Arsenal, City up title Chase

 

Arsenal and Manchester City put the pressure on Chelsea as they secured victories to open up the gap on third place.

Ahead of Manchester United’s trip to Stamford Bridge on Sunday, Arsenal are sitting five points clear of Chelsea after they saw off Fulham 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium thanks to a Santi Cazorla brace.



Carzola celebrates one of his goals against Fulham

After a goalless first half, Cazorla put the hosts ahead when he fired past Maarten Stekelenburg from 12 yards after a neat interchange between Olivier Giroud and Jack Wilshere.

The points were made safe on 62 minutes when Brede Hangeland's clearance found Cazorla, whose left-foot strike crept into the bottom corner.

Manchester City remain a point behind Arsenal in second after they beatCardiff City 4-2 at the Etihad Stadium.

Edin Dzeko scored City’s 100th goal of the season to set Manuel Pellegrini’s men on their way in the 14th minute with a scuffed effort that just crept over the line as Cardiff defender Kevin McNaughton tried in vain to keep it out.

Cardiff were briefly level on the half-hour mark when Craig Noone capitalised on some sloppy City defending, but the Welsh side were behind again just four minutes later when an inch-perfect pass from Yaya Toure found Dzeko. The Bosnian’s effort was blocked but the ball fell kindly for Navas, who found the bottom corner with a side-footed finish.

Toure made it three with 15 minutes to go when the Ivorian played a neat one-two with Sergio Aguero before finishing, and Aguero made it four minutes later. Fraizer Campbell reduced the arrears at the death, but the result leaves the Bluebirds at the foot of the table.

Liverpool needed a second-half Steven Gerrard penalty to rescue a point in a 2-2 draw against Aston Villa at Anfield in Saturday's late match.

Villa were by far the better side in the first half, and thoroughly deserved their two-goal lead when Gabby Agbonlahor set up both Andreas Weimann and Christian Benteke.

However, Daniel Sturridge halved the deficit in first-half injury time when he smashed home after being put through by a neat Jordan Henderson flick, and the comeback was complete when Brad Guzan brought down Luis Suarez in the box and Gerrard calmly dispatched from the spot.

The result was Liverpool's first draw at Anfield in the Premier League this season.

Sunderland battled back from the loss of two early goals to claim a 2-2 draw with Southampton at the Stadium of Light.

The visitors were ahead after just four minutes courtesy of Jay Rodriguez, and a fine Dejan Lovren volley doubled their advantage just after the half hour.

However, Sunderland hit back instantly through Fabio Borini and, though the Italian saw a strike ruled out for offside on 64 minutes, Adam Johnson curled home soon afterwards to claim a share of the spoils.

Newcastle United arrested a run of four straight defeats in all competitions as they heaped the pressure on West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce with a 3-1 win at Upton Park.

Newcastle took the lead after 16 minutes when Yoan Gouffran found Yohan Cabaye, whose first touch took him away from Razvan Rat before beating Adrian. Loic Remy made it two on 33 minutes when he expertly controlled Moussa Sissoko’s deep cross before prodding in to an empty net.

West Ham were given a lifeline in first-half injury time when an own goal from Michael Williamson halved the deficit, but Alan Pardew’s side had the last word as Cabaye scored a free-kick deep into injury time - his seventh Premier League goal of the campaign.

Jason Puncheon bounced back from his penalty woe from last week to notch the winner and give Crystal Palace manager Tony Pulis a 1-0 win over his former club Stoke City, lifting the Eagles up to 16th.

Elsewhere, a late Ryan Bennett goal was enough for Norwich City to see off Hull City 1-0 at Carrow Road. The Tigers had Tom Huddlestone sent off for two yellow cards.

Courtesy: ESPN

 

Arsenal Beat Aston Villa to reclaim top spot

Five months ago, Aston Villa were the opening-day opponents who had Arsenal fans calling for the ax to fall on Arsene Wenger.

A penny for their thoughts now. So much for the end of empire, that August afternoon might one day be seen as the moment that a new Arsenal began.
This most recent 2-1 victory at Villa Park in the return fixture was a marriage of class and character. Arsenal dominated, only to be pegged back, but then recovered their footing with notable determination. Previous Wenger teams might have folded under the late onslaught that followed Christian Benteke’s goal.

As Arsenal’s season turns for home, they lead the title race, holding their own against the far greater riches of Chelsea and Manchester City. Wenger’s team responded to their rivals’ weekend victories with one of their own.

