It seems as though derby season is upon us; there have been quite a few this weekend and next weekend the most anticipated match in Roma’s season (and the greatest derby in Italy) gets underway. But, before we can start our countdown to a good Biancocelesti thrashing, we have to deal with all the derbies (and mundane regular matches) going down this weekend. Shall we?

Football:

Somebody get this guy a Red shirt.

Liverpool 2-0 Everton (The Merseyside Derby) – Well, the Scousers went head to head today as strugglers Everton took on strugglers Liverpool. It was a battle of the underachievers, with both Rafa Benitez and David Moyes’ sides badly needing the points and morale boost that come from a derby win. In a season when both sides have fared so poorly both in league and European competitions, it comes as no surprise that today’s match was decided not by a particularly heroic individual effort but by a particularly atrocious performance. A pair of grievous mistakes from Everton defender Joseph Yobo gifted the Reds a 2-0 victory, much to the dismay of the Toffeemakers’ fans at Goodison Park. Yobo put the visitors ahead in the 12th minute, putting his foot out and tipping a long-range effort from Javier Mascherano (which was veering well wide of the net, I might add) past Tim Howard and into the back of his own goal. It was a typically scrappy derby match, and Russian wiz Diniyar Bilyaletdinov nearly leveled the score 6 minutes later in the beginning of what was a very back-and-forth first half. Everton found the back of the net twice and were twice disallowed, but the home support were buoyed by their side’s performance and were left singing at the half despite the score remaining 1-0. However, they wouldn’t be singing at fulltime – their side failed to equalize in the second half with Pepe Reina denying the Blues over and over again, seemingly through sheer determination and a bit of luck. When it finally occurred on 81′, the second error from Joseph Yobo would all but put the game out of Everton’s reach. The Nigerian whiffed on an aerial clearance, leading to a shot from Albert Riera before Dirk Kuyt buried the rebound to make it 2-0. Ten minutes later, it was the away support who were singing as another Merseyside derby came to pass.

Manchester Utd 4-1 Portsmouth – Ah, our first non-derby match of the weekend. Still though, there is a bit of history here – the last time Avram Grant came up against Sir Alex Ferguson on the touchline was in the 2008 Champions League final, with Chelsea just one slip away from being crowned Champions of Europe. Despite being runners up in that competition and in the EPL, Grant was sacked as Chelsea manager, left to ponder what could have been. Yesterday he made his (unofficial) return to coaching, this time as manager of strugglers Portsmouth, who are looking to turn their fortunes around after going through 3 owners and 2 managers already this year. Fergie himself had to watch the match from the stands, as he is currently serving a touchline ban – luckily the match was quite a spectacle, abundant with soft penalties and controversy. On 25′ the visitors were awarded a somewhat questionable penalty which Wayne Rooney buried from the spot. The Fratton Park crowd could not complain too much, though, as 6 minutes later their side was awarded an even more inexplicable penalty which Kevin Prince Boateng was able to convert – apparently awarded for some rather run-of-the-mill shirt tugging by Nemanja Vidic. The teams went into the half level, but it would not take United much longer to find their stride. Within the first 8′ minutes of the second period Wayne Rooney would complete his hattrick with a low shot on 48′ and a second penalty on 53′. Ryan Giggs would top it all off on 87′ with the 100th Premiership goal of his career, making it 4-1 United and ensuring that Avram Grant will have Fergie-related nightmares for a while yet.

Tottenham 1-1 Aston Villa – It’s always difficult to come down after an incredible high. No, I’m not referring to my own struggles with substance abuse (fictional, I assure you), but rather the 9-1 victory which the Spurs were able to achieve over Wigan Athletic last weekend. Instead of repeating that incredible feat, the Lilywhites were held to an unremarkable draw at Villa Park. Gabriel Agbonlahor gave the home side an early lead on 10′, but Michael Dawson was able to level for Tottenham late in the match to earn his side a point and lift them to 3rd place in the English Premier League. Not an overly impressive performance from Harry Redknapp’s side, but they did just enough to keep themselves in the Premiership race.

Chelsea 3-0 Arsenal (The London Derby) – Realistically, there are more intense traditional rivalries in London town; historically Chelsea and Arsenal have been less concerned with each other than their other London neighbours. However, the rise of Chelsea into the big four of Premiership football means that in recent years these two sides have been forced into competition with one another at the top of the table and as a direct result their rivalry has become much more intense. Today’s London derby turned out to be an absolute rout from the Blues, who have been in tip-top form all season under Carlo Ancelotti, decimating Arsene Wenger’s depleted side who have been just shy of top form of late. It was another episode of the Didier Drogba show at the Emirates, with the big Ivorian grabbing the brace to all but destroy the Gunners and keep his fantastic record against Wenger’s side alive – Drogba has found the net in each of the last 9 matches played against Arsenal. Drogba opened the scoring on 41′, firing from close range into the top of Almunia’s net after some impeccable service from Ashley Cole. Just 4 minutes later Cole would again play the role of provider, but this time it was Arsenal man Thomas Vermaelen who turned the ball into his own net – giving the home side plenty to think about as they retired for the halftime interval. Just after the break Arsenal should have made it 2-1 when Andrei Arshavin blasted a rebound past Petr Cech and into the Blues’ net, but the goal was disallowed for an alleged foul on the Czech keeper by Gunners man Eduardo. Despite some dangerous efforts, Chelsea dominated play for much of the second half; their persistence paid off on 86′ when (guess who?) Didier Drogba struck again from a free kick just outside the area, blasting past the wall and away from Manuel Almunia into the back of the net. Ultimately, Ancelotti’s side would cruise to a relatively easy win, taking advantage of a depleted and demoralized Arsenal side to further their dominance atop the Premiership table. Chelsea have now recorded wins this season against all of their fellow big four sides – a positive omen if there ever was one.

Manchester City 1-1 Hull City – Oh, and City drew their 7th straight game after Shaun Wright-Phillips’ opener was cancelled out by a late penalty converted by Jimmy Bullard.

Calcio:

Inter 1-0 Fiorentina – Oh, Inter. I am growing to hate you so. In a game when Jose Mourinho’s side played poorly and were well-met by an organized outing from Cesare Prandelli’s men, it would be a penalty kick which separated the two sides in the end and allowed i Nerazzurri to go 8 points clear atop the Serie A table. It’s so typical of this side to underachieve thoroughly and then get by on the skin of their teeth that I shouldn’t be surprised, but yet I am disappointed each time a more deserving team outplays them and ultimately falls, especially due to this sort of misfortune. I’m not saying that the penalty wasn’t there, but had it not been for Gianluca Comotto’s hotheadedness, or had Alberto Gilardino buried his one-on-one chance against Julio Cesar instead of hitting the post just moments earlier, then Inter surely would have dropped points on the evening. In the end, Diego Milito’s penalty made the difference in a match full of could’ve-beens for La Viola that was perhaps ultimately a shouldn’t-have-been for La Beneamata.

