Manchester United's brief stay at the summit of the English Premier League was ended by Arsenal overnight as they recorded a 3 - 1 victory at Reading.
The Gunners tore apart Reading at ease with Mathieu Flamini and the impressive Emmanuel Adebayor finishing off superb moves either side of half time. Alexander Hleb then capped off a fine performance with a fantastic late solo goal to wrap up a convincing victory for the visitors.
Reading's England full-back Nicky Shorey grabbed a late, late goal in the 87th minute but it only proved to be a mere consolation for the home side who were simply outclassed by Arsene Wenger's men.
The win extended a club record unbeaten run to 27 successive games for the Gunners who are sitting at the top of the Premiership ladder level on points with Manchester United at 30 apiece, but with a crucial game in hand.
Now that three rounds of Premiership action have passed, full of surprises and curious situations, the big question of who will obtain the title this year gets even harder to answer a view on the performance of the top teams in the first rounds would make this task a little bit easier.
Chelsea are the current favourites of the bookies(2.10), but to be frank I'm not impressed with them. Pizzaro, Malouda and co are yet to show their capabilities, and they are quiality players, but this season I think that the problem for Chelsea won't be up front, they have too many top-class players there, and in case they don't play against Liverpool for instance(sorry but Chelsea were so plain and without any ideas against Benitez's boys last week), they will score enough. The issue is that they concede too many goals. It's not the pragmatic Chelsea of the last seasons, who scored one or two but didn't allow the opponents to respond(it was trendy to bet 1-0 or 2-0 correct score when Chelsea are at home). Now we have 3-2 at home against NEWCOMERS of Birmingham, 1-2 away to Reading and 1-1 at Anfield. The first two wins were very hard, and basically for a team with Chelsea's likes, such matches are supposed to be easier. And the draw against Liverpool was a gift from the referee, Liverpool were the winners there.
Liverpool is the team that is about to be the new participant in the pursue of the title. After spending more than 50 million euro for players like Torres, Babel and Voronin Benitez has no excuses now. Previous seasons Liverpool made more than enough for the capabilities of their squad, but now they have to fight for the Premiership, 18 years without a title is just too much. Benitez will put into action his famous rotation principle, that enabled Valencia some years ago to win two times La Liga. Still, we haven't seen enough from Liverpool, but judging from the performance against Chelsea,
their style remains the old one - pragmatic, deadly tactical and disciplined football. But now that they have a variety of performers, Merseysiders could be more stable and endanger not only the Champions League contenders as before, but Chelsea and Manchester United as well.
The odds for Liverpool to win Outright were 6.50 in the beggining of the season, and now are 4.50, which speaks for itself.
Keep eyes on the Sunderland - Liverpool match in the weekend, I consider it a very important one for Liverpool's self-confidence after the blow against Chelsea.
Manchester United hit a bad streak in the first rounds. 2 draws and 1 lost in a row are results that we haven't seen from the Red Devils in the last two seasons. But it would be an airy statement that United are out. They just need one win to boost their confidence, and good results will flow. I guess, Tottenham this Sunday will be the first victims, though this promises to be a very tight fixture. Yes, it will be more difficult without injured Rooney and the suspended Ronaldo, but a team with the likes of United must be able to cope with such situations. My personal prediction is that United will bounce back in the next rounds and we will witness a three-sided fight for the title this season. A really intriguing one.
Arsenal, the other member of 'the big four', don't have the capability and the squad for the title. No offence to their fans, but this is reality and now without Henry it's even harder.
Some said that Tottenham will be able to intrude in big four's hegemony, but they still are quite unstable. And I'm really puzzled why did Jol buy Darren Bent for so much money, instead of strengthening his defensive line with experienced backs. So now he has around 5 forwards, but if a defender is injured(like skipper Ledley King is now), defensive problems occur.
Sorry, just UEFA for Tottenham, or the maximum is a fight with Arsenal for the 4th position.
So, perhaps the most intriguing season in the best league in the world is in front of us.
For previews and stuff before the rounds, see my b-log
Displaying a passing resemblance to the colours of Spanish giants Barcelona, Arsenal's third kit for season 07/08 features a collar and horizontal claret and blue (dark shade) stripes.
Are the Gunners missing a certain Monsieur Henry too much?
Thierry Henry proudly displays his new Barcelona shirt
France striker Thierry Henry completed his move to Spanish giants FC Barcelona for a fee of Ł16.1m from English Premier League side Arsenal over-night.
Henry, who turns 30 in August, passed a medical on Monday afternoon (GMT) before being unveiled in front of 30,000 fans at the Nou Camp after signing a four-year deal with the Catalan outfit.
Henry won't be wearing this away kit now!
The mega-bucks four-year deal which includes a staggering Ł84million buy-out clause in the Frenchman’s contract should see the pacy forward end his career in Spain.
Henry leaves Arsenal as the top scorer in the club's history with 226 goals in 364 appearances.
The following video is of Henry's presentation at the Camp Nou:
In the following two video clips, Henry says goodbye to his beloved Gunners fans:
Arsenal's talismanic captain and France striker Thierry Henry is set to leave his beloved Gunners for Spanish giants Barcelona in a reported fee of around Ł16 million.
At the time of this post, Henry is in Barcelona to undergo a medical and is set to be officially unveiled as a Barcelona FC player on Monday afternoon (GMT).
The move will come as a huge blow to Arsenal - the club will be losing their talismanic captain, a hugely talented striker and a club icon who epitomises the beautiful flowing football under Arsene Wenger's reign.
Click here for more details as Henry seals his move to Barcelona.
Officially launching on July 5 is the new Arsenal FC away kit for the upcoming season 2007-08.
Celebrating the innovations of Arsenal's legendary manager, Herbert Chapman, the new away kit will be a white strip with a V-neck collar in claret (Arsenal's traditional colour before their adopted red/white combination) and matching claret shorts.
Long sleave away kit
Pre-ordering online is now available with purchases receiving a FREE exclusive Herbert Chapman football - while stocks last!
Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein's shock resignation from Arsenal could spark a mass exodus of manager and players from the London club according to reports from London over-night.
The 63 year-old businessman, who still has a 14.5% stake in the club, is credited with bringing the current manager Arsene Wenger to the club which has led to great on-field success for the Gunners.
His shock departure came after a disagreement with the rest of the board over a takeover bid by American billionaire Stan Kroenke which Dein supported while the rest of the board were against it.
Dein's close working relationship and friendship with Wenger means the French manager could leave the club after his current contract expires at the end of the 2008 season - sparking a mass exodus of top players keen to follow their influential manager.
The list of players could include talismanic captain Thierry Henry, William Gallas, Cesc Fabregas and more.
Dein's 14.5% stake in the club is estimated to be worth around Ł57million.
The frontrunner for this award is Manchester United starlet Cristiano Ronaldo, who has been in scintilating form this season for the Red Devils.
Chelsea's Didier Drogba is another favourite for the award on the back of his sensational goal scoring exploits for the London club this season.
The winner will be unveiled at a gala dinner on April 22nd.
My personal pick for this award has got to be Ronaldo. He has improved evert facet of his game over the course of the season and although he is still prone to going down in the box far too easily, he has cut back on his theatrics as well as his show-pony tactics in favour of a killer final ball.
His great scoring record this season will also work in his favour and I will be surprised if the recipient is not Ronaldo come Sunday evening.
No England supporter would ever have imagined themselves saying this, but boy did England miss out on the goal-scoring 'prowess' of Liverpool striker Peter Crouch.
The England striker signalled his come-back from surgery to a broken nose with a sensational hat-trick against Arsenal at Anfield.
The Bean-pole striker's first goal came as early as the 4th minute when Jermaine Pennant and Alvaro Arbeloa exchanged exquisite back-heels to setup the first goal.
Half an hour later, Crouch doubled his side's lead from a set-piece after being fouled by Kolo Toure. Xabi Alonso delivered a pin-point free-kick into the box for Crouch to power home the header. 2 - 0 Liverpool.
