The Round Football Column 03.25.08: 144th Edition Grand Slam Sunday Round-Up, Plus More
Posted by Tim O'Sullivan on 03.25.2008
Didier Drogba ends Arsenals title dreams, Nani scores a stunner as Man Utd crush Liverpool, Real Madrid and Inter Milan surrender big title leads, plus more. One Click Away.
I had a great four-day weekend, thanks for asking.
GRAND SLAMMING MOTHER BLEEPING MEGA SUNDAY has been and gone, and now the marketing department at SKY will have to think of a new way of drumming up enough interest in their product.
Either way, it was quite a good day of action I guess. It wasn't incredible or anything, but people were expecting a couple of damp squibs and we got more than that at least.
First up was Man Utd v Liverpool and wow, Rafa Benitez's side really do love these big domestic away games don't they? In opposite land they do, anyway. They had stellar tactics, but their general play and threat was so minimal. They've been playing some really nice football with an interesting 4-5-1 / 4-3-3 system, but that was all lost on Sunday. They lacked any bottle any confidence. On the other side of the coin, United bided their time, waited for Pepe Reina to have one of his bad days and took advantage.
Then there was Chelsea v Arsenal and the peak of the latter's season capitulation. The Gunners showcased some really nice link-play and that patented technical class, but Chelsea always looked more dangerous. That lack of killer instinct has crept its ugly head back into Arsenal's game in recent weeks and their title push has suffered because of it. It was a really nice header from Sagna for the goal and there were some promising moments from Van Persie, but overall it was a horrible day for Arsene Wenger and co. Gallas and Toure get a ton of praise, but they really struggled for Drogba's late brace. As for the match-winner, well he showed Adebayor up big time. Sometimes you've just got to ignore the stats and realise that they don't always determine who's the best. Of course, it's usually a good marker but in cases like Drogba v Adebayor you shouldn't put your house on it. As for Chelsea as a team, well it was a good result and they have the easiest run-in out of the top three. Maybe Avram Grant will be parading that awful smile of his in May. Stranger comebacks have happened.
Elsewhere, Freddie Sears looked lively off the bench again as West Ham grabbed a deserved point at Goodison. That Yak finish was awesome.
Two goals from the village Bikey helped Reading beat Birmingham 2-1.
Villa keeper Scott Carson continued his awful run of Robbo-like form as Sunderland bagged their first away win of the season.
Kevin Keegan made love to his wife on Saturday night. He did so because he wanted to celebrate his first win as Newcastle boss.
The £16.5 million man, Darren Bent is worth every penny Spurs paid for him. He really is Mr. Goals.
David Bentley and Roque Santa Cruz shone as Blackburn beat Wigan 3-1. What was the Lion King's penalty technique all about by the way?
Stephen Ireland nearly scored the goal of the season as Man City drew at Bolton.
Tuncay loves scoring against Derby. He really does.
Barclays Premier League Team of the Weekend
GK - Craig Gordon (Sunderland)
RB - Wes Brown (Man Utd)
LB - Stephen Warnock (Blackburn)
CB - Andre Bikey (Reading)
CB - Jonny Evans (Sunderland)
CM - Claude Makalele (Chelsea)
CM - Paul Scholes (Man Utd)
RM - David Bentley (Blackburn)
LM - Nani (Man Utd)
ST - Roque Santa Cruz (Blackburn)
ST - Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
Ronald Koeman finally seems to be doing something of significance at Valencia. In midweek they knocked Barcelona out of the Copa del Rey to reach the final and on Sunday they won 3-2 at The Bernebeu.
David Villa's been pretty shit by his standards this season, but class is permanent and all that jazz, so it's not a huge surprise to see him have a couple of class moments over the past month. His first goal against Real Madrid was a really superb finish.
Here are the highlights from that game:
Barcelona are really awful at the moment and their summer makeover could genuinely be as significant as AC Milan's. However, they do have a couple of players who look dynamic and interested, and one of them is Bojan. His second-half performance helped Barcelona beat Valladolid 4-1 and close the gap on Real Madrid to four points.
This would be a good time for Barcelona to stop being so void of hunger and verve and have a go at this title. They've been given another lifeline and it's time for them to step up to the plate. Ronaldinho has gone from having the potential to become one of the five greatest players of all-time to being a sluggish, overweight mess who can't seem to care about anything but his next FIFA STREET 3 advert. Thierry Henry has gone from the best player on the planet to a whinging, constantly injured, predictable non-player since the World Cup. Andres Iniesta and Sammy Eto'o are two of my favourite players in today's game, but they're both struggling. Valdes is nearly as big a joke as Dida. Rijkaard peaked as a manager eight years ago. In my opinion, La Liga is a better overall league than the Premier League, but the difference in quality between the top fours is a joke. Real Madrid and Barcelona are really nothing sides at the moment, and despite the topsy-turvy excitement of this title race, it's for all the wrong reasons. Both sides really need to step it up, because people are wrongly slating this brilliant league due to the mediocrity of their elite two sides.
I would love them both to be punished by a points-hungry Villarreal side who won again at the weekend. I'm a big fan of Franco's and it's good to see him back amongst the goals. Maybe the Mexican striker can help The Yellow Submarine grab the most shocking title win in recent history.
Elsewhere, Espanyol somehow lost 4-0 to Murcia!
Sergio Aguero's superb form continued with the winner for Atletico Madrid away to Sevilla.
Racing Santander won again to cement their status as Europe's surprise package this season.