Genoa 3-0 Sampdoria (il Derbi della Lanterna) – The Genovese derby, or il Derbi della Lanterna, as it is known, always produces some fireworks. This year’s was no different, as i Grifoni demolished i Blucerchiati in a game that had as many goals as it did red cards. Omar Milanetto opened the scoring for Genoa on 10′ with a spot kick after Reto Ziegler executed a clumsy tackle in the box. Genoa’s Giuseppe Biava was sent off for handling the ball as he fell to the ground, Sampdoria’s Marco Rossi received two yellows, and his teammate Fabrizio Cacciatore received a straight red late in the match. Meanwhile, Genoa’s Marco Rossi (yes, there are two of them) scored on 53′ and Raffaele Palladino capped off the victory with a spot kick on 75′. An eventful and exciting derby, and also a hard-fought one, which I’m sure an inspection of Antonio Cassano’s shins would tell you. They really don’t like that guy, eh? I bet Lippi calls up the whole team come June.

Cagliari 2-0 Juventus – La Vecchia Signora ha perso contro… gli Isolani? Cagliari managed to pull one (better yet, two) over on their visitors at the Stadio San’Elia today, snatching all three points from a rather toothless Old Lady. I think I’ve waited long enough to say this – Klaas-Jan Huntelaar has certainly been a huge flop at AC Milan this season, but realistically, what has Diego done for Juventus’ offense lately? I’ll tell you what he did today: not enough. Their confidence shattered by a midweek loss to Bordeaux, Juventus fell about play clumsily and were victimized by a sharp and determined performance from the Sardinians. The home side opened the scoring on 30′ when Nenê unleashed  35-yard screamer that blasted into Buffon’s top corner. Juventus struggled to respond, and with their own Brazilian Diego firing well-wide before the half, went into the break with a much-deserved 1-0 deficit. After the interval, Amauri thought he had grabbed a quick equalizer for his side, but the goal was correctly disallowed for offside, leaving Cagliari keeper Federico Marchetti more than happy to pick the ball out of the back of the net. Cagliari also had fair claim to a spot kick after Martin Cácares handled the ball in the area, but the referee adjudged it ball-to-hand and play continued. A late goal would come to pass, but it would not be the strike that Juventus needed: substitute Alessandro Matri turned Fabio Cannavaro absolutely inside-out before slotting past Gigi Buffon in the 89th minute. Both Diego and substitute Alessandro Del Piero would miss absolute sitters for the visitors in added time and Juventus were forced to swallow their second humbling defeat in 5 days, dropping to 8 points behind league-leaders Inter.

Vucigol had me praising the heavens with his 44th-minute header.

AS Roma 2-1 Atalanta – An ugly, nervy, but ultimately deserved away win. I couldn’t be happier. Though dominations at the Stadio Olimpico like the one last weekend over Bari are a joy to watch, they are expected – those are the games that we will always win, because the magic of the Olimpico rarely fails us. However, it is matches like today’s at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri D’Italia that are must-wins for i Giallorossi, because they are the ones where we so often lose our nerve and drop points against teams we would easily beat at home. It’s not called an advantage for nothing, you know. Luckily, Roma was able to pull out a comeback win against gli Orobici today after Fabio Ceravolo gave the home side the lead on 13′. Roma looked decidedly lackluster for huge spells during the first half, but were able to grab a set-piece goal just before the half as Mirko Vučinić nodded home a corner from David Pizarro on 44′. Simone Perrotta was able to give his side the lead 20 minutes later, ghosting into the box unnoticed to head home a cross from Vučinić. After gaining the lead, i Lupi simply fought to maintain it. The substitutions of Jérémy Ménez for Rodrigo Taddei and Roberto Acquafresca for Cristiano Doni changed the entire complexion of the game; suddenly Roma were on the backheel and fighting only to maintain their lead while the home side heaped on piles of offensive pressure. For the most part Roma held up nicely under the waves of attack; Riise almost scored an own-goal on 85′ but instead cleared the ball nicely, while Atalanta had a legitimate appeal for a penalty on Juan two minutes later which was happily waved off. Finally the fulltime whistle blew and Roma were able to take a much-needed 3 points home to Trigoria. We’ve finally cracked the top 10! Rejoice ironically – but only for a second. We have il Derbi della Capitale to think about.

Udinese 2-0 Livorno – The other Bianconeri were able to achieve a much better result this weekend than Juventus. A cracker of a free kick from Antonio Di Natale opened the scoring on 29′, bringing his total for the season to a round 10. 7 minutes later, Antonio Floro Flores doubled his side’s money, heading home after a build-up that was again largely the work of Di Natale. The one-two punch was more than enough to subdue the Tuscan visitors at the Stadio Friuli and le Zebrette ran away with the 2-goal win. I almost feel bad for Sersi Cosmi, fervent Romanista that he is, until I remember that it was his cursed side which sent us on the downward spiral earlier this season from which we are just now recovering (ie, getting Totti back). But then again, Udinese was a part of that spiral too… Aw, to hell with the both of them.

The Hunter finally found his gun!

AC Milan 2-0 Catania - AC Milan were given a golden opportunity to leapfrog Juventus in the standings this weekend, with i Bianconeri dropping points at Cagliari and i Rossoneri overcame Catania in Sicily to make the most of that chance. Leonardo’s side were held to a goalless draw by the Rossazzurri for 93 minutes, but Milan ‘flop’ Klaas-Jan Huntelaar finally made good on his promise to score an added time brace and catapult his side into second place. First the Dutchman sent a low strike in after some lovely control by Filippo Inzaghi, and then only seconds later after the restart he struck again, chipping Andújar beautifully to make it 2-0 for Milan. Well, the Hunter certainly took his time, but it seems that he has finally found his form for his new side – and his timing couldn’t have been better.

Futbol:

Ibra done good.

