The John Terry scandal has probably affected Terry's playing much more
than anyone thought it to, and maybe this weekend he was feeling some
guilt for his former England teammate Wayne Beidge who refused to
shake Terry's hand. Not only this, but it seems that Manchester United
have no trouble winning thanks to their wonderboy Rooney who helped
them win the Carling Cup over Aston Villa.
Manchester City - Chelsea
It seemed that Roberto Mancini's pretty scarf was getting tighter and
tighter around his neck as results didn't go his way and may City
supporters accused him of being too defensive, but a fantastic victory
against Chelsea will surely help his team bounce back, possibly into
fourth place. Lampard started the scoring after a great finish after
being given too much space for the shot, it seemed routine stuff for
Chelsea until Tevez caught them on a break, he quickly baffled a
distracted Terry to slide in a cool finish past Cech. Bellamy put City
ahead soon after, wig lots of space on the left wing, Bellamy slid the
ball past Cech at a tight angle, crushing Chelsea's hopes of hanging
on. Belletti was sent off after a push on Gareth Barry in the box,
giving Manchester City a penalty that Tevez had no trouble with, and
not long after, the scoreline read 4-1 as Bellamy tapped in another
after City caught Chelsea's defense on a break again. Lampard put away
a late penalty, but it was too little too late, a fantastic
performance by Manchester City which certainly gave Wayne Bridge
something to smile about.
Final score: 2-4
Udinese - Inter Milan
Inter have little difficulty getting past Udinese 3-2, Pepe started the scoring after a great pass by Di Natale released him 1 on 1 with Julio Cesar in the 2nd minute, but three minutes later, Balotelli scored an unsavable volley rocket, making it all tied. Maicon then marauded onto a flick by Pandev sending a screaming volley into the top corner, and soon after a glancing flick of the head by Milito put Inter in front before the half. Udinese pulled one back with a penalty from Di Natale, and although they pushed for a draw, Inter held on to continue their dominance in Italy.
In Italy, Juventus lost to Palermo 2-0, the bianconeri pushed in the first half but were crushed after a fantastic goal by Miccoli, and then a fatal error by Grygera left Budan to score the second on an empty net. Genoa lost 4-3 to Bologna, and Chievo snatched a win against Cagliari, 2-1. Napoli and Roma drew 2-2 after Hamsik scored a late equalizer and AC Milan remain close to Inter after their win against Atlanta.
In Spain, Real Madrid continue their fantastic goal-scoring run after beating Tenerife 5-1, Tene were great defensively but eventually crumbled when Higuain scored two, Kaka followed, then Cristiano Ronaldo and Raul. Barcelona kept their distance from Real after a much fought for 2-1 win over Malaga, Pedro scored after a long range effort in the 69th minute, but Valdo equalized in the 81st, Malaga were close to completing the fabled deed of a draw when Messi got the winner keeping Barcelona three points ahead of Real Madrid. Atletico Madrid got a great win over Valencia, they won 4-1 and Valencia had two men sent off in the match.
In England, Tottenham beat Everton 2-1, after the Russian Pavlyuchenko put them in front in the 11th minute, Modric scored a beautiful goal, a great shot that hit the crossbar and went in out of the reach of Tim Howard. Yakubu pulled one back, and Landon Donovan missed an open goal to give Tottenham the win. Liverpool beat Blackburn Rovers after two goals from their most important players, Gerrard and Torres, who both seem to be returning to some good form, and Arsenal beat Stoke 3-1. Some terrible news though for the gunners, Ryan Shawcross who was recently called up for an England friendly against Egypt entered on a fifty-fifty ball along with Aaron Ramsey, subsequently injuring Ramsey. It is unsure how long Ramsey will be out, but it could easily be for the rest of the season.
What do you think of this week's action? Comment below!
