Real Madrid one win away from La Liga title
Posted on May 1, 2012
Filed under Football
Real Madrid one win away from La Liga title
Loading image. Please wait Madrid one win away from La Liga title Madrid: Real Madrid will be crowned the champions of the Spanish Primera Liga on Wednesday night if they are able to win away against Athletic Club Bilbao. A win would give Real Madrid an unassailable seven-point lead over FC Barcelona with just two matches left in the season
Manchester City beat Manchester United 1-0 and top the table on goal difference
Posted on May 1, 2012
Filed under Football
Manchester City beat Manchester United 1-0 and top the table on goal difference
Loading image. Please wait Man City take leaf from United’s book Manchester: Manchester City closed in on their first top flight title in 44 years by beating Manchester United 1-0 on Monday after doing what their rivals have done for years – keeping their nerve when all seemed lost. City captain Vincent Kompany scored the winner with a header from a corner at the end of the first half to cap a remarkable turnaround in the title race as they moved top of the table on goal difference with two games to play. The win for Roberto Mancini’s team, who were never really threatened by a United side that came looking for a point and left empty handed, capped a remarkable month for a City side displaying all the hallmarks of their illustrious neighbors. Premier League defeats by Swansea and Arsenal and a draw at Stoke looked like derailing big-spending City’s title drive, with United winning eight successive games almost at will, but Mancini’s determined players refused to give up. United’s never-say-die attitude was at the heart of their 12 titles under Alex Ferguson in the Premier League era, but the champions could find no way back in this match. Kompany’s strike was the only goal of a fraught, passionate and at times ragged and wild derby that distilled all the unpredictability of a remarkable season into 90 minutes of a match that swung first the way of United and then City who finished the stronger and were deserved winners. Both teams have 83 points but City have moved back to the top of the table on goal difference and, although they have the harder games left, Mancini’s side now hold all the cards. Asked who were now favourites for the title, Mancini once again told reporters: “United. They have the easier games, against Swansea and Sunderland, while we have to play Newcastle United, who are going for the Champions League, and Queens Park Rangers who are going against relegation. “We are at the top now, but it can change after the next two games,” he added. However, City’s dashing Italian coach did concede that winning the title was actually a possibility for his side too, “yes, it is, that’s true,” he smiled broadly. Mirror Image The match was almost a mirror image of the season, with United on top at first before a period of City supremacy, United coming back and City finishing stronger at the end. In the league, United were the pacesetters for most of the first two months, before City led the race for five months until United regained the lead in the middle of March. While the final act in the drama is still to be played out in the next two weeks, United could still finish on top of the pile for the 20th time in their history as City do have the trickier games to play. But, as it stands, Mancini’s side have the momentum to carry them all the way to a first top flight title since 1968. They regained it on April 11 when Carlos Tevez, having made up with Mancini following their infamous falling out in September when Tevez refused to warm up as a substitute for a Champions League match in Munich, was restored to the starting lineup in the 4-0 win over West Bromwich Albion and scored. City have since beaten Norwich City 6-1, Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 and now United while Ferguson’s side have dropped points to Wigan Athletic and Everton and fallen back to second place for the first time since early March. Ferguson set them up to play a holding 4-5-1 formation at the Etihad as he has so often done in away Champions League matches with Rooney as the lone striker. The tactic worked at first as United dominated the early stages, at least by holding City at bay, without either team creating any real scoring chances. United Unravel But United began to unravel with Nani giving the ball away too easily and the experienced campaigners Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs lacking any real influence. City’s industrious midfield of David Silva, Gareth Barry and Yaya Toure began to find chinks in United’s defence too with Sergio Aguero, watched by his father-in-law Maradona, and fellow Argentine Tevez beginning to get a whiff of a goal. The breakthrough came just before halftime when Kompany out-jumped Chris Smalling to head powerfully past David de Gea. Last season United’s outstanding centre back Nemanja Vidic, who has been out since December with a cruciate ligament injury, was stopping attempts like that.
Lukas Podolski quits Cologne for Arsenal
Posted on April 30, 2012
Filed under Football
Lukas Podolski quits Cologne for Arsenal
Loading image. Please wait Lukas Podolski quits Cologne for Arsenal Berlin: German international striker Lukas Podolski will leave Cologne for English Premier League side Arsenal at the start of the 2012/2013 season, the Bundesliga club announced on Monday. Podolski, 26, joined struggling Cologne from Bayern Munich in 2009.
