Pride of place has to go to Barcelona and their 6-1 dismantling of Atletico Madrid. Atletico had a number of starters missing but I doubt it would have made much of a difference. Barcelona’s performance was clinical and totally overpowered the Madrid side.
St. Mirren beat Rangers and in the process both the top and bottom of the SPL changed. The 1-0 win moved St. Mirren of the last rung and up to tenth spot with Falkirk and Aberdeen dropping below them. Rangers loss combined with Celtic’s 4-0 win over Hamilton meant that the Celts now lead Rangers at the top on goal difference. The game marked Rangers last league visit to Love Street which has been the Buddies home since 1894. Come next season St. Mirren will be moving to new digs.
Sporting Gijon travelled to Mallorca and recorded a 2-0 win, their first win and first points of the season. The newly promoted side has undergone a baptism of fire over the first five games. The opening spell has included letting in seven goals to Real Madrid, six to Barcelona and four to Sevilla. This was also Gijon’s first clean sheet.
Aston Villa arrived at Stamford Bridge with pretensions of bringing Chelsea’s unbeaten streak of 85 games at Stamford Bridge to an end. Instead they were handed a lesson as Chelsea set about them with a display that Villa just could not match. Villa’s most potent attacking weapons of Carew, Young and Agbonlahor were neutralized as Chelsea dominated the midfield and final score line of 2-0 flattered Villa.
Best forgotten…..
With their play-off hopes hanging by a gossamer thin thread Los Angeles Galaxy picked a bad time to produce a display that was as toothless as a Wednesday night bingo audience. The Crew picked up the three points with the game’s only goal and hardly broke sweat doing it.
In May 2007 Atletico Madrid lost 6-0 at the Vicente Calderon Stadium to Barcelona. Nearly eighteen months on at least they scored a goal this time.
Best goals….
It could not be considered a crucial goal considering it was Barcelona’s sixth in their 6-1 thumping of Atletico Madrid. But nonetheless Thierry Henry’s strike was a cracker. The Frenchman started the move and then drilled home a shot from just outside the penalty box after an exchange of first time passes.
If it is not one of the goals of the season it will certainly be one of the cheekiest. A cross from Inter’s Adriano on the left was back-heeled into the Bologna goal by Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Christian Träsch will never forget his first goal for Stuttgart and what is more it is highly unlikely that he will ever score a more spectacular one. The volley from outside the penalty box by the 21-year-old German was struck with incredible power and accuracy and whizzed past Bremen keeper Tim Wiese and into the Werder Bremen net.
On a terrible evening for Atletico Madrid, a powerful, bending shot from Maxi Rodriguez that found the back of the Barcelona net from 25 yards out was about the only high spot.
Best Players….
Eric Cantona once described Mickaël Pagis as the player who most closely resembled him in modern-day French football. On Sunday the thirty-five year old provided a glimpse of what Cantona meant in scoring all three goals in Rennes win over “perennial” French champions Lyon.
Frank Lampard was at the centre of Chelsea’s dominant display against Aston Villa. He helped set up both of the first half goals and was a constant threat throughout the match.
A Fernando Torres double made the difference in the Merseyside derby a week past Saturday. On Sunday another brace led Liverpool back from a two goal deficit at Eastlands and an eventual 3-2 win.
Goal feast……
Six goals in the first twenty-eight minutes of a match are pretty difficult to beat. The remainder of the game brought only one more goal in Barcelona’s 6-1 win over Atletico Madrid.
North Americans in Europe….
US international Clint Dempsey made his first Premiership start of the season for Fulham on Saturday. After a bright start during which Dempsey was repeatedly a source of problems for West Brom, the Baggies came to grips Dempsey and his influence faded as West Brom shaded Fulham by the only goal of the game.
Biggest Howlers……
Dimitar Berbatov has to thank Aalborg captain Thomas Augustinussen for his first goal for Manchester United. Augustinussen had dropped into the centre of the Aalborg defence after Australian central defender Michael Beauchamp was forced out of the game and misplaced a pass that had been squared to him. The result was a gift wrapped chance from the edge of the box that the Bulgarian striker promptly dispatched.
Juventus’ Mohamed Sissoko picked up two yellow cards in the first half against Palermo and conceded a free kick from which Palermo opened scoring on Sunday.
Brutal errors by two MLS goalkeepers cost their sides dearly on the opening goals. Against Chivas, DC United’s keeper Louis Crayton badly misplayed a pass back and the loose ball was picked by Dejair. Dejair found Alecko Eskandarian who slipped the ball into an empty net from 20 plus yards.
Colorado Rapid’s Preston Burpo was the goat when his attempted clearance rolled to Brian Ching early in the game against Houston Dynamo. Ching was able to gather the ball and chip it over the advancing keeper.
Stat facts…..
Last season after seven games Derby County had accumulated four of the total eleven points they were to collect over the entire season – at the same stage this season Tottenham Hotspur have two points.
Spurs and Grimsby are the only two teams without a win to date in the four English divisions.
Rangers’ loss to St. Mirren was their first to the Buddies for 17 years and their first at Love Street in 22 years.
Four clubs lost unbeaten league records this weekend. In Serie A the last two undefeated teams Juventus and Napoli capitulated, in Scotland Rangers’ streak ended after a run of seven games without as did Lyon’s in Ligue Une.
Serie A referees were handing out cards quicker than an overworked Vegas dealer this weekend. In ten games there were nine red and sixty yellow cards issued.
Before Saturday’s match against Hull, Spurs had made their worst start to a season since 55/56. David Lacey looks back to the changes that were made and the path to the the 1961 domestic Double.
Guy Adams produces a well researched and objective article on David Beckham’s move to MLS.
Patrick Barclay believes that the guardians of English football have failed to control spending and so it is time for the Government to step in.
Coming up this week…..
With a weekend of World Cup qualifiers set for next weekend about all that we have to look forward to are squads being named and players withdrawing because of injury.
Juventus are one of only two teams in Serie A (the other Napoli) that remain unbeaten after only five rounds of play. For the Turin club it has been a case of making a little go a long way. Four one goal games and a scoreless draw has been enough to generate nine points but if goals don’t start coming with more regularity then it is only a matter of time before that undefeated record is struck down.
Amauri was signed from Palermo during the summer to add a cutting edge to the Juventus attack and three goals in four league matches would be a sign that the Brazilian is at least delivering on his part of the bargain.
