Biggest news story this week?

Well, yesterday we had quite an active set of games in Scotland. The biggest news to come from the northern nation, however, was Celtic's 1-0 victory over Rangers! Not only w as this a grudge match as usual, but the 3 points actually allowed the B'hoys to leapfrog their cross town rivals. While there were chances on both sides, it all came down to Joe Ledley's 52nd minute strike when it came to deciding the game. Despite just the one goal, it was still a heated match-up to be sure! Hibernian and Inverness drew 1-1 in their match Wednesday with Garry O'Connor putting the home side ahead in the 8th minute. Inverness eventually retaliated though, through Jonathan Hayes 4 minutes before half time. St. Johnstone v.s. Kilmarnock meanwhile was more one-sided: the home side took control in the 26th through Francisco Sandaza before Sandaza struck once more in the 1st minute of stoppage time of the 1st half. Kilmarnock never recovered. St. Mirren and Dundee United ended level despite both sides accumulating 2 goals. Steve Thompson initially gave the home side the advantage in the 27th minute. Just 4 minutes later, Jonathan Daly equalized for Dundee. Graham Carey put things right for St. Mirren once more but it was to no avail as weakness at the back allowed Stuart Armstrong to draw the visitors level once more. Aberdeen and Hearts played out a goalless draw while Motherwell's match with Dunfermline was postponed. Have a good week!

English Premier League update!

Well, there were quite a few games today in England and some important movement in the table as well! While Newcastle's 0-2 away victory over Bolton exhibited the late battling that we all love about Newcastle, it leaves them 7th in the league. Hatem Ben Afra and Demba Ba were the two players to strike in the 69th and 71st minutes respectively to ensure the success of the travelers. Meanwhile, Fulham did well for themselves on their trip to Chelsea's home field with a 1-1 draw against a side with a lot more cash and talent. Juan Mata gave the Blues a 1-0 lead in the 47th minute of the 2nd half but that was cancelled out with Clint Dempsey's wonderful equalizer in the 56th minute. Liverpool and Blackburn ended in similar form except Blackburn just got lucky. The home side succumbed to an own goal from Charlie Adam in the 45th minute to give Blackburn a 0-1 lead into the break. However, Liverpool rallied and ended up striking home - just once - in the 53rd through Maxi Rodriguez. On now to Manchester United v.s. Wigan. Honestly, it was never going to be a close match however United utterly thrashed the visitors with the first goal coming from Park Ji-Sung in just the 8th minute. Dimitar Berbatov then struck twice, in the 41st and 58th minute, to make it 3-0. Normally, that would have been the time for United to take their foot off the gas. On the other hand, they may need a strong goal difference against a challenging Manchester City side this year. So they proceeded to strike twice more: through Antonio Valencia in the 75th and then Berbatov completed his hat trick in the 78th. Meanwhile, Stoke v.s. Aston Villa ended a dismal 0-0 with a couple of yellows handed out and nothing else. Sunderland's 1-1 draw with Everton was a good game though, Jack Colback gave the home side the lead in the 26th before Leighton Baines equalized for Everton in the 51st minute from the penalty spot. West Brom and Manchester City actually completed their match 0-0 as well!

What you have to look forward to!

Well tomorrow, Saturday the 24th, most of the action will be taking place in Scotland. Celtic will be facing Kilmarnock in Glasgow in a game that could in theory narrow Ranger's lead from 4 points to 1 point. Dundee United v.s. Hibernian is another game with the Dundee side looking to overtake Kilmarnock with a win over their 11th place competition. Dunfermline and St. Johnstone are another face-off with the visitors hoping for some points to narrow their gap with 3rd-place Motherwell. Since they are playing bottom-of-the-table Dunfermline, it might be on the cards. Then, we have Hearts playing against Motherwell. While Motherwell are in 3rd to Hearts' 5th, Hearts will be excited since they are at home. Inverness and Aberdeen are also playing with the northerners down to Aberdeen in the tables but just by one place and they are at home! St. Mirren and Rangers will probably be the most straight-forward game of the day! Rangers are top of the table and flying high and I honestly don't see them dropping points in this game. And that's really all there is this weekend! Enjoy.

Around the leagues.

Well, in England today we had quite the battle between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea. Spurs actually took the lead in the 8th minute through Emmanuel Adebayor. While they held on to their lead for a time, Chelsea fought back and equalized through Daniel Sturridge in the 23rd minute. While there was more action, there were no more goals and the match ended 1-1. Over in Turkey Besiktas and Karabukspor played out a 1-0 performance with the home side taking the lead and winning in the 37th minute after Hugo Almeida found the back of the net. Meanwhile, Gaziantepspor and Bursaspor fought in a 2-2 draw. Olcan Adin gave the home side the lead in the 32nd minute before Ibrahim Bangura equalized in the 56th minute for Bursaspor. Abdullah Elyasa Sume then gave Gaziantepspor the lead once more in the 66th before Bursaspor were brought level once more! This time though, Ozan Ipek was the man for the home side. He struck in the 86th minute to win the game. Genclerbirligi v.s. Istanbul was the third game today in Turkey and the home side were powerfully in charge. Yasin Oztekin opened the account in the 7th minute while Herve Tum added a second in the 24th. Tum then added a second for himself - Genclerbirligi's third - in the 43rd minute. Last but not least, Ermin Zec completed the 4-0 scoreline in the 73rd minute. The final game of the day was between Trabzonspor and Orduspor who amassed a total of 5 goals. Trabzonspor were given the lead in the 22nd minute through Halil Altintop. Their lead was opened up further by Burak Yilmaz from the penalty spot in the 34th minute. Yilmaz had struck another pair by the 76th minute too! He made it 3-0 before half time and completed his hat-trick in the 76th. Orduspor did have something to smile about though: Hakan Ozmert gave them a goal of their own to make it a 4-1 game.

General Update! 12/18/11.

So! A lot is happening in the world of football right now. First of all, how about a brief overview of the leagues of Europe? Well, in England Manchester City have maintained their hold on the league title - though things are still very close between them and their cross-town rivals United who are in 2nd with 39 points: just 2 points less! Tottenham Hotspur aren't looking too bad either, holding 3rd by 2 points as well, but they should be confident: they've been playing very nice football this season. Chelsea are right behind them in 4th with 32 points. Arsenal and Liverpool round out the top 5 as they are both tied for points with 29 after 16 games. Newcastle are a surprise though: they have not fallen out by any stretch of the imagination! Instead, they are in 7th with 27 points - right on the heels of the Gunners and Liverpool. Down in Spain meanwhile Real Madrid remain on top of the league despite the loss in El Classico to 2nd place Barcelona. The two sides are divided by 3 points with Madrid holding 40 and the Catalans holding 37. Valencia meanwhile occupy 3rd with 33 points which gives them a very small comfort zone over the likes of 4th-place Levante who have 29 points. CA Osasuna have 5th position with 25. On now to Italy where Juventus have reclaimed their place at the top of the table with 33 points from 15 games. AC Milan are right on with them though, more than willing to take the top if the Old Ladies slip. AC are just 2 points behind - as are Udinese Calcio! Lazio hold 4th quite nicely though, defying 5th-placed Inter Milan to catch up with them with a 6 point spread. Lazio have 29 to Inter's 23. Over in Germany things are also competitive with Bayern holding 1st by just 3 points. Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04 each have 34 in 2nd. Borussia Monchengladbach aren't out either though, just 1 point shy of the 2nd place sides. Werder Bremen hold 5th though, making 29 points from 17 matches played. In Portugal, Porto have drawn level with Lisbon rivals Benfica with both sides holding 33 points from their first 13 matches. Sporting Lisbon occupy 3rd, 27 points from 13 games isn't too bad however 4th place SC Braga have a game in hand and 22 points already. If they play their cards right and Sporting drop some points, Braga may be looking at a shot at the title. CS Maritimo are in a similar position though they have already played their 13th game. In the Netherlands AZ Alkmaar actually control the league - just by a point though! 2nd place PSV have 37 which means the pressure is really and truly on. FC Twente are 4 down in 3rd with Ajax right with them. Feyenoord are in 5th with 31. In Scotland Rangers are leading by 4 points over Celtic in 2nd who have 44 points - this hasn't been a good year for the B'hoys. Having said that though, they still have a full 10 points over 3rd place Motherwell. Motherwell do have a game in hand though. Now then. In other news, Barcelona are the best club on earth! It's official! They claimed victory earlier today with a 4-0 drubbing over Brazilian side Santos in the Club World Cup. What is there to say about the affair? Well, Barca were up to their usual title flair with massive amounts of possession and great goals too! Lionel Messi was the man of the match, Xavi helped control the ball-game, and the likes of Dani Alves and company made sure Barca dominated from back to front.

Champions League draw!!!

Well the group stage is over and now we get into the knock-out round! Who will face who? Will any of the smaller sides make it out? Well, you can puzzle these questions after this knowledge session: Olympique Lyon of France will face Cypriot side APOEL FC over two legs while SSC Napoli from Italy will test themselves against the English giants Chelsea! AC Milan and Arsenal are the other two Italian and English sides respectively to face off in what is sure to be an exciting match-up. Swiss surprises FC Basel 1893 will challenge Bayern Munich of Germany in their first fixture while the other German representatives, Bayer 04 Leverkusen will pray for blessings as they face FC Barcelona. Speaking of Spanish sides, Real Madrid and PFC CSKA Moskva of Russia will clash while fellow Russian side FC Zenit St. Petersburg face the challenge of defeating the Portuguese side SL Benfica. Last but not least, Olympique Marseille from France face Inter Milan of Italy! Enjoy the games!

Europa League group stage wrap-up! 12/15/11.

Well the group stage has been completed and it was not kind to many sides but the sides that have weathered the storm are: PAOK FC of Greece and FC Rubin Kazan of Russia qualified from Group A. Meanwhile in Group B Standard de Liege from Belgium and Hannover of Germany were the teams that made it through - very comfortably it should be noted. Group C on the other hand had more contestation with PSV of the Netherlands going through smoothly but Legia Warszawa from Poland had to fight to the death for qualification. I already covered Groups D - G in my last post so I'll hop over to Group H where Club Brugge KV and SC Braga made it through. They hail from Belgium and Portugal respectively. Group I meanwhile was held by Club Atletico de Madrid (Spain) while Udinese Calcio (Italy) grabbed second on the last day of the group - drawing 1-1 with Celtic to ensure their progression. Finally, Group J was controlled by FC Schalke 04 of Germany while FC Steaua Bucuresti from Romania did very well for themselves. Enjoy the next round of games!

Europa League update 12/14/11.

