International Break and Euro 2012 Qualifying

I wasn't able to post in the last week (internet was down at home), but I will attempt to cover the international games from Friday/Saturday and Tuesday.  Anyway, this time I'm going to focus on teams in general, rather than games and give some words on their performances.  I'll be speaking about the following teams:

Ireland
England
Spain
Italy
Netherlands
Germany
USA

Also, I'm sorry but I won't be able to link to any videos at the moment because I can't find any for some games.  But, I'll edit later with links to videos when I get them.

Ireland

An own goal from Armenia send Ireland to the finals

Let's begin with Ireland (the country of my heritage).  Ireland have found their way into the second position in the table for Group B.  They pulled two victories this past weekend despite the absence of captain Robbie Keane.  On Friday, Ireland faced Andorra and produced a 2-0 victory.  Kevin Doyle was a hero again as his goal in the 7th minute put Ireland ahead, and Aiden McGeady solidified the lead in the 20th minute.  Then on Tuesday, Ireland and Armenia played to determine second spot in the group behind Russia.  Ireland managed a lucky, but hard fought 2-1 against Armenia.  Ireland's first point came from an own goal which was equalised by Armenia later.  Then Richard Dunne struck to give Ireland the lead before being sent off himself. This puts Ireland through to the Euro play offs (meaning they'll be playing against Portugal, Croatia, and Czech Republic to find one of two spots in the finals).

England
Well, England played only one game on Friday against Montenegro, and it was an interesting one.  Ashley Young and Darren Bent put England ahead 2-0 in the first half, but Montenegro fought back.  They put one away just before the half to end the first half at 2-1.  Then in the 73rd minute, Rooney was sent off for a pointless tackle (that honestly was not much of a tackle) and England were on the back foot after that.  All looked fine until Adrija Delibasic gave Montenegro the equaliser in the 90th minute to tie the game.  England remains in the top spot for Group G and they haven't lost a game yet, but playing without Rooney might be a bit tough for the goal scoring aspect.

Silva gives Spain the lead against Scotland

Spain
It was a routine weekend for the world champions as they recorded two more wins against the Czech Republic and Scotland.  On Friday, Juan Mata and Xabi Alonso put Spain ahead early with two great goals that were enough to hold for an easy win against the Czech Republic.  Tuesday, it was the game of the dual Davids as David Silva struck a brace and David Villa finished off the scoring against Scotland to give Spain a 3-1 win.  Spain maintains their perfect 8-win-record in Group I, absolutely guaranteeing them a spot in the finals.

Italy
It was a good but mixed weekend for the Italy that began with a Friday 1-1 tie with Serbia.  Marchisio struck early in the first minute to put Italy ahead, but Ivanovic equalised in the second half and neither team could find the net afterward.  Then on Tuesday, Italy found a comfortable 3-0 win against struggling Northern Ireland.  Cassano struck a brace and a humiliating own goal finished off the game.  Italy has also yet to lose a game in Group C with a 8-2-0 record.

Netherlands
The Netherlands proved they are a definite threat for the Euro 2012 this weekend but also dropped their first game in the group stages.  Friday they faced Moldova where a single goal from Klaas-Jan Huntelaar was enough to give the world cup runner-ups a 1-0 win.  But, Tuesday they were humbled by Sweden in a 2-3 loss.  Goals from Huntelaar and Kuyt were not enough this time and Netherlands lost their perfect record in qualifying.

Özil performed fantastically against Belgium

Germany
Germany finished Euro Cup qualifying with a spectacular perfect 10-0-0 record.  Friday they defeated Turkey 3-1 with goals from Gomez, Müller, and Schweinsteiger outweighing the consolation goal from Turkey.  Then on Tuesday, they beat Belgium 3-1 with more goals from Gomez, Özil, and Schurrle.  This technically gives them the best record (only because Spain have only played 8 games) as their 30 points stands monstrous in qualifying.

