Scolari out, Hiddink in

The job to manage the Chelsea team is not for the faint-hearted. Avram Grant got the boot last season after guiding the team to 2nd place in the League along with runner-up positions in the Champions League and Carling Cup. So it was not totally unexpected when Phil Scolari was shown the door after his team was held by Hull at Stamford Bridge, increasing the gap between them and leaders Manchester United to 7 points. What is however disturbing is the shrinking tolerance of club owners and the fans. Scolari was given only 7 months to prove his worth in what is probably the toughest league in Europe and being still involved in three competitions was definitely not enough for Abramovich. Scolari’s exit opened the doors for former PSV manager Guus Hiddink, who is currently in-charge of the Russian national team. Hiddink, who is said to have cordial relations with Abramovich has been given the task of handling this multi-star team with large melon-sized egos till the end of the season. With not much time on his side, Hiddink will have to weave his magical touch on the team straight away as Aston Villa wait for them on Saturday. As for Scolari, the one who led Brazil towards the greatest cup there is to win, things should get better soon and there are definitely a number of top teams eager to avail his services. Hopefully a team that is willing to give the manager some time to settle!

Coming to the on-pitch events. Manchester United and Liverpool continued their impressive performances with away wins keeping the gap between the two at 2 points, though ManU have played a game less. In Italy, Juventus took back the second spot though Inter Milan continue their strong showing with 3-0 away win at Leece. Spanish leaders Barcelona refuse to give an inch to the other teams and continue to lead the table by 12 points as Real Madrid valiantly push forward. Three straight defeats for Sevilla has almost pulled them out of the race though they still are hanging on to the third spot. In Germany, giants Bayern Munich have pulled to within a point of Hoffenhiem who managed to earn a 1-1 draw against M’gladbach with a late goal from Wellington. Lyon have put some breathing space between them and Bordeaux after the former lost their last league game against Marseille.

Another weekend awaits as the anticipation of the Champions League too rises. Time for the men to be separated from the boys!

Chelsea falter as Liverpool surge

Chelsea once again failed to convince their critics of their title credentials. With losses against Arsenal and Liverpool in the past, another defeat at Liverpool would have been a kick in the teeth and that is what they got. A remarkable performance from Liverpool with two late Fernando Torres goals coupled with the controversial sending-off of Frank Lampard brought Liverpool within two points of leaders Manchester United. Chelsea, on the other hand, will have to dig much deeper to mount any serious threat to the defending champions. Manchester United continue their march forward in style with a 5-0 thumping of West Brom in mid-week followed by a tight 1-0 victory against Everton.

In Italy, Inter Milan failed to capitalize on Juventus’ 2-3 defeat against Cagliari on Saturday. A 1-1 draw against Torino puts some daylight between them and Juventus but it is now their derby rivals AC Milan who have climbed into the second spot with a convincing 3-0 victory away at Lazio. Genoa continue to impress the pundits with a late 1-0 home win that keeps them in the final Champions League spot. The Spanish Primera Liga witnessed a memorable night for the Real Madrid faithful when Raul netted the opening goal against Numanica in the 48th minute, thus tying him with the former legend Di Stefano as the leading goal scorer for Madrid. A special night for Raul and Madrid as the defending champions won comfortably 2-0 closing the gap on leaders Barcelona, though only temporarily. The Catalan giants staged yet another comeback on Sunday against Santander with a 2-1 win thanks to a brace from Messi, but also witnessed two late red cards for Barcelona defenders, Pique and Marquez. Barcelona however continue to maintain their stunning 12 point lead at the top and have now won their last 9 games in a row.

In Germany, Hoffenheim have a 2 point lead at the top but the top 5 teams in the Bundesliga are within 5 points of each other leaving no room for errors for anyone. In France, the league is even tighter with the top 6 points separated by just 5 points, though Lyon maintain a single point lead over Bordeaux despite a 1-1 draw at home against St Etienne. No room to breathe around! In the Scottish League, a draw for Celtic has brought Rangers within two points of the Champions with Dundee United a distant third, 17 points behind the leaders.

