Most of the favorites have reached the last 16. The teams ensured their qualification are Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Juventus, Liverpool, Lyon, Manchester United, FC Porto, Real Madrid, Sporting Lisbon, and Villarreal. Three spots are still vacant. Chelsea is one of the big names yet to ensure qualification.
In Group A, Chelsea played a 1-1 draw with spirited Bordeaux. Lampard was sent off. Roma is now leading the group with a facile 3-1 win over CFR Cluj-Napoca. Chelsea fustrating season continues as they were held 0-0 by Newcastle in the premier league last Saturday. AS Roma, Chelsea and Bordeaux all have chance to qualify for the next round.
In Group B, Anorthosis Famagusta continues to surprise us. They are only themselves to blame after drawing 2-2 with Werder Bremen. Anorthosis Famagusta were leading 2-0 at one point of time. In another match Panathinaikos defeated Inter Milan 1-0 to keep their hope alive. Anorthosis Famagusta also has a chance to make to the next round.
In Group C, Shakhtar Donetsk blanked Basle 5-0 and Barcelona crushed Sporting Lisbon 5-2. Shakhtar Donetsk will surely qualify to the UEFA cup.
In Group D, Gerrard gave Liverpool a 1-0 victory over Marseille and helped them to qualify for the next round. Atletico Madrid also qualified after 2-1 victory over PSV Eindhoven.
In Group E, AaB Aalborg defeated Celtic 2-1 to join Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA cup. The two qualifiers Manchester United and Villarreal played a 0-0 draw.
In Group F, Klose scored twice to give Bayern Munich a 3-0 victory over Steaua Bucharest. Toni scored the other. Lyin defeated Fiorentina 2-1 to qualify for the next round along with Bayern Munich.
In Group G, Arsenal put behind their dismal show in the premier league where they lost 0-3 to Manchester City, to defeat Dynamo Kiev 1-0. FC Porto defeated Fenerbahce 2-1. Both arsenal and FC Porto qualified for the next round.
In Group H, Raul led Real Madrid to 1-0 win over BATE Borisov whereas Juventus played a 0-0 draw with Zenit St Petersburg. Real Madrid joined Juventus for the next round.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Arsenal and Tottenham brought down to earth
Tottenham’s golden run under Redknapp was ended by Fulham. They lost the match by 1-2. It all started with an awful error by Heurelho Gomes. He is very inconsistent. If he makes ten saves then he makes two awful mistakes. Though Tottenham played badly compared to their earlier matches under Redknapp and slipped back to relegation zone but it is temporary, they will finish between 8-12th place.
Arsenal is so unpredictable this season. They played superbly against Manchester United in the previous week to win 2-1 but played just the opposite against Villa this week. Villa won 2-0 though they missed a penalty. Aston Villa is lying in the fifth position with 23 points same as Arsenal who slipped to fourth position.
Manchester United thrashed Stroke City 5-0 to move in the third place with 24 points and one match in hand. Stroke defended awfully to gift goals to Manchester United. Ronaldo scored two goals both from free kicks. Chelsea and Liverpool played clinically to remain on the top. Chelsea and Liverpool defeated West Brom by 3-0 and Bolton by 2-0 respectively. Anelka scored twice and he has scored seven goals in last four premier league matches. Kuyt and Gerrard scored goals from header.
Newcastle missed a golden opportunity to win against 10 men Wigan. Bramble scored a dramatic equalizer in the last minute to deny victory to Newcastle. The match ended in 2-2 draw. Cisse scored the winner for Sunderland against Blackburn. Sunderland won 2-1. With this loss Blackburn moved into the relegation zone. Paul Ince now will be under tremendous pressure to give results. West Ham played a 0-0 draw with Portsmouth.
In Spain Valencia was surprised Sporting Gijon and Real Madrid was surprised by Valladolid. Sporting Gijon won the match by 3-2. Luis Moran, Barral and Diego Castro scored for Sporting Gijon whereas Villa and Mata scored for Valencia. Canobbio scored the winner for Valladolid. These results will help Barcelona and Villarreal who will play today.
In Italy Inter Milan defeated Palermo 2-0 to remain in the top.
