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Adam’s Premier League Column: Weekly Roundup Week 5- RVP steals the show as Man United beat 10-man Liverpool

  By O-Posts Team | September 24, 2012 - 18:33 | , ,
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Above: Robin van Persie seals the three points for Man Utd from the penalty spot.

Above: Robin van Persie seals the three points for Man Utd from the penalty spot.

 

Liverpool 1 Manchester United 2

An emotional day for Liverpool, after the recent Hillsborough reports. Liverpool were reduced to 10 men after a somewhat strange decision. Jonjo Shelvey looked to have played the ball, replays suggest that too, but referee Mark Halsey thought otherwise, and Shelvey saw red.

You would have thought that that would have depleted Liverpool, but after the break, Captain Steven Gerrard took the ball on his chest, swivelled and thumped the ball into the bottom corner which saw Liverpool take the lead.

The lead didn’t last for too long, though, five minutes later Rafael guided a left footed curling shot in off the post to draw level.

Tackles started flying in, and the game really stepped up. Manchester United won a penalty, perhaps a little unfortunate for Liverpool, on 81 minutes. RVP made no mistake in tucking away the penalty, despite ‘keeper Pepe Reina getting a hand on it.

Liverpool still haven’t recorded a win this season, but I am sure it won’t be long until they register their first three points.

 

Manchester City 1 Arsenal 1

After Man City’s calamity in Spain midweek, they took the lead through England defender Joleon Lescott after he found faults with Arsenal’s zonal marking system with an unmarked header.

Man City were then on top for most of the game, changed formation, and struggled from then on.

Another defender, this time Laurent Koscielny converted his chance to draw level late on in the second half. City came incredibly close to re-taking the lead, when Vincent Kompany’s spectacular over-head kick effort was saved and then Sergio Agϋero glanced wide from a matter of yards.

I thought Silva, Kompany and Garcia played quite well for the Citizens, and as usual this season, Podolski and Arteta shined.

I feel Arsenal will be pleased that they got a point, and it was a closely fought contest.

 

Southampton 4 Aston Villa 1

It was a tale of two Lamberts at St Mary’s as Southampton looked to register their first league victory of the 2012/13 season. However, in the first half Villa dominated, Darren Bent scored his first league goal since February to send Southampton 1-0 down at half time.

Southampton came out all guns blazing and was a completely different side second half.

Thanks to two goals from in-form forward Ricky Lambert, a deflected Puncheon shot and a well taken goal from Nathaniel Clyne, Southampton came out the victorious side.

Influential playmaker Ramirez played really well, and his looped pass to set up Clyne was exquisite.

 

Swansea 0 Everton 3

After an emotional game at Merseyside mid-week, Everton managed to put behind what happened last Monday, by thrashing Michael Laudraup’s Swansea 3-0.

The Toffees squandered some great chances in the opening minutes of the game, however, Anichebe opened the scoring on 21 minutes through a well taken goal, which he struck into the bottom corner past ‘keeper Vorm – Fellaini the influential player in that particular attack.

Swansea had their chances on 39 minutes, with Danny Graham and Ki Sung-Yeung missing some good opportunities.

Mirallas scored Everton’s second of the game on 43 minutes, Fellaini again setting up the attack.

Swansea’s day got worse after Nathan Dyer saw red, his first a dubious decision, his second offence was a poorly timed tackle.

On 82 minutes Fellaini deserved to get his name pencilled onto the score sheet, albeit it took a big deflection.

Everton could have easily scored 5 or 6 goals, picking up many holes in Swansea’s defence.

All in all, a job well done by David Moyes’ Everton with three goals and a clean sheet.

 

Chelsea 1 Stoke 0

A change in personnel for Chelsea, after their Champions League draw against Juventus mid-week, as players like Lampard found themselves on the bench.

Walters rattled the crossbar early on, a warning sign for Chelsea of a difficult match-up.
Torres missed a sitter at the other end soon after, and really should have tucked it away. Chelsea were denied two penalties by referee Oliver, both players booked for simulation.

Chelsea continued to pile on the pressure, Torres, Mata and Ivanovic all firing over. If it wasn’t for Stoke’s ‘keeper Begovic, the score-line could have been embarrassing.

The breakthrough came on 85 minutes; Ashley Cole dinked it over an already diving Begovic, to seal a win for The Pensioners and a somewhat unfortunate defeat for the Potters.

 

Wigan 1 Fulham 2

Hugo Rodallega, who was Wigan’s saviour last season, and on his return to the DW stadium scored against them to head Fulham in front with muted celebrations.

Fulham carried on pressing, Wigan didn’t present too much of a threat until Gomez’s effort thumped the wood-work. Fulham’s Bryan Ruiz then came close from a free-kick which was saved well by Ali Al Habsi.