USA
The USA may not have a Euro Cup to qualify for, but they played games against Honduras and Ecuador this weekend.  Saturday, the USA got their first victory under new coach Jurgen Klinsmann as they defeated Honduras 1-0 thanks to a fabulous goal from Clint Dempsey assisted by Brek Shea.  Their Tuesday game against Ecuador just finished (like as am typing this) and the result is a 0-1 loss to Ecuador.  The USMNT definitely showed some fatigue and a lack of goalscorers as a singular goal from Corozo sunk the USA.  Klinsmann's record stands at 1 win 4 losses with the national team, but I honestly don't think it properly represents the progress they've made.  Hopefully a great goal scoring outlet or some chemistry with all the new players can bring better results (but I honestly think the red jerseys are bad luck).

So, league football resumes this weekend and I'll be back to summarise all the action on Saturday.

Reality Check

Sorry about the late post, but I've had a bit of a busy weekend with school and what not.  Anyways, below is a list of games that happened this past weekend that I'll be covering:

Blackburn Rovers 0-4 Manchester City
Manchester United 2-0 Norwich City
Valencia 1-0 Granada
Internazionale 0-3 Napoli
TSG Hoffenheim 0-0 Bayern München
Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Arsenal
Bolton Wanderers 1-5 Chelsea
Sporting Gijon 0-1 Barcelona
RCD Espanyol 0-4 Real Madrid
Juventus 2-0 AC Milan

As you can see there are tons of games, so let's get started!

Adam Johson breaches the Rovers to put City ahead

Blackburn Rovers 0-4 Manchester City

City returned to stellar form with goals from Adam Johnson, Mario Balotelli, Samir Nasri, and Stefan Savic to destroy Blackburn Rovers.  The goals started at 56 minutes and continued through the 87th as City romped their opponents.  I do have to say that Johnson's goal was brilliant and I hope to see more like that.

Manchester United 2-0 Norwich City

Manchester United struggled against Norwich City's tough defence and pulled a 2-0 win thanks to goals from Anderson and Danny Welbeck.  Nani, Rooney, and Chicharito couldn't find ways through and it took a bit of skill from the others to pull a win this time.  But still, you know a team is doing well when the critics say they performed poorly after winning 2-0.

Valencia 1-0 Granada

Valencia battled for a tough win against Granada even though the game winning goal came in the 4th minute.  Sergio Canales Madrazo put Valencia ahead with a splendid goal, but Soldado and other threw away a ton of chances to finish the game off.  Valencia dominated the game, but couldn't put it away.  Either way, they are now in a three way tie for third in the league.

Another impressive performance as Maggio gets his goal

Internazionale 0-3 Napoli

Inter failed again in a difficult game against recently successful Napoli.  There was some controversy over the first goal which resulted from a penalty given after Obi's challenge on Maggio right outside of the goal box.  This technically shouldn't have been a penalty, but it was nonetheless given and Obi was sent off for a red card, as well.  Hamsik missed the shot, but it was picked up by Campagnaro.  Later Maggio made it two with a slip up from Inter's defence and Hamsik made up for his missed penalty to bury Milan.  I have no doubt that Napoli would have won even without Obi's red card and penalty.

TSG Hoffenheim 0-0 Bayern München

Bayern München failed to find a real goal in their draw to TSG Hoffenheim.  This ended their 10-game winning streak, but they still sit at the top of the Bundesliga table, leading by 3 points.  Also, this continues goalkeeper Manuel Neuer's clean sheet streak, as Bayern have not conceded a goal since August 15.

Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Arsenal

Tottenham got a well-deserved and hard fought win over Arsenal.  Van der Vaart put Tottenham ahead just before the end of the first half and had Arsenal clawing back afterwards.  Aaron Ramsey equalised for Arsenal in the 51st minute and the Spurs dreams were crushed.  Then in the 73rd minute, Kyle Walker got his first goal at Tottenham and put Arsenal to bed.

Lampard proved his worth and definitely earned his place

Bolton Wanderers 1-5 Chelsea

Daniel Sturridge and Frank Lampard both proved their worth as Chelsea won 5-1 against Bolton Wanderers.  This was one of Chelsea's best performances this season.  Lampard was insatiable and Sturridge's second goal was brilliant and accentuated opposing keeper Adam Bogdan's poor performance.  Bolton did get a consolation goal courtesy of Dedryck Boyata that mimicked Sturridge's first.  Lampard's hat trick buried any speculation that his time at Chelsea was near its end.

