Qualifying for Euro Cup 3/29/2011. Two friendlies too!

One of the bigger games today occurred between Turkey and Austria as the Group A opponents finished 2-0 in the host's favor. Arda Turan and Gökhan Gönül slotted home once each in the 28th and 78th minutes respectively. It wasn't a good game at all for Austria as they could only collect cards, with three players booked in the match. Belgium were very successful in their match with Azerbaijan as they claimed a 4-1 victory. Jan Vertonghen opened the scoring in the 12th minute while Ruslan Abushev equalized four minutes later. Timmy Simons and Nacer Chadli then struck goals to give the Belgian's a 3-1 lead at the half. Jelle Vossen then struck in the 74th to finish the game 4-1. Serbia were actually held in Estonia to a 1-1 draw as Konstantin Vassiljev struck in the 84th minute for Estonia to draw them level after Marko Pantelić had given Serbia a 1-0 lead in the first half. Northern Ireland and Slovenia finished as they started: with the score line 0-0. Romania turned around from their last performance as they defeated Luxembourg 3-1 thanks to two goals from Adrian Mutu which put Romania up 2-1 after Lars Gerson had opened the scoring for Luxembourg. Ianis Zicu then tacked on Romania's third in the 78th. In Group E Sweden and the Netherlands showed well against their respective opposition as Sweden beat Moldova 2-1. The Netherlands had an even higher scoring game as they finished up 5-3 over Hungary. Robin van Persie opened the scoring before Gergely Rudolf and Zoltán Gera slotted home to give Hungary a 2-1 lead. Wesley Sneijder equalized in the 61st while Ruud van Nistelrooy put Holland ahead in the 73rd. Hungary's captain Gera didn't give up though as he put in Hungary's third to make it 3-3 in the 75th. Dirk Kuyt had other plans though, as he struck twice, in the 78th and 81st minutes to make it 5-3 when the final whistle blew. In Israel, Georgia had no luck as they lost 1-0 to their hosts who relied on Tal Ben Chaim's solitary debut goal for the win. The Czech Republic finished 2-0 over Lichtenstein as Milan Baroš opened the scoring in the 3rd minute and Michal Kadlec closed the account in the 70th. In Lithuania, Spain were victorious 3-1 as Xavi Hernández slotted home in the 19th, Lithuania's Marius Stankevičius equalized in the 57th, Tadas Kijanskas scored an own goal which gave Spain a 2-1 lead, the last goal was from Spain's Juan Mata and made it 3-1 for the World Champions. Finally, in friendly news, Australia actually beat Germany at home in Dortmund 2-1 while Ghana tied England 1-1! Lots of upsets!

Upcoming friendly schedule.

So the European Championship Qualifying is well under way, but changing gears a little, how about some friendly action? Ireland will be 'hosting' Uruguay in a match which I predict the 'visitors' will win. South Korea will be playing Montenegro as well, a game which the high-flying Asian side should be confident of winning. France v.s. Croatia is another big game as the Croatians will be coming off of a poorly played defeat while the French are actually looking quite good. Belarus' match against Canada isn't so high on the calender of events but it should be a good game which I see going the Canadians' way. Slovakia v.s. Denmark is another upcoming game which is also hard to call. Forced into a decision, I'd go for a Slovakian victory but you never know. England's game with Ghana should be a brilliant affair as the British are looking good while Ghana have nothing much to complain about either. I must say that I see England winning but you never know! Germany's match-up with Austria should be interesting too, but the Germans should definitely win it. Portugal v.s. Finland also looks promising but I don't think the Finns can handle Portugal's power. Cyprus will be 'hosting' Bulgaria, both sides having performed well in their most recent qualifiers but I find it hard to believe that Bulgarians could do anything but win. A draw may be on the cards but there is no reason for the Bulgarians not to win it. Finally, the battle between the two future World Cup hosts Qatar and Russia should be a big affair, but the Russians really should win it. Either way, these should all be really good games and I wish all of the teams the best of luck.

Euro Cup 2012 Qualifying 3/27/2011. International friendlies too.

