Premiership Football Results Round-Up Wk25
Man City 1-0 Middlesbrough
City Manager Mark Hughes felt proud to see his debutant goalkeeper for the club, Shay Given work like an arduous wall when Middlesbrough came roaring. Given was transferred to City last Sunday and was immediately into action against the Boros. Manchester City was immediately into action with Robinho and Kompany making good inroads into the Boro’s defense. The first chance came in seconds when Shaun-Wright could not capitalize on Bellamy’s pass. However the first major scare came from the visitor’s side when Given had to stretch to his maximum to stop an Afonso Alves’ shot. Alves regularly threatened the City defense with his superb strikes and forced Given to remain on his toes throughout the course of this match. Given saved 4 on-target shots to gain in more confidence from his Manager as the first choice goalkeeper over Hart. Ireland’s passes were raining hell inside City’s defense line. After serious attempts and staying goalless in the first half, City drew first blood through Bellamy in the 51st minute when he charged from the right flank to score a superb left-corner goal. The match remained dull through the next couple of minutes eventually ensuring City as the winners.
Blackburn 0-2 Aston Villa
Martin O’Neil’s men visited Eastwood Park to keep their dreams of Champions League alive. Villa dominated the proceedings from the beginning but Blackburn stormed a fight back after regular verbal charges from manager, Big Sam. Heskey missed an early chance that could have ensured the lead. The quick penetrative runs from both flanks by Agbonlahor and A.Young troubled the Rover’s defense and things started getting messy for the home team. The defenders were caught sleeping many a times and Rovers had to pay for this. James Milner’s 26th minute bullet pierced the defensive barriers in the very first half. Roberts and Pederson led the fightback only to find Villa defenders come in their way. Attacking stances in disarray did not help the cause and to add more misery, Gabriel Agbonlahor disturbed the scoreboard again in the dying moments to give Villa a 2-0 victory and Champions League hops alive. Agbolahor’s previous goal was disallowed due to an infringement. Blackburn now faces a tough relegation fight whereas Villa sit pretty in the top four.
Chelsea 0-0 Hull City
The biggest shock of the day came from Stamford Bridge with the news of axing of Coach Luis Felipe Scolari after the match. Chelsea failed yet again to score at home against a weak opponent only to find themselves left behind in the race for Premiership title. Chelsea has now dropped 16 points at home and it was a proud effort by Tigers to gain a point at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea’s latest signing Quaresma shoed some golden touches. Chelsea dominated the proceedings but Hull came to life after a 10th minute superb curling volley from Geovanni went just wide. Kalou, Quaresma and Ballack tried really hard but couldn’t get past Hulls’ defense. Geovanni could not convert his free-kick from 20 yards and in the next minute Ballack missed a possible chance too. Hull failed to capitalize on a Geovanni pass in the 67th minute when Marney just missed it. Drogba tried for the last time with his off-target free-kick in the dying moments to eventually gift away a point to Hull.
Everton 3-0 Bolton
Everton continued their wonderful run in the form of a couple of goals to give them an easy win against Bolton. The win which was wonderfully-crafted by Arteta and the new Brazilian Jo ensured a double this season over Bolton. Everton missed an early chance when Cahill missed from barely 2 yards. Jo and Cahill encashed on regular deliveries from Arteta and Lescott and troubled the Bolton defense. Everton smelt first vapours of success when Jo was tripped inside the penalty area by Steinsson and Arteta as usual calmly fired the ball past the keeper. Three minutes into the second half, Jo paired up with Cahill to send the home crowd into cheers and doubled the lead. At the 60 minute mark Bolton introduced fresh pair of legs in the form of Smolarek and Basham. The move didn’t help much only to see Bolton attacks being intercepted in between. In the dying stages, Mark Davies handled a ball and Jo helped Everton win 3-0 when he converted a penalty to end the day with 2 goals and an assist.