Sporting Gijon 0-1 Barcelona

Barcelona found trouble getting a goal against Sporting Gjion, with the only one coming from Adriano in the 12th minute.  After this, the game was actually a bit boring.  There wasn't a remarkable amount of real chances for either side, and honestly Barcelona's consistency is beginning to worry me.  They may win by 5 or 6 goals one weekend, but the next one they pull a tie or barely edge by.  We'll have to see how this side perform later to decide whether they are really in for a tough time.

RCD Espanyol 0-4 Real Madrid

Real Madrid thrashed Espanyol with a hat trick from Higuain and a great goal from Callejon.  Kaka and Cristiano came up short, but the Argentine striker was there to put the team's unrest at ease.  This comes at a good time for Higuain as his place at Madrid has come under question following his recent string of performances.  But, even after this game his potential move been discussed.

Marchisio was the hero as Juventus stomped Milan

Juventus 2-0 AC Milan

It was a great night for the Bianconeri as Claudio Marchisio pulled a very late brace to give them victory over last year's champions.  Juventus dominated the game, but poor crossing and a lack of precise finishing left them still scrambling by the 87th minute.  Then Marchisio put it away to effectively bury Milan, who had been quiet for the majority of the evening.  Play continued until unexpectedly, Marchisio struck again in the 90th minute to definitively bury Milan.  This put Juventus in joint 1st place in the league (tied with Udinese) and serves as continued proof that the most successful team in Italy is coming back.

For the rest of this week, there won't be any matches, so unless big news hits I'll be out until Friday's Euro Cup games.  Cheers until then!

Routs and Upsets

The past two days have included a host of great Champions League games that offered unexpected results (some good, some bad).  You can visit this link at ESPN Soccernet to see all the scores for Tuesday and Wednesday.  I will be analysing the following games:

CSKA Moscow 2-3 Internazionale
Bayern Munich 2-0 Manchester City
Manchester United 3-3 FC Basel
Real Madrid 3-0 Ajax Amsterdam
Valencia 1-1 Chelsea
Arsenal 2-1 Olympiakos
AC Milan 2-0 Viktoria Plzen
BATE Borisov 0-5 Barcelona

Let's start with Tuesday's games.

CSKA Moscow 2-3 Internazionale

Inter almost suffered defeat against the Russian outfit, but a late goal by Mauro Zárate sealed the win for the Italian side.  Early goals from Lúcio and Pazzini put Inter ahead, but their lead was threatened when Moscow retaliated and Dzagoev and Love each slotted a goal.  But, Inter's good record under new coach Claudio Ranieri was preserved with a 3-2 victory.

Bayern Munich 2-0 Manchester City

It's starting to look as if Bayern are back to their best.  Mario Gomez continued his stellar form and scored a brace for Bayern in the first half that Mancini's men could not break.  There was also late drama with Carlos Tevez on City's bench when the player refused to play.  Mancini moved to substitute him and the two began arguing.  Because of Tevez's behaviour, City has given him a two-week ban from playing and Mancini has said that he may never play Tevez again.

United watch as their win slips away

Manchester United 3-3 FC Basel

Danny Welbeck put United ahead early with two fast goals by the 17th minute.  But, second half goals for Basel from Fabian Frei (1) and Alexander Frei (2) saw United on the losing end.  Ashley Young saved the day with a late game equaliser in the 90th minute giving each side a point.  This result is a bit ominous for United as the injury list is still filled with big names.


Real Madrid 3-0 Ajax Amsterdam

It was a near perfect day for Mourinho's men as he saw three great goals from three great players.  Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and Kaká all netted goals and Madrid's defence was solid.  This result is what fans and manager Jose Mourinho expect from the side.  The Spanish side have struggled a bit this season, despite the huge roster they boast, but Mourinho seems to be keeping his men on track now.


Valencia 1-1 Chelsea

"Duhh... you mean I can't use hands in football?" - Kalou

Well, I watched this one and the first half was a dud.  But, early in the second half, Frank Lampard proved his worth and sent at stunning ground ball into the goal with tremendous power.  Valencia had more trouble breaking Chelsea's defence until the 83rd minute substitution of Salomon Kalou for Frank Lampard.  This was Kalou's first appearance of the season, and within 5 minutes, he commits a hand ball off a corner within the goal box and gives a penalty to Valencia.  This actually infuriated me.  If Villas-Boas had any more substitutions I hope he would have pulled this dunce off.  And of course, Roberto Soldado finished the penalty easily.  Anelka and Malouda fought back afterwards in a flailing attempt to save Chelsea's effort, but last minute appeals for a deserved free kick earned yellow cards (seriously, ref?) for three more Chelsea players.  I definitely think the match was referee'd poorly, but in the end it was Kalou's thoughtless hand ball that cost Chelsea two points.