I'd like to start with the Group A match-up between Germany and Kazakhstan which saw Miroslav Klose and Thomas Müller strike twice each as Germany strode to a 4-0 victory. Klose opened the scoring in the 8th minute and closed it in the 88th while Müller struck his two goals in the first half as Germany had a 3-0 advantage at the half. Armenia were actually able to keep Russia from scoring but forgot to score themselves as they finished 0-0 in a tense match. Meanwhile, in Andorra, Slovakia were able to slot home in the 21st through Filip Šebo and so win the three points by a 0-1 scoreline. Over in Ireland, things were close but the home side managed to edge visiting Macedonia 2-1. Aiden McGeady and Robbie Keane struck a goal a piece as the Irish had a 2-0 lead at the half. Ivan Trickovski struck Macedonia's solitary goal to make the final score 2-1. Bosnia and Herzegovina's match with Romania was also close, but the home side won out in the end 2-1 as Vedad Ibišević struck in the 63rd and Edin Džeko struck in the 83rd after Romania had actually taken the lead through Ciprian Marica in the 29th. Albania's match with Belarus was a bit more one sided as Albania just held onto the lead that Hamdi Salihi had given them in the 62nd. There were a ton more cards than goals though, as seven yellow cards were given out including three in five minutes! Either way, it was a decent home performance for a side that were all too glad to take it. In my opinion, the biggest surprise of the day came from Georgia as they were actually able to defeat visiting Croatia 1-0 thanks to a goal from Levan Kobiashvili in the 90th minute! Croatia had almost all of the shot attempts but to no avail. It just took one from Kobiashvili to sink them too. Over in Israel, the hosts were content as they edged Latvia 2-1. Beram Kayal's 81st minute header which won them the match was just what the doctor had ordered after Elyaniv Barda had struck them the first goal in the 16th minute. Latvia's captain Kaspars Gorkšs had drawn the visitors back one in the 62nd but that didn't matter after Kayal had his say! As Greece visited Malta, they showed a lot of attacking flair; making many opportunities but only Vassilis Torossidis' second minute of stoppage time winner actually went in. They were even playing a man down after Sokratis Papastathopoulos had been given a straight red card. But, for now, they will just be happy to be back on top of Group F. Up in Wales, England dominated early on and just held on for the ride as Frank Lampard struck a penalty and a Darren Bent scored a goal within the first 15 minutes to give England a solid victory. A highlight of the English defense: the Welsh only shot three times with not one of their attempts landing on target! Bulgaria v.s. Switzerland was a hard fought game but, in the end, nobody got anything from it as the sides finished 0-0. Alexander Frei was twice denied by Bulgaria's keeper Nikolay Mihaylov while Bulgaria actually had more attempts as a whole but couldn't convert any of them into goals. In Cyprus' game against Iceland, neither side were looking too good until Chrysostomos Michail got a penalty shot in the 21st minute. It would have been all Cyprus may have needed for a 1-0 victory. We'll never know though as Stefán Magnússon pulled off a great save to keep Iceland in the game. The match then returned to its previous setting of boring as time wound down. On the bright side, it was the first point for Iceland in their Group H qualifying campaign. Finally, in one version of the Nordic derby, Norway's Erik Huseklepp struck in the 81st minute to draw his side level after Dennis Rommedahl had slotted home for the Danes in the 27th. The game thus concluded 1-1. On the international friendly front, the U.S. hosted and were able to draw with Argentina as it really was a game of two halves. Argentina were better in the first half, especially later on which led to Esteban Cambiasso beating Tim Howard three minutes from the half. However, America's Colombian-born forward Agudelo came in to equalise 14 minutes after the interval when  Landon Donovan's free-kick found Carlos Bocanegra who headed goalwards, Argentina's keeper Mariano Andujar failed to keep hold of the ball, and Agudelo just slotted home. Mexico v.s. Paraguay was another good match which was decided by two goals from Javier Hernandez and a goal from Andres Guardado that lifted Mexico to a 3-1 victory in a friendly match at the Oakland Coliseum. Cristiano Riveros provided Paraguay with their solitary goal of the night.

Irish League 3/25/11 results and a special recognition.

In the fourth day of games, league leaders Shamrock Rovers were tied 0-0 by Derry at the same time as Bohemians were defeated 1-0 by visitors Galway. Yoeffe scored the big goal, in the 60th, which gave Bohemians their first defeat of the season and Galway their first win. St. Patricks on the other hand continued their undefeated start against Dundalk, winning 3-2; coming back from 2 goals down in the process. Quigley had struck twice for Dundalk, in the 17th and 49th before MicMillan scored twice and Mulcahy slotted one of his own for the Saints to complete an impressive comeback. Sligo v.s.Drogheda was a good game itself as Dillon struck twice for the home side in their 2-0 victory. Finally, UCD were edged by visiting Bray 1-0 thanks to O'Connor's 70th minute strike. Also, I'd like to recognize Xavi Hernandez, known by some as la Maquina. He appeared for the first time for his country at the senior level 10 years and 4 months ago and hasn't stopped performing since. The Catalan play-maker played his 100th game in Spain's colors today in an international career that has suffered only 8 defeats, spanned 3 World Cups, and 2 European Championships. The other three who are also in this group? Former keeper Andoni Zubizarreta with 126 caps, current goalie Iker Casillas with 117 caps, and ex-Real Madrid and current Schalke striker Raul Gonzalez who has 102. Xavi isn't a goal scorer though, preferring to set up for his team mates. This is illustrated by the single-digit amount of goals he has scored at the international level: 8 goals with the first against China in 2005 and the most recent in 2008 against Denmark. He struck Spain's 1,000th goal against Northern Ireland in 2006 and in 2010 he passed 669 times at the World Cup in South Africa with an outstanding accuracy percentage of 81%! Congratulations Xavi and I for one hope to see you when Brazil host the World Cup in 2014.

