FA Cup third round results
January 4, 2009
The FA Cup third round games were played in England on Saturday. The big news was the 1-1 draw between Chelsea and League One team Southend United. Salomon Kalou had put Chelsea in front before a 90th minute goal by Peter Clarke stunned Chelsea.
The biggest casualty from the round was Manchester City. The lost 3-0 at home to Championship strugglers Nottingham Forest.
The full list of results from completed matches are below. English Premier League teams are bolded.
Arsenal 3-1 Plymouth Argyle
Cardiff City 2-0 Reading
Charlton Athletic 1-1 Norwich City
Chelsea 1-1 Southend United
Coventry City 2-0 Kidderminster Harriers
Forest Green Rovers 3-4 Derby County
Hartlepool United 2-0 Stoke City
Hull City 0-0 Newcastle United
Ipswich Town 3-0 Chesterfield
Leicester City 0-0 Crystal Palace
Macclesfield 0-1 Everton
Manchester City 0-3 Nottingham Forest
Middlesbrough 2-1 Barrow
Millwall 2-2 Crewe Alexandra
Portsmouth 0-0 Bristol City
Preston North End 0-2 Liverpool
Queens Park Rangers 0-0 Burnley
Sheffield Wednesday 1-2 Fulham
Sunderland 2-1 Bolton Wanderers
Torquay United 1-0 Blackpool
Watford 1-0 Scunthorpe United
West Bromwich Albion 1-1 Peterborough United
West Ham United 3-0 Barnsley
Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard charged with assault
January 1, 2009
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard will hope his 2009 is better than the end of his 2008. He was charged with assault and affray following a disturbance at a Merseyside nightclub in the early hours of Monday, December 29.
Gerrard spent 21 hours in police custody following the alleged incident. He will appear in court on 23 January.
On the Liverpool website it has said that after speaking with Gerrard and the club lawyer Rafa Benitez has given his full backing to Steven Gerrard.
Has Steven Gerrard stepped over the line in this incident, or is it a case of a fan trying to take advantage of a star player? Time will tell as I can do nothing but speculate about the incident.
I have seen both sides over the years. Players have done things wrong in the past. I have also seen where fans try to provoke big name sports stars.
As a Liverpool fan I hope Steven Gerrard has done no wrong. What do you think about the incident?
Liverpool thump Newcastle to edge ahead of Chelsea
December 29, 2008
Liverpool has moved out to a three point lead at the top of the English Premier League after a convincing 5-1 win over Newcastle away from home. The win combined with a 2-2 draw for Chelsea against Fulham allowed Liverpool to move to the three point lead.
Steven Gerrard scored twice in the one sided match at St James’ Park. His first came after 31 minutes to open the scoring. Sami Hyypia followed this up in the 36th minute. Newcastle got back into the match with a goal to David Edgar in the 45th minute. From there it was all Liverpool as Ryan Babel, Gerrard and Xabi Alonso added to the scoring.
Arsenal got back in the win column with a 1-0 win over Portsmouth. Everton continued a good run of form with a 3-0 win over Sunderland. Blackburn Rover and Manchester City drew 2-2 while Wigan got past Bolton Wanderers 1-0. West Ham continued its climb up the ladder with a 2-1 win over Stoke City.
Manchester United will be keen to make ground on Chelsea when they play their Monday match against Middlebrough. Aston Villa and Hull City complete the round on Tuesday.
Chelsea miss out again
December 23, 2008
Chelsea has wasted another opportunity to go top of the English Premier League table after a goalless draw away to Everton. The draw ended a run of eight consecutive away wins this season.
Liverpool still has a one point lead at the top of the EPL ladder.
Chelsea were made to work hard to just complete the match with a draw after the sending off of their skipper John Terry in the 36th minute after a high challenge on Leon Osman.
The teams play again on boxing day. Chelsea would be expected to get a win at home against West Bromwich Albion while Everton travel to Middlesbrough. Liverpool play at home to Bolton Wanderers. They will also been keen to end a run of draws at home.
Liverpool fight back for 1-1 draw with Arsenal
December 22, 2008
Liverpool extended their lead at the top of the EPL to two points after a come from behind 1-1 draw at Emirates Stadium. Chelsea have the opportunity to take top spot if they can defeat Everton in the Monday game at Goodison Park.
Robin van Persie put the Gunners up by a goal in the 24th minute. Robbie Keane scored a rare goal for Liverpool in the 42nd minute to level the match.
Arsenal were reduced to 10 men after 60 minutes when Emmanuel Adebayor was sent off after being shown his second yellow card.
Liverpool were without their manager for this game after Rafael Benitez underwent surgery to remove kidney stones.
In the other Sunday matches Newcastle United collected a home win over Tottenham Hotspur. The score was 2-1. Damien Duff was the hero for Newcastle after coming off the bench to score the winning goal in the 90th minute.
