Forlan’s extra time winner ends Fulham’s dream run.

Diego Forlan‘s extra time winner four minutes from time dashed Fulham‘s hope of clinching theri maiden European title after Atletico Madrid defeated the Englisg side by 2-1. The win for the Spanish underdogs has got them a much sign of relief after ending theri 48 year title drought in Europe. With this Atletico Madrid became the fourth Spanish team to win the trophy in seven years. (including formerly known as UEFA Cup).

The match started with a pack to capacity crowd with an evenly matched suporters from both sides coming all the way from their respective countries. Atletico Madrid had the first chance at the goal when the ball hit the wood work. In just the 12th minute Sergio Agüero quickly countered on Danny Murphy‘s misplaced pass and finds Diego Forlan, who drags his shot against the foot of Mark Schwarzer‘s left-hand post. The Spanish were narrowly ahead. the signal from them was sure that they will be only attacking. Just minutes later Fulham replied with a narrow miss when  Zoltán Gera‘s volley goes high over David de Gea‘s crossbar.

Goal: Atletico finally got the break through in the 32nd minute when Sergio Agüero‘s mis-hit shot past Mark Schwarzer was diverted to Diego Forlan who made no mistake in breaking the deadlock. But again Fulham replied with leveling the score just five minutes later after Simon Davies volleyed Zoltán Gera‘s chip to the back post past  Atletico‘s keeper David de Gea. The teams went into the break all square at one all.

Second half saw many substitutions in the match, surprising for Fulham was bring back Bobby Zamora as early as  the 55th minute. Both sides tired to score but the score line stayed as it is. The match went into extra time. in the opening half, first in the 11th minute José Manuel Jurado‘s cross flicks off the head of Brede Hangeland and finds reaches Diego Forlan at the far post and steadies himself and fires back across goal, forcing Mark Schwarzer to stretch out to save. And finally in the 26th minute of the ET Diego Forlan cleverly back heeled Sergio Agüero‘s low cross to gave Atletico the vital lead in the dying minutes. The scoreline remained 2-1 much to their delight.

 

Wins for the reds and blues take it to the last day.

The top of the table remained unchanged after Chelsea defeated Liverpool 2-0 at Anfield while defending champions Manchester United also carried their winning form after they narrowly edged past Sunderland with a one goal advantage. After a long time some happiness around Fratton Park was seen when bottom players Portsmouth won 3-1 against Wolverhampton Wanderers. It was all playing for pride but this would go a long was helping their morale for the FA Cup.

In the exciting match at the City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester City came from behind against Aston Villa to beat them 3-1 thus keeping their hopes alive for the champions league football next season. The two goals in the span of 90 seconds changed the game. It was Carlos Tevez penalty in the 41st minute followed by quick shot by Adebayor who counter the visitors lead.

Chelsea put another step forward to the premier league title after thrashing Liverpool with two goals, Much was expected from the home side but it seems the reds are sailing. A foolish back pass by Steven Gerrard saw Didier Drogba easily putting the ball behind the net in the 33rd minute. Frank Lampard made it 2-0 after the break to double the blues lead. The match ended with the same score line.

At the stadium of light, Nani‘s solo goal in the 26th minute held the red devils to a narrow victory, he fired low and hard past the Scottish stopper to give United the lead making his fouth goal of the season. Wayne Rooney retured for the red devils but failed to make any major impact to put them through. The one point trail is what is pinching United. The next weekend will be like a final of a cup which will decide the champions, of course with Chelsea having the upper hand.

pic source: chelseafc.com, manutd.com

Defending champions tastes huge defeat while Bayern edges past Lyon.

Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan stalled defending champions Barcelona‘s easy run by beating them 3-1 at San Siro leaving the Spaniards with huge uphill task in the return leg at Nou Camp. While in the other match, German giants Bayern Munich narrowly won against French side Olympique Lyonnais by a sole Arjen Robben goal in the second half. One can say that the long bus journey may have made a huge impact on the visiting team with both the visitors loosing in the two matches.