Results for Euro Cup qualifying. 3/25/2011.

Well first of all, Spain and the Netherlands maintained their perfect form while Belgium, France, Italy, and Serbia were victorious in their respective matches. The Czech Republic were actually doing very well, leading 1-0 with 21 minutes left before David Villa equalized for Spain in the 69th and converted a penalty 3 minutes later to not only win Spain the three points but also edge past Raul Gonzalez's goal record for the nation. Luxembourg on the other hand were holding out against France until Philippe Mexès slotted home in the 28th. They allowed only that goal in the first half but couldn't stop Yoann Gourcuff either when he struck in the 72nd minute as France finished 2-0 winners. Italy v.s. Slovenia ran it the closest though, as the sides were 0-0 up until the 73rd minute when Italy finally broke through, taking the lead thanks to a great Thiago Motta strike. The two sides had about the same amount of chances, but Slovenia just couldn't compete with the competitive Italians. On the other side of the spectrum, Hungary really couldn't handle the Netherlands as they allowed 4 goals with no response in a dismal day at the Ferenc Puskás Stadium for the home side. Rafael van der Vaart opened the scoring in the 8th minute and Ibrahim Afellay struck just before the half to give the Dutch a 2-0 lead before the torrents continued in the second half. Dirk Kuyt and Robin van Persie were the culprits of the other two goals as the Hungarians only seemed able to collect yellow cards efficiently. Over in Austria, the home side were also left scratching their heads as the Belgians, or more specifically Axel Witsel as he struck twice in Belgium's 2-0 victory. Finally, Serbia were able to come back from a goal down to win 2-1 over Northern Ireland. More action tomorrow!

UEFA EURO 2012 for this weekend!

Looking at the matches today, Friday the 25th of March, Austria face off against Belgium especially more confident if striker Marc Janko gets over injury and is present. Either way, I think the Austrians will be victorious in a good game. Serbia will be fighting Northern Ireland, a harder match to call now that Danko Lazovic is out. Factoring that in, I could see Northern Ireland actually winning despite the fact that Serbia will be at home. Slovenia at home against Italy will be a challenging match for both sides as Italy will be missing a couple of players and Slovenia will be at home. Based on performance up to this point, I'd tip Italy to win but I could see a draw happening if Slovenia play it right. Luxembourg v.s. France should be interesting as well, with the French at the top of the table despite getting only 9 points from their first 4 matches. Regardless, this should be another 3 points for Le Bleu as they won the last game the two sides played in qualifying 2-0. Hungary's big match with undefeated-in-qualifying Holland should be really good despite the 6-1 victory the Netherlands had the last time the two sides met. Either way, both sides make up the top 2 of Group E so there is quite a bit on the line, especially as Sweden and Moldova are just three behind Hungary at the moment. Undefeated Spain's Group I meeting with the Czech Republic will be another good game largely due to the fact that Carles Puyol, Cesc Fàbregas and Pedro Rodríguez will be missing from Spain's line-up. Victory for the Czech Republic would mean the two teams are tied 9 points each on top of Group I. Meanwhile, on the 26th, Germany will be hosting win-less Kazakhstan to a match which the Germans should win hands down. Armenia will be looking for something when they face Group B leaders Russia as they are only two points off from them. Ireland's match with Macedonia will also be quite intense as Aiden McGeady looks on form and Ireland's performances up to this point have been better than Macedonia's own. Under-performers Bosnia and Herzegovina and Romania will be playing as well with my vote tipping against the Romanians who should be beaten by Bosnia and Herzegovina's at home performance. Albania v.s. Belarus is the last of the Group D matches and one which the away side should also win given their performances thus far. Georgia's fight with Croatia will be interesting as Georgia have the home field advantage while Croatia look more comfortable. Israel v.s. Latvia is a Group F match-up which may just end in a draw, but if I had to pick a winner, it'd be Israel as Latvia will be missing Aleksandrs Cauņa and the Israelis will have the crowd on their side. Malta v.s. Greece shouldn't hold many surprises with the Greeks my choice to be on top when the final whistle blows. In Wales' game with England, it may a meeting of the old-schools but that won't stop England's new guns from tearing the Welsh apart. Bulgaria's Group G clash with Switzerland will be harder to call. I could see the game ending in a draw but taking into account the Bulgarian's home field advantage, that might just seal the deal for them. When Cyprus welcome Iceland to Nicosia, I'd be inclined to favor Cyprus, but the U-21 talent Iceland may call up could be enough to even the odds between the two sides. Finally, on target Norway's big Group H match with Denmark should be a fantastic affair. The absence of the likes of keeper Jon Knudsen and and striker John Carew may be too much for the Norwegians to handle though.

Women's Champions League. 3/23/11.