Rather than sit back and defend their lead, the Reds came out for the second-half in search for more blood and Daniel Agger delivered the third goal with a glancing header in the 60th minute.
Soon after, Arsenal bundled in a consolation goal through former Chelsea defender William Gallas - why do centre-backs always seem to have a knack for scoring against Liverpool (think Rio Ferdinand earlier this season).
Peter Crouch, high on confidence after two great goals in the first half, completed his brilliant hat-trick in the 81st minute when he danced around in the box before firing a left-foot shot pass the helpless Lehmann.
A fantastic result for the Reds that could go a long way in determining who ends up with the coveted third spot in the league as well as revenging the cup losses to the Gunners earlier this season.
And what about the main man Peter Crouch? I have never sung his praises, but he deserves a huge pat on the back for such a tremendous performance. Hat-tricks don't get any better than this and some would describe this particular one as 'perfect' - one with the right foot, one with the left, and a header.
Amazing.
Elsewhere, Manchester United came from behind to record a 4 - 1 win over Blackburn at Old Trafford.
After falling behind to a Matt Derbyshire goal in the 29th minute, the Red Devils had to wait until the second half before finding the net and the floodgates opened thereafter.
Paul Scholes opened the scoring with a shot into the bottom corner and Michael Carrick (73), Ji-Sung Park (83) and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (90) chipped in to send United 9-points clear at the table momentarily.
Chelsea only just managed to stay in touch with the league leaders courtesy of substitute Salomon Kalou's injury time goal to keep Chelsea's Barclays Premiership hopes alive.
Elsewhere, wins were recorded for Bolton, Manchester City, Charlton, West Ham and Tottenham.
Man Utd 4 - 1 Bolton
Chelsea 3 - 0 Sheff Utd
Middlesbrough 0 - 2 Man City
Reading 0 - 0 Portsmouth
Tottenham 3 - 1 Watford
Wigan 0 - 0 Fulham
Blackburn 1 - 2 West Ham
Sun, Mar 18:
Charlton 2 - 0 Newcastle
Aston Villa 0 - 0 Liverpool
Everton 1 - 0 Arsenal
SUMMARY:
Manchester United's Park Ji-Sung and Wayne Rooney both scored a brace in their team's 4-1 victory over Bolton at Old Trafford.
However, the chief tormentor for Bolton was none other than in-form Portugal international Cristiano Ronaldo who played a part in three of the four goals, including a stunning 80 yard run from the edge of his own box to setup Wayne Rooney for a chipped goal.
A serious-looking ankle injury to skipper Gary Neville in the 10th minute was the only sour-note of a dominant Red Devils performance and with six senior players already on the treatment table, the latest injury blow will truly test the depth of Sir Alex Ferguson's squad.
Chelsea are still in hot pursuit of the league leaders with a comfortable 3-0 demolition job on struggling Sheffield United at Stamford Bridge.
Goals from Andriy Shevchenko, Salomon Kalou and substitute Michael Ballack were more than enough to settle a game in which the home side were rarely in trouble.
Arsenal and Liverpool, however, were unable to keep up with the top two sides with a loss and draw respectively.
The Gunners lost to an injury time winner from Everton's Andy Johnson which came from Mikel Arteta's corner. Arsenal chose the worst time to lose concentration and failed to clear the ball allowing the striker to drill home with a left-foot shot.
Meanwhile, Liverpool dominated possession at Villa Park but was unable to find a way past a resilient Aston Villa defence, reinforcing the need for a world-class striker in the off-season.
The man known as "God" to Liverpool fans, Robbie Fowler, replaced Gerrard with six minutes left and almost won the game for Liverpool when his header was turned around the post by Sorensen.
Oh what might have been had Fowler been brought on earlier when it was clear that a goal-poacher of his quality would not go amiss.
Reigning premiers Chelsea narrowed the gap at the top to just six points with a hard fought win over Manchester City over-night.
The Chelsea of late have been slow starters and this was no different despite taking the lead in the 28th minute. England defender Micah Richards fouled Salomon Kalou inside the box and up stepped Frank Lampard to dispatch the penalty and only goal of the game.