Sunderland 2-0 Stoke City
Jones and Healy paired up to drown a helpless 10-men Stoke back to the relegation zone. Both teams matched each other in all fields until the sending off of Ethrington marked the changing course of the game. Sunderland enjoyed better chances in the first half with Jones, Collins and Richardson attacking the flanks on regular basis. Stoke enjoyed their chances with Cresswell and Camara forcing good saves out of Fulop. The 64th minute send-off did not weaken the determination and the 10-men band wagon nearly drew first blood Camara’s return shot kissed the crossbar. Jones then proved his credibility of scoring in important matches with 13 minutes left on the clock. He headed down a Reid pass very close to the pole and past Sorensen to send the home crowd frenzy. Stoke then went all attack to equalize but Jones managed to run down the flank on a pass from the midfield and made a dash for the goal. He passed the ball before falling in the legs of Healy who made a subtle touch to complete the evening with a score line of 2-0.
West Brom 2-3 Newcastle United
West Brom tried their level best to ease their tensions in the relegation zone with a home match against the Northern rock. But everything seems to go against them. The heroic displays of Damien Duff injected fresh enthusiasm in Newcastle who pulled off a good win to keep them away from the relegation zone. Duff was menacing in enemy’s territory while Ryan Taylor and Nicky Butt supported him well. Duff got the first goal within 2 minutes when he capitalized on a mistake from Barnett. West Brom drew level within 4 minutes of play through Fortune. But Magpies again regained the lead by a superb effort from Lovenkrands which was made possible by a Butt-pass. Baggies were constantly troubled by the roaring attacks and United made sure they got a comfortable lead by another goal in 41 minutes. Ryan provided a perfect corner only to see the other Taylor glancing the ball past the defense with a sublime header. Koren and Fortune paired up to minimize the United lead to 1 and could have drew the match eventually, had Valero’s header didn’t miss the target.
Wigan 0-0 Fulham
Fulham came close to enjoy their first away win but managed to gain another point from an away game. Fulham’s defensive line-up has revived this year in the presence of Schwarzer and Hangeland. They have managed to keep even Chelsea silent at Stamford Bridge. Wigan on the other hand was frustrated and marred by heavy injuries that forced them to use all 3 substitutions in the first half itself. Zamora and Mido made good chances in the first halves forcing saves out of Kirkland and Schwarzer respectively. Just when Fulham looked menacing, Wigan suffered the biggest blow in the form of Valencia who again pulled his hamstring. Fulham enjoyed better chances in the first half with Johnson and Zamora showing good co-ordination up front. In the second half Wigan could not connect their passes well and most of the attacks ended up in the midfield. A good chance in the game arrived when Zamora was tripped by Figueroa and Davies curled a wonderful free-kick. Kirkland managed to punch it away. After that attack none of the sides could threaten much and both sides deservingly got a point each.
Portsmouth 2-3 Liverpool
Fernando Torres came to the rescue of Liverpool in the closing moments and ensured that Liverpool enjoy a top spot for at least 24 hours. The match started on an even note with Aurelio and Benayoun threatening the Pompey defense, whereas Nugent and Crouch doing the same at the other end. Ngog’s appearance ended before the 60-minute mark and Kuyt was brought in. This moved stirred an instant change and Babel had the first chance of the game. Somehow he missed an easy opportunity and Nugent punished Liverpool through his opener in the 62nd minute. Crouch made an able assist to Nugent but made an equally silly mistake the other end in the form of an awful backpass to James that eventually ended up in the equalizer from Aurelio. Torres was introduced at the 75-minute mark but Pompey regained lead in the 79th minute when Hreidarsson used a Belhadj swinger to head past Reina. Kuyt brought back Liverpool in the 85th minute and Torres did the deserving icing on the cake with a powerful header in injury time through a Benayoun pass. Liverpool now sits at the top of the League-table, thus putting more pressure on Manchester Utd before they play their away fixture with West-Ham.