Bayern beat Madrid on penalties to reach champions league final
Posted on April 26, 2012
Filed under Football,Video
Bayern beat Madrid on penalties to reach champions league final
Bayern Munich sent Madrid out on penalties to reach a Champions League final that will be held in its own stadium and ensure neither of the Spanish giants will get a chance to play for the famous trophy.
Chelsea snatched a 3-2 aggregate win over Barcelona to enter Champions League final
Posted on April 25, 2012
Filed under Featured,Football
Chelsea snatched a 3-2 aggregate win over Barcelona to enter Champions League final
Lionel Messi missed a penalty as holders Barcelona were sent crashing out of the Champions League semi-finals after 10-man Chelsea battled to a 2-2 draw at the Camp Nou in Barcelona.
Pepsi initiative to bring top Chelsea player to India
Posted on April 23, 2012
Filed under Football
Pepsi initiative to bring top Chelsea player to India
MUMBAI In a bid to popularise football in the country, Cola giant Pepsi plans to bring a top English Premier League player to the country in June.
Chelsea Beat Barcelona 1-0 Champions League Semifinal
Posted on April 18, 2012
Filed under Football
Chelsea Beat Barcelona 1-0 Champions League Semifinal
Drogba grabbed the first-half winner as Chelsea produced a resilient display to beat Barcelona 1-0 on Wednesday and take a narrow lead into the second leg of their Champions League semifinal against the defending champions. In one of Chelsea’s few forays forward at Stamford Bridge, Drogba swept home a cross by Ramires in the second [...]
Livorno midfielder Piermario Morosini dies on the ground
Posted on April 15, 2012
Filed under Featured,Football,Video
Livorno midfielder Piermario Morosini dies on the ground
ROME Italy was in shock on Sunday morning as the sober realisation sank in of the tragedy that befell Livorno midfielder Piermario Morosini the day before. La Gazzetta dello Sport and Corriere dello Sport summed up the shocking incident with identical headlines: “Death on the pitch, football stops.” Such was the disbelief that Corriere even repeated the fact with another headline: “Terrible, Morosini dies on the pitch.” They used a running headline across a number of pages entitled: “Football in shock,” while they elaborated on the reaction with: “A river of tears for Moro
India’s FIFA rank 165 worst ever
Posted on April 12, 2012
Filed under Football
India’s FIFA rank 165 worst ever
India equalled its worst ever FIFA rankings, with the country slipping seven slots down in the latest chart to be placed at 165th.
Lionel Messi scores 60th goal, eyes Muller 40-year record of 67
Posted on April 8, 2012
Filed under Featured,Football
Lionel Messi scores 60th goal, eyes Muller 40-year record of 67
Lionel Messi became the first player in almost 40 years to score 60 goals in a single European top-flight season after a brace helped Barcelona come from behind to beat 10-man Zaragoza 4-1. Messi’s 23 goals from the last 12 games has helped him arrive at the landmark 60 figure, the first time since Gerd Muller scored 67 goals in the 1972-73 season for Bayern Munich. With a minimum of nine games still to play in the league and cup, 24-year-old Messi has the German’s record well within his sights.
Benfica president Luis Felipe Vieira vows to protest to the Portuguese Football Federation
Posted on April 5, 2012
Filed under Football
Benfica president Luis Felipe Vieira vows to protest to the Portuguese Football Federation
Benfica president Luis Felipe Vieira has described his team’s Champions League exit to Chelsea as “an outrage” and vowed to protest to the Portuguese Football Federation. Benfica, who played most of the match with ten men after Maxi Pereira was shown a second yellow card in the 40th minute, were within a goal of progress [...]
Real Madrid,Chelsea advance to Champions League semifinals
Posted on April 5, 2012
Filed under Football
Real Madrid,Chelsea advance to Champions League semifinals
Cristiano Ronaldo’s double ensured Real Madrid easily ended APOEL Nicosia’s extraordinary Champions League run Wednesday and set up a semifinal with Bayern Munich, while Chelsea will next face holder Barcelona after ousting Benfica. Already 3-0 up from the first leg, nine-time champion Madrid romped to a 5-2 victory over the first Cypriot team to even [...]