Barca thrash Mou’s Madrid

Barcelona inflicted a humiliating defeat on their great rivals Real Madrid as the sides played the first “El Classico” clash of the season at the Nou Camp.

An extraordinary footballing masterclass from the Catalonians saw them take the lead early on when Xavi broke into the box to poke past Iker Casillas. The advantage was doubled soon after by Pedro, who rammed home a David Villa cross. They continued to dominate but went in 2 – 0 at the break.

Villa scored early in the second half after fine play by Lionel Messi, and it was a similar story moments later as Villa grabbed his second with a typically classy finish.

The hosts seemingly mocked their opponents for the rest of the match with the quality and audacity of their passing, and in injury time Bojan crossed for Jeffren to tap in their fifth goal. Sergio Ramos was sent off before the end for a horrible kick on Messi, but that only compounded Madrid’s misery as they lost 5 – 0, having been utterly outclassed by their fiercest enemy.

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Draw in first Ashes test

England fought back from a seemingly difficult position to claim a draw in the first test of the Ashes series in Brisbane, Australia.

Things were looking bad for them after the third day, starting their second innings over two-hundred runs behind their hosts, but a combination of favourable conditions and modest bowling resulted in Andrew Strauss and Alistair Cook both hitting big centuries to get them out of trouble.

Strauss went soon after, but on the final day it was left to cook and Jonathan Trott to continue the superb batting performance. England declared on a massive 517 – 1, with Cook 235 not out and Trott 135 not out – extraordinary totals on a flat pitch and against toothless Australian bowling. The match ended with the hosts on 107 – 1, not having enough time to chase the win.

The draw sets up an intriguing series, with it becoming difficult to say which team has the advantage for the four remaining tests.

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Lennon grabs dramatic Spurs win

Previous Articles

Liverpool rout sorry Hammers

Liverpool’s woes stoked again

Liverpool draw - wins for Chelsea and Arsenal

Torres stuns Chelsea

Liverpool to the Maxi!

Liverpool survive in Naples

Everton win crucial derby

Anfield Disappointed Once More

Hodgson backs rested Torres

The final match of the weekend in the Premier League saw Tottenham Hotspur host Liverpool at White Hart Lane. Harry Redknapp’s men went into the clash after two excellent results in the past week, hoping to win to keep themselves as potential title contenders. They would have been fairly confident, given Liverpool’s disappointing away form under Roy Hodgson.

It was a typically open and attacking game involving Spurs, with both sides having chances, and Liverpool took the lead just before the interval when Martin Skrtel struck during confusion from a corner to go in at 0 – 1.

The hosts came back afterwards though, firstly missing a penalty. Skrtel gifted them the equaliser by scoring an own-goal, and the match was very exciting with both teams looking for the win.

It turned out to be Tottenham’s as, in injury time, Aaron Lennon broke free and fired in to give his team a dramatic three points at the end of another thrilling Premier League tie, which finished 2 – 1.

Earlier, Chelsea failed to return to top-spot due to only managing to draw at Newcastle. It leaves them two points behind Manchester United, who won so emphatically on Saturday.
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Murray loses to Nadal

Andy Murray lost to world number one Rafael Nadal in the semi final of the ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 arena on Saturday evening.

The Scot missed his chance to win the last tournament of the year in nail-biting fashion. Nadal, who completed the career grand slam this year, took the first set on a tie-break 7 – 6 (7 -5).

Murray was not going to be beaten very easily though and fought back to claim the second 6 – 3, setting up a tense third-set decider against a tiring Spaniard.

Nadal grabbed an early break and looked to be heading for the win, but when he was serving for the match his opponent would not give up and broke back to go into another tie-break.

Murray held the early advantage but, like always, Nadal came back. At 6 – 6 Murray sent a forehand long and Nadal was able to take the match after a lengthy rally in three sets: 7 – 6 (7 – 5), 3 – 6, 7 – 6 (8 – 6), and will contest the final on Sunday against either Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic.

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United go top after rout

Manchester United welcomed Blackburn to Old Trafford in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon. A win would see them move above Chelsea and Arsenal into top spot, with the champions playing Newcastle on Sunday.

It was never really in doubt. Dimitar Berbatov scored after a few minutes and Ji-Sung Park got the second with about twenty minutes gone. Berbatov notched again before half-time to make it 3 – 0 at the interval.