Barcelona must have been watch the sucess run of their former striker Saumuel Eto’o at Inter and also the tactics of the most popular coach Jose Mourinho. The match started with a full house at San SIro. It was Barcelona who shocked the home crowd when it broke the dead lock in the 19th minute when Maxwell surges away down the left and Inter allow him too much time and space to reach the byline. Then he cuts the ball back to the speeding Pedro Rodríguez, who calmly fires a low finish past Júlio César from 12 metres. But the joy was short lived. Just 10 minutes later Inter equalised through Wesley Sneijder when he got the ball from Diego Milito in space on the left and the Dutch midfielder drives it low past the Barca goalkeeper from 15 metres. The teams went to the break with all square at 1-1.

In the second half, just three minutes after the re-start Inter took the lead for the first time in the match when Diego Milito is again the provider as he charges deep into the area and clips the pass inside to Maicon, who takes a quick touch before carving his finish across the goalkeeper from close range. And just at the hour mark Inter made it 3-1 when Diego Milito nodded past the keeper after Wesley Sneijder‘s header was misguided for the goal. With only one positive that is the sole away goal, Barcelona need to win this by 2-0 or by a minimum margin of 4-1 if they themselves concede a goal.

In the match at thw Allianz Arena, Munich a solo second half goal by Arjen Robben took the home side to a narrow victory in the first leg. He fired in a speculative effort from 25 metres that swerves viciously and wrong-foots Hugo Lloris. All that happened after Franck Ribéry and Jérémy Toulalan had been sent off. As told by the Lyon coach, the match is not over yet as Stade de Gerland has a lot to be seen with players fress from the off the field problems.

Injury time winner put Man United back into the title race after Chelsea looses.

Come what may, the habits remains… Paul Scholes scored in the 92nd minute to give Manchester United a crucial 1-0 win against their city rivals Manchester City at the Eastlands on Saturday. City will be wondering what happens to them when they play against their neighbours. The last time they met at Old Trafford, Michael Owen’s 94th minute goal decided their fate. In the late kick-off, Chelsea lost 1-2 against Totttenham Hotspurs thus making the league further exciting with only a point separating the leaders.  Consolation for spurs for getting in the top and inching closer to the prized champions league qualification spot.  

The match started with many tensions around Manchester United as any loss of points may result in any chance of getting hold of the premier league trophy. Both sides started the game with evident intent to attack. Darren Fletcher fired a 25-yard effort inches wide of Shay Given‘s post, with the Irishman well beaten, before Carlos Tevez‘s top corner free-kick drew a fine full-length catch from Edwin van der Sar. But the defence on both the sides didn’t allow the ball to get past the net. The teams went into the break with goalless score line. 

 
In the second half, Sir Alex substituted Wayne Rooney with Dimitar Berbatov to get something out of the Bulgarian but the match seemed like going for a goal less draw with no real threat at both the ends. But that was not how it supposed to end. The match was in the 92 minute, Patrice Evra‘s superb cross was nicely headed by Paul Scholes, who recently signed a new one year contract with United, to the bottom right of Given to give the visitors a priceless lead and hence the winner.

 

Penalty conversion by Jermain Defoe and a  strike by Gareth Bale in the opening half shocked leaders Chelsea with a 2-1 victory at the White Hart Lane. Chelsea got one back in the injury time of the match through Lampard but it was too late. Also a bad day for John Terry after he received a second yellow for an unwanted tackle. Spurs goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes did everything to stop the ball which resulted in a well deserved win for the home team. 

Other results of Saturday are:

Birmingham City 0-0 Hull City

Blackburn Rovers 2-3 Everton

Fulham 0-0 Wolves

Stoke 1-2  Bolton

Sunderland 2-1 Burnley

Rooney’s demolition of Milan continued. Real Madrid exit Europe…

Two goals from Wayne Rooney followed by one each from Park andFletcher completed a 4-0 drubbing of A C Milan in the champions league pre-quarters at Old Trafford. Also in a major upset in Europe nine times European champions Real Madrid crashed out of this year’s campaign after losing on the aggregate score of 1-2 againstOlympique Lyonnais over the two legs as they could only manage a 1-1 draw at home in Santaigo Bernabéu.

