square ball that bounced off keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen and into the West Ham net. The rest of the first half saw the Irons chasing Swans’ shadows with Michu dominating play. He got the second Swansea goal in the 28th minute when he latched onto a very loose back pass from Irons’ defender James Collins. The second half was more of the same domination and Wayne Routledge, in the 60th minute, made a telling pass to Danny Graham who then scored the Swans third goal to secure the match. If West Ham intend to stay in the Premiership, they will need to do more than blow bubbles.

Aston Villa 1 – 3 Everton
Oh man, I would hate to be an Aston Villa supporter just now. They haven’t started well at all and got humiliated by three first half Everton goals in front of their home fans at Villa Park. Boss Paul Lambert could end up being as hated as former boss Alex McLeish if he can’t get the Villains back to winning ways. The match went downhill for the Villains early in the 3rd minute when Steven Pienaar hit a superb strike for the first goal of the match. Steven Naismith, just signed from Glasgow Rangers, made a great cut-back pass and Pienaar hit a great curler past Shay Given into the top right corner of the net. The Toffees laid siege to the Villain goal all day and the in the 31st minute a Shay Given error allowed Marouane Fellaini to grab the second goal. Toffee captain Phil Neville almost got the third shortly there after when his shot went high and wide of the Villa goal. Leighton Baines’ cross from the left found an unmarked Nikica Jelavic in the 44th minute and Jelavic grabbed the third goal. The second half saw more Everton dominance and Pienaar twice carved up the Villa defence and made opportunities for Naismith and Jelavic. Only the intervention of defender Nathan Baker on both occasions prevented further humiliation. In the 58th minute, the Villains were reduced to 10 men when Claran Clark was sent off for bringing down Jelavic and, as the last defender, stopping a goal scoring opportunity. Villa did manage to get a consolation goal in the 75th minute when Karim El Ahmadi’s long shot managed to get past Tim Howard. Substitute Andreas Weimann hit the post in stoppage time, but Villa were never really in this match. I think it’s safe to say that the Villains will be one of the sides fighting relegation this season.

Manchester United 3 – 2 Fulham
Robin Van Persie, Shinjin Kagawa, and Rafael Da Silva finally get the Red Devils march started, albeit with a stutter step or two. The make shift United defense still has holes in it and Damien Duff found one in the third minute as he got past Rafael to grab the opening goal. But United got going when in the tenth minute Patrice Evra put over a fine cross which Van Persie met and put away with a wonder strike. Then he and Kagawa began linking up in really fine fashion and put the Cottager’s goal under great pressure. Kagawa got his first goal as a Red Devil in the 35th minute when he latched onto keeper Mark Schwarzer’s rebound from Tom Cleverly’s hard distance shot on goal. Kagawa later hit the post and Rafael had a goal disallowed for offside, but the right back later scored in the 41st minute when he headed home Ashley Young’s left wing cross. Fulham could have pulled one back right before half time when United keeper David De Gea turned back Mladen Petric’s shot onto the bar and Brian Ruiz fired the rebound over into the crowd. United should have marched on for an easy win, but once again the Red Devils took the foot off the gas pedal and in the 64th minute a mix-up between Nemenja Vidic and De Gea saw Matthew Briggs’ cross rebound off Vidic’s foot and into the United goal. That inspired Moussa Dembele who started driving hard through the United defense. De Gea was forced to make two fine saves from Dembele and stop a late Ruiz header. Vidic also made up for the own goal with a fine block from Hugo Rodallega. The win was dampened when Wayne Rooney was stretchered off in the 83rd minute after receiving a horrible gash after Rodallega caught his cleats on Rooney’s thigh. Reports are that Rooney will be out for at least four weeks. And so the growing injury list has a lot of Red Devil fans worried. Maybe this early injury bug will turn out to be a blessing as it is happening at the beginning of the season and not at the end?