Arsenal is so unpredictable this season. They played superbly against Manchester United in the previous week to win 2-1 but played just the opposite against Villa this week. Villa won 2-0 though they missed a penalty. Aston Villa is lying in the fifth position with 23 points same as Arsenal who slipped to fourth position.
Manchester United thrashed Stroke City 5-0 to move in the third place with 24 points and one match in hand. Stroke defended awfully to gift goals to Manchester United. Ronaldo scored two goals both from free kicks. Chelsea and Liverpool played clinically to remain on the top. Chelsea and Liverpool defeated West Brom by 3-0 and Bolton by 2-0 respectively. Anelka scored twice and he has scored seven goals in last four premier league matches. Kuyt and Gerrard scored goals from header.
Newcastle missed a golden opportunity to win against 10 men Wigan. Bramble scored a dramatic equalizer in the last minute to deny victory to Newcastle. The match ended in 2-2 draw. Cisse scored the winner for Sunderland against Blackburn. Sunderland won 2-1. With this loss Blackburn moved into the relegation zone. Paul Ince now will be under tremendous pressure to give results. West Ham played a 0-0 draw with Portsmouth.
In Spain Valencia was surprised Sporting Gijon and Real Madrid was surprised by Valladolid. Sporting Gijon won the match by 3-2. Luis Moran, Barral and Diego Castro scored for Sporting Gijon whereas Villa and Mata scored for Valencia. Canobbio scored the winner for Valladolid. These results will help Barcelona and Villarreal who will play today.
In Italy Inter Milan defeated Palermo 2-0 to remain in the top.
First FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup
Korea DPR wrote their name into football history today by becoming the first-ever winners of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, coming from behind to beat USA 2-1. Germany took their place on the New Zealand 2008 podium with a comfortable 3-0 victory over England in a one-sided third-place play-off.
The Asians added the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup title to the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup crown they claimed in Russia in 2006, thus breaking a tradition that had seen beaten finalists USA win the inaugural FIFA Women's World Cup, FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup and Women's Olympic Football Tournament.
Mana Iwabuchi of Japan won the adidas Golden Ball and Dzsenifer Marozsan of Germany won the adidas Golden Shoe.
Courtesy: www.fifa.com
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Del Piero: Old is Gold
Del Piero again showed his class. This time he scored twice against Real Madrid. He is showing his class. He already scored 4 goals out of 7 that Juventus scored. Juventus is almost through to the second round. Real has to wait for the next round. They lost twice to Juventus. Zenit St Petersburg defeated BATE Borisov 2-0 in group H to keep their hope alive.
All English teams struggled this time. Liverpool is lucky to survive against Atletico Madrid. Gerrard scored in the 95th minute penalty to salvage 1 point. Both the teams are in 8 points and most likely to qualify for the next round from group D. Marseille defeated PSV Eindhoven 3-0 after losing to them 0-2 in the previous match.
Roma surprised many by defeating Chelsea 3-1. In another group A match Bordeaux defeated CFR Cluj-Napoca 2-1. Chelsea is leading the group by 7 points following by Roma and Bordeaux with 6 points. CFR Cluj-Napoca has 4 points and also has a chance to qualify.
Arsenal played a tame 0-0 draw with Fenerbahce in group G match. In another match Dynamo Kiev lost to FC Porto 1-2. Arsenal is leading the group with 8 points followed by FC Porto with 6 points and Dynamo Kiev with 5 points. Fenerbahce has only 2 points.
Manchester United was held to a 1-1 draw by brave Celtic. Celtic dominated the proceedings but failed to win. AaB Aalborg held Villarreal 2-2 in another match in group E. Manchester United and Villarreal are leading the group with 8 points followed by Celtic and AaB Aalborg with 2 points each.
Barcelona sealed their place in the 2nd round after drawing with Basle 1-1. Sporting Lisbon also qualified from group C after defeating Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0. Shakhtar Donetsk will fight it out with Basle to qualify for the UEFA Cup slot.
Anorthosis Famagusta continues their good run. They held Italy champions Inter Milan 3-3 in group B match. In another match of group B Panathinaikos shocked Werder Bremen 3-0. Inter leading the group with 8 points followed by Anorthosis Famagusta with 5 points. Panathinaikos with 4 points and Werder Bremen with 3 points can also qualify from this group.