Well, teams are beginning to qualify in earnest now with several groups wrapping up today: In Group L RSC Anderlecht successfully maintained their superiority at the top of the table with 18 points from 6 wins in 6 games! Meanwhile, FC Lokomotiv Moskva were through with 12 points from their 6 matches. In Group K we also had qualifiers with FC Twente running through with 13 points while Wisla Krakow were able to edge their way past Fulham after the English side were held to a 2-2 draw against Odense BK in their last match. Krakow had 9 points to Fulham's 8. On to Group J now where FC Schalke 04 stayed undefeated with 4 wins and 2 draws for 14 points and a comfortable margin of victory. FC Steaua Bucuresti were the other side to qualify with 8 points - 2 more than 3rd place Maccabi Haifa FC! Hopping over to Group F now where Athletic Club and FC Salzburg were the qualifiers. Athletic had 13 points from their 6 games while Salzburg had 10 - tied with PSG of France who they beat out on goal difference. The story wasn't quite the same in Group E where Turkish side Besiktas JK qualified with 12 points while Stoke City FC finished in 2nd with 11 points. Last but not least, Group D concluded with Sporting Lisbon from Portugal and S.S. Lazio of Italy taking the top two slots. Sporting were safe with 12 while Lazio really had to fight for 9 - just 3 points above 3rd place FC Vasuli! Enjoy the round of games tomorrow!

Real Madrid v.s. Barcelona!

To begin, let me just say: WHAT A GAME!!! Real Madrid took the lead very early on through Benzema who collected a rebound and slotted home beautifully in the 21st second. Barcelona had dropped the ball back to their keeper Valdes who really ruined a pass which was intercepted by Di Maria. It was only a matter of time that Madrid would score after that kind of mistake. Respect to Barcelona though! They held on and not only tightened up at the back but also grabbed a vital equalizer in the 30th minute. Messi pulled 3 Madrid players into the center with his run before feeding it back out to Alexis Sanchez. The Chilean had almost nothing and yet his strike from the edge of the area found the back of the net with Casillas looking helpless! 1-1! The two sides finished the half thus poised. Barcelona continued to fight their way back into the match but the way they took the lead was wonderfully absurd: In the 53rd minute Ramos cleared the ball which was collected by Xavi. Xavi, who was playing in a milestone game for Barcelona proceeded to take a chance and shot the ball towards the goal. Casillas had it... Before a vicious deflection off of Marcelo directed the ball into the other side of the net. Casillas scrambled but was left wanting a rock to hid under. The Bernabeu was deathly silent except for the ecstatic contingent of Barcelona fans at the game. The Catalans weren't done though. Despite some scares from Cristiano Ronaldo - scares that consisted of him totally hashing every opportunity he was given - Barca were the ones to draw blood once more: Fabregas heads home in the 66th minute after an enthralling piece of football that swept Madrid off the pitch. Alves was the man who delivered the beautiful cross. I don't think any of the defenders thought anyone would get to it. The former Arsenal man proved them wrong! And so the game ended, no more goals, some more action, but a 1-3 scoreline nonetheless. Is this the beginning of Barca's league comeback? We'll see. Hope you enjoyed the match!

Champions League update!!! The results for 12/7/11.

So in Group A we had quite the set of matches with Manchester City defeating Bayern Munich by a scoreline of 2-0 which did... Absolutely nothing for the English side! They are still out following Napoli's defeat of Villarreal by the same scoreline in Spain. Bayern remained at the top of the group despite their loss, standing tall with 13 points. Napoli meanwhile qualified with 11 points in 2nd place. City were left a point behind in 3rd while Villarreal ended in 4th with 0 points. On to Group B now where Inter were surprised 1-2 by the likes of CSKA Moskva in Italy. Up in France meanwhile, Lille and Trabzonspor ended level 0-0 which left the Turkish side out of luck in 3rd place. Inter still held on to 1st place despite their loss while CSKA grabbed 2nd by the edge of their teeth. Lille finish the table in 4th. Now Group C is where the hugest surprises came: not from Benfica's edging Otelul Galati 1-0 but rather Basel's 2-1 victory over giants of world football Manchester United. That result led to the knocking out of the Manchester club before the knock-out stages even begin! Benfica and Basel thus ensured their respective qualifications in 1st and 2nd. United ended up in 3rd with 9 points while Galati finished with nothing. In concluding we have Group D where Real Madrid completed their conquest with a perfect winning record. This came after their 0-3 victory over Ajax of the Netherlands. With 18 points from 6 games giving them an untouchable lead, Madrid can feel very happy for themselves. Meanwhile, in Croatia, Dinamo Zagreb were absolutely hammered by Lyon of France who struck 7 times while allowing just 1 in. The result was exactly what the French side needed to qualify as they managed to overturn any adverse goal differences. So here are the teams in the next round: from Group A there is Bayern and Napoli; from B there is Inter and CSKA; as far as C goes Benfica and Basel are the surprise representatives; D's delegation consists of Real Madrid and Lyon while E qualifiers are Chelsea and Bayer Leverkusen. In Group F Arsenal and Marseille reigned while G was grabbed at the death by the likes of APOEL and Zenit St. Petersburg. Last but not least qualification was achieved by Barcelona and AC Milan in Group H. Hope you are looking forward to the next round as much as I am! Expect the fixtures sometime soon.

Champions League: The last group day! 12/7/11.

Groups A - D play today to determine the final qualifiers for the knock-out round! Expect an explosive day of action in Group A when top-of-the-group Bayern Munich take on 3rd place Manchester City. While Bayern have already qualified and are assured of their 1st-place status, they will still probably want a result in England even if it is a draw. 2nd place Napoli meanwhile travel to Villarreal in Spain for a match that they should feel confident about: The Spaniards have lost both of their other 2 matches at home! Villarreal will really want to make some points though, so they at least wont be going home empty handed. Bayern have 13 points, Napoli have 8, Manchester City have 7 while Villarreal have 0. Over to Group B now where the names are slightly less star-studded but the action will be every bit as intense: Inter sit at the top with 10 points which already qualifies them for the next round. They will be facing CSKA Moskva in their game today who are level for 3rd with 5 points. 2nd place Turkish side Trabzonspor (who have 6 points) will be facing stiff competition from Lille (who have 5 like CSKA) when they go to France today. I wouldn't be surprised if the Turks end up going through based solely on the fact that their away record is better than Lille's home record. We will have to see though; if Inter field a B-team, then Trabzonspor must win. If Inter hammer their guests, a draw will be enough. Meanwhile in Group C things are quite hot with qualification in any of 3 hands: SL Benfica and Manchester United both have 9 points from their respective 8 games while FC Basel 1893 are still in  the fight at 8 points. Only FC Oţelul Galaţi are out of the fight with 0 points. And what do things look like? Well, the Portuguese welcome the Romanians of Oţelul Galaţi to Lisbon today which should result in 3 points and qualification. In the other fixture, Manchester United might be challenged when they visit Basel (Switzerland) later today. When the two sides met in England the Red Devils were stunned 3-3 so expect just about anything from this game. Last but certainly not least we have Group D where Real Madrid rule supreme and Ajax are almost sure of qualification. They have 15 and 8 points respectively while French side Lyon have 5 points. GNK Dinamo Zagreb have taken no points. So how about the games today? Well, in this climate, Dinamo Zagreb will be welcoming Lyon to Croatia with the hopes of at least a draw to mean they have taken 1 point in this dismal qualifying campaign. I still expect Lyon to win: they must score a ton of goals though, as they have quite the goal deficit to overtake. Meanwhile Ajax face Madrid in the Netherlands so they will hope the home support and the squad's talent will combine to winning- or at least drawing- effect. Enjoy the games!!!

Champions League update 12/6/11.

What a day of football action we had today! In Group F Chelsea put 3 past Valencia without reply to solidify their control of the group with 11 points while Bayer Leverkusen's 1-1 draw with Genk was enough to get the Germans into the next round with 10 points. Valencia ended up in 3rd place with 8 points after their loss while Genk had 3 points in 4th. Over in Group F there was quite the final day drama as Arsenal lost to Olympiacos 3-1 in Greece but still got through in 1st place with 11 points. Marseille actually grabbed 2nd after a come-from-behind victory that caught their German hosts Dortmund completely by surprise. Dortmund had led 2-0 by the 32nd minute however their lead was cut to 1 in the 4th minute of stoppage time of the 1st half. 2 more goals for the French side in the last 10 minutes settled the matter. Olympiacos will be disappointed after being snubbed for 2nd, dropping to 3rd with 9 points though they have every right to keep their heads held high. Dortmund on the other hand finished in disgrace with only 4 points. On to Group G now where results were also bizarre! Porto and Zenit St. Petersburg played out a disappointing 0-0 draw in Portugal today with the Russians relying totally on their cornerstone: goal keeper Vyacheslav Malafeev. He faced at least 10 shots today and allowed not one to pass him. Meanwhile, APOEL and Shakhtar Donetsk played out a quite surprising 0-2 affair with the Cypriots actually losing at home! Nonetheless, APOEL progress to the next round while Shakhtar are in 4th with just 5 points. Zenit were able to bring themselves into 2nd with their draw while Porto are pushed (by just 1 point) into 3rd with 8. Finally, Group F also concluded resoundingly with Barcelona blasting BATE 4-0 while Plzen and Milan played out an exciting 2-2 draw. Barca thus finish at the top of the group with an undefeated record and 16 points while AC Milan occupy 2nd with 9. Plzen represented the Czech Republic well, amassing 5 points, as BATE Borisov collected just 2. Look forward to the next round!!!

Champions League!! 12/6/11 preview!

Well, this is it. When all the chips are counted and the two biggest winners progress. Already we have some who are through to the next round and others who will be hoping to compete next year. In Group E the hugest match will be between Chelsea and Valencia. The English side play host to the Spanish with both sides level for 2nd on 8 points. It is sure to be a fantastic match. Meanwhile current leaders Bayer Leverkusen will be hoping for the 3 points to qualify themselves when they visit Genk later today. Over in Group F things are also very close with already qualified Arsenal traveling to Greece to play 3rd place Olympiacos. The Greeks currently have 6 points compared to 2nd place Marseille's 7. Speaking of the French side, they will be facing disappointing Borussia Dortmund in their final game with qualification on the line. Obviously the Greeks will hope the Germans step-up their game at home: I wouldn't be surprised, they are undefeated at home in the group stages this year. Meanwhile, Group G also has a top three situation that is super close: APOEL sit on top with 9 points while Zenit St. Petersburg are a point behind in 2nd. Porto are in 3rd with 7 while Shakhtar Donetsk are down and out with just 2 points. As far as last games go, APOEL have it pretty easy: defeat Shakhtar in Cyprus and qualify for the next round. Porto and Zenit on the other hand face-off in what is sure to be an explosive match! Last but not least, in Group H, everything is wrapped up here as the teams are just going through the formalities honestly: Barcelona are well clear with 13 points at the top of the table while Milan are 4 points ahead of 3rd place Viktoria Plzen. Combined, BATE Borisov (last place) and Viktoria don't even have as many points as Milan! Enjoy the games!!!

Club World Cup!!! Coming soon.