Arsenal 2-1 Olympiakos

Arsenal wrestled another good result out of an injury-laden team even with star Robin van Persie on the bench.  Arsenal pulled comfortably ahead by the 20th minute thanks to goals from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and André Santos.  But, Olympiakos fired back with a 27th minute goal from David Fuster.  This had Arsenal wary for an equaliser for the remainder of the game, but in the end they held fast and maintained the result.

Ibrahimovic celebrates his goal

AC Milan 2-0 Viktoria Plzen


Ibrahimovic and Cassano were both on target to deliver an easy 2-0 victory for the Italian side in the second half.  This was the kind of performance expected from last year's champions.  The victory wasn't exactly easy,  as the first half looked to be anybody's game.  This result, coupled with the draw to Barcelona puts AC Milan in good standing for the Champions League.


BATE Borisov 0-5 Barcelona


Barcelona encountered almost zero resistance against their opponents, as they won by five goals to nil.  After the 90 minutes, Borisov only had five shots and none were on goal.  Messi opened the scoring (although he wasn't credited for it) very early and Pedro followed up soon after.  The first goal was actually credited as an own goal because of a deflection during the shot.  Messi put in one more before the half ended and came out firing again in the second half to net his second (really third) goal.  Then David Villa put the icing on the cake in the 90th minute to give last year's Champions League winners at a five goal victory.  This leaves them tied for first place in Group H with AC Milan.  But, this performance was clearly indicative of superiority.

Thrilling Weekend

Unfortunately, I was only able to watch the Manchester City match as expected, but as the results streamed in I was thrilled with the performances by usual top teams this weekend.

Ronaldo and Messi both bagged hat tricks Saturday

In La Liga, Real Madrid delivered a much needed performance as they defeated Rayo Vallecano 6-2.  Cristiano Ronaldo struck a hat trick (although 2 of 3 were from penalties) and there were splendid strikes as well from Benzema, Higuain, and Varane.  Rayo Vallecano did get two goals though from Miguel Cuesta which is a testament to their good performance this season.  Barcelona also returned to their usual brilliance with a 5-0 rout of Atletico Madrid.  Messi also pulled a hat trick and other great goals came from David Villa and an own goal from Atletico.  This all followed Valencia's stunning 0-1 loss to Sevilla, causing them to drop to 7th in the league.  Betis have yet to play again, but even if they drop the game to Getafe they will still lead Barcelona by 1 point at the top of the table.

Seedorf saved Milan's day and sealed a win

Both Milanese teams got their first wins of the season this weekend.  AC Milan beat Cesena 1-0 thanks to a Seedorf goal and Inter Milan beat Bologna 3-1 with goals from Pazzini, Lucio, and Milito.  This doesn't do much for the two teams as they sit at 12th and 16th spots respectively, but it does give each a bit of hope in an otherwise dreary season that should have seen the two of them at the top of the table.  Current Serie A leaders Juventus lost a bit of ground in the title after today's 1-1 draw with Catania.  Finishing plagued the Bianconeri again as they forfeit too many chances to take the win and had to settle for Krasic's leveling goal.

Last year's Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund recovered from an early goal to defeat FSV Mainz 2-1.  this put them at 8th in the table, showing that there's a lot of work to be done for the champions.  And Bayern München continued their stellar season with a 3-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen.  Bayern saw goals from Müller, Robben, and Daniel van Buyten and easily kept their top spot in the league.  This actually gives them a larger lead than any other league leader at the moment.

Van Persie celebrates a great game for Arsenal

The Premier League had a host of interesting results this weekend.  To start things off, Arsenal secured a 3-0 victory over Bolton Wanderers in which Robin van Persie scored a brace and Alex Song got a great goal.
Van Persie's two goals were actually his 99th and 100th for the club, so that sweetens the victory a bit.  Surely, this result must lift the spirits of some of the fans after a rather bland season for the club.  They may not yet challenge for the title, but Arsenal are certainly improving after their slow start.