While Chelsea are six points from the top of the ladder, Manchester City will be looking over their shoulders as this defeat puts them within six points of the relegation zone.
Arsenal finally gave boss Arsene Wenger something to smile about with a win against Aston Villa.
The Gunners have suffered heartbreak over the past few weeks with their treble exits from cup competitions but Vassiriki Diaby's strike in the 10th minute gave the young side precious three points which saw them leap-frog Liverpool into third place.
Arsenal were without four players through suspension plus the injured captain Thierry Henry but they still managed to maintain a nine-year unbeaten run against Villa which encompasses 17 games.
Bayern Munich's Roy Makaay scored the fastest ever goal in Champion's League history and helped his side claim victory against Real Madrid in the Allianz Arena over-night.
Roy Makaay put Bayern ahead with just 10 seconds on the clock bettering the previous mark of 20 seconds set by Arsenal's Gilberto Silva against PSV Eindhoven in 2002.
A depleted Real team missing defensive lynchpin Fabio Cannavaro and former England captain David Beckham could not find an answer to Bayern's early goal.
When Ferreira Lucio scored in the 66th minute, Real knew they had to score twice to avoid defeat but all they managed was a 83rd minute consolation penalty which Ruud Van Nistelrooy converted.
Bayern Munich are now through to the quarter finals of the competition by virtue of the away goal's rule.
Last season's runner-up Arsenal were bundled out of this year's competition by Dutch side PSV Eindhoven after a 1-1 draw at the Emirates Stadium.
Brazilian defender Alex went from villain-to-hero when he rose above the Arsenal defence to bullet a header into the back of the net with his 'second' goal. His first goal was an own goal that put the Gunners ahead.
However, with the Dutch side carrying a 1-0 lead into the game, the draw was enough to send them through to the next phase while Arsenal boss laments another trophy-less season for his side.
Manchester United's Henrik Larsson signed off in style after scoring the only goal of the game against Lille.
Larsson, whose 10-week loan spell with the Premiership leaders ends on Wednesday week, scored a 71st-minute header to settle a nervy contest that ultimately ensured United advanced to the quarter-finals for the first time in four years.
And Scottish giants Celtic pushed AC Milan all the way during 180 minutes of football and it only took a moment of genius from Milan's Brazilian midfielder Kaka to settle the tie with a goal in extra-time.
Liverpool 0 - 1 Man Utd
Arsenal 2 - 1 Reading
Fulham 1 - 1 Aston Villa
Man City 0 - 1 Wigan
Newcastle 0 - 0 Middlesbrough
Sheff Utd 1 - 1 Everton
Watford 2 - 2 Charlton
Portsmouth 0 - 2 Chelsea
Sun, March 4:
Bolton 1 - 2 Blackburn
West Ham 3 - 4 Tottenham
SUMMARY:
Liverpool's unbeaten home run was ended in dramatic fashion when Manchester United defender John O'Shea's shot from a loose ball ended in the back of the net in the dying seconds.
Manchester United visited Anfield knowing that a win would give them a hand on the prized Premiership trophy but Liverpool had other ideas and dominated the game throughout the match.
However, in the dying seconds, the Red Devils pulled off an amazing "smash and grab" when O'Shea scored after a Ronaldo free-kick had rebounded off Liverpool keeperJose Reina.
Sir Alex Ferguson claimed Manchester United were lucky to beat Liverpool - and admitted the referee was right to send off Paul Scholes, who flung a stray arm at Xabi Alonso, for violent conduct.
Manchester United now has a nine-point lead in the Premiership race with just nine games remaining and the win at Anfield may have just sealed it for the Red Devils.
Chelsea remains within sight of the leaders with a 2-0 win over Portsmouth at Fratton Park courtesy of Didier Drogba's 29th goal of the season and Salomon Kalou's 82nd minute goal.
Arsenal bounced back from their recent disappoint to beat Reading at home to move within a point of third place Liverpool.