The two big rivals of the women's game in Germany, FCR 2001 Duisburg and 1. FC Turbine Potsdam, face off in the semi-finals with Olympique Lyonnais v.s. Arsenal LFC the other tie. The two German sides met last year with the current Bundesliga Champions (1. FC Turbine Potsdam) winning on penalty kicks. Potsdam come into the match on a great high as they destroyed Juvisy Essonne 6-2 for an aggregate victory of 9-2! Duisburg didn't perform too badly either though, winning both of their legs against England's Everton 2-1 and 3-1 respectively. Lyon managed well against Zvezda-2005, only edging by them 1-0, but a win is a win. Finally, Arsenal defeated the last of the Swedish opposition in the competition as they tied both games against Linköpings FC 1-1 and 2-2 respectively. The history between Arsenal and Lyon goes back a bit: with the French beating Arsenal (the reigning Champions then,) in the Quarter-finals of the 2007/08 competition. All in all, this is set to be a fantastic match set-up and should be great to watch.

Some domestic action: 3/21/2011. Portugal, Romania, Russia, and more.

Let's start in beautiful Portugal where Benfica obliterated Pacos de Ferreira 5-1 as Oscar Cardozo, Pablo Aimar, and Nicolas Gaitan each struck for the Eagles. Ferreira actually didn't score any of their own goals though, as Lionel Carole accidentally put in an own goal to give Benfica a 3-1 lead at the half. The only thing that Ferreira seemed actually capable of doing was getting cards as Maykon and Wanderson Baiano both got yellows while Javier Cohene received both a yellow and a red card bringing his side down a player in the 41st. Nuno Gomes then struck twice in the last eight minutes to make it 5-1 as the final whistle blew. Braga on the other hand got their three points by edging Rio Ave 1-0 thanks to a 73rd minute strike from Hugo Viana. In Romania, Unirea Urziceni tied Brasov in the only match of the day with Marian Cristescu striking in the fifth and Iulian Apostol only equalising for Urziceni in the 90th minute. In the second day of the Russian League's new season, Spartak Moskva edged Volga Nizhny 1-0 thanks to Welliton's 50th minute goal. Zenit were more comfortable as they beat Anzhi 2-0 with goals from Roman Shirokov and Danko Lazovic in the early and late parts of the first half enough for victory. Over in Denmark, SonderjyskE scored one more than Midtjylland as they won 2-1. They essentially piggy-backed off of Kenneth Fabricius' strikes in the 8th and 79th minutes while Midtjylland only had Sylvester Igboun Emeka's 37thn minute strike buoying them at the half. In Turkey, Bursaspor and Ankaragucu ended with a goalless draw while the Czech Republic looked on as Pribram almost came back from two behind to lose 2-1 to Hradec Kralove. Koukal scored for Pribram while Fischer and Klapka struck for Kralove. Over in Bulgaria, Minior trounced Lokomotiv Sofia 3-0 as goals from Vasilev, Jankovic, and Brahimi in the first half were enough for the away side to win. Finally, in Israel, Bnei Sakhnin and H. Ramat Gan ended in a 0-0 draw.

Big results: 3/20/2011.

I'd like to start in England where there were some huge games with Chelsea taking on and beating Manchester City 2-0 at Stamford Bridge thanks to two late goals from David Luiz and Ramires in the 78th and 92nd minutes respectively. Sunderland's 2-0 defeat to Liverpool was another great match which saw Dirk Kuyt and Luis Suarez score a goal a piece. Across the Channel in Germany, Leverkusen's 2-0 victory over Schalke is not the kind of performance the Gelsinkirchen side want when they face their next Champions League opponents! Christoph Metzelder's 27th minute own goal was one thing, but the legitimate strike by Eren Derdiyok in couple minutes before was quite another. Schalke's domestic form has really not kept pace with their international performances. Stuttgart and Wolfsburg finished 1-1 as Grafite struck Wolfsburg ahead in the 39th only to have Georg Niedermeier draw Stuttgart level in the fourth minute of stoppage time in the second half. Down in Italy, Bari were edged 1-2 by Chievo who had Sergio Pellissier and Davide Moscardelli score on either side of Abdelkader Ghezzal's 41st minute penalty. Bologna and Genoa tied 1-1 while Fiorentina and Roma finished level 2-2 as Francisco Totti struck both of Roma's and Adrian Mutu and Alessandro Gamberini scored for Fiorentina. Inter Milan beat Lecce by a meager 1-0 scoreline thanks to Giampaolo Pazzini's 52nd minute strike. Juventus edged Brescia 2-1 as Milos Krasic and Alessandro Del Piero outscored Brescia's Eder. Udinese defeated Catania 2-0 while Napoli led Cagliari 1-0 as I posted this. Edinson Cavani struck the 49th minute penalty to give Napoli the lead. Over in Portugal, Vitoria edged Nacional 2-1 through Neca and Jailson while Anselmo brought Nacional one back in the fifth minute of stoppage time in the second half. Naval 1. Maio drew 2-2 with Beira-Mar with Manuel Curto striking penalties in the 80th and 86th minutes to draw level after Leandro Tatu and Artur had given Beira-Mar a 2-0 lead. Maritimo destroyed Olhanense 4-0 while Porto were behind Academica 1-0 when I posted this. Finaly, over east in Spain, Villarreal edged Athletic 1-0 through Marco Ruben while Deportivo lost by the same scoreline to Levante after Ruben Suarez had struck in the 90th minute. Osasuna's 4-0 drubbing of Hercules was a good game as Malaga beat Espanyol 2-0 and Racing edged Real Sociedad 2-1. Sporting Gijon barely beat Almeria, 1-0.