In group A Lyon defeating Steaua Bucharest 2-0 to share the top slot with Bayern Munich who drew with Fiorentina 1-1 in group F. Both Lyon and Bayern Munich have 8 points. Fiorentina have 3 and Steaua Bucharest have 1 point.
All English teams struggled this time. Liverpool is lucky to survive against Atletico Madrid. Gerrard scored in the 95th minute penalty to salvage 1 point. Both the teams are in 8 points and most likely to qualify for the next round from group D. Marseille defeated PSV Eindhoven 3-0 after losing to them 0-2 in the previous match.
Roma surprised many by defeating Chelsea 3-1. In another group A match Bordeaux defeated CFR Cluj-Napoca 2-1. Chelsea is leading the group by 7 points following by Roma and Bordeaux with 6 points. CFR Cluj-Napoca has 4 points and also has a chance to qualify.
Arsenal played a tame 0-0 draw with Fenerbahce in group G match. In another match Dynamo Kiev lost to FC Porto 1-2. Arsenal is leading the group with 8 points followed by FC Porto with 6 points and Dynamo Kiev with 5 points. Fenerbahce has only 2 points.
Manchester United was held to a 1-1 draw by brave Celtic. Celtic dominated the proceedings but failed to win. AaB Aalborg held Villarreal 2-2 in another match in group E. Manchester United and Villarreal are leading the group with 8 points followed by Celtic and AaB Aalborg with 2 points each.
Barcelona sealed their place in the 2nd round after drawing with Basle 1-1. Sporting Lisbon also qualified from group C after defeating Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0. Shakhtar Donetsk will fight it out with Basle to qualify for the UEFA Cup slot.
Anorthosis Famagusta continues their good run. They held Italy champions Inter Milan 3-3 in group B match. In another match of group B Panathinaikos shocked Werder Bremen 3-0. Inter leading the group with 8 points followed by Anorthosis Famagusta with 5 points. Panathinaikos with 4 points and Werder Bremen with 3 points can also qualify from this group.
In group A Lyon defeating Steaua Bucharest 2-0 to share the top slot with Bayern Munich who drew with Fiorentina 1-1 in group F. Both Lyon and Bayern Munich have 8 points. Fiorentina have 3 and Steaua Bucharest have 1 point.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Newcastle and Tottenham fighting back
Tottenham continued their fight back to save relegation. They brilliantly came back to score two goals in the dying minutes to draw 4-4 with Arsenal. Like Spurs, Newcastle also fighting back. They defeated West Brom 2-0 to move out of relegation zone. Stroke City also moved out of danger zone with 1-0 win over Sunderland. Wigan and Bolton moved into the danger zone. Wigan lost to Fulham 0-2 and Bolton lost to 0-1 to Everton. This year the relegation fight will be very interesting but I believe Spurs and Newcastle will be out of it. Stroke, Fulham, West Brom, Wigan and Bolton will fight for the relegation.
On the top except Arsenal, other top clubs won their match. Chelsea and Manchester United scored facile victories against Hull and West Ham. Hull was clueless against Chelsea, who put their defeat against Liverpool behind to win comfortable 3-0. Manchester gave another professional display to win 2-0 against West Ham. Ronaldo scored both the goals.
Liverpool maintain their lead on the top after their hard fought victory against Portsmouth. Gerrard scored from a penalty in the 74th minute. Aston Villa moved to fourth position with 3-2 victory over Blackburn. In another match Middlesbrough defeated Manchester city 2-0.
This weekend the interesting ties will be Tottenhum vs Liverpool, Newcastle vs Aston Villa, Manchester United vs Hull, and Bolton vs Manchester City.
On the top except Arsenal, other top clubs won their match. Chelsea and Manchester United scored facile victories against Hull and West Ham. Hull was clueless against Chelsea, who put their defeat against Liverpool behind to win comfortable 3-0. Manchester gave another professional display to win 2-0 against West Ham. Ronaldo scored both the goals.
Liverpool maintain their lead on the top after their hard fought victory against Portsmouth. Gerrard scored from a penalty in the 74th minute. Aston Villa moved to fourth position with 3-2 victory over Blackburn. In another match Middlesbrough defeated Manchester city 2-0.