Barcelona 1-0 Real Madrid (El Clásico)- Well, it might be called El Clásico, but there was nothing ‘classic’ about Spain’s biggest derby this evening. Barcelona and Real Madrid played out a scrappy game in which neither truly came into their stride or were able to showcase their own particular brand of football. Despite injury concerns, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic were all able to feature in the game, but the big Swede would be the only one to make his mark on the match. The Camp Nou was buzzing with energy as 98,000 of los Culés welcomed their most hated rivals to their home ground. Madrid, however, were not daunted, and were the first to impress, with Xabi Alonso and Kaká putting in perhaps their most impressive performances in the shirt of Los Blancos to date. Cristiano Ronaldo played for a solid hour, but was clearly not at full fitness and unable to terrorize the Barcelona backline as he might have wished. Meanwhile, Lionel Messi caused all sorts of trouble but was ultimately kept fairly quiet by Real Madrid’s defense, who put in a surprisingly solid performance. It was the combination of the substitute Ibrahimovic and Dani Alves which would prove deadly, as the diminutive right-back put in an inch-perfect cross which Ibracadabra struck home with authority to put the home side ahead on 55′. However, that would be the only goal of the match, and besides red cards for both Sergi Busquets (63′) and Lassana Diarra (90′), there was not much other action to speak of. In fact, in light of the last Clásico, in which Barca drubbed Madrid 6-2, tonight’s match was a bit of a dud.

Sevilla 2-2 Málaga (Andalusian Derby) – Sevilla’s closest (and fiercest) rivals are Real Betis, against whom they contest the Derby of Seville. However, with Real Betis currently languishing in Segunda División, Sevilla’s closest rivals in the interestingly-named Autonomous Community of Andalucía are perhaps their neighbours in Málaga, who are currently languishing at the bottom of the Primera División. So, we have the Andalusian Derby; and while the rivalry might not be as intense as El Clásico, I personally found the game itself to be much more entertaining. At the Estadio Sánchez Pizjuán Sevilla were looking to bounce back from a 1-0 defeat in midweek to Romanian side Unirea Urziceni, but they certainly did not get off to a good start. Although in a bizarre incident Málaga substitute Albert Luque was shown the red card from the bench, it was still the visitors who took the early lead. Fernando opened up the scoring for the visitors on 22′, and Duda made it 2-0 just before the half after being set up by Fernando. It seemed as though Málaga were headed towards all three points, but a spectacular second-half performance from Luis Fabiano ensured that the spoils were shared in Seville this weekend. The Brazilian struck first on 58′, heading home past Gustavo Munúa, and then on 72′ struck again, smashing the ball into the lower corner of the net to bring his side level. Both sides fought hard for an equalizer, and Sevilla came closest right at the death with a point-blank header from Fernando Navarro that Munúa probably saved by accident. In the end, each team would come away with a single point in a 2-2 draw that was anything but uneventful.

Fußball:

Bayern München 3-0 Hannover 96 – Well, it seems that die Roten have finally regained their lost form, overcoming midtable side Hannover 96 with ease in a match that featured goals from two of their most talented young stars. Thomas Müller tapped in from close range on 19′ to open the scoring, but Bayern looked shaky at times and were not convincing in their possession of the ball. Constant Djakpa caused all sorts of trouble for Phillip Lahm up the flank, and drew a good save from Hans-Jörg Butt, but was unable to affect the scoreline before the stroke of halftime. Ivica Olic made sure that the visitors got off to a good start in the second half, rising at the far post to meet a Danijel Pranjic cross with his head and double Bayern’s lead. For the rest of the half the home side did everything they could do to reduce Bayern’s lead, but to no avail – it would ultimately be Mario Gomez who would get the last laugh, beating the offside trap on 90′ and slotting home to make it 3-0 for his side. This victory sees Bayern rise to 4th in the Bundesliga standings, while Hannover 96 sit at 12th.

Someone control this guy!

Bayer Leverkusen 4-0 VfB Stuttgart – Leverkusen exit this weekend sitting three point clear atop the Bundesliga table, and it can largely be contributed to one man: Stefan Kießling. The 25-year old striker has been absolutely on fire for his club of late and bagged a hattrick this weekend at the Bayarena to cement his place atop the German scoring charts as well. Kießling struck on 22′, 59′ and 87′, while Eren Derdiyok added a goal of his own on 38′ to complete a 4-0 drubbing of a lacklustre Stuttgart side.

Werder Bremen 2-2 VfL Wolfsburg – Edin Dzeko’s double was not enough for the reigning Bundesliga champions to grab all three points away at the Weserstadion. Each time the young Bosnian scored to give his side the lead, the home side were quick to equalize, and ultimately the two squads cancelled one another out and had to settle for a point apiece. Hugo Almeida and Per Mertesacker were on hand to restore parity for their side, with the latter scoring at the very death in the 91st minute of stoppage time. The sharing of points means that Werder Bremen now sit at 2nd place in the Bundesliga standings, while Wolfsburg remain 8th.

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“Paradossalmente abbiamo subito il gol quando stavamo giocando meglio, abbiamo sofferto moltissimo sulle punizioni e i calci d’angolo. I gol sono arrivati su palle inattive. Dovevamo evitare falli al limite dell’area di rigore, invece ne abbiamo fatti tantissimi, ma il Bordeaux ci è stato superiore”. Questo il commento a caldo, fatto dai microfoni di SKY, dal tecnico della Juve Ciro Ferrara alla brutta prestazione dei suoi contro il Bordeaux.

“Troppe disattenzioni su  palla inattiva le abbiamo avute di sicuro – continua Ferrara -. Sul primo gol la marcatura non e’ sta assolutamente fatta. Su queste situazioni c’é un’unica cosa da fare, prestare la massima attenzione”. Ora per la qualificazione diventa decisiva la sfida con il Bayern. “E’ chiaro che dispiace, perché volevamo chiudere il discorso qualificazione stasera – ammette Ferrara -, ma non lo abbiamo meritato in questa gara, quindi, andiamo a giocarcela in casa contro il Bayern. Sarà una bella partita, che vogliamo vincere, non vogliamo pareggiarla”.

Com’è andato Del Piero? “La condizione di Del Piero? Non credo sia questo il problema, la squadra ha sofferto e anche lui ha patito questa grossa spinta del Bordeaux. Non sono assolutamente soddisfatto, non solo di Del Piero, ma della Juventus”.

