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Barcelona-Real Madrid rivalry takes its toll in 2011/12 La Liga race: No more rest for the Catalans
Can FC Barcelona afford to drop any more points with a Real Madrid side that might have found their groove? Not if they want to defend their Liga title.
A 100% record in La Liga was probably not FC Barcelona’s aim at the start of the season; but in view of Real Madrid’s solidification, they are advised to go for perfection.Yes, Barcelona have been trying to give their fans the very best. Surely, never did they allow themselves to get carried away by complaisance; but in contrast, their results in La Liga have not always been positive.
Failing to accomplish missions or dropping points are things that can happen from time to time. Yet, mistakes seem to get massive exposure when they come at an unexpected moment.
Errors to Basel, Palace, Blackburn & now the Toons: Where are Man United heading?
Manchester United have had one too many setbacks this season. It’s interesting to know how they will end their 2011/12 campaign.
No more Champions League glory hopes
Already, their hunt for UEFA Champions League glory is dead. The Red Devils’ new generation of players couldn’t survive the existing pressure in the group phase of the tournament. Dropping points to Portuguese giants Benfica in the process seemed understandable, but losing to FC Basel in the Round of 16 decider was something too alarming to believe.
This defeat relegated Fergie’s team to the UEFA Europa League and provoked jeers among the Red Devils’ army of haters. But in typical fashion, battered Manchester United fans vowed to cheer their lads all the way to Europa League glory.
Luka Modric discards January transfer as Spurs are enjoying a great season
Spurs’ exclusion from the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League apparently doesn't bother Luka Modric to the extent of wanting to quit for a bigger club.
The Croatian midfielder’s name was constantly mentioned in the headlines, especially last summer, as Chelsea looked favorites to land the player’s signature. All the same, Harry Redknapp won the transfer battle and Modric remained at White Hart Lane.As the January transfer window is about to open, speculations surrounding the 26-year-old have emerged again. Rumors suggest that Modric might respond to Chelsea’s midfield problems by joining Andre Villas-Boas’ struggling Blues.
The player, however, has been quick to discard them. On Thursday, the English press reported Luka Modric as saying:
Why Arsenal should not fear their UEFA Champions League trip to Milan
Arsenal were handed a two-legged battle against Italian Champions AC Milan in the last 16 of the Champions League today.
The first leg will see Arsenal travel to face Milan in the intimidating environment of the San Siro on Wednesday February 15th. It may be the day after St Valentines Day, but there will be little love for the Gunners in the notoriously hostile Milan crowd.Having been knocked out of this competition for two years running by FC Barcelona, Arsenal fans will at least be grateful that they get to avoid the defending European champions for one round at least.
Having won UEFA Champions League Group F, Arsenal could have been drawn against FC Basel, Zenit St Petersburg or Olympique Lyonnais. When you look at the teams who qualified as group runners up in the group stages, a draw against AC Milan is about a tough as it could have been.
AC Milan vs Arsenal matchup highlights thrilling Champions League Last 16 draw
The fixtures for the Round of 16 of the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League draw have been revealed. In the highlight of the matchups, Milan and Arsenal will clash against each other in a two-legged tie.
Bayern Munich perhaps got the easiest draw. The German giants will face Switzerland’s Basel. Bayern’s German neighbors, Leverkusen, will have a much tougher task in the form of Pep Guardiola’s invincible Barcelona. Jose Mourinho and his hungry team will need to face the cold weather of Russia. Real Madrid got paired with powerhouse CSKA Moscow.
Zenit and Benfica will vie against each other for quarter-finals tickets. It could be a close affair between the Russians and the Portuguese in this Europa League-like tie.
Champions League Last 16: Barca, Arsenal, Milan, Real Madrid light up draw
The Champions League’s Last 16 will see two teams from Germany, Spain, Russia, England, France and Italy competing. Benfica, APOEL and Basel are the sole representatives of their respective country.
Barcelona are poised to get a comfortable draw. The Catalans overcame the challenge posed by AC Milan in Group H. After qualifying at the head of this section, Barca can expect to be paired with an unseeded team relatively inferior to them in size.APOEL are the odd contenders among the seeded teams. Arsenal did quite well and the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League season could be their time to shine. However, avoiding AC Milan is one of the Gunners’ dreams.
Interestingly, Benfica enter Friday’s UEFA Champions League Last 16 draw as seeded. This is the Eagles’ reward for dominating over favorites Manchester United in Group C.
A Look Ahead to the Champions League Draw on Friday
The most ‘even’ Champions League draw will be taking place on the 16th of December.