Norwich 1 – 1 Queens Park Rangers
The Canaries and Rangers each get their first BPL points in a draw at Carrow Road. While it’s not a complete recovery from their respective beat downs that each suffered last week, it will do for a start. The Canaries took the lead in the 11th minute when Anthony Pilkington’s cross has headed in by Simeon Jackson from point-blank range. Eight minutes later, new Canary signing Sebastien Bassong was judged to have tripped Djbril Cisse in the penalty area. Replays of the incident made the referee’s decision appear to be a bit harsh as Cisse looked like he had fallen on his own. But a penalty kick was awarded. Cisse took the spot kick, which was saved by keeper John Ruddy. But the rebound was put home by Bobby Zamora. But replays of the kick showed that Zamora was in the area well before the kick was taken. The second half saw a bit of controversy when Robert Green appeared to handle the ball outside his area. The referee saw nothing wrong and play went on. Both sides pressed for and advantage, but the Canaries should have scored as Pilkington made great crosses for Robert Snodgrass, who headed his attempt over the goal, and Chris Martin, whose headed attempt rebounded off the cross bar. But on the whole, Canaries boss Chris Hughton and Rangers boss Mark Hughes should be satisfied with the recovery of each of his respective teams.

Southampton 0 – 2 Wigan
The Latics get two past the Saints weak looking defense. The crowd at St. Mary’s stadium saw their get off to a decent start and they controlled much of the early match. In the 14th minute, Adam Lallana had his shot from 25 yards out saved onto the crossbar by Latics keeper Ali Al-Habsi. Jay Rodriquez ad Danny Fox both had efforts blocked as the Saints continued to press the Latics. And then the rain started. The match got a bit scrappy when the second half started but livened back up when the Latics got a 51st minute lead. It started when keeper Al-Habsi made a great save from a looping, goal bound Rickie Lambert header. The Latics countered and Maloney played Di Santo through onto the Saints goal and Franco Di Santo smashed the ball into the top right-hand corner. To their credit, the Saints tried to immediately respond, but Al-Habsi was equal to the 25 yard volley from Daniel Fox. But the Saints gave the ball away a lot and we all know that is something that you cannot do if you intend to stay in the Premiership. Wigan secured the win when defender Jose Fonte lost the ball to Arouna Kone, who then ran the the length of the pitch and calmly slotted past keeper Davis. There was some question as to whether Kone had tripped Fonte to get possession, but the referee refused to hear any appeals from the Saints. Lesson for the day: if you cherish your place in the BPL, you’d better cherish the football.

Sunderland P – P Reading
Umm… It rained a bit and the pitch got waterlogged. This one got postponed.

Tottenham 1 – 1 West Bromwich Albion
James Morrison gets a stoppage time equalizer to deny Spurs and boss Andreas Villas-Boas their first win of the season. Spurs were quire wasteful in this match. Defoe came the closest to scoring at the end of the first half. He was given a neat square ball from Christian Bale, but made a weak attempt on goal that was easily saved by goalkeeper Ben Foster. That’s how it went for most of the match. Bale would do his usual hard running down the Spurs left wing. Crosses would go into the Baggies penalty area, but the finishing just was not there for Spurs. Beniot Assou-Ekotto finally got Spurs a goal in the 74th minute when his 25 yard shot was deflected past keeper Ben Foster. That should have been that and Villas-Boas should have been able to count his first victory as Tottenham boss. But someone forgot to tell West Bromwich Albion. They pressed and pressed for the equalizer. It finally came in stoppage time from James Morrison. The ball kept pinging around Spurs’ penalty area and defender William Gallas managed to clear it off the line. But Spurs failed to clear their lines and Morrison had the ball fall kindly to his feet and he eased it by keeper Brad Friedel for the equalizer. Jan Vertongen thought he had won the match for Spurs when he volleyed past keeper Foster. But the goal was ruled out for offside. It’s a long season and Villas-Boas should be able to get Spurs going. But it doesn’t look good so far.

