Milan, Real, and Fiorentina Defeated while Fabianski Mixes things up for Arsenal

Spreading out the Champions League was a masterstroke by UEFA, it has to be said, it not only allows  viewers to see all matches without having to fast-forward to the goals, but it allows SWU to cover it all more in depth.

AC Milan - Manchester United

What can only be described as a fantastic match of misses, AC Milan started fantastically with Ronaldinho scoring in the 3rd minute with a deflected shot from outside the small area, but then AC Milan wasted an excessive amount of chances. Everybody had great chances, especially AC Milan with Huntelaar, but they were sloppy in front of goal and did not capitalize, and eventually they were punished, an extremely lucky deflected shot by Scholes crept past Dida to make it 1-1. And in the second half, a Rooney double puts the game to bed, not much can be said, although Nesta and Thiago Silva were at fault for one of the goals, the English masterclass dragged United to the win. And when Leonardo tried to liven things up by putting in Seedorf, he was sluggish, and his only good feature was the backheel which brought the two teams closer. Although Carrick got sent off near the end and Inzaghi missed a chance to equalize late in the game, we saw AC Milan's age in the midfield, showing that they may be unprepared to push for the Champions League.

Lyon - Real Madrid

What can only be described as a fantastic upset, Real Madrid were baffled after the goal, and although tried to win, they were held by a tough Lyon team. The goal was fantastic, a rocket shot by Makoun flew into the top right corner, but Casillas' positioning was a bit suspect and things were made worse with the Madrid defense unable to stop Makoun. Pellegrini brought on Benzema to face his former team in the 64th minute replacing a tired Higuain, but the Frenchman's return to Lyon was ruined by a great goal by Makoun.

FC Porto - Arsenal

It must be said that Arsenal was heavily affected by Fabianski's performance, Arsenal's goalie was shocking. But the match was full of attacking football by both sides, Porto playing extremely well, and Arsenal showing signs of good play. Wenger started with Bendtner, and it made a difference, the striker had important chances and was a reference point for the gunners, but Porto gained the advantage after Varela crossed a low ball across the goal, and Fabianski pushes it into his own net. Arsenal drew back with a header off of a corner from Sol Campbell, but the biggest howler of them all, when Sol Campbell passes the ball back to Fabianski, the Arsenal goalie picks it up, causing an indirect free-kick. While him and Campbell are complaining, Porto takes the free kick instantaneously to slide a cheeky goal into the Arsenal net.

Bayern Munich - Fiorentina

An unjust goal which may put an end to Fiorentina's hopes to make it through this round, Bayern went ahead at the end of the first half after Robben tucked away a penalty, and Fiorentina equalized soon after with a corner, Kroldrup passing the ball in from the back post. But when Gobbi was sent off with a straight red, Fiorentina held on until the 89th minute, when a Klose from an offside position of at least a meter and a half, headed the ball in Fiorentina's goal. The offside was obvious, and Fiorentina will be rueing UEFA's anti technology rule.

What do you think of this Champions League action? Comment below!

Atletico Stun Barca and Inter Slips as Juventus Returns

A weekend with no English action, but there was plenty in the Spanish and Italian leagues.

Atletico Madrid - Barcelona

Atletico Madrid re-opened the title race after defeating Barcelona 2-1, Barcelona had a makeshift back four with Jeffren at right-back, Puyol and Milito center-backs, and Maxwell at left-back. Barca also suffered after Keita limped off being substituted by Pedro, Atletico ruthlessly pressured the Catalans, and when Reyes released Forland with a fantastic through ball, the Uruguayan striker slotted it past Valdes. When Aguero was also released 1 on 1 with Valdes, he didn't have the tenacity that Forlan did, Aguero wasted a perfect opportunity by trying to pass it to a teammate, which was intercepted. Simao doubled the lead after he curled a beautiful free kick past Valdes who took a step too much in the wrong direction, making him unable to reach the ball.  Ibrahimovic equalized for  Barcelona with a volley at the far post, and although Barca pressed for a draw, Atletico held on for a fantastic win.

In Spain, Real Madrid reduced the gap between them and Barcelona to two points after a comfortable win over Deportivo Xerez. Cristiano Ronaldo missed some great opportunites even though he scored two goals, Arbeloa started the scoring after sliding it into the goal after a dubious onside call. Cristiano Ronaldo doubled with a header and scored the third for Real after a blunder by the Xerez goalie. Villareal grab an important win against Athletic Bilbao, a 2-1 victory allows the yellow submarine to move up to ninth in the table.

In Italy, Milan, Juventus, and Roma all pull off wins, Milan beat Udinese 3-2 thanks to an inspiring Ronaldinho, Juventus beat Genoa 3-2 after what seemed like a dive from Del Piero for a late winning penalty, and Roma comfortably took care of Palermo 4-1 with two goals coming from a fantastic Brighi. Meanwhile, one of the best 0-0's all season took place in Naples, Napoli was able to hold off Inter, both teams hit the woodwork at least three times, lots of opportunities were wasted, and the two goalkeepers, Julio Cesar and De Sanctis were fantastic. Inter is only 7 points ahead of Roma, and 8 ahead of Milan which has a game in hand. It looks like the Serie A is really heating up and could easily re-open itself to a new winner.

What do you think of this week's soccer action? Comment below! 

