Saturday, April 25, 2009

BPL Watch: Manchester United 5, Tottenham 2.

Facing a two-goal deficit at halftime, Manchester United not only rallied back to tie the game, but won it by three goals with two goals from Cristiano Ronaldo (his - and United's - first coming from a penalty kick), two from Wayne Rooney, and one from Dimitar Berbatov.

Luka Modric and Darren Bent scored one apiece before halftime to lead Tottenham to a two-goal cushion. However, it obviously wasn't enough for a win, as United showed great spirit in the second half to grab the three points, staying clear of Liverpool in the league table. The Merseysiders also won their game, 3-1 against Hull City.

Manchester United has a 3-point lead in the league table with a game to spare. They meet Arsenal on Wednesday for the Champions League and Middlesbrough on Sunday in Premier League action.

BPL Watch: Kuyt Leads Liverpool Over Hull, 3-1.

Liverpool is not backing down on their challenge to Manchester United. With Chelsea seemingly already out of the picture in the Premier League title race, they kept afloat their championship dreams with two goals from Dirk Kuyt and one from Xabi Alonso.

Macio Geovanni opened the scoring with a 73rd minute goal. Alonso's goal before halftime equalized the scoreline for the Merseysiders.

Liverpool trails Manchester United by 3 goals and 1 game in the league table. They meet Newcastle United on Sunday, May 3.

BPL Watch: Chelsea Wins Against West Ham, 1-0.

A Didier Drogba and Michael Essien-less Chelsea lineup squeaked past West Ham, 1-0, thanks to a spirited performance by Frank Lampard, who created the chance taken by Salomon Kalou, scoring the game's only goal in the 55th minute.

Chelsea's lineup changes were in preparation for Tuesday's match-up with a very strong Barcelona side in the Champions League. Chelsea trails Liverpool by 3 points in the league table, but with Manchester United far ahead, manager Guus Hiddink seems to have lost interest in chasing the domestic title.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

La Liga Watch: Villareal Rallies Past Recreativo Huelva, 2-1.

Joseba Llorente and Cani recovered from a 1st minute goal from Javier Camunas to deliver a win for their side, 2-1, in a disappointing performance that almost lost Villareal at least a point against relegation-bound Recreativo Huelva.

Villareal is still in the hunt for the 4th league table place, trailing Valencia by only 3 points but with a huge goal difference disadvantage (only 4 to Valencia's 15).

They meet Getafe CF next on Sunday.

Coppa Italia Watch: Inter Goal Not Enough, Sampdoria Advances to Final.

League leaders Internazionale successfully scored one goal in the second leg of their duel against Sampdoria thanks to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but it wasn't enough as Sampdoria advances to the final match of Coppa Italia with a 3-1 win on aggregate.

They meet Lazio who earlier defeated Juventus, 4-2 on aggregate.

Sampdoria and Lazio have won the Italian Cup four times each; Sampdoria lifted the trophy last in 1994 and Lazio in 2004.

BPL Watch: Chelsea 0, Everton 0.

It was a frustrating night at Stamford Bridge with both sides failing to score in a 0-0 deadlock that lasted throughout the game. Chelsea's Didier Drogba and Everton's Jo had chances to score but both failed to convert them into game-winning situations.

Chelsea (3rd) sank further behind Manchester United (1st); they're currently third in the league table behind Liverpool by three points and the leaders by six points. Realistically speaking, Guus Hiddink's side is now out of the race for the BPL title.

"It is difficult but we now have to focus on only two other roads - the Champions League and, later on in May, Everton again in the FA Cup final."

- Guus Hiddink


Chelsea meets West Ham United on Saturday and Barcelona on Tuesday (April 28) for the first leg of their Champions League semifinals match.

BPL Watch: Manchester United Back on Top With 2-0 Win Over Portsmouth.

Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick lifted Manchester United to a win against Portsmouth, scoring one goal each. The victory won back Manchester United the league table's top spot.

United made a huge change from the lineup they used in their loss against Everton in Wembley; in particular, Cristiano Ronaldo, Rooney, Ryan Giggs, and Edwin van der Sar made their return to the starting lineup.

Portsmouth was overwhelmed, aiming only one shot on target out of four attempts; United was on target on 12 of 21 attempts at the goal.

United meets Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.