Manchester City upset Chelsea...Barcelona to Face Málaga

Today, Manchester City came through with a huge upset over number 1 Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. In a game that looked as if Chelsea could easily get the win at home, Tevez and his teammates clearly showed a different side of their team; they cause Chelsea to get two red cards and were able to win by 4-2. So, what does this mean for Chelsea and more importantly for Manchester City? First off, Chelsea is now certainly going to have a tougher week a practice however, it will be interesting to see how they respond in their next game against Stoke City in the FA Cup since they clearly don't have much momentum. Terry and Cole will have to be strong in carrying their squad. For Manchester City though, this couldn't have been a better time to get a huge win. With their next game against Sunderland (due to their game against Tottenham being postponed), 2 wins in a row will certainly change the team morale and help them move up in the league to possibly 3rd if things to get well for Arsenal this week. Photo Credit: Alfonso Jiménez

In Spain, Barcelona will be facing 12th place Málaga in an important game. If Barcelona does anything less than a win, Real Madrid could move into first place if they get a win over 19th place Tenerife. To me, it seems quite clear that Barcelona will get the win however after watching what happened to Chelsea today, who knows. This will certainly be a game to watch. (Above is a video of Barcelona vs Málaga from earlier this season)

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An Eventful Premier League Weekend

This past weekend was filled with disappointment and excitement for the 20 teams that played. Manchester United lost 3-1 to Everton, Arsenal and Chelsea continued their winning ways and Liverpool couldn't defeat Manchester City. However, the true highlight of these past two days has been revolving around Aston Villa and Tottenham; both clubs that, as of late, have been in "slump" mode. Aston Villa have simply "kissing their sister" for quite some time now and Tottenham hasn't been consistent. Fortunately, both sides were able to get huge wins heading into the tougher part of the season. Tottenham's win over Wigan Athletic will give them that much needed confidence for Redknapp and Villa's win over Burnley will give O'Neill's side a boost before their game this Wednesday in the FA Cup against Crystal Palace. (To the right is a picture of Aston Villa and Tottenham from last season.)
Photo Credit: Ben Sutherland

Remaining Results from the weekend:
Arsenal 2 - 0 Sunderland
West Ham United 3 - 0 Hull City
Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 - 2 Chelsea
Portsmouth 1 - 2 Stoke City
Blackburn Rovers 3 - 0 Bolton Wanderers
Fulham 2 - 1 Birmingham

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UEFA Chapions League Double-Header Action

Today will certainly be a fabulous game for those of us who like to follow the Champions League. For the first time, Beckham will get a chance to face his former side in a game that will be high-paced and intense. AC Milan will take on Manchester United; don't expect there to be many goals, but certainly expect lots of emotion and some great skill. Who will win? Honestly, I don't know. Maybe AC Milan will get that composure that has been much needed on their part which will help them defend the attack of Rooney and perhaps help them get by. Or maybe, Manchester United will get off to an early lead and be able to hold AC Milan off. In all honesty, I really don't know about this game and that is more of a reason for it to be watched. It's going to be a thriller.

In the other Round of 16 Champions League game, Karim Benzema will get to face his former club when Real Madrid takes on Lyon. For that game, I can confidently say that Real Madrid will defeat Lyon. Madrid is clearly loaded with far better and more skilled players than Lyon. They have Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema, Kaká, Xabi Alonso, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Raúl, and numerous other quality players. And as Kaká says, winning the Champions League is the highest achievement.

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Donovan joins Everton which leads to Cole injury

Now that US Soccer star, Landon Donovan, is on loan to Everton until the MLS season starts up again, Everton have gained a relatively good forward; in England he will have average speed, average size, but below par skill. However, these attributes of Donovan have given him the ability to injure England defender, Ashley Cole, of Chelsea. I guess this is one way to take down your opponent before the World Cup. Cole has sustained a broken ankle and will be out for three months.  More in-depth news at the official EPL website. Bad news for England. Now that they have lost one of their main defenders, what will happen in terms of their World Cup 2010 future? To me, it looked bleak to begin with so I don't think it will really matter.
As far as Landon Donovan is concerned, I never really have been a fan of him. He always, at least I believe, manages to really screw things up when it really counted - for example the MLS cup: Donovan and Beckham both helped their team lose to Real Salt Lake. Furthermore, Donovan is extremely overrated, especially here in the US. He really isn't that skillful nor does he do well every time he goes overseas; with Bayern Munich he struggled and now with Everton I can almost guarantee everyone that once again, he will struggle. Landon is an American level player and is not ready for the demands of English soccer like Dempsey and other players. Hopefully, Donovan catches on to this...soon of course.