EURO 2012 Qualifying Groups Drawn and Terry's England Captaincy Removed

While the whole John Terry Wayne Bridge controversy occurred in England, the EURO 2012 Poland-Ukraine qualifying groups were drawn. Some great looking groups, but controversy has been aroused about the draw being "rigged" so teams like Russia and Georgia wouldn't be drawn together. It seems that the whole Terry affair (no pun intended) has calmed down thanks to Capello's quick decision, the armband was taken away from Terry and given to the next in line, Ferdinand.

Here are the EURO 2012 qualifying groups:


Group A:
Germany
Turkey
Austria
Belgium
Kazakhstan
Azerbaijan

Group B:
Russia
Slovakia
Republic of Ireland
FYR Macedonia
Armenia
Andorra

Group C:
Italy
Serbia
Northern Ireland
Slovenia
Estonia
Faroe Islands

Group D:
France
Romania
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Belarus
Albania
Luxembourg

Group E:
Netherlands
Sweden
Finland
Hungary
Moldova
San Marino

Group F:
Croatia
Greece
Israel
Latvia
Georgia
Malta

Group G:
England
Switzerland
Bulgaria
Wales
Montenegro

Group H:
Portugal
Denmark
Norway
Cyprus
Iceland


Group I:
Spain
Czech Republic
Scotland
Lithuania
Lichtenstein

Bye to Finals (hosts):
Poland
Ukraine

Major League Wrap Up: Drogba Doubles Down to Pummel Arsenal

A weekend with great action, this could be the resurgence of Liverpool, and downfall of Arsenal, especially seeing that the two teams will play each other next week.

Chelsea - Arsenal


Drogba never misses a chance to destroy Arsenal, it doesn't matter that he has just come back from the African Cup of Nations, Didier rolls his sleeves up and provides us with two goals that could spell the end of the title challenge for Arsenal. Drogba's first goal was off a corner, John Terry gets to it first, and Drogba ghosts in at the back post for an easy tap in, but it was the second goal that highlighted what Arsenal is missing, a true striker. Drogba takes the ball on the right side of the area, turns two defenders inside out as he cuts in, and blasts the ball past Almunia with his left foot. A spectacular goal that highlights Arsenal's weakness. But the Drogba show wasn't over, near the end of the match, Drogba blasts a free kick into the crossbar which is still shaking, and Almunia hadn't taken a step until the defense cleared the ball. Arsenal had few chances, with Arshavin either missing most of them, or being stopped by a phenomenal Cech, but it seemed like all Chelsea needed on the field to defeat Arsenal  was Cech and Drogba.
Final score 2-0

In England, the Merseyside derby was intense and full of fouls, but Liverpool did what it needed to do and came out with a 1-0 win thanks to a headed effort off a corner by Kuyt, putting the reds in fourth place. Tottenham and Aston Villa drew 0-0, and so did Bolton and Fulham, while Sunderland and Wigan drew 1-1. Hull City defeated Manchester City 2-1 after a goal by the american Jozy Altidore, and a rocket volley by Boateng, and although Adebayor scored with a tap in off a corner, and Vieira made his debut for Manchester City, they were disorganized, spraying passes everywhere without precision. Manchester United seem to have lost all their troubles thanks to a 5-0 win against Portsmouth where the Portsmouth defenders scored three own goals to help United keep the pressure on Chelsea for the title race.

In Italy, Juventus have dropped down to seventh after an extremely disappointing 1-1 draw with Livorno, with Felipe Melo being sent off, it doesn't seem like Juve will pick itself up anytime soon. Not only did Juventus slow down their challenge against Inter, but AC Milan drew 0-0 against Bologna, even though Milan had 17 shots, only four were on goal, with Ronaldinho skimming the crossbar. A team which has picked itself up is Roma, even though they were outplayed for most of the game against Fiorentina, they were still able to snag a 1-0 victory which raises them up to second, only 8 points away from Inter. Inter Milan instead continue their dominance with a fantastic 3-0 victory over Cagliari, Pandev played a spectacular game scoring and creating, Inter dominated, and they didn't even have their creative player, Sneijder.

In Spain, Valencia continue to march on thanks to a 2-0 victory over Real Valladolid, the young prospect Banega scored with a long range effort along with a bullett header by the unstoppable David Villa, this puts them in a solid third position, 8 points away from Real Madrid. Mallorca remain fourth thanks to a 1-0 victory over the ever-sinking Villareal, and Sevilla are fifth after losing to Real Zaragoza 2-1, Contini scored for Zaragoza, but Kanoute equalized minutes after, then Negredo scored an own goal, lowering Sevilla out of the Champions League spots. Barcelona won 2-1 against Getafe, Messi scored in the 7th minute making it seem all simple and easy for the Spanish champions, but when Pique was sent off in the 26th, Barcelona had to make sure they could hold on. Xavi scored another one in the 67th minute, but in the 90th, Soldado scored a penalty and Marquez was sent off, leaving Barca without two important defensive players for their next match against Atletico Madrid. Real Madrid won 3-0 against Espanyol with Kaka' scoring to end his barren run without goals, Ramos scored in the fifth with a header, then Kaka' followed and finally Higuain scored in the 90th minute, keeping los blancos within five points of the Catalan giants.



Just a quick question for the gooners who are disappointed with Wenger, if insanity is repetition of the same action expecting a different result, could we say that Arsene has finally lost it with his beautiful football? What do you think? Comment below!