Palermo are Sunday’s opponents and can boast of a player who has scored as many goals as Juventus have done in Serie A this season. And as with Juventus it is a case of a little going a long way but in this case the “little” refers to diminutive striker Fabrizio Miccoli. Miccoli spent a frustrating 2004 season with Juventus before being shipped out on loan to Fiorentina for a season followed by a two years in Portugal with Benfica.
Last season he returned to the Italian top flight with Palermo and although hampered by a series of injuries he still managed to score 8 goals and show the talent that first flourished with Perugia. If Miccoli can avoid injury there is no reason why he can’t hit double figures and also, in the process, work his way back into Marcello Lippi’s international plans.
Genoa vs. Napoli
Napoli unbeaten in Serie A and currently second behind Lazio will look to bounce back from being knocked out of the UEFA Cup by Benfica in midweek. Although Napoli have been limited to only six goals you get the sense that it will not need much for one of their games to turn into a shootout .
They face a Genoa side that has one both their home games so far while losing all three on the road. The home wins have come against Milan and Roma and there is no reason why Napoli should not become a third high profile victim.
LA LIGA Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid
This game is being billed as Lionel Messi vs. Sergio Aguero which should not come as much of a surprise. While Messi led Argentina to an FIFA Under-20 World Cup in the Netherlands in 2005, Aguero (he was also part of the 2005 squad but saw limited playing time) matched the feat last summer in Canada.
Both players could be considered as child protégés. Messi was whisked off to Spain and made his Barcelona debut as a 16-year-old; Aguero made his debut in Argentina for Independiente before he turned 16.
The emergence of Messi at Barcelona marginalized the former idol of the Nou Camp Ronaldinho while Aguero took full advantage of Fernando Torres’ move from Atletico to Anfield and is new hero of the Vicente Calderon.
For years Atletico held an uncanny hold over Barca – Torres especially tormented Barcelona – but that came to an end when Barca whipped Atletico 6-0 in the later stages of the 2007 season. Barcelona currently holds a one point advantage on Atletico with league leaders Valencia (yes Valencia) three points ahead of the Catalan club.
Premiership Chelsea v Aston Villa
Early last season Aston Villa caught Chelsea at the right time and their 2-0 win at Villa Park helped point Mourinho to the exit door at Stamford Bridge. A little over three months later in a barnstormer o####ame Villa showed that the earlier result was no fluke by sharing eight goals at the Bridge.
On Sunday Villa have an opportunity to send a large and powerful warning shot across the bows of any clubs with pretensions of a top four finish. Currently sitting third Villa have already played Liverpool to a stalemate at Villa Park and Martin O’Neill is likely to keep with faith with the same eleven that have started each of the club’s six Premiership games so far.
That would mean another start for the striking duo of John Carew and Gabriel Agbonlahor. Last season they combined for 24 league goals and have already notched four each this season. Creator-in-chief Ashley Young is another potential tormentor of Chelsea.
A settled side is something that Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari doesn’t have the luxury of with a number of starters out through injury. Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, Ricardo Carvalho and Deco are all missing. Chelsea are now unbeaten in 85 home matches stretching back over 4 years – could this be the week when we stop counting?
MLS DC United vs. Chivas
The end of the regular MLS season is in sight although the play-off prospects of the vast majority of clubs are still blurry. With only the top three teams from each conference guaranteed post season play the two remaining spots are assigned to the sides with the best records overall.
For months the eastern circuit has held a clear advantage over their western cousins and the fourth and fifth placed teams in the east have been odds-on favourites to fill the last two spots.
But over the last couple of weeks the western conference has made inroads based on improved results and deterioration in form from the likes of the New York Red Bulls and DC United. Now with four rounds of play left to complete the race is now too close to call.
The match-up between DC United (5th in the east and 33 points) and Chivas (2nd in the west and 36 points) is one of a number of critical fixtures during the run-in. Currently sitting second with a top three finish needed would seem to put Chivas in a fairly comfortable position.
But with the surging Colorado Rapids, Real Salt Lake and FC Dallas just two points behind a loss could leave the other team from LA looking at the rest of the conference from a very different vantage point.
Injuries have decimated Chivas all season and just when Coach Preki could look forward to the return of a number of starters key striker Ante Razov has gone down injured.
Over the last few weeks DC United have been attempting to put an end to a horrendous and poorly timed slump. The season as a whole has been one of fits and starts for United but the last four weeks have been particularly rocky with six losses and a draw since lifting the U.S. Cup at the start of September.
After this match DC United has to play the two conference leaders (Columbus Crew and Houston) away and New England Revolution at home.
Last weekend Arsenal dismantled Bolton at the Reebok and Arsene Wenger left some notes in a hotel room. The notes related to the importance of the team ethic. Perhaps Wenger should have had the Hull City hotel of choice searched on Sunday. Any any wisdom from Hull manager Phil Brown on the importance of taking chances when they are presented might be worthwhile. Hull City showed incredible resilience, took their opportunities when they arose and rode some breaks to pull off a win that will long be recounted.
Columbus Crew played like a team at the top of its game in beating nearest Eastern Conference rivals New England Revolution 1-0 on Saturday evening. The Crew did not allow the Revolution to settle and develop a rhythm to their game. The winner came from a well-rehearsed corner kick and even after Frankie Hejduk was sent off for incurring a second yellow card the Crew maintained a grip on the game.
The Crew now has an eight point lead with four games left in the race for the Supporters Shield which is awarded to the team with the best regular season record. Could we not just call them the League Champions?
Best forgotten…..
Arsenal should have had the game against Hull signed, sealed and delivered in the first half. But after failing to take their chances they paid a three point price for their lack of urgency and lost for only the second time at the Emirates.
Consecutive losses for Bayern Munich will increase the pressure on Jurgen Klinsmann at Bayern Munich. This weekend’s loss at Hannover was their first loss there since the spring of 1988. Klinsmann chose to rest a number of starters and faces a big match against Lyon in Champions League on Tuesday.
All you need to know about Spurs’ abysmal defending was clearly illustrated on the opening goal of the game against Portsmouth. A Pompey free kick was lazily handled by Jermaine Jenas in the penalty area and Jermain Defoe scored from the spot kick.
However, before the free kick Jonathan Woodgate and Jamie O’Hara both had time to clear the ball (twice) and made a right dogs breakfast of it. The ball finally broke to a Portsmouth player who O’Hara needlessly fouled and that set up the free kick.