And finally much more drama off the field to catch up with. In a sensational move, Robbie Keane seems to be making a comeback at Spurs after his 20.3 million pound move in the transfer to Liverpool seems to have totally backfired, both for the club and the player. In another highly anticipated transfer, Russian playmaker Ashravin seems to be in the final stages of talks with Arsenal. Much more saga could unfold as the final hour approaches. Wait and watch!

Games of the weekend:
Numanica 0 – 2 Real Madrid
Lazio 0 – 3 AC Milan
Liverpool 2 – 0 Chelsea

Becks on Target!!

The much awaited goal finally arrived on Sunday when AC Milan traveled to Bologna to keep their title ambitions alive. After Bologna took the lead within the opening 10 minutes, things did not seem to be going according to plans for Milan. But Seedorf equalized within minutes and then Kaka showed where his heart truly lied by scoring a brace in the first half. The game was sealed when former Manchester United and Real Madrid star, David Beckham, finished off a lovely break from the right side with his favourite right foot, thus getting his first goal in the Milan jersey. A 4-1 win for the Italian giants and no wonder there are already talks of Beckham extending his loan move further on. But the other big clubs in Italy were also upto the mark, with Juventus and Inter Milan both grinding out 1-0 home wins with goals from Marchisio and Adriano respectively. With 18 games remaining, the title is anyone’s for the taking!

Spain witnessed the familiar tale of Barcelona thumping their opponents as their rivals struggle to keep up with them. A 4-1 win for Barcelona over Numanica, with all goals being scored in the second half, has taken the goal tally for the Catalan giants to a staggering 63 goals from only 20 games. Need to look into the record books to find such a per-game scoring average in recent times! Real Madrid kept their slim title hopes alive with a 1-0 win over Deportivo. However, Sevilla, Villareal and Valencia lost further ground, though realistically speaking, even with half the games yet to be played it appears to be only a battle for Champions League spots for the teams below Barcelona.

England witnessed the fourth round of the FA Cup matches, with Chelsea and Manchester United recording wins. Arsenal were held to a goalless draw at Cardiff while Liverpool also had to salvage a draw against rivals Everton. Replay matches would not be welcomed by either of these two teams. Elsewhere, in Scotland, Celtic improve their lead to 4 points at the top over Rangers, while in Netherlands, Alkmaar have taken a 6-point lead over Dutch giants Ajax.

Games of the weekend:
Bologna 1 – 4 AC Milan
Juventus 1 – 0 Fiorentina
Barcelona 4 – 1 Numanica

Champions 3 – 0 Pretenders

The result that has stood out in Europe this weekend… Manchester United 3 - 0 Chelsea!! A lesson taught in football by Sir Alex’s team to Scolari’s men who have now won only two of their last eight Premiership games, and also have managed only 1 point out of a possible 12 against the other teams of the so called ‘Big Four’. While the Blues are no way out of the title race, but the question that will be asked after Sunday’s disastrous show would be whether they are worthy of lifting the title. Manchester United, on the other hand, could overtake Liverpool by a point of they can win the two games in-hand. With Liverpool’s draw at the Britannia Stadium and the on-going saga between the two managers, this is a battle that could get snappier as time goes by and nerves start cracking. Still a long way to go…

Barcelona displayed their perseverance and doggedness, in a season that has so far been defined by their elegance and effortless style of football, in the away game against Osasuna where they rallied from 2-1 down to win the game 3-2, with Messi scoring a brilliant goal in the 85th minute. Real Madrid’s 3-0 win at Mallorca keeps them 12 points adrift of Barcelona while a 3-3 draw between Villareal and Valencia drops them off the pace a bit. In Italy, despite David Beckham’s debut in a Milan shirt, Roma managed to keep AC Milan at bay and held them to a 2-2 draw. Juventus reduced the gap at the top to 4 points with a 1-0 win against Siena as Inter Milan needed Ibrahimovic to come to their rescue to snatch a point against Cagliari. Jose Mourinho was later spotted at Old Trafford on Sunday watching his former club take on his current club’s next Champions League opponents. Mourinho sure knows how to get himself noticed!