On 68 minutes, Damien Duff doubled the Cottagers lead with a spectacular right footed effort, his third league goal this season.

I think Fulham are looking a strong side with the new recruits and could pose a big threat this season if they carry on playing like they did today.

Wigan got a consolation goal on 90 minutes thanks to Kone, but it was too little too late for the Latics.

 

West Brom 1 Reading 0

West Brom were on top throughout the game, Reading really haven’t played to their full potential yet have they?

Refreshed striker Lukaku, on loan from Chelsea, put West Brom in front on 71 minutes, a superb left footed effort. He really is a top class player, and when he returns to Chelsea, expect him to make a few first team starts.

Reading had their chances in the dying embers of the game, but couldn’t capitalise.

All in all, West Brom will be happy with the win, Steve Clark is doing a fantastic job and he really has impressed me.

His counter-part Brian McDermot will be asking questions of his Reading side, they need to step up their performances to survive this closely contested season.

 

West Ham 1 Sunderland 1

Sunderland took the lead early on, from who else other than Steven Fletcher? His razor sharp form is truly outstanding; all four of his Premier League shots have resulted in goals. Not a bad start, eh?

The Hammers tried to get back into the game, Ricardo Vaz Te and Diame linking up well, but they couldn’t breakthrough the strong Sunderland defence.

Kevin Nolan had two overhead kicks saved, but he eventually scored his 16th goal for West Ham since he joined at the start of the last season in the 90th minute to nick a point. But the scoring could have been more if chances hadn’t been pondered early on, most noticeably from both Collins and Benayoun.

Martin O’Neil will be very unhappy as they were denied their first win of the season; Sam Allardyce should be and will be glad that the Hammers rescued a point.

 

Tottenham 2 Queens Park Rangers 1

Spurs’ boss Andre Villas-Boas registered his first home league win at QPR, despite initially going behind.

QPR started strongly, Bobby Zamora and Shaun Wright-Phillips linked up well in the early stages. Zamora put QPR ahead on 33 minutes, with a well taken goal.

That goal inspired Tottenham to score twice in two minutes in the second half. The first was a really unfortunate own goal, a corner was whipped in, the ball went past everyone and bounced off of Alejandro Faurlin’s shoulder as he turned. I think that his positioning could have been better, and if QPR are to survive this season, they need to stop giving away easy goals like that.

Tottenham kept on pressing, this time Jermain Defoe was the hero, after Gareth Bale’s initial cross cannoned off the cross-bar and into the path of the England frontman who only had to tap-in.

Defoe looks to be flourishing this season when played off of another frontman, and I think with Jermain’s recent scoring efforts, Adebayor may have to wait.

 

Newcastle 1 Norwich 0

Demba Ba criticised the management team’s selection policy in the week after he came off the bench to score twice in the Toons’ 2-2 draw against Everton. He started against the Canaries, and of course scored.

Suddenly doesn’t look too fazed by Pappis Cissé anymore, does he?

Newcastle have looked as if playing of Thursday’s in the Europa League is taking its toll on the squad, and when that happens you have to grind out a result. Despite not being at their best, 8 of their 16 shots were on target, whereas Norwich had 8 shots and only 3 forced saves from stand-in ‘keeper Harper’s goal.

Newcastle could have made it 2-0 but Cissé’s penalty soared high into the stands at the Sports Direct Arena.

Norwich boss Chris Hughton has his work cut out, as Norwich currently sit 17th in the table, with three points from five games.

 

My Team of the Week

Written by Adam May

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The Ligue 1 Review: Five wins out of five for Marseille

  By O-Posts Team | September 18, 2012 - 17:08 | , ,
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Marseille celebrate a hard-fought against Nancy.

Five wins from the opening five — a club record and quite the statement of intent from Marseille who dominated at Nancy but somehow failed to convert any of their first-half chances. The breakthrough came just before the hour courtesy of the Ayew brothers — André crossing for Jordan — and it turned out to be the winner.

An impressive, and perhaps surprising, start from Élie Baup’s team who are beginning to prove themselves as genuine title-contenders alongside Lyon and PSG.

With Lille and Montpellier both seeming to have their minds on the Champions League, their league threats may be somewhat blunted. Marseille’s only potential problem could be a lack of squad depth; with Stéphane Mbia and Alou Diarra departed, their only direct replacement Joey Barton is suspended until November.

PSG are beginning to look comfortable, and they brushed aside the previously unbeaten Toulouse with very little problem on Friday night. Jérémy Ménez and Zlatan Ibrahimovic linked up well, with Ibra netting his fifth of the season.

Earlier in the game, Javier Pastore’s neat chip marked the first non-Ibrahimovic goal of PSG’s season. The Swede said “If I score, I am happy, and if someone else scores I am even happier!” but that seems rather hard to believe.