Elsewhere, West Ham's relegation battle looks doomed after throwing away a 2-0 lead to lose 3-4 to Tottenham. The Hammer's defensive frailities were cruelly exposed when Tottenham scored twice in as many minutes to down the fellow Londoners.
Arsenal suffered their second cup blow in a week after fellow Premier League side Blackburn knocked them out of the FA cup with a spectacular strike from substitute Benni McCarthy.
After a young Gunners side lost in the final of the Carling cup to Chelsea on Sunday, an older Gunners side compromising of regular first-teamers could not find their way past Blackburn in a game they dominated for large spells.
Referee Graeme Poll did his best to displease the Gunners fans by blowing his whistle at every opportunity and turned away a very good penalty appeal when Jeremie Aliadiere was felled in the Rovers box.
Blackburn will now face Manchester City in the FA cup quarter final on March 11.
Chelsea's star-studded line-up proved too strong - albeit only just - for Arsene Wenger's "Young Gunners" with a hard fought win 2-1 victory at the Millennium stadium in Cardiff.
This match had everything - exciting football, passion and of course, controversy which involved three red cards (2 for Arsenal and 1 for Chelsea) and England captain John Terry taken to the hospital following a boot to the head.
Terry was knocked out cold as he took the full force of Abou Diaby's boot in the face as the pair challenged for a loose ball in the Arsenal box just before the hour mark.
Medics from both clubs rushed to the aid of Terry to find the Chelsea skipper had turned blue after swallowing his tongue, but returned to the dressing room to celebrate with the rest of the lads after discharging himself from hospital.
He will now undergo extensive tests before being allowed to play again.
Back on the field, an amazing game was played in front of fans who witnessed teenage prodigy Theo Walcott's first goal for Arsenal before a brace of goals from in-form Chelsea striker sealed the match for the Blues.
But not before chaos erupting in injury time when players and staff from both teams were involved in a brawl which resulted in red cards to Mikel Jon Obi, Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor.
While at the end of the day the collective experience of Chelsea's superstars won the game, the young Gunners should be applauded for their amazing run in this competition.
With the average age of the ten out-field players at just 21, the young Gunners showed plenty of fight and talent and there is no doubt a bulk of them will be featuring in the Arsenal team for the next 10 years.
UEFA Champion's League action resumed overnight with the first knockout stage of the elite European club competition.
English giants Manchester United earned victory in a controversial match against French side Lille at the Stade Felix-Bollaert with a Ryan Giggs free-kick.
Furious Lille coaching staff attempted to haul their players off the pitch before the final whistle after keeper Tony Sylva was still lining his wall up when Ryan Giggs calmly stroked his free-kick into the top corner seven minutes from time to secure a 1-0 win.
There also appeared to be a security scare at the visitors end where fans seemed to get crushed in front of a 10 foot barrier which thankfully resulted in no reported injuries.
Real Madrid and Bayern Munich took part in a five-goal thriller with David Beckham playing an instrumental role in his side's 3-2 win.
The former England captain played a pivotal role in all three goals before admitting that he still harbours ambition of a recall to the national team.
'My ambition has never changed since the age of 13, even younger. I always wanted to play for my country and I will always be available whether I'm in Spain, for the next four months, or whether I'm in LA,' he said before adding, 'I will always want to do well for my country.'
Scottish champions Celtic battled out an entertaining goalless draw with Italian giants AC Milan at Parkhead.
Meanwhile, last year's runners up Arsenal hopes of progressing were dealt a blow when they lost away from home to Dutch side PSV Eindhoven.
A below-par Gunners side could not find a way back after falling behind to a Edison Mendez goal in the 61st minute but all is not lost with a return game to be played at the Emirates stadium in a fortnight's time.
English Premier League outfits Chelsea and Tottenham went on scoring sprees in the FA cup with both teams recording 4-0 victories against Norwich and Fulham respectively.
Championship side Norwich was always going to be in trouble against a Chelsea team that could summon the likes of Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Essien from off the bench in an easy match for the Blues as they begin an important week with a Champion's League fixture against Porto in mid-week.