Italy is the nation with most sides in the round of 16. Germany, Spain, Russia, England and France each are represented by two sides in the competition. Cyprus, Switzerland and Portugal are each represented by one team. All these teams have made their passages through tough groups with perhaps the exception of Barcelona and AC Milan. These two sides were drawn with Plzen and Bate, two relative novices at this level, in the group stage.Nonetheless, Barca and Milan must be given credit for qualifying as the novices have risen this season. Whereas experienced competitors such as Manchester United, Villarreal, Porto and Valencia have gone out, the likes of Apoel Nicosia and FC Basel have progressed into the knockout stages.
Manchester City eliminated from UEFA Champions League despite 2-0 win over Bayern Munich
Manchester City beat German champions Bayern Munich 2-0 on Wednesday, but it was not enough to avoid elimination from the Champions League.
Napoli went into Matchday six one point above City in the race for qualification from Group A, and the Italian club sealed their progress to the last 16 at City’s expense with a 2-0 win at Villarreal.It proved to be a bad night for the city of Manchester, with Manchester United also crashing out of Europe’s top competition after a 2-1 defeat at FC Basel.
Bayern had already sealed progress to the last 16 as Group A winners, and responded by resting key players such as Manuel Neuer, Philipp Lahm, Mario Gomez and Thomas Mueller for this game.
City almost took advantage with a 16th minute free kick from David Silva that went in, but the goal was disallowed when Joleon Lescott was harshly judged to have fouled goalkeeper Jorg Butt.
Manchester United crash out of UEFA Champions League after disastrous 2-1 loss at FC Basel
Manchester United fell to a disappointing 2-1 defeat in Basel that saw them eliminated from the Champions League group stages for only the third time since 1994.
Marco Streller and Alexander Frei hammered the nails into the United coffin, while Phil Jones headed a late consolation for the English champions.United have reached three of the past four UEFA Champions League finals, and went into this game knowing a win or draw would be enough to advance to the knockout stages.
The Red Devils dominated possession in the early stages and adopted an attacking mentality. The pressure was turned up though when Basel took a 9th minute lead with their first genuine attack.
Xherdan Shaqiri produced a dangerous low cross that was redirected by David de Gea, and Marco Streller was on hand to fire Basel into a 1-0 lead.
Shocking: Manchester United and Man City fail to reach Champions League Last 16
Incredibly, Manchester United and Manchester City have failed to reach the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League’s Round of 16!
The Red Devils needed a positive result in Switzerland. Instead, they lost 2-1 against a daring FC Basel team. Marco Streller scared Manchester United early on as Patrice Evra and David de Gea had no chance inside the defensive area. Nani and Wayne Rooney were hoping to turn the tables around for Manchester United but their efforts couldn’t answer the fans’ calls. Even the experience of Ryan Giggs didn’t influence the result for the Red Devils. Xherdan Shaqiri, however, displayed a man-of-the-match performance as FC Basel’s attacking line appeared too strong for Manchester United’s backline.
Champions League: What Day 6 means to the doomed, the safe and the unsecured
There are seven more places at stake in the UEFA Champions League. Which teams will qualify from the group stages of the competition to reach the Last 16?
The doomed teams
Group A’s Villarreal, Group C’s Otelul Galati, Group D’s Dinamo Zagreb, Group E’s Genk and Group G’s Shakhtar Donetsk will have absolutely nothing to defend but their pride on Matchday 6 of the UEFA Champions League. The dream of reaching the Round of 16 and the option of playing in the UEFA Europa League are two things which do not exist anymore for those teams.
However, their involvement in Tuesday and Wednesday’s Champions League night could torment the remaining contenders. In Group A, for example, Villarreal could favor Manchester City by spoiling Napoli’s golden chance of progressing.
Chelsea deliver “a slap in the face” to critics with 3-0 UEFA Champions League win over Valencia.
Chelsea beat Valencia 3-0 at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday to seal their progress to the knockout rounds as Group C winners.
The Blues entered this game under pressure, knowing a defeat or score draw would see them eliminated from the Champions League group stages for the first time ever.Any nerves among the Stamford Bridge faithful were calmed as early as the 3rd minute when Didier Drogba side-footed past Diego Alves. Brazilian Ramires doubled the lead in the 22nd minute, before Drogba struck again in the second half to round off a comfortable 3-0 win.
Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas made a bold decision in leaving out Frank Lampard, and his selection paid immediate dividends when Juan Mata set up Drogba to fire the Blues into an early lead.
UEFA Champions League Preview: Dec 7
Manchester City need a victory against Bayern Munich on Wednesday to keep their hopes of reaching the UEFA Champions League last 16 alive.
