EUROPEAN WRAP
European league championships are won and lost over grueling seasons in which every match counts. This weekend was no different as clubs from the English, Scottish, German and French leagues fought out their on-field battles in the search for glory.
Goal! Weekly reporter Julius Ross checks out the pick of the action in Europe.
WHO THE HELL IS HANGELAND?
London was the scene for little-known Norwegian defender Brede Hangeland to claim his 15 minutes of fame, as he became a Craven Cottage hero after his goal gave Fulham a famous victory over Arsenal in the Barclays Premier League.
Bouncing back from their opening weekend defeat at the hands of Hull City, Fulham held on against sustained pressure from Arsene Wenger’s side to record a remarkable victory.
Title hopefuls Arsenal dominated play and possession, but a re-occurring theme – the failure to turn dominance into goals – proved yet again Arsenal’s downfall.
Accumulating a total of 20 shots, the Gunners managed just one shot on target.
Another title hopeful, Liverpool, almost suffered a shock loss in similar fashion to the Gunners, but two late goals from Merseyside favourites denied Middlesborough a first win at Anfield since 1976.
Boro striker Mido came off the bench to give the away side a 1-0 lead with 20 minutes remaining, but Liverpool’s local hero Jamie Carragher had a long-range effort fortuitously deflect in off Emanuel Pogatetz to put the Reds back on level terms with five minutes remaining.
Then Merseyside golden-boy and Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard did what he does best, rifling home a sweet shot in stoppage time to maintain their 100% record and resign Boro to defeat.
In the north of England, injury-prone and inconsistent England striker Michael Owen continued to show he is not yet past his prime as he killed off Bolton’s hopes of snatching a point in their clash at St James’ Park.
Owen, who came on as a substitute for Obafemi Martins, showed glimpses of his best ability and that he still has the goal-scoring knack needed to knock off stubborn opposition, with a smart header in the 71st minute.
Bolton’s Kevin Nolan had a nightmare in front of goal, having a penalty saved by Shay Given and then heading a glorious late chance wide of the Newcastle net in an attempt to claim a point from the Magpies.
Stoke City were on the right end of a dramatic five goal thriller against Aston Villa, the newly promoted side picking up their first victory in this season’s campaign with a 3-2 win.
Tony Pulis’ side, favourites to head straight back down to the Championship next season, played a direct and pulsating style against the Villans and it proved beneficial in an exciting encounter at the Britannia Stadium.
Elsewhere, on loan striker Djibril Cisse gave Roy Keane’s Sunderland a shock 2-1 away win over miserable Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.
Cisse – signed from Marseille this week – knocked in a late winner to make for a warm welcome back to the Premiership, the ex-Liverpool man getting the perfect start in his debut for Sunderland.
Everton made hard work of their first victory of the season against West Brom, the injury-strapped Toffees scrapping through with a 2-1 victory courtesy of Leon Osman and Ayegbeni Yakubu strikes.
Blackburn and Hull City remain unbeaten as they shared the spoils in an entertaining 1-1 draw at Edwood park.
FAMILIAR TWO HORSE RACE
A familiar pattern has already emerged in the race for the Scottish Premier League title, with both Celtic and Rangers sitting top of the table after only three matches played.
The Old Firm rivals are the only Scottish sides to have won the SPL title since the league’s inauguration in 1998, and the trophy already looks to be heading to Glasgow once more.
Celtic are looking to add to their six titles, whilst Rangers will want to close the widening gap between themselves and Celtic by claiming their fifth trophy this campaign.
Celtic, the current champions, went top of the league this weekend when Greek striker Giorgos Samaras netted a brace and Stephen McManus headed home from a Shunsuke Nakamura set-piece to seal a 3-0 win for the Hoops.
Rangers failed to overtake Celtic on the overall standings after they stumbled to 1-1 draw at Aberdeen, the Gers bitterly disappointed at not claiming the three points after a seemingly legitimate goal was ruled out for offside late in the game.
Other results: Hearts 2-1 St Mirren; Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1-1 Hibernian; Motherwell 1-1 Dundee United; Kilmarnock 1-0 Hamilton Academical.
MUNICH MANAGE MEAGRE DRAW
German midfielder Tim Borowski saved German Champion Bayern Munich’s blushes after coming off the bench to grab an equaliser 16 minutes from time against Borussia Dortmund in Saturaday’s Bundesliga action.
Juergen Klinsmann’s side had seen the match go from bad to worse as they conceded a goal in the opening 10 minutes and then had Dutch midfielder Mark van Bommel sent-off in the 23rd minute.
But the introduction of Tim Borowski off the bench paid dividends for Klinsmann’s side as they managed a second draw of the season.
The German champions have struggled to impose themselves on the new campaign, picking up just two points from a possible six, and they currently sit 11th on the Bundesliga table.
Newly promoted side Hoffenheim retained their unfancied position at the top of the standings, after making it two wins from two with a 1-0 victory over Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Hoffenheim’s Bosnian forward Vedad Ibisevic scored the winner and his second goal of the season in the 31st minute.
Other results: Hamburg 2-1 SC Karlsruhe; Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 VfB Stuttgart; Schalke 1-1 Werder Bremen.
TRAUMATIC FRENCH FIXTURE
Olympique Marseille ended a grief-stricken day on a successful note in French Ligue 1, with a 1-0 away victory over Le Harve.
The importance of the match between the two sides had been overshadowed after an accident 70 km south of Paris in which a coach crash killed two Marseille fans.
French Ligue 1 organisers were caught in two minds whether or not to call off the match, but decided to give it the go-ahead “in memory of the victims.”
Although Marseille were far from their best, Boudewijn Zeden’s fantastic free-kick was enough to hand the side from southern France maximum points.
Le Mans also recorded a 1-0 victory on the third weekend of French fixtures, with Thorstein Helstad grabbing the only goal of the game as the home side struggled past a determined threat from visitors St Etienne.
The win sends Le Mans to third on the French standings, with Helstad’s 38th minute strike just enough in a hard fought match in which St Etienne frustrated the home side throughout.
Monaco’s defender Jerko Leko put the ball in the back of his own net 16 minutes from time, to hand Caen a point in their clash at the Stade Louis II stadium in Monte Carlo
Monaco dominated the match in which they really should have taken all three points, with 19 year-old Frederick Nimani netting Monaco’s only goal after 51 minutes.
The home side missed numerous chances to extend their lead, before Leko disastrously headed in at the wrong end to gift a point to away side they had frequently dominated over the 90 minutes.
Reigning French champions Lyon, who are looking for a 8th successive title, remain unbeaten and sit equal first on the Ligue 1 table after French starlet Karim Benzema and Jean Makoun gave the home side a comfortable 2-0 victory over Grenoble.
Other results: Sochaux 1-1 Paris St Germain; Valenciennes 3-1 Lorient.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment