31/10/2010

Barcelona 5 - 0 Sevilla (Highlights): David Villa is back!


Barcelona 5 - 0 Sevilla
(1-0) 4' Messi, (2-0) 23' Villa, (3-0) 53' Alves, (4-0) 64' Messi, (5-0) 90' Villa

For those who like their statistics, there was only ever going to be one winner here. Sevilla had lost their last two league matches in the Camp Nou 4-0. They had only ever won 6 of their 66 encounters in the stadium, the last of which came in 2003. And so it turned out as Barcelona swaggered to a convincing 5-0 victory which served to underline the gulf in class between the the 'Big Two' and the chasing pack. Gregorio Manzano has managed to arrest an early-season slide at Sevilla, but tonight he was a helpless bystander as his team were unceremoniously ripped apart by a rampant Barca. Much has been made of Barcelonas uncertain form at home this season, but tonight they were back to their best as Lionel Messi and David Villa both grabbed two goals apiece, with former Sevilla full back Dani Alves volleying in the other. David Villas first was an absolute peach of a goal, cutting in from the right to curl a beauty past young keeper Javi Vargas with his supposedly weaker left peg. His second wasn't too bad either, almost a carbon copy of Messis second, rifling in from outside the box. Things are beginning to hot up nicely as we begin the countdown to Novembers Clasico in the Camp Nou.


Hercules 1 - 3 Real Madrid (Highlights): Cristiano Ronaldo on fire!

Hércules 1-3 Real Madrid

Hercules 1 - 3 Real Madrid
(1-0) 3' Trezeguet, (1-1) 52' Di Maria, (1-2) 82' Cristiano Ronaldo, (1-3) 86' Cristiano Ronaldo

Esteban Vigo may have predicted an unlikely away victory for his Hercules side at Barcelona, but a similar prediction for their home tie against Real Madrid left him a little red-faced. And that was after Hercules took a shock early lead when David Trezeguet expertly headed in a superb David Cortes cross, leaving Iker Casillas rooted to the spot. Real Madrid were reeling, hounded by an insatiable pack of Hercules players that were undoubtedly inspired by their managers rallying call. Madrids normally assured back four looked jittery, as the home side carved out several chances to grab a killer second. But it's games like this where Jose Mourinho really earns his bread, and after what Cristiano Ronaldo labelled the 'perfect orders' at halftime, Real Madrid turned it around in the second half with three goals, two of which were courtesy of a fantastic cameo from underfire striker, Karim Benzema. Hercules keeper Juan Calatayud had a nightmare with Angel Di Marias leveller just after the break, but there was nothing he could do as Benzema set up a late double for man-of-the-moment, Cristiano Ronaldo. That's 12 league goals for CR7 now and 40 goals in his last 41 matches. Simply irresistable.

30/10/2010

Ridiculous debate of the year award: Who's worse Benzema or Villa?

I regard myself as a peaceful kind of guy. Very little rattles my cage, but every now and again a story will be published that will get me more than a little agitated. This morning I woke up to a debate of epicly ridiculous proportions: Who is worse....Karim Benzema or David Villa? I mean are we being serious? Debates between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo or Pele and Maradona I can understand. But this? Who is worse....a guy that has just helped Spain win the World Cup, beating Spains record goals tally weeks later, or a languid Frenchman that has failed to justify even a quarter of his mammoth €35 million fee and was left out of Frances World Cup squad after a shocking debut season at Real Madrid? After I had peeled myself from the roof, I decided there must be something more to it, aside from the customary Barca-bashing that the Madrid press so often participate in. I wasn't wrong.

The journalists in question may well be partisan, whiter than white, but they're not stupid. I don't genuinely believe they regard this as a rational debate. There's a little bit of history with David Villa and most of it involves the darling of the Bernabeu, Raúl Gonzalez Blanco. Many in Madrid see Villa as the man who stole the number 7 jersey off Raúl for the national side. The man who pushed Raúl out of the limelight, signalling the beginning of the end for 'El Gran Capitan'. They havn't done too badly since though, have they? Although to lay the blame at Villas door is unfair in the extreme, if indeed there is any blame to lay. He didn't pick the squads or the team, that wily old fox Luis Aragonés did.

Then we come to the record goals tally. No prizes for guessing who held the record before David Villa. Of course, it was Raúl, who managed 44 goals in the red and yellow of Spain before being forced to call it a day in 2008. Now that record has been broken by Villa after he slotted in his 45th goal from the penalty spot at Hampden Park. At only 28 years of age, there is surely a bagful of further goals awaiting 'El Guaje'. How that must bite at Marca HQ. And let's not forget, the striker from Asturias had a choice to make at the end of last season. Swap the white of Valencia for the white of Madrid, or travel up north to the Camp Nou. After choosing to join the red and blue of Barcelona, it's hardly surprising he's not flavour of the month in the capital.

So we come to this season. David Villa has been off-colour infront of goal, but even then he outguns Karim Benzema. With four goals to his name he is averaging a goal every 209 minutes in all competitions compared to a goal every 323 minutes for Benzema. The Frenchman has already had a year and a half to accustom himself to the demands made of any player at Real Madrid, whereas Villa has hardly had a chance to unpack. Have no doubts that soon, very soon, the real David Villa will stand up and Karim Benzema will be put out of his misery and shown the Bernabeu trapdoor. At which point we can look back on this silly, little debate and wonder what all the fuss was about.

20/10/2010

Real Madrid 2 - 0 AC Milan (Highlights)



Real Madrid 2 - 0 AC Milan
(1-0) 13' Cristiano Ronaldo, (2-0) 14' Ozil

17/10/2010

La Liga Matchday 7: Manzano tastes defeat for the first time as Sevilla manager


Sporting Gijon 2 - 0 Sevilla

Gregorio Manzano saw his unbeaten record as Sevilla manager torn to shreds as Sporting Gijon produced two sublime goals and an electric display to send the Andalusians back down south empty-handed. The first goal saw Sangoy head in Riveras inch-perfect cross with aplomb after only six minutes, but they had to wait until early in the second half to make the points safe, Diego Castro scoring with a sumptuous backheel. Well worth looking that goal up on Youtube.

Athletic Bilbao 2 - 1 Real Zaragoza


Fernando Llorente kept up his remarkable goalscoring form this season with Athletic Bilbaos second against a lacklustre Real Zaragoza who never looked like getting anything from the match. Bilbao dominated from start to finish with Andani Iraola slamming home the first after only 11 minutes. Braulio got a consolation in added time but Jose Aurelio Gay is surely on his last warning now as Zaragoza hit rock bottom of La Liga.


Mallorca 0 - 1 Espanyol

Luis Garcias penalty on the half hour was enough to see Espanyol win for the first time in Mallorca since 1999. And they did so having played with ten men for the best part of the match after Osvaldo saw red for an elbow on Crespi. But you wouldnt have noticed as Espanyol had the better opportunties from then on as they hit the home side on the counter. Mallorca were simply shocking and Michael Laudrup will be looking to instill consistency in a team that blows hot and cold week in week out.

Levante 2 - 1 Real Sociedad

Real Sociedads poor form away from Anoeta continued as Levante earned their first home win of the season. Asier Del Horno and Caicedo were the scorers, Sarpong grabbing a late goal for Real. Joseba Llorente and Tamudo started for the first time together upfront, but they didnt get a look in as Levante defended resolutely (something I'm sure we won't hear too much this season) and attacked with ruthless efficiency.

Deportivo La Coruña 0 - 0 Osasuna
Just looking at this fixture can give you nausea, and you have to feel sorry for those fans that paid to turn up. A match were the goalkeepers were the protagonists, closely followed by the ref who incorrectly disallowed a Osasuna effort for offside and sent off Osasunas Camuñas early on for a verbal volley of abuse. Both teams struggling badly to find the back of the net.

Racing Santander 1 - 0 Almeria

Golden oldie Pedro Munitis was the hero as Racing Santander won by a slender margin that could have been so much wider had Diego Alves not produced a string of stunning saves. The Brazilian keeper has to be one of the most underrated keepers in world football and you have to wonder how long it will be until a bigger team comes in for him. Pity for him is that those infront of him are producing shoddy football, leaving Juanma Lillos team hovering above the relegation zone.

Hercules v Villarreal (Monday)

Malaga 1 - 4 Real Madrid (Highlights) | Barcelona 2 - 1 Valencia



Malaga 1 - 4 Real Madrid

Who said Real Madrid are lacking in firepower? They couldn't score a goal for love nor money two weeks ago, but ten goals in two matches has seen Madrid jump to the summit in La Liga. Not only have they conceded the least goals they have now also scored the most and it's clear Mourinho's message is beginning to hit home. Of course, it was only a matter of time before Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain hit form, possibly spurred on by reports of Madrid chasing a new striker, and they were irresistible in La Rosaleda as they ripped a shell-shocked Malaga to pieces. Cristiano was at the heart of everything last night, with two goals and two assists as the Portuguese star carried on his impressive international form onto the club stage. Mesut Özil also put in a dazzling shift as he proved he can make things happen away from the Bernabeu, while Higuain showed the world his radar is back in business. Much of the talk before the match had been about whether Real Madrid could cope with Malaga's speed and incision on the break, but in the end it was yet another home defeat for the Malagueños and a defiant show of strength from the team now looking down on the rest.

Barcelona 2 - 1 Valencia
Barcelona survived a first half onslaught from Valencia to nick two second half goals and jump above Valencia in the table. Pablo Hernandez had slotted Los Che in front following a surging run from full back Matheiu, and could so easily have made it two, denied by Victor Valdes when through on goal. It would have been no less than what Valencia deserved having starved Barcelona of possession. It was a surreal first 45 minutes, the Camp Nou so accustomed to seeing their side dominate proceedings, saw their team struggle badly, continuing a worrying patch of form that has already seen them drop five points at home so far this season. But commeth the hour, commeth the man, and that man was Xavi Hernandez, returning from a spell on the sidelines to set up two goals after half time for Andres Iniesta and Carlos Puyol. The first assist was a fantastic one-two with Iniesta, and the second a pinpoint cross which was headed home emphatically by Puyol. With David Villa and Leo Messi off-colour once again, it was exactly the tonic that Barca needed and Pep Guardiola will be hoping it awakes his team from their recent slumber.

16/10/2010

Interview with Malagas Quincy and Eliseu

 
Tomorrow night Real Madrid travel to the Rosaleda Stadium in Malaga for what promises to be an explosive 90 minutes of football. After struggling badly last year, a rejuvenated Malaga have produced some electric performances so far this season, not to mention an avalanche of goals such as the five in thirty minute job that smashed Real Zaragoza to pieces on Matchday 2 at La Romareda. Two of the men who form an integral part of this lightning-quick side capable of ripping any team apart on the counter are Eliseu and Quincy Owusu-Abeyie. Eliseu is enjoying a renaissance at Malaga after a season getting back in form at Zaragoza while Quincy has taken no time at all in winning over the home support with some dazzling shows down the right wing after arriving on loan from Qatari club Al-Sadd. Here you have an exclusive interview with these two speed-demons, conducted by the main man down at the Rosaleda, David Redshaw. Mourinho...you've been warned.

How are things?

Quincy: I’m happy and I’ve adapted well. I feel strong, though I’m still not at my best.

Eliseu: I’m happy too and so are my family. I already knew the people here so I had no trouble adapting. Lots of things are the same as when I left, and I have to make the most of this opportunity.

-Is Eliseu a better player than he was last time?

E: I think so. Things change and I now take more responsibility. I’m more involved in dead ball situations. But everybody knows that when Duda comes back the free kicks are his.

-Can Málaga finish in the top ten?

Q: We have to take it one step at a time. We have good players and it’s a very hard league. I played in la segunda with Celta but I think it’s easier to play against the best. In the second division everybody is fighting to go up; in the first it’s more about quality.

-Who’s the quickest, Eliseu or Quincy?

E: It doesn’t matter. To have players with pace in the team is always good. On the right, on the left, in defence, anywhere...........

Q: I don’t know who is fastest. We need to use our speed, that’s the most important thing. The more players we have with pace the better. Seba and Rondón are both quick and this year we’ll win a lot of games with our speed.

-Have either of you been timed over 100 metres?

Q: I haven’t. I don’t know how to run without the ball. I need to see it to even run. I like to watch athletics but not practice it.

E: No, I’ve never been timed either.

-Quincy, you won the fans over after just one game....

Q: Yes they seem to be with me. When I get the ball it gives me confidence. When the fans are happy I always try to do better and raise my game. The atmosphere in the ground is brilliant. I wish I’d arrived months ago.

E: I tried to come in January but it wasn’t to be and I had to wait. It was probably better to arrive at the start of the season, as Muñiz said the main fault last year was a lack of pace. Now pace will be one of this team’s main weapons. This year we will be one of the best counter-attacking sides in the league. We will be lethal.

-Finally Eli, which Málaga is better? This team or the one you left a year ago?

E: I wouldn’t like to say. The nucleus of the team is still the same, but expectations are higher. We need to be ready to maintain the level the fans expect. The coach has given us a winning mentality. He came from Porto, where he almost always won, and his team was in the Champions League. So now we only think of winning, and that’s good for Málaga.

By David Redshaw author of 'Málaga Football Club - The Story'
Malaga Football Club - The Story

13/10/2010

Scotland 2 - 3 Spain (Highlights) : Llorente to the rescue!