The slightly less free-scoring Montpellier lost their third game of the season 3-1 away at Reims as, yet again, their defence was cut open far too easily.

Coach René Girard admitted: “This is the first evening where I have had to ask myself some serious questions. We lost our values. We can be ashamed of ourselves tonight.”

The reigning champions have big problems ahead of facing tougher opponents in the Champions League. They face the man who they are missing dearly already, Olivier Giroud, and his Arsenal team, on Tuesday night.

There was a bizarre game at Nice where it was goalless at half-time but finished 4-2 to the hosts.

In truth, Brest were never in the match, with both their goals coming while they were three goals behind, and Nice did enough for their first win of the season.

Sochaux also picked up their first three points with the ultimate smash-and-grab at Saint-Étienne.

Simon Pouplin had an incredible performance, and certainly didn’t look like a keeper who had spent a year without a club, before Thierry Doubaï’s fantastic overhead kick fifteen minutes from time was enough to seal the points for the away side and lift them off the bottom of the table.

Replacing them at the bottom were Troyes, despite a decent point at home to Lille. The 2011 champions haven’t had the most convincing start to the season, and failed to capitalise on their 1-0 lead before conceding a late equaliser.

Rudi Garcia’s side will need to win against BATE on Wednesday to have any chance of getting out of a Champions League group containing Bayern Munich and Valencia.

Alain Traoré was again the star for Lorient in the Brittany derby against Rennes, scoring his third and fourth goals of the season, and once again they were spectacular. A delicious first-time lob over Benoît Costil was followed by a free kick reminiscent of a Roberto Carlos swerving effort.

Alain Traore…. steals the show yet again.

Rennes were uninspiring in a 2-1 defeat that left them third-from-bottom, and their rivals third from the top.

Just above Lorient in second lie Lyon, who did enough to dismiss Ajaccio. It could have been more but for a rather greedy Bafétimbi Gomis who seemed intent on going alone at every opportunity, but a goal in each half from Dejan Lovren and Lisandro López were enough to seal off the visitors.

The Corsican side brought on new signing Adrian Mutu for his debut, but it remains to be seen whether he will turn out to be a useful acquisition or a mere vanity signing.

Six Ligue 1 sides are involved in European competition this midweek, with Montpellier facing the toughest task, against Arsenal.

Interestingly, only Marseille have an away tie, a lengthy trip to Istanbul to face Fenerbahçe, so we may well see some rotation from Élie Baup, giving some of his younger players a chance before refocusing on the league for Sunday’s clash with Évian.

Lille have a home tie with Lyon to prepare for after their Champions League game against BATE, so this week will be crucial in gauging how competitive they will be this season. Lyon themselves will play Sparta Prague on Thursday.

Elsewhere, Bordeaux play Club Brugge in the Europa League and PSG play Dynamo Kiev in Europe’s premier competition.

Paris should be fairly confident in getting out of a group also containing Porto and Dinamo Zagreb, and Tuesday should see the long-awaited debut of record signing Thiago Silva as the side from the capital continue their effort at world domination.

 

Written by Alasdair Shaw

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Adam’s Premier League Column: Weekly Round Up Week 4- Six of the Best for Arsenal

  By O-Posts Team | September 16, 2012 - 19:10 | , ,
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Above: Podolski celebrates his spectacular free-kick which put the Gunners 2-0 up.

Above: Podolski celebrates his spectacular free-kick which put the Gunners 2-0 up.

 

Arsenal 6 Southampton 1

Thanks to two own goals, Arsenal carried their great form to thrash pointless Southampton.

The Saints could hardly have asked for a tougher opening to their season, playing the two Manchester clubs and obviously Arsenal.

Southampton found themselves 4-0 down in the first 38 minutes thanks to some pretty shoddy defending. Saints ‘keeper Kelvin Davis could and should have done better after not efficiently dealing with Kieran Gibbs’ cross.

Podolski secured Arsenal’s second goal of the day by crafting a spectacular free-kick into the top corner on 31 minutes.

After that Arsenal shifted into another gear and the Saints just couldn’t keep up.

Gervinho then ran through on goal and waited for the perfect opportunity to strike before hammering in at the near post four minutes later.

Things went from bad to worse as Southhampton conceded another somewhat unfortunate own goal as Kieran Gibbs drilled in a cross for it to find Nathaniel Clyne who turned it into his own net.

Just before the break Southampton showed glimpses of a comeback, Fox pounced on a fumble by Szczesny to make it 4-1. But it was too little too late.

After half time, the pace slowed down, although Arsenal weren’t finished scoring just yet. Gervinho tapped in from three yards after an initial shot hit the post.

The final goal came from former Saints player Theo Walcott, who curled in an effort from just inside the box.