Non si placa la furia dei tifosi della Juventus contro l’Inter e contro Balotelli. I circa trecento ultrà presenti allo stadio di Bordeaux prima della partita hanno di nuovo intonato il coro: “Se saltelli, muore Balotelli” e hanno inveito verbalmente contro i nerazzurri. Il ds Alessio Secco è andato sotto la curva per far cessare i cori Quando l’altoparlante ha ricordato che “su questo campo è bandito il razzismo”, in tutta risposta, si è levato un coro ancora più pesante: “Un negro non può essere italiano”, senza nominare esplicitamente nessuno. Era lo stesso coro che l’anno scorso portò alla squalifica del campo della Juventus, poi commutata in match a porte chiuse. Il presidente bianconero, Jean Claude Blanc, dai microfoni di SKY, ha ribadito per l’ennesima volta che la società bianconera è contraria a ogni forma di razzismo. Il Ds Alessio Secco è andato sotto la curva bianconera a dire ai tifosi che se continuano con i cori razzisti, c’e’ la minaccia di squalifica internazionale per la Juventus.

Alessandro Del Piero.

Turino “Juventus” komandos legenda Alessandro Del Piero pagaliau išsigydė traumas ir šiandien gali sužaisti pirmąsias rungtynes šių metų Čempionų lygos turnyre.

Italijos grandai (2 vieta A grupėje) išvykoje varžysis su grupės lyderiais Bordo “Girondins”.

“Jei norime finišuoti grupės viršunėje, privalome įveikti šeimininkus. Be abejo, svarbiausia – patekti į sekantį etapą. O ten visi varžovai bus stiprūs”, – kalbėjo A.Del Piero.

Why do I always type a little blurb here? It never really says anything; I just feel weird diving straight into the match results themselves without any preamble. It’s too… impersonal that way. So hello, hi, here we are, so let’s get down to it:

Calcio:

AS Roma Totti 3-1 Bari – Romanisti always repeat one thing when Er Pupone is sidelined: No Totti, no Party. But sometimes we get so caught up in our own negativity that we forget the flip-side of that equation: Totti = party. Er Capitano made his return today against Bari, back from over a month out after going into knee surgery earlier in the season. And just to remind us why we miss him when he’s gone, he scored a hattrick. In the first half hour. The first came on 7′ – a spot kick after Jean-François Gillet downed Mirko Vucinic in the area. Then, only 7 minutes later, Totti launched a searing free-kick into the back of the net to make it 2-0. On 28′, he scored a world-class – and seemingly impossible – goal, beating Bari’s defense, Gillet and firing an acute-angle shot into the far corner. Beauty. Roma did their usual thing in the second half, sitting comfortably back on their large lead and letting i Galletti tire themselves out. However, the visitors finally pulled one back when youngster Marco Andreolli nodded the ball into his own net on 73′. A bit of a blemish, but a pretty good party nonetheless. To Gillet’s credit, he was outstanding for most of the match (those stretches when Totti was not destroying his self esteem), as was Julio Sergio, who was very solid behind the Roman back four. Mirko Vucinic was phenomenal, back to his old self again, while the only real black spot for Roma was Nicolas Burdisso, who was an absolute horrorshow at right-back. Also, the own goal was unfortunate. But all in all, a very good party with Er Capitano back at the helm. I can’t wait until we get Danielino back – then we can really party.

Inter 3-1  Bologna – The Inter Offside webpage referred to this match as a ‘Mortadella Speedbump’ — that pretty much sums it up for me. The reigning champions probably felt as if they could simply stroll into the Stadio Dall’Ara and come back out with three easy points, and their hosts failed to prove them wrong. There was a bit of tension early in the match; Diego Milito put Inter ahead on 22′ off of a corner from Maicon, only for Marcelo Zalayeta to equalize within 60 seconds, smashing the ball past Julio Cesar and into the top corner. The next 20 minutes saw both teams get really into the game, but Mario Balotelli should have put his side ahead when he beat the Bologna backline and dummied ‘keeper Emiliano Viviano – only to waste enough time that Viviano was able to get up and rob him of his much belated shot. One could see Jose Mourinho rise from his bench, flailing in anger. However, Supermario was able to atone for his sins just before the half; another Maicon corner saw the young striker rise powerfully in the air and head home to make it 2-1 for the Nerazzurri. He picked up a knock in the process, however, and was subbed off for Samuel Eto’o, who made a rare start on the bench. The visitors would make their lead more comfortable midway through the second half, with Esteban Cambiasso, who was in excellent form, burying a left-foot strike on 72′. To be honest, the hosts never looked like they were going to get back into the game, and Inter cruised to a comfortable win over the Emiliani.

AC Milan 4-3 Cagliari – It was a bit of a rollercoaster ride in the San Siro this afternoon, but i Rossoneri came out on top. Clarence Seedorf gave the home side an early lead on 5′, but gli Isolani weren’t interested in falling behind and Alessandro Matri equalized just 3 minutes later. The visitors would take the lead on 30′ when Andrea Lazzari found himself completely unmarked at Milan’s back post and gave his side a 2-1 lead. This time though, it was Milan’s turn to come from behind, as Marco Borriello and Alexandre Pato bagged a pair of goals in quick succession to put their side up 3-2 by the 39th minute. Pato’s goal was particularly nice, a rocket-powered blast into the top shelf which sent the San Siro crowd into an uproar. Milan would further consolidate their lead after the break, with Ronaldinho stepping up to the spot after Borriello had been felled in the area and burying it, sending Federico Marchetti the wrong way. He seems to score all of his goals that way, doesn’t he? More on him later. Cagliari was able to reduce Milan’s lead to a single goal when Nenê beat Dida on 68′, but Milan would hold onto their rather precarious lead and edge their visitors 4-3 in what turned out to be an exciting goalfest. Now, Ronaldinho. He was quite possibly – I’d almost say easily – the man of the match; back to his Barcelona form and full of tricks and flicks. That he only got onto the scoresheet via PK is misleading, as he was the creative force behind Milan’s devastating offense all night. That being said, their defending was quite shoddy, and against a better team (no offense, Cagliari, I like you guys) they might have come away with a rather different result. That being said, an excellent high-scoring match to put il Diavolo into 3rd place. Who says Serie A is boring?

Juventus 1-0 Udinese – Oh that’s right, Juventini say Serie A is boring. Because Juve is boring. I Bianconeri edged, well, i Bianconeri in Turin to keep their Scudetto hopes alive tonight. After the kickoff, it was all Juventus; Diego and Mauro Camoranesi both came close in the first quarter of an hour. After that though, the game went into a bit of a lull, and neither side looked dangerous (or did anything important) before the halftime break – unless you count a Udinese goal rightly disallowed for offside. After the restart, it was once again Juventus who set the pace, and this time it paid off. Summer signing Martin Cácares set up summer signing Fabio Grosso, who beat Samir Handanovic with ease to put the home side up 1-0 on 51′. Udinese fought hard throughout the remainder of the half, and both Handanovic and Gigi Buffon were called upon to make class saves, but ultimately the most exciting thing to happen before the fulltime whistle was Alessandro Del Piero’s appearance as a substitute. Juventino or not, you gotta love that guy.

