Cavani Double Lifts Napoli Above Manchester City

Cavani's precise headed goal from a corner.

Edinson Cavani punished Manchester City in the penultimate round of Champions League group stage games, scoring a double in the Italian side's 2-1 victory. As Bayern Munich sealed the first place of the group mathematically, now Manchester City must hope that Villarreal (last placed in the group with zero points) can hold Napoli at bay while Mancini's men try and defeat Bayern Munich. While Manchester City's Champions League dream could be coming to an end, Napoli's is only beginning.

At the filled San Paolo stadium in Napoli, it was Edinson Cavani who cruelly punished Manchester City's defensive mistakes. The Uruguayan forward gave the Italian side the lead with a delicately flicked header at the near post, which slipped through into City's net. A simple lapse of concentration by Manchester City's defence lead to Napoli getting the lead in the 18th minute, forcing City to chase the game away from home.

Cavani celebrating after scoring his second and the winner.

While Balotelli managed to tap-in an equalizer after David Silva's parried shot, Manchester City were still under the spell of the 57,000 Napoli fans at the San Paolo. In the second half Cavani enchanted his fans yet again with another bit of magic. The Uruguayan was completely unmarked as he ran into the box to coolly finish Dossena's low cross. For the second time the crowd went wild, as did the overjoyed Cavani who ran around in celebration.

While there were plenty of chances in the remainder of the second half, neither side managed to capitalize. Balotelli and his teammates were constantly being stopped by Napoli's keeper De Sanctis, and Joe Hart made key interventions on the other side of the pitch against Lavezzi and Maggio. The match finished 2-1 for Napoli, and while Manchester City created plenty, their inability to finish and their defensive lapses ultimately punished them.


What are your thoughts on this key Champions League match? Can Manchester City qualify for the next round? Share your comments below!

El-Hadji Diouf Signs for Doncaster Rovers

Controversial striker El-Hadji Diouf has dropped down to the Championship to join Doncaster Rovers on a three-month deal. The move is still to be rubber-stamped but the Senegalese player has decided to sign for Dean Saunders’ Yorkshire outfit after being released by Blackburn in the summer. The two-time African Footballer of the Year is well known in these parts after spells with Liverpool, Bolton, Sunderland and Rangers and he has, of course, been in his fair share of trouble.

In September 2003, Diouf was fined £5,000 and pleaded guilty to spitting at Celtic fans in a Uefa Cup quarter-final the previous March and in six years later, he was questioned by police over allegations he racially abused a ball-boy at Everton. In truth, that isn’t even the half of it but whether you like him or not, he has undoubted quality – of that there is no doubt. The majority of soccer betting will agree with this. 

However, you can’t deny that controversy follows Diouf wherever he roams and an adverse reaction from West Ham supporters is thought to be one of the main reasons why Hammers chief Sam Allardyce opted against signing him recently. It would have been the third time that Allardyce had worked with the 30-year-old but after he had a short trial spell at Upton Park recently, it seems that fan power won the day and Doncaster nipped in to agree a deal with Diouf. They have handed the man who commanded a £10million transfer fee when he joined Liverpool from Lens a short-term contract.

Saunders has already shown that he’s not afraid to take a gamble on Premier League experience with the acquisition of ex-Spurs defender Pascal Chimbonda, and the Welsh boss – who himself only moved to the Keepmoat Stadium earlier this season from Wrexham – will be hoping that another proven performer can help Rovers climb the Championship table. He will, however, be banking on the Diouf experiment lasting a shade longer than Chris Kirkland’s recent spell at Doncaster, when the injury-prone goalkeeper picked up a back spasm – cutting his loan move from Wigan short after less than a week.

As always with Diouf, it promises to be interesting. For Doncaster as a whole, they certainly need a lift after a poor start to the Championship campaign. They currently sit 23rd in the table after securing only two victories so far this season. They have also only scored nine goals in fourteen games, a very poor return indeed. So, even though Diouf is somewhat of a risk, they will hope that he can provide the spark to improve their fortunes in front of goal. He will get his first chance to impress at home to promotion chasing Middlesbrough tomorrow evening.