The Bulgarian completed his hat-trick at the start of the second half, and then Nani hit the fifth. Berbatov finished twice more before Chris Samba got a (sort of) consolation goal for Blackburn, but they were left to suffer a humiliating 7 – 1 defeat.

At lunchtime, Arsenal kept in touch with the leaders by winning a spectacular game at Villa Park, emerging with a 2 – 4 result. Manchester City found it tough going at Stoke though, conceding a late equaliser to draw 1 – 1.
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Liverpool rout sorry Hammers

Liverpool bounced back from a couple of poor away results by comfortably beating West Ham at Anfield on Saturday night. 

There was a lot of angry discussion before the match about the injury that Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard picked up by playing for England in the friendly against France, but the team did not show any lack of attacking power in his absence. 

Glen Johnson opened the scoring against his former club after a corner. Dirk Kuyt got the second from the penalty spot, and Maxi Rodriguez headed a third before the interval. 

The second period saw the excitement diminish somewhat as the Reds could not maintain their level, despite facing very modest opposition. 

The 3 – 0 win sees Liverpool sitting ninth in the table, three points off a Champions League place.


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United benefit from rivals’ slips

Manchester United looked to welcome Wayne Rooney back to action at Old Trafford when they faced Wigan on Saturday afternoon in the Premier League, but the England striker could only make the bench. 

The side struggled without him. For much of the first half Wigan seemed the superior of the two, but just before the break, United defender Patrice Evra grabbed a goal. 

Wigan had two men sent off in the second half, which effectively ended the match, and the hosts took advantage when Javier Hernandez doubled their lead, but could not do any more, so finished with a 2 – 0 result. 

Chelsea, meanwhile, went behind early at Birmingham after Lee Bowyer’s finish, and despite pressurising for much of the game were unable equalise, therefore losing 1 – 0 and now only leading the league on goal difference. 

In the lunchtime match, one of the fiercest local derbies was contested as Arsenal hosted Spurs at the Emirates. 

The Gunners took an early lead through Samir Nasri and doubled it soon after thanks to Marouane Chamakh, giving them a position of real dominance. 

Spurs came back in the second half though, with goals from Gareth Bale, and a Rafael van Der Vaart penalty. Incredibly, they managed to win it late on when Younes Kaboul headed in, and held on for a 2 – 3 (and spectacular) away win.


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France beat dismal England

Wembley hosted the final international football match of the year in the shape of a friendly between England and France on Wednesday night. Fabio Capello looked to use the opportunity to test out some of England’s most promising talents, including a start for young Newcastle striker Andy Carroll.

France, with some new faces themselves, dominated the early stages with slick passing that their opponents were unable to compete with. It took only seventeen minutes for Karim Benzema to get on the end of a smart move and finish to give the away team the lead. They continued to have much the better of play until half-time, and England were unable to create anything of their own. The difference in apparent quality bordered on embarrassing.

After the break the momentum continued with the French, and Bacary Sagna created an excellent chance and cross which Mathieu Valbuena duly converted, but the score line still did not reflect their superiority. Although England rallied late on and pulled one goal back thanks to Peter Crouch, the 1 – 2 result did not truly represent how poor England were.

Other juicy “friendly” clashes saw Argentina play Brazil, where Lionel Messi won the match near the end with a characteristically-fine goal. Meanwhile, Portugal hosted Spain, and earned a very impressive victory over their great rivals, 4 – 0.

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United seek Rooney boost

Manchester United fans have received some long-awaited good news as rumours that Wayne Rooney could soon start playing again seem to be true. It will come as a real tonic to the club, because their start to the season has been faltering at best, with a run of disappointing results which sees them sitting third in the current Premier League table.

Lacking sufficient quality in Rooney’s absence, particularly in their strike force, they left it late to rescue a point in a 2 – 2 draw at Aston Villa on Saturday. They then watched Manchester City drop points at home to Birmingham, before Arsenal overtook them with a win at Everton on Sunday, and Chelsea crashed to a shocking 0 – 3 reverse against Sunderland at Stamford Bridge. The Londoners are still topping the table from Arsenal who are two points back, and United one point further behind.

The weekend’s results epitomised the unpredictability of the English clubs at the moment, so Rooney’s return to the pitch and, more importantly, to form, could see his team put together a string of positive results to give them an advantage over their rivals.