City must not only beat group leaders Bayern to reach the knockout stages, they must hope Napoli fail to win at last placed Villarreal in Group A’s other game. Bayern have already sealed progress to the next round as group winners, but will nonetheless provide stiff opposition for a City team they have already beaten 2-0 in Germany during this tournament.In Group C, FC Basel will play host to Manchester United with qualification to the UEFA Champions League knockout stages on the line.
United are currently tied for the group lead with Benfica on nine points, while third placed Basel are only one point further back.
A win or draw in this game will guarantee United progress to the next round, while to qualify as group winners United must get a better result than Benfica achieve against last placed Otelul Galati.
If Basel beat United, then they will qualify for the last 16 at the expense of their more illustrious English opponents.
Lille will play host to UEFA Champions League Group B rivals Trabzonspor on Wednesday, with both teams knowing a win will guarantee them a place in the knockout rounds.
Trabzonspor are currently second placed in Group B, while Lille are only one point further back. If this game ends in a draw, CSKA Moscow can steal the second qualification spot if they win at group leaders Inter Milan.
AFC Ajax can guarantee qualification into the last 16 with a point against Group D leaders Real Madrid on Wednesday.
Even if Ajax lose this game, Lyon must beat Dinamo Zagreb and overhaul a seven goal differential to see the Dutch club eliminated. Madrid have already sealed their progress into the knockout stage as group winners.
In this preview:
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Lille vs Trabzonspor - Wed 2:45PM
Basel vs Manchester United - Wed 2:45PM
Villarreal vs Napoli - Wed 2:45PM
Lille vs Trabzonspor - Wed 2:45PM
Basel vs Manchester United - Wed 2:45PM
Villarreal vs Napoli - Wed 2:45PM
Benfica vs Oţelul Galaţi - Wed 2:45PM
Dinamo Zagreb vs Olympique Lyon - Wed 2:45PM
Ajax vs Real Madrid - Wed 2:45PM
Internazionale vs CSKA Moskva - Wed 2:45PM
Dinamo Zagreb vs Olympique Lyon - Wed 2:45PM
Ajax vs Real Madrid - Wed 2:45PM
Internazionale vs CSKA Moskva - Wed 2:45PM
Manchester City fights Bayern for survival in the Champions League
With 13 points, Bayern has already qualified as the top team from Group A. City and Napoli will fight it out for the second spot.
Bayern sits in an undoubtedly enviable position in Group A. One of the four wins they have garnered along the way came against Manchester City. They beat the Citizens 2-0 on Match-day 2. Three match-days later, City find themselves third in the group at the mercy of not just Bayern but also of Napoli.Napoli takes on Villarreal on the final match-day. City must hope that Villarreal, a team that is yet to garner a single point from five matches, somehow takes a point or three against Napoli. At the same time, they must beat the mighty Bavarians.
Man United, Chelsea & Man City facing Champions League to Europa League demotion
Calculations reveal that Arsenal could become the sole English survivors in the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League ahead of the Last 16.
Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City are interestingly more or less in danger of exiting the continent’s top competition for the Europa League. Unlike Barcelona, Real Madrid, Internazionale or Bayern Munich, the English trio cannot afford to relax on Matchday 6.
Andre Villas-Boas’ big test
Andre Villas-Boas led Chelsea to a 3-0 defeat of Newcastle United last weekend, but this result doesn’t mean that the coach has finished proving himself in the eyes of his critics. The Portuguese man is facing a tough challenge in the form of Valencia.
Since quite a number of years now, one of the Blues’ priorities has always been to win the UEFA Champions League. Today, they are in a serious condition which they can still overturn, though. A goalless draw will be enough for them to pass onto the knockout stages of the competition.
UEFA Champions League Preview: Dec 6
Chelsea face a crucial UEFA Champions League Group E clash against Valencia at Stamford Bridge with qualification to the knockout stages on the line.
Chelsea will reach the last 16 of the tournament with a win or a 0-0 draw, while Valencia will qualify at the expense of Chelsea with a win or score draw. If Valencia score during a draw, they will edge out the Blues due to away goals scored during the head to head encounters.Bayer Leverkusen have already sealed qualification from Group E, and will seal top spot with a win at last placed Genk.
In Group F, Olympique de Marseille will guarantee their progress to the knockout stages if they can win at Borussia Dortmund.
A draw will also see Marseille through to the last 16, if Olympiacos fail to beat group winners Arsenal in Group F’s other game.
Dortmund are not yet eliminated from contention, but face a mammoth task if they are to qualify for the next round. If Olympiacos lose to Arsenal, then Dortmund must win by four goals to go through. If Olympiacos get a point against the Gunners, then Dortmund must win by five clear goals to qualify as Group F runners up.