Chelsea 2 – 0 Newcastle
The Blues made it looks easy as they get goals from Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres and ascend to the top of the BPL table. Hazard looks like a wonderful buy as he constantly exploited gaps in the Magpie defense. It looks like Torres has found the partnership that he’s been longing for since leaving Liverpool. The two of them made a great combination in the 22nd minute and Torres practically walked around defender David Santon who tripped the Spainard in the Magpie penalty area. The resulting penalty kick had some Blues fans a bit worried as the normal penalty taker, Frank Lampard, was on the bench. But Hazard stepped up to the spot and used the occasion to get his first goal as a Chelsea player. The Belgian midfielder was later provider for Torres as he set the Spainard up for his 45th minute wonder strike past keeper Tim Krul. Newcastle almost got one back before the half time whistle blew when Papiss Cisse let loose with a hard shot straight at keeper Petr Cech. To their credit, the Magpies did try to get a goal back after the half-time break. Hatem Ben Arfa an Jonas Gutierrez both put shots wide of the Blues goal and later Cech pulled off a fine save with his legs after Demba Ba made a fine run into the penalty area. But this was one of those matches that make Stamford Bridge the place where opposing teams come away with nothing but misery. So the European Champions were able to cruise to three easy points ahead of their UEFA Super Copa match on Friday.

Stoke City 0 – 0 Arsenal
Yawn. I think we can bring back the old chant of “Boring, boring Arsenal”. The match at the Britannia Stadium was quite mind-numbing affair. I know it’s a bit unfair to expect the Gunners to pick up where they left off last season, but they really are not very easy to watch. Neither are Stoke City and so the Sunday match plodded on and on. The Potters were the first to attempt an effort in the 6th minute when Jonathan Walters had his goal ruled out for offside. New Gunner boys Santi Cazorla and Lukas Podolski did try to lift the team out of the doldrums, and the Gunners did dominate much of the possession during the match. But they really didn’t look like making any real dent until boss Arsene Wenger put on Theo Wallcot and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for Podolski and Gervinho in the 71st minute. The Gunner attack seemed to pick up a bit, but they never really troubled the Potters’ goal. In the post match interview, Wenger moaned that his attack was missing something. Well, yeah Mr. Obvious. Arsenal have not scored yet, so perhaps the attack is missing a goal scorer? Potters’ boss Tony Pulis seemed more than satisfied with the goalless draw, although he was a bit angry when Jermaine Pennant appeared to have been pushed over by Kieran Gibbs in the Arsenal penalty area and nothing was given. Wenger has a lot of rebuilding to do if the Gunners mean to challenge for silverware this season.

Liverpool 2 – 2 Manchester City
An exciting draw happened at Ainfield as Liverpool took on the Champions. This one was easily the match of the week. The Reds had a lot to play for as they pressed really hard to overcome the drubbing they got last week. It looked like a disaster for the Reds was coming when Lucas had to be substituted in the fourth minute with an injury. But that didn’t dampen the team spirit. There is a reason why Liverpool are so hard to beat at home and you could see that boss Brendan Rogers and captain Steven Gerrard have picked up the team spirit. Both new boys 17 year old striker Raheem Sterling and midfielder Joe Allen looked good and the Reds dominated much of the match. Martin Skrtel got the Kopp on their feet cheering when he headed home Gerrard’s corner kick in the 34th minute. That should have been the start of Liverpool’s win over the champions, but in the 63rd minute a defensive mix-up in the Liverpool area allowed Yaya Toure to scramble an equalizer for the Champions. But before Citeh fans could really get going singing about “Blue Moon” and start doing their backwards dance, Gerrard got hold of the ball and forced new Citeh substitute Jack Rodwell into a hand-ball gaff at the 66th minute. The free kick was placed about 25 yards from the Citeh goal and Luis Suarez hit an amazing free kick that had keeper Joe Hart clawing nothing but air and the Reds had the lead again. But once again, Liverpool’s defending let them down in the 80th minute when Skrtel went from hero to goat by making a horrible back pass that went right to Carlos Tevez. Tevez easily went around keeper Pepe Reina and slotted home the equalizer. It looked like Citeh were going to steal yet another stoppage time win as they pressed the Liverpool goal. But the Reds managed to successfully shake off the effects of Skrtel’s brain freeze and saw out the draw to claim a much deserved point. One Citeh player who seemed to be missing in action was Mario Balotelli. The Reds successfully kept him in check and never allowed him to do any real damage. Boss Roberto Mancini was really angry when Carlos Tevez’s effort on goal, which bounced off the cross bar and along the goal line, was lamely watched by Balotelli who probably could have hustled to push the ball over the line. Citeh’s comeback seemed to be sparked when Mancini hauled off Balotelli in the 62nd minute and put on Edin Dzeko. Could Balotelli still be a tired from this summer, or will he finally be sent packing?

