This weekend was filled with cup action in England, allowing footy fans to watch leagues from around the world. And the only Premiership match that took place was one in which an American scored, hoping that Donovan can continue with Everton.
In England, Everton - Hull City finished 5-1 for the toffees, Arteta netted two, with Donovan scoring one and giving a great assist for Rodwell. Hull scored with Cairney, but Garcia put one past Myhill in an unlucky own goal created by Arteta. The other Premiership fixture was Wigan - Liverpool which finished Wigan 1 Liverpool 0, Torres missed great chances, and eventually Rodallega put one away to make sure that Wigan stay firmly out of the relegation zone.
Roma - AC Milan
Both teams were desperate to gain some points, but in the end they basically cancelled each other out, Roma started with vigour, Julio Baptista shot a rocket in the first ten minutes which swerved towards the top right corner, only to be saved by a brilliant Abbiati. But after their strong start, Roma lost their pace, and Milan started to grow in confidence, raising the tempo of the match which hurt the tired Roma side. Vucinic tried to make the difference but AC Milan was the dominant force throughout the rest of the match, and although they didn't capitalize on their chances, Milan look ready to face Manchester United in midweek.
In Italy, Juventus continue their chase for Champions League football after defeating Fiorentina 2-1, a great goal by Diego, rounding Frey to tap it in, and a powerful close range shot by Grosso let Juventus push for the fourth spot. Inter Milan were held to a 0-0 draw by Genoa, Balotelli started, and disappointed, the youngster slowed down the tempo of the game constantly diving and attracting fouls, and eventually when he was actually fouled in the box, the ref refused to acknowledge it, thinking of it as another dive. Sampdoria came back to win 2-1 against an everfalling Lazio, Floccari started the scoring, but a rocket by Guberti, and a goal by Pazzini helped Sampdoria claim three important points.
In Spain, Real Madrid latch onto Barcelona after an epic 3-2 comeback against Sevilla, Real went two down after Xabi Alonso netted an unfortunate own goal, and Dragutinovic scored, seemingly giving Sevilla the win. But in four minutes Real Madrid were level, Cristiano Ronaldo scored the first in the 60th with Sergio Ramos following in the 64th. Then it was super-sub Van der Vaart who was able to squeeze the ball past Palop in the 93rd minute who gave his side a fantastic win. Barcelona had a slip rarely seen, away to Almeria Barcelona drew 2-2, Domingo Cisma gave Almeria the lead in the 12th minute, but Messi equalized twice after Puyol let in an own goal. One goal was a beautiful free kick by the Argentinian, just a half step, and the chip swerved beautifully into the back of the net, but what probably stopped Barcelona from winning was Ibrahimovic's direct red card in the 61st, leaving Barcelona to watch Real Madrid latch onto them at the top of the table.
What do you think of this week's action? Comment below!
