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Dortmund Edges Ahead in the Bundesliga Title Race
Bayern has officially been dethroned from the top of the Bundesliga. The weekend was really a triumph for Borussia Dortmund as all their nearest contenders drew their matches.
The Bayern supporters knew as did the hierarchy- the team’s performances weren’t up to the mark. Meanwhile, in the Ruhr region, Dortmund decided to put the loss of Nuri Sahin completely behind them. The three performances that Dortmund has produced in the Bundesliga this year have been almost spotless.A 0-2 win over Nuremberg propelled them to the top of the table on Friday. On Saturday, the three other contenders had to match their result and all failed to do so. Bayern was held to a draw in Hamburg. The result caused some uproar in Bavaria- but this time the comments from the hierarchy weren’t directed towards the opposition. The comments were directed towards Jupp Heynckes.
Bundesliga Review: Stuttgart, Köln, Wolfsburg and Hoffenheim battered by title contenders
Bayern continues to lead the way on goal difference in the Bundesliga. None of the four teams which are contenders for the salad bowl dropped points this week.
Schalke was on the verge of losing their connection with the top four. Lukas Podolski struck in the fourth minute and Köln took the lead into half-time. Köln actually held on till the hour mark but Schalke found a way. An unlikely source in the form of Ciprian Marica scored the equalizer. Then, Schalke started compounding misery on Köln.Marica grabbed a second 12 minutes later. Klaas Jan Huntelaar scored from the penalty spot just six minutes after the second goal. Benjamin Höger added one more just four minutes after the third. Now, that is what you call an ‘attacking force’. While their Ruhr rivals aren’t exactly scoring for fun, they are scoring quite a few too.
How will Real Madrid’s Copa del Rey exit to Barcelona shape La Liga’s title race?
Following what happened in the 2011/12 Copa del Rey quarterfinals, should Barcelona and their fans fear Real Madrid’s threat in La Liga even more?
This Copa del Rey quarterfinal fiasco has left Real Madrid with a lot of positives to take. The second leg of the tie, especially, has opened a way for Los Blancos to follow. Defender Alvaro Arbeloa couldn’t explain this better. He was quoted as stating by Real Madrid’s official website:
“We've managed to get rid of our psychological anxiety and fear to lose against Barcelona. It's hard to be strengthened after being eliminated, but we realize we can defeat them and we're looking forward to our next meeting.”
Indeed, it seems like Jose Mourinho and his men have found the key to unlock Barcelona’s secrets. You cannot look at the 2-2 draw in Camp Nou and talk about humiliation for Madrid.
Bundesliga: Do we have a four-way title race on our hands?
One similarity was extremely obvious in the matches of the big sides this week: they were all terribly one-sided games.
The biggest game of the weekend took place at Borussia Park between Bayern and Gladbach. The result was a one-sided victory….. for Gladbach. Schalke took on Stuttgart and dismantled them just as Gladbach did to Bayern. Dortmund drubbed HSV in sophisticated fashion in the north of Germany.As a result, the top four teams in the Bundesliga are separated by just one point, with the top three separated by just goal difference. Karl Heinz Rummenigge wanted Bayern to be the team that every other team chases. They are the top side in the league even after the defeat- however, they are hanging on to the coveted position by nothing more than a single thread.
Is Tottenham Hotspur a Title Contender?
Tottenham squandered a chance to head to the top of the Premier League on Saturday. As a result, once again, Tottenham’s title credentials are being questioned.
A 1-1 draw against Wolves is not the result a champion achieves. However, Tottenham came from behind to take a point from this match. Coming from behind and picking up points is the mark of a champion. As a result, that draw can be considered a positive result.Spurs last week beat Everton 2-0. In that match, Tottenham showed signs of a title- winning side. The first goal scored by Aaron Lennon was a wonderful individual effort to give Spurs the lead. The second goal from Benoit Assou Ekoto was a brilliant effort despite the deflection that fooled Tim Howard.
Tottenham Hotspur in EPL title crusade: The pressure is on Manchester City!
As the 2011/12 English Premier League season continues, leaders Manchester City are giving more reasons for Spurs to try their luck.
The top three zone in the Premiership is not Tottenham Hotspur’s usual place – especially not during the second half of the campaign. The reality, this year, is that the London club can optimistically dream about lifting the prestigious trophy in May.Of course, Spurs need long-term consistency to achieve such a feat. In addition, they have to fight against the historical and financial power of England’s top teams. These include Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City. The competition between the English Premier League’s top six contenders is tight – both in terms of points and mental strength.
FIFA Ballon d’Or 2011: Title holder Lionel Messi’s 2011 year in stats – Debate
The FIFA Ballon d’Or 2011 award ceremony is what football fans await, but can last year’s winner Lionel Messi triumph over Cristiano Ronaldo and Xavi this time?
Undoubtedly, 2011 was a year filled with excitement for followers of the game. Messi fans would generally not disagree, considering that the Barcelona playmaker also excelled for the Blaugrana.
Looking at the fact that he won La Liga, the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup, the Spanish Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup, it is easy to conclude that he clearly deserves to be the Ballon d’Or 2011 winner. But fans interested in international football certainly have a different point of view.