In the French Ligue One, Lyon’s draw meant that Bordeaux reduced the lead at the top to just a single point with a convincing 4-0 victory against PSG. Celtic continue their surge in the Scottish Cup with a 2-1 win against Dundee. No surprises there! With Bundesliga still on a winter break, that’s a wrap of the week’s action. Mid-week drama could unfold as in-form Wigan travel to Old Trafford to keep the BPL title race exciting!

Games of the weekend:
Manchester United 3 – 0 Chelsea
Osasuna 2 – 3 Barcelona
Valencia 3 – 3 Villareal

Manchester United, the Champions of England!

Champions: Manchester United (87 points)
2nd Place: Chelsea (85 points)
Champions League Places: Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool
UEFA Cup Places: Everton, Portsmouth/Cardiff City (Winners of FA Cup), Tottenham Spurs
Carling Cup Winners: Tottenham Spurs
Relegated: Reading, Birmingham City, Derby County
Top Goal Scorers : Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United, 31 goals in 34 matches); Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal, 24 goals in 36 matches); Fernando Torres (Liverpool, 24 goals in 33 matches)
Best Offensive Team: Manchester United (80 goals in 38 matches)
Best Defensive Team: Manchester United (22 goals in 38 matches)

Ten and counting….

Manchester United snatched their 17th English title and the 10th in last 16 Premiership campaigns under Sir Alex Ferguson on the weekend. In one of the most thrilling Premiership seasons, Manchester United displayed their array of the young and the old in their 2-0 victory against Wigan. 23-year old Cristiano Ronaldo playing his 5th season in England scored the opening goal from the penalty spot thus increasing his tally for the season to an incredible 41 goals, while the coup de grace was delivered by veteran 34-year old Ryan Giggs who was playing in his 758th game for Manchester United equaling the legendary Sir Bobby Charlton’s record for maximum games played in the Manchester United jersey. Chelsea failed on the final hurdle ending their game to Bolton Wanderers at 1-1 and are also worried about John Terry’s availability for the Champions League final after his clash with Cech left him being taken off the field on a stretcher. And even though, Chelsea have a chance to turn this season into a special one if they manage to get the upper hand on Manchester United in Moscow, as far as the English Premiership is concerned few will disagree that the best team has clinched the title.
With 80 goals scored and 22 goals conceded, Manchester United have been sensational on all areas of the pitch consistently through the season. And even though they had one of their worst beginnings to the 16th Premiership season (2 points in 3 games), a run of eight successive wins after that and another run of six successive victories as they reached towards the end, coupled with Arsenal’s dismal run at the finish line pushed them closer towards the top. Chelsea stood firmly between them and the title of Champions, however, and a 2-1 victory for the Blues at Stamford Bridge tied the two teams on points with just two matches remaining. But there is no better team around Europe that knows how to get the job done than Alex Ferguson’s team and that is what they did in their final two matches of the season thus claiming back-to-back titles. The up-front trio of Ronaldo (31 goals), Tevez (14 goals) and Rooney (12 goals) have been nothing short of breathtaking most of the times, but the part played by center-back Rio Fedinand, Vidic, Evra and Hargreaves to keep the opponents at bay is of no less value. A team effort it truly has been and another feather on their illustrious cap they truly deserve….
A look at the manner in which the Big Four of the Premiership fought for the Premiership title.

On the final day there was another winner, one from London, the team of Fulham who completed an unbelievable comeback and will be playing Premiership football next season for the 9th consecutive year. Roy Hodgson indeed carried out a remarkable turnaround since joining the club in December 2007 when they were deeply rooted in the relegation zone. But three consecutive victories at the end of the campaign has pulled them out of the mire and ensured a great escape. Reading who finished eight last season are back into the Championship after only two years in the Premiership. And they will be joined by Birmingham City and Derby County who conceded 89 goals and managed just 11 points to earn the status of the worst team to have ever played in the Premiership. Everton clinched the UEFA Cup spot with a 3-1 win over Newcastle United.

