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.