Tottenham 0-0 Arsenal
Ten-man Arsenal somehow managed to earn a point against Tottenham at the White Hart Lane. Arsenal suffered a huge blow when Eboue was shown the red card in the first half. This forced Arsenal to switch to defensive stance. There was no end to miseries as Adebayor pulled a hamstring and was in serious pain. Keane back into the side as captain brought the home team to a near lead from his header. Spurs forced a couple of corners and kept Almunia busy. On the 30 minutes mark, Almunia had to make a clever save when Modric shot a low fireball in the lower left corner. Bendtner took charge of the proceedings from Adebayor in the 38th minute. In the second half, Pavlyuchenko took advantage of a mistake from Toure but miscued his shot in the end. The last 20 minutes of the game became quite exciting when Persie’s corner landed in the legs of Song within 6-yards but he fired the shot wide. Both sides tried for the last time in the last four minutes. Where Cudicini denied a Bendtner header, Almunia denied a Modric power-bomb.
West Ham 0-1 Manchester United
Manchester Utd arrived at Boleyn Ground with a lot of pressure to deliver and regain the top spot after Liverpool had defeated Pompey a day before. Ferguson’s starting line suggested he had faith in his old war-horses to deliver this time. With both Scholes and Giggs pairing up together, Manchester midfield looked like a great threat. West Ham had impressed everyone with 8-match impressive unbeaten run whereas Manchester had kept 12 clean sheets before arriving here. The match gained pace slowly with both teams playing fairly and making slow inroads into enemy territory. Giggs, Berbatov, Tevez and Ronaldo threatened to break the deadlock with impressive quad and trio formations. Cole managed to give a nasty scare when he charged towards United’s goal with no-one to back up and forced Van Der Sar to make a very good save. At the stroke of 33rd minute, Van Der Sar created History by eclipsing the record of old Aberdeen stalwart Bobby Clark, who went 1,155 minutes of league action without conceding a goal during the 1970-71 campaign to claim that British record. Giggs provided the corner in the 62nd minute which was cleared as far as Scholes. Scholes immediately restored the possession to his old compatriot, Giggs. Cole charged in to make a tackle at the touchline but failed as Giggs cleverly tackled the ball. Giggs then tricked 2 more defenders and used his rare right foot to shoot a low bullet in the left lower corner. Green could not help the timing and accuracy of the shot and Hammers’ defense was breached. The goal was enough to seal the fate, since not much action took place after that. Ronaldo kept on threatening from the flanks and in the end, Manchester regained the zenith.
Spanish La Liga Round Twenty-One
Saturday 31st January 2009
Real Madrid beat Numancia 2-0, to record their sixth victory on the trot. Raul drew level with Alfredo Di Stefano’s goal scoring record, scoring his 307th goal for Real. The goal gave Real a 48th minute lead, after the goalkeeper had parried Gonzalo Higuain’s shot. Real doubled the lead on 56 minutes, as Arjen Robben made a mazy run and fired low into the corner of the net.
Athletic Bilbao beat Malaga 3-2, to help their European ambitions. The away side took the lead through Albert Luque on three minutes. Francisco Yeste equalised for Bilbao in the 37th minute. Malaga regained the lead in the 63rd minute, Lolo the scorer. Fernando Llorente’s fantastic strike made it all square after 71 minutes. Substitute Markel Susaeta clinched all three points for Bilbao, with a headed winner in the 87th minute.
Sunday 1st February 2009
Barcelona are once again 12 points clear at the top of La Liga, after winning 2-1 in Santander against Racing. Nikola Zigic gave the home side the lead from the penalty spot in the 56th minute. Lionel Messi equalised for visitors in the 65th minute, before scoring what proved to be the winner in the 90th minute. The last few minutes nearly cost Barca, as defenders Gerard Pique and Rafael Marquez were dismissed. Despite being down to nine men the runaway leaders held on.