What are your thoughts on Diouf's move to the Championship? Will Doncaster succeed with this strange signing? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Limitless Lazio Prospers With Klose's Goals

In the past, Lazio have always been lacking the final step to reach the "big" Serie A clubs. While the club has always been competitive under Claudio Lotito's control, they have never managed to push into the highest echelon of Italian football/soccer. Yet this season it seems that Lotito has created the perfect team. With the two brilliant signings of Djibril Cisse and Miroslav Klose, Lazio has now become a side which looks ready to compete for the scudetto.

It has been the former Bayern Munich striker, Klose, who has truly prospered at his new club. His six goals in the Serie A campaign have allowed Lazio to rise into third place, just one point from the top of the table. His latest goal was in this weekend's 3-0 away victory over Cagliari, a well placed diving header. It was Djibril Cisse who provided Klose the perfect cross, and the two forwards have shown fantastic chemistry throughout the entire season.

This weekend's victory was Lazio's fifth of the season, and it maintains their unbeatable away record. While Lazio suffered a loss at home early in the season to Genoa, after that Edy Reja's team has had few problems. A 2-2 draw away against AC Milan, and the 2-1 victory (Klose scoring the late winner in the final minutes) in the Rome derby over Roma show that this team is prepared to compete with the greatest of the Serie A.

Klose's diving header to make it 2-0 for Lazio away at Cagliari.

Next week Lazio will have to travel to face Napoli in one of the biggest tests of the season. It is important that Reja manages to strengthen his defence, as Napoli's trio of Lavezzi, Hamsik and Cavani have few problems creating goals. Of course, for Lazio we'll see Klose and Cisse up front with the trequartista Hernanes behind them.

It is going to be a massive clash, as both managers are astute tacticians and will have to find ways to shut the other side's forwards down. Yet Klose has shown that it's almost impossible to keep him quiet, as his movement and experience tears through defences. The German has been impeccable in front of goal, and he has propelled Lazio into third place. Whether or not his great scoring form will continue into next week at Napoli's San Paolo stadium, we'll just have to wait and see.


What are your thoughts on Klose's magnificent form in Serie A? Can he lead Lazio to victory over Napoli next week? Can Lazio push for the scudetto? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Mario Balotelli "is an enigma" says David Platt

Manchester City manager David Platt has spoken positively of Mario Balotelli’s behaviour off the pitch, describing him as an ‘enigma’ and praising his improved maturity. The Italian striker was in fine form at the weekend, scoring two goals as City hammered Manchester United 6-1 at Old Trafford, and he has certainly appeared to be more consistent at the start of this campaign.

 Referring to the much talked about 21-year-old, Platt said:

“I don't think he is a difficult player to manage. He is not someone who sulks. People saw his talent but they perhaps saw it in fleeting moments last season. His behaviour has always been good but there have been too many ups and downs in terms of his concentration levels. But they are there and have been for a good two to three months now. He will lose concentration but you can snap him back out of it. He is never down for a week - it is 10 seconds and then he is out of it.”

Platt finished off by saying, “He is an enigma”.

There is no doubting Balotelli is having a positive influence over City right now two. He played a starring role at Old Trafford of course, but he has scored four other goals so far this season and is a very important part of Roberto Mancini’s plans. He is a fan favourite as well. After opening the scoring at Manchester United, he revealed a t-shirt saying "Why always me?" and plenty have been bought by City fans to pay tribute to one of their newest heroes.

As for Mancini’e men as a whole, they will be very pleased with life right now. Many people with betting money have them down as favourites to win the title. Their derby victory at Old Trafford was a significant turning point in their rivalry with Manchester United. Of course, many sporting tips are saying that the race is far from over – there are only five points between them and second place after all – but there is no doubt whatsoever that City are showing signs of being a major force in world football over the next few years.

Next up for Manchester City and Balotelli is a Carling Cup tie against Wolves. Whether the Italian forward will be able to produce his magic again, we'll have to wait and see.

What are your thoughts on Balotelli and his growing role at Manchester City? Still a child or finally matured? Share your thoughts in the comments below!