On the 8th of December, 2011, the Club World Cup kicks off in Japan with the hosts Kashiwa Reysol hosting Auckland City FC of New Zealand. The Kashiwa side were just a couple seasons ago slipping into relegation. Today? They have become the first ever Japanese side to win consecutive 2nd and 1st division titles one after the other. Jorge Wagner and Leandro Domingues are just two of the big names on this exciting team. Auckland meanwhile are rebuilding after a less than impressive 2010 season when they lost both national and international titles that they had won the year before. In qualifying for this years edition, they remained undefeated through 8 matches scoring 18 times and allowing only 3. After this play-off for the final Quarter-Finals spot, we will then well and truly get under way. Whoever wins between the New Zealanders and the Japanese will then face the stiff competition of Club de Futbol Monterrey in the Quarter-Finals. The Mexican side have been together for quite some time in most cases with much of the squad really in their prime for this tournament. After grabbing the 2010/11 CONCACAF Champions League title, they will now be playing in their first Club World Cup. They've earned it, now let's see what they can do with it. In the other Quarter-Final game, Esperance Sportive de Tunis of Tunisia will challenge Al-Sadd of Qatar in what will be the huge match of Africa and the Middle East. Esperance will hope to continue their form that saw them win the treble in 2010/11: the CAF Champions League, the league, and the cup! Oussama Darragi, the bright captain, stands out in a group of largely home-grown talented players. Al Sadd meanwhile return to the top of world football after winning the 2011 AFC Champions League. With a mixture of old guard and new boys, they pose quite the threat to any side. Last but certainly not least we have Santos and Barcelona. These two giants await their challengers in the Semi-Finals with hopes of capturing a world title. After successful conquests at home (Sao Paulo state championship and Brazilian Cup in 2010), and abroad (claiming the club’s third Copa Libertadores), expect them to go for all of the gold in Japan. With Leo, Elano, Neymar, and Paulo Henrique Ganso, who knows what they will do? Barca meanwhile are the obvious favorites with a total of 10 trophies in the past 3 years. With Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, and David Villa, expect great things from the Catalan side. Enjoy!

Euro 2012!!

Well the Groups have been decided and here we go! Group A has Poland, Greece, Russia, and the Czech Republic. Group B is headed up by the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, and Portugal. Meanwhile Group C will probably be dominated by World and European Champions Spain; Italy, Croatia, and the Republic of Ireland are also present. Last but not least Group D has Ukraine, Sweden, France, and England. How about some predictions? Well, in Group A co-hosts Poland will hope that the home field advantage spurs them on to great things. Russia on paper are the favorites for taking top honors in the group while Greece should give them a good run for their money. The Czech Republic may surprise, but I would expect them to be held in 3rd, after the Greeks. Over in Group B the Netherlands will be heavily challenged by Germany. Portugal can't be totally disqualified, but honestly their pedigree just isn't the same as the other two. Finally Denmark will have to dig deep to make sure that they are not embarrassed in this edition of the tournament. On to Group C where I may seem redundant in predicting that the Spanish will run out winners. This won't be as straight forward as it may seem though, with the Italians posing a decent challenge with a much tighter team than we saw in their last competitive performance. Croatia are not pushovers at all either, offering a good challenge to either of the Western European sides. Unfortunately, Ireland will probably be left fighting to make ends meet in such a talented group. Finally, in Group D, Ukraine will be spurred by the home crowds to do well, but against the likes of England, France, and Sweden, this may be hard. I would think England will take 1st while France should grab 2nd. Sweden will challenge, as will the co-hosts, but the talent of the English and the French should carry the day. Be ready for surprises though!

Europa League group update. 11/30/11.

After the latest round of games, the groups are one step closer to being completed! Excited? Well, if not how about we begin? In Group A PAOK of Greece are through to the next round after edging Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 in their game today. They have 11 points going into their final game and are really only hoping to stay in 1st. Rubin Kazan are in 2nd, not quite safe however the chances of them not progressing are pretty slim. They have amassed 10 points from their 5 games which puts them 3 above Tottenham Hotspur who have 7 in 3rd. Shamrock Rovers are in 4th with 0 points and 0 prospects. In Group B Standard de Liege have effectively outplayed all of their opposition, remaining undefeated in their 5 games thus far meaning they have taken 11 points. Hannover, meanwhile, are in 2nd with 8 points. While it will be hard for them to be toppled from that position, Kobenhavn will be hoping to do just that since they have 5 points in 3rd place. Vorskla Poltava sit in 4th just playing their last match for pride since they have just 2 points from 5 games played. On to Group C where Eindhoven have maintained their dominance with an edging of closest competition Legia Warszawa earlier today. With 13 points they are untouchable! Warszawa meanwhile remain comfortably in 2nd with 9 points while Hapoel Tel-Aviv and Rapid Bucuresti  are 3rd and 4th respectively with 4 and 3 points. Groups D, E, and F didn't play today so I'll just skip to Group G for the sake of time: Metalist Kharkiv have maintained themselves in the face of danger as they are far and away qualified with 13 points while 2nd place AZ Alkmaar have just 7 following a draw with bottom of the table Malmo FF. Austria Wien on the other hand lost but are still within striking distance of securing 2nd if all goes smoothly. They have 5 points to AZ's 7. Malmo will be playing for the pride of Sweden as they have only managed a single point from all 5 of their games. Forward now to Group H where things are very tight at the top: Club Brugge and SC Braga are level with 10 points each while Birmingham City could theoretically still qualify since they have 7 points. NK Maribor however are down and out with just a point. Now in Group I I hope you will allow me a piece of conjecturing. Now Atletico Madrid have qualified since they just have to defeat 4th-place Stade Rennais to assure qualification. Udinese may be feeling comfortable in 2nd as they have 8 points to Celtic's 5. However, if Celtic win (somehow) and get the goal difference heavily in their advantage, the under-performing Scottish side will be looking at the knock-out rounds. Groups J, K, and L also did not have any games today so I hope you enjoyed the ones we saw and look forward to the ones we haven't yet!

Futsal Cup! Elite Round update.

Well there have been a plethora of enjoyable games in this years episode of the Futsal Cup! Group A is currently led by Russian superpowers MFK Dinamo Moskva and Kazakhstan's Kairat Almaty, the two sides only separated by goal difference. Both sides have 7 points and undefeated records. KMF Ekonomac Kragujevac of Serbia are in 3rd with 3 points meaning given the perfect circumstances they could still qualify however this group honestly looks wrapped up. Châtelineau from Belgium sit in 4th with nothing but honor to fight for. In Group B Barcelona's Futsal team rules with 7 points from their first 3 games. They have also allowed the least goals in the competition: just 2! Araz Naxçivan from the nation of Azerbaijan sit precariously in 2nd with just a 1 point advantage over the likes of Club Futsal Eindhoven and FK EP Chrudim from the Czech Republic who both have 3 points. On to Group C where things are also close as Sporting lead for the moment with 7 points from 3 games. Iberia Star Tbilisi of Georgia are doing well for themselves with 4 points while joint-3rd City US Targu Mures (Romania) and Gyori ETO FC (Hungary) each have 3. Combined, this all means that the group is still very open and by extension the go-to place for excitement! Last but certainly not least we have Group D where Marca Futsal of Italy lead with 7 points while fellow Italian representatives ASD Città di Montesilvano C/5 hold 2nd with 5 points. Uragan Ivano-Frankovsk aren't out of the fight in 3rd though, they have amassed 4 points and are representing Ukraine quite admirably. The same can not be said of Slov-Matic Bratislava who have failed to register a point in any of their first 3 games. While they haven't lost by anything more than 2 points in any of their Elite Round games, results are what matter at this level and results are continually eluding them. Enjoy the upcoming games!

Europa League Standings before the coming round of games!

Beginning in Group A we have PAOK FC as the surprise leaders with 8 points in a tight top 3 situation. Rubin Kazan are actually in 2nd place in the group due to their better goal difference. Tottenham Hotspur, who many tipped to win the group comfortably, are still in a good position in 3rd, tied with Rubin at 7 points but losing on goal difference. Ireland's representatives Shamrock Rovers occupy 4th which many probably predicted having collected exactly 0 points from 4 games. On to Group B now where Belgian side Standard de Liege are level with German side Hannover 96, in fact leading them in goal difference! FC Kobenhavn are in 3rd and while theoretically they could still make 1st or 2nd, the chances of them doing so are less than impressive. Vorskla Poltava are down and out though, leaving Ukraine without representation. In Group C PSV Eindhoven have met expectations by remaining at the top of the group with an undefeated record though they have been kept to a draw once, against Hapoel Tel-Aviv. Legia Warszawa are firmly in 2nd place with 9 points from 4 games while 3rd and 4th place sides Rapid Bucuresti and Hapoel Tel-Aviv have essentially no chance of advancing with 3 and 1 point respectively. Over in Group D things aren't quite as resolved with Sporting of Portugal at the top of the table with 9 points while FC Vasuli and S.S. Lazio each have 5 points from their first 4 matches. Either side could really end up in 2nd while they both may challenge Sporting for 1st place given the right circumstances. FC Zurich are at the bottom of the table with 2 points from their 4 games. Onwards to Group E! Stoke City actually lead here with 10 points after 3 wins and a draw in their first 4 games. Besiktas are uncomfortably in 2nd with 2 wins and 2 losses leaving them just a point above FC Dynamo Kyiv who have 5 points. Maccabi Tel-Aviv are in 4th with just one point. Technically, given the perfect results, they could qualify however the chances of that? Slim to none. Group F isn't quite in the same precarious situation: Athletic Club of Spain lead here with 10 points while PSG of France sit in 2nd with 7 points. I would conjecture that these will be the two qualifying sides despite the fact that FC Salzburg are still in the running. Salzburg sit in 3rd position with 4 points so theoretically they could pass PSG given the right results. Yet again the chances are low but you never know! Slovan Bratislava are in 4th with just a point from 4 games and no way to really make up the hole they've dug for themselves. Group G is controlled by Metalist Kharkiv of Ukraine who lead with 10 points. AZ Alkmaar are in 2nd with 6 points which isn't too bad - they are undefeated too! FK Austria Wien are in 3rd with 5 points so they are still in the running. The only team truly out of the race are Malmo FF from Sweden who have really not shown up. As for Group H, Club Brugge, Birmingham City, and SC Braga are all level at the top with 7 points. NK Maribor are thus in 4th after a draw and 3 losses from their first 4 games. I is jointly held by Club Atletico de Madrid and Udinese Calcio who each have 7 points. Celtic of Scotland are in 3rd with 5 points meaning they can still make it into the next round however they really need to step up their game. Stade Rennais are at bottom with just 2 points from their first 4 games. Group J is also close with FC Schalke 04 currently in command though they are just 2 points above Maccabi Hafia who have 6 points. Steaua Bucuresti are then in 3rd with 5 points while AEK Larnaca of Cyprus are in 4th with 2. In this way, anyone can still qualify, though if Schalke were to be denied I would be quite surprised. Just two groups left! In K FC Twente are in 1st with 10 points meaning they have qualified while Fulham are in 2nd with 7 points and in strong position to qualify as well. Odense BK (Danish) and Wisla Krakow (Polish) are joint bottom dwellers with 3 points each. The Danes do have a better scoring record though. Last but not least, in Group L, RSC Anderlecht are the only club to be perfect in Europa League competition and thus sit at the top of the table! Lokomotiv Moskva are also pretty secure in 2nd with 9 points while Sturm Graz and AEK Athens are for all intents and purposes done. Sturm Graz have 3 points while Athens has nothing to their name. Enjoy the games coming up on the 30th!