Great performance by Arsenal, but questions have to be asked about Southampton.

 

Norwich 0 West Ham 0

All in all a dire game, with both sides failing to capitalise on chances.

I think West Ham will be the happier side after keeping out numerous chances from the Canaries.

West Ham started the stronger, and Carlton Cole, who came in for the injured Andy Carroll, was unlucky not to score.

Grant Holt was poor for Norwich, and they don’t look as good this season under boss Chris Hughton.

The Hammers will be looking forward to their next game at home to Sunderland where they could be looking at three points.

Norwich, however, face a tough test away to Newcastle, who are flying high in Europe.

 

Aston Villa 2 Swansea 0

Aston Villa registered their first victory of the 2012/13 season and they were worthy winners.

It’s a step in the right direction for Paul Lambert’s Villa, after a disappointing start to the season.

I thought that Steven Ireland had a very good game for The Villa. His passing was sharp and he could have bagged himself a goal, too. Matthew Lowton’s wonder striker, his first goal for Villa, put the hosts ahead.

In the dying minutes of the game, debutant Christian Benteke ran on through goal after reacting well to a weak Swansea header to round ‘keeper Michel Vorm to tap in.

A great defensive display by Aston Villa, Brad Guzan in particular, and Swansea just need to move on and learn from their mistakes, and look forward to next week’s game at home to Everton.

 

Fulham 3 West Bromwich Albion 0

Dimitar Berbatov grabbed the headlines after scoring a brace in his home debut against the Baggies. His first goal was great; his second was a calmly taken penalty.

Martin Jol described Bervatov as ‘The best signing in Fulham’s history’, and what a way to answer to that with two goals in front of the Fulham faithful!

Steve Sidwell rounded off the scoring in the last minutes with a tap-in.

Dimitar Berbatov said after the game, ‘It was a great home debut. I had a feeling before the game that it would be a good day for the team and me. And it’s a great feeling. I feel satisfied with the result and my play, and all the supporters are happy as well’.

 

Manchester United 4 Wigan 0

The game was labeled by various pundits as a game of milestones, what with Paul Scholes making his 700th appearance for the Red Devils, veteran Ryan Giggs coming off the bench to secure his 600th appearance, and Dutch forward Alexander Buttner making his first.

Manchester United earned a dubious penalty after Danny Welbeck appeared to be fouled but replays suggested that the England frontman took a dive. However, justice was done as Ali Al Habsi saved well to his left to keep out Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez’s resulting penalty.

After half time, Manchester United clicked into gear and scored three in fifteen minutes.

The first came from Paul Scholes, who had to tap-in from close range. That goal means Scholes has scored in his 100th, 200th, 300th, 400th, 500th, 600th, and 700th appearance. J

avier Hernandez converted the second, despite having in my opinion a bad game. He has struggled somewhat to secure a regular staring place thanks to the talent of Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie, Danny Welbeck, and also United’s third scorer of the game, Buttner. So when Hernandez gets the chance he really has got to grab it with both hands if that isn’t too much of a cliché.

Powell rounded off a successful afternoon to make the final score 4-0 in favour to the Red Devils.

 

Queens Park Rangers 0 Chelsea 0

A game at the centre of media attention. Will Anton Ferdinand shake the hand of John Terry and Ashley Cole or won’t he? Ferdinand, of course, didn’t.

This brings up the big debate of should handshakes be discarded and forgotten about? But that’s for a separate debate, so let’s get back to the football.

Loftus Road has always been a struggle for Chelsea, and it proved to be a struggle this time around. Chelsea should arguably have had a couple of penalties; however referee Andre Marriner was giving The Pensioners absolutely nothing, much to the frustration of boss Di Matteo.

The first penalty shout came from Ryan Nelson’s alleged handling of Terry, who was at the centre of abuse for the majority of the match. Shaun-Wright-Phillips was the culprit of the second shout: He carried out a clumsy challenge on Eden Hazard, and which was again waved away.

A frustrating day for Chelsea, and I think they will be happy the game finished.

 

Stoke City 1 Manchester City 1

Plenty of debutants for the Manchester Club, Javier Garcia, Scott Sinclair and full back Maicon came in for the Citizens.

The opening goal came from Peter Crouch, who I feel wrongly stated in the week that he should play for England. I don’t think it’s a choice for players to make, it’s entirely the manager’s decision.

However, the goal from the frontman was handled on numerous occasions, and Man City can find themselves unfortunate that Mark Clattenburg didn’t spot the foul play.

Debutant Garcia was the saviour for Man City, and he looks to be a very promising player, both attacking wise and also defensively. Yaya Touré might feel he could have won it for the Blues, but was denied by ‘keeper Begovic who saved well on numerous occasions.

It will be interesting to see how Manchester City play against a depleted Real Madrid team, according to José Mourinho. That could be one of the Special One’s mind games, though.