“There’s a bit more pressure when you play the last,” said a relieved Wenger afterwards. “You can only give one answer and that is to win the game.”
Wenger’s continued faith in his players, who play as if they have the confidence of their manager, is paying off, and patience is one of their virtues, too.

Having dominated the first half hour yet actually created little in the way of chances, they scored a quickfire pair of goals through Jack Wilshere and Olivier Giroud that ultimately took the game beyond the hosts.

Perhaps injuries may yet prove a hand brake to Arsenal’s eventual success. Here, Nacho Monreal suffered a suspected broken metatarsal after a fine last-ditch tackle from Ron Vlaar caught the Spaniard on the top of his foot, while Tomas Rosicky may have suffered a broken nose in a clash with Gabby Agbonlahor.

Meanwhile, Theo Walcott’s season was ended last week just as he had reasserted his importance, while Giroud has long been operating in the “red zone” that Wenger always fears -- the theory being that overworked players become more susceptible to injury.

Wilshere began his match in his customary floored position after going down under a heavy challenge from Karim El Ahmadi and yet, in scoring their goals, both he and Giroud showed the gossamer, confident touch of players at their peak.

Wilshere did a more than passable impression of another absentee, Aaron Ramsey, in the 60 seconds between the 34th and 35th minutes, putting Villa to the sword first by converting a Monreal pass from an overlap that had been set up by Mesut Ozil, and then by playing in Giroud for a composed finish.

“He has found his change of pace back,” said Wenger of the English midfielder. “His game is about that. He is not only a passer, he is a guy who is incisive with the ball. You see that he's coming back to his best.”

There are also ready replacements for Walcott. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was made to wait to return from his own knee injury until the 86th minute, with Serge Gnabry instead given a chance.

The German teenager, not dissimilar in build to “the Ox,” is one of those jewels that Wenger turns to. Once a young Arsenal player is ready, there is no time like the present, no matter how callow he may be. Gnabry is raw, but already troublesome for opponents.

Paul Lambert’s tactics invited Arsenal on. Three centre-backs were initially fielded, flanked by full-backs for whom overlapping would form no part of their night’s work.

It was not until the 12th minute that the ball was in the Gunners’ half, and that was from a throw-in conceded after a long Brad Guzan punt. That Fabian Delph found space to shoot was a warning sign, but hardly much of one.

Arsenal’s pounding continued. Nathan Baker was smashed full in the face at point-blank range by a Gnabry shot; the poleaxed central defender would leave the field in an oxygen mask after nearly 10 minutes of treatment.

So sparse are Lambert’s resources that he had rejig to a 4-4-2 formation. Perhaps the evening’s best news for the Villa camp was that Baker was declared “okay but groggy” by his manager. It had looked far more serious than that when he was down.

Until Villa’s late surge, inspired by Benteke’s goal in 76th minute, Arsenal played like the home team; they have a superb away record in the past year and this was to be their eighth win in 11 on the road this campaign.

Villa, meanwhile, looked accepting of the role of hopeful visitors. Their problems derive from a squad that is little stronger than last season’s, and that was a group who only saved themselves from relegation in the final weeks.

Home fans are as glum as Lambert’s usual demeanour, and with cut-price signings the only possible additions in January -- Lambert did not deny afterwards that Grant Holt might be brought in on loan from Wigan -- the outlook hardly looks much brighter.

Benteke, whose 19 goals guided Villa to safety last term, is suffering a chronic case of “second-season-itis.” In this game, he idled without menace, while also seeming to have lost the spatial awareness to judge a crossed ball.

It probably does not hearten Lambert and his owner, Randy Lerner, that he could have been cashed in for north of 20 million pounds last summer.

Yet a Matt Lowton cross that he could not miss suddenly revived the Belgian. After 14 hours and 45 minutes of playing and four months of real time -- dating back to September 14 -- without a goal, Benteke looked like the marauder of a year ago; confidence flushed through him.

“We certainly gave them a fright. It was this time last year that he started to kick in,” said Lambert of his key man.

On the touchline, Wenger began to show the exasperation so familiar in Arsenal’s years of falter.

“Maybe we were a bit too cautious to keep the 2-0,” he suggested. “Our defenders kept us in the game.”

Benteke headed straight at Wojciech Szczesny and Per Mertesacker desperately cleared another inviting Lowton cross while the Villa striker lurked with intent.

Beyond those moments of tension, Villa’s 15-minute revival was not nearly enough to stop Arsenal cresting back to the top.

