Wayne Rooney's Magical Goal Wins Manchester Derby 2-1

Is Rooney finally at peace with himself?

Watching Manchester City this season, they've grown on me. They aren't the most likeable of clubs, yet somehow they have an amiable feel about them.

Maybe it's because they make everything more interesting, with their big spending accompanied by big aspirations. At least, that's what they were supposed to do this weekend. They were supposed to make the Premier League a little more interesting in this Manchester derby, with many fans willing Roberto Mancini's side to dish Manchester United their second defeat of the season.

While Manchester City went to Old Trafford with a relatively attacking mentality, it was Manchester United which claimed the Manchester derby. While Manchester United won, Manchester City were probably the more convincing of the two sides, with a historic goal winning the game for Manchester United.

In the first minutes, Manchester City created some great chances, with the Old Trafford crowd holding its breath too often for their tastes. United held out well, and before halftime they found the lead. Nani was quickly played through the City defence, and Pablo Zabaleta let the winger slip by and finish past Joe Hart. This first goal can almost be wholly attributed to Zabaleta's poor positioning and defending. The left-back didn't come back to form a rigid defensive line, instead he left a hole for Manchester United to exploit. From there, he gave Nani a free run towards goal, not covering Manchester United's Portuguese star.

The first half came to a close with a dominant Manchester City held back by poor incisiveness in front of goal and a defensive lapse of concentration.

In the second half, Manchester United are barely competent, doing their best to hold off Manchester City's constant forward pushing. Carlos Tevez, David Silva, Yaya Toure, and surprisingly, Micah Richards, were all fantastic in combining to create chances. The 22 year-old full-back was solid offensively and defensively, always first to the ball and covering the right flank with endless running.

In the 65th minute Manchester City's efforts are repaid with a goal. Subsitute Shaun Wright-Phillips crossing low from the right wing for Edin Dzeko in the middle. The Bosnian shoots towards the right hand post, but the shot deflects off David Silva's back, leaving Van der Sar to watch the ball spiral into the left side of his net.

After the equalizer, Manchester City realize that they could win the derby with a bit more persistence. Mancini's side puts Manchester United under heavy pressure, forcing Van der Sar to make an outstanding save and Vidic to make some breathtaking interventions.

Yet somehow, this unconvincing Manchester United found the winner. Manchester United widened the field, giving the ball to Nani who crosses a high looping ball towards the middle of the box. Rooney has a bit of space around him, and produces a magnificent overhead kick, with the ball flying into the top right corner. Certainly a contender for "Goal of the Season", and the goal could easily win the 2011 FIFA Puskas award.

Wayne Rooney's spectacular winner

With this 2-1 victory, Manchester United overcome last weekend's loss to Wolves with a historic derby win. This unconvincing Manchester United side has been saved by Wayne Rooney and his fantastic goal. Roberto Mancini has admitted that Manchester City is out of the title race, and that Rooney's goal was fantastic. Yet the Citizens deserved more from this Manchester derby. What do you think? Share your comments below!

Liverpool Starting To Tick Under Dalglish

Speaking after their loss at Anfield last week, Stoke City manager Tony Pulis was quick to defend his side, stating that the main difference between his team's 2-0 home win back in November and the match he had just witnessed was the venue. Perhaps it was a case of sour grapes, or maybe he was just trying to pick his side up before their game against Sunderland this weekend, but there was clearly a massive gap in quality – not just between the two sides on the pitch, but also the two performances on display from Liverpool.

Under Hodgson, the direct football which was seen by some as a plan to simply play it safe in a season of transition was absolute suicide against a physical Stoke side, and the rigid 4-4-2 formation which was sent out week in, week out was easy pickings for Pulis' men. Dalglish showed the bravery and wisdom to change the shape, employing three centre-halves against Stoke's pairing of Carew and Walters, and as a result they limited the Potters to just one shot on goal over the ninety minutes. Of course, the Stoke betting always suggested they would struggle, but Liverpool did well to contain them.

Not the best debut for Fernando Torres

It is this sort of thinking which is what a Liverpool side lacking in self-belief needed more than anything, and Dalglish's fantastic relationship with the fans – something his predecessor simply never enjoyed – means that he can afford to take such risks without fear of backlash against either himself or his playing squad. The result has been three consecutive Premier League wins, complete with three clean sheets. Surprisingly enough, Hodgson never managed this feat. The Europa League betting suggests this new look side could even go on to win a trophy.

