Spanish La Liga Round Twenty Four
Saturday 21st February 2009
Barcelona suffered a shock 2-1 home derby defeat to Espanyol. Espanyol started the game as the bottom team in La Liga, but still managed to shock runaway leaders Barca. Barca had midfielder Seydou Keita dismissed after 38 minutes. Former Barca play Ivan De La Pena gave the visitors the lead in the 50th minute, with a good header. A Victor Valdes mistake gifted Espanyol the lead, after the keeper kicked the ball straight to De La Pena, who lobbed the stranded keeper. It was a result which will encourage the chasing Real Madrid.
Madrid hammered Real Betis 6-1 at the Bernabeu. The capital side scored all their goals in the first half. Gonzalo Higuain gave Real the lead after seven minutes. Klaas Jan-Huntelaar scored a brace with goals in the 15th and 24th minutes. Raul got in on the act scoring his own brace, scoring goals in the 36th and 42nd minutes. Ricardo Oliveira had scored in the 30th minute in-between Huntelaar’s and Raul’s braces. Sergio Ramos completed the extraordinary scoring just before half time. Real have now gave themselves hope of catching Barca at the top, after the Catalan side slipped up at home to Espanyol.
Sevilla beat Atletico Madrid 1-0 at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. They left it late to score the winner, Jesus Navas scoring the in the 87th minute, that goal could be crucial in the fight for those valuable Champions League places. Villarreal beat Sporting Gijon 2-1 at the El Madrigal, to help their Champions League place challenge. Mate Bilic shocked the home fans by putting Gijon ahead in the first minute. That lead didn’t last however, Robert Pires equalising just a minute later for Villarreal. Defender Joan Capdevilla headed the winner in the 39th minute, to secure all three points.
Sunday 22nd February 2009
Malaga defeated Real Valladolid 3-1 away from home to maintain their European challenge. Malaga took the lead in the seventh minute through Albert Luque. Antonio Apono added the second in the 30th minute from the penalty spot. Pedro Oldoni got a goal back for the home team in the 83rd minute. Substitute Nacho sealed all three points in the 87th minute. Recreativo and Almeria drew 1-1 at El Nuevo Colombino. Albert Crusat was dismissed for the away side on 22 minutes. Javier Cumanas gave Recre the lead after 59 minutes, but Iriney Santos equalised for Almeria in the 76th minute from the penalty spot.
Elsewhere Getafe drew 1-1 with Athletic Bilbao at Coliseum Alfonso Perez. Getafe took the lead through Roberto Soldado on 16 minutes. Bilbao equalised through Spanish starlet Fernando Llorente in the 41st minute. Real Mallorca beat Racing Santander 1-0 at ONO Estadi. The visitors had Ezequiel Garay dismissed in the 50th minute. Mallorca left it late to get the winner but it arrived in the 89th minute through Jose Manuel Jurado. Osasuna beat Numancia 2-0 to help in their fight against relegation. Jaroslav Plasil gave the home side the lead after only two minutes. Massoud Shojaei doubled Osasuna’s lead in the 35th minute. Valencia and Deportivo drew 1-1 at the Riazor. David Villa gave Valencia the lead after 25 minutes, but was dismissed for a second bookable offence in the 75th minute. Depor found an equaliser in the 79th minute, through an Adrian Lopez header.
Premiership Football Results Round-Up Week 26 Continued
Saturday 21st Febuary
Aston Villa 0-1 Chelsea
Guus Hiddink’s first match as Chelsea manager started on a positive note as Chelsea Defeated Aston Villa in their home ground to swap places with the rivals. A 19th minute brilliance from Frank Lampard saw Anelka encashing on his pass and made a final subtle touch to break the Villa defence. The win broke Villa’s unbeaten 13 match run and marked Chelsea’s first win in 10 years at the Martin O’Neal’s hunting ground. Villa seemed tired after playing their 3rd match in 6 days. Scares from each side were cleared by respective goalkeepers. Friedel saved Terry’s thumping header, Lampard’s freekick and Cech managed to keep Agbonlahor at bay. Ashley Young’s 20 yard free kick in the 34th minute shoved the crossbar to Cech’s relief.
Arsenal 0-0 Sunderland
Arsenal’s dismal performance continued as the dream of yet another Champions League appearance slipped further. It was an opportunity to beat the minnows at the Emirates after Villa lost in their home ground. Arshavin could not mark his debut well and his two attempts were saved by Fulop. Sunderland on the other hand was aggressive in midfield and kept Gunners at bay. Fulop managed to save every attempt which were few and rare. Just when Arsenal began to attack full hands in the last 10 minutes, they suffered a blow. Clichy limped out and Sagna was looking in no good shape. Gallas’ close range shot and Toure’s header effort went in vain as Arsenal had to share points yet another time this season.