Courtesy: ESPN

Cristiano Ronaldo Wins Ballon D'OR

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND -- In the end, Cristiano Ronaldo showed it did matter to him. If, hours before the Ballon d’Or ceremony in Zurich, the Real Madrid and Portugal striker looked uninterested and promised life would go on if he failed to break Lionel Messi’s grip on the coveted trophy, the 28-year-old was clearly overwhelmed when his name was finally announced by Pele at the Kongresshaus in Zurich on Monday night.



Ronaldo with Real President Florentino Perez
Five years after his last win, Ronaldo has been officially recognised as the best footballer on the planet, at least until January 2015.

Tears flooded his eyes and cheeks as he received a prize that, specifically in 2013, seemed to have acquired a particular importance. Eclipsed by Lionel Messi’s spectacular exploits in the last four years, even though his own numbers were hardly dismissible, Ronaldo last year maintained a stunning regularity that injury finally denied to his great rival. The problem is that not everybody agreed.

Among the unconvinced was FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who went further than his clumsy usual ways to personally criticize Ronaldo during an event in England in October. While comparing Messi to the son everybody would like to have, the Swiss’ reference to Ronaldo having "more expenses for the hairdresser," among other things, stung the Portuguese.

Ronaldo, in the last few years, has felt his exploits have been overlooked by peers, the media and company. Whether or not one could question if he was right, it also was naïve to assume he had no point at all when thinking footballing matters were not the only reason why he kept coming short of another Ballon d’Or.

Before you think this is prima donna behaviour, just think of how Pele, after everything he has seen and done in football, still wept when receiving his honorary trophy on Monday. It means a lot.

It was a tough year for Ronaldo, during which Real Madrid once again fell short of that ever elusive 10th European Cup, outplayed by Borussia Dortmund in the last four.

Once again, he would not win the honours that, alongside a humongous pay package, had lured him away from Manchester United in the summer of 2009 (ironically, after he won one Champions League and made it to a second final with the English outfit).

To make matters worse, Portugal faltered during the European qualifiers and missed out on automatic qualification to the World Cup, and then, in the playoffs, were paired with Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s Sweden.

Ronaldo’s wondrous display over two legs -- scoring all four of Portugal’s goals -- was the difference. Regarding the Ballon d’Or, it could have come too late, had FIFA not changed the voting deadline, officially because of the fact that less than 50 percent of the 500-plus voters had cast their ballots by the original Nov. 15 cutoff date.

Cue accusations that FIFA was trying to make amendments for Blatter’s less-than-appropriate comments by giving Ronaldo a helping hand. Bayern Munich saw a conspiracy against fellow nominee Franck Ribery, for instance. It all made for an uneasy buildup to the Zurich gala, and Ronaldo could be excused for feeling a bit edgy.


Messi & Ribery
We tend to forget that these players are also human and have feelings. In his pursuit of excellence, Ronaldo wants kudos, even if a golden trophy is how it is represented.

His is a life of sacrifices, regardless of how much money comes into his bank account, and to see Ronaldo weeping and looking less than cool while trying to thank people for winning that trophy will perhaps shed new light on a player that a good number of people love to loathe.

Ronaldo scored 69 goals in 59 matches in 2013. This should not be forgotten when trying to analyze the Ballon results. It was an interesting year, and some people rightly pointed to the recognition of a team player, in the form of Ribery.

But when even FIFA’s description of the Ballon d’Or praises individual efforts, it is safe to say Ronaldo is hardly a bad fit for the part.

Now let’s see what happens when Messi recovers his best form and whether his spiky-haired Brazilian teammate, Neymar, can also step up to the challenge laid down by Ronaldo.

Courtesy: ESPN

Allegri sacked as AC Milan coach

Allegri has been fired by AC Millan

AC Milan have announced that coach Massimiliano Allegri has been dismissed following Sunday’s 4-3 defeat to Sassuolo.

The club’s general manager, Barbara Berlusconi, had suggested Allegri would lose his job in the wake of the result, and a statement on the club’s official website on Monday confirmed his departure.

The statement read: “AC Milan announce that first-team coach Mr. Massimiliano Allegri and his staff have been dismissed with immediate effect. AC Milan would like to thank Mr. Allegri and his staff for the work they did and wish them the best for the future.”