Domestic action 11/27/11.

Beginning in up in Scotland, Kilmarnock surprised visiting top-of-the-table Rangers 1-0 thanks to Manuel Pascali's 80th minute goal! Down in England, Liverpool and Manchester City drew level 1-1 despite the fact that City players scored both goals: Vincent Kompany gave the Manchester side the lead in the 31st before Joleon Lescott accidentally put the ball into the back of his own net 2 minutes later. Swansea and Aston Villa meanwhile drew in a 0-0 contest. There were 7 yellows handed out though, 4 went to Villa players and the other 3 going to the hosts. Over in Italy, Siena were edged at home by Inter Milan who scored through Luc Castaignos in the 89th minute to the despair of the home fans. The fact that the small club had held their own against such giants of Italy as Inter for so long was still remarkable though. Palermo beat Fiorentina 2-0 thanks to goals from Fabrizio Miccoli and Josip Ilicic in the 22nd and 73rd minutes respectively. Cesena defeated Genoa by the same margin thanks to 2 goals from Adrian Mutu in the 70th and 80th minutes. It should be noted that the first of these goals came from the penalty spot. Cagliari and Bologna on the other hand could not be divided with Marco Di Vaio striking in the 75th for Bologna after an uneventful 1st half. Daniele Conti brought Cagliari level in the 81st minute from the penalty spot though. The points were split and the sides remain in the bottom half of the table. AC Milan face Chievo later today. Over in Spain, Levante slammed Sporting Gijon 4-0 with the goals beginning in the 20th minute, from Barkero, and ending in the 62nd minute. Valdo added Levante's 2nd in the 47th while Arouna Kone tacked on two more at the end with strikes in the 52nd and 10 minutes later. Betis were edged by Real Sociedad, going down by 2 in the 76th minute after a goalless 1st half. Imanol Agirretxe opened the scoring in the 56th while Carlos Vela made it 2-0 in the 76th. Betis did well to fight back though, Jonathan Pereira going on a rampage and bringing them level by the 85th. Real Sociedad were a bit lucky to beat their hosts in the 2nd minute of stoppage time of the 2nd half. The 3rd and most vital goal came from Inigo Martinez. While his celebrations warranted a yellow card, his goal was sheer brilliance making for the most exciting of conclusions today. As I post this Mallorca lead Racing 2-0 after an own goal in the dying seconds of the 1st half and a clean strike from Victor in the 58th minute. Espanyol are currently being edged by Osasuna 1-2 after going down by 2. Roland Lamah scored in the 44th while Javad Nekounam made it 2 in the 50th. Just 5 minutes later though, Alvaro brought Espanyol one back. I'll wrap this report up later, enjoy the games!

Domestic Leagues on Saturday 11/26/11.

Well, after disappointments both abroad and at home, the league tables are starting to really shape up: In England the two Manchester clubs of City and United hold 1st and 2nd respectively with the former holding a 4 point lead over United! At the same time, Manchester United are only 2 points ahead of 3rd place Tottenham Hotspur despite having played a game more. Spurs are only the beginning of the surprises though as 4th place is held, not by Chelsea, Liverpool, or Arsenal, but rather by Newcastle United! Newcastle have 26 points currently to Chelsea's 25, Arsenal's 23 and Liverpool's 22. And that is the top 7 in England! Everton, Norwich City, and Aston Villa round out the top 10. Meanwhile, up in Scotland Rangers continue to rule the roost despite having played a game less than their closest competition. While Rangers have 39 points, rivals Celtic have 35 in 2nd with Motherwell showing signs of fatigue and falling short by 5 points. Over to mainland Europe now where the domestic title contests are really heating up! In Spain Real Madrid have extended their lead at the top of the table over bitter rivals Barcelona to 6 points after an embarrassing loss by Barcelona earlier today. Madrid have 34 to Barca's 28; compare that to 3rd place Valencia who are just a point behind the Catalans. Levante are in 4th with 23 points while Malaga have a thin grasp on 5th over Sevilla. Staying around the Mediterranean, Juventus have a 1 point advantage at the top of the Italian Serie A  with Udinese Calcio at 24 points in 2nd after defeating Roma 2-0 on the 25th. In 3rd place we have Lazio who have amassed 22 points giving them a point more than AC Milan who are relegated to 4th. Roma, who I mentioned previously, are in 5th with 17 points: tied with Calcio Catania. In Germany Dortmund and Monchengladbach have a momentary lead at the top of the table. Each of them have a point more than Bayern - who have yet to play outside of in the Champions League. Schalke are in 4th after their loss to Dortmund while Werder Bremen are 2 points behind them with 23 from 13 matches. Last but not least, in Portugal we have a momentary leader from Lisbon after Benfica edged their city rivals Sporting 1-0 in their game today. Porto are currently in 2nd with 24 points (compare that to Benfica's 27) and a game in hand. Sporting are in 3rd with 23 points followed closely by Maritimo who are just a point off. SC Braga finish up the top 5 with 19 points from 10 matches. Enjoy the weekend!

Champions League update 11/23/11!

Well, beginning in Russia we had Zenit St. Petersburg hosting the tournament surprises from Cyprus: APOEL. While the Cypriots had no chances on target, they were rewarded for their fantastic defense as the Zenit plays tried a total of 18 shots. APOEL's goalkeeper Urko Pardo played very well while defender Marcelo Oliveira - the eventual man-of-the-match - had a great game too. Meanwhile, in Belarus, BATE welcomed Czech champions Plzen to a match that was really all about the honor. Neither side had a chance to catch up with 2nd place AC Milan in the Group. Nevertheless, it was a close contest as the sides were essentially fighting over who would get the chance to compete in the Europa League. Marek Bakos was the man who made the difference when he converted in the 42nd minute to the delight of the visiting fans. Speaking of Milan, the Italian giants played host to the defending champions of Spain, Europe, and the World: FC Barcelona. While there were a plethora of cards handed out, Barcelona really controlled many aspects of the game: 60% of the possession and 15 attempts. Despite this, the game was totally enjoyable not matter which team you were supporting. Despite a rather unfortunate opener which came from an own goal by Mark Van Bommel in the 14th minute, AC were unfazed: they equalized just 6 minutes later. Alberto Aquilani swung the ball out to the veteran Clarence Seedorf who picks out Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the center on the run. Ibrahimovic is all to happy to slot home against one of his many former teams. Barcelona were once more ahead in the 31st after Aquilani brought down Xavi Hernandez in the area. Lionel Messi dutifully struck home. After the impressive 1st half, AC Milan were good to grab the 1st goal of the 2nd through Kevin-Prince Boateng in the 54th. After collecting a poor clearance from Javier Mascherano, Boateng played Eric Abidal before striking beautifully into the near-post side of the net. 2-2 with all of the 2nd half to play for. Xavi Hernandez finally tallied as he collected a fantastic ball from Messi, effortlessly  sliding it out of the reach of the goalkeeper and into the net. Over in Germany, Bayer Leverkusen are defying all of the odds as they proceeded to defeat their guests Chelsea of England by a scoreline of 2-1. The game was also special as Michael Ballack was celebrating his 100th UEFA competition appearance - the man truly is one of the greats of football. Despite this, the 1st half went by with only a handful of cards given out. The 2nd half, however, was more lively. In the 48th minute Didier Drogba grabbed the home side's attention with a left-footed rocket after collecting Daniel Sturridges smooth chipped ball. 0-1 for the guests. No matter the momentary setbacks, the Germans fought back really starting in the 73rd when they scored through Eren Derdiyok. Sidney Sam collected Derdiyok's initial miscue before lifting the ball above Chelsea's Petr Cech and onto the waiting head of the Swiss international. 1-1! The breakthrough came from the last corner of the match: Manuel Friedrich with a great header off the woodwork and into the goal despite the defense's best efforts. 2-1 Leverkusen and the crowd goes wild. Down in Spain, Valencia were truly inhospitable hosts as they utterly thrashed their guests from Belgium Genk. Jonas opened the scoring in the 10th minute while Valencia's captain Roberto Soldado struck the team's 2nd 3 minutes later. Soldado appeared yet again in the 35th minute to make it 3-0. Is that all before the half? No! Soldado completed his hat-trick 4 minutes later to make it a 4-0 game at the half. The Belgians were looking totally disinterested not to say disheartened. Pablo Hernandez made it 5 for the Valencians after his goal in the 68th minute while Aritz Aduriz scored just 2 minutes later for a 6-0 scoreline. Tino Costa converted the 7th in the 81st minute to cap off an exemplary performance by the Spaniards. It was all for naught though as Chelsea held on to 2nd place in the Group. In France visiting Olympiacos edged Marseille 0-1 thanks to Giannis Fetfatzidis' 82nd minute wonder-strike after a superb pass over the defense by Francisco Yeste. Shakhtar Donetsk were defeated 0-2 by a visiting Porto side while in England Arsenal proudly hosted German champions Dortmund and edged them 2-1. Despite a good start from the Germans, Arsenal took the lead in the 49th minute through Robin Van Persie. Van Persie also struck the 2nd in the 86th minute to really sink Dortmund's chances of going anywhere. Shinji Kagawa did bring the Germans one back but it was purely a consolation prize as the English walked away with the 3 points and the Group apex. Cheers!

Champions League 11/22/11.