Inter Milan may have only lost 1-0 to city rivals Milan but for almost all the derby on Sunday they were second best and could have been third best if it was possible. Outplayed and outfought on the field and out-thought in the dugout.
Best goals….
Arsenal paid the price for backing off Geovanni and allowing a free shot from 25 yards out. The Brazilian hit the ball sweetly and with great power leaving Almunia absolutely helpless. He may not score at lot of goals but when he does they are generally in the memorable category.
Since signing for Fiorentina from Milan during the summer Alberto Gilardino has five goals with three coming in league play. All three goals have been clutch ones helping to deliver wins over Bologna, Genoa and a draw against Juventus. Saturday’s winner against Genoa was a classic piece of finishing with the Italian international striker creating half a yard of space so he could swivel and hook the ball into the far corner.
Luis Antonio Valencia does not get a lot of recognition playing in Wigan’s midfield. However, the Ecuador international rarely gives the ball up, he has good speed, is very comfortable on the ball and drops back when needed. And he has a terrific shot on him. The opening goal against City was a blistering drive that left City keeper Joe Hart rooted to the spot.
Best Players….
During his time in the Premiership George Boateng has had a habit of reserving his best performances for underdog and back-against-the-wall situations. He added another on Saturday for Hull against Arsenal at the Emirates. Now well into his 30s Boateng covered acres of space and was a constant barrier to Arsenal’s attacks.
A hat trick is always something to savor but when it comes when your team is in desperate need then it is even better. Colorado Rapids striker Conor Casey helped his team to only their third away win of the season and inflicted on New York Red Bulls their second home defeat. Casey scored twice in the first half – one a penalty kick – and with the score tied at 4-4 Casey notched a delightful and dramatic last minute winner.
On Sunday in the Milan derby the midfield trio of Ambrossini, Seedorf and Gattuso provided the platform for Milan’s best performance of the season to date (yes better than beating Lazio 4-1). The #### never allowed Inter to settle and Seedorf in particular was outstanding.
Goal feast……
Werder Bremen went nap for the second straight week – this time against newly promoted Hoffenheim. Last week Bremen beat Bayern Munich 5-2 but Saturday’s win was even more dramatic. Bremen led 4-1 but the visitors fought back to 4—4 and in the process Bremen’s centre back Mertesaker was sent off. Ten-man Bremen then got a late winner through Mesut Ozil.
Colorado Rapids and New York Red Bulls scored seven in a goal filled first half that saw the visiting Rapids holding a single goal edge after 45 minutes. The Red Bulls equalized with around fifteen minutes left only for the Rapids to score a 90th minute winner.
North Americans in Europe….
Canadian international Rhian Dodds moved from Kilmarnock to Dundee on loan late last week and made his debut in a 2-0 loss to St. Johnstone.
Celtic are ready to sign 6ft 6in American goalkeeper Dominic Cervi to a three year deal. Final paperwork is pending.
Biggest Howlers……
The award of a penalty to Manchester United by an ideally positioned Rob Styles was a real stunner. My first reaction was shock that he was going to book Ronaldo for “diving.” The penalty against Jlloyd Samuel (correction from originally named) Ricardo Gardner was an even bigger shock. It was a regular tackle with the defender playing the ball and the attacker falling over the out stretched leg of the defender.
A comment from Toronto FC GM Mo Johnston about signing a designated player ("preferably I'd like him to be Canadian") next season set off a flurry of Julian de Guzman to TFC from Deportivo La Coruna stories north of the border.
De Guzman is at the top of his game, playing regularly in midfield for Deportivo La Coruna and is surely drawing a sizeable wage packet each week. Although he has solid all round talent his strength is the defensive side of the game and goals have never come easily for him. Hardly the type of player you would sign to the designated category to start with. What’s more a move to TFC from Liga while in his prime would hardly constitute ambition.
Goodness knows who started the ludicrous rumour but it says a lot for the sorry state of the Canadian soccer media that the story grew legs rather than being dismissed with a chuckle.
Stat facts…..
Fernando Torres’ double on Saturday against Everton at Goodison was only his fifth and sixth Premiership goals scored away from Anfield out of his 27 goals in total. It also constituted his first Premiership double away from Anfield and gives him three goals in two appearances against Everton.
West Brom’s win at Boro was their first in over 56 years. During that spell Boro had recorded 14 wins and 6 draws.
Saturday’s win over Arsenal was not the first time that Hull have finished on top – but it has not happened for a while. The last time? It was April 2, 1915 in front of a crowd of 8,000 with Hull winning 1-0 in a Division 2 game. For Arsenal it was a third straight loss after losing to Grimsby Town (1-0) and Huddersfield Town (3-0). Arsenal finished in 5th spot that season. The game took place just two years after Arsenal opened Highbury and four years before the club was elected to the First Division ahead of Tottenham Hotspur. Manchester City’s poor run of form against Wigan in the Premiership continued on Sunday. In seven Premiership encounters Wigan have won five and drawn the other two.
What was said….
David Conn believes that Premiership clubs can avoid the financial ill-effects of the current crisis because of the long-term television rights deals and season ticket money. We will see.
George Caulkin looks at the appointment of Joe Kinnear as “interim” Newcastle manager.
John Giles reckons that Roy Keane should look for other other work if abuse from fans is getting to him.
Simon Kuper tells us that thirty-two years ago and within seven days of each other four outstanding players came into the world.
News here that UEFA is taking the issue of gambling and match fixing more seriously by creating a monitoring unit. Has anyone read "The Fix" by Declan Hill yet?
Ian Plenderleith believes that MLS needs a team to dominate and therefore become truly detested.
Coming up this week…..
Match day 2 for the Champions League and the second leg of the UEFA Cup first round. Now with the arrival of the Europa Cup this is the last time you will get to enjoy a UEFA Cup first round. And to think that I have just stopped referring to it as the Fairs Cup.
It has been a very strange start to the Premiership season for Everton. Over the previous two seasons Goodison has provided a solid base for their 6th and 5th place finishes. In fact, with the exception of one more goal scored last season their home record has been identical – 11 wins, 4 draws, 4 losses, scored 33 (34) and conceded just 17. And that has meant that excluding the top four Goodison has been the least charitable venue for visiting sides in the last two seasons.
But with the new season only five games old Everton are the only side without a home point having lost both games so far and have already conceded six goals. A seven point haul from three away games so far points to skittish form until you realize that the opposition has comprised the promoted clubs – Stoke, West Brom and Hull City.