 

Sunderland 1 Liverpool 1

Liverpool’s rather frustrating start to the season continues and they should really have won. However, nothing should be taken away from the Black Cats as they played some good football at times.

They took the lead through Steven Fletcher, who is massively underrated. Liverpool returned to fortunes of the past season as they hit the bar and posts on numerous occasions, Glen Johnson’s effort the most noticeable of them all, curling in an effort on his favoured right foot to smack against the post.

Luis Suarez tumbled, rolled and screamed his way around the pitch in customary fashion, but the Uruguayan netted to earn a point for the Anfield club in what has been a historic week in the clubs history, where justice has finally come out and I would like to take this opportunity to say how sorry I feel for all the families involved in the Hillsborough tragedy.

 

Reading 1 Tottenham 3

AVB’s Tottenham registered a comfortable win away to Reading. Defoe opened the scoring with a well taken goal inside the first 20 minutes.

Tottenham carried on pressing and Reading’s defence looked weak, with many passes going astray. Aaron Lennon had a great game down the right and carried on picking holes in the newly promoted side’s defence.

Gareth Bale made it 2-0 on 71 minutes with a somewhat scuffed shot. I think that Bale isn’t as effective playing too far forward; I feel he was a better all rounded player when he was as full-back. However, he was always there in Tottenham’s attacks and his persistence paid off.

Defoe scored his second of the game and his third league goal this season with a terrific solo goal. He will be key to England’s World Cup Qualifying campaign, if he scores and play’s well, England will almost definitely qualify. He is that good a player and so underrated, and people don’t appreciate the quality he has.

Reading then scored themselves to make it 3-1 with a well taken finish from Robson-Kanu on 90 minutes, but it was too little too late.

 

My Team of the Week

 

Written by Adam May

Follow him on Twitter @Amay132

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The Ligue 1 Review: Marseille continue to fly high, while PSG finally gain their first win

  By O-Posts Team | September 5, 2012 - 13:42 | , , , ,
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Ibra vs Lille

Right then — Ligue 1. It’s a bit interesting now, isn’t it? With some very big money arrivals, and equally expensive departures, people seem to be starting to take the French league seriously.

While Eden Hazard’s early form at Chelsea has shown the league isn’t as weak as many would have you think, the arrival of some of the best players in Serie A in Thiago Silva, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic perhaps indicate a shift in the power balance. OK, so PSG’s petro-dollars are behind all of those, but it was encouraging to see players like Salomon Kalou and Adrian Mutu choose to move to France, as well as the likes of Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa and Marvin Martin staying in the country.

With Lyon’s monopoly on league titles well and truly over, and four different champions in the last four years, Ligue 1 is looking stronger and more competitive than ever.

Two of the strongest looking outfits, the aforementioned oil-powered Paris Saint-Germain, and 2011 champions Lille, met on Sunday with just one league win between them. Having sealed their place in the Champions League group stage during the week, Lille were slow to start, and were punished within a minute by Ibrahimovic.

PSG’s slick passing in the build-up to the goal displayed that their expensively-assembled side is beginning to show some cohesion, a lack of which had led to their string of draws in their first three matches of the season.

Aurélien Chedjou’s second goal of the season levelled the scores before Ibrahimovic’s second of the match put Paris back in front. The Swede has scored all of his team’s goals so far this season and seems to enjoy being an even bigger fish in a perhaps smaller pond.

Reigning champions Montpellier got their first win of the season this weekend too, as the returning Younès Belhanda pulled the strings in a straightforward win over pointless Sochaux. Montpellier have had an awkward start to the season as they dealt with the loss of last season’s top scorer Olivier Giroud. The goalscoring baton has been passed to the significantly less handsome Emanuel Herrera, who got his second goal for the club, albeit a tap-in.

Sochaux look in deep trouble, having failed to significantly strengthen a side that finished just four points above the relegation spots last season, and have since lost their primary creator and goalscorer in Marvin Martin and Modibo Maïga respectively. Winger Sébastien Roudet’s comments that Sochaux “are a Ligue 2-quality squad” won’t encourage the fans, who saw their side qualify for European competition just two years ago.

While Sochaux have made the worst possible start, Marseille are flying with four wins from four. Élie Baup was something of a leftfield appointment to succeed Didier Deschamps, but, of course, the appointment suddenly looks a masterstroke in a week in which OM successfully qualified for the Europa League group stage and got a deserved victory against Rennes at the Stade Vélodrome.

Mathieu Valbuena looked sharp, and the return of Loïc Rémy was another positive sign, but there was one clearly outstanding performer in André-Pierre Gignac, who is playing, in stark contrast to last season, like a man with all the confidence in the world. This was summed up by the gall he had to even attempt his glorious strike to make it 2-1 to the home side. If Rémy can make a full recovery from his long-term injury problems, Marseille will go from strength to strength.