Well there were some big matches today as some teams made large gains in qualifying for the next round while others have dug themselves into holes. First up how about the lower profile but competitive match between CSKA Moskva and Lille? Normally impervious at home in Moscow, CSKA suffered from 2 2nd half goals starting in the 49th minute when Vasili Berezutski accidentally blocked a cross into his own net. Having said that, Lille had been looking the more dangerous of the two sides. In the 64th minute however, true magic happened. The play began from a pass by Eden Hazard to Joe Cole. Cole continued to beat the offside trap and chipped the ball over CSKA's keeper Vladimir Gabulov, only to be denied by the woodwork. Moussa Sow was on hand to strike the death blow though. In Germany Bayern were more successful hosts as they out-played Villarreal of Spain to a 3-1 scoreline. Indeed, possession percentages were as lopsided as 64-36 while shot attempts were about 20 for the Bavarians and just 7 for the Spaniards. The match really opened in the 3rd minute as Franck Ribery slotted home after a fantastic ball from Toni Kroos. Mario Gomez then struck in the 23rd minute: into an empty net following Anatoliy Tymoshchuk's swerving shot made Diego Lopez, Villarreal's keeper, move out of position. Jonathan De Guzman did bring Villarreal back one in the 50th minute after a half-time score of 2-0 probably left the visitors with much to be desired. De Guzman's volley was beautiful though, after a good run from Joan Oriol led to a deep cross that De Guzman dutifully put away. Ribery returned to the scoring sheets though, as he made it 3-1 for Bayern following a piercing ball from Kroos. Ribery dutifully out-moved the keeper to easily slot home and dim the visitor's hopes. Lyon and Ajax ended as they began: level 0-0. That was good enough for Ajax though, as they remain in 2nd place in the group, 3 points above their French counterparts. Real Madrid v.s. Dinamo Zagreb was the complete opposite. Playing in Spain, the Zagreb side were never going to do very well. It must be said that Madrid are looking good both domestically and abroad. Things were disastrous though. By the 20th minute it was 4-0 to the hosts as Karim Benzema opened the scoring in the 2nd minute. Jose Callejon had a warm welcome to Champions League football after striking his first of two goals in the 7th minute. Gonzalo Higuain made it 3-0 in the 9th minute. Following this Real Madrid began to take their foot off of the gas. Mesut Ozil did make it 4-0 though, scoring the last goal of the 1st half. The 2nd half started as the 1st half did though: Callejon added his 2nd making it 5-0 4 minutes after the half. Benzema made it 6-0 in the 66th and the guests were essentially on the ropes. Having said that though, in the last 10 minutes Madrid lightened up enough to allow Fatos Beqiraj to make it 6-1 in the 81st. Ivan Tomecak made it 6-2 right at the death. Over in Italy Napoli welcomed the high-flying English side Manchester City to a match that made the Brits' heads spin! Edinson Cavani started things off on the right foot for the hosts when he scored in the 17th minute to the delight of the home fans. Ezequiel Lavezzi’s corner kick didn't look so deadly, but Cavani got just enough of a head onto it to put it past both Yaya Toure and Joe Hart who could only tip it into the top of the goal. 1-0 Napoli. Mario Balotelli showed his salt in the 33rd minute though, equalizing for Manchester City with a clinical finish after collecting a tough rebound. With the scoreline 1-1 at the half, many might have suggested that the Italians would falter against the big-money weight of City. This wasn't to be the case though: Edinson Cavani struck his 2nd of the game in the 49th after a cool pass from Andrea Dossena. Napoli will face Villarreal next in the conclusion of the group while City have to face the giants of Bayern. In Turkey, Trabzonspor finished level 1-1 with Inter Milan. While Inter seemed to control possession more, and they really laid back in the 2nd half, they allowed nearly 20 shots while Inter had less than 10. Despite the draw, Inter are assured a spot in the next round while the result gives Trabzonspor a 1 point edge over Lille and CSKA Moskva who each have 5 points. In the game though, Ricardo Alvarez played a smooth one-two with Diego Milito to move through the defense before striking the ball past Trabzonspor's goalie Tolga Zengin. The hosts fought back to find parity before the half though! Converting through Halil Altintop in the 23rd minute, the home crowd was enthralled. Gustavo Colman had set-up the play. Last but not least, in Group C we had Benfica face the red devils of Manchester United in England. To the surprise of many supporters on both sides, Benfica actually drew! This was in fact the first time that the Eagles of Lisbon have not lost in Old Trafford. The result essentially secures their progress into the nest round while they will still want to defeat Otelul Galati in their last match of the Group. Having said this, how about the game? Well, things really got started in the 3rd minute when Benfica surged down the field and Nicolas Gaitan played in, wrong-footing Patrice Evra and then playing a ball across goal where Phil Jones could only watch the ball go in off his own body. United weren't stopped though, equalizing in the 30th minute through Dimitar Berbatov after a brilliant pass from Ashley Young to Nani far on the left. The defense had defended as though Young were going to shoot but rather he passed it to the waiting Nani who simply crossed it to the waiting head of the goal-hungry Bulgarian to make it 1-1 before the half. The 2nd half started a bit slower, with Fletcher striking in the 59th after Benfica were pushed back almost into their own goal! Antonio Valencia had played dangerously before his ball was cleared. Patrice Evra ended up with the ball though and he neatly crossed to the waiting Darren Fletcher who did what needed to be done. Just 2 minutes later though, as Manchester's players celebrated, the Portuguese countered hard and the English defense broke. David De Gea cleared poorly, Bruno Cesar pressed into the box with the ball he collected, Rio Ferdinand couldn't clear his ball, and Pablo Aimar struck a deft touch smoothly into the net. 2-2, as much as both sides tried afterwards, no more goals came. The other Group C match was between Otelul Galati and Basel with the Swiss side edging their hosts 2-3 despite suffering 2 late goals. Relying on 3 1st half goals was enough for a win though! Fabian Frei opened the game in the 10th minute while Alexander Frei added a second 4 minutes later to really put Galati in the hot seat. Basel's captain Marco Streller made it 0-3 with his first goal in the Champions League this season. Galati began showing the fruits of their labor in the 75th minute when their captain Gabriel Giurgiu struck in the 75th to great acclaim. The 2nd goal of their comeback came in the 81st minute to really leave the last 9 minutes up for grabs. Basel held on though and will now face Manchester United in their last game of the Group. They must win if they have any hopes of further Champions League glory. Galati will finish up their tournament against Benfica.

Domestic matches 11/20.

Well, in England we only had one game today in the top flight with Chelsea welcoming the fluctuating team from Liverpool. Boy were the Blues surprised as they fell behind in the 33rd minute from a Maxi Rodriguez goal. The half time score was 0-1 to the visitors. Chelsea fought back though, making things level in the 55th minute through Daniel Sturridge. The game continued at this pace for much of the rest of the game, before Glen Johnson showed up. With a strike in the 87th minute, Liverpool had won it and Chelsea were left scratching their heads. After the result Chelsea are in 4th place in the league while Liverpool are 6th. Manchester City are now the only undefeated team in the league, still sitting at the top of the table with a 5 point lead over 2nd place rivals Manchester United. Meanwhile, across the Channel in Germany, Hamburg defeated Hoffenheim 2-0 thanks to an opener from Jose Paolo Guerrero in the 25th and a closer from Marcell Jansen in the 65th minute. Stuttgart were able to edge their guests Augsburg in their match today as well: Martin Harnik opened the scoring account in the 41st minute giving Stuttgart a 1-0 lead before the half. Tobias Werner brought Augsburg level in the 47th minute though! However, Harnik was on form once more to give Stuttgart the vital goal in the 51st to secure the 3 points. Continuing south into Spain we had Atletico edging Levante 3-2 thanks to goals from Pizzi in the 68th, Adrian in the 74th, and Diego in the 83rd. Xavi Torres and Ruben Suarez scored in the 72nd and 93rd minutes for Levante respectively. Osasuna and Rayo played out a goalless draw that ended with a grand total of 8 cards: 5 went to Rayo players and the remaining 3 went to Osasuna's representatives. Real Sociedad and Espanyol also ended level 0-0 but with "only" 5 cards in total. 4 went to Real players while the 1st went to Espanyol's Didac in the 30th minute. Sevilla were edged by a competitive visiting Athletic side - falling behind in the 6th minute due to a strike from Andoni Iraola. Jesus Navas brought the hosts square but to no avail as Oscar de Marcos slotted home for Athletic in the 71st to grab the 3 points. Granada v.s. Mallorca and Sporting Gijon v.s. Getafe both ended 2-1 to the hosts. In France, Brest defeated Sochaux 2-0, opening the account only in the 68th minute from the penalty spot as Bruno Grougi converted. Mathieu Peybernes was sent-off. Romain Poyet scored from live play in the 80th to finish what might be seen as an upset. Meanwhile, top-of-the-table PSG were edged at home by lowly Nancy after Jean Calve struck in the 49th minute for the only goal of the game. Last but not least Valenciennes v.s. Auxerre finished 2-1 to the hosts despite the fact that Auxerre took the lead in the 34th minute. The goal came from Alain Traore. 2nd half goals from Nicolas Isimat-Mirin and Mamadou Samassa swung the game in Valenciennes' favor though. Over in Italy, Bologna were edged 0-1 by bottom-of-the-table Cesena thanks to a last minute goal from Marco Parolo in the 84th. Catania were edged by Chievo in their game today after Sergio Pellissier converted his penalty in the 1st minute of stoppage time of the 1st half. Paolo Sammarco struck in the 73rd to give Chievo a 0-2 lead while Sergio Almiron brought Catania 1 back. Genoa edged their guests Novara 1-0 thanks to Miguel Veloso's goal in the 86th minute against 10 man Novara. On the other hand, Juventus comfortably defeated their visitors from Palermo 3-0 in their match today with Simone Pepe opening things in the 20th minute. Alessandro Matri added a 2nd in the 48th while Claudio Marchisio struck Juve's 3rd in the 65th to finish the final chapter of the game. Parma defeated Udinese 2-0, Roma edged Lecce 2-1, and Siena and Atalanta tied 1-1. Hope you enjoyed the weekend!

Final Play-off for the European Championships.

Well, the last 4 teams have been selected to take part in the European Championships in 2012 and they include Croatia who drew at home to oust the Turks from the tournament after a 3-0 embarrassment in Turkey. The Czech Republic scored once more in their 2nd-leg match against Montenegro to finish 0-3 winners while the Republic of Ireland had quite the fight against Estonia at home in Dublin. Already leading 4-0 from the 1st match, the Irish were on their way to their first Finals tournament in 24 years! While the game was essentially just about pride, the Irish got things started in the 32nd minute with a goal from Stephen Ward. While the Estonians had to realize that they had met their match, they did equalize through captain Konstantin Vassiljev in the 57th minute. They thus kept their heads high as the game ended 1-1. Yes, it was an aggregate score of 5-1, but the Estonians did well for themselves, proving that they have the guts and heart to compete. Last but not least, Portugal faced Bosnia and Herzegovina in Lisbon. The two sides stood poised 0-0 after an unenthusiastic 1st-leg match. This match was totally different. Cristiano Ronaldo struck in the 8th minute while Nani added a second in the 24th to really put the visitors on the back foot. Zvjezdan Misimovic slotted home from the penalty spot in the 41st minute to make the match seem closer than it was. No matter, the 1st half ended 2-1 for the Portuguese. Ronaldo struck his second in the 53rd which was abruptly followed by unsportsmanlike conduct from Senad Lulic that resulted in his sending-off. Bosnia and Herzegovina's captain Emir Spahic struck in the 65th to keep the two sides close: 3-2. However, as the end of the match approached, the toll started to take effect as Bosnia's defense started opening up more and more. The Portuguese were merciless: Helder Postiga struck on either side of Miguel Veloso's 80th minute strike to make it 6-2 by the 82nd minute. With that the Portuguese secured their progress and Bosnia and Herzegovina bid farewell to the limelight for a time. Thanks to all the teams that have competed! Looking forward to the European Championship to kick off!

Euro 2012 Play-off First Legs. 11/11.