The club also confirmed that Mauro Tassotti -- who played for the club for 17 years and has been on the coaching staff for over a decade -- would take temporary charge of the first team. His first match in charge is set to come against Spezia in the Coppa Italia on Wednesday

Allegri took charge of Milan in 2010 after two years with Cagliari and enjoyed a successful debut campaign, winning the league as well as being named Serie A’s coach of the year. Milan finished as runners-up in his second season and last year recovered from a poor start to finish third and secure a place in the Champions League.

However, while Allegri guided the Rossoneri through the group stage in this season’s Champions League, their domestic form has been miserable, and they currently sit 11th in the table, some 30 points behind leaders Juventus.

He had already announced that he would not be staying at the San Siro beyond the end of the season, with former Milan star Clarence Seedorf having been tipped to replace him.

La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Seedorf, who is still playing for Botafogo, could free himself from his contract at the Brazilian club immediately if he were to be given the chance to take charge of Milan.

“I took care of Clarence's contract myself and there is a clause which would enable him to leave the club at any time without penalty,” the Dutchman's agent, Deborah Martin, said. “That is unless he goes to play for a different club.

“I would also like to emphasise that he already possesses everything he needs to be able to coach. He has already taken all the necessary steps in Brazil and Holland.”

Courtesy: ESPN

Manchester United prepare £27m bid for unsettled Juan Mata

Manchester United are keen on tempting unsettled Chelsea star Juan Mata away from Stamford Bridge during the January transfer window.



Juan Mata has fallen the pecking order at the Bridge

The Daily Star claim Manchester United are preparing a £27million bid for Spanish playmaker Mata.

Reports suggest Manchester United have spoken to Mata's agent regarding a potential move to Old Trafford.

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The Red Devils were said to be keen on signing Mata in the summer, however the Premier League champions were not prepared to include Wayne Rooney in the deal.

Mata is said to have grown disillusioned with life under Jose Mourinho as the Chelsea attacking midfielder has found games hard to come by under the Portuguese tactician.

The 25-year-old, who has been named Chelsea's Player of the Year for the last two seasons, has made just 11 starts for Mourinho's side so far this season.

La Liga trio Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona are all said to be keen on signing Mata and are likely to stand a better chance of landing the former Valencia man as Chelsea will not want to sell a player of his calibre to one of their rivals.

Courtesy: GMS

Patrice Evra to leaveManchester United this summer

Manchester United left-back Patrice Evra is set to leave Old Trafford when his contract expires in the summer, according to the Guardian.



Evra is most likely to leave Old Trafford this Summer

The France international, who turns 33 in May, has yet to receive a contract extension offer from the Red Devils – and is subsequently expected to leave the club at the end of the season.

Evra could return to former club AS Monaco, who are currently fighting for the Ligue 1 title and should be competing in the Champions League next season.

The full-back played for the club between 2002 and 2006 before joining Premier League giants Manchester United for a reported £5.5m fee.

In his eight years at Old Trafford, Evra has won five Premier League titles and a European Cup.

He remains a hugely popular figure amongst his teammates and supporters, but United boss David Moyes is keen to recruit a long-term replacement, and could even sign Real Madrid full-back Fabio Coentrao this month.

The Portuguese defender is reportedly close to joining the Red Devils on an initial loan deal until the end of the current campaign.

Courtesy: GMS

Manchester United star could replace Barcelona-bound goalkeeper

Manchester United goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard is an alleged transfer target for Borussia Monchengladbach, as they continue their search for a replacement for Barcelona-bound Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, reports Danish newspaper BT.



Anders Lindegaard may leave United this January

 

The Bundesliga club are believed to have enquired about the Denmark international's availability, and are planning a bid to bring him to Germany at the end of the 2013/14 campaign.

 

Lindegaard has made just two appearances for Manchester United this season, and manager David Moyes is understood to be open to the possibility of the 29-year-old leaving Old Trafford.

 

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However, before the Red Devils boss will sanction the sale, he will need to find a replacement stopper, to provide competition for current number one David De Gea.

 

De Gea himself has been linked with a move away from Manchester United, with Barcelona reportedly keen on the Spaniard before Christmas, as Tata Martino sought a successor for Camp Nou contract rebel, Victor Valdes.

 

But, the Catalan club have now decided to bring 21-year-old Germany international Ter Stegen to La Liga, bringing to an end their reported interest in Manchester United's first-choice goalkeeper.

 

Monchengladbach, meanwhile, are considering a number of different options, and should they fail in their pursuit of Lindegaard, could turn to FC Basel’s Yann Sommer, Hanover’s Ron-Robert Zieler, or Freiburg’s Oliver Baumann.

Courtesy: GMS