After a tricky start, Saint-Étienne have picked up six points in seven days, scoring seven without reply. In their 3-0 outclassing of Bastia they were efficient in launching counterattacks and clinical in front of goal, thanks mainly to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, scoring one and creating another. With Brandão still to be integrated into their attack, things are looking up for Christophe Galtier’s men.

Lyon had a mixed final week of the transfer window. While Cris was a great servant to the club, his departure to Galatasaray will not be much of an issue on the pitch, especially after the arrival of Milan Bisevac. But the loss of Hugo Lloris will be much more keenly felt, with long-term bridesmaid Rémy Vercoutre finally getting his wedding day. The goalkeeper has never played a full season as first choice in his career, so will take a bit of time to become fully match-ready, as was evident in his half-hearted effort to collect a Valenciennes cross that led to the opening goal on Saturday.

New signing Steed Malbranque and Clément Grenier were industrious in midfield to turn the game in Lyon’s favour, the latter scoring a deserved winner.

Elsewhere, Toulouse continued their unbeaten start to the season, but made hard work of it against newly-promoted Reims. Wissam Ben Yedder boosted his burgeoning reputation with an excellently taken equaliser, his third of the season, and his form has earned him a deserved call-up to the France under-21 side. Ben Yedder was influential in all of Toulouse’s good work, and, with the smallest squad in the league, his manager Alain Casanova will be desperate for him to avoid injury over the international break.

It’s been a long time since Ludovic Giuly has been eligible for the U21s, but he showed he’s still got something to offer France’s top flight with Lorient, as he scored against Nancy. Deemed surplus to requirements in Ligue 2 by Claudio Ranieri’s Monaco, the signing of the 36-year-old could turn out to be a shrewd move by Christian Gourcuff, bringing experience to a squad that survived relegation by just a point last season.

A player who could have an impact over a longer period of time could be Alain Traoré, scorer of a glorious free kick from an unlikely angle. Whether these summer signings can end Lorient’s appalling record away from home next weekend at Rennes remains to be seen.

The final word goes to Évian, who have sacked Pablo Correa after a gutless performance against Ajaccio. In a grand tradition of former managers in sinister “sporting director” roles, the Uruguayan has been duly replaced by Pascal Dupraz.

 

Written by Alasdair Shaw

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Peanut Butter and Calcio: Roma and Juve shine, while Pazzini stars for the Rossoneri

  By O-Posts Team | September 4, 2012 - 10:01 | , ,
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AC Milan's Giampaolo Pazzini celebrates scoring against Bologna

Welcome to the first of many Serie A weekly reviews! Serie A had some exciting action over the weekend in the second round of matches.

On paper, Roma-Inter looked to be the most anticipated match, but Inter never lived up to the hype as they saw the King of Rome pick and choose his spots.

 

Cagliari 1 – 1 Atalanta

10 men Atalanta, against all odds, seemed to have the match wrapped up after saving 2 penalties and a Denis goal in the 81st minute until Ekdal equalized in extra time. As the season progresses, it will be interesting if either of these teams will stay in top-flight Italian Calcio.

 

Catania 3 – 2 Genoa

Fireworks were flying on the island of Sicily Sunday evening. A free kick from Lodi with only a few minutes remaining sealed Genoa’s fate. Bergessio, the Argentine, netted his first two goals of the season for Catania. I expect Bergessio to break double digits this year in goals.

 

Lazio 3 – 0 Palermo

Lazio were more than convincing in their 3-0 smashing on Palermo. Klose netted a double and Candreva had the goal of his career. He sent a screamer from 25 yards out into the upper corner. This was a match that Lazio looked as if they had something to prove. For the 2nd straight week Palermo were handed a 3-0 defeat which could scream trouble.

 

Inter 1 – 3 Roma

Totti, the king of Rome, reeled in the years and gave an impressive performance assisting two goals for the Giallorossi. Roma took Inter down from their imaginary cloud where they believed they were the team to beat in Serie A.

A major takeaway from this match is the development of Osvaldo. The first two weeks of the season have been nothing but fantastic for Osvaldo besides his 2nd yellow in extra time where he slapped his hands on a Sneijder cross. His chip was world-class.

 

Napoli 2 – 1 Fiorentina

After Cavani, the man who looks like an old woman, renewed his contract with Napoli, they had their second impressive win in a row. In what looked like to be an own goal, Hamsik claims to have striked the ball with his hair to put Napoli up 1-0 10 minutes into the 2nd half. 20 minutes later Dzemaili sent in a screamer after a failed clearance from Fiorentina.

In the closing minutes Jovetic brought Fiorentina within one, but they could not find the equalizer in the end.