In the end there are tears of joy for some, tears of sorrow for others, ecstasy for some, while pain for others, as yet another Premiership season concludes in style! Well done, Manchester United, the worthy champions of England!

Last Day will decide in Italy and France…

One match remains…and just like in the Premiership, the champion of Italy will be crowned on the final day and not sooner! Needing just one win of their last three matches, Inter Milan have managed to lose and draw their last two games and will travel to relegation-threatened Parma in search of that elusive victory that will crown them the Italian champions for the third year in a row. On their heels are Roma who have grabbed the maximum 6 points from their last two games and trail Inter Milan by just a point before their final match too against relegation-battlers Catania. Inter will be kicking themselves to not have clinched the title this weekend as they twice took the lead against Siena only to see scores being leveled each time and had Materazzi’s penalty saved 13 minutes from time, the final result thus being 2-2. It will be do-or-die time for Inter Milan and Roma next weekend as they battle for the Championship crown. But the losers will have another opportunity to gain revenge as the Coppa Italia final will be contested between these two rivals again. The neutrals might prefer both the clubs taking home a trophy each in the same fashion as last season when Inter Milan edged Roma for the League title but Roma defeated Inter in the finals to lift the Italian Cup.
There is also a lot more to play for on the final day in the Serie A as Inter’s neighbours AC Milan are struggling to find a Champions League berth after their defeat against Napoli. Milan are now trailing Fiorentina by two points for the fourth position in the League table. Wonder how Milan will be able to attract big names that are being linked to them in recent weeks if they fail to qualify for Champions League next season! And that is why Flamini’s reasons for quitting Arsenal, ‘due to the pain of missing out on the Premiership title’, come as a surprise with Milan nowhere close to winning anything themselves this season. Maybe footballers should be more honest in saying that they received better contracts from the other team. On the relegation front, Livorno became the first team to be going down to Serie B. Catania, Parma and Empoli will battle it out on the last day to avoid joining Livorno.

Another major European League battle will be decided on the last day of the season. Lyon and Bordeuax both won their respective matches to keep the Ligue One battle on. Lyon, in search of a historic 7th successive League title, won against Nancy 1-0, the solitary goal was an own goal from Nancy’s defender Andre Luiz. Lyon have been jittery as they inch closer towards the finish line with 9 points from a maximum of 18 while Bordueax have notched up 15 points in the same number of games. Lyon will travel to Auxerre on the last day who have ensured their safety. Bordueax face a trip to RC Lens who are fighting to avoid the relegation drop and will need to get better results than Toulouse and PSG to ensure safety. PSG, just a point above safety, face an unthinkable nightmare of falling into the second division after a spell of more than two and a half decades in top-flight football. A lot at stake on the last day in France….

In Scotland, Rangers and Celtic are both keeping up the pressure on each other. Celtic currently have a 4-point lead over Rangers but while Celtic have only one game remaining, Rangers have still three more to play in the league. In Bundesliga, Bayern Munich have already been crowned champions but their latest victory against MSV Duisburg relegated the latter to second-tier of German football. Hansa Rostock will be joining Duisburg after their 1-2 defeat to Leverkusen. Either of Nurnberg or Arminia Bielefeld will be relegated on the last day.

And finally…the axe fell down on Frank Rijkaard, the current Barcelona manger, after his side’s 4-1 defeat to Real Madrid during mid-week. A second season in a row without a trophy seems to be uncalled for in a gigantic club like Barcelona and his previous exploits of two successive league titles and Champions League glory have quickly been forgotten. Josep Guardiola who spent 11 years as a Barcelona player and has even captained the Catalan giants will take over reigns from Rijkaard next season onwards.