Rangers bowed out of the Champions League as a late Jiloan Hamad goal saw the Scottish champions eliminated by Malmo.After a shock 1-0 defeat in last week’s first leg, Rangers were back on level terms in their third round qualifying tie through Nikica Jelavic’s first-half strike in Sweden.
But Malmo would have the last say as Hamad’s intervention in the 80th minute condemned Ally McCoist’s men to a Europa League play-off spot.
Rosenborg’s hopes were also extinguished, with Viktoria Plezen sealing a 4-2 aggregate result over the Norwegian giants following a 3-2 win on Wednesday.
While one Czech side progressed, another was eliminated as Slovan Bratislava exited at the hands of APOEL Nicosia.
Bratislava were poised to progress to the play-off stages following last week’s scoreless draw at APOEL, but goals from Brazilian duo Ailton and Gustavo sent the Cyprian champions through.
Benfica moved into the final qualifying round after a 1-1 draw in Turkey against Trabzonspor gave them a 3-1 aggregate win. Croatian giants Dinamo Zagreb progressed by the same aggregate score after a 1-0 home win over HJK Helsinki.
FC Twente moved on despite a scoreless stalemate with Vaslui in Romania, with the Dutch side advancing courtesy of a 2-0 first-leg triumph.
Russian outfit Rubin Kazan wrapped up their tie with Dynamo Kiev after a 2-1 home win at the Tsentralnyi Stadium capped a 4-1 aggregate result.
Genk also advanced, as a 1-1 draw with Partizan Belgrade in Serbia sealed a 3-2 aggregate result for the Belgian champions.
Elsewhere, FC Zurich continued their push for the group stages after knocking out Belgian side Standard Liege, while Austrian powerhouse Sturm Graz ended the run of Georgian outfit FC Zestafoni.
Polish champions Wisla Krakow kept their dream of a first-ever group-stage berth alive at the expense of Bulgarian counterparts Litex Lovech, while Israeli side Maccabi Haifa ousted Slovenia’s Maribor.
According to the Daily Mirror, Inter Milan are ready to offer their Brazilian attacking right-back Maicon in part-exchange for want-away striker Calos Tevez.
Much has been made of the Argentine’s ‘chance’ meeting with Inter’s director of football Marco Branca whilst in holiday in Italy, and since then it has been presumed the Italian club lead the chase for Tevez, whose deal to return to Corinthians of Brazil fell through.
Inter, who are yet to make a marquee signing this summer, see Tevez as the ideal target to lead them in their challenge to reclaim the Serie A title from neighbours AC Milan. It was thought that Manchester City were offered the opportunity to take on Cameroon international Samuel Eto’o in any part-exchange deal, but that seems to have changed with Maicon now on offer.
Maicon, who has been Brazil’s first-choice right-back for a number of years despite the presence of Barcelona’s brilliant Daniel Alves, has only one year remaining on his current contract with Inter, and the Italian giants are thought to be considering cashing on the player, who is now 30-years old.
However, any straight swap deal involving Tevez would interest the Italian’s, with no actual cash changing hands, but with City setting Tevez’s value at £40 million, and Maicon valued at around £15 million, there’s a £25 million shortfall.
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Ironically, it was the current Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini, who signed Maicon whilst in charge at Inter, 5-season ago.
Sporting Lisbon winger Simon Vukcevic has agreed to join Blackburn Rovers for £2 million, The Sun understands.
The Montenegrin international has signed a three-year deal at Ewood Park to become Kean’s fourth summer signing.
Rovers are now hoping he will receive international clearance in time to make his debut against Everton on Saturday.
Kean told The Sun: “Hopefully he’ll be back in the country some time tomorrow.
“It’s going to be difficult for him to be involved against Sheffield Wednesday in the Carling Cup tomorrow because he has not even trained with us.
“But if he comes back with all the appropriate paperwork then he will train with us on Thursday and Friday in preparation for the Everton game.”
The Rovers boss has so far managed to bring in David Goodwillie, Radosav Petrovic and Myles Anderson this summer.
At £2 million Kean believes he signed one of the bargains of the summer with Vukcevic boasting extensive Champions League and international experience.
“He is an exciting player who can play wide on either side.” He said.
“When you meet him he is a very focused guy who takes his football very seriously.