Barclay’s Premier League Week 1 Wrap-up

 Posted by on August 19, 2012 at 10:35 pm  Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, England, EPL, Everton, Fulham, Global Football Today, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Norwich City, Queens Park Rangers, Reading, Southampton, Stoke City, Sunderland, Swansea City, Tottenham, West Bromwich Albion, West Ham United, Wigan
Aug 192012
 

Arsenal 0 –0 Sunderland
The Gunners were held to a goal-less home draw against the Black Cats and looked bad doing it. There are no questions about the defending and Arsenal did do their usual possession domination. However, one could see that boss Arsene Wenger has a problem. Who will score the goals this season? We all know about last season’s Golden Boot Winner Robin Van Persie’s exit. The Gunners are a disjointed bunch and it showed on Saturday morning. Time after time they managed to work the ball through the Sunderland defense, only to flub in front of goal. The most glaring miss happened in the 82nd minute when substitute Olivier Giroud burst into the area in typical Gunner fashion, and promptly put his effort wide of goal. The Black Cats did hold their own and Stephane Sessegnon and substitute Louis Saha gave the Gunner defense a scare or two. But this should have been an easy three points for Arsenal. If they have any trophy aspirations for this season, they have a lot of work to do.

Fulham 5 – 0 Norwich
Fulham are top of the league with a brilliant home display. And they did it without want-away American striker Clint Dempsey. New signing Mladen Petric looks like a wonderful replacement for Dempsey. He scored a great header from a Damien Duff corner at minute 41st and hit a great 54th minute strike from 25 yards out that deflected in off defender Michael Turner. Duff started the smack down in minute 26 when he latched onto defender John Arne Riise’s through ball and tucked a way a fine finish. The Canaries never really put up any opposition and went further behind when Petric grabbed his brace. Alex Kacaniklic added a fouth in the 66th minute and Steve Sidwell completed the Canaries’ London humiliaton with an 87th minute penalty kick that had been awarded after Hugo Rodellaga had been fouled in the area. Norwich are one of the three relegation candidates for this season and they really looked awful. Cottagers’ midfielders Moussa Dembele and Bryan Ruiz made the Canaries look very ordinary and their influence could be seen as the main contribution for all five goals. While no one in their right mind thinks that Fulham will stay top for long, they gave a great performance on Saturday.

QPR 0 – 5 Swansea
The other beat down of the day also happened in London as the Swans traveled to Loftus Road to deliver a five goal QPR butt whipping. New Swansea boss Michael Laudrup was feeling all kinds of happy watching what looked like a training ground warm-up match. Rangers’ defending was horrible. And that is being kind. Boss Mark Hughes was visibly upset during the whole match as his boys had no answer for new Swansea signing Miguel Michu. Michu got his first in the 8th minute from a 20 yard strike that got under QPR keeper Rob Green. That’s how things stayed until Michu struck again in the 53rd minute and the rout was on. Nathan Dyer scored in the 63rd and 71st minute as the Swans seemed to move the ball around the pitch with ease. Scott Sinclair’s 81st minute score finished off the whipping. So what does Mark Hughes do now? And how does new Ranger siging Park Ji-sung feel about his team?