Manchester City found trouble against Everton, but eventually got goals and won 2-0.  Second half goals from Balotelli and Milner clinched City's victory this time.  But, the match was refereed poorly in my opinion. The referee was very inconsistent in his decisions to give cards for bad fouls and this adversely affected Everton's chances.  This moved them City one point clear of Manchester United who played later that day.
Manchester United were held though to a 1-1 draw with Stoke City with a goal from Nani matched in the second half by Peter Crouch.  Nani's goal was brilliant and De Gea's goal keeping was better, but "Chicharito" Hernandez joined the ranks of United's injured players which might be a problem for them.  This left the champions tied with Manchester City at the top of the table as United dropped their first 2 points of the season, ending their perfect run.

Chelsea found more drama with Fernando Torres Saturday during their 4-1 victory over Swansea City.  The Spanish striker fired in his second goal of the season in the 29th minute (much to my amusement), but found himself ejected ten minutes later for a bad tackle and a straight red card.  It looked to be another good performance for him, but he didn't really get a chance to show it.  Ramires shined though as he picked up two goals for Chelsea.  In the 86th minute, Swansea fired back and Ashley Williams scored, only to be negated by a 90th minute goal by Didier Drogba.  These results put the Premier League leaders as follows:  Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Newcastle United, Liverpool.  It's going to be a close one this year in the Premier League.

Betis top Table, new Hamburg Management

Sorry about yesterday.  I got a little caught up with homework, but I did watch a couple games (kind of messed up priorities, right?).  Still, what I saw was very promising for this season.

On Thursday, Espanyol faced Getafe and managed a 1-0 victory thanks to a very late goal in the 90th minute by Walter Pandiani.  The three points moved Espanyol to 10th in the La Liga tables and put Getafe in 19th with only 1 point for the season.  At this rate, Getafe will almost certainly face relegation at the end of the season.

Siena managed a 1-1 tie with AS Roma after a late equaliser by Roberto Vitello.  Roma took the lead in the 25th minute thanks to a great goal by Osvaldo, but would later be silenced by Vitello's goal in the 88th.  It should have been Roma's game, but they forfeited too many great chances to pull ahead in both halves.

Then Real Betis pulled a close 4-3 win over Real Zaragoza.  Betis had a comfortable 2-0 lead early in the first half, but Zaragoza struck back in the 36th minute to put the score at 2-1 at half time.  Shortly after the half, Betis won a penalty due to a foolish challenge by Zaragoza defender Paulo Da Silva.  And then Roque Santa Cruz put in his second to put Betis ahead by 4-1.  All looked lost for Zaragoza until the substitution of Juan Carlos for Pablo Barrera.  Carlos made an instant impact, putting away two almost identical volleys for Zaragoza and leaving the score at 4-3 by the 79th minute.  Betis moved to an all-out defence and Zaragoza was unable to break through again.  This gave Betis their 4th win, putting the newly promoted team at the top of the La Liga table and continuing their perfect season.

And Friday, VfB Stuttgart fell 1-2 to Hamburg SV and gave Hamburg their first win of the season.  Of course, this comes right after Hamburg fired manager Michael Oenning, so it's great to see some result, though I'm not sure if it can be attributed to the change in personnel.  Still, it at least gives Hamburg hopes of not seeing relegation from the Bundesliga.

This weekend, as always there will be a host of games to see.  Unfortunately, I'm at home this weekend and my internet connection is less than reliable (or fast), so I will only be able to see the one game being shown on ESPN2 which is Manchester City v. Everton at 7:45 AM eastern time.  I'll be watching live commentary on some of the games and as always I will watch highlights and pick through the games.  I won't be reporting tomorrow, but I'll be back Sunday with a recap of the weekend.  And for a complete schedule of tomorrow's games and their scores, you can visit this link at ESPN Soccernet.   

A Tough Day

The football world today was fraught with disappointment, tough games, and unexpected results.  Many teams sacrificed top league spots today, but still others showed a bit of improvement.

First of all, it has been confirmed that Gian Piero Gasperini has been fired by Internazionale and has been replaced by Claudio Ranieri, former coach of such clubs as Juventus, Chelsea, Roma, and Valencia.  Hopefully, Inter's "issues" can clear up and they can start to perform as expected.