“He likes to take people on, to be the guy who makes a difference, a bit of a match winner.
Kean added: “He is a very good player with lots of international games under his belt for a country in the top 20, so he has performed at that level at a consistent basis.
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“He will give us a different dimension.”
The 25-year-old will certainly provide Rovers with a massive boost after a terrible start to the season saw them lose their first two games of the season.
No one envies Norwich City this weekend as they travel to Old Trafford. As far as the bookies are concerned it is in merely a question of how many goals United will score this weekend not what the result will be. However, Paul Lambert and Norwich City have to believe they can get something at Old Trafford after all United have drawn their last two games.
So was this all in mind I’ve had a look at some things that appear to be favourable for Norwich City going into the game. That could see the Canaries grabbing a draw or even a shocking victory.
Norwich has previous
The prospect of Norwich City beating Manchester United seems a little bit far-fetched, doesn’t it? Well, maybe not cast your mind back to 2005. No one gave Norwich City a chance when the two sides met at Carrow Road in the Premier League. Sir Alex Ferguson was similarly complacent and decided to rest some of his key players.
Unfortunately for Ferguson, Norwich were right up for this game and ended up winning the game 2-0 thanks to goals and Dean Ashton and Leon McKenzie. Of course, repeating the feat at Old Trafford would be a much harder task. However, Paul Lambert will be keen to remind his players that anything is possible.
United has their injury problems
It may be clutching at straws a little bit to talk about Manchester United’s current injury problems. Everyone knows that despite the players that are out Manchester United have an incredible squad to choose from and can easily field a very strong side against Norwich City.
That being said Manchester United will be without key players that definitely includes Wayne Rooney and will probably also include Javier Hernandez. Clearly Manchester United would want a full squad to choose from and not having certain players available will encourage Norwich.
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Norwich City is in form
Norwich City is starting to enjoy life in the Premier League and have hit some form at just the right time. The club is run of two straight wins following success over Bolton (away) and Sunderland at home. Some people might argue that the pressure is off for the visit to Old Trafford. The team do not need to be scared about going to United and losing, so they can go to Manchester and express themselves.
Paul Lambert will go and attack the champions
During his time at Norwich Paul Lambert is not known for his defensive or negative management. Teams in the past the gone to Old Trafford and effectively written off the game before they have even begun. While others have setup with a very defensive systems in order to try and contain Manchester United.
Norwich City though will do neither. Paul Lambert will put out a team that can go and win the game against United, and will look to attack. If Norwich can keep it tight in the first half and then have a real go in the second half then who knows what result we could have.
United look vulnerable at the back
Manchester United has looked like an impressive side going forward this season. Ashley Young is clearly a very useful addition to United’s attacking options. However, the Premier League champions have been less convincing at the back. The goalkeeper David De Gea has already been prone to some mistakes this season.
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Manchester United should have won their Champions League game this week very comfortably. Two quickfire goals in the first half saw United 2-0 up. However, Basel came back into the game and were leading 3-2, after they put United defence under some pressure. This is certainly promising for Norwich City, because it shows if you put the Manchester United defence under pressure they can concede goals. Whatever the result enjoy the game.
We recently saw the start of another Carling cup campaign for many Premier League sides, but yet again the relevance of the competition is being called into question.
For the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United this competition has helped clubs to develop their talented youth players over the past decade, but for teams who are battling against relegation come the end of the season it could just prove a hindrance in their fight for survival.
Out of the eight Premier League sides that played that Tuesday night (all against lower league opposition I may add!) half were knocked out in pretty comfortable fashion.
Comments made by QPR manager Neil Warnock and Mick McCarthy of Wolves, suggest that many clubs in the Premier League just don’t care about the competition anymore. Warnock was quoted as saying he was glad his side had been knocked out and that it was never a priority for the club. The QPR boss made eight changes to the side that beat Everton 1-0 at the weekend showing where his priorities lie.
Norwich, another of the newly promoted sides, fielded 11 different players to the team that drew with Stoke last weekend and although manager Paul Lambert didn’t suggest the cup was a waste of time he did reiterate the fact that Premier League survival was his main priority.