A true American soccer sensation: Clint Dempsey.


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For now, Brazil leave 'Dinho behind

Ronaldinho was not selected to be a pat of the Brazil 22-man team for their final preparation match with Ireland prior to the World Cup. Dunga, Brazil's head coach, has decided not to include Ronaldinho in his squad although he has taken a handful of his Brazilian players from Spanish and Italian sides including Inter Milan, AC Milan, Sevilla, Juventus, and Villarreal. To check out the full details click here.
Personally, I see this as a wise decision. Although Ronaldinho has been performing relatively well in recent games with AC Milan, it seems as if in the past four years (and since he left Barcelona), he no longer has that same kind of tenacity he was capable of previously. I personally watched him this past summer play here at Gillette stadium in Foxborough, MA and I honestly didn't see that same level of skill he is capable of producing. Perhaps it is because he has become older or maybe it's because that same sense of passion for the game may slowly be leaving him.
In terms of Brazil in the World Cup, I don't see them getting any further than the Semi-Final's, if that. The tam no longer has those key play makers as they have had in previous years and they no longer have a central defender who can really control the backs which will certainly provide them with many problems.

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EPL Manager of the Month - January

For the month of January, Everton manager Hoyes has been selected by a panel of representatives of the Barclay's league. Although Everton got off to an ugly start in their 2009-2010 campaign, they have since turned things around. At the end of December they were struggling just above the relegation zone. However, in the last month they have significantly turned things around. They started January with a 2-2 draw with Arsenal but after that game they have gone 4-0-1 to move up into 9th place and only two points behind Birmingham. For a full detailed write-up on this visit,  EPL Manager of the Month - January.

But what will really be interesting to see is how Everton will perform over the next few months. They will be taking on 5th place Liverpool and then Chelsea on the 10th. Following those two highly competitive games for Everton are going to be even more competitive games coming in the form of Manchester United and Tottenham. Best of luck to Hoyes and Everton FC.

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Juventus vs Livorno - Italian Serie A

As a request of one of my readers, I am now going to make the exra effort to add a little more focus to Italian soccer. I figured I would do this by previewing one of the two games that are to take place this weekend: Livrono vs. Juventus. With Juventus struggling in 5th in the Serie A and Livorno "cruising" at 16th, one would think this should be a lopsided game. However, I don't believe so. When you look closely at these two teams, there are few differences. Juventus only has four more wins that Livorno but is 11 places ahead of them in the Serie A; furthermore, both teams have concedded about the same number of goals in the current season with Livorno at 30 and Juventus at 30. But why I think Livorno could cause some damage here is because all the top teams in the Serie A have all only concedded approximately 20 goals, not 30. And a second reason why I think Livorno could beat Juventus is because Livorno, lately, has been doing very well. Just this past Sunday, they were able to gain a point out of their game with 2nd place AC Milan. This will certainly be a game to watch for those Serie A fans.

Juventus vs Livorno earlier this season.


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Keane joins Celtic

Robbie Keane officially joined Scottish side, Celtic FC, on loan today. The Irish national team forward/ now former Tottenham striker. Lately, the captain has been getting little time off of the bench and simply hasn't been able to get the job done in the view of Redknapp. It seems Celtic has become keen on the Keane's (pun intended) seeing that it was first Roy Keane who joined the club and now Robbie Keane is following suit. This will be Keane's seventh club (including Celtic) that he will have played for. The other six clubs (in no particular order) have been Tottenham, Inter, Wolves, Leeds, Coventry, and Liverpool. Clearly, this guy knows a thing or two about playing a lot of different styles of soccer. Best of luck to Keane and his new team.

Robbie Keane, "The great man."


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