Roma only a point away from top and Real win Madrid Derby

Two epic matches this weekend which help shape the future of their leagues, not only this, but the so-called smaller matches also provide an insight to maybe how positions will shift in the table...

Roma - Inter Milan


This match was being described as the biggest match of the year in Italian press, and although 2-1 may seem like a rather dull score-line, it was full of action. Roma started firing on all cylinders, and in the 17th minute, Julio Cesar fumbles a simple catch and De Rossi is able to nip in with his toe to claim the first. With spirits high, Roma went on to play well, but Inter grew with time, not only did Samuel hit the crossbar, but Eto'o scuffed a couple of chances, and Diego Milito forced a great save from Julio Sergio. After halftime, Inter found the equalizer with Diego Milito slapping in a close cross from Sneijder, but just about 5 minutes later, Toni was left unmarked at the top of the box, and the striker turned and struck the ball into the bottom right corner, giving Roma the winner. But Inter came close with their final attacks, so close that Diego Milito even volleyed the ball at close range right into the post, and although Roma won, Inter had more chances which they didn't put away. This win re-opens the Serie A with Roma just one point away from the nerazzurri, hopefully making for a tight finish at the end of the season.

Real Madrid - Atletico Madrid


A fantastic must-win derby for Real Madrid ended up 3-2 for Los Blancos, things were looking good for Atleti when Reyes scored a precision shot which snuck past Casillas from outside of the box. It took Real the rest of the half to get in the game, and after the interval Xabi Alonso tapped one in from the back post, then Arbeloa finished one after some great dribbling, and Higuain took advantage of mistakes made from Atletico's defense, completing the comeback. Although it seemed like Atletico's night after a wonderful blocked shot off the line from Higuain, Forlan's goal from the penalty spot wasn't enough to spur Atletico Madrid for the final comeback, letting Real Madrid keep up with Barcelona.

In England,  Chelsea had no trouble at all with Aston Villa, an easy 7-1 win at Stamford Bridge was marked by a Lampard poker (two penalties), two goals from Malouda, and one from Kalou. Manchester United keep their title push strong against Bolton Wanderers pulling off a 4-0 win without Rooney, Berbatov scored two, Gibson one, and Samuel scored an own goal. The gunners were halted in their race for first after getting a 1-1 draw with Birmingham, a late goal from subbed on Nasri seemed the clincher, but Philips equalized in the last minutes making it 1-1. Liverpool got a comfy 3-0 win over Sunderland, a must-see wondergoal from Torres started the scoring, the Spaniard dribbled through the left flank then lashed out a shot which looped over Gordon, a sure contender for goal of the season. Johnson soon followed with a deflected effort from outside the box, and Torres scored another after scrambling an elegant finish to make it 3-0 for the reds.

In Italy, AC Milan failed to capitalize on Inter's slip, a 1-1 draw against Lazio was all they could manage, Borriello put them in front with a penalty, but Lichtsteiner equalized soon after giving Lazio an important point. Fiorentina got a great 4-1 win over Udinese, at halftime it seemed all equal after a goal from Vargas and one from Pepe, but Fiorentina came back rejuvenated after the half, first Gilardino, then Santana, and finally Jovetic completed the extravagant win for the Viola.

Diogo celebrating his goal for Zaragoza

In Spain, Villareal move up the table after a 3-0 win over Sevilla, the two teams are now just 5 points apart, and it seems like Sevilla's push for Champions League football is weakening. Rossi started the scoring, and Llorente followed up soon after, both of them fed by Nilmar. Pires put the icing on the cake after being subbed on with a sublime finish past Palop, giving Villareal three important points. Real Zaragoza complete a difficult feat, a 3-0 win over Valencia which was spurred thanks to goals from Diogo, Arizmendi, Jarosik, and Zigic's expulsion, Valencia will be trying to prepare themselves after this bad defeat for Atletico Madrid in the Europa league this wednesday. Barcelona pull off a 1-0 win over Mallorca thanks to Ibrahimovic (or as I like to say: Zibra), the Swede tapped the winner in after Puyol had his effort saved from Aouate. But the biggest news won't be about Zibra, it'll be about Iniesta being out for the Champions League fixture against Arsenal, surely the first leg, and probably the second.

What do you think of this week's action? Will Iniesta's injury hurt Barca in their push for the Champions League? Comment below!

Messi gets another hat-trick and Manchester United beat Liverpool 2-1

This week was massive in La Liga and the Premiership, Serie A not so much due to AC Milan's inability to take 1st place, and while Real and Barcelona continue to be tied, Manchester United are looking to get their fourth Premier League title in a row.

Manchester United - Liverpool


A match which could've propelled Liverpool closer towards fourth place, and it seemed like they would be able to after Fernando Torres scored a great header in the 5th minute, helping Liverpool take the lead at Old Trafford. This didn't last long as Valencia tried to dribble around a physical Mascherano, Valencia goes down and Howard Webb sees it as a penalty. Rooney steps up only to have it saved, but the Englishman quickly tucked away the rebound, tying things up for Manchester United. After the interval, Manchester United came out with more attacking conviction, and eventually in the 60th minute, Darren Fletcher was able to strike a cross which Ji-Sung Park performed a Gullitt like diving header for the winner. Giggs makes his return, securing the squad, and while Sir Alex celebrates his two point lead at the top, Rafa Benitez complains about Manchester United's penalty.