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Vettel grabs dramatic championship

Sebastien Vettel became the youngest-ever Formula 1 world champion in unlikely fashion on Sunday afternoon in the final grand prix of the season in Abu Dhabi. The German went into the race trailing both Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber in the drivers’ standings, but had the advantage of starting from pole on the grid.

Vettel virtually led from start to finish, with only some competition coming from Mclaren’s Lewis Hamilton and Jensen Button. He still needed other things to go his way though, considering the deficit he needed to make up on Alonso and Webber.

Fortune helped him out when Webber pitted early because of underperforming tyres. Alonso was forced to do the same as his team believed the Australian posed the biggest threat to his title chances. However, they did not foresee that they would become stuck behind Vitaly Petrov, and were unable to overtake because of the design of the track, and the flawless driving of Renault’s Russian youngster.

This resulted in Vettel being able to claim the race win quite comfortably, and the amount of points he gained due to the low finishes of his two rivals meant that his crowning as champion provided a fitting end to a very interesting and exciting season.

 

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Villa let United off

Aston Villa entertained Manchester United at Villa Park in the lunchtime game on Saturday. The visitors have an excellent record at the ground in recent seasons, having won the vast majority of meetings.

The first half was lively, with Villa’s young players providing plenty of energy and enthusiasm which created an interesting match. Dimitar Berbatov missed the best chance though, for United, when he shot wide when well-placed to score. They went in goalless at the break.

After the interval Villa started to create more chances. Stewart Downing proved a real threat on the left wing, sending over many crosses, one of which James Collins headed against the bar. Seconds later Gabby Agbonlahor struck the post.

They finally took the lead they deserved when Ashley Young was fouled in the penalty area by Wes Brown, promptly getting up and converting the resulting spot-kick. They then doubled the advantage soon after with a superb breakaway goal finished by Marc Albrighton.

However, they did not build on that and allowed United to claim an unlikely draw, as Federico Macheda and then Nemanja Vidic scored late goals to grab a 2 - 2

All the other matches in the Premier League are to be played later in the weekend, with Chelsea not hosting Sunderland until Sunday evening, but still looking to increase their lead at the top even further.
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Liverpool’s woes stoked again

Previous Articles

Liverpool draw - wins for Chelsea and Arsenal

Torres stuns Chelsea

Liverpool to the Maxi!

Liverpool survive in Naples

Everton win crucial derby

Anfield Disappointed Once More

Hodgson backs rested Torres

Liverpool faced a trip to Stoke City on Saturday evening in the Premier League, with hopes that they could continue the run of good form they had managed before they drew at Wigan on Wednesday.

It was not to prove the case, however, as Stoke, always competitive at home, had the better of play for much of the match. In the first half they battled hard, but no breakthrough could be found, despite the typical confusion caused by Rory Delap’s throw-ins.

The second period was far more fruitful for the Potters though, as they took the lead through Ricardo Fuller after a scramble, and then Kenwyne Jones scored his team’s second after a quick counter-attack. Lucas was sent off too, compounding the Reds’ misery as they lost 2 – 0.

Earlier, following Villa and United’s exciting draw in the lunchtime match, Man City caused more frustration for their fans by being held to a 0 – 0 score line at Eastlands by Birmingham, and Tottenham Hotspur earned an impressive 4 - 2 win at home against Blackburn.

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Liverpool draw - wins for Chelsea and Arsenal

Liverpool looked to continue their good recent form as they visited Wigan Athletic – a very unpredictable side.

The Reds started as they would have hoped as Fernando Torres gave them the lead after only a few minutes. In the second half, the hosts struck back through Hugo Rodallega’s finish. Neither side could find a winner and the match ended 1 – 1.

League leaders Chelsea hoped to recover from their defeat at Anfield on Sunday by beating Fulham at Stamford Bridge, and Michael Essien opened the scoring with half an hour gone.

The score-line remained the same through to the final whistle, but Essien was sent off, spoiling his performance in the 1 - 0 victory for his team.

Arsenal had to make the journey to Wolverhampton Wanderers, the Gunners also needing a win after losing at home to Newcastle at the weekend.