Two sets of Italian games since we last spoke and the title race is looking better for it.
Roma couldn't capitalise on Inter's draw at Genoa in midweek, as they let their deadly rivals with only two good players beat them in the Rome derby. Behrami bagged the stoppage time winner, but it was Rocchi and Pandev who put Lazio in a solid position. They really are too good for that Lazio side.
Either way, Roma got a second chance to catch Inter up on Saturday as the reigning champs lost at home to the ever-so-mildly improving Juventus. Check out David Trezeguet's face after volleying in the winner:
I don't know what's so funny, but Trez looks amused either way.
Roma sneaked past Empoli to close the gap to four points. This is getting mildly exciting.
That Amauri at Palermo, who everyone is raving about, scored another two goals against Genoa.
Despite his awful performances against the Arsenal in the Champions League, Alexandre Pato continues to be the only interesting thing about Meeeeeeeeelan domestically.
The lad Pazzini scored the winner as Fiorentina beat Lazio and enhanced their chances of grabbing fourth spot.
Cristiano Ronaldo can't stop scoring. He scored another two goals against Bolton midweek.
We were a Dimitar Berbatov stoppage-time goal away from witnessing the greatest Premier League game of all-time at White Hart Lane on Wednesday. It was still pretty special though.
The aforementioned game also saw Cashley Cole taint his awful rep even further. After a hideous foul on Alan Hutton, the gimpy Chelsea left-back showed some unbelievable disrespect to the referee. Considering all the media attention the incident got, I'm surprised Javier Mascherano acted like he did at Old Trafford.
Luca Toni netted a double as Bayern Munich beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 in the Bundesliga.
The rumour mill is starting ahead of the summer's transfer activity. At this stage it looks like Ronaldinho, Luis Fabiano and Diego will be the three biggest transfers. Watch this space.
05 Yakubu v West Ham. 04 David Villa's first v Real Madrid. 03 Keegan's joy. Bless the idiot. 02 Hildebrand's save from Raul. 01 The Tottenham v Chelsea highlights after the Man Utd v Bolton game on SKY.
I always leave this section until the end, when I'm tired and have other stuff to do. Okay then, with haste .
France host England in a friendly. It'll be crap unless one of the new boys like Theo Walcott or Ginger Wheats scores.
I'm off to The Reebok on Saturday to see Arsenal continue their valiant battle for fourth spot in the Premier League.
Aston Villa would be a tricky prospect for Man Utd if it wasn't for the fact that Martin O'Neill's side are in their worst run of the season.
The highlight of the weekend is obviously the Merseyside derby. Everton have slipped in recent weeks, but Liverpool will have at least one eye on the Arsenal triple-header so this could be a good opportunity for The Toffees.
Inter Milan will need to bounce back from their recent dip of form with a win at Lazio. Pandev and Rocchi may have something to say about that though.
In Spain, Villarreal v Atletico Madrid looks like a fantastic prospect on Saturday night. Espanyol v Racing and Real Madrid v Sevilla the next day completes a very intriguing weekend in La Liga.
Last Week's Match Predictions (Bold = Prediction . Italics = Actual Result)
Barclays Premier League
Monday 17th
Birmingham v Newcastle 3-1 // 1-1
Wednesday 19th
Man Utd v Bolton 3-0 // 2-0
Tottenham v Chelsea 1-1 // 4-4
Saturday 22nd
Aston Villa v Sunderland 2-0 // 0-1
Blackburn v Wigan 2-0 // 3-1
Bolton v Man City 1-1 // 0-0
Everton v West Ham 1-1 // 1-1
Middlesbrough v Derby 1-0 // 1-0
Newcastle v Fulham 1-1 // 2-0
Reading v Birmingham 2-1 // 2-1
Tottenham v Portsmouth 1-0 // 2-0
Sunday 23rd
Chelsea v Arsenal 1-1 // 2-1
Man Utd v Liverpool 2-0 // 3-0
Next Week's Match Predictions
Barclays Premier League
Saturday 29th
Birmingham v Man City 1-1
Bolton v Arsenal 0-1
Derby v Fulham 1-0
Man Utd v Aston Villa 3-0
Portsmouth v Wigan 2-0
Reading v Blackburn 2-1
Sunderland v West Ham 1-0
Sunday 30th
Chelsea v Middlesbrough 1-0
Liverpool v Everton 2-1
Tottenham v Newcastle 1-1
The hell? Some cunt bitches about the Hobbsy stuff last week and now it's gone? Poor form, O'Sullivan! Also, I appreciate the constant predictions of a West Ham loss. It usually turns out the opposite which makes me happy.
Posted By: The Kyle (Guest) on March 25, 2008 at 01:15 AM
"Some cunt"? I'll have you know I'm not just any old cunt; I come from a very established, highly esteemed family of cunts! Call me Mr. Cunt you peasant.
Enjoyed the column. As I said, without the constant swearing and the Hobbs thing (which I'm sure is tiresome for you having to think of something "different" to say to attribute to him each week,) it's an enjoyable read.
Posted By: Chungles (Guest) on March 25, 2008 at 07:35 AM
nice column
good round up of everything happening
good work
Posted By: b-rad (Guest) on March 25, 2008 at 08:24 AM
No mention of Wrexham F.C.'s nil-nil to Dag & Red?
For shame, for shame.
Posted By: ButchReedMark (Guest) on March 25, 2008 at 11:47 PM