Well, the European Championships are fast approaching and the teams are almost all set and ready to go. To set things off on the right track how about Estonia's hosting of the Republic of Ireland? Keith Andrews started the flood for the Irish in the 13th minute with quite the goal. Andrei Stepanov was sent off in the 35th after a second yellow which left the hosts down to 10 men. Jon Walters then scored in the 67th minute of the 2nd half to leave the Estonians between a rock and a hard place. Ireland's captain and legend striker Robbie Keane then struck in the 71st minute to make it 0-3 for the waves of green. Estonia's own captain Raio Piiroja was then sent off in the 76th minute after collecting a second yellow as well. And so, with 9-players down, Keane converted a penalty in the 88th to truly solidify the Irish team's qualification bid. Over in the Czech Republic now where the hosts were far more successful as they defeated their guests Montenegro by a not very impressive but workable 2-0 scoreline.Vaclav Pilar gave the Czechs the lead in the 63rd minute of the 2nd half with his first international goal while Tomas Sivok headed home in the 2nd minute of stoppage time of the 2nd half to conclude the match in the Czech's favor. Meanwhile, in Turkey, the crowd of more than 50,000 looked on as the home side were battered by Croatia in the 1st half with goals from Ivica Olic (in the 2nd minute) and Mario Mandzukic (in the 32nd) to make it 0-2. The 2nd half got no better though, as Vedran Corluka floated a header in the 51st minute for the Croatian's 0-3 lead. The only game to not have a really designated winner was the one that many expected to have one: Bosnia and Herzegovina's hosting of Portugal. Despite the fact that Portugal had the better at most parts of the game, Vedad Ibisevic couldn't take his golden opportunity late in the 2nd half to actually give Bosnia some footing for the 2nd leg. Portugal on the other hand could do nothing with their 9 corners and 5 shots on target. Stay tuned for the 2nd legs!

International Friendlies - 11/11, 11/12.

Well this past Friday we had a ton of huge fixtures with Mexico defeating Serbia 2-0 starting this post off. Carlos Salcido opened the account in the 2nd minute while Javier Hernandez wrapped the game up with his 87th minute penalty strike. The United States performed well in their performance in France, staying in the game with threatening opportunities and vital defending that kept the likes of Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema off their games. Having said that though, the result ended up in France's favor as substitute Loic Remy challenged American goalkeeper Tim Howard once and then proceeded to slot home the second time around. The goal came in the 72nd minute. Meanwhile, in Ukraine guests Germany had to fight fiercely to stay in the match. Let it just be pointed out before hand though, that Germany goalkeeper for the evening was Ron-Robert Zieler, playing in what may be considered an introductory game. Andrei Iarmolenko started things off in the 28th minute with a push in the right direction for the Ukrainians who were playing for the first time in their brand-new Kiev Olympic Stadium. Evgen Konoplyanka made it 2-0 for the Ukrainians in the 36th minute to really leave the Germans scratching their heads. Toni Kroos did show that the Germans had some resistance though, as he struck in the 38th minute to the delight of the visiting fans. However this was short-lived as Sergei Nazarenko gave Ukraine a deserved 3-1 advantage, striking just before the half to keep the evening exciting. Sami Khedira had an opportunity before the half as well which nearly occurred after his header came off the woodwork and clipped the keeper's foot to begin rolling back into his own net. The Ukraine's keeper Oleksandr Rybka was able to seize the ball on the goal line and salvage an embarrassing moment. Neither keeper was perfect though as Zieler solidified for Germany (including a save in the 49th from the ever-dangerous Andriy Shevchenko) while Rybka's defenses cracked. Simon Rolfes brought the score to 3-2 in the 65th with a point-blank strike after a beautiful ball from Mat Julian Hummels. Finally, Thomas Muller struck a rather ordinary ball from the edge of the box in the 77th which somehow found its way into goal. Poland v.s. Italy was another good game as the visitors were actually able to control the game for large portions, scoring twice without reply for a 0-2 win. Jakub Blaszczykowski had an opportunity from the penalty spot in the 84th which he was unable to convert for Poland while Mario Balotelli and Giampaolo Pazzini did not have that problem in the 30th and 60th minutes respectively. Over in Cyprus, the hosts were edged 1-2 by a tight Scotland side. Kenny Miller and Jamie Mackie each struck before Dimitris Christofi scored for the Cypriots in the 59th. Panama defeated Costa Rica 2-0 on Friday while Belgium were able to edge Romania 2-1. Up in Denmark the hosts were able to beat the visiting Swedes thanks to goals from Nicklas Bendtner and Michael Krohn-Delhi in the 34th and 80th minutes respectively. Greece and Russia tied 1-1 in their match as the Netherlands weren't able to do much of anything in their match against Switzerland. Hungary on the other hand destroyed Liechtenstein 5-0 in a fantastic display of football. The last two matches on Friday were between Albania-Azerbaijan and Georgia-Moldova. In the first match-up, Albania were undone by their guests 0-1 while Georgia were rather rude hosts in a 2-0 victory. Finally, on Saturday England faced the World and European champions Spain... And won! While Spain may have had a total of 21 shots to England's 3, and about 70% of possession, it was the hosts England who left the game with their heads held high. The breakthrough for England? It came from Frank Lampard in the 49th minute after the team-captain-for-the-game collected a rebound from Darren Bent's header and nodded home to the delight of the fans and the consternation of Spain's Iker Casillas. Spain also had 6 corners to England's 1 as the Three Lions kept things together in the back despite tons of pressure from the Spanish. There were some notable missing faces on the English side as John Terry, Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard and Jack Wilshere were absent (coach Fabio Capello actually missed his son's wedding to oversee the match). Wales v.s. Norway continued the pattern of British island nations taking care of all challengers as the hosts dealt a 4-1 blow to the Norwegians. Last but not least we had South Africa's 1-1 draw with the Ivory Coast.

What a day in the leagues of Europe! 10/29/11.

Well, in Scotland Aberdeen were edged 1-2 at home by visiting Rangers who just continue to extend their lead at the top of the Scottish table. Celtic meanwhile did not help their case as they finished a 0-0 draw with Hibernian. While the Glasgow side do have a game in hand over 2nd place Motherwell, even if they earn the maximum number of points, they will still just be even with them. Dunfermline were beaten 1-4 by Dundee United. Hearts were also beaten, but only 0-1 by Kilmarnock who scored through Dean Shiels in the 55th minute from the penalty spot. Hearts were brought down to 10 men after Ian Black was sent off in the 16th minute. Up in Inverness, Motherwell were able to earn another 3 points despite falling behind in the 4th minute. David Davis struck that goal for Inverness to get the game started in the best way. Shaun Hutchinson equalized for Motherwell in the 39th minute while Andrew Shinnie gave Inverness the lead again in the 76th minute. A minute later, Keith Lasley had brought Motherwell level once more! Chris Hogg's sending off for Inverness was good news for Motherwell who proceeded to regain the lead in the 87th minute through Tom Hateley. The last game in Scotland was between St. Johnstone and St. Mirren: the visitors ended up on top thanks to Kenny McLean's 81st minute goal making it 0-1.
On the other side of the Channel, in Germany, Wolfsburg were just barely beaten by Hertha Berlin 2-3. Stuttgart and Dortmund actually drew 1-1 with the home side actually scoring first through Serdar Tasci in the 22nd minute. Dortmund seemed up for the challenge though as they equalized through Lukasz Piszczek in the 1st minute of stoppage time of the 1st half. Schalke defeated visiting Hoffenheim 3-1 with Raul striking in the 28th minute and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar going on a scoring run between the 73rd and 76th minutes resulting in 2 more goals. Vedad Ibisevic had brought Hoffenheim level in the 63rd minute. Monchengladbach edged Hannover in their match scoring first and last, through Marco Reus both times. Reus' goals came on either side of Emanuel Pogatetz's 26th minute goal for Hannover. Mainz were routinely defeated by Bremen 1-3 despite breaking the deadlock first, in the 23rd minute (through Niko Bungert). Claudio Pizarro brought Werder Bremen level 6 minutes later while Aaron Hunt and Sebastian Prodl added on a goal each to make it a good day for Bremen. Bayern were the most successful side today though, crushing Nurnberg 4-0 thanks to an opener and closer from Mario Gomez and goals from both Bastian Schweinsteiger and Franck Ribery in the 19th and 39th minutes respectively. On to Holland now where Ajax thrashed Roda 0-4 with goals from Christian Eriksen, Theo Janssen, Jody Lukoki, and Lorenzo Ebicilio. The other matches of the day were in progress as I posted this.
Down in Spain Barcelona are currently cruising over Mallorca 3-0 thanks to a brilliant hat trick from Lionel Messi. Valencia beat Getafe 3-1 thanks to 2 goals from Sofiane Feghouli and one from Aritz Aduriz. Diego Castro was the man who scored for Getafe in the 23rd. Villarreal defeated Rayo nicely, winning 2-0 thanks to Bruno's 20th minute goal and Borja Valero's 67th minute one.
Back up north in England, Chelsea and Arsenal punched out a 3-5 scoreline with the Gunners actually winning! Frank Lampard got things off to the right start for Chelsea, scoring in the 14th minute. Robin Van Persie equalized for Arsenal in the 36th minute while John Terry gave the Blues the lead once more. Andre Santos equalized once more before Theo Walcott gave Arsenal the lead for the first time. Juan Mata was then the man to bring Chelsea level in the 80th. Van Persie then decided he wanted to register a hat trick so he scored his 2nd in the 85th and completed his tally in the 2nd minute of stoppage time for the 2nd half. Everton were edged 0-1 by Manchester United who scored through Javier Hernandez in the 19th minute. Manchester City were more convincing in their 3-1 defeat of Wolves while Norwich and Blackburn tied 3-3. Sunderland and Aston Villa finished level too, 2-2 in this case. Stilian Petrov gave Villa the lead in the 20th while Connor Wickham equalized matters in the 38th. Richard Dunne gave Villa the lead once more, in the 85th minute, before Stephane Sessegnon brought Sunderland level once more 4 minutes later. Swansea v.s. Bolton was a good game, the home side were able to win it all though. West Brom were beaten Liverpool while Wigan suffered the same fate from Fulham.
Last but not least, we have Italy. Roma were edged 2-3 by Milan who really were carried by Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He opened the scoring in the 17th and struck again in the 78th to ensure AC's victory. Nicolas Burdisso and Bojan were the scorers for Roma while Alessandro Nesta was the one to score AC Milan's 2nd in the 30th. Catania played hosts and edged Napoli 2-1 despite falling behind in the 1st minute from Edinson Cavani's strike. In the 25th minute, Giovanni Marchese brought Catania back into the game while Mario Santana's sending off in the 43rd did not bode well for the Naples side. Gonzalo Bergessio struck Catania's vital goal in the 48th unknowingly sealed the fate of the game. Finally, Inter are hosting Juventus as I post this and are currently losing 0-1! Mirko Vucinic has given the visitors the lead in the 12th minute. Enjoy!