What’s more Saturday’s derby against Liverpool is the start of a particularly testing time with Premiership games against Arsenal and Manchester United coming up in the following three rounds of play. And there is the need to go to Belgium this coming week and more than likely they need to return with a win if they are to move on in the UEFA Cup.
Considering Liverpool’s record in this decade against Everton there is little cause for optimism from the home supporters – ten wins, five draws and two losses for Liverpool illustrates the Reds dominance. A win for Everton might just the lift they need – on the other hand a loss might just mean that by the end of October Everton’s focus will be to dig out of the bottom half of the table.
Manchester United v Bolton
There has been nothing so far to indicate that this season is going to be anything for Bolton Wanderers other than a constant battle to stay in 17th position or slightly above. Bolton’s first four games were not overly arduous but they ran into Arsenal last week and they follow it up with a visit to Old Trafford on Saturday.
One win in four games is hardly a stellar start for Manchester United either but that might only increase the chance that Bolton will fall victim to a pent up demand for goals and a big win from United fans and management.
Three wins in eighteen Premiership matches against United gives little encouragement particularly when the Trotters have only scored 12 goals and let in 42. In addition Bolton’s record in North-West derbies has been poor since their return to the Premiership in the 2001/02 season.
Their first season back brought a 50/50 split with two wins set off against two losses and the other four games finished drawn. Over the next six seasons Bolton have never come close to matching that performance.
Overall in seventy-four North-West derbies Bolton have won only twenty, drawn eighteen and lost thirty six – a strange record for a side that has enjoyed a number of top eight finishes during that time.
That means that games against local rivals have generated a little over a point a game while the return against others has averaged 1.38 – a case of feasting on the southern softies perhaps?
Chivas vs. Kansas City Wizards
With five rounds of play remaining (six for Houston and San Jose) the race for the seven remaining play-off spots is really heating up with “must-win” games coming one after another.
Kansas City Wizards are back in contention after successive 2-0 wins against LA Galaxy and Toronto FC. Two goals victories have not been a common occurrence (the only other was the opening game of the season against DC United) for the Wizards and could not have come at a better time.
The same could be said for Chivas who spoiled the bidding farewell to Rice-Eccles Stadium party by inflicting Real Salt Lake’s first home loss of the season last weekend. The win meant that Chivas leapfrogged over RSL in the western conference but things are so tight that come Monday morning the current standings will have a very different look.
Milan vs. Inter
Serie A went through a scheduling change this season and it has added considerable luster to the competition already. Before this season the “big-clubs” were kept apart over the first few weeks but that changed this season with a more all-in approach right from the opening kick-off.
The season has got off to a fantastic start with the likes of Lazio, Atalanta, Napoli, Catania, Genoa and Palermo all producing impressive performances during the first month of play. But this weekend it will be two of the usual suspects that will garner the majority of the attention. Milan and Inter clash in the San Siro derby and it will be Jose Mourinho’s first taste while for Milan’s Carlo Ancelotti it will be the latest of many.
So far Inter’s displays have provided intermittent shows of brilliance while Milan have recovered from two defeats in their opening two games. The last six Milan derbies have produced a healthy 22 goals with no game decided by more than a goal.
Fiorentina vs. Genoa
Genoa were outstanding in their win over Roma (even when you consider that they were fortunate that the assistant referee chalked off a perfectly legitimate Panucci goal) in midweek and now face a trip to Florence.
Genoa played an attacking 3-4-3 formation with the midfield and front three continually pressing the Roma defence. Diego Milito is receiving most of the credit with four goals in four games but the recognition should be shared with the likes of Gasbarroni and Sculli in attack and a midfield of Milanetto, Rossi, Palladino and Modesto. Fiorentina conceded all three goals to Lazio in a seven minute spell early in the second half and need to get back to winning ways.
Atletico Madrid vs. Sevilla
This is the first in a run of big matches for Atletico. A fantastic away win against PSV in Champions league combined with three wins in the first four Liga games with 11 goals scored and only three against has meant expectations have risen rapidly.
Sevilla arrive unbeaten in league play and coming soon after are Barcelona, Real Madrid and Villarreal as well as two Champions League games against Marseille and Liverpool.
The Spanish league’s top scorer is Florent Sinama-Pongolle with five goals. No doubt this will have some Liverpool fans reeling considering it took him 48 Premiership games to score as many for the Reds.
Making their Champions League debut FCR Cluj beat Roma 2-1 in the Olympic Stadium.
Manchester City dismantled Portsmouth 6-0 at Eastlands on Saturday and inflicted on Pompey their biggest ever Premiership loss – the previous worst was a 5-0 loss away to Birmingham on January 21, 2006.
Best forgotten…..
The goal Chelsea conceded to Manchester United should be a considered a catastrophic defensive failure. The Chelsea defence broke down in almost every position. As the move formed on the United left side Alex got pulled out of position as Berbatov and Rooney dropped back into midfield.
Evra, Berbatov and Rooney exchanged passes and when the United full-back sprung forward Joe Cole failed to go with him. The diminutive Evra then outmuscled Chelsea full back Jose Boswinga inside the penalty box before squaring a pass to the unmarked Berbatov who had rejoined the play.
Berbatov was allowed to shoot and Petr Cech failed to hold what looked to be a fairly routine effort. Instead the ball spilled to Park – also left free – ten yards out and United were 1-0 up.
Best goals….
Some cracking goals in the match day one of Champions League play. Florent Malouda finished of####reat build up involving John Obi Mikel and Frank Lampard to score Chelsea’s third in a 4-0 rout of Bordeaux.
Fernandinho of Shakhtar Donetsk scored an absolute screamer from a free kick against Basel to help his side to a 2-1 win.
Another classic free kick came from Alessandro Del Piero against Zenit St. Petersburg. The ball was hit with power, dip and swerve from a distance where most players would not have even have attempted a crack at goal. It proved to be the only goal of the match.
Juninho Pernambucano’s ability from a dead ball position is renowned throughout the world. But the Lyon midfielder threw in something a little bit different against Fiorentina. Instead of having his usual crack from a free kick just outside the penalty area the Brazilian played a perfect pass around the defensive wall for Benzema to run onto and score.
Finally Steven Gerrard’s goal from open play for Liverpool against Marseille was as sweetly struck a shot as you are ever likely to see.