Valencia overcame Almeria 3-2 at the Mestalla. Joaquin volleyed Los Ches into the lead after 6 minutes. Alvaro Negredo equalised for the visitors in the 22nd minute. David Villa put Valencia back in the lead in the 30th minute from the penalty spot. Villa then doubled his tally in the 65th minute. Alvaro Negredo scored his just three minutes later, but Valencia held on to three valuable points.
Sporting Gijon beat Sevilla 1-0, despite ending the game with 10 men. Andres Palop saved Mate Bilic’s 6th minute penalty, but it wasn’t long until Gijon did take the lead, Diego Castro scoring with a 17th minute header. Roberto Canella was dismissed after 28 minutes, but the home side held onto the victory.
Deportivo recorded a comfortable 3-0 victory over Villarreal at Riazor. Angel Lafita gave Depor the lead after just three minutes. Lafita doubled his tally in the 62nd minute. Striker Riki completed the scoring in the 68th minute. Atletico Madrid suffered a surprise 2-1 defeat at the hands of Valladolid. Luis Prieto gave the visitors the lead after 51 minutes. Jose Garcia Calvo put through his own goal in the 56th minute equalising for the home side. Victor scored the winner in the 79th minute for Valladolid from the penalty spot.
Osasuna clinched a vital 1-0 victory over fellow strugglers Real Mallorca. The home side scored the only goal in the fourth minute through Walter Pandiani. The game was feisty affair with three red cards. Osasuna had Javad Nekounam dismissed; David Navarro and Dudu Aouate were dismissed for the visitors. The win takes Osasuna off the bottom of the league.
Espanyol came within seconds of victory at home to Recreativo, only to concede. Nicolas Pareja gave the home side the lead in the 62nd minute. Recre equalised in the 90th minute, after Carlos Kameni brought down Marco Ruben, the keeper was dismissed and Ruben scored from the spot.
Real Betis threw away a two goal lead at home to Getafe, to only draw 2-2. Gomez Juanma gave Betis the lead after nine minutes. Mark Gonzalez doubled that lead just a minute later. Betis’s Juan Lopez received a red card in the 33rd minute, for a second bookable offence. Getafe got a goal back in the 65th minute through Ikechukwu Uche. Uche was at it again popping up with his brace in the 72nd minute. Neither side could find a winner so had to settle for draw.
Premiership Football Results Round-Up Wk24
Saturday 31-01-2009
Stoke City 1 - 0 Man City
The fate of Robinho seemed to effect his Premiership side too as Manchester City lost the first tie of this game week to one of the weakest competitors, Stoke. Men in blue clearly had the upper hand once Stoke was reduced to a 10-men force. Delap’s 37th minute ruthless challenge on Wright-Philips couldn’t provide much respite as Manchester City still found it difficult to break the deadlock. Though Robinho and Ireland can be easily blamed for their missed chances, it was Stoke’s defending in depth that eventually won the match. James Beattie’s first-half’s injury time goal erupted the stadium and then it was a different game altogether. Stoke constantly attacked from all flanks and many a times caught Hart unaware. Fuller’s return the starting line-up seemed to work as he was repeatedly involved in wonderful moves and some dangerous headers that missed the opposite net by a whisker. Man City who is now just 6 points away from relegation face a daunting task to re-unite and deliver.
Arsenal 0 – 0 West Ham Utd
West Ham continued their impressive run this season and kept the Gunners at bay in their own yard. Gunners, who seem to find the net more so often at home were left frustrated by the West Ham defence. Arsenal who had to win this contest to keep their hopes of Champions League alive suffered their first blow in 35th minute when Eboue limped off. Greene nullified every move and kept the nets wonderfully well. Though some rough defending was seen from West Ham’s side, Neill and Collins were deservingly awarded the Yellow card. Regular attacks by Nasri, Denilson and Adebayor did not help as very few moves created panic inside the penalty area. Scott Parker defended well to keep Bendtner quiet. Diaby too limped off the field in the dying moments to add to gunner’s miseries.