 

It was a perfect night for the Red Devils, who were already up 3-2 from the 1^st leg and now playing in front of here home crowd. United got the early lead in the 13^th minute whenNeville gave a wonderful cross from the right which found Wayne Rooney in the Milanpenalty area, who headed past Christian Abbiati making the aggregate 4-2. United’s second came just after the half time when Nani’s great run from the left cleared half of the Milandefence and then passed a brilliant ball to free Wayne Rooney in the centre who grabbed the ball and shot past Abbiati for his second. Just at the hour mark J S Park tripled the home side’s lead when he scored a great goal of a very narrow angle from the right and things were finally wrapped up by Darren Fletcher in the 88^th minute who made it 4-0 whenRafael’s long ball found him and he sweetly headed it past the keeper.

 

Olympique Lyonnais had a one goal lead before coming to Madrid for the return leg but one thing they knew was that playing at Santaigo Bernabéu in front of 1,00,000+ Real fans is not easy. Cristaino Ronaldo put the home side in the front in the 6^th minute when Guti’s ball found him and after controlling it he shot past the goal keeper making the home side coming at par. The situation was getting tense and the proceedings were referring to extra time but just 15 minutes from time Miralem Pjanić one -on -one with Lisandro ended upPjanic scoring from close range to put Lyon in aggregate lead again. With no serious attempts on goal the final scoreline remained the same, making it worst for Madrid come true and for Lyon, the prized place in the quarter-finals of Europe’s premier event.

Rooney’s double made San Siro night look easy.

Manchester United won the first leg of the round of 16 knockout stage of theChampions’ league with a 3-2 victory over AC Milan at their own backyard which could be a vital when Milan will come to Old trafford to play for the return leg. In the other match of the day, Olympique Lyonnais shocked 9 times European championsReal Madrid with a 1-0 victory at home which could see them through if they are able to hold on at Santaigo in a week’s time.

At San Siro, Ronaldinho gave home side the perfect start with when he scored from a right footed shot that got deflected off Fletcher and found the net giving no chance to Van der Sar. Just as the red devils were looking to be off tracked, Paul Scholes equalised for the visitors in the luckiest of the way when the ball hit his non-kicking leg and crawled past the goal keeper to head home. The teams went into the break with all square at 1-1.

Second half started whcih truly belonged to Wayne Rooney when he headed the ball at the far corner of Valencia gret cross from the right. The English striker got his second and gave United two goals lead in the 77th minute when all the Milan defence was caught unaware when Fletcher chipped in the ball from the left and Rooney headed the free ball to make the score line 3-1. Just when the United fans were singing their victory songs Seedorf pull one back in the 85th minute but it was too late for them to get into the game.

Many opportuinities were lost and now its over the the theater of dreams in a week’s time where Milan will be thinking to win by a big margin where as United will be banking on the win and the away there important away goals.

Chelsea looses, United draws, Gunners wins. The table remains the same…

Unable to take advantage of their rivals loss, Manchester Unitedremained at second place with their 1-1 draw against Aston Villa.Chelsea’s fared worse when they
lost against mighty Everton by 1-2, it was former Man United playerLouis Saha
getting the double for Everton. Arsenal finally got into winning ways after
defeating Liverpool with 1-0.

 

 Villa took the lead in the 19^th minute when Stewart Downing’s right-wing
cross was not fully cleared by Rafael as a result the ball dropped to Spanish
defender Carlos Cuellar whose curling header made the ball go into the far
corner. But just 4 minutes later United levelled through an own goal
when Ryan Giggs’ volleyed cross was turned into his own net by Villa defender
James Collins.

Despite the draw what will be concerning Sir Alex will be that their veteran winger Ryan Giggs will be out for at least 4 weeks after fracturing his arm following his clash with Steve Sidwell in the 74^th minute. He is likely to
miss the the champions league match against AC Milan and the crucial Carling
cup final at Wembley on the 28^th of this month.