Elsewhere in Italy, AC Milan faced Udinese today and managed a tough 1-1 with goals coming from Antonio di Natale and Stephen El Shaaraww.  This puts Udinese in third place for the league, tied with Juventus and Genoa, and leaves AC Milan still looking for their first win this season.  Wait, weren't these guys last year's champions? What's going on here?

Could the Spanish giants have real trouble this season?

The game between Real Madrid and Racing Santander which ended at 0-0 certainly did not help the title seekers toward their goal.  The obviously unfit Cristiano Ronaldo failed to make a lasting impression and the entire team performed poorly to be honest.  This is just the kind of result that allows Barcelona to take the league away from Real Madrid.


Except, things didn't go as expected for last years La Liga champions either as Barcelona were held to a 2-2 tie by current league leaders Valencia.  Valencia showed a strong and clear strategy that simply picked apart the usually cool and smooth Barcelona machine and didn't allow them to build up play by passes.  This, coupled with a few quick counter attacks left the Catalans on the back foot for the whole night.  This season is definitely not a two horse race.

Atletico Madrid showed some strength as they beat back last place Sporting Gijon with a 4-0 victory.

And Juventus found trouble against Bologna as their game ended 1-1.  In this encounter the Bianconeri saw Mirko Vucinic score a goal and later be sent off for a bad foul at the end of the first half.  Then they fell to a quick strike early in the second and dropped their first 2 points of the season.

Hargreaves returns from injury in stellar form

In the Carling Cup, a group of largely Chelsea youngsters saw off Fulham in a tough 0-0 result that the blues won 4-3 in penalties.  Again Manchester City had a strong showing as they eased past Birmingham City 2-0 thanks to the return of Owen Hargreaves and a late goal by Mario Balotelli.  And Liverpool showed some signs of their old selves and saw off Brighton 2-1.

Not much is on tomorrow as AS Roma take on Siena in the Italian Serie A, Espanyol faces Getafe, and Real Betis meets Real Zaragoza in La Liga.  All these games except the Espanyol/Getafe game are going to be available on ESPN3.  Cheers until tomorrow!

Arsenal Recover, Inter Sink

With a wealthy amount of games played today, clubs are starting to get far enough into the season to make definitive remarks on their performance.  Of particular mention are Arsenal, Manchester United, Internazionale, and Villareal.

Today, Arsenal fought back from a 1-0 at half time to Shrewsbury Town in the Carling Cup of Nations to secure a deserved 3-1 victory.  Wenger's squad showed promise as a lot of youngsters had a chance and performed well.  In particular, the goals came from some rather unknown faces at Arsenal.  It's good to see that they've finally bounced back after a poor start to the season.

Gasperini could be done tomorrow

Inter, on the other hand are just lacking something.  The '09-'10 treble winning team fell 1-3 in a truly disappointing loss to Novara, with Cambiasso's late goal the only consoling effort.  This marks Inter's third league game without a win and potentially last game with Gian Piero Gasperini as head coach.  Inter's president Massio Moratti is set to decide on Gasperini's future tomorrow.  Gasperini hopes he will be given another chance, but the booing Inter fans appear to be fed up already.

On the opposite end of the spectrum are defending Premier League champions Manchester United, who produced an easy 3-0 win over Leeds United.  There was no "Rooney magic" today, as head coach Alex Ferguson fielded an older team that resulted in both Ryan Giggs and Michael Owen appearing on the score sheet.  United have clearly proven that they are capable of winning almost regardless of which players they use.  This season I feel like they will be the team to beat in both the Champions League and the Premier League.

Giuseppe Rossi celebrates

In Spain, Villareal showed a sign of the skill they had last season in their 2-0 win over Mallorca.  Giuseppe Rossi and Nilmar both played great games and scored great goals, but from watching it seemed that Villareal should have scored more.  Perhaps they were just unlucky, but Mallorca's performance in the final 20 minutes of the game certainly gave Villareal some worry.  Villareal may not challenge for the league title this season, but I wouldn't be surprised for them to finish in third or fourth place.

Tomorrow, I look forward to watching Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester City, and Chelsea play in a day that is practically inundated with matches.