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