Reading 1 – 1 Stoke City
Reading score a last minute penalty to salvage a draw in their debut return to the BPL. Potter’s boss Tony Pulis must be a little upset about losing three easy points to the newly promoted Royals. The Potters did go into the lead in the 34th minute when keeper Adam Federici handed them a gift wrapped goal from Michael Kightly shot. What should have happen then was Stoke to go on to an easy win and for Reading to wonder how long this stay in the BPL is going to last. But Royals’ boss Brian McDermott was has taught his boys to keep fighting for all ninety minutes of the match. It also helped that Stoke were not playing very inspirational football. The Royals’ hard work and perseverance paid off when substitute Garatth McCleary, in the 88th minute, was able to cut through the Potters’ defense and was fouled by Dean Whitehead in the Stoke City penalty area. The referee paused to see if there was any advantage to be gained, and seeing none, brought play back for the spot kick and Whitehead was sent off for a second bookable offense. Adam Le Fondre took the kick from the spot and the match was all tied up. Reading almost won it in stoppage time when Mikele Leigertwood nearly scored from a free kick. If the Royals can maintain that kind of fight for every match, they stand a good chance of staying in the BPL.

West Bromwich Albion 3 – 0 Liverpool
So King Kenny Dalgish’s replacement Brendan Rogers’ debut as the new Liverpool boss was an absolute bust. I went to the local pub to watch this one. I was expecting to see Liverpool make mince meat of WBA and make the home fans wish for Roy Hodgson to come back from managing England and rescue them. I did not expect the Baggies to pull off the shock result of the week. The match started out in Liverpool’s favor and Luis Suarez showed again why he will always be a handful for anyone defending him. He should have opened the scoring when his 8th minute effort was saved by keeper Ben Foster. Suarez’s next chance came in the 16th minute when his shot was saved again by Foster. New Red’s signing Fabio Borini’s 17th minute effort cleared the Baggies goal and Suarez missed another attempt in the 25th minute. The opening goal of the match was scored in the 43rd minute when Zoltan Gera hit a wonderful effort from 25 yards out into the upper 90 of the Liverpool goal. The “Goal of the Week” came when the Reds clearance from the Baggie corner kick came right to Gera’s feet and he buried the shot with wonderful class. Controversy came in the 58th minute when Daniel Agger was judged to have fouled Shane Long in the Liverpool penalty area. Replays seemed to suggest that the initial foul happened outside of the area. Also, Agger was judged by the referee to have been the last man, so he was summarily sent off. The ensuing penalty, taken by Shane Long was one of the worst penalties that one will see. It was a slow run-up followed by a lame kick and Reds keeper Pepe Reina made easy work of the save. But the Baggies were awarded another penalty when Martin Skrtel got caught dithering on the ball and after losing it to Shane Long, clipped the latter’s heal trying to win it back. This time Peter Odemwingie took the spot kick and made sure work of getting the second goal. The third goal is what should have Liverpool fans worried. The Baggies, on a counter-attack, outnumbered the Reds. Liam Ridgewell was able to pick out an unmarked Romelu Lukaku with an easy cross and Lukaku headed the goal home to secure the win. The Reds host the Champions next week and if they perform like they did on Saturday, they’re going to get a right good hiding.

West Ham United 1 – 0 Aston Villa
The Irons announce their return to the BPL with a win over the Villains. Paul Lambert’s debut as the new boss of Aston Villa was messed up by a controversial decision at Upton Park. The match started nice and even with both sides taking their chances. So things went until the 40th minute when Kevin Nolan scored from a Ricardo Vaz Te cross. Initial video indicated that Nolan may have been offside. In fact the referee’s assistant did put up his flag. But the referee had noticed that Vaz Te’s cross had been headed by defender Kieran Clark and by rule Nolan could not have been ruled offside. So the referee rightly overruled the assistant and awarded the goal. There was more controversy in the second half when Irons striker Carlton Cole seemed to have been pushed over in the Villain penalty area by defender Ron Vlaar. But the referee did not see the challenge as anything illegal and nothing was given. Vlaar did nearly mark his debut with an equalizer but put his 30 yard strike wide. But the bubbles are blowing again as West Ham celebrate their return to the BPL with a win. Can Sam Alladyce keep the Irons up?