They got the perfect start when Marouane Chamakh headed home in the first minute. The match then swung back and forth, with some nasty challenges catching the attention, until Chamakh scored again at the end to seal a 0 – 2 away victory.
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City and United in dire Manchester derby

The first Manchester derby of the season was played at Eastlands on Wednesday night, as City looked to earn a very important win over their arch rivals. United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was as eager as anyone to add to the hype with his pre-match comments, but also had to admit he was struggling to find a strong side from a squad ravaged by illness and injury.

The first half was very drab. Neither side wanted to take the initiative and goal-scoring opportunities were scarce. Most of the interest was generated by Paul Scholes’ “tackling”.

The second half proceeded in a similar vein. Both teams lacked creativity and quality in a disappointing match, with a really poor showing from the two high-profile outfits. Even in the final minutes there was a severe lack in adventure from the players, and it seemed apparent that everyone was satisfied to share the points in a 0 – 0 draw.

Although neither team had to admit to defeat, the result means that they drop more points on the league leaders, Chelsea, who once again have opened up a sizeable advantage at the top.

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Torres stuns Chelsea

English Premier League champions and leaders Chelsea faced a difficult match on Sunday as they travelled to Anfield, the home of a Liverpool side in a run of (relatively) good form, and their manager, Roy Hodgson, could bring in striker Fernando Torres after he was rested in midweek.

And that decision paid dividends as the Spaniard recovered the spectacular form which has been missing for many months, surprising many by producing a fairly spectacular performance that the opposition were unable to contain.

He scored his first quite early on with a classy finish past Petr Cech, but went better on the stroke of half-time by coming in from the left and curling a spectacular effort into the far side of the net.

Chelsea improved after the break and forced Pepe Reina to make some saves, but they could not find a way back against their hosts, and Liverpool earned a valuable 2 – 0 victory.

Other matches saw Arsenal take on Newcastle United at the Emirates, where the visitors pulled off a surprise by earning a 0 – 1 win; and recently lacklustre Manchester City visited high-flying West Brom, but the expensively assembled outfit found the match easy going as they claimed the three points with a 0 - 2 result, with both goals from Mario Balotelli.
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United squeeze past Wolves

Manchester United prepared to face Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon at Old Trafford with striker Wayne Rooney away in America for conditioning. However, there was some good news on the selection front for them, as Sir Alex Ferguson was able to pick midfielder Owen Hargreaves for the first time in roughly two years.

The first half was largely even. United struggled for superiority until Ji-Sung Park found space to put them into the lead just before the interval.

The match continued to be fairly evenly-balanced, and Wolves got themselves level in the second half when Sylvan Ebanks-Blake came on as a substitute and scored almost immediately from close range.

A familiar story was to unfold right at the end though, as, with the game open and both sides looking for the win, Park cut in to smash his second and grab the points for United in dramatic fashion.

In the earlier lunchtime game, Tottenham Hotspur visited Bolton and found the trip typically difficult, succumbing to a heavy 4 - 2 defeat, again failing to follow-up on a positive result, having comprehensively beaten European champions Inter in the week.

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Gerrard rescues Liverpool - again

Liverpool faced Napoli at Anfield in the fourth tie of the group stage of the Europa League. They went into it in a run of improved form; but, again, manager Roy Hodgson decided to leave Steven Gerrard on the bench, and Fernando Torres out of the entire squad for the European match.

So, unsurprisingly, they started slowly and allowed Napoli to take the lead after half an hour when Ezequiel Lavezzi beat the defence to finish giving his team the lead at half-time.

Hodgson sought to improve matters by bringing on Gerrard at the interval. The captain provided the vital equaliser by seizing onto a mistake from a defender to score. He followed that up by converting a penalty and grabbing his third in injury time to complete a 3 – 1 win for Liverpool, which sees them look set to progress to the knockout stage.

Earlier on in the evening, Manchester City succumbed to a rather shocking 3 – 1 defeat away at Lech Poznan, making it three losses in a row for Roberto Mancini’s expensive side.
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Chelsea cruise into knockout stage

The Wednesday fixtures in the Champions’ League saw Chelsea host Spartak Moscow and Arsenal travel to face Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine.

Things did not go too well for either club in the first half. Chelsea looked for a way through against their Russian opponents but could not find one, reaching half-time at 0 – 0.

Arsenal first took the lead through Theo Walcott, who scored with an excellent effort, but fell behind with an unfortunate Craig Eastmond own goal, and then their former striker, Eduardo, provided a cool finish to put the home side 2 – 1 up at the break.