United Kingdom domestic update 3/19/2011.

Up in the highlands of Scotland, Dundee United were able to edge Inverness 1-0 thanks to a goal from Danny Swanson in the 43rd minute. Hamilton and St. Johnstone finished their game as a goalless draw despite chances for both sides. It was also a bit surprising too, that St. Johnstone couldn't take advantage of the sending-off  of Simon Mensing in the first minute of stoppage time of the second half; had it occured sooner they may have. Hearts v.s. St. Mirren was also a very close match, ending 3-2 in Hearts' favor. Michael Higdon had given St. Mirren an early lead in the 15th, a lead which lasted until the 55th minute in the second half: that's when Rudolf Skacel scored his first goal to draw the two sides level. Higdon then struck St. Mirren into the lead again, but Ryan Stevenson struck in the 82nd to make it 2-2. Then, in the dying minutes, Skacel struck Hearts into the lead for the first time of the game. A lead which they didn't give up! Kilmarnock's 3-1 victory over Motherwell was good business as John Sutton gave Motherwell a 1-0 lead before Manuel Pascali and Jamie Hamill scored twice in the first half to give Kilmarnock a 2-1 lead at the half. Liam Kelly struck the third as Motherwell lost a chance to catch up with the team just above them. Moving to England now, Aston Villa were beaten by Wolves 1-0 as Matthew Jarvis struck in the 38th for the win. Blackburn's 2-2 draw with Blackpool was an exciting match as Charlie Adam struck twice in the first half before Christopher Samba and David Hoilett scored a goal apiece in the second to draw it all level. Everton edged Fulham 2-1 as Seamus Coleman and Louis Saha slotted home for Everton. Clint Dempsey's 62nd minute strike wasn't enough for Fulham. Manchester United defeated Bolton 1-0 thanks to Dimitar Berbatov's 88th minute goal. Stoke destroyed Newcastle 4-0 while Tottenham and West Ham finished 0-0. West Brom and Arsenal endded their match tied 2-2 while Wigan managed to edge Birmingham 2-1.

Last eights for both the Champions League and the Europa League.

Beginning with the Champions League ties coming up, the Italian defending champions Inter Milan will be facing Germany's Schalke 04 while Barcelona will be taking on the giant-slayers of Shakhtar Donetsk. However, the match on a lot of people's minds is probably going to be Manchester United's match against Chelsea. The final Champions League match-up is between Real Madrid and the team that's really hitting above their weight this season: Tottenham Hotspur. In forecasting the matches I would have to say that Inter will probably defeat Schalke in their game, while Barcelona should deal with Shakhtar. Manchester United v.s. Chelsea is a bit harder to predict but I would say that United will triumph just like in the 2008 Final. Finally, Real Madird may be surprised by Tottenham, but the Spaniards should still beat the up and coming English side. Over in the Europa League competition, despite the lack of English competition, the show must go on! Porto take on Spartak Moskva while Benfica face-off against PSV Eindhoven. The third of the Portuguese sides still in the competition, Braga, will hope to see off Dynamo Kyiv's assaults while Villarreal will fight Twente in the last of the ties. I could actually be persuaded that all of the Portuguese sides may make it to the semi-finals, but I think Braga may fall to Dynamo while Benfica will be tested in their match against PSV. Porto's performances thus far lead me to believe that they will triumph over Spartak Moskva though. Last but not least, the match between the Spanish and the Dutch- Villarreal and Twente- will be hard fought but I think Villarreal may be able to edge out their opponents from the Netherlands.

Tumultuous Europa League 3/17/11.