Newcastle 2 – 1 Tottenham
The Magpies spoil Andreas Villas-Boas’ first match in charge of Spurs. Demba Ba had the best chance in the first half when his left footed strike nearly crept into an open left side of the Spurs net. Villas-Boas’ boys looked really lost without want away midfielder Luka Modric. They also miss last season loanee Emmanuel Adebayor as transfer negotiations with his club Manchester City still have not been finalized. The Magpies went ahead in the 54th minute when striker Demba Ba hit a magnificent curling shot from 20 yards out over keeper Brad Friedel’s left shoulder. Soon afterward, Magpies boss Alan Pardew was sent to the stands after shoving the referee’s assistant in anger after he felt the ball had gone out of play during a Spurs attack that saw Gylfi Sigurdsson shoot wide of the goal. Pardew was really angry when, from his seat in the stands Jermain Defoe grabbed an equalizer in the 76th minute. But Spurs were behind four minutes later when Hatem Ben Arfa brilliantly cut through the defense and was brought down in the Spurs penalty area by a mistimed Rafael van der Vaart tackle. Ben Arfa took the resulting spot kick and Newcastle opened their campaign with a convincing win. I wonder if somewhere on a London golf course Harry Redknapp is smirking a bit?

Wigan 0 – 2 Chelsea
The European Champions start the BPL campaign off in efficient form over relegation candidates Wigan. New Blues signing Eden Hazard was influential in both goals and made a wonderful debut. The first goal came in the 2nd minute when the Belgian midfielder made a very neat turn and sent defender Branislav Ivanovic on a clear run into the box to score. Hazard set up the second goal in the 7th minute when he was fouled in the Latics penalty area by Ivan Ramis. Frank Lampard put away the resulting spot kick and it looked like Chelsea were going to run away with the match. But Blues transfer target Victor Moses nearly scored twice in the first half, with the second attempt saved by keeper Petr Cech after Moses made Ashley Cole look a bit silly. Hazard had to be taken off in the 64th minute still suffering from the effects of a bad challenge from Gary Caldwell that happened in the 10th minute. But the Latics did not really mount much of a threat and if this performance is any indication of how the season will go for them, boss Roberto Martinez will have another bottom of the table struggle on his hands.

Manchester City 3 – 2 Southampton
Boy, do Citeh like end of match drama. I think someone should tell boss Roberto Mancini that he is competing for the BPL Premiership Trophy and not the Daytime Emmys. Did the club get an investment from Oprah Winfrey and she demanded some “Hollywood like dramatics”? This should have been an easy three points for the BPL Champions and they started the match in fine form. They eased the ball around the Etihad Stadium ground with the arrogance that one earns by being champions. But things got shaky in the 14th minute when Sergio Aguero was carried off with an apparent knee injury after a challenge from midfielder Nathaniel Clyne. Things got even shakier for the Champions when David Silva’s 16th minute penalty kick attempt was saved by Southampton keeper Kelvin Davis. But act one of the “Baby-Mamma Drama” was ended when Citeh striker Carlos Tevez finished off a great, low, hard shot in the 40th minute. The second half should have seen Citeh finish off the match, but Gael Clichy, and David Silva both hit easy shots over the bar, Tevez had his shot saved by keeper Davis, and Pablo Zabaleta had his shot blocked. So when Southampton brought on Rickie Lambert for Jay Rodriguez in the 55th minute, the drama really started. It started in the 58th minute when Tevez missed a sure goal and Southampton were able to counter-attack. Guly Do Prado was able to find Lambert who took a great shot from the edge of the area and beat keeper Joe Hart to get the equalizer. The Saints took the lead in the 68th minute from another counter-attack finished off by Steven Davis. Mancini had seen enough and replaced David Silva with Mario Balotelli in the 72nd minute. Shortly afterward, Samir Nasri made a great run along the goal line and was able to find Yaya Toure streaking into the area. Toure found Edin Dzeko with his cross and Dzeko made the match was level. Nasri scored the winner in the 80th minute when he headed in Gael Clichy’s cross and that should have been that. The Saints should have scored the equalizer in the 89th from Steve Davis’ cross, but Pablo Zabaleta made a fine defensive clearance and three minutes into stoppage time (should we now call it Mancini time?) the win was safe and confirmed.