Goal feast……
Atletico Madrid are scoring almost at will at times this season. Three goals away to PSV Eindhoven in midweek were followed by four against Recreativo Huelva on Saturday – all without conceding a goal.
North Americans in Europe….
US international Michael Bradley made his debut for Borussia Monchengladbach in a 1-0 loss at home against Hertha Berlin.
Biggest Howlers……
A reasonable explanation as to why referee Andre Marriner cancelled Steven Gerrard’s second minute goal for Liverpool against Stoke has still not been forthcoming.
Boro keeper Ross Turnbull nearly pulled off one for the blooper reel as he was caught in two minds (neither of them particularly smart!) at the edge of his own penalty area. He recovered after fumbling the ball while under little pressure and managed to avoid handing Sunderland a golden scoring chance.
Stat facts...
Jo and Ched Evans (Manchester City), David di Michele (West Ham), Emmanuel Eboue (Arsenal) and Michael Turner (Hull City) all opened their Premiership scoring account this weekend.
On Saturday evening Real Salt Lake played in Rice-Eccles Stadium for the last time before their move to new digs. After going unbeaten in a dozen home games in MLS this season it was a case of unlucky 13 as Chivas won 1-0.
Even after only a handful of games there are only two teams that are pointless in the top five leagues in Europe - in Italy Cagliari and in Spain Sporting Gijon.
What was said….
Paul Wilson considers Spurs’ transfer dealings this past summer and is left unimpressed.
Tony Cascarino suggests that Manchester United should sign Emile Heskey.
Roy Keane hates ABBA! No comment from ABBA about Roy Keane.
The 3rd round of the Carling Cup is on Tuesday and Wednesday, CIS Cup in Scotland on the same days and a there is a full schedule of games in Serie A and La Liga. Matches to look out for include:
Newcastle vs. Spurs Portsmouth vs. Chelsea Manchester United vs. Boro Blackburn vs. Everton
It is true that if Manchester United does lose on Sunday to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last season’s Champions will trail their opponents by nine points with September not even over. By a similar token - but less repeated – a United win would leave them three points in arrears with a game in hand.
United also started last season’s campaign poorly. A scoreless draw at home to Reading, another draw at Portsmouth and a humiliating derby day loss to Manchester City generated only two points from the first three games. At least this season they have doubled that total after three games.
Much of the build up to last week’s game against Liverpool centred on the debut of Dimitar Berbatov. Apart from a cut back to Tevez for the opening goal the Bulgarian was as effective as a banker trying to flog off sub-prime mortgages.
After the opening spell during which United settled more quickly Liverpool gradually took over the game the United midfield was found badly wanting. Carrick’s early injury did not help United’s cause but Scholes and Anderson were easily handled by Alonso and Mascherano to the point of domination. The fact that a fit Scholes was substituted with a full quarter of game remaining was highly unusual and Ferguson will have to make sure that control on Sunday is not ceded to the powerful Chelsea in the same way.
With Ronaldo available again after surgery and Vidic suspended Sir Alex looks to have a few key decisions to make as far as his line-up is concerned. Each decision has a domino effect.
1. Who replaces Nemanja Vidic at the heart of the United defence? He could go for Jonny Evans who stepped into the position in midweek against Villarreal and played competently or Wes Brown could move from full back with Gary Neville the replacement. The final decision may rest on Ferguson’s take on whether or not Didier Drogba will start for Chelsea.
2. Where will Rooney play? After stating during the summer that he had perhaps been unfair in not playing Wayne Rooney through the middle more often – a position Fergie believes brings out the best in the England striker – the United manger stuck him out on the right side of midfield against Liverpool. Let’s just say that it didn’t work.
3. Will Ronaldo start? With Ronaldo available after injury it seems highly unlikely that Fergie will opt to keep his powder dry by entrusting the Portugal international’s rear to the bench. The mere presence of Ronaldo may put some doubt in the mind of Chelsea coach Luiz Felipe Scolari about the advisability of unleashing full back Ashley Cole down the United right. (It’s also worth noting that Cole has played Ronaldo better than most over the last five years.)
4. Who will anchor the centre of the midfield? The battle in the middle of the field will be key and United will have to subdue Lampard and Deco (almost definitely) and Michael Ballack (most likely). Lampard has been excellent in the last two Chelsea games (inspired after the Croatia win?) while Deco’s ability to orchestrate the attack has given Chelsea an added edge this season. With Carrick out the primary choices come down to Scholes (playmaker), Hargreaves (bull-terrier), Anderson (patchy), Fletcher and O’Shea (journeymen). If the decision is to play three in the centre of midfield then Ryan Giggs also comes into the equation.
5. Who starts up front and how many? If United goes with five across midfield then that leaves a lone striker with three players vying for the position and each with substantial credentials. Berbatov, Rooney and Tevez – a tough decision.
Stat Fact – After United started last season with 2 draws and a loss they went on a run of 8 straight wins; the first 6 without conceding a goal.
Bayern Munich vs. Werder Bremen
Bayern Munich has long dominated German football and this decade is no exception. Six Bundesliga titles and five Cup wins (all helping to complete domestic doubles) puts Bayern lengths ahead of any other German club.
This season two draws in the first two starts may have given the other Bundesliga teams some hope that the transition from Ottmar Hitzfeld to Jurgen Klinsmann was not going smoothly.
However, wins over Hertha Berlin (4-1) and Cologne (3-0) are likely a better indication of what is in store over the remainder of this season. The fact that their best player last season Franck Ribery has yet to start a game this season only serves to reinforce the depth of the Bayern squad.
Werder Bremen have been the one team to consistently challenge Bayern’s supremacy but even then they only have a domestic double of 2004 to show for their efforts. The one thing Bremen have rarely been short of is goals. In four of the last five campaigns Bremen have finished as the Bundesliga’s top scorers with 75 goals or more each time.
The goals scorers may have changed – Ailton to Klasnic and Klose to Markus Rosenberg – but coach Thomas Schaaf’s commitment to scoring goals has remained.
Based on Werder’s capacity for conceding goals (games involving Werder Bremen more often than not generate the most goals each season) it could be argued that more emphasis on the defensive side of the game might have brought more silverware.
Werder trail Bayern by three points and leaders Hamburg by five and so a loss would open a considerable gap when you consider the season will only be five games old. What is more travelling to play Bayern has not been a rich source of points over the years.