Football:

A hattrick? No, that was just a warm-up.

Tottenham Hotspur 9-1 Wigan Athletic – Stop the press! What in God’s name do they put in the water in Tottenham? The Spurs recorded the second-biggest Premiership blowout in history at White Hart Lane over a hapless Wigan Athletic, with Jermain Defoe grabbing 5 himself in the second half. Peter Crouch opened the scoring for the home side on 9′, and believe it or not, that was it for the first half. Defoe got started right away after the break though, netting on 51′ and 54′, before Paul Scharner (who may have also pulled a Thierry Henry) pulled one back for the Latics to make it 3-1 on 57′. Defoe wasn’t done yet though, and to complete his hattrick restored the Spurs 3-goal margin just seconds later. Aaron Lennon got in on the action with a goal of his own on 64′, and then Jermain Defoe topped off his hattrick with a brace on 69′ and 87′. Chris Kirkland put the ball into his own net on 88′ to make it 8-1, and then Niko Kranjcar scored in the 4th minute of stoppage time to make the scoreline a whopping 9-1. To put this into perspective, didn’t table-toppers Chelsea lose to Wigan this season? Holy shit, dude.

Chelsea 4-0 Wolverhampton – Speaking of Chelsea, Carlo Ancelotti’s men took part in a rout of their own this weekend, though it seems rather paltry in comparison with their London neighbours’ rather excessive beatdown. The Wolves simply had no chance at Stamford Bridge, and with Florent Malouda opening the scoring with a 25-yard strike on 5′, it seemed a cricket score was imminent. Michael Essien furthered that notion, bagging a brace within a 10 minute span by finding the back of the Wolves’ net on 12′ and 22′. The visitors simply had no response to the dominant Chelsea play, and their ill-advised 2-5-3 formation left plenty of gaps for the Blues to exploit. The teams went into the half with the score 3-0, but not before Sylvain Ebanks-Blake forced a class save from Petr Cech. As the game progressed, Wolverhampton reverted to a more solid 4-4-2, it was not enough to stop Joe Cole from scoring his first Premiership goal in over a year, making the score 4-0. Another quite impressive blowout/shutout from Ancelotti’s men, but until they score 9 goals I think they’ll feel that their crosstown rivals have the upper hand. Then again, they’re leading the league, so who cares about the Spurs?

Liverpool 2-2- Manchester City – Every time a Koppite cries, and angel get its wings. Or so I’ve been led to believe. Either way, both the Reds and the Blues (no, no, other Reds. Other Blues too.) dropped points and further away from the top 4 with a 4-goal draw at Anfield on Saturday. Martin Skrtel gave the home side the lead on 50′, only for Emmanuel Adebayor and Stephen Ireland to respond on 69′ and 76′ respectively to give the Citizens a 2-1 lead. A loss at this stage in the competition would have meant disaster for the Scousers, but luckily Yossi Benayoun cut any Mancunian celebrations short by responding with a goal of his own on 77′ to equalize and make it 2-2. And 2-2 the score would remain. This result is neither a complete disaster for Mark Hughes or Rafa Benitez, but you gotta think that the two of them, and their grossly underperforming squads, have gotta be feeling a little uncomfortable right now.

Manchester Utd 3-0 Everton – As for the other Reds and Blues of Manchester and Liverpool, a draw was not in the cards. The Red Devils trounced the Toffeemakers at Old Trafford to stay within five points of Chelsea in the table. Darren Fletcher opened the scoring for the homeside on 35′ with a beautiful goal that has been compared (somewhat hyperbolically) to the work of Zinedine Zidane. After the half Michael Carrick and Luis Antonio Valencia would add a goal each, while David Moyes’ men could do little but keep the scoreline respectable. I gotta say, the Merseyside derby is going to be downright depressing this year…

Pictured: Arsenal player not fit for today's match.

Sunderland 1-0 Arsenal – Oh, Arsenal. The Gooners had gone over a dozen games without a loss, but as usual Arsene Wenger’s men got a little too close to the sun and their wings simply burned up. Also, they had a lot of injuries. The Londoners put in an unfocused and ramshackle performance against a determined Sunderland side who clearly wanted the result more. And they got it. Sunderland simply rode out wave after wave of potent Arsenal attacking play, though admittedly, it didn’t seem like the Gunners wanted to do much other than controlling the ball in midfield. On 71′, the home side finally got their chance and Darren Bent buried it to make the score 1-0 for the Black Cats. Wenger’s men had simply no will to get back into the game (perhaps their minds were occupied with thoughts of next week’s clash against Chelsea) and ultimately fell to a steely Sunderland side. This is the second time this year that the Black Cats have beaten a top 4 side – and this time it can’t even be blamed on a beach ball.

Futbol:

Real Madrid 1-0 Racing Santander – Well, Los Galacticos are still without their biggest star – Cristiano Ronaldo – and they’re still not playing as ‘Galacticos’ perhaps should, but they’re finally where Galacticos should be: on top. Gonzalo Higuaín provided the difference that Manuel Pellegrini’s men needed to take down mid-table residents Racing Santander, with a strike from close range on 22′. Both sides had second-half goals disallowed for offsides, with both Karim Benzema and Sergio Canales putting the ball into the back of the net only to be notified by the referee that they need not celebrate. As has been the norm this year, Madrid did not completely convince, but their narrow victory was nevertheless enough to see them go top of the table for the first time this season after Barcelona picked up a similarly unconvincing result in Bilbao.

Because Bear Country is more frightening than Basque Country.

Barcelona 1-1 Athletic Bilbao – Treble Champions they may be, but at times this season Barcelona have failed to look the part. They faltered again in their title race during this weekend’s trip to Basque Country. Though many of their starting 11, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, were out with knocks, one could still expect Barcelona to produce a result against midtable opponents such as Bilbao. Early in the match, Los Leones put pressure on their visitors, peppering them with corners and free kicks, while Barca looked simply content to play on the counter. Soon however, Barca wrested control of possession from their hosts, and began to look like the side to score, though when it came to finishing they came up empty – at least in the first half. However, after the restart the Blaugrana got off on the right foot, with Daniel Alves running on to the end of a perfect throughball from Xavi and finding the back of Bilbao’s net. Athletic immediately responded by bringing Toquero into the game; a move that would prove very effective as the substitute would equalize for the home side within 10 minutes of coming onto the pitch, running onto a long ball and smashing it home. All that was left to do for Bilbao was to park the bus and ride out the waves of Barcelona attacks – which they did – in order to gain a point and drop the reigning champions down to second place. What has happened to Pep Guardiola’s men?