The Copa America was a competition on which all eyes were set; and again, Messi was initially the main man behind the competition’s attraction. Unfortunately though, he was unable to prove himself for his country, leading many spectators to assume that he was simply a good player at club level.
Jose Mourinho praises Granada as Real Madrid resume La Liga’s title hunt
Since their 6-2 humiliation of Sevilla in December, Real Madrid have not played a league game. Tonight, Los Blancos will host minnows Granada.
Real Madrid vs Granada will be Jose Mourinho’s second match in charge in 2012. The Portuguese boss, who is enjoying the challenge at the Bernabeu, is looking forward to the clash. Avowing his respect towards Granada, Mourinho told the press on Friday:“Granada are a good team that defends well and is dangerous in attack. I wish to congratulate their supporters for travelling such a long way for the team's first match at the Bernabeu in 36 years.
“I would be proud of them if I coached or played for Granada.”
Manchester United’s title bid stutters as they are beaten 3-0 at Newcastle United
Manchester United fell to a shocking 3-0 loss at the Sports Direct Arena that leaves them three points behind league leading Manchester City.
With City beating Liverpool 3-0 the previous day, the Red Devils traveled to Newcastle knowing only a win would be good enough to keep pace with the league leaders.The game had a frantic opening, with both teams struggling to get to grips with the windy conditions.
Manchester United had the first chance to take the lead when Dimitar Berbatov got on the end of an Antonio Valencia cross, but the Bulgarian striker’s header bounced back off the goalpost.
Newcastle began to gain the upper hand as the game wore on, with central midfielder Cheick Tiote exerting a lot of influence on the game. The Geordies took a deserved lead at the 33 minute mark when Shola Ameobi flicked on, and Demba Ba hooked the ball past Anders Lindegaard for his 15th Premier League goal of the season.
Who is the most likely Candidate to Win the Bundesliga title?
The top four teams are separated by only four points. This Bundesliga title race has the makings of a very intense and special one.
Marco Reus today dedicated himself to the club that rejected him not too long ago, Borussia Dortmund following the end of the current season. In retrospect, that transfer was a rivalry between Bayern and Dortmund, with Dortmund triumphing again. Bayern had targeted Reus publicly and as we all know, Bayern does not like to lose out in any aspect to their rivals.Bayern nonetheless has the edge where it really matters- the Bundesliga title race. They are comfortably at the top with a three point lead over the Ruhr sides and a four point lead over Moenchengladbach. Two sides who have contended in recent seasons sit fifth and sixth in table: Bremen and Leverkusen.
Manchester City regain upper hand in title race with 3-0 win over Liverpool
Manchester City opened up a three-point gap at the top of the Premier League table by cruising to a convincing win over sixth placed Liverpool.
City bounced back quickly from their New Year’s Day defeat at the hands of Sunderland, while this result snapped a five game unbeaten streak for the Reds.Liverpool started without the suspended Luis Suarez, but had the first chance to score when winger Stewart Downing was denied by a Joe Hart save.
Hart’s exploits were not matched by Pepe Reina at the other end, and the Spanish goalkeeper gifted City a 10th minute lead when he allowed Sergio Aguero’s long distance shot to slip underneath his body.
City carried the play after Aguero’s strike, and almost doubled their lead when Edin Dzeko’s shot was deflected wide of the goalpost.
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 Chelsea 2: Has Frank Lampard’s late winner kept Chelsea’s title dream alive?
Frank Lampard struck an 89th minute winning goal to give fourth placed Chelsea a vital 2-1 win at Wolves.
Brazilian midfielder Ramires opened the scoring for Chelsea during the second half, before Stephen Ward equalized in the 84th minute. The Wolves fans thought their side had earned a battling point, but Lampard broke the hearts of the Molineux faithful when he volleyed home Ashley Cole’s cross.Wolves almost took a first minute lead, but David Jones cold not finish after pouncing on Jose Bosingwa’s errant back-pass.
The visitors settled into the game and began to dominate possession for long spells. Heavily criticized striker Fernando Torres looked sharp in the opening exchanges, and released Juan Mata with a slick through ball, only for Wayne Hennessey to rush out and smother the shot.
Rampant Manchester United step up title challenge with 5-0 win over Wigan Athletic
Manchester United continued their dominant form with a resounding 5-0 win over relegation strugglers Wigan Athletic on Boxing Day.
Dimitar Berbatov netted a hat-trick for United, while Park Ji-Sung and Antonio Valencia also got themselves on the score sheet. Striker Connor Sammon was sent off for Wigan, who are now left deep in the relegation mire.United have now drawn level on points with league leading Manchester City, after the Citizens were held to a 0-0 draw at West Bromwich Albion.
Wigan are left in the relegation zone one point adrift of safety. Wolverhampton Wanderers and Queens Park Rangers are the teams directly above Wigan, and will play tomorrow at Arsenal and Swansea City respectively.
United entered this game looking for a fourth straight win, while Wigan will have had their confidence boosted by draws against Chelsea and Liverpool in their previous two games.