Attendance figures also seem to suggest that it is not only clubs that have lost interest in the competition but the fans too. The average attendance of that Tuesday’s 16 Carling Cup ties was 7,631, with only three games attracting gates of more than 10,000, but why is that? Why has the Carling Cup not got the same spark as the FA cup and why are fans not going to the games anymore?
It’s fair enough that the Premier League clubs who are also playing in Europe might not give the competition greater precedence. But surely that just makes the League Cup a more tempting piece of silverware for the lower league sides. In my mind this is a competition that is excellent for giving fringe players a real test of a game and can also give clubs a change to get in a confident mood and a good rhythm of scoring some goals! Plus the team that wins it has a guaranteed entry into Europe and its a trophy to put in the cabinet.
Whether managers, players or even fans care about the cup anymore is a debate which still seems to be settled….but going to a cup final at Wembley is a memorable day out – any Birmingham fan will tell you that! However, being in the Championship the following season rather than in the top flight is something they’d rather forget!
We shall wait and see if they win promotion back to the Premier League come the end of the season, but ask any of their fans or players right now if they would have won the Carling Cup or won their battle against relegation and I’m pretty sure I know what all of their answers will be….
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Chris Eagles and Ivan Klasnic scored twice for Bolton as they hammered Stoke 5-0 to record their first win at the Reebok Stadium this season.
The Trotters had failed to pick up a solitary point on their own patch before Tony Pulis’ men came to town. The Potters had thrashed Owen Coyle’s side 5-1 in the FA Cup Semi Final in April and this result went a long way to burying the ghost that had lingered around the North West since then. Bolton have been in free fall since their last meeting but produced a display worthy of winning the cup itself. Whilst the win didn’t move them out of the relegation zone it did give the Reebok faithful reason to finally celebrate after seeing their side lose in their last five home fixtures. They also inflicted Stokes second defeat in a row and they were outplayed once again in a similar manner to their 3-1 loss at home to Newcastle on Monday. Pulis’ me looked jaded after a long trip to and from Tel Aviv on Thursday and it showed as they appeared half asleep as the home side took an early lead that was steeped in controversy.
Kevin Davies, reinstated to the starting lineup after being dropped to the bench last week, was on hand to open the scoring tapping in to an empty net from Klasnic’s free kick. Stoke were fuming after referee Howard Webb ruled that Glenn Whelan’s swipe into the hands of Asmir Begovic was a back pass then allowing Klasnic to play in his captain immediately to put the Trotters 1-0 up. That set the tone as Stoke struggled to match their opponents in every department and found themselves two behind with Eagles lashing home superbly after Begovic’s hooked clearance found the former Burnley winger. Bolton looked a different side to the one that had lost eight out of their last 10 games and went into half time full of confidence. The wind had been knocked out the visitors sails and they failed to mount a serious comeback in the second half although they did have half a chance to half the deficit but Cameron Jerome’s header zipped narrowly wide. They almost came unstuck at the opposite end but had Begovic to thank for racing out of goal and denying Fabrice Muamba the chance to score a Bolton third.
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However it wasn’t long before the Trotters did extend their lead with Klasnic sweeping home from the edge of the area just after the hour mark following a flowing move involving Eagles and the energetic Mark Davies. It was game, set and match 12 minutes later with Eagles producing a delightful dinked finish after latching onto Klasnic’s fine pass. Stoke were going down without a whimper and they found themselves on the end of a thrashing as Bolton continued the scoring nine minutes from time to cap off arguably their best performance of the season. It was Klasnic again on the scoresheet heading home from close range for his fifth goal off the season after David Wheater had nodded on Davies’ corner to complete a remarkable revenge mission and put the Trotters firmly back on the right track.
Chelsea boss Andre Villas Boas has confirmed that Michael Essien is making good progress from knee surgery, and has pinpointed a December return for the influential midfielder.
The Ghana international has been absent from the Stamford Bridge first team for the entirety of this campaign, but the Portuguese coach is hoping to have Essien available for selection before the turn of the year.
“Essien is making good progress and we’re thinking end of December,” the ex-Porto trainer told the club’s official website.
Chelsea are on a poor run of form after losing their last two league games, and dropping Champions League points against Genk in midweek.
The Blues’ were without Jon Obi Mikel and Didier Drogba for the 1-1 draw at the Cristal Arena on Tuesday, but the African duo will be back available in the near future.