Fußball:

Bayern München 1-1 Bayer Leverkusen – Well, Die Roten haven’t sunk any further into their slump, but they haven’t de-slumped either, achieving a draw against league-leading Bayer Leverkusen at the Allianz-Arena this weekend. Mario Gomez and Stephan Kießling each netted for their respective sides early on in the match; both goals came within the first 15 minutes of play. Bayern started off energetically, with their aggressive attack leading to Mario Gomez’s opener on 8′, which he sidefooted in on an advantage play after Miroslav Klose was fouled. However, their visitors soon caught up to them in pace and were able to exploit the home side’s defensive weaknesses; Kießling easily beat the offside trap and slotted the ball coolly past Hans-Jörg Butt to make it all square on 14′. Each team had spells of pacy and bright looking attack, but neither could capitalize during those stretches; Leverkusen keeper Rene Adler saved his side time and time again with world class saves to prevent Bayern from getting out in front. Even Thomas Müller, who has so often been Bayern’s ace-in-the-hole this season proved ineffectual, and was subbed in the second half for Ivica Olic, returning from a lengthy injury layoff. The chances petered out towards the end of the game, and a 1-1 draw it would remain – a result that sees Bayer reclaim 1st and Bayern languish in 7th.

Werder Bremen 6-0 SC Freiburg – Poor Freiburg. On more than a few occasions this season they have found themselvesin situations where they are simply out of their depth. The home side suffered a humbling defeat to Die Grün-Weißen in their own Badenova-Stadion, falling 6-0 in an all-out slaughter. Hugo Almeida opened the scoring for the visitors on 33′, Marko Marin added a second on 55′, Almeida doubled his money on 57′, Mesut Özil netted on 67′, Naldo on 73′ and substitute Markus Rosenberg made it 6-0 with 8 minutes left to play. Freiburg once again made a case for having the worst defense in the Bundesliga (they have the highest number of goals against; 30) and sit 13th in the league table, while this victory propels Werder Bremen to second, just a point behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen. I guess the English aren’t the only ones who know how to have a good blowout!

Sono 21 i giocatori convocati dal tecnico Ciro Ferrara per la trasferta Champions di Tel Aviv, dove martedì la Juventus si gioca la qualificazione contro il Maccabi (andata 1-0). Leggi l’elenco completo, c’è anche qualche sorpresa..

Mauro German Camoranesi è stato convocato per la trasferta di Champions League contro il Maccabi, anche nonostante i 4 punti di sutura all’arcata sopraccigliare sinistra rimediati in uno scontro di gioco sabato scorso contro il Napoli. Sono partiti anche il difensore uruguaiano Caceres, che da qualche giorno si allena regolarmente con una mascherina a causa della frattura al naso, e Felipe Melo, nonostante sia vittima di un leggero stato influenzale.

Restano ai box il lungodegente capitan Del Piero, Salihamidzic, Marchisio (vicino al rientro), Iaquinta, Zebina e Sissoko.

Sarà la trasferta più lunga di questa prima parte di stagione. I bianconeri sono infatti partti stamane dall’aeroporto di Torino Caselle e trascorreranno due notti in Israele: quella che precede la gara e quella successiva. Il ritorno a Torino è fissato per mercoledì mattina, nel pomeriggio subito in campo.

Ecco l’elenco completo dei convocati, di cui fa parte anche il Primavera Ciro Immobile

1 Buffon
2 Caceres
3 Chiellini
4 Felipe Melo
5 Cannavaro
6 Grosso
11 Amauri
12 Chimenti
13 Manninger
16 Camoranesi
17 Trezeguet
18 Poulsen
19 Molinaro
20 Giovinco
21 Grygera
23 Ariaudo
28 Diego
29 De Ceglie
30 Tiago
33 Legrottaglie
40 Immobile

Ne parlano in pochi, ma io ti aspetto, Capitano.
Non ci salverai da questa situazione, ma una mano la potrai dare sicuramente.
A presto, Alex

For your viewing pleasure, I’ve compiled the top 10 missed penalty kicks from the last three decades. For anyone who says, “how can they miss that shot?” consider the pressure. Even the best in the world have their off days.

10 & 9: Cristiano Ronaldo, John Terry

8: Francesco Totti

7: Alessandro Del Piero

6: Scott McDonald

5: Michel Platini

4: David Beckham

3: Roberto Baggio

2: Diana Ross (yes, that Diana Ross)

1: Peter Devine

The club have confirmed their man will need at least 40 days to recover.

Juventus have been dealt another blow as Alessandro Del Piero has been ruled out for 40 days after being struck down by injury yet again.

Earlier reports from Tuttosport claimed the captain went down in obvious discomfort during today’s training session at Vinovo.

Juventus have now confirmed the player will be out for at least five weeks.

A statement on the club’s official website reads:

“During the training session, Del Piero complained of some pain in the middle area of his left leg.

“The captain underwent tests straight away and the results have shown a first-second degree injury on his adductor muscle.

“A rest period of 30-40 days is predicted.”

It’s a major blow to the Bianconeri as their captain had only just recovered from a previous problem.

Tiago has also been sidelined. He complained of a problem regarding his left leg and it is said he will be out for 20 days.

Goal

After the poor 2-0 qualifier victory in Georgia (Kakha Kaladze scoring two own goals) on the 5^th of September, Italy, in spite of taking three points, seemed to have reached their creative nadir.

The summer was a tough time for the Azzurri. The Confederations Cup was a definite low for the reigning world champions and it didn’t really help that the summer debacle was followed by a 0-0 friendly against Switzerland. The Georgia match seemed to highlight what had become evident. As Andrea Pirlo, the spark of ingenuity for Italy for the last five years or so and perhaps the most important individual reason for their success in 2006, seems to be gradually draining out of his genius, there is a shortage of heirs to the midfield crown. Italy’s midfield stock is traditionally bolstering with industry, athleticism and consistency but few have the capacity to deliver the stroke of magnificence. Pirlo did it in Germany and Italy took the Cup home.

Marcello Lippi, despite denying any sort of creative crisis in the Italy camp, had a tough task in providing the answer to the midfield problem in time for the clash against Bulgaria. His answer had been sitting in the stands three days earlier. Claudio Marchisio made his second full appearance against Bulgaria and despite perhaps not orchestrating the performance by himself, the 23-year-old was heavily involved in the turnaround of outlook for Italy as they beat Bulgaria 2-0 in Turin, at Marchisio’s home stadium.