In England, Chelsea continue their slump of poor results after a 1-1 draw away against Blackburn Rovers, everything seemed fine when after just 6 minutes Drogba scored, but Chelsea's diamond formation lacked width and eventually led to El-Hadj Diouf score the equalizer. Manchester City find some good form after a 2-1 win over Fulham, City was leading after 7 minutes with Santa Cruz's tap in, and then Tevez doubled the scoreline. Fulham came back with Murphy scoring a penalty, and the final minutes of the match were a bit too tense for a City that should've taken more chances. Tottenham stay in fourth spot after a great win against Stoke City, Gudjohnsen volleyed in the first in the 46th after replacing Pavlyuchenko, Stoke had Whitehead sent off, but they equalized with Etherington's penalty. Gudjohnsen created the winner for Kranjcar who lashed the ball into the back of the net, keeping the Spurs in a Champions League spot by two points. Portsmouth pull of a fantastic 3-2 win over Hull City, being 2-1 down in the 88th, Pompy had O'Hara curl in a fantastic free kick, and a minute later Kanu scored an epic winner for Portsmouth who are bottom with 13 points.

In Spain, Real Madrid came back to win 3-1 against Sporting Gijon, first Barral scored putting Gijon in front, but after Van der Vaart tapped in Ronaldo's saved free kick, and Xabi Alonso headed in the second, and Higuain slotted a good finish in, the match seemed finished. Mallorca keep their bid for Champions League football strong after a 4-1 win over Atletico Madrid, Atleti had Raul Garcia sent off, and Perea scored an own goal, making the match impossible to win. Valencia pulled off a 2-0 win over Almeria thanks to David Silva's genius, first the Spaniard created Mata's goal, then scored from the ground his own, keeping Valencia four points away from Mallorca. Three more fantastic goals came from Lionel Messi in Barcelona's 4-2 win away at Real Zaragoza, Messi has scored 11 in his last 5 matches, but Messi's three goals were almost challenged by Colunga. Colunga scored two in the 85th and the 89th, possibly preparing Zaragoza for a fantastic comeback, but Ibrahimovic netted a penalty in the dying minutes of the match to put the result in the bag for Barca.

In Italy, Cassano returns to his great former self after scoring a fantastic chip over Juventus' keeper Chimenti to allow Sampdoria to defeat Juventus 1-0, and the two revelations of the season, Bari and Parma, played each other and finished 1-1. Inter Milan drew 1-1 against Palermo, giving AC Milan a chance to take the top spot, but the rossoneri were only able to draw 1-1 with Napoli. The team which benefited the most from Inter's slip was Roma which won 4-2 against Udinese, a fantastic Vucinic hat trick along with a goal from Toni helped bring Inter only four points away, and next weekend they could bring the deficit to one as they'll play Inter Milan at the Stadio Olimpico.

What do you think about this weekend's results? Comment below!

Champions League Draw sees Arsenal-Barca, Manchester United-Bayern Munich, and more

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The UEFA Champions League draw took place for the quarter finals, and it seems to really be heating up thanks to some fantastic matches that will be played.

Here is the draw in their semi-final brackets:

Lyon - Bordeaux


Bayern Munich - Manchester United 

and

Arsenal - Barcelona


Inter Milan - CSKA Moskva


The semi-finals could look something like Manchester United - Lyon, and Inter Milan - Barcelona, but as we know from European football, anything is possible.

What do you think of the quarter final draw? Who do you think can go all the way to the final? Comment below!

Fantastic Fulham Knock Juve out, and Liverpool Pummel Lille

The Europa League has no trouble making itself known, with some fantastic results and upsets, it really seems to be heating up in the race for the cup.

Hamburger get past Anderlecht with a fantastic aggregate scoreline of 6-5 in favour to the Germans.

Wolfsburg are able to go through against Rubin Kazan, a 2-1 win at home in extra time helped clinch the next round.

Atletico Madrid go through on away goals, after a tense 0-0 at home, Atletico were able to get a 2-2 draw in Lisbon and go through on away goals.

Liverpool have no trouble with Lille, after a disappointing 1-0 defeat, the reds unleashed a 3-0 win at Anfield with two from Torres, and one from Gerrard.

Benfica slip through Olympique Marseille with a 3-2 aggregate scoreline, and Standard Liege have little difficulty with Panathinaikos, getting a 4-1 aggregate scoreline.

Fulham pull off a fantastic comeback, after losing 3-1 in Turin, they went back to Craven Cottage and won 4-1, with a beautiful goal by Dempsey who chipped it into the top left corner, helping Fulham go through with 5-4 on aggregate.

Valencia and Werder Bremen fight one of the best games of the season, a 4-4 draw which was preceded by a 1-1 draw let the Spaniards go through on away goals, David Villa got a hat trick, reminding us all that he could be one to look out for in the upcoming World Cup.

What do you think of the Europa League results? Comment below!