“Obi has returned to training straight away after we returned from Genk and will be fit for selection,” Villas Boas said ahead of Saturday’s trip to Ewood Park to face Blackburn.
“Hilario has done an almost full session today but we still think [he will return] only after the international break.
“Didier will start training as we enter the second week of the international break and we hope he’ll be available for the Liverpool game,” the coach concluded.
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Chelsea travel to Lancashire on Saturday in fourth place, nine points behind runaway leaders Manchester City.
This Tuesday night in the final round of the Champions League group fixtures throws together an intriguing battle, in more ways than one, as Chelsea take on Valencia at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea have to avoid defeat, or a draw 0-0 against the Spanish club if they are to progress; Valencia need a win or force a score-draw, to advance to the knock-out stages of the competition. What makes the tie even more fascinating is that it pits two Spanish gunslingers in direct opposition of each other, both aiming for a prize which goes beyond Tuesday’s Champions League advancement; a place in next summer’s Spanish squad for Euro 2012.
As Chelsea’s Fernando Torres and Valencia’s Roberto Soldado go head-to-head, both strikers could not have had a more contrasting year. 2011 has saw one of the most dramatic falls from grace ever witnessed on a football field for Torres, whilst Soldado’s stock continues to rise at an impressive rate. It’s true that there were troubling signs in Torres’ form months before he decided to swap the red of Liverpool, for the blue of Chelsea back in January, in search of ‘career advancement’. But if the striker looked to blame his loss of form and his apparent lack of appetite for the game on the turmoil that surrounded the Anfield club at the time, he was proved very much mistaken. He has somehow managed to fall even further, enduring a nightmare time thus far since his British record £50million move, appearing to have lost all self-confidence and belief which once helped him become the most feared striker in Europe. Whilst wearing the blue of Chelsea, Torres has scored just 5 times in the 34 games he’s played (in all competitions) – and has received as many yellow cards as goals.
Whilst his drastic loss of form has been as mystifying as it is blatant for all to see, what is getting even more mystifying, with every passing week, is Roberto Soldado’s lack of inclusion in the Spanish national team set-up so far this year. After all, his statistics are blatant for all to see. Since joining his hometown club in 2010, Soldado has been a goalscoring machine and become a talisman. During his first season he netted 18 times from his 34 appearances in La Liga, and this season has increased his rate, notching 9 in 15 games. His Champions League credentials are mightily impressive too with 12 goals coming from just 15 games. To look at it another way, this year the hitman from Valencia has hit the target 26 times in his past 28 appearances across all competitions; a rate that is comparable with the likes of Robin van Persie, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo – players who have been lauded week in, week out for their goalscoring exploits this season. If he carries on at this rate, surely Vicente Del Bosque, Spain’s mild-mannered national team coach cannot ignore him for much longer – and if Torres carries on at his current rate, should come at his expense?
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Torres has so far been spared the final indignity of being overlooked by the national team, but for how long can he live on past glories? It’s been rumoured in the Spanish media that the only reason for Torres’ continued inclusion in the national team over Soldado is down to his Madrid connections – where he was born, raised and captained Atletico Madrid. The argument falls down slightly when you consider Soldado himself spent 8 years in the Spanish capital, first as a youth-teamer, then progressing all the way through to the first team with Real Madrid. However one can’t help but start to think there may be something in it, as the weeks pass by and Soldado continues to impress. Of course Torres isn’t the only striker included in any Spanish squad so why should be the one to make way? Simple. The other strikers are performing. Sevilla’s Alvaro Negredo is central to everything good the club does, whilst the powerful Fernando Llorente continues to improve and impress, especially under Marcelo Bielsa’s guidance at Athletic Bilbao. With his 2011 form to go by, Torres appears to be living off his reputation – but what a reputation it is.
They used to say a striker had done his job if he scored, but that is no longer the case – and was never really the case with Fernando Torres, who offered so much more. This old adage has no relevance in Spain today, as the country who promotes the use of the false-9 formation. Strikers must do more than simply wait for a goalscoring opportunity, and the Torres of old would be one to be involved in all attacking build-ups. He was never a great goalscorer at international level, however he has scored decisive goals – including the one hailed as the most important in the country’s history; in the final at Euro 2008 which ended Spain’s tag as the ‘nearly men’.