 

Parma 2 – 0 Chievo

In one of the 3 matches that no one cares about, Parma had a great showing against Chievo and came up with the 2-0 victory. Belfodi scored an impressive header and Rosi sealed the victory in the closing minutes on a beautiful assist from Biabany.

 

Sampdoria 2 – 1 Siena

For the second straight week Sampdoria came up with all three points. Maxi Lopez scored on a turnaround shot from inside the box. In the 61st minute a penalty was awarded to Siena. Calaiò struck the crossbar but Vergassola scored the rebound to bring Siena level.

Only 6 minutes later Gastaldello scored a header to put Sampdoria back in front for the remainder of the contest.

 

Bologna 1 – 3 Milan

Pazzini! Pazzini! Pazzini! 3 goals (1 coming from a suspect penalty) were all the Rossoneri needed to beat Bologna. Unfortunately for the Milan, they have even more injuries to deal with. Boateng and Montolivo will be out for a couple weeks.

Luckily we are at the international break, so the injuries will not hurt as much as both players should only miss out of 1 week’s action.

Even though Milan won 3-1, they looked shaky in the back. Bonera might be the worst defender in Italy.

 

Torino 3 – 0 Pescara

Torino slammed 10 men Pescara. This match was clearly the least appetizing. It seems even more evident that Pescara will find it extremely difficult to find points in any week this season.

 

Udinese 1 – 4 Juventus

The champions proved why they are the best yet again against Udinese. Early on, in the 12th minute, Brkic was given a harsh red as he fouled Giovinco in the box. The rest seemed to be history as Juve did whatever they pleased. Giovinco put 2 on the board and Vidal was able to hit a PK (after failing last week). Vucinic also scored just before the half.

Even though Udinese were a man down, it is impossible to think that any other team can seriously challenge Juve for the Scudetto. Asamoah has shined through the zebra stripes and we are yet to see his partner Isla who should debut on the left versus Genoa after the international break.

 

Final Thoughts

Napoli-Roma-Lazio-Inter-Milan, however, will be a dog fight for the two champion’s league spots. Destro is the youngster to watch, but Osvaldo will make things tough for the youngster as he is emerging as a force to be wrecking with up top.

Milan seems to have found an answer up top, but will the team be able to stay healthy. If not, Galliani should expect the Europa League and a new coach. It will be interesting to see how things play out in the coming weeks.

 

Written by Kevin Bourbon

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Adam’s Premier League Column: Weekly Round Up 3- Fireworks for Fergies 1,000th game

  By O-Posts Team | September 2, 2012 - 18:44 | , ,
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Robin van Persie celebrates hat-trick vs Southampton

Hello and welcome to my first Barclays Premier League column. I will offer reports, views and opinions on all the weekend fixtures across the Premier League.

 

West Ham 3 Fulham 0

West Ham really impressed me yesterday, and for me, ‘Big Sam’ has signed the signing of the window. To get a player on loan who less than 18 months ago was brought for £35million is terrific business for the Hammers. Carroll had a say in all three of the West Ham goals, causing a nuisance to the Fulham defence. He leapt against all the Fulham team, and they really didn’t know how to handle him or what to do.

Nolan and Matt Taylor scored near enough identical goals, with two great left footed strikes which found the bottom corners, Carroll making space for the runs by knocking balls down to the running Hammers. The West Ham faithful and management team will be disappointed however, as Carroll had to be replaced due to a slight tweak to his hamstring, ruling him out of England’s 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign.

Fulham look as if they will struggle after losing Forwards Mousa Dembele and Clint Dempsey to Tottenham, as they are the mechanisms of the Fulham side, and Martin Jol will no doubt be frustrated that funds weren’t available to bring in replacements.

Fulham did, however, capture the signing of want away Manchester United forward Dimitar Berbatov for a reported £4 million, and he will definitely bag a few important goals over the course of the season.

 

Swansea 2 Sunderland 2

New boy Steven Fletcher put in a fantastic shift for the Black Cats, scoring both goals against Michael Laudrup’s Swansea.

Fletcher, who signed from relegated Wolves signed for Sunderland for an undisclosed fee during the summer transfer window. His first was a terrific finish, a left footed curler, and it set Sunderland up and running in the 40th minute, only for that goal to be cancelled out by Wayne Routledge in the 45th. Fletcher then added to the scoring on 45+6 minutes via a tap in.

I have been really impressed with Swansea, especially their forward Michu, who scored a hattrick in the Swans’ first league game of the 2012/13 season and also headed home in this game to give Swansea a deserved point.

Manager Laudrup seems to have his style bedded in, which has been carried on from Roberto Martinez and Brendan Rogers, and I’m sure they will finish mid table, if not in the top ten, the future looks bright.