Although it was obviously a blow to lose a striker of Fernando Torres' quality, the fact that new boy Luis Suarez opened his account on his debut – in front of the Kop no less – will have taken much of the sting out of his move to Chelsea. And with record signing Andy Carroll yet to play his first game for the club, it would seem that there is even more good news round the corner – if the pair of them can form the sort of partnership that their ability and price-tags suggest they are capable of then it may soon be a case of "Fernando who?"

Messi vs. Ronaldo: For the Better or Worse of La Liga?

Rarely do we see two players have such fiery seasons. Both of them with 24 goals in 22 matches in La Liga, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have already scored countless hat-tricks, with undoubtedly many more to come. We could compare the two forever, analyzing every delightful pass, backheel, and goal, trying to finalize which one of the two is the player of his generation.

Like a hurricane of statistics, Messi and Ronaldo are eclipsing their teammates. They've become a constant, always trying to keep up with each other as the world watches with joy. They've dragged the spotlight onto La Liga, attracting more and more people to the Spanish game. They've become La Liga, a Portuguese and an Argentine, their individual competition eclipsing La Liga, for better or worse.

But we pay attention to La Liga, don't we? We keep an eye on what's going on around the Catalan and Madrid pair, mostly to see if anyone can keep up with them. Villarreal is trying, but it's hard work trying to keep up with the first and second placed clubs, which combined have a goal difference of +92. If you were to combine Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, the two have scored 48 goals, more than any other team in La Liga (other than Barcelona or Real Madrid). It's ludicrous. It's ridiculous. It's almost unfair.


Seeing Lionel Messi waltz to a hat trick against Atletico Madrid is mesmerizing. Watching Ronaldo blast a double against Real Sociedad is scary. I'm rarely watching anyone else, it's all about the two of them. Barcelona's system feeds Messi, surrounding him with unselfish players looking to play in a beautiful way. Real Madrid's Ronaldo obsession is what he craves, with every pass filtering through him, always giving him chances to individually light up the stage.

Everyone else almost loses their identity as Ronaldo and Messi's individual battle rages on. Kaka's return has barely raised an eyebrow. Of course, it's nice to see the Brazilian returning to form, but how will this affect Ronaldo? The two players are raised on a pedestal above everyone else. Even Jose Mourinho is a step below the two phenomenas.

We hold our breath when we see Messi stride into his time-stopping gallop. We bite our nails watching Ronaldo line up a free kick. We aren't watching La Liga anymore, we're watching Ronaldo vs. Messi.

Will January Signings Make Their Impact?

This mid-season transfer window has been exciting! While I expected a couple of minor signings here and there, I would've never imagined the deals which went on this January. Here's what went on in the English Premier League, Serie A, and La Liga.

In England Chelsea were the biggest spenders, snatching Fernando Torres and David Luiz for a total sum around 70 million Pounds. Liverpool decided to spend over 55 million Pounds to buy Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll, bolstering their front line well. West Ham got Robbie Keane on loan from Tottenham, and Aston Villa's big signings were Jean Makoun, Darren Bent, and the American Michael Bradley. Manchester City bought the Edin Dzeko while Sulley Muntari from Inter Milan joined Sunderland along with Sessegnon from PSG.

Pazzini has scored three goals in two appearances for Inter

There were some big names on the move in Italy as well, with Inter Milan snapping up Pazzini, Kharja, Ranocchia, and Nagatomo. Juventus got rid of Amauri while bringing in the amiable Matri in, along with the decrepit pairing of Toni and Barzagli. AC Milan also made their mark, getting the Dutch pair of Emanuelson and van Bommel along with Antonio Cassano and central defender Legrottaglie.

In Spain, it was Malaga which did most of the buying. After their ownership takeover this past summer, the new Qatari president, Abdullah ben Nasser Al Thani, has been spending money without many worries. Malaga bought Bayern Munich's veteran defender Martin Demichelis to strengthen the defence, along with Atletico Madrid's promising young keeper, Sergio Assenjo, on loan. Malaga also bought Roma's Julio Baptista along with the young Argentine Diego Buonanotte (some hail him as the next Messi) from River Plate.

Afellay has already scored for Barcelona

Barcelona and Real Madrid made their mark on the January window as well. Barcelona bought the attacking midfielder/winger Ibrahim Afellay from PSV Eindhoven, while Real Madrid got Emmanuel Adebayor on loan from Manchester City.

So many big signings! And many of them have already begun to make an impact at their new clubs. Right now Giampaolo Pazzini, Luis Suarez, and Edin Dzeko are looking like the best signings of the window. I can't wait to see how these new players work out.

What do you think about all these January signings? Which ones do you think will make a difference for their club? Share your comments below!