The Best…..

Some may focus on a sub-par performance from Manchester United but nonetheless Sunderland played some very good soccer on Saturday at Old Trafford. They moved the ball nicely with an impressive midfield of Malbranque (my man-of the-match), Cana, Cattermole and Reid doing the spade work. With Bent and Jones meshing nicely up front this Sunderland should have no trouble finishing in the top half of the Premier League this season.

Didier Drogba was the difference once again for Chelsea. His delivery from the left to Nicolas Anelka for the opener against Liverpool was exquisite. Two weeks he did the same from the right side to set up Ashley Cole.

Palermo inflicted a first Serie A loss on Juventus by a score of 2-0 and it could have been a lot worse. The Sicilian club entered the game with only one win in six games but they controlled the match for long periods.

The highlight was the second goal. It was a product of a beautifully timed run by Simplicio when he got on the end of a free kick delivered by Fabricio Miccoli. It was only the third time that Palermo has scored more than one goal in a Serie A game against Juventus at home. The others time were 1949 and last season.

The Sevilla - Real Madrid was a fantastic spectacle. Both teams were committed to attack and there were some great individual performances. Casillas had two of the best saves you are ever likely to see. 

The second was a point blank effort from Perotti after he had been played in at the back post. Immediately Real went up the field and equalized. However, Sevilla was not to be denied and the winner came from a right wing cross which was not unexpected given that Adriano and Navas had led the left side of the Real defence a merry dance all game.

I doubt many Spurs supporters would recognize the Didier Zokora who is playing for Sevilla. Zokora spent most of his time at White Hart Lane showing all the composure of a headless chicken. At Sevilla his positional play is much improved as his composure on the ball.

Honorable mentions...

A well worked goal by Bolton gave them a 2-1 lead against Tottenham Hotspur. Kevin Davies scored the goal but the lead up work was excellent. Tamir Cohen gives Bolton a penalty box threat from midfield, much like Stelios did some seasons back.  

Six goals from Arsenal will get the headlines but Paul Robinson deserves credit for keeping the score down to half a dozen. Robinson has now conceded 47 goals in 15 matches against Arsenal but on Sunday he kept Arsenal’s tally in single digits.

Sidney Govou opener for Lyon against Lens was an absolute cracker and well done to the ****istant who correctly judged the ball to have crossed the line after rebounding from the underside of the crossbar.

An impudent effort from Dimitri Payet sealed a 3-1 win for St. Etienne over previously unbeaten Bordeaux.

Best forgotten…..

Has anyone ever been presented with two worse job offers in the space of only a couple of days than Gary McAllister? Last week he turned down a chance to join the coaching staff of Scotland and then Portsmouth.

A major faux-pas by AZ Alkmaar in their Champions league match versus Standard Liege. Sitting on a 1-0 lead with added time being played AZ backed off on m**** and allowed the Liege keeper to move from his own penalty area to just his own side of half way.

Sinan Bolat was then able to launch the ball into the heart of the AZ penalty box and a poor defensive header only compounded the problem. Eventually Traore latched on to the loose ball and Liege secured a point.

Last Sunday Milan was extremely fortunate to escape with a draw against newly promoted Bari. Things only got worse on Wednesday when they lost at the San Siro to Swiss champions FC Zurich 1-0.

And on Sunday it took a goal with seven minutes remaining from Ronaldinho to grab a point against an Atalanta side that has yet to win a Serie A game this season and that had to play for over half the match with ten-men after Radovanovic was sent off.

Stat facts…..

On Wednesday Raúl  broke Manuel Sanchís's appearance record for Real Madrid. Raul recorded his 709th competitive match against Olympique de Marseille.

The Columbus Crew’s unbeaten streak at Crew Stadium came to an end with a 1-0 loss to the Seattle Sounders on Saturday. It was their first loss at home since San Jose won in June of last year. Since the Crew had won 16 games and drawn six.

The Times looks for reasons as to why we are seeing more goals in the Premiership. Unfortunately they give close to negligible coverage to the main driver of the increase.

After Sunday’s results there has been an increase in scoring of 22% compared to all of last season. However, the scoring rate of Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea combined is up 44% leaving the other 16 teams with an increase of only11% or around one goal more every nine games.

When Kharja opened the scoring for Genoa against Bologna from the penalty spot it was the fifth such kick awarded to Genoa in Serie A. In seven games so far they have been successful from the spot four times while missing the other against Chievo. Kharja’s opener set up a 3-1 win and it was only the third time that Genoa has won a Serie A game away to Bologna.

What was said….

This is a podcast from CBC radio’s Q and the first segment includes their Monday sports panel discussing the thirty anniversary of ESPN and the impact the station has had on sports.

James Calder with a very intriguing thought on how the Champions League may change.  

A report states that the Real Madrid business model is not sustainable.

Simon Kuper on athletes and fans growing old.

Coming up this week…..

With World Cup qualifiers set for next weekend there is not much on the calendar this week.

Tomorrow Manchester City plays Aston Villa. There is the round of 16 at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Egypt. On Wednesday FC Dallas visits the San Jose Earthquakes in MLS.

A Thank You…

I was privileged to be the guest speaker at the 100th anniversary dinner of United Weston (a local Winnipeg team with a storied history) on Saturday night. Former players traveled from all areas of the country to attend the event which was well attended and flawlessly organized.