Aston Villa 0 – 0 Wigan Athletic
Villa missed a golden opportunity to brighten their Champions League’s chances as they drew against Wigan at home. It was a game where both keepers zeroed all the wonderfully crafted moves. Villa got ample opportunities in the first half in the form of Corners whose headers flew wide, mishit free shots and unutilized free-kicks. Bramble and Figueroa played their hearts out to keep Agbonlahor silent. Heskey couldn’t direct his header well and gifted the ball in the hands of Kirkland. Villa came close to the crucial 3 points in the 55th minute when Knight’s header struck the post. Though Kirkland’s loose handling of the ball gave Villa a real chance, but it was Figueroa again who time and again kept the likes of L.Young and Gabriel at bay. Eventually Wigan proved their defending skills yet again after silencing Liverpool’s strikers before and would be very happy to go back with a crucial point.
Bolton 3 – 2 Tottenham
This was an evenly contested match, and both teams were in search of 3 points to keep them away from the relegation zone. Bolton had an electric start to this match and the lead could have achieved in 22nd minute when Mark Davies directed his 8 yard header just wide. Bentley and Pavlyuchenko started a wave of attacks after Marks’ attempts until Bolton replied back with the lead in the 31st minute. Mark Davies directed his free kick perfectly for Puygrenier who headed it past the Spurs’ defence. Redknapp’s problems elevated in the absence of Defoe and at the end of first half he decided to bring in Bent and Jenas at the cost of Zokora and injured Modric. Adding to the visitor’s woes, Davies slashed the ball in the top-right corner to make it 2-0. It was a game on when Bent proved his presence in the 73rd minute with a goal and repeatedly did the same in the next minute to change the score line 2-2. Tension prevailed high on both ends till the last until Taylor’s corner was successfully put away by Davies, again. It was too late for Spurs to give a fight and Bolton had all the 3 points in their bag at the Reebok Stadium.
Fulham 3 – 1 Portsmouth
Portsmouth poor run continues this season as they were thrashed by Fulham at the Craven Cottage. No wins in the last eight matches have left Portsmouth in a miserable condition. Johnson got the game going in the 14th minute with a through ball from Dempsey and guided it past James. Pompey replied instantly through Davis’ efforts but Schwarzer’s vigilance kept the lead with Fulham. Both the sides attacked equally well and tested the goalkeepers regularly until the visitors were near to an equalizer in the 46th minute through Hreidarsson’s free kick. 63rd minute came with a welcome change for Fulham as struggling Zamora was replaced with Nevland. The attacks began to come faster and more testing for Pompey defence. Nevland single-handedly finished any hopes for visitors with his 2 late goals. The first came in the 71st minute when he guided a pass from Davies beyond James and 9 minutes later he did it again with the same combination making it happen. Nugent’s late consolation wasn’t enough to lift Pompey’s spirits who now are just a point away from the relegation zone.
Hull City 2 – 2 West Brom
Being the better side doesn’t always pay the way you expect. Hull city could manage just a solitary point at home as they were held to a 2-2 draw by the weakest team in this league. West Brom equalized twice and eventually earned a useful point at the KC Stadium. Though injury-marred starting line up of Hull City was struggling, yet Fagan and Mendy paired up to put a good show. After many unsuccessful attempts, Hull managed to draw first blood by an astounding individual effort from Mendy. The second half also witnessed regular bombardment but Carson stood firm. West Brom eventually broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute when Simpson left foot tucked the ball past the Hull defence. Mendy was again on the move as he provided an incredible pass for Fagan to glide it past Carson and restore the lead in the 69th minute. Confusion helped West Brom to gain a penalty 3 minutes later as Zayatte brought down Koren who was leaping towards a loose ball. Brunt made it 2-2 for West Brom with his neat effort. The Tigers made 2-3 late attempts but Carson was always there like a wall.
Middlesbrough 0 – 0 Blackburn
Big Sam’s Blackburn could not reap awards for their numerous attempts and managed a stalemate at Riverside. The new goalkeeper Brad Jones fought bravely against regular bombardments from almost all the Blackburn players and kept his side’s sheets clean. Right from the beginning the likes of Santa Cruz hovered like a fly for goal opportunities. The first half belonged completely to the Rovers as Boros managed to unease Robinson just once. Rejuvenated in the second half, Tuncay and Josh made serious attempts within the enemy territory. Second half substitutions from Blackburn worsened the scenario and Jones was tested very harshly, especially in the 82nd and 86th minute. The likes of Dunn and Roberts constantly made good moves till the 90th minute but Jones had a reply to every move. It was a heroic attempt from Jones that Boros managed a point. Otherwise they were always on the backfoot in their territory for the entire game. Grella should have won the game for the home side in the 75th minute, only to find an unbelievable block from Walker. The result left both the teams in the relegation zone since Stoke had already managed to defeat Manchester City.
Man Utd 1 – 0 Everton
With a game in hand and already at the zenith, Manchester went into this game with their strongest side and with the likes of Christiano finding the net more often now, victory didn’t seem distant. The loan goal came from a penalty strike from the Portuguese winger just before half time when Mikel Arteta tripped Michael Carrick to give the home team a reason to cheer. The match was set alive in the 4th minute itself when Ronaldo fired a free-kick into the defending wall. J.S. Park accompanied by Ronaldo and Carrick were regular visitors in the Enemy territory. Rio Ferdinand kept all the corners away from Everton and Cahill was silenced. In the 25th minute, Ronaldo’s 25th minute kick kissed the post and came back. Carrick was being manned by Arteta and so many of the moves could not find the perfect end. Tevez played his heart out throughout the game and was a part of many good passes. Anichebe was brought in for Fellaini in the 68th minute to speed up the attacks. A deflected Tevez shot sent shivers down the spines of Everton with Howard tipping it over just at the last moment. With 5 points clear, Manchester is all set for a hat-trick.
Sunday 01-02-2009
Newcastle 1 – 1 Sunderland
Newcastle fought really hard to get Sunderland to level terms and share the points in front of the home crowd. Sunderland played as a better side in all aspects of the game and got rewards for their efforts when Cisse put them in front in the 33rd minute. Newcastle tried desperately to level the scores with the help of Ameobi in various attempts. The second half saw Cisse and Jones on the prowl even more and things were not going Magpies’ way as they were forced into their defending territory time and again. The visitors managed to maintain the lead till the 68th minute when a loose challenge by Malbranque on Taylor yielded a penalty. Ameobi stepped up and blasted it into the left side to set the atmosphere alive. Sunderland yet another charged up the attacks and Magpies did collate some counter-attacks but eventually none of the sides could find a late winner till the final whistle.
Liverpool 2 – 0 Chelsea
The most awaited match of this Gameweek maintained its aura till the end before yielding a deserving result in Liverpool’s favour. Fernando Torres who is yet to score this year for Liverpool struck form just at the right time to keep his club’s Premiership hopes alive. Cech was put to high alert as attacks poured in starting from Alonso’s swirling kick in 11th minute to Mascherano’s flyer. The tackles got rough as the game progressed and soon the yellow slips were all over. The central defenders from Both Chelsea and Liverpool were put to test time and again by Torres, Riera and Ballack, Lampard respectively. The biggest turnaround arrived when Lampard was unfortunately shown the Red Card by the referee. Replays confirmed fair play but this decision proved way too costly in the end. Both sides flooded the fields with fresh blood around 65 minutes into the match. The home team got the lead in the 88th minute with a Torres slanting header that was way too acute for Cech to defend. Chelsea attacked full on in the last 2 minutes only to expose their defence and allow Torres to guide in a simple Banayoun pass to make the final score-line 2-0. The result dashed Chelsea’s hopes of title as they stand 5 points behind the leaders Manchester United, who still have a game in hand.
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