 At the same time at Goodison Park, the leaders got an early lead in the 17^th minute throughMalouda who scored through his left foot before making his way
upto the goal. But then Saha had come into action, he scored the equaliser in
the 36^th min through a corner and after the break he got the winner
in the 74^th minute when A super left-footed half volley from 18 yards flew beyond
Cech.

Arsenal final got their first win in 2 weeks by beating Liverpool by a narrow margin of 1-0 with Abou Diaby’s goal in the
71th minute. The gunners are comfortable at the last champions league automatic
place which is unlikely to go from them

With only one point difference, the league has become more exciting as ever with the last 12 matches to decide the ultimate winner.

 Mid week results were:

Tuesday:

Manchester City 2-0 Bolton Wanderers

Portsmouth 1-1 Sunderland

Wigan Athletic 1-1 Stoke City

Fulham 3-0 Burnley

Wednesday

 Arsenal 1-0 Liverpool

Aston Villa 1-1 Manchester United

West Ham United 2-0Birmingham City

Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur

Blackburn Rovers 1-0 Hull City

Everton 2-1Chelsea

Fabulous four from Wayne Rooney against Hull.

Manchester United go top of the English premier league after a long gap after winning their match against Hull City by 4-0 at old Trafford with not one, not two … but all four goals from striker Wayne Rooney. It was truly Wayne Rooney’s night at the theatre of dreams. Now the focus shifts on 26th and 27th January when Chelsea andArsenal will be playing. Chelsea having the slight advantage with two games in hand. Now after the gigantic win, the red devils can only watch their rivals play.

An early goal by Rooney in the 8th minute set the tone for that match which was much awaited from the fans. The first goals came when Paul Scholes 25 yard shot was blocked by the goalkeeper which went to Rooney who made no mistakes to put the ball behind the net. The teams went in to the break with 1-0 score line with frustration on the manager’s face for not finding the net on several occasions.
Second half had everything for United fans. After some countless attacks on both the sides, Manchester Unitedfinally doubled their lead in the 83 minute when Rooney blasted the ball home from just inside the area after being teed up by Gibson which nearly took the net out of the fittings. Third goal for Rooney followed just after three minutes when he headed a great cross from Nani’s inside the penalty area. That was a much awaited hat-trick for the striker but the action didn’t end their. Hull’s humiliation ended with a fourth from Wayne Rooney deep into the injury time when he managed to find the way among many defenders wanting to clear the ball.

So the fabulous for from Rooney has sent a strong signal to their rivals and specially Manchester City with whom they will be meeting for the carling cup semi final next week at the same venue.

Arsenal go joint top in the premier league.

Finally Gunners got a taste of going top of the premier league for the first time in the season by beating Bolton Wanderers 4-2 in the Wednesday Night Football. In the other match of the night struggling Liverpool also won 2-0 against fourth place Tottenham Hotspurs. This was a huge relief for their manager Rafa Benitez as the rumours of sacking was just growing over the last few days.

Arsenal made it look easy by coming from two goals behind to win the fixture 4-2. With the result they are now a joint first with Chelsea at 48 points but the advantage for the blues is that they are having a game in hand.

In just 28 minutes Bolton’s lead was doubled and trouble was coming the gunners way. Arsenal pulled one back in the 44 minute through Tomas Rosicky’s long range shot and the gunners went 1-2 in the break. Second half truly was Arsenal’s half and it was Cesc Fabregas who equalised in the 53th minute with Thomas Vermaelen lashed home a loose ball after a corner in the 65th minute giving their side the lead for the first time in the match. Things were finally wrapped up by Andrey Arshavin in the 85th minute to give the home side a comfortable 4-2 victory and increase the pressure on Chelsea.

Two goals by Dutch International Dirk Kuyt scored in as early as the sixth minute to give the reds the lead at Anfield. That followed with some heavy amount of action in the mid field and it was Liverpool’s goal keeper Peter Reina who made it sure that nothing will be going past him tonight, saving some of the better ones. The lead was doubled for the reds in the last minute of the match when Ngog was brought down in the box in the injury time by Bassong andKuyt converted the penalty and completed his double and give a comfortable victory for the reds. .