What’s The Time? It’s Five Past Tottenham

 Posted by on April 15, 2012 at 10:50 pm  Chelsea, EPL
Apr 152012
 

Chelsea routed London rival Tottenham 5-1 to reach the final of English soccer’s F.A. Cup for a fourth time in six years.

Didier Drogba, Juan Mata, Ramires, Frank Lampard and Florent Malouda scored for the Blues at Wembley Stadium in the U.K. capital yesterday to set up a meeting at the same venue with Liverpool on May 5. Television replays showed that Mata’s shot for the second goal didn’t cross the line.

Chelsea has played in the final on 10 previous occasions, winning the title six times. Seven-time champion Liverpool beat city rival Everton 2-1 two days ago to secure its spot.

“It’s two clubs with lots of tradition, particularly in the F.A. Cup,” Chelsea interim manager Roberto Di Matteo, who won the competition twice as a player with the Blues, said at a news conference. “It makes for a great final.”

Chelsea’s victory came three days before it faces Barcelona in the first leg of a Champions League semifinal. The Blues were unhappy at the scheduling of the domestic cup match so close to that game.

They had two early opportunities yesterday, though Lampard headed wide and Drogba sliced a shot that was collected by goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini.

Drogba was yellow-carded on 15 minutes for a foul on Aaron Lennon as Tottenham attempted to break.

Both teams pushed forward in search of a goal and Spurs came close nine minutes before halftime when a header by Rafael van der Vaart was blocked by defender Terry on the line with goalkeeper Petr Cech beaten.

Drogba Goal

Emmanuel Adebayor had another opportunity for the north London team soon after, although the Togo striker failed to connect with the ball, which hit a post.

The Blues scored at the other end seconds later when Drogba took Lampard’s long pass, held off William Gallas and fired past ex-Chelsea keeper Cudicini from 15 yards.

Cudicini dived to stop Mata from doubling Chelsea’s advantage three minutes after halftime and the Spaniard was awarded his controversial goal within a minute.

Terry, David Luiz and Tottenham’s Benoit Assou-Ekotto were among players on the ground on the goal line as Mata’s shot rebounded before bouncing clear. Referee Martin Atkinson allowed the goal, although replays showed that the ball hadn’t crossed the line.

“It was nowhere near a goal, it wasn’t even close,” Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp told the British Broadcasting Corp. “It was big turning point in the game for sure. They picked us off in the end.”

Spurs Score

Spurs replied with a goal from Gareth Bale on 56 minutes when Atkinson played an advantage instead of stopping the game when Cech felled Adebayor in the penalty area. The ball fell for Bale to stroke into an empty net.

Chelsea then had to make a defensive change following an injury to Luiz, who was taken off the field on a stretcher and replaced by Gary Cahill.

Mata was again involved in Chelsea’s third goal as his pass released Ramires, who slotted the ball past Cudicini on 77 minutes.

Tottenham’s chances of a comeback were then ended when Lampard fired a free kick into the net four minutes later. Malouda completed the scoring in injury time after Mata chipped the ball into his path.

Spurs have now lost six straight F.A. Cup semifinals since last winning the competition in 1991.

“I can understand the frustration,” Di Matteo said of Mata’s goal. “But I don’t know how much it would have mattered because today we scored five, not two.”