After the call-up to the opening line-up in the national side, the Juventus midfielder, who was already a regular last season, has flourished to full bloom. Marchisio scored the second of Juve’s two goals in the victory over Livorno with a perfectly placed lob after a surging run inside the box. In the next game at the Stadio Marrassi in Genoa, Marchisio put in a man of the match performance as he dominated the midfield especially in the second half. It’s no wonder Marco Tardelli, the Juventus and Italy legend and current Ireland assistant coach, drew parallels between the midfielder and himself and called the young Italian a great player. Graced with a superb over-all technique, dynamism and an impeccable eye for a pass, Marchisio embodies all the qualities of a modern midfielder.

Against Genoa, Marchisio started on the left side of the midfield pyramid, alongside the enforcers Christian Poulsen and Felipe Melo. In the defensive-minded Juve midfield line, Marchisio is the focal point in terms of their attacking build-up. He is the player Juventus look to provide the link between the defence and the playmaker Diego (replaced by Mauro Camoranesi against Genoa due to the Brazilian’s injury). Although perhaps most at home in the centre of the park, Marchisio can operate on the wing as well. This he showed in the first half as he stormed down the flank and provided the cross from which (with the help of Camoranesi’s delightful dummy) Vincenzo Iaquinta scored the opener.

As the generation of Pirlo, Totti and Alessandro Del Piero are gradually beginning to blow out the candles on their magnificent careers, they are leaving a huge creative deficit in the national team. Marchisio is top of the class among the young players who are taking over the huge responsibility of filling that void. Lippi could do a lot worse than trying to ensure this happening by giving the Juve player an extended run in the Azzurri shirt.

Il pareggio di giovedì contro il Genoa ci poteva stare, quello in casa contro il Bologna un po’ meno per una squadra come la Juventus che vuole gridare al mondo di essere tornata grande. E’ nel finale che i piani di Ferrara vengono scombinati: Adailton raddrizza la gara dopo il vantaggio di Trezeguet nel primo tempo. E così finisce 1-1 all’Olimpico di Torino, con la squadra bianconera che consegna il primo posto in classifica alla “Sampdoro” di Del Neri (a +1) e permette all’Inter di far sentire con più insistenza il fiato sul collo (a -1). Contro gli emiliani, che hanno disputato un’ottima ripresa, la Juventus ha avuto il demerito di non chiudere la contesa al momento giusto. Infine i recuperati: Diego, in campo per oltre 50 minuti, ha disputato una buona a prova. Del Piero, entrato negli ultimi 11 minuti, non ha potuto festeggiare la 400esima partita in A con un successo.

Nel posticipo il Milan non va oltre lo 0-0 a San Siro contro il neopromosso Bari. I rossoneri non riescono mai a sfondare e devono ringraziare ancora una volta il portiere Storari, protagonista di almeno un paio di interventi decisivi.San Siro non ci sta: gli uomini di Leonardo escono tra i fischi del popolo rossonero. Gli applausi sono tutti per i ragazzi di Ventura, autori di un’ottima gara.

Male il Genoa. La squadra di Gasperini perde aderenza dalle primissime posizioni perdendo 2-0 ad Udine. Tanto per cambiare, è super-Di Natale a aprire le danze per i friulani. L’attaccante campano, leader della classifica marcatori, è all’ottavo sigillo in campionato. A due minuti dal termine arriva il raddoppio di Pepe.

Roma a sprazzi. La squadra di Ranieri è una bella incompiuta. Lo dice l’andamento della sua stagione, diove finora ha alternato prove entusiasmanti (vedi il 3-1 contro la Fiorentina) ad altre molto meno convincenti, come l’ultima contro il Catania. La partita contro i siciliani va in archivio con il risultato di 1-1. E’ il giapponese Morimoto a sbloccare nel primo tempo, mentre De Rossi riacciuffa il pari nel secondo minuto di recupero.

Il presidente De Laurentiis attacca, Donadoni risponde sul campo. Il tecnico del Napoli, criticato dal numero uno del club per risultati negativi finora racimolati, si riscatta e grazie alla doppietta di Hamsik trova il successo per 2-1 contro il Siena.

Battuta d’arresto per il Parma di Guidolin. Sesti in classifica, gli emiliani sono stati sconfitti 2-0 tra le mura domestiche del ‘Tardini’ dal Cagliari. Per i rossoblù, e soprattutto per il tecnico Allegri, una boccata d’ossigeno. Jeda e Dessena i marcatori.

Un autentico assedio nel finale. E’ così che la Lazio, all’Olimpico, conquista il pareggio contro il Palermo di Zenga e, nel finale, “rischia” addirittura di ribaltare il risultato. Cavani segna per gli ospiti al 75′. Ma subito dopo si scatena Zarate, che trova il pareggio al 40′. Di fuoco gli ultimi 5 minuti, con i biancocelesti sfiorano il vantaggio: un doppio miracolo di Sirigu su Rocchi e la pessima mira di Mauri che a porta vuota non trova il bersaglio, evitano la disfatta ai rosanero. Chiusa sull’1-1 anche Chievo-Atalanta. I gol nella ripresa. Tiribocchi porta avanti i nerazzurri, poi il consueto zampino di Pellissier.

Beane’s sculptures are beautifully realistic.  Here’s his Eric Gagne:

See more, including such figures as Billy Wagner, Brian Urlacher, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Pablo DiCanio, Evangeline Lily, Dante Toneguzzo, Roger Milla, Alessandro del Piero, a zombie teenager, and more.

The Old Lady hero could be ready to return to action on Sunday, though the Champions League date against Bayern Munich could be a more realistic goal.

Juventus forward Alessandro Del Piero is on the verge of making his return from injury.

The Italian has been troubled by a muscular strain in his left leg that has kept him on the sidelines.

According to Tuttosport, Del Piero has had a special training programme that was designed to speed up his recovery. 

His workload has increased on a daily basis and he has reached a level that will permit a possible return for Sunday’s game against Bologna in Turin.

Coach Ciro Ferrara has been keeping his eye on the No.10 during his recovery.

The former defender took part in one of Del Piero’s sessions and challenged the forward to out-perform him.

Despite the report, Del Piero’s return to action has not been confirmed officially by the club. Indeed, voices in Turin suggest a return against Bayern Munich is more likely.

Goal

Ya ha empezado la fase de grupos de la mejor competición por clubes del mundo: la Champions League. Y lo ha hecho con algunos partidos muy interesantes, aunque el verdadero plato fuerte de este primer asalto se juegue mañana en San Siro. Vamos por partes, que diría el amigo Jack.