In forty-two Bundesliga visits Bremen have only won six times and drawn nine. Bremen are also coming off a disappointing match day one performance against Cypriot side Anorthosis Famagusta.
But if you are looking for a silver lining it would be that at least last season’s Bundesliga runners-up did not lose – something that has happened in the last four seasons. In that spell Bremen have lost 2-0 three times and 2-1 last season.
Stat Fact - Michael Rensing took over the full time position in the Bayern Munich goal after Oliver Kahn retired at the end of last season. Rensing would step in from time when Kahn was injured and before this season Rensing had started 23 Bundesliga games. Add another four games this season and Rensing has yet to finish on the losing side in the Bundesliga.
Milan vs. Lazio
Only two teams can boast 100% records in Serie A after 180 minutes of play – Lazio and Atalanta. Likewise only two teams are without a single point – Milan and Cagliari. Milan dominated much of their first match against Bologna and could rightfully claim some injustice at the eventual 2-1 scoreline in favour of Bologna.
However, the same case could not be made last week in losing 2-0 to Genoa. Genoa were better in every department and thoroughly deserved the win. What was probably most disconcerting for Milan’s fans was how dreadfully slow and pedestrian Milan looked in everything they attempted.
The reliance on experience has been a common criticism of Milan over the last few seasons and each time they have bounced back. Can they do it one more time?
The young Argentine striker Mauro Zarate has fuelled Lazio’s race to the top and with three goals in two games he has made a great first impression on Italian football.
Stat Fact – Lazio have not beaten Milan in Serie since February 1998 – twenty-one games ago. Since that Lazio win in February 1998 Milan have won 11 and the other ten have been drawn.
Another chance to turn on the television and turn down the sound.
Manchester United are attempting what no other team has been able to achieve – a successful defence of the Champions League title. Under the old name and format of the European Cup there were a few dynasties and a handful of back-to-back wins.
Real Madrid (1956-60) set a standard that has yet to be bettered of five consecutive wins. Triple season victors came in the seventies with Ajax (1971-73) and Bayern Munich (1974-76). Consecutive season wins came from Inter Milan (64/65), Liverpool (77/78), Nottingham Forest (79/80)and finally Milan (89/90).
However, the dearth of back-to-back winners does not mean that the race for Europe’s top trophy is wide-open. A look at the make-up of the group stage over the last six seasons and the knock out rounds over the last five paints a picture of a pretty select group of teams that can be relied upon to be there or thereabouts when the appearance money is dished out.
Here are some facts gleamed from a look at the last six seasons of the Champions League.
Group Stage (Last 32) - Number of teams that have qualified:
In the last six seasons – 69 out of 192 available spots
In each the last six seasons – 8 (Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Lyon, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, PSV Eindhoven, and Porto), 25%
On multiple occasions over the last six seasons – 36, 62%
Only once for the group stage in the last six seasons – 25, 13%
Knock Out Stage (Last 16) - Number of teams that have qualified:
In the last five seasons – 30 out of 90 available spots
In each of the last five seasons – 4 (Chelsea, Lyon, Arsenal, Real Madrid), 22%
Only once in the last five seasons – 14, 15.5%
On multiple occasions in the last five seasons – 12 (Roma, Inter Milan, Juventus, Milan, Werder Bremen, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Manchester United, Liverpool, PSV Eindhoven, Celtic, Porto), 62.5%
A closed-shop or is there an upset or two possible this season?
Liverpool survived an awkward opening spell against their nemesis Manchester United before putting on their most impressive display of the season so far. Once Alonso and Mascherano came to grips with the task the centre of the United struggled badly and United’s substitutions made little difference.
This one could be categorized as a best forgotten display followed by an outstanding performance for Borussia Dortmund and vice-versa for Schalke 04. Schalke 04 were two up by half time and lead 3-0 before the hour mark. But in front of Europe’s last crowd this weekend of 80,000 Dortmund bounced back with three goals in the space of twenty-one minutes to secure a heart-stopping point.
Best forgotten…..
It was another miserable weekend for the fans of Newcastle United. A 2-1 home loss to newly-promoted Hull City, Danny Guthrie sent off for a petulant kick at Craig ####an, Alan Shearer’s dismissal as a club ambassador, a ludicrous attempt to replace Kevin Keegan with ….Kevin Keegan and finally confirmation that owner Mike Ashley is willing to sell the club.
Barcelona struggled to a home draw with Racing Santander. Two games and two draws is not a good enough start at it leaves new Coach Pep Guardiola waiting for his first league win. It will not have helped matters that Santander’s goal came from a deflected Ezequiel Garay free kick – Garay is on loan from Real Madrid.
The last time Milan lost their two opening games of the season was in 1986/87. A home loss to Bologna (2-1) on opening day was followed by a 2-0 away loss to Genoa on Sunday. Most worrying for Milan supporters was how relatively easily Genoa handled Milan. Milan looked slow, ponderous and played little or no imagination. Kaka will take a couple of weeks to regain his match fitness but he should not to carry the rest of the side.
Best goals….
Arsenal’s 2nd goal against Blackburn came just before half-time, took seventy seconds and consisted of an uninterrupted string of 28 passes. Finally Denilson floated a cross to the back post and Adebayor scored with a well paced header.
Fabrizio Miccoli first goal of two against Roma was a classic Miccoli goal. He used his quick feet to create a chance just outside the Roma penalty box and then he ripped the ball past goalkeeper Doni. He added a second goal in the second half.
Davy Arnaud’s blast for Kansas City Wizards from 30+ yards killed off Los Angeles Galaxy. Arnaud’s goal came only two minutes after he helped set the opening goal with around a quarter of the match remaining.
Alexander Frei’s left footed long range rocket pulled Dortmund back to within a goal of Schalke 04 in the Ruhr derby. A soft penalty allowed Frei to tie the game.
Best Players….
As someone once remarked “Dirk Kuyt’s second touch is usually a tackle” but you can never question the Dutchman’s drive and desire. No matter how badly he may be playing he never stops and never hides. Asked to start up front on Saturday against Manchester United he harried and chased and then moved out to the right side of midfield as Benitez moved players around. Either way he was outstanding for Liverpool.
Manchester City and their newly acquired financial depth were found sadly wanting against the team previously #1 on the financial charts Chelsea. City even got off to a great start with a Robinho free kick giving them a 1-0 lead. But from then on City were given a swift and decisive lesson on how far they have to go if they hope to compete with the best in England and in Europe. Frank Lampard was central to all that was good about Chelsea’s performance at the Eastlands and he chipped in with the go-ahead goal – his 150th goal of his professional career.