Bolton 2-1 West Ham
Matt Taylor and Kevin Davies ensured a victory at the Reebok in the opening minutes with two golden strikes for Bolton to make it 2-0 in 11 minutes. Taylor deservingly was the man of the match with his constant threatened passes in the West Ham’s defence. West Ham’s counter attacks from Di Michele, Carlton Cole and Noble were no good as match went to 2-0 at halftime. Parker pulled one back for the visitors in the 66th minute. Cole’s header was spilled by Jaaskelainen in the 82nd minute but was recovered fast. West Ham slumped to their first defeat in 8 matches in the EPL to stay at the 8th position.
Middlesbrough 0-0 Wigan
Boros could not help themselves at the home ground and still remained in the relegation zone. Without a win in 14 matches, Boro found themselves in trouble when a 16th minute harsh challenge from Cattermole forced Digard to limp out on the 23rd minute. Downing’s 34th minute low shot was saved by Kirkland. Desperate to win, Southgate injected two more strikers in the form of Aliadiere and Tuncay in the second half. Alves 73rd minute effort was kept at bay by Kirkland and an 86th minute drive by Gary O’Neil somehow found his legs to help Wigan earn an away point and still stay in the 7th spot.
Stoke City 2-2 Portsmouth
Beattie almost snatched a remarkable win for Stoke but an injury time own-goal frustrated the home crowd and helped Pompey share the away points. Kranjcar’s brilliance helped Pompey draw the first blood in the 75th minute but referee ruled Johnson’s chest tap as handling the ball. The event awarded a penalty to the home side and Beattie stepped in to finish a top-class penalty. Minutes later his header made it 2-1 for home side. In the dying moments Hreidarsson’s on target shot was deflected by Shawcross past Sorensen and gave Pompey an unexpected 1 point.
Manchester Utd 2-1 Blackburn
Rooney’s fitness return helped United draw the first blood at Old Trafford in the 23rd minute. Minutes later, Roque Santa Cruz ended United’s amazing 1334 minutes clean sheet record by deceiving Kuszczak and tapping in the far corner. Ronaldo’s 40th minute free kick was blocked by Blackburn defensive wall. Andrews brought down Ronaldo and his superb 60th minute free-kick revived the touches of last season’s Ronaldo. A classic dipping beauty saw United home though not without late superb attacks from the Rovers United now move 8 points clear as the leaders and towards a Premiership hat-trick.
Sunday 22nd Febuary
Fulham 2-0 West Brom
Fulham proved why they were called the fourth best in defence after Manchester Utd, Liverpool and Chelsea. Yet another clean sheet but this time accompanied with 2 second half goals was an icing to the cake. The first half was dull with both sides making few inroads to the opposite area. Fulham were more aggressive as Johnson, Murphy, Zamora and Hangeland continuously bombarded in volleys and passes. The second half saw West Brom on a defensive note and they had to pay for this tactic. In the 61st minute Johnson guided a header towards Zamora who fired from point-blank range to give Fulham the lead. 11 minutes later the same pair combined but this time Zamora provided the pass and Johnson did the rest. Zamora broke his dull 30 hour goalless streak at EPL and Schwarzer saved an injury time penalty to inflict more humiliation.
Liverpool 1-1 Manchester City
City grabbed an unexpected away point at the Anfield as Liverpool salvaged a draw from a Kuyt goal in the later stages of the game. This has shattered their hopes to keep the pressure on Man Utd for the top spot. Former Liverpool striker Craig Bellamy hit a power-bomb that took a serious deflection off Arbeloa and landed in the Liverpool’s net. The first half did not feature much excitement as a wild run by Liverpool midfield was halted by a harsh challenge from Dunne who was deservingly given the Yellow card. In the 51st minute City got the lead through Arbeloa’s own goal but could not sustain the lead. El Zhar was introduced and immediately the Liverpool attacks became swift. Torres provided a wicked pass to Kuyt who levelled the scores in the 78th minute to end a frustrating evening at the home ground.
Newcastle Utd 0-0 Everton
Newcastle somehow battled its way to a draw against the powerful Everton. After a 43rd minute harsh and ugly challenge on Anichebe, Nolan was sent off immediately and the home team came on a complete defensive stance. 10 men Northern Rock saved numerous attacks from the Toffees’ midfield and strikers to earn a tough point at home. Lovenkrands and Guttierrez made efficient efforts in each half to score for Magpies. Mikel Arteta went down with a serious looking knee injury in the 6th minute of the game and had to be replaced with Castillo. Lescott was the pick from Everton who covered Martins and made serious attempts in the Magpies’ domain.