Escocia 2-3 España

Scotland 2 - 3 Spain
(0-1) 43' Villa (p), (0-2) 55' Iniesta, (1-2) 58' Naismith, (2-2) 67' Pique (o.g), (2-3) 79' Llorente

09/10/2010

Spain 3 - 1 Lithuania (Highlights)


Spain 3 - 1 Lithuania
(1-0) 47' Llorente, (1-1) 54' Sernas, (2-1) 57' Llorente, (3-1) 79' Silva

Tonight was a test of Spains strength in depth and if the performance and result is anything to go by, they passed with flying colours. La Roja were deprived of Xavi, Fernando Torres, Cesc Fabregas and Xavi Alonso, but in stepped players like Santi Cazorla, Fernando Llorente, Pablo Hernandez and Aritz Aduriz to make sure Spain made it two wins out of two in Group I. Spain dominated the first half and how they went into the break still at 0-0 only David Villa will know. Usually so sharp infront of goal, he contrived to hit the post when scoring seemed far easier and looked far from happy when subbed late on. The Barca man will have better days at the office.

Fernando Llorente was the man who had opened that opportunity for Villa and it was the big man from Bilbao who broke the deadlock just after half-time after good work down the right from Sergio Ramos. Lithuania then took advantage of some poor positioning from Puyol to score their first ever goal against Spain through Sernas, before the unplayable Llorente almost immediately swooped again to put Spain ahead once more. Real Madrid will be keeping tabs on the Navarran giant. Cazorla this time was the creator, and it was just reward for a performance full of verve and imagination. David Silva added the third with a glorious header from the edge of the box to cap off a dominant display from Vicente Del Bosques side. Next up Scotland at Hampden Park.



04/10/2010

La Liga Matchday 6: Valencia and Villarreal lead the way


Valencia 2 - 1 Athletic Bilbao
(1-0) 10' Aduriz, (2-0) 91' Vicente, (2-1) 93' Gabilondo

Valencia are showing no signs of letting up at the top of La Liga as they made it 16 points out of 18 with a win over Athletic Bilbao that should have been wrapped up before half-time. Aduriz and Soldado combined for the first but having faded badly after the break they had to wait until injury time to confirm the three points. Unai Emerys team have been unstoppable in the league and after Barcas recent home form they'll be confident of getting something from the Camp Nou in two weeks time.

Villarreal 2 - 0 Racing Santander
(1-0) 8' Nilmar, (2-0) 13' Rossi

The hottest front pairing in La Liga scored two early goals that were enough for Villarreal to see of Racing Santander at the Madrigal. Racing never looked like scoring in a million years and so it was that Nilmar and Rossi, aided by the talented Cazorla and Valero, settled the match after only 13 minutes. Five wins in the last five for the Yellow Submarine sees them jump up to second.

Sevilla 3 - 1 Atletico Madrid
(1-0) 28' Negredo, (2-0) 35' Perotti, (3-0) 51' Kanoute, (3-1) 57' Diego Costa

In a match that was presided by a verbal battle between Gregorio Manzano and Quique Sanchez Flores, Atleticos defensive lapses reappeared as they were ripped apart by a rampant Sevilla. Alvaro Negredo was a constant thorn in their side, curling home a stunning first and laying on the third for Kanoute. It's amazing what a change of manager can do to a team in crisis.

Real Zaragoza 2 - 2 Sporting Gijon
(0-1) 32' Obradevic (o.g), (0-2) 48' Diego Castro (p), (1-2) 56' Sinama-Pongolle, (2-2) 61' Sinama-Pongolle

Real Zaragoza may be second bottom. And they may be in the midst of their third worst start to a season ever, but they can take a huge amount of credit from this match as they came from two down and a man down to rescue a point against the wasteful Sporting Gijon. Jiri Jarosiks ludicrous tackle from behind seemed to have killed off Zaragoza, and Jose Aurelio Gays stay on the Romareda bench, but Sinama-Pongolle, who hadnt netted in La Liga since January 2009, blasted in two goals in five minutes to save his managers bacon and lift his team off the foot of the table. Still, this shouldn't disguise yet another sub-standard performance which only served the confirm the monumental struggle Real Zaragoza are going to endure this season.