Europa League talk. 10/27/11.

Well let's start in Group A where Tottenham Hotspur currently lead with an undefeated 2-1-0 record. PAOK FC are also undefeated in 2nd place, with a record of 1-2-0. Rubin Kazan have tallied one kind of every result while Ireland's Shamrock Rovers are without a point in 4th place. Next up is Group B where Standard de Liege and Hannover of Germany are at the top of the table. The former of these two sides leads on goal difference. Kobenhaven are in 3rd with a win, a draw, and a loss while Vorskla Poltava have taken just one point from their first three games. Over in Group C PSV Eindhoven hold sway with three straight wins while Legia Warszawa are 2nd after two wins  and a loss. Rapid Bucuresti have won once and lost their other two games while Hapoel Tel-Aviv bring up the rear with three losses from three matches played. Sporting of Portugal lead Group D while FC Vaslui, FC Zurich, and S.S. Lazio each have drawn twice and lost once meaning they must be separated by goal difference: Vaslui takes 2nd, Zurich are in 3rd, and Lazio are in 4th for some reason. Next up is Group E where surprise packages Stoke City lead the table with two wins and a draw. Dynamo Kyiv have a 1-2-0 record and a better goal difference than 3rd place competition Besiktas. Maccabi Tel-Aviv have yet to grab a win, but they have registered a point! That's all as they occupy 4th. In a relatively more star-studded group, Group F is held somewhat safely by Athletic Club of Spain who have won twice and drawn. PSG from France hold 2nd with a win, a draw, and a loss while FC Salzburg have a similar record but a less impressive goal difference. Last but not least comes SK Slovan Bratislava who have taken a point, but not much else. Metalist Kharkiv lead Group G with 7 points from their first 3 games while AZ Alkmaar have switched the results in that respect: 2 draws and a win. Austria Wien have amassed  4 points with a win, a draw, and a loss while Malmo FF of Sweden have yet to really make a result. Group H has another British team at the top with Birmingham City leading on goal difference over Club Brugge. SC Braga meanwhile holds 3rd with 4 points while NK Maribor have taken a point, but that's it as they are in 4th. Group I is yet another talent-filled group with Italian side Udinese Calcio leading after the first three games. Spain's Atletico Madrid are in 2nd with 4 points while Scotland's Celtic have gotten off to a slow start with two draws and a loss.They have fought for better results though which gives them an edge over Stade Rennais. Approaching Group J, is might seem heavily balanced in Germany's favor as Schalke 04  face the likes of Maccabi Haifa, Steaua Bucuresti, and AEK Larnaca FC. It hasn't been totally smooth sailing though as the Germans were held to a 0-0 draw in Romania when they visited Steaua Bucuresti. Maccabi Haifa have actually been quite successful at home, however they only have Schalke left visiting them so it might be expected that the Israelis will drop points if not places. Group K are led by the Dutch surprises FC Twente who are undefeated with 2 wins and a draw. Fulham of England have one of every kind of outcome while Odense and Wisla Krakow have each won one and lost two. Finally, in Group L Anderlecht are actually cruising with 3 wins out of their first 3 games. Lokomotiv Moskva have lost just once but won their other two matches. Sturm Graz meanwhile has lost two and won one while AEK Athens are in the doldrums with no wins in their first three matches. Hope you keep enjoying the Europa League!

League tables after the weekend.

Well it was a very exciting weekend of football that we have concluded and the Sunday matches were simply spectacular. In Sweden, Helsingborgs are at top and untouchable with 63 points from 30 games. With the title in the bag, celebrations were in order as AIK Solna were held to a 1-1 result by Malmo. That kept AIK Solna in 2nd with 58 points. IF Elfsborg finished in 3rd, a point behind Solna. After Elfsborg came Malmo FF who finished their 30 matches with 54 points. GAIS Goteborg rounded out the top five with 51 points. Interesting fact: Helsingborgs were unbeaten at home, winning 10 and drawing 5! Meanwhile, in Scotland, Rangers have gotten off to a fantastic start, a full 10 points separating them and their cross-town rivals Celtic. Having said that, Celtic have played one game less than 'Gers and currently lie beneath Motherwell who are a point above them with 23 points in 2nd. Celtic were lucky to edge Aberdeen earlier today thanks to a goal each from Ki Sung-Yong and Charlie Mulgrew putting them 2-1 above. Rangers won 0-2 at Hearts. Down south in England, today was full of surprises as Manchester United were hammered 1-6 by their cross-town rivals City. QPR were also upsetters, beating Chelsea thanks to 2 sending-offs for the Blues and a penalty in the 10th minute. Having said that, the league table looks like this: Manchester City have moved to the top with a 5 point lead over United who have 20 points in 2nd place. Chelsea are a point and a place behind Manchester United following their poor performance today. Newcastle are actually in 4th at the moment with 19 points from their first 9 games. Last but not least, Tottenham are the 5th position team, taking 16 points from the 8 games they have played. Expect them to move up the standings when they catch up with the rest of the pack. On the other side of the Channel in Germany, Bayern were edged by Hannover in their match today which halts what had been quite the run for the Bavarians. Still, with 22 points and 1st place, they are looking pretty good. Dortmund meanwhile are in 2nd with 19 points. Regional rivals Schalke are also looking good, playing today, they edged past Bayer Leverkusen 0-1 thanks to a goal from Jefferson Farfan in the 82nd minute. Hannover, having beaten Bayern Munich, grabbed 4th place, separating themselves from the 3-way tie that is beneath them. Of these 3 teams (Stuttgart, Bremen and Monchengladbach) Stuttgart have the best goal difference so they currently hold the honor of 5th position. Down in beautiful Portugal, Porto and Benfica are currently level at the top with 20 points each from their first 8 games. The Northern club, however, have the better goal difference having obliterated Nacional 5-0 today. Benfica meanwhile took the win 0-1 in their game this weekend against Beira-Mar on Saturday. Braga hold 3rd with 17 points following their 3-0 victory over Feirense today. Maritimo are also at 17 points but their goal difference puts them in 4th. Last but not least, Sporting Lisbon are in 5th with 14 points. The silver lining for them though is that they have a game in hand so they can theoretically earn themselves a better goal difference and leap-frog to 3rd themselves. Spain on the other hand is in shambles. Neither Barcelona nor Real Madrid lead the league following this weekend's round of matches: Levante are actually in 1st having beaten Villarreal 0-3! They have amassed 20 points from their first 8 games. Real Madrid are in 2nd with just a point less while Barcelona slipped over the weekend, falling to 3rd with "just" 18 points. Sevilla occupy 4th with 16 points while Valencia grab 5th with a point less. Fun fact: Levante and Sevilla are the only undefeated sides of Spain left! Last but not least, in Italy, Udinese actually lead the table after the first 7 matches with their 15 points. Lazio are in 2nd with a point less while Juventus are right behind them with 13 points. Cagliari are actually in 4th with 12 while Napoli, Roma, and AC Milan each have 11. The team from Naples has the best goal difference though so they take 5th! Hope you keep enjoying the league action!

Domestic Results 10/23/11.

I'd like to start in Germany with this post where Dortmund were very capable in their 5-0 steamrolling of Koln. Shinji Kagawa opened the scoring in the 7th minute with Marcel Schmelzer adding the 2nd in 25th. Just a minute before half time, Robert Lewandowski tacked on Dortmund's 3rd while he also scored their 4th in the 50th minute. The 5th, however, came from Sebastian Kehl in the 66th minute. Elsewhere, Hamburg and Wolfsburg tied 1-1 thanks to Mario Mandzukic's 2nd minute strike for the visitors and Mladen Petric's 56th minute equalizer for the hosts. Hertha Berlin and Mainz finished goalless in Berlin. An interesting match fact: there were 4 yellows handed out in the last 11 minutes of the game! 3 of these went to Mainz. Hoffenheim edged Monchengladbach in their match today thanks to a 56th minute strike from Vedad Ibisevic. Kasierslautern were also able to edge their guests, Freiburg, winning 1-0 thanks to a goal in the 75th minute from Itay Shechter. The last of the German games today was between Nurnberg and Stuttgart with the final score standing 2-2. Timmy Simons gave the hosts the lead in the 9th minute. This was not changed for the whole rest of the 1st half! However, in the 2nd half, things changed. Stuttgart were brought level through Zdravko Kuzmanovic's penalty in the 60th. Philipp Wollscheid gave Nurnberg the lead once more, in the 70th minute, but to no avail. Maza struck for Stuttgart in the 84th to split the points between the two sides. Down in Spain, Barcelona were denied anything by the superb goalkeeping of Sevilla's Javi Varas. Yes, the Catalan side allowed no goals into their own net, but that is just half the battle as the game finished 0-0! Real Madrid thus grabbed the top position of the table as they defeated their hosts Malaga 0-4. It was only done through Cristiano Ronaldo though. The Portuguese superstar struck in the 23rd, 28th, and 38th minutes to add on to Gonzalo Higuain's opener in the 11th minute. Racing were edged by their guests Espanyol who relied totally on Sergio Garcia's 59th minute shot. Finally, Sporting Gijon beat Granada 2-0 thanks to goals from David Barral (6th minute) and Andre Castro (42nd minute). Over in Portugal meanwhile, Beira-Mar were edged 0-1 by Benfica who scored through Oscar Cardozo in the 42nd. The second and final match in Portugal was between Olhanense and Vitoria. Here, the home side won thanks solely to a penalty in the 48th from Mateus. Onwards to England now where Aston Villa were edged by West Brom despite taking the lead through Darren Bent in the 23rd. Villa's loss of a player after Chris Herd was sent-off in the 35th may be blamed for their dismal conclusion though.Sunderland beat Bolton 0-2 while Liverpool and Norwich tied 1-1. Newcastle edged Wigan 1-0 while Wolves and Swansea  tied 2-2. Wolves were lucky not to lose 0-2 though! They only scored their first goal in the 84th. 2 minutes later they had made it 2-2. In Italy things carried a similar flavor as both Fiorentina v.s. Catania and Juventus v.s Genoa drew 2-2. Hope you enjoyed!

Men's World Rankings. 10/19/11.

Well, the top 4 remain the same with Spain holding on to the pinnacle, the Netherlands dropping some points but remain in 2nd while Germany have collected more points but not enough to move from 3rd. Uruguay have also earned more points to stay ahead of Brazil by a healthy margin. In 5th place, Brazil have slowly but surely risen while Italy haven't moved from 6th. England have risen one place to 7th while Greece now occupy the top 10 in 8th place thanks to jumping three places! Portugal dropped three places but remain in the top 10 as they are tied with Greece for 8th place. Finally, Argentina and Denmark are level for 10th place with the Danish side rising 7 places! Other big names and movers include Sweden's 11 place jump to 14th; France's drop to 15th; the Republic of Ireland's 4 position jump to 25th; Slovenia's 6 place move to 27th, and Egypt's rise to 29th.

Champions League update! 10/18/11.