APOEL FC have already qualified from Group G, and can clinch top spot with a win against Shakhtar Donetsk.
Zenit St Petersburg currently occupy the second qualification spot in Group G, but face a crucial qualification battle against third placed FC Porto, who are only one point beliw them.
Group H winners Barcelona and second placed AC Milan have already qualified for the last 16, and will round off their campaigns against BATE Borisov and Viktoria Plzen respectively.
In this preview:
Genk vs Bayer Leverkusen - Tue 2:45PM
Olympiakos Piraeus vs Arsenal - Tue 2:45PM
Chelsea vs Valencia - Tue 2:45PM
Borussia Dortmund vs Olympique Marseille - Tue 2:45PM
Olympiakos Piraeus vs Arsenal - Tue 2:45PM
Chelsea vs Valencia - Tue 2:45PM
Borussia Dortmund vs Olympique Marseille - Tue 2:45PM
FC Porto vs Zenit - Tue 2:45PM
Barcelona vs BATE - Tue 2:45PM
Viktoria Plzeň vs Milan - Tue 2:45PM
APOEL vs Shakhtar Donetsk - Tue 2:45PM
Barcelona vs BATE - Tue 2:45PM
Viktoria Plzeň vs Milan - Tue 2:45PM
APOEL vs Shakhtar Donetsk - Tue 2:45PM
Sportsnet World Available Through Free Preview in December, Beginning Today
TORONTO (December 2, 2011) – With the holiday season just around the corner, Sportsnet World is offering sports fans an early gift with a free month-long preview of the network.
The preview begins today and runs through January 3 on participating television service providers in Canada (see below for a list of participating providers).
Sportsnet World is the only 24/7 international sports channel of its kind in Canada, featuring world-class international sports coverage of the top leagues in football (soccer), rugby and cricket.
Coverage during the free preview includes the following:
Barclays Premier League
Sportsnet World will televise 22 live matches from Barclays Premier League – the top soccer league in the world. Key match-ups include table-leading Manchester City with a home date versus Arsenal on Sunday, Dec. 18 and a Boxing Day triple header, featuring Manchester United, Aston Villa, and Chelsea.
Arsenal become first English club to reach UEFA Champions League last 16 with win over Borussia Dortmund
Arsenal beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium last night to seal a place in the Champions League knockout stages.
The Gunners were the only English club to collect all three points in Europe’s top competition this week, and are the only Premier League club to have cemented a spot in the last 16.Dutch striker Robin van Persie continued his red hot form by scoring both of Arsenal’s goals, while Shinji Kagawa replied with a late consolation goal for Dortmund.
Both teams entered this game in good form, with Arsenal having gone unbeaten in their last eight games, and Dortmund having beaten Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich over the weekend.
Dortmund started well and dominated the early stages, but suffered two injury blows during the first half.
Chelsea on the brink after late UEFA Champions League collapse
Chelsea crumbled to a last minute 2-1 defeat against Bayer Leverkusen in Germany last night.
The defeat leaves Chelsea needing a win or 0-0 draw in their final Group E game against in-form Spanish team Valencia to reach the knockout stages.Valencia are coming off a 7-0 win over Genk, and will qualify for the last 16 over Chelsea if they achieve a victory or score draw at Stamford Bridge.
Things looked good for the Blues last night when Didier Drogba fired the in front early in the second half. Their good fortune did not last however, with Eren Derdiyok equalizing in the 73rd minute before Manuel Friedrich headed home an injury time winner for the Germans.
The first chance of the game came when the impressive Daniel Sturridge tried to play Juan Mata in on goal, but the young English striker’s through ball was slightly over-hit.
Dinamo Zagreb win shows Real Madrid are destined for glory this season
If Real Madrid don’t win anything this season, they will only have themselves to blame…
Real Madrid definitely stand as genuine title contenders in the UEFA Champions League. Their demolition of tricky Croatian team Dinamo Zagreb couldn’t confirm this more. Jose Mourinho built his starting XI around the likes of Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuain in attack, injury-free Nuri Sahin in midfield and Fabio Coentrao in defense.
Meanwhile, key players Sergio Ramos, Mesut Özil and Xabi Alonso came off at some point in the game for Raul Albiol, Esteban Granero and Hamit Altintop. To sum up, Mourinho featured a rather weak side on Tuesday night. The presence of Adan in goal and youngster Callejon upfront also compensated the absence of veteran shot stopper Iker Casillas and prolific goal scorer Cristiano Ronaldo.