Almeria 1 - 1 Malaga
(0-1) 50' Quincy, (1-1) 76' Uche

Osasuna 1 - 1 Levante
(1-0) 72' Pandiani, (1-1) 79' Sergio

Getafe 3 - 0 Hercules
(1-0) 20' Parejo, (2-0) 42' Manu, (3-0) 81' Miku

Real Sociedad 1 - 0 Espanyol
(1-0) 83' Forlin (o.g)

Real Madrid 6 - 1 Deportivo La Coruña (Highlights)


Real Madrid 6 - 1 Deportivo La Coruña
(1-0) 5' Cristiano, (2-0) 24' Ozil, (3-0) 34' Di Maria, (4-0) 53' Higuain, (5-0) 60' Ze Castro, (5-1) 78' Juan Rodriguez, (6-1) 89' Cristiano Ronaldo

Six games into the new season and we finally get a Real Madrid exhibition. As poor as Depor were, and they really were atrocious, Real Madrid circulated the ball aroud the Bernabeu turf with renewed purpose and intent. Xavi Alonso and Mesut Ozil directed from behind the fearsome front three of Cristiano, Di Maria and Higuain, with the defense as sound as ever lead by the imposing figures of Carvalho and Pepe. Angel Di Maria continued his rich vein of form with a beauty of a header while Cristiano was back to something like his best, nodding in an early opener and storming through in the last minute to cap off Madrids six goal thriller. The only thing that will still concern the Madridistas is the anonymous form of Sami Khedira. Perhaps there's something I'm missing, but what does he do? Mourinho probably thinks the same, as he hauled off the invisible man for Lass Diarra at half time. All in all it was plain sailing in the rain for Real Madrid as their goal drought came to an emphatic end. Will they now push on from here?

Barcelona 1 - 1 Mallorca (Highlights)


Barcelona 1 - 1 Mallorca
(1-0) 20' Messi, (1-1) 42' N'Sue

The Camp Nou is no longer the fortress of recent times. Barcelona, minus Xavi Hernandez and David Villa, wasted several first half opportunities to kill off Mallorca, but they only had Lionel Messis beautiful effort to show for the efforts, when Emilio N'Sue powered in a header from a corner to set the alarm bells ringing. And despite plenty of endeavour the winner never came despite Bojan striking the post and young Nolito coming close after entering late on as a sub. Mallorca, lead by ex-Barca legend Michael Laudrup, even came close to wrapping up an unlikely win themselves, although they were unable to take advantage of Barcas high defensive line as they pushed desparately forward. And you can't say that this was simply a case of Barca missing Xavi and Villa. For the third consecutive home match (Loss v Hercules, tight win v Sporting) they've looked lethargic and lacking in ideas in the final third. Are two trophy-filled seasons of hard graft beginning to take their toll?

01/10/2010

EUROPA LEAGUE: Atletico Madrid 1 - 1 Bayern Leverkusen (Highlights)

Atletico Madrid 1 - 1 Bayern Leverkusen
(0-1) 39' Derdiyok, (1-1) 51' Simao (p)

Atletico Madrid complicate matters with a draw against Bayer Leverkusen in their second group tie of the competition. With Sergio Agüero left out as a precaution, Bayer took the lead just before half-time with a well drilled shot in the area. After a dismal first 45 minutes, Atletico came out a different side in the second half and it didn't take them long to draw level through Simaos penalty. Tiago made an impression when he came on, but with the game wide open any one of the two teams could have gone on to get a decisive winner. As it was the match ended in a draw and Atletico are now obliged to start picking up wins if they want to make it out of the group.


Borussia Dortmund 0 - 1 Sevilla
(0-1) 46' Cigarini

Vital win for Sevilla in Germany as Italian Luca Cigarini grabbed the all-important goal in the Westfalenstadion. Gregorio Manzano didn't waste any time in his first match on the Sevilla bench, breathing new life into a souless set of players at half time. And it only took them a matter of seconds to get the winning goal, Cigarini taking advantage of a loose ball in the area to slot in and put his team back on track in the Europe League. Soon after Dortmund defender Schmelzer saw red, which allowed the Nervionenses to dominate the second half and leave with the three points that were so essential to any hopes they had of staying in the Europa League beyond the group stages.



Young Boys 2 - 0 Getafe
(1-0) 10' Degen, (2-0) 63' Degen

Shocking performance from Michels Getafe team which sees the Madrid outfit take a step backwards after their opening round win. With Pedro Leon and Roberto Soldado sold over the summer, Getafe are seriously lacking in quality this year, so it will be a test of Michels managerial ability whether or not 'Eurogeta' suffer this season.

Villarreal 2 - 1 Club Brugge
(1-0) 10' Rossi, (1-1) 46' Donk, (2-1) 56' Gonzalo

Villarreal survived a barrage of brutal tackles from Brugge to sneak past the Belgians courtesy of Gonzalos 56th minute strike. Villarreal outclassed their rivals who were left with no choice but to resort to dirty tactics to stop the Yellow Submarine. Cani was injured by a shocking challenge and Vargas was sent off for Brugge. Guiseppe Rossi continues his impressive start to the season with another goal. The Italian/American is on fire.