Manchester City won the second game but lost the war as only Aleksandar Kolarov scored for them against Dynamo Kyiv. Thus, despite the home field advantage, the English side could not make up the two goal deficit and go out 2-1 on aggregate. Mario Balotelli's 36th minute sending off really didn't help matters for City. In PSG's match against Benfica, the Portuguese club are into the quarter-finals for the second consecutive year having won 3-2 on aggergate. Nicolas Gaitan struck in the 27th before PSG's Mathieu Bodmer struck in the 35th to tie the second game 1-1. Benfica's 2-1 lead from the previous leg was enough to claim victory. In Russia meanwhile, Zenit soundly beat Twente 2-0 but still lost 3-2 on aggregate. Roman Shirokov and Aleksandr Kerzhakov struck the two respective first half strikes but to no avail. In the other game in Russia, Spartak Moskva destroyed Ajax 3-0 to complete an aggregate victory of 4-0. Dmitri Kombarov, Welliton, and Alex each struck for the Spartak Moskva win. In Spain, Villarreal defeated Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 to top off a 5-3 victory. Santi Cazorla and Giuseppe Rossi struck the Yellow Submarine into the next round while Eren Derdiyok's 82nd minute strike was nothing to be ashamed of, but wasn't enough. Porto bested CSKA Moskva two for two as they won 2-1 for a 3-1 aggregate score. Hulk slotted home in the very first minute of the game, before Fredy Guarin struck in the 24th for a 2-0 Portuguese lead. Zoran Tosic then struck CSKA one back but no more goals came as the half time scoreline was the fulltime scoreline: 2-1. In Scotland, PSV were able to edge Rangers 1-0 thanks to a Jeremain Lens strike right in front of goal. 'Gers were actually sunk by that one goal as the aggregate finished 1-0. Finally, last but not least, the third Portuguese side, Braga, also go through to the next round - beating Liverpool in the process. This only due to the fact that they had won 1-0 in Portugal. They defended magnificantly well in England in their game today to draw 0-0. A boring yet exciting game.

Thrilling games in the Champions League. 3/16/11.

Thanks to a comprehensive victory over Lyon today, Real Madrid are through to the last eight for the first time since 2004. With a 1-1 result from the first leg, Marcelo opened the scoring for his side in the 33rd, scoring the only goal of the first half and putting Real Madird on comfortable footing. Karim Benzema slotted home in the 66th to score Madrid's second of the game before Angel Di Maria struck the games' third in the 76th to give Real an  aggregate victory of 4-1 over their French opposition. Chelsea on the other hand merely drew 0-0 with Kobenhavn in England to win by an aggregate score of 2-0 from the first leg. They now advance to the Quarter finals with a boost of confidence. It wasn't for lack of trying though, as Chelsea had 22 attempts at goal compared to Kobenhavn's total of seven. Kobenhavn did have a majority of possession, but were unable to convert that into anything useful and paid the price.

Gripping day in the Champions League. 3/15/11.

Well Manchester United are through again following a great game in England against Marseille. Coming in 0-0 from the first leg, United were led by Javier Hernandez who scored in the fifth and seventy minutes later to make it 2-0 before a mix up in the defence occured and Wes Brown accidently scored an own goal in the 82nd. It wasn't enough for Marseille though as United ran on to victory with a 2-1 lead. Manchester's majority of possession probably really helped their cause as they face the next round! In the other game today, Inter Milan were down by a goal on aggregate but scored early through Samuel Eto'o to lead 1-0 over Bayern Munich before Mario Gomez and Thomas Muller struck to give the Germans a 2-1 lead into half-time. Wesley Sneijder struck Inter level in the 63rd before Goran Pandev slotted home the winner two minutes from the end of regulation to give the Italians victory by away goals.

Domestic standings 3/14/2011.

Yes, Bayern welcome Inter Milan to Germany while Marseille say hello to Manchester United and England, but the domestic action has been great this year! In Scotland, the Old Firm dominate with Celtic only two points ahead of Rangers with 'Gers having a game in hand too. There is then a ten point gap between Rangers who have 65 points and third place side Heart of Midlothian who hold 55. Down in England, Manchester United have three points over Arsenal who have a game in hand and 57 points. Manchester City barely holds third, with 53 points from 29 games while Chelsea are only two points behind from 28 games. Spurs occupy fifth with 48 points from 28 games while Liverpool have 42 from 29 in sixth. Over in France, Lille lead with 'just' 52 points while closest challengers Stade Rennais have 49. Lyon and Marseille both have 48 points all having played 27 games. Over east in Germany, Dortmund still command the Bundesliga with 61 points from 26 games while second place Leverkusen only have 52. Hannover hold third by only two points since Bayern have somewhat resurged domestically; earning 45 points from their 26 games, while Mainz have slipped to fifth with 43 points. Over in the Netherlands, PSV Eindhoven have played 27 games and have 58 points, occupying the top of the domestic table. Twente have just one point less while Ajax have been bumped to third with 55 points from 27 games. Italy meanwhile has quite a race on its hands as AC Milan and Inter are not alone in the title race: Napoli are just a point behind Inter who are five points behind AC who have 62 from 29 matches. Udinese Calcio have actually pushed into fourth with Lazio falling two points behind them. Roma occupy sixth while Juvetus holds seventh. Finally, in Iberia, Portugal is predictable while Spain is sensational: Porto have a crushing lead over all of their rivals in Portugal with a thirteen point cushion over Benfica, the Lisbon powerhouse this season, and a 28 point lead over third place Sporting. Porto's 65 points comes from only drawing two games and winning all of their others. In Spain, Barcelona lead Real by five points with both sides having played 28 games and holding 75 and 70 points respectively. Valencia's 54 points is the closest challenger to the top two with Villarreal in fourth.

Europa League update 3/10/2011.