Things improved soon after at Stamford Bridge as Nicolas Anelka opened the scoring. They doubled their advantage with a penalty converted by Didier Drogba. Moments later it was three, thanks to Branislav Ivanovic. The visitors grabbed a consolation goal before Ivanovic scored again to make it 4 – 1 at the final whistle.

The evening did not prove fruitful for Arsenal, however, as they struggled to make an impression and the match finished 2 – 1 to Shakhtar.

Other interesting results saw AC Milan concede a last-gasp equaliser to draw with Real Madrid 2 – 2 at the San Siro, and Marseille broke records by drubbing MSK Zilina 0 – 7 away.
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England 2018 bid 'significantly harmed'

The latest argument involving England in the 2018 World Cup voting process has resulted in their bid being “significantly harmed”, according to new reports.

It follows newspaper investigations by the British media into possible corruption surrounding two of the members of FIFA. A spokesperson originally said that there would be no consequences, but it seems now that the opposite could be true.

The England team was already struggling after last week’s squabble with Russia over remarks made by one of their representatives, who supposedly criticised the English bid.

That did no favours to the cause, but these more recent revelations appear to be far more damaging, and with the actual vote taking place in less than a month, on 2 December, England has a lot of work to do to have any hope of being chosen to host the tournament.

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£9,000 fees for English students

The government has announced its new plans for funding higher education courses at universities in England, which centres on students paying up to £9,000 per year for tuition.

This expected rise, which would nearly treble the current fees, is the result of massive cuts in spending as the coalition looks to reduce the national deficit.

Although some action has to be taken of course, it is highly debatable as to how fair and realistic it is to force students to take on such huge costs, which will result in debts at the end of their degrees.

Furthermore, it piles pressure on the growing abundance of courses which are claimed to be virtually worthless, as students will want to be absolutely certain that what they choose to study will add value to their employability when they finish.

It will be interesting to see the reaction of the nation’s students, both on an individual and collective level, as they are, understandably, not going to be very impressed by this decision.

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Spurs and United win

Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur represented England in the Champions League on Tuesday, with the Red Devils travelling to face Bursaspor in Turkey, while Spurs welcomed the reigning champions, Inter Milan, to White Hart Lane.

They soon found themselves ahead as their new Dutch star, Rafael Van der Vaart, finished to give them the lead against the Italians. It was a different story in Turkey, where United struggled for superiority and went in at the break still goalless, while Spurs maintained their lead.

The second half saw things get much better for both teams. Darren Fletcher scored with a low strike to put United ahead, before Peter Crouch doubled Spurs lead after being set up superbly by Gareth Bale.

United went further ahead against Bursaspor thanks to Gabriel Obertan and Bebe, but Samuel Eto’o scored for Inter to half their deficit in London, only for Roman Pavlyuchenko to make it three for the home side a few minutes later.

There was no time for any more action, so the results were 3 – 1 to Spurs, and 0 – 3 to United, making it an excellent night for the English.

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Rooney out for longer

It has been announced that Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney will miss about five weeks with his current injury, which is much longer than was originally thought.

Having stated that he was looking to leave Old Trafford, Rooney made a complete u-turn and signed a new contract to earn himself huge wages, prompting fans to hope that he might soon return to the pitch in top form.

However, it has since become clear that he will not be available for a considerable amount of time, and United will have to labour on without him.

They fared well on Saturday against Tottenham, managing a 2 – 0 win, but more challenges await them in the Champions League and the Premiership, so they will hope to get their England star back very soon.
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Liverpool to the Maxi!

Liverpool knew that a draw in the Premier League on Sunday evening would lift them out of the relegation zone, but Bolton’s Reebok Stadium was not the most inviting place they could have chosen as they hoped to build on last week’s win against Blackburn.

The visitors had the better of play for much of a poor-quality game, creating a few chances but unable to take any with a squad lacking in confidence and form, even through their Spanish striker, Fernando Torres.

Bolton had some chances of their own, but with only minutes left, Liverpool snatched the three points when Torres played a delightful flick through to Maxi Rodriguez. His poked finish squeezed under the ‘keeper and in off the crossbar to give the Reds their first away win this season, which sees them move up to twelfth place in the league, thanks to a 0 – 1 result.

Elsewhere, Newcastle United took home the spoils in the Tyne-Wear derby by thrashing Sunderland 5 – 1 at St James’s Park.

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