This weekend the interesting ties will be Tottenhum vs Liverpool, Newcastle vs Aston Villa, Manchester United vs Hull, and Bolton vs Manchester City.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Will Liverpool Succeed?
Liverpool is new identity this year. After long long time they are showing that they are real challengers for the EPL title. They are coming back again and again. Against Wigan they came back twice to win 3-2 but against Chelsea they showed their real quality. They didn’t allow Chelsea freedom to move. Chelsea had no clue on how to break the defensive wall of Liverpool. They meekly surrendered their 86 match unbeaten run at home over four years and eight months. Liverpool, after their win against Manchester United and Chelsea, has to be taken seriously for the title. Liverpool the only unbeaten team in the EPL, are leading by three points over Chelsea and surprised team Hull.
Manchester United also dropped two more points against Everton. They are lying in the sixth place currently but they are still a strong contender for the title. Arsenal has defeated West Ham 2-0 and Everton 3-1 to be back on the track. They have to consistent when they face the big three.
Aston villa and made a strong start. They defeated Wigan 4-0 to lie in the fifth position. But the most surprise package is Hull. They won against West Brom 3-0 and West Ham 1-0 to lie in the 3rd position. Hull is making lot of noise but can they keep this tempo up. Manchester city is becoming more and more dependent on Robinho. They have to play more as a team to make any serious impact in the game. Spurs started their revival under the new coach Rednapp. They won their first match against Bolton. But it is long way to go for them this season.
Elsewhere in Europe, AC Milan is slowly recovering. They are lying in the fourth position with 16 points and just one point behind the leaders. Udinese is the surprise leader at this stage. Barcelona is getting their awesome form back and is just one point behind the leaders. Real Madrid is in the third position having same points as Barcelona.
Manchester United also dropped two more points against Everton. They are lying in the sixth place currently but they are still a strong contender for the title. Arsenal has defeated West Ham 2-0 and Everton 3-1 to be back on the track. They have to consistent when they face the big three.
Aston villa and made a strong start. They defeated Wigan 4-0 to lie in the fifth position. But the most surprise package is Hull. They won against West Brom 3-0 and West Ham 1-0 to lie in the 3rd position. Hull is making lot of noise but can they keep this tempo up. Manchester city is becoming more and more dependent on Robinho. They have to play more as a team to make any serious impact in the game. Spurs started their revival under the new coach Rednapp. They won their first match against Bolton. But it is long way to go for them this season.
Elsewhere in Europe, AC Milan is slowly recovering. They are lying in the fourth position with 16 points and just one point behind the leaders. Udinese is the surprise leader at this stage. Barcelona is getting their awesome form back and is just one point behind the leaders. Real Madrid is in the third position having same points as Barcelona.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Brazil Champion
Brazil regained the Futsal World Cup after gap of 12 years. They defeated Spain in a thriller. Twice Spain equalizes but lost in the penalty shootout. This is sixth time Brazil played Spain in the World cup. They won 4 times. Last year they lost to Spain in the semifinal. Brazil in the whole tournament played like a champion. They won all the matches they played in this World Cup.
Italy finished third by defeating Russia 2-1. Italy played well throughout the tournament. They have really coming to the age. Russia and Iran is the revelation of the tournament. Russia scored 62 goals just 2 less than Brazil. Pula is the top scorer of the tournament with 16 goals. Iran deserved a place in the top 4. Mostafa Nazari was spectacular in all the matches. He is the best goalkeeper of the tournament. Iran drew 5-5 with Italy with Edgar Bertoni struck in the dying seconds.
We haven’t got a new winner this year also but we hope to get in the next edition.
Italy finished third by defeating Russia 2-1. Italy played well throughout the tournament. They have really coming to the age. Russia and Iran is the revelation of the tournament. Russia scored 62 goals just 2 less than Brazil. Pula is the top scorer of the tournament with 16 goals. Iran deserved a place in the top 4. Mostafa Nazari was spectacular in all the matches. He is the best goalkeeper of the tournament. Iran drew 5-5 with Italy with Edgar Bertoni struck in the dying seconds.
We haven’t got a new winner this year also but we hope to get in the next edition.
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