Well, CSKA Moskva were quite successful in their Group B match against Trabzonspor thanks to 2 goals from Seydou Doumbia on either side of Aleksandrs Cauna's 76th minute strike. Meanwhile, in France Lille were just barely edged by Inter Milan who were saved by Giampaolo Pazzini's 21st minute strike. The French side tested their Italian visitors thoroughly, putting up more attempts and winning more corners by far than their guests. Nonetheless, experience won out as Inter move to the top of Group B. Meanwhile, in a far rougher match between Oţelul Galaţi and Manchester United, Wayne Rooney's 2 penalties in the 64th and 92nd minutes were all that separated the two sides. They each finished a man down as United lost Nemanja Vidic in the 66th while Milan Perendija received a 2nd yellow. There were a total of 5 other yellow cards shown with United taking just one of these. Benfica won by the same margin when they visited Basel to go to the top of Group C. Emerson's sending off in the 86th minute on Benfica's side gave Basel the opportunity to challenge for points, but Bruno Cesar's 20th minute goal and Oscar Cardozo's 75th were enough to undo the home side and put the Portuguese two points ahead of Manchester United in the table. Onwards now to Madrid where the Spanish giants Real dealt Lyon of France a hefty 4-0 defeat. Karim Benzema, Sami Khedira, and Sergio Ramos were the 3 Madrid players to score while Lyon's goalkeeper Hugo Lloris accidentally had the ball go into his own goal! With that result Real Madrid maintain their perfect record in the Group D standings. Ajax defeated their hosts Dinamo Zagreb by 2 unanswered goals as they have taken 2nd place in Group D by goal difference. Napoli v.s. Bayern was a very perplexing game on the other hand: Toni Kroos started things off very well for the visiting German side with a goal in the 2nd minute of play. Things began to fall apart though after Holger Badstuber put the ball into his own net in the 39th to the delight of the Naples crowd. Mario Gomez's missed penalty in the 49th was really the worst though, as he could have essentially won it all for the Bavarians but instead they are at 7 points in the Group A rankings. Still on top, but not as comfortably. Last but not least, Manchester City were able to edge Villarreal 2-1 to keep things close in Group A. True, Villarreal have yet to register a point, but City are now in 3rd place with 4 points while Napoli are 2nd with 5. The Spanish visitors actually looked very good throughout the game, scoring through Cani in just the 4th minute. However, Carlos Marchena's 43rd minute own goal gave City level terms just before the half. Admittedly, Gonzalo Rodriguez and Diego Lopez were the men who kept Villarreal in the game, but Sergio Aguero's 3rd minute of stoppage time goal in the 2nd half was simply lucky for the English side. Keep enjoying with more games tomorrow!

Domestic results 10/16/11.

How about we start in Sweden this time where 2nd-place side AIK edged 4th-place Hacken 2-1. Martin Kayongo Mutumba opened the scoring, putting AIK in the lead from the penalty spot in the 14th minute. Mohammed Ali Khan of Hacken was actually sent off so AIK might have been expected to win this one, but it was only in the 33rd minute when they scored their 2nd. Dioh Williams brought Hacken one back in the 1st minute of stoppage time of the 1st half. Norrkoping were also victorious hosts, against 3rd-place Elfsborg! Norrkoping were able to control the 1st half thanks to a goal from Christopher Telo in the 32nd and another from Gunnar Heidar Thorvaldsson 4 minutes later. Elfsborg were only able to bring themselves back by one, through Stefan Ishizaki in the 58th minute. Trelleborg on the other hand played the role of the unlucky hosts as they were edged by Mjallby 1-2 despite scoring the opening volley in the 3rd minute! Kristian Haynes was the man to strike in the 3rd but who knows what happened as David Loken Lofquist and Marcus Ekenberg each struck one for Mjallby to keep Trelleborg's season on the decline. Down in Germany meanwhile, Koln are actually leading Hannover thanks to a strike from Lukas Podolski in the 24th minute. Besides the one goal though, it's been a game of cards as Hannover have collected 3 while Podolski has been booked in the 65th minute. Still, 1-0 for Koln! Over in Freiburg, Hamburg were successful against their hosts: they scored first (through Heung-Min Son in the 12th) and last (a goal from Ivo Ilicevic in the 73rd minute) on either side of Papiss Demba Cisse's 47th minute goal for Freiburg. Yet more southerly though, in Spain, Levante persist in holding even with Barcelona at the top of the league table! They currently lead Malaga 3-0 thanks to goals from Barkero (14th), Juanlu (30th), and Arouna Kone (41st). It should be remembered that Malaga's Willy Caballero was sent off in the 27th minute though. It's still a great game for the surprise package of the Spanish league! In other news, Espanyol were successful when they visited Rayo thanks to a solitary goal from Romaric in the 56th minute. Despite the dirty conclusion of the game, it was a relatively uneventful game though enjoyable. Lastly in Spain, Zaragoza defeated Real Sociedad 2-0 thanks to the talents of Helder Postiga. He struck his 1st goal in the 11th minute while the 2nd came early in the 2nd half: in the 49th minute. Back north now, to England, Arsenal v.s. Sunderland was probably the biggest game of the day and the Gunners were kind of lucky to be able to edge their opponents 2-1. It was greatly due to Robin Van Persie's striking capabilities with the Dutchman scoring in the 1st minute of the game and the 82nd. Sebastian Larsson's 31st minute goal was problematic for Arsenal, but they persevered and won the 3 points. Newcastle v.s. Tottenham was a surprisingly good game as both sides struck twice and neither side could find the vital point. Things got off to a somewhat late start with Rafael Van Der Vaart only breaking the deadlock in the 40th minute. Demba Ba was the man for Newcastle who equalized in the 48th. 20 minutes later, Jermain Defoe gave Tottenham a potentially game winning lead. However, Spurs were unable to defend it and Newcastle leveled in the 86th minute through Shola Ameobi. Concluding England's day of matches, West Brom's 2-0 victory over Wolves was quite straightforward as Chris Brunt opened in the 8th and Peter Odemwingie closed in the 75th. Interestingly, despite the fact that the game wasn't going their way, Wolves still played respectfully - only receiving 1 yellow card. Last but not least, how about we visit Italy? Today was, well, very unexciting to be honest. Atalanta v.s. Udinese ended 0-0, so did Cagliari v.s. Siena, Cesena v.s. Fiorentina, Juventus' match with Chievo, and Genoa's game against Lecce. The only game to break deadlock was Bologna's visit to Novara. Here, Gaston Ramirez and Robert Acquafresca were the scorers. Cheers!

Domestic conclusion.

Well, in the south of the continent, Spain witnessed quite impressive results from powerhouses Barcelona and Real Madrid. Barca defeated Racing 3-0 thanks to an opener from Lionel Messi in the 11th minute. Xavi struck the 2nd in the 27th minute to put the 1st half, and the game, firmly in Barcelona's grasp. Messi struck a second in the 68th to conclude a rather one sided performance. Real meanwhile defeated Betis 4-1 thanks to a hat-trick from Gonzalo Higuain. Kaka also scored for the Madrid side while Jorge Molina did score for Betis in the 69th. Getafe and Villarreal finished as they started: 0-0. There were a lot of bookings though: a combined total of 9 with 4 yellows going to Getafe while the other 5 went to the Yellow Submarines of Villarreal. Mallorca and Valencia finished their match level as well, but with both sides scoring once. Adil Rami gave Valencia the lead in the 38th but Tomer Hemed converted  a penalty in the 3rd minute of stoppage time of the 2nd half to salvage a point for the Mallorcans. Granada v.s. Atletico are still level 0-0 with 5 yellows handed out by the 53rd minute. Over in Italy, Catania upset Inter Milan 2-1 despite the giants taking the lead through Esteban Cambiasso in the 6th minute. Catania fought back with goals in the 2nd half from Sergio Almiron (46th minute) and Francesco Lodi (50th minute). AC Milan on the other hand were much better against Palermo who they defeated 3-0. Antonio Nocerino opened the scoring in the 39th while Robinho added a 2nd in the 55th to leave Palermo between a rock and a hard place. Antonio Cassano slotted home the finishing blow in the 63rd to leave Palermo essentially no chance at saving the game. Napoli, however, weren't so lucky when they hosted Parma as they conceded first: in the 57th from a strike from Massimo Gobbi. They equalized though, scoring through Giuseppe Mascara in the 76th to make it 1-1. Francesco Modesto undid the home side's work though, with a goal in the 82nd minute that really sank the Naples side. Moving north to Germany, Bayern had a great game against Hertha Berlin who they thrashed 4-0 with 2 goals from Mario Gomez, and 1 each from Franck Ribery and Bastian Schweinsteiger. Keep in mind, it was 3-0 by the 13th minute so Bayern took their foot off the gas and Hertha tried to allow as few goals as possible. Augsburg were able to score late from the penalty spot against Mainz to edge their hosts 0-1. However, Monchengladbach dropped some points when they only were able to draw with Leverkusen 2-2. Leverkusen did well to score first (in the 20th through Stefan Reinartz) but 'Gladbach were capable enough of striking back and even taking the lead thanks to goals from Marco Reus in the 65th and Patrick Herrmann in the 72nd. Unfortunately for them, they could not defeat Leverkusen even though they were down to 10 men: Andre Schurrle equalized for the visitors in the 87th and thus the game ended 2-2. Schalke were upset at home by Kaiserslautern who struck first and last to edge their hosts 1-2. Yes, Schalke did have Ralf Fahrmann sent off in the 28th which led to the goal from Christian Tiffert in the 30th but Schalke still had quality on the pitch. The Red Devils had Rodnei sent off in the 61st which resulted in Klaas-Jan Huntelaar's 62nd minute penalty conversion. And so, with 10 men each, Schalke may have been expected to win. Well, you are wrong! Kaiserslautern struck through Dorge Kouemaha in the 72nd to win it all. Stuttgart defeated Hoffenheim 2-0 while Wolfsburg were able to edge Nurnberg 2-1. On the other side of the Channel, in England, we had several titans doing battle as Chelsea beat Everton 3-1, Liverpool and Manchester United tied 1-1, Manchester City took the league apex with a 4-1 victory over Aston Villa while Norwich won over Swansea 3-1. QPR and Blackburn could only tie 1-1 while Stoke defeated Fulham 2-0. Wigan were defeated at home by Bolton 1-3. Last but not least, up in Scotland, Aberdeen took the 3 points in their game against Dundee United who they defeated 3-1. Dunfermline on the other hand were beaten by visiting Hearts 0-2. Motherwell remain in 2nd after a 0-1 victory over Hibernian courtesy of Jamie Murphy's 8th minute goal. Rangers were actually held 1-1 by St. Mirren despite taking the lead in the 48th minute through Nikica Jelavic. Steve Thompson equalized for St Mirren in the 5th minute of stoppage time of the 2nd half to halt 'Gers' dreams of further extending their lead over Motherwell and rivals Celtic. St. Johnstone beat Inverness 2-0.