Starting in Portugal, SC Braga showed Liverpool FC how to edge an opponent as they finished the game 1-0 thanks to a penalty in the 18th minute from Alan. That means Liverpool will have to work their magic at home on the return leg, but a 1-0 scoreline isn't the worst it could be. PSV's home draw 0-0 with Rangers wasn't exactly the most positive result as they will now have to try and win in Scotland against a side that's very strong at home. Leverkusen's 2-3 defeat at the hands of Villarreal at home in Germany wasn't what they were looking for as Michal Kadlec had given them a 33rd minute lead before Giuseppe Rossi struck the Spaniards even in the 42nd. It was 1-1 at the half. Nilmar then put Villarreal ahead in the 70th for the first time in the game; only a minute after coming on! Gonzalo Castro then equalised for Leverkusen but to no avail: Nilmar then struck in the fourth minute of stoppage time to give Villarreal a nice edge when they welcome the Germans to Spain in the next leg. CSKA Moskva's 1-0 loss to Porto was another good result for Portuguese sides as Fredy Guarin struck home in the 70th to stop CSKA's unbeaten record while continuing Porto's visiting perfection. Twente's scoreline against Zenit was by far the most one-sided as Luuk de Jong struck twice, on either side of Denny Landzaat's 56th minute strike. Both sides had attempts on target, but Twente's were far more clinical with goalkeeper Nikolay Mihaylov having a good game in goal for the Dutch side. On the other hand for Dutch clubs, Ajax lost at home 1-0 to Spartak Moskva as Moskva's captain Alex struck in the 57th for the win and advantage into the next leg. The result does not bode well for Ajax's continued success but a 1-0 scoreline isn't unconquerable! The other big surprise today was Dynamo Kyiv's 2-0 victory over Manchester City. City didn't have as many attempts as their Ukrainian hosts and it told in the end as Andriy Shevchenko and Oleh Gusev scored for the home side. City's stars couldn't deal with the staunch team put together by Yuri Semin. Finally, Benfica came back from a one goal deficit to win against PSG at home in Portugal 2-1. Peguy Luyindula's 14th minute strike gave the French a good start but Maxi Pereira and Franco Jara struck once each to make sure the Eagles of Lisbon won out.

Algarve Cup.

Sorry this report is so late in coming but here it is! From Portugal: The U.S. Women's team leave the Algarve with a nice new piece of shiny silverware and some confidence before the World Cup in Germany! There they will be facing North Korea, Colombia, and Sweden. In the Algarve Cup Final against Iceland, Carli Lloyd had given the U.S. a 1-0 lead before Katrin Omarsdottir and Hallbera Gisladottir scored and put Iceland ahead. Lauren Cheney tied the score as the first-half died while Heather O'Reilly put the U.S. ahead 3-2 in the second. Alex Morgan then made it 4-2 as the U.S. find their form and are looking good.

Tottenham v.s. AC Milan and Schalke v.s. Valencia.

Tottenham welcomed Italian-side AC Milan and allowed them only a 0-0 draw on the second leg, giving the English-side a birth in the next round since they won the first leg 1-0 for an aggregate victory by the same margin! AC Milan possessed the ball well and had  a handful of shots, several of which looked nice, but nothing was going in for them as Spurs held firm. Milan also had all of the discipline issues too, as Pato, Mathieu Flamini, and then Marek Jankulovski were given yellow cards while the frustration mounted. In a far more interesting game of the day, Schalke faced and beat Valencia 3-1 in the second leg of their matches, winning by a firm aggregate score of 4-2. Jefferson Farfan struck twice including a fourth minute of stoppage time goal in the second half while Mario Gavranovic slotted in between Farfan's double. Ricardo Costa scored Valencia's only goal in Germany against the Germans.

Barcelona v.s. Arsenal.

The two giants, both playing beautiful football, both making some mistakes, made a great show as ten-man Arsenal were defeated 3-1 by Barcelona, leaving them with a 4-3 aggregate defeat. Arsenal actually went into the match with a 2-1 lead from the first meeting of the sides but to no avail. Robin Van Persie's second yellow in the 56th got him sent off which got people grumbling and things really didn't improve. The mistake which led Sergio Busquets to score an own-goal and give Arsenal even better position wasn't enough; Barca were unstoppable. Lionel Messi had given Barca the lead in the third minute of stoppage time in the first half. After the break, Busquet's mistake got the hearts of everyone going before Xavi Hernandez struck in the 69th and Messi slotted home again two minutes later to cross the t's and dot the i's and move Barcelona one step closer to the Final. Arsenal's coach Arsene Wenger had a lot of positive things to say in defeat, since the fact was that Arsenal were just outplayed. All five cards were handed out to Arsenal players while starting keeper Wojciech Szczęsny was subbed out with 19 minutes gone in the first half. Manuel Almunia didn't do too much better. In the other match today, Shakhtar Donetsk were in fine form as they spanked Roma 3-0 for an aggregate score-line of 6-2! While Roma did have Philippe Mexes sent-off in the 41st, Willian had a fantastic game, scoring two goals to get things off on the right foot for the home side. His first came in the 18th with the second going in at the 58th. Eduardo's 87th minute strike was just the icing on the cake, and what a tasty cake it was!