 

Tottenham 1 Norwich 1

Brad Friedel was on top form at White Hart Lane, pulling out numerous stops, saves and blocks to keep Tottenham in the game. Why Hugo Lloris has been brought in I have no idea, Friedel made a real statement today, that whilst he is fit, he is going nowhere. Despite his age, he still has a lot to offer to Spurs.

AVB has brought in two terrific players in Moussa Dembele and Clint Dempsey, and they will no doubt prove pivotal in Tottenham’s success. Dempsey was ineligible to play in the game, but Dembele, who scored after coming on as a substitute looked very promising and good things are on the horizon.

Norwich, who are under a new manager, looked okay, but not near the standard they set themselves last season. Jackson and Robert Snodgrass look very decent, so who knows what will happen, I just feel Chris Hughton needs some more time to get used to the new setup, and of course, a new group of players.

Norwich will count themselves unlucky that they didn’t bag maximum points.

 

West Brom 2 Everton 0

New boss Steve Clarke’s reign as West Brom coach has got off to a flyer, picking up 7 points from a possible 9. The Baggies looked very impressive, with Shane Long and Peter Odemwingie causing the problems for the Toffee’s defence. Maroune Fellaini gave away too many balls, Jelavic struggled to get into the game, and Tim Howard kept the scoreline at two.

Before the game, Everton had a 100% record in the new season, with wins against Manchester United and Aston Villa. Steven Pienaar looks fresh and sharp, but West Brom were simply too good for Everton.

If West Brom carry on like this they could surprise a lot of people, but there is a long, long way to go yet.

 

Wigan 2 Stoke 2

A single point now separates the two evenly match sides. Wigan looked strong, with Di Santo and Maloney playing well. Stoke, who recently signed ex Blackpool and Liverpool midfielder Charlie Adam for £4 million, came close to scoring after his deflected free kick brought out the save of the match and potentially the save of the season.

Stoke conceded a penalty as early as the 5th minute, and it was tucked away well by Maloney. Wigan then conceded a penalty for handball which Jon Walters converted. Walters will be key this year for Stoke, he is a great, reliable player, and if he gets chances he will grab them with both hands, or should I say feet.

Di Santo then put the Latics back in front. He scored a few vital goals for Wigan towards the latter stages of last season which proved vital to their survival bid, and he will have to produce the same sort of performances if Wigan are to play Premier League football next season.

Peter Crouch came to the rescue for the Potters late on in the 76 minute, with a great customary headed goal.

I’m sure Stoke will be fine this season, their performances will be key at the Britania, if they can get results at home, they will be safe.

 

Manchester City 3 QPR 1

We all know what happened last season when these two met at the Etihad last season. If you don’t then where have you been? It produced the most memorable football match played, with so much drama it was a fantastic advert for the Premier League.

The Citizens won more comfortable this time around, seeing of a much changed QPR side, who I believe have made 12 or so new signings throughout the summer.

Yaya Toure showed yet again why is one of the best midfielders in the world, Tevez showing his class, and with Maicon, Garcia and co to come, the Champions are going to be challenging to retain the title without a doubt.

I am disappointed with the decision to let Adam Johnson go, as I feel he is a terrific player. He needs games though, and he will get games for Sunderland, like he did against Swansea.

 

Liverpool 0 Arsenal 2

Now onto Sunday’s games and Arsenal ended their worst start to the Premier League for 50 years against a muddled Liverpool side. Summer signing Podolski got off the mark for the Gunners, and there will be no one more pleased than him to net his first goal!

Oliver Giroud had chances to open his account for the Gunners, too, but he struggled and perhaps tried too hard. Arsenal fans are not expecting him to replace Robin van Persie like for like, though.

Liverpool looked disjointed today, Luis Suarez diving like usual and Gerrard hitting long balls all the time, the Anfield outfit lacked a clinical striker, and I’m sure Brendan Rogers will be disappointed that he couldn’t acquire a forward before the 11pm transfer cut off.

 

Southampton 2 Manchester United 3

Southampton were extremely unlucky to not get a result and they will be incredibly disappointed with themselves to let a 2-1 lead slip at home.

Puncheon and Lambert tore Manchester United apart during the first half, two textbook headers were converted by the Saints.

Van Persie missed a penalty, and things weren’t looking great for the Red Devils. They kept on going and somehow got a result, a bit of luck went there way, but that’s football.

I’m sure Southampton will regroup after this and come back stronger as a result.

 

Newcastle 1 Aston Villa 1

Paul Lambert hasn’t had the best of starts to his Villa career, has he? But a very good point against Europa league hopefuls Newcastle is a platform to build from.

It will be an incredible achievement for the Toons if they can replicate what happened last season, if they do, hats off to them and Alan Pardew.

 

Team of the Week

 

Written by Adam May

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