Hull City 1-2 Tottenham Hotspurs
Tigers suffered yet another defeat as they slump down more in the bottom 10. The grace and enthusiasm with which they started the season is gone now. Spurs dominated the proceedings after 10 minutes into the first half. Through a corner that resulted into 4 passes set by Modric, Spurs got the lead through Lennon. Tigers immediately set up the counter-attack after 10 minutes and equalized through Turner after a corner created a lot of confusion in the Spurs’ territory. The first half saw both teams grabbing equal number of attacking chances.The second half was very scrappy with rough challenges and bad passes from both sides. In the 85th minute, Woodgate made the best from Assou-Ekotto’s pass and blasted a power-bomb past Matt Duke to finish a very important away win for Tottenham.
Premiership Football Results Round-Up Week26
Saturday 14th Febuary 2009
Portsmouth 2-0 Man City
Manchester City’s poor form away from home continued as they were thrashed by Portsmouth in the second half of the game. Robinho’s nightmares were far from over and Bellamy’s fluctuating performance continued as City couldn’t capitalize on their chances. On loan midfielder, Pennant showed his Liverpool skills and gave pin-point passes to Nugent to begin the nightmare from the 2nd minute. Pompey players exposed the City defense more than 11 times unsuccessfully in the first half. James marked his 536th record Premier League appearance with a clean sheet. Given was tested time and again by Nugent until City got their first big chance in 22nd minute. Bellamy, Bridge and Robinho made an impressive move only to see the ball curl over the cross-bar. Crouch and Kranjcar immediately paired up on the other end to deceive Kompany and give City yet another scare. In the second half Pompey went to an all-attack stance and the move paid off with a charismatic solo goal from centre-back Johnson. He collected the rebound of his initial effort to scrape the ball in the top corner. Johnson’s partner Hreidarsson was charged up to see his partner’s efforts and headed a second for Pompey just 5 minutes later. Johnson was about to make it 3-0 for Portsmouth just 2 minutes before FT when his genius efforts were cleared off the line.
Wednesday 18th Febuary 2009
Man Utd 3-0 Fulham
Manchester United strengthened their chances of a hat-trick as they went 5 points clear as League leaders. Solid as ever, Man Utd defeated Fulham 3-0 at Old Trafford. The visitors could manage to avoid the red tribe’s attacks for 11 minutes only. Schwarzer who has been in an impressive form this season let Scholes pile driver squirm past him and Fulham’s defense midfield began to crumble. With the trio of Ronaldo, Berbatov and O’Shea continuously shelling all power-bombs from both sides, Schwarzer had lost his nerves due to the number of attacks and was making a mockery of simple saves. Scholes passes allowed Berbatov to launch 2 on-target shots in the first half again but Schwarzer made good saves only to see the net bulge again in the 29th minute. Berbatov struck with elegance and had a disallowed goal again. In the second half, Sir Ferguson injected fresh blood using all three substitutes in a matter of 8 minutes. Rooney finally came back from his hamstring injury in place of Berbatov and scored with his first touch. He capitalized on a Park’s pass and steered the ball in the far corner to complete a dominating victory. It is now 14 games in a row since Van Der Sar last conceded a goal.
Spanish La Liga Round Twenty Three
Saturday 14th February 2009
Barcelona had to comeback from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at Real Betis. Alessandro Melli gave the home side the lead after 18 minutes. That lead was doubled in the 25th minute by former Liverpool player Mark Gonzalez. Samuel Eto’o got a goal back for Barca just before the break. Real Betis struggled to hold onto the lead and finally cracked in the 84th minute as Eto’o scored his second. Despite drawing Barca are still 13 points clear of Real Madrid in second. Valencia drew 1-1 Malaga at the Mestalla. David Villa opened the scoring in the 53rd minute for Los Ches. Malaga had a huge stroke of luck in the 59th minute as Raul Albiol put past his own keeper. Deportivo La Coruna could only manage a 0-0 draw with Osasuna at the Riazor Stadium.
Sunday 15th February 2009
Real Madrid won 4-0 at Sporting Gijon. Raul opened the scoring in the 15th minute, a goal which took him above legend Alfredo Di Stefano, with his 308th strike for Real. Jan Klaas-Huntelaar doubled that lead in the 37th minute. Marcelo scored Real’s third in the 49th minute. With fourteen minutes remaining Raul finished off his special day with his second goal.