The Brazilian midfielder Fabio Simplicio ran the show in Palermo’s 3-1 win over Roma on Saturday. The former Parma midfielder was not selected in the opening round loss against Udinese but was recalled for Saturday’s clash.
Genoa started Andrea Gasbarroni of the left side of an attacking front three against Milan. However, it did not stop him cutting inside at will and popping up to cause Milan in all sorts of problems in other positions. He started the move that led to Genoa’s opening goal and generally led the Milan defense a merry dance for the eighty minutes he was on the park.
Goal feast……
Two matches in Spain finished 4-3 in favour of the home sides and both involved valiant but ultimately unsuccessful efforts from two newly promoted sides. Sporting Gijon (Croatian striker Mate Bilic had a first half hat trick) and Sevilla shared six first half goals before Freddie Kanoute scored a second half winner. In the capital Real Madrid led Numancia 4-2 at half time and survived a fright as Numancia pulled to within one courtesy of a free kick just before the hour mark.
North Americans in Europe….
Canadian striker Olivier Occean saw a minimal amount of time in the recent World Cup qualifying games. However, he did score his tenth goal of the season at the weekend for his Norwegian club Lillestrom in a 1-1 draw against Molde. The draw leaves Lillestrom sitting third from the bottom of the league and in the last relegation spot with six games left. Molde are a spot above Lillestrom but only on goal difference.
Biggest Howlers……
Adebayor had a hat trick on Saturday but Stephen Warnock had a hat trick of errors. Poor marking allowed Adebayor goal side on the second goal; he then tripped Eboue and conceded a penalty; and completed his day by playing Adebayor onside.
I try to give officials the benefit of the doubt by Mark Halsey’s decision to send John Terry off was a mistake of Graham “Three Card Trick” Poll proportions. Carvalho was clearly behind Terry and Jo was well within his range. A case could be made that Terry’s action was cynical and deserving of a card. That may well be, but under the current rules and instructions it should have been a yellow card.
Stat facts.... Emmanuel Adebayor’s hat trick against Blackburn on Saturday brought his personal goal tally against Paul Robinson in Premiership play to 8 goals in six games. Adebayor has only been blanked once by Robinson and even then the Arsenal striker assisted on a goal from Thierry Henry in a 1-1 tie.
Paul Robinson has now conceded 37 goals in 13 Premiership starts against Arsenal. Saturday’s 4-0 loss was the seventh time that the former England number keeper has let in three or more goals when facing the Gunners.
Catania’s 2-1 away loss to Inter means that they have now gone 22 away games since their last away win in Serie A. During the run they have lost 15 of these games.
Rangers 2-1 win against Kilmarnock means that they have now won their last 16 SPL games played at Ibrox. The last time Rangers dropped points at home in the SPL was October 6, 2007 when they lost 1-0 to Hibernian.
What was said….
Bill Edgar proposes ten rule changes that he believes would improve the game. This article should generate a few posts I think.
Andy Hunter on the two demonstrations held by fans on Saturday.
Stewart Fisher catches up with former New England Revolution midfielder Andy Dorman who is one of the first names on the St. Mirren team sheet each week.
Aidan Smith looks at how some players are growing larger.
Coming up this week…..
The group stage of the Champions League starts as does the first round of the UEFA Cup. There is also a full Championship schedule midweek in England. Columbus Crew is at home to New York Red Bulls in Thursday night’s MLS game.
The inaugural CONCACAF Champions League group stage also starts on Tuesday with DC United at home to Deportivo Saprissa (Costa Rica). The following day Houston Dynamo entertain CD Luis Angel Firpo (El Salvador) and Montreal Impact hosts Joe Public (Trinidad and Tobago) the conquerors of New England Revolution.
Three Premiership games, one after another on Saturday, together with a Monday night game between Spurs and Aston Villa offers up what looks to be an intriguing round of games.
Liverpool vs. Manchester United
Manchester United have owned Liverpool over the last few Premiership seasons. Not only are United unbeaten in the last eight games (seven wins and a lone draw) against Liverpool they have only conceded a single goal in the process.
Liverpool’s poor record against Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea under Rafa Benitez has been much debated and discussed. The last Liverpool away win against one of the other members of the “Big Four” was back in the 2003/04 season B.R. (before Rafa) and their home record of 4 wins, 5 losses and three draws under Rafa is no great shakes either.
Liverpool’s two main attacking threats Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard are both very doubtful for the game. This leaves the possibility that summer signing Robbie Keane who has never scored in 17 Premiership appearances against United will carry the main responsibility for getting Liverpool on the score sheet.
Last season when with Spurs Keane finally scored against United in a 3-1 FA Cup loss, there could not be a better time than this Saturday for Keane to break his Premiership scoring duck against Manchester United.
Manchester City v Chelsea
This game might not have raised too many eyebrows even two weeks ago. But since the Abu Dhabi Group takeover and the signing of Robinho under Chelsea’s nose it has taken on a much higher profile and could perhaps even be regarded as a bit o####rudge match.
City’s record in this fixture is very poor with only one win and one draw in eleven home games against Chelsea. The win, however, was very significant in that it was Chelsea’s only defeat in their Championship season of 2004/05. The 1-0 win came off a Nicolas Anelka penalty and remains the only goal City have scored in the last dozen Premiership games against Chelsea.
It will be interesting to see how the City players react given that a good number may be pushed aside as plane loads of higher priced foreign talent seems set to arrive in the New Year.
Blackburn Rovers v Arsenal
Many fans would pick Blackburn out as being a bogey team for Arsenal – another would probably be Bolton. However, the statistics don’t seem to support that notion as far as the Rovers are concerned anyway.
Out of the twenty-eight games Blackburn has won seven and lost fourteen and have only beaten Arsenal once in their last ten league games. But Blackburn are also unbeaten at Ewood Park in 2008 having last lost a home league game in December 2007.
Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa
Last season’s meeting finished 4-4 and could have featured as a demonstration of how not to defend. Both teams scored a barrel load of goals last season (Spurs 66, Aston Villa 71) and there is hope that Monday’s game will serve up more than average.
Roman Pavyluchenko and Vedran Corluka are in line to debut for Spurs who need to adapt quickly to the loss of Berbatov and Keane in attack. It is indicative of the turnover at White Hart Lane that of the 16 players that featured in this game last season only six remain at the club.