Whilst Torres may not be an automatic first choice in Spain’s starting XI, a situation that stretches back to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, he is still being called up – and currently it appears to be at the expense of Soldado. When they met earlier on in the season, the game finished 1-1 with Torres unlucky not to score whilst Soldado hit the Valencia goal. When the two meet on Tuesday night, the protagonist maybe firing himself through to both club AND country European glory in 2012.
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Sunderland manager Martin O’Neill was unhappy with the award of a penalty to Everton on Boxing Day, as the sides played out a 1-1 draw at the Stadium of Light.
Jack Colback has given the Wearside club a 1-0 lead at the interval, but Leighton Baines struck from 12 yards to earn the visitors a point.
O’Neill has annoyed by Everton’s penalty however, as Leon Osman was adjudged to have been fouled, when in fact he had kicked the ground and fell.
“I was unhappy obviously,” he told Sky Sports.
“I think that the players who were involved were more upset about that. Obviously it was pretty clear that the Everton player hit the ground.
“Unfortunately, yes I had the chance to watch the incident again and it was obviously not a penalty,” he commented.
Toffees boss David Moyes also stated that Howard Webb’s decision was wrong, and that a penalty should not have been awarded.
“I’ve had the chance to see it again,” Moyes admitted.
“I don’t think it’s a penalty kick – well, it’s not a penalty kick.
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“It’s a terrible decision by the referee. It wasn’t a penalty kick and Martin O’Neill should feel hard done by,” he stated.
Yesterday’s ‘Super Sunday’ certainly didn’t pass without controversy as both Manchester clubs served up more capital punishment on North London.
Harry Redknapp was left seething at the failure of Howard Webb to take action on Mario Balotelli, following his stamp on Scott Parker; while Arsene Wenger came out on the defensive in response to the barrage of abuse he received from supporters for his decision to replace Oxlade Chamberlain with Andrey Arshavin. The subsequent results mean that it appears to be a two horse title race, with Spurs now trailing the leaders by 8pts, while defeat sees Arsenal left fighting with Chelsea for a top four finish this season.
Harry Redknapp was left fuming yesterday afternoon as Mario Balotelli escaped punishment for stamping on Scott Parker’s head. To make matters worse for Tottenham the Italian went on to score the winning penalty in stoppage time, to rub extra salt in the Spurs manager’s wounds – Guardian
Kenny Dalglish has threatened to make changes to his Liverpool personnel, after a horror display at the Reebok Stadium. The Reds manager didn’t feel the attitude displayed on the pitch was fitting of the football club and was totally unacceptable – Guardian
Arsene Wenger went on the defensive last night after being heavily criticised by the Arsenal faithful who booed and heckled his decision to take off Oxlade-Chamberlain and replace him with Andrey Arshavin. The Frenchman doesn’t understand why he needs to justify his substitutions, even though the decision cost Arsenal dear – Guardian
Harry Redknapp appears in the High Court today to respond to charges of tax evasion. The case is expected to last at least two weeks, which will mean Harry will be missing from the day to day running at the football club – Daily Telegraph
Andre Villas-Boas has called for calm in the week ahead of John Terry’s return against QPR. The Portuguese manager believes that the media creating a Terry v Ferdinand campaign is only going to make the situation worse – Independent
Mark Hughes has no problem with Joey Barton’s tweeting and is not going to prevent his captain from using it as a vehicle to express his views – Daily Mail
Robbie Keane admits he doesn’t miss the Premier League, following his goalscoring return at Molineux at the weekend. The LA Galaxy star said he got itchy feet waiting for the MLS pre-season to start and wanted to get some game time, hence his loan move to England – Daily Mail
Chelsea have been told to up their offer if they wish to sign Shakhtar playmaker Willian. Andre Villas-Boas has been quoted a fee of £28m to land the Brazilian, after their reported £20m bid was rejected – Daily Mail
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Lyon have expressed an interest in signing Tottenham defender Vedran Corluka. The Croatian defender is out of favour at White Hart Lane and is thought to be keen on a move away to get regular first team football, with his place in the Croatia Euro 2012 squad uncertain – Mirror
QPR’s hopes of landing Manchester City’s Nedum Onuoha has taken a little setback as Everton have entered the running for his signature – Metro