West Bromwich Albion pulled off a rare win against struggling Manchester City. They snatched a 2-1 win after Roman Bednar headed home a goal in the 90th minute. They were 1-0 up after Moore scored in the 68th minute only to see a Scott Carson own goal make it 1-1 with five minutes to play in regulation time.
Manchester United claim Club World Cup
December 22, 2008
A 1-0 win has seen Manchester United claim the title of club world champions. The win came despite playing with 10 men for much of the second half.
Wayne Rooney scored the winning goal in the 73rd minute with a powerful shot into the right side of the goal. The goal came after Ronaldo drew the defence before laying the ball off to Rooney on his left.
Nemanja Vidic was sent off for elbowing Claudio Bieler in the face as the two were on the ground.
Despite the extra man Liga de Quito did not push forward enough to trouble Man Utd. The only chances for Liga de Quito came from long range shots by Alejandro Monso which were great shots that were well saved by Edwin van der Sar.
Manchester United will now return to England to mount a challenge to the top two teams in the English Premier League as they look to defend their EPL title.
David Beckham checks-in for AC Milan
December 21, 2008
David Beckham was officially presented on Saturday at the AC Milan training ground after completing a medical check. The superstar of football will wear no. 32 while on loan from Los Angeles Galaxy.
Beckham will watch his new team play Udinese on Sunday before leaving Italy until December 29. He will be part of the team training camp in Dubai as he tries to force his way into the top team at AC Milan.
It will be no easy task to make his way into the first team. AC Milan boasts players the stature of Maldini and Ronaldinho. Beckham fans would be hoping he can make his team debut on January 11 when Milan visits AS Roma.
Beckham is only available until March 8 when he has to return to the USA to play for the LA Galaxy as they compete for the Major League Soccer title.
What do you think about David Beckham playing for AC Milan?
Aston Villa jumps into third
December 21, 2008
Aston Villa has gone to third place in the English Premier League after a 1-0 win over West Ham. It should be noted that Manchester United have two games in hand over Villa. Man Utd do not play this weekend as they are taking part in the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan.
The win for Aston Villa came after an own goal by Lucas Neill in the 78th minute when James Milner’s cross was deflected in off the West Ham defender. Earlier in the match Villa’s keeper, Brad Friedel came up with several good saves to keep West Ham scoreless. The loss for West Ham leaves them just one point out of the relegation zone. This must be of some concern for Gianfranco Zola who said his players did not deserve the loss.
The top two teams in the EPL play on Sunday and Monday. Liverpool will look to keep their one point lead as they take on Arsenal at Emirates Stadium. Liverpool’s away form has been better than the home form over recent times so they are a good chance to take full points against Arsenal.
Chelsea also has an away game. They play Everton on Monday. Like Liverpool, Chelsea is playing their best soccer away from home. They have in fact set a new mark for the most consecutive away wins. The most recent away win was the 11th consecutive EPL away win for Chelsea.
Are you surprised by Villa’s form this season? Leave your comments below.
UEFA Champions League last 16 draw
December 21, 2008
The Champions league draw took place the other day. As it turned out the Champions League has turned into an Italy-England contest. Three of the four teams from England will take on Italian opponents in the home and away legs of the last 16. The first leg matches will take place on 24 February, 2009.
The draw is shown below with the home teams for the first leg shown first.
Chelsea v Juventus
Villarreal v Panathinaikos
Sporting Lisbon v Bayern Munich
Atletico Madrid v Porto
Olympic Lyonnais v Barcelona
Real Madrid v Liverpool
Arsenal v Roma
Inter Milan v Manchester United
Who are your picks to advance to the last eight of the UEFA Champions League?
Manchester United advance to Club World Cup Final
December 19, 2008
It was a goal feast in the semi matchup between Man United and Gamba Osaka. Eight goals were scored as the English champions completed a 5-3 win over their Japanese opponents.
United went into the halftime break up 2-0. Nemanja Vidic had opened the scoring with a goal in the 28th minute. Cristiano Ronaldo added another just before the break in injury time.
In the second half the flood gates opened as first Gamba got on the score sheet to make the game interesting. It was Masato Yamazaki in the 74th minute who got the first goal for his team. Man Utd took the game out of reach with a double to Wayne Rooney along with a goal to Darren Fletcher in the middle of Rooney’s double. Rooney’s goal came in the 75th and 79th minutes, Fletcher 78.
Gamba got two late goals to make the final score 5-3.
Man Utd will now play the Copa Libertadores winners, Liga de Quito who overcame Pachuca 2-0. The team from Ecuador scored in the fourth minute through Claudio Bieler and in the 26th minute to Luis Bolanos to wrap up the match against their Mexican opponents.
In the playoff for fifth spot an early goal to Cristiano saw Australian team Adelaide United take the match 1-0 over Egypt’s Al Ahly.
The final of the FIFA Clup World Cup will be played on December 21 at Yokohama, kicking off at 7.30 local time.