Chelsea vs Fulham: Blues pursue Premier League title race despite 11-point gap
Chelsea vs Fulham will open Matchday 18 with a 1:00pm GMT (8:00am EST) kick-off.
Fears that the game would be called off went out of the way. This is when Chelsea confirmed, through a statement on Wednesday, that the planned metro strike in London would not affect the Boxing Day action. The home crowd could witness the Blues’ seventh win at Stamford Bridge whereas Fulham carry the humiliation from their 5-0 defeat to Manchester United at Craven Cottage. Forcing Chelsea to their first draw or to their third loss at the Bridge won’t be easy.
The truth is that Fulham have won only once away this season. That was against Wigan Athletic at the DW stadium on October 29.
Is Manchester City’s title bid about to face a winter of discontent?
Manchester City have been in phenomenal domestic form so far this season. The blue half of Manchester sit top of the table, and made a statement by beating rivals Manchester United 6-1 at Old Trafford.
It is now impossible to argue that City are anything other than a legitimate title contender.A game on a cold, winter night against a big, physical team was one many critics believed that City’s “pampered, foreign millionaires” would struggle to cope with.
However, that theory took a hit last Wednesday when Stoke City came to the Etihad Stadium on…..a cold, winter night. The Stoke team that has been engineered by Tony Pulis is designed to make things physically difficult for opponents, and ask questions of opposing defenses at set pieces.
Rather than becoming flustered by Stoke, City simply dominated the game from the outset. Sergio Aguero and Adam Johnson gave City a 2-0 half-time lead, while a second Aguero strike after the interval rounded out a comfortable 3-0 win that means City will celebrate Christmas day on top of the Premier League.
Alexis Sanchez wants to continue to win titles with Barcelona
The Chilean ace has already won three titles since joining the Spanish giants in July.
Chilean striker Alexis Sanchez expressed his desire to continue winning titles with Barcelona. Even though the former Udinese winger has only been at the European champions for five months, he has already won three titles with them."I'm very happy with the three titles, but we have to continue to add more. I don't think about stopping, neither does the team," affirmed Alexis in the airport of Santiago, on his arrival to Chile to spend the Christmas holidays with his family.
With the Barcelona shirt, the Chilean has already obtained the Spanish Super Cup, The European Super Cup and more recently the Club World Cup. Alexis failed to participate in the final against Santos due to a muscle strain.
Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick declares title race wide open
It was not so long ago many fans and pundits were describing this season’s Premier League title race a one horse race.
Seven days ago, Manchester City held a five point lead at the top of the table, and their season opening unbeaten streak stood at 14 games.City had scored 48 goals during that spell, including a 6-1 mauling of defending champions Manchester United at Old Trafford.
The City juggernaut had three of the Premier League’s top 10 goal scorers in Sergio Aguero (11 league goals), Edin Dzeko (10) and Mario Balotelli (8). The Citizens also boast England’s number 1 goalkeeper, and an embarrassment of depth and resources in every department.
Just when it seemed City were set to pull away from the chasing pack, they suffered their first setback last Monday when Chelsea produced a 2-1 win over City at Stamford Bridge.
Barca’s Pedro to dedicate 2011 FIFA Club World Cup title to Villa and Tito
FC Barcelona face Santos in the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup final in Yokohama, and the Catalans are willing to prove that the team is as united as ever.
With their only aim being to win the Club World Cup title once again, Barcelona are not ready to let anything get on their way. Key player Pedro Rodriguez declared that the announcement of David Villa’s injury came as the “worst news in the world”.Even so, the team is prepared to make the best out of what some would consider as bad luck: “Villa’s injury motivates us more, because he really wanted to win this title for the first time,” Pedro told the press.
But the club’s assistant manager is also in the players’ minds. Tito Vilanova underwent surgery in November following a problem with his parotid gland.
This season’s Clasicos will decide the title in Spain – Arsene Wenger
Arsene Wenger is gearing up for Saturday’s much-anticipated game, El Clasico. Real Madrid and Barcelona are entering the match in full form.
“It's certainly the game at the moment between the two best teams in the world, so that's the game we want to see,” Wenger declared according to Arsenal’s official club website. “Nobody wants to lose it. The nerves maybe play a big part because the pressure is always massive.”
Under Pep Guardiola, Barcelona have never lost a league match against Real Madrid. But on December 10, they’ll play at the Santiago Bernabeu knowing that a 3-point gap separates them from the top of La Liga’s table.
“Overall, it is an opportunity for Real Madrid to show how much they have reduced the difference between them and Barcelona,” Wenger believes.
La Liga title race: Real Madrid cautious and focused ahead of El Clasico
Barcelona are certainly too good for Real Madrid to feel safe at the top of La Liga standings…
Xabi Alonso, who won’t feature against Sporting Gijon this Saturday due to suspension, refuses to get carried away by the excitement surrounding El Clasico. The former Liverpool midfielder told Realmadrid.com:“Our manager will decide what to do in the Clasico and he'll prepare the match deeming what's best for the team on the day.
“We're only thinking about our match on Saturday in Gijon. We'll then play in Amsterdam and, finally, in the Clasico.”
Iker Casillas also joined Xabi Alonso’s call to take things step by step. The goalkeeper is having a great season.