Austria found a way to build on a better than expected European Championship (competitive without being threatening) by beating France 3-1. Ironically their next match is on Wednesday against Lithuania who also pulled of a fantastic result by beating Romani 3-0 in Bucharest.
Lithuania had lost the previous seven international matches versus Romania and this win is arguably the biggest in the country’s history. Lithuania have one won away from home on numerous occasions but none of the wins have come against a country of Romania’s calibre.
A huge 1-0 away win for Uruguay against Colombia. The Villarreal midfielder Sebastian Eguren scored in first 15 minutes as Uruguay leapfrogged Colombia. The win put Uruguay third on Saturday evening pending the Sunday match between Chile and Brazil.
Andy Murray’s four set win over Rafael Nadal at the USA Open. A fantastic match and I am in total awe of how hard these players hit the ball and how well they get around the court. Tennis is a game in which if you are not mentally strong you are nothing. It puts into perspective some of John Terry's comments about England's millionaires lacking confidence. Confidence comes from knowing that you can execute under pressure and that comes from exceptional technical skills that have been honed over time and perfected.
Way back in my teenage years tennis was one of my summer sports and I played poorly in a number of junior tournaments around Scotland. It wasn't until a few months ago that I found out that Andy Murray's mum is Judy (then) Erskine whose name I remember from that time as she played in a number of the same competitions.
Best forgotten…..
Yes it was a win but by any criteria it was a labored and uninspired performance by England that needed two second half goals from Joe Cole to see off Andorra 2-0 in Barcelona.
The first forty five minutes of the home game against Paraguay was a nightmare for Argentina. Carlos Tevez picked up his second red card of World Cup qualifying but this only served to increase Argentina’s problems. Full back Gabriel Heinze had already put through his own goal and injured goalkeeper Roberto Abbondanzieri in the process. The goalie had to be replaced and Heinze was substituted at the break. As it was a second half equalizer from Sergio Aguero salvaged a point.
Best goals….
Jason Garey had just set foot on the park and with his first touch he cushioned the ball and with his second he scored past Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis. It was the Columbus Crew’s third goal of the game in a match that would finish 4-0. It was the simplicity of the goal stood out. Chad Marshall broke up a Revolution attack in his own penalty area and played the ball forward. After a series of quick one touch passes the ball was played to the Crew’s Guillermo Barros Schelotto. As Schelotto attacked the Revolution defence Garey strayed offside forcing the Argentine to hold the ball. Eschewing an obvious pass out to the right Schelotto allowed Garey to get back onside before clipping a reverse pass to him. Garey did the rest.
A beautifully weighted pass from Cesc Fabregas was played through to Spain’s David Villa. His first touch took him wide and beyond the Bosnia goalkeeper but as the Valencia striker reached the ball it looked as if the final angle was too acute. Nevertheless despite being only a matter of inches from the byline Villa stroked the ball into the net to give Spain the win and to make up for a first half penalty that he had missed.
Best Players….
Antonio di Natale had a couple of goals on the opening day of Serie A last weekend and followed up with another pair, this time for Italy in a 2-1 away win to Cyprus. The second goal finished off a neat move involving Gilardino, Del Piero and Camoranesi and came in the 90th minute.
The Ramon Nunez playing for Honduras against Canada was unrecognizable as the player that formerly lined up for FC Dallas and Chivas USA in MLS. During the first hour Nunez was a bundle of energy, creativity and finishing. He was a source of discomfort to the Canadian midfield and scored twice in a ten minute period at the start of the second after Canada had led 1-0 at the break. The first goal he created from first running at the Canadian defence and moving the ball out to the left side. He then drifted towards the far post and unmarked gathered the return pass and slotted the ball home.
Austrian captain Andreas Ivanschitz set up the first two goals for his country through well delivered free kicks and he finished the job by scoring from the penalty spot to give Austria a 3-1 win over France.
Goal feast……
There were a total of twelve goals in the two CONCACAF Group 3 qualifying matches. Costa Rica thumped Suriname 7- 0 while El Salvador went nap on Haiti winning 5-0.
Biggest Howlers……
This one was not an on-field howler but well worth mentioning. Chivas goalkeeper Zack Thornton went down injured after a collision with Toronto FC’s Danny Dichio in the second half of Saturday’s MLS game. The referee called for the stretcher crew who then had to lift the 6’ 3” goalkeeper weighing a conservative 235 lbs. on to the carrier.
As the stretcher bearers turned at the corner flag it was patently obvious that Thornton’s attendants were struggling with their cargo. The camera then moved back to the action but only a few moments later CBC colour commentator and former Canadian captain Jas de Vos could not hold it in a moment longer.
Apparently the load had proved too much and the four man crew had dropped the Chivas keeper as they passed the bench area and it forced him to continue his trip to the dressing room under his own steam.
It was a miserable day for French central defender Philippe Mexes against Austria. France conceded two goals from free kicks played high into the penalty box and down the middle. The other came from a penalty conceded by Mexes as he dragged down Janko in full view of the referee. It was France’s first loss to Austria in nearly four decades.
New York Red Bulls’ Diego Jimenez sliced a clearance square across his own penalty area to a waiting Stephen King who scored the only goal of the game for Chicago Fire. I’m not sure what was more memorable – the awful clearance or match commentator Max Bretos who managed to work both “horror show” and “Stephen King” into the goal description.
Stat facts
Israel and Switzerland drew for the third straight game in World Cup qualifying. This time it was 2- 2 with Israel coming back from two goals down with 17 minutes to go. The Israeli fight back should have come as no surprise to the Swiss as four years ago Israel had to come from 2-1 down to draw. The Swiss also led 1-0 in the return game before giving up an equalizer.
It was France’s first loss to Austria in nearly 38 years.
WSC comments on this week's problems and departures at Newcastle and West Ham.
Simon Barnes tests his law – “anyone who buys a football club will end up looking an #### within a year and a bloody fool within two”.
Ian Plenderleithlooks at the opening of the NFL regular season and draws potential parallels with the Premiership.
Coming up this week…..
World Cup qualifiers continue with a more interesting schedule in Europe. Some of matches that catch the eye include: Portugal vs. Denmark; Russia vs. Wales (replay of Euro 2004 play off won by Russia); Turkey vs. Belgium; Croatia vs. England; France vs. Serbia; and surprisingly Lithuania vs. Austria.