• Grupo A: Müller derriba el muro israelí
  

Maccabi Haifa 0 – 3 Bayern Munich

El Bayern se coloca en cabeza en el grupo A, uno de esos llamados de la muerte, tras vencer, no sin dificultad en la cancha de un correoso Maccabi Haifa. Los israelíes, una de las revelaciones de la fase previa por su buen juego acabaron sucumbiendo en los últimos minutos al poderío ofensivo de los bávaros, que acabaron por derrumbar la oposición hebrea en el minuto 65, con un gol del defensa Daniel van Buyten tras un barullo en el área precedida de un lanzamiento de falta. Ya en las postrimerías del partido y con el Maccabi intentando arañar algún punto, la joven promesa bávara que ha quitado la titularidad a Mario Gómez, Thomas Müller, sentenció el partido con dos goles más, dejando el 0-3 definitivo en el marcador.

Juventus 1 – 1 Girondins

Empate a un gol en uno de los encuentros atractivos que mencionaba al principio. Los campeones franceses llegan a esta Champions intentando demostrar por qué son el mejor equipo de su país -con permiso del renovado Lyon de Claude Puel-. Han tenido mala suerte con un grupo muy complicado, aunque han empezado con buen pie sacando un punto del Olímpico de Turín, donde la Juve acuso demasiado la ausencia del único jugador que aporta algo diferente al equipo: el brasileño Diego y del sempiterno capitán Alessandro del Piero. Golpearon primero los italianos, con un gol de Iaquinta que aprovechó las facilidades dadas por el portero visitante, Ramé, que había entrado unos minutos antes al campo en sustitución de Carrasso. Poco duró la alegría a la becchia que vio como Plasil empataba en el 75, sólo 12 minutos más tarde, tras rematar en fuera de juego una falta botada desde la derecha. Gol injusto, aunque el resultado final sí lo fue.

• Grupo B: Grafité, Grafité y Grafité

Wolfsburgo 3 – 1 CSKA Moscú

A pesar del mal inicio en la Bundesliga, sigo teniendo muchas esperanzas de que esta temporada se vuelva a hablar mucho de este equipo, uno de los que mejor fútbol hizo en Europa la temporada pasada y que basa su éxito en una pareja de delanteros que firmarían la mayoría de los equipos europeos. Cuando no es Dzeko, es Grafité, y hoy le ha tocado exhibirse al veterano brasileño, con un hat-trick en su debut en Champions. Especialmente bello fue el definitivo 3-1 que sentenciaba el choque, tras una genial maniobra en el área que le permitió fusilar por última vez a Akinfeev. El CSKA, en el que debutaba Juande Ramos, que viene a intentar un milagro parecido al que le pidieron el año pasado en Madrid, no dejó muy buena impresión, aunque si lo hizo Dzagoev, que metió un buen gol.

Besiktas 0 – 1 Manchester United

Pocos apuros para los diablos rojos en su visita al infierno turco. Aunque estuvo falto de gol, el United siempre puede recurrir a la aportación de jugadores veteranos, pero que usan esa veteranía para mejorar su juego. El sábado fue Ryan Giggs y hoy fue Paul Scholes, que marcó el único gol del partido de cabeza en la segunda parte. Poco que contar de un partido en el que el Manchester parecía saber en todo momento que se llevaría el partido, a pesar de no ir ganando. Sigue siendo un poco extraño ver al ManU esta temporada.

• Grupo C: Demasiado fácil para el Madrid

Zürich 2 – 5 Real Madrid

Nueva exhibición de efectividad del Real Madrid, esta vez en Suíza ante la presunta comparsa de este grupo. Pareció que el Madrid jugase a medio gas ante un rival que dejaba demasiados espacios, en especial cuando se cansaban de perseguir la pelota, mareada en medio campo por los jugadores de la retraguardia madridista hasta que encontraban un buen desmarque arriba. Así nacieron el segundo y el tercer gol, marcados por Raúl e Higuaín respectivamente. Hizo un amago de resurgir el modesto en la segunda parte, con goles de Margairaz (tras un penalti inventado) y Aegerter, de nuevo a balón parado -ya van unos cuantos que le caen al Madrid en este inicio de temporada. Pero fue un mero espejismo, ya que Cristiano marcó su segundo gol de falta casi al final, ambos acompañados de sendas demostraciones de blandeza de manos del portero local Johnny Leoni, quién no mantuvo su palabra previa al partido de que no tenía miedo a los lanzamientos del portugués. Guti rubricó la goleada en el descuento con una vaselina antológica, que arrebató a Grafité el honor de gol de la jornada.

Olympique Marsella 1 – 2 Milan

El segundo de los tres duelos Italia-Francia que se darán esta semana fue favorable al equipo transalpino. El Milan se impuso con dos goles del incombustible Pipo Inzaghi, tras sendas asistencias del no menos incansable Clarence Seedorf, a un Olympique que hizo méritos para conseguir un mejor marcador, pero que no aprovechó las oportunidades que tuvo. Un paso atrás para el OM, que se complica su pase a octavos ya desde el primer partido, pues en principio estos dos equipos deberían luchar por la segunda plaza de este grupo.

• Grupo D: Con la borrica a vueltas

Atlético de Madrid 0 – 0 APOEL Nicosia

Este Atlético no anda, ni con Agüero y Forlán ni sin ellos. El equipo es tan escaso que están teniendo que recurrir a jugadores descartados del año pasado, como Cléber Santana, que hacen prever una temporada funesta para los colchoneros. El partido de hoy es un ejemplo claro de lo que en el Atlético parece ser un proceso cíclico que provoca un estado de constante agitación en la Ribera del Manzanares. Y así no se puede llegar a buen puerto nunca. Penosa primera parte del Atlético que estuvo a punto de verse por detrás en varias ocasiones. En la segunda parte se vio una cara algo mejor pero el portero griego Chiotis -se marcó varios paradones impresionantes- y el larguero evitaron que se rompiese el empate. Buen comienzo del APOEL que promete seguir los pasos de su compatriota Anorthosis como equipo revelación de la fase de grupos. A ver como funcionan en su campo.

Chelsea 1 – 0 Porto

• El mejor gol del día

Lo prometido es deuda. Golazo de Guti en el descuento para cerrar la goleada del Madrid en Zürich. A ver si dura porque lo más seguro es que Youtube lo censure en las próximas horas… si lo encuentro en algún otro sitio lo colgaré desde allí. Volvemos mañana con otra intensa jornada de Champions!