Almeria beat Valladolid 3-2 at the Juegos Mediterraneos Stadium. Valladolid shot into a two goal lead after just 23 minutes. Pedro Leon opened the scoring and Henok Goitom made it 2-0. Albert Crusat pulled a goal back for Almeria in the 62nd minute. Saltor Bruno saw red in the 64th minute for the home side. Despite being down to ten men Almeria equalised through Kalu Uche in the 70th minute. Almeria were then reduced to nine men in the 78th minute, as Uche was dismissed. Just a minute later, unbelievably Almeria took the lead through Alvaro Negredo. Valladolid were then reduced to men after 82 minutes, with Nano seeing red. Atletico Madrid drew 1-1 with Getafe at the Vicente Calderon. Diego Forlan gave Atletico the lead after 33 minutes and Juan Albin equalised for Getafe with only two minutes remaining.
Sevilla claimed a 2-0 away victory to Espanyol. Milan Smijanic was dismissed after 64 minutes and the away side took advantage, Frederic Kanoute giving Sevilla the lead after 84 minutes. Kanoute doubled Sevilla’s lead in the 90th minute, to seal all three points. Recreativo Huelva and Athletic Bilbao drew 1-1 at San Mames. Aitor gave Recre the lead after 35 minutes, substitute Gaizka Torquero Pinedo equalising in the 51st minute, just three minutes after coming on. Real Mallorca won 1-0 at Numancia, Aritz Aduriz scoring the only goal in the 22nd minute. Villarreal drew 1-1 at Racing Santander. Striker Nikola Zigic gave Racing the lead in the 25th minute. The visitors equalised in the 43rd minute through Spanish international Santiago Cazorla.
Spanish La Liga Round Twenty Two
Saturday 7th February 2009
Sevilla suffered a surprise 2-1 home defeat at the hands Real Betis. Aldo Duscher was dismissed after 70 minutes for the home side and Ricardo Oliveira gave the away side the lead in the same minute. Oliveira doubled his and Betis tally in the 83rd minute. Frederic Kanoute did score a consolation goal for the home side in injury-time, but it proved worthless goal. Real Madrid beat Racing Santander 1-0 at the Bernabeu. Gonzalo Higuain scored the only goal after 49 minutes for Real, who have now recorded seven league victories in a row.
Sunday 8th February
Atletico Madrid defeated Recreativo 3-0 away from home. Sergio ‘Kun’ Aguero opened the scoring in the third minute. Diego Forlan then scored a brace with goals in the 28th and 35th minutes. The victory takes Atletico up to sixth place in La Liga. Villarreal beat Numancia 2-1 at El Madrigal. Giuseppe Rossi gave the Yellow Submarine the lead after 16 minutes. Carlos Aranda equalised for the away side in the 40th minute. Rossi scored his brace and the winner in the 67th minute, to send Villarreal up to fifth in La Liga.
Mallorca and Deportivo drew 1-1 in Mallorca. Aritz Aduriz gave the home side the lead in the 56th minute. Joan Verdu equalised for Depor in the 78th minute from the penalty spot. Mallorca finished the game with 10 men, as Enrique Corrales was dismissed in the 83rd minute. Getafe and Espanyol also drew 1-1. Daniel Ivan Alonso gave the away side the lead after only eight minutes. Roberto Soldado equalised for Getafe in the 26th minute. Marc Torrejon was dismissed in the 65th minute, but held on for a point.
Malaga beat Almeria 3-2 at La Rosaleda. Kalu Uche gave the visitors the lead in the 25th minute. Alvaro Negredo doubled Almeria’s lead on the stroke of half time. The second half was a completely different story. Former Newcastle forward Albert Luque scored for the home side in the 48th minute to start the comeback. Half time substitute Ballesta Salva equalised in the 64th minute for Malaga. The former Valencia striker then put Malaga in the lead on 75 minutes. Things got even worse for Almeria, as Jose Mane was dismissed in the 85th minute for a second bookable offence.
Valladolid beat Athletic Bilbao 2-1 at home. Victor gave the home side the lead from the penalty spot in the 39th minute. Victor doubled his sides lead in the 59th minute. Pablo Orbaiz got a goal back for Bilbao in the 65th minute. Francisco Yeste received his marching orders in injury time to complete a miserable day for the visitors.
Elsewhere Barcelona continued their relentless winning run, beating Sporting Gijon 3-1 at Camp Nou. Samuel Eto’o opened the scoring in the 23rd minute. Eto’o doubled Barca’s lead on 40 minutes. Daniel Alves made it 3-0 with an explosive effort in the 66th minute. Substitute Kike Mateo scored a consolation goal for the visitors in the 73rd minute, but Barca march onwards to the title. Osasuna recorded a 1-0 home victory over Valencia. The only goal came from defender Miguel Flano in the 57th minute. The three points were crucial as it moved Osasuna out of the relegation zone.
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