Tottenham annihilated fellow Londoners Fulham with a 4-0 romp including two expertly taken goals by skipper Robbie Keane and substitute Dimitar Berbatov.
Premiership leaders Manchester United and Arsene Wenger's Arsenal had no such luck and were both held to fifth round replays after draws at home against Reading and Blackburn respectively.
Reading 2 - 0 Aston Villa
Chelsea 3 - 0 Middlesbrough
Everton 1 - 0 Blackburn
Man Utd 2 - 0 Charlton
Newcastle 2 - 1 Liverpool
Sheff Utd 2 - 1 Tottenham
West Ham 0 - 1 Watford
Portsmouth 2 - 1 Man City
Sun, Feb 11:
Bolton 2 - 1 Fulham
Arsenal 2 - 1 Wigan
SUMMARY:
The results from the Premier League this weekend was "same old, same old" with Manchester United and Chelsea achieving 2-0 and 3-0 wins respectively.
The Red Devil's 6-point cushion remained intact despite never hitting top form after goals from midfielders Ji-Sung Park and Darren Fletcher secured a 2-0 victory.
Didier Drogba's brace helped Chelsea on their way to a 3-0 victory against Aussie Mark Viduka's Middlesbrough with the Aussie guilty of missing a sitter after superbly pulling away from his marker, England captain John Terry, no less.
Rather than celebrating their first win under new American owners, Liverpool came unstuck against Newcastle at St James' Park having taken the lead through ex-Newcastle player Craig Bellamy (who was roundly booed, as one would expect) before the Toon brigade fought back to snatch a 2-1 home victory.
On Sunday, Arsenal came from behind to earn a hard fought victory over Wigan to keep their unbeaten home record intact.
Wigan stole the lead in the first half with a screamer from Denny Landzaat and it took until the 81st minute for the Gunners to equalise through a fortuitous own goal.
Czech midfielder Tomas Rosicky then scored the winner for Arsenal with a header in the dying minutes of the game to seal the three points for the home side.
Liverpool 0 - 0 Everton
Aston Villa 1 - 0 West Ham
Blackburn 2 - 1 Sheff Utd
Charlton 0 - 1 Chelsea
Fulham 2 - 1 Newcastle
Man City 0 - 2 Reading
Watford 0 - 1 Bolton
Wigan 1 - 0 Portsmouth
Middlesbrough 1 - 1 Arsenal
Sun, Feb 4:
Tottenham 0 - 4 Man Utd
SUMMARY:
The 205th Merseyside derby between Liverpool and Everton finished goal-less with the blue half of Merseyside celebrating the feat of taking four points off fierce rivals Liverpool in a single season.
The build-up to the big game was all about the Mighty Reds avenging the 0-3 loss to Everton earlier in the season with manager Rafa Benitez signalling his intent by fielding a three-pronged attack of Peter Crouch, Dirk Kuyt and Craig Bellamy.
However, a determined Everton outfit defended admirably to earn a point at the fortress that is Anfield with the Reds unable to breach the stubborn defence marshalled by Alan Stubbs.
Ten-men Arsenal fought hard to earn a draw with Middlesborough on Teeside and hard to rely on talismanic captain Thierry Henry to equalise in the 77th minute.
Australia captain Mark Viduka was on fine form and gave nightmares to Arsenal defender Kolo Toure all afternoon and was unlucky not to make the score-sheet.
Elsewhere on Saturday were wins for Aston Villa, Blackburn, Chelsea, Fulham, Reading, Bolton and Wigan.
On Sunday, league leaders Manchester United regained their six-point cushion on second placed Chelsea with a 4-0 win over Tottenham at White Hart Lane.
On-form Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring with a controversial penalty at half-time when he appeared to dive in the box when challenged by Spurs defenders Steed Malbranque and Lee Young-Pyo.
I would've liked to give Ronaldo the benefit of the doubt, but given his reputation as a diver and the minimal amount of contact in the challenge, I would have to say that Spurs were hard done by.
Watch the video and see for yourself.
In the second half, it was all United with defender Nemanja Vidic, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs all getting on the score-sheet.
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