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Intense domestic action 3/5/11.

Beginning in Scotland, Celtic extended their lead above Rangers to 8 points as they dealt with Hamilton, winning 2-0 with a brace of strikes from Kris Commons winning them the game. Kilmarnock defeated Hearts by the same score line, with David Silva and Alexei Junior Eremenko scoring the respective goals before the latter was sent off in the 72nd minute with a straight red. Inverness' 3-0 victory over Motherwell was the biggest score line of the day though, as Shane Sutherland, Richie Foran, and Alexander MacDonald put one away each on their way to victory. Despite a testy 1-0 lead at the half, Inverness surged forward in the second half and won the match quite comfortably. Over in Germany, Eintracht Frankfurt and Kaiserslautern finished with a goalless draw while Hannover's 3-1 victory over Bayern was the biggest news. Hannover were ahead 2-0 through Mohammed Abdellaoue and Konstantin Rausch before Arjen Robben finally struck Bayern's first and only goal in the 55th. Hannover had a 1-0 lead at the half. Sergio Pinto's 62nd minute strike made it 3-1 and left Bayern in shambles. Bayer Leverkusen destroyed Wolfsburg 3-0 as Lars Bender, Renato Augusto, and Stefan Kiessling each combined to make it 3-0 before the half. The torrent didn't continue though as no goals came for either side in the second half despite several chances. Monchengladbach defeated Hoffenheim 2-0 while Nurnberg and Christian Eigler dismantled St. Pauli 5-0! Four of the five came from Eigler with Philipp Wollscheid opening the scoring in the 3rd minute. Meanwhile, Schalke's 1-0 loss to Stuttgart was only resolved from the penalty spot when Zdravko Kuzmanovic slotted home in the 15th following the sending off of Schalke's Benedikt Howedes. Down in the Portuguese side of Iberia, Porto did what they needed to see off the challenge from the likes of Vitoria with a 2-0 win. Falcao opened the scoring in the 68th before Cristian Rodriguez made it 2-0 in the 90th minute. In ending, how about Barcelona v.s. Zaragoza in Spain? Seydou Keita's 43rd minute strike was all that separated the sides in the end as things ended 1-0 with a couple of yellows and a mistake by Puyol.

Real Madrid v.s. Malaga domestic match.

Determined to chase down Barcelona, Real Madrid were unstoppable as they welcomed the hapless Malaga to Madrid and proceeded to destroy them. Three first half strikes by Karim Benzema, Angel di Maria, and Marcelo respectively gave Madrid a commanding lead before the second half even started. Then, in the second half, Cristiano Ronaldo struck three times and Benzema scored his second to make it a 7-0 game as the final whistle blew. It was actually a surprisingly clean game for the most part; that is, until Manolo was sent-off in the 67th minute with a straight red card. The sending off was quickly followed by two goals from Ronaldo in the 68th and 77th minutes as Malaga were left a man down. Ronaldo then walked off following his hat-trick and it was revealed only later: The only negative for Real? The injury of their biggest star! Ronaldo suffered a leg injury which appeared to afflict his hamstring specifically which will cause him to at least miss Real's next match, against Racing Santander. He said it wasn't from anything but his shot and just wanted to rest up and not take any chances.

Chelsea v.s. Manchester United in English domestic action as well as other leagues.

Well for the big match of the day, Manchester United were one up at the half thanks to Wayne Rooney who, let it be said, should have been disciplined for his actions against James McCarthy of Wigan. Nonetheless, David Luiz struck Chelsea level in the 54th before Frank Lampard converted his penalty in the 80th minute. United finished with ten men on the field having had Nemanja Vidic sent off while David Luiz was lucky to stay on for Chelsea. Up north in Scotland, Hamilton played Hibernian in a match which the visitors were very good at winning. Akpo Sodje gave Hib's a first half lead with his 37th minute strike before Derek Riordan made it 2-0 in the 75th. Hamilton drew one back through Flavio Paixo but only in the fourth minute of stoppage time in the second half which obviously wasn't enough. In the other match between Inverness and Dundee United, Prince Bauben and David Robertson struck in the 75th and 90th minutes respectively to win the game 2-0 for the visitors from Dundee. Meanwhile, over in Iberia, Spain looked on as Espanyol were edged 1-2 by Mallorca as the visitors came from one down to win. Alvaro got Espanyol off on the right foot in the 19th minute but they lost their way as Pierre Webo and Emilio Nsue struck a goal a piece in the second half to switch control of the game. Finally, Sevilla's 3-0 victory over Sporting Gijon was a neat affair with Sevilla two ahead at the half. The sending off of Sebastian Eguren in the 26th got things off badly for Gijon and things only got worse: Luis Fabiano converted his 28th minute penalty while Diego Perotti struck in the 35th. Alvaro Negredo's 65th minute strike was the decider as Gijon's spirit was gone.