Argentina To World Cup Final

0-0(2-4pen.)

The Netherlands and Argentina faced-off today to claim a place in the World Cup final.  Argentina beat Belgium 1-0 to reach the semi-finals while the Netherlands were forced into an extra-time game against Costa Rica that eventually ended in a 2-1 victory.  Again today the Netherlands were forced into an extra-time game as both fail to score in regulation.

Both teams came out with a rather conservative approach and did not press too many men forward.  Argentina's offense led by Messi and supported by Higuaín and Lavezzi was subdued throughout the match.  Messi's only shot on goal was a free-kick that keeper Cillessen saved easily.

Likewise, Argentina did not allow the Netherlands to get their offense flowing and by the end of regulation there were no shots on target from anyone in orange.  Van Persie was ghost out there today and Robben seemed just a half step slower coming off the overtime grind with Costa Rica.

Neither team scored in the extra-time so for a second straight match for the Dutch penalty kicks would decide the winner.  In the previous match the Netherlands saved their last substitution for a keeper change to bring on the speciallist Tim Krul.  However today all the subs were used before a change at keeper could be made and Cillessen had to do the job.

The Netherlands shot first with defender Ron Vlaar leading off.  This was a surprising move considering Huntelaar had come in late off the bench.  And in hindsight it was the wrong decision as his shot was blocked by Argentina keeper Romero.  This gave Argentina an immediate advantage and Messi followed the save with a conversion for the lead.

Robben then scored from the spot for the Dutch and Garay responded with a clean finish for Argentina.  Next for the Netherlands was Sneijder who also had his shot denied by Romero and was also followed by a conversion by Agüero.  Kyut was the last shooter for the Netherlands and he found the net to keep them alive.  Unfortunately for the Orange keeper Cillessen could not make a single save and substitute Maxi Rodríguez finished from the spot to put Argentina into the final.

So Brazil's arch rival will play in the final against an intimidating German side.  It almost doesn't matter though who plays Germany as the winner of today's match will have one day less rest and have to recover from this extra-time game.  We saw the same situation last summer during the Confederations Cup when Spain could barely challenge Brazil after winning an extra-time game to reach the final.

The Netherlands will play Brazil in the third-place game on Saturday and it will be interesting to see how, or if, both teams respond to their losses.

Messi Scores Two, Argentina Sweep Group F

 2-3 

Argentina were already guaranteed to advance out of group play having won their first two matches against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iran.  Nigeria had a good chance to advance as well, needing a draw or some help by Bosnia-Herzegovina in the other match.

Messi was quick out of the gate today and scored in the opening minutes of the match.  A shot on goal by Angel Di Maria forced Nigerian keeper Enyeama to make a save and he got just enough on the ball to send the shot off the post.  The rebound off the post bounced in front of the net and Messi blasted the loose ball into the net (3').

Nigeria wasted no time in finding the equalizer and scored on the following kick-off.  Ahmed Musa found space in the Argentina box and curled a shot around defender Zabaleta and keeper Romero to pull even (4').

Just before half-time Argentina retook the lead on a free-kick by Messi.  Messi had one free-kick attempt earlier that was saved by the keeper, but he got a second chance from nearly the same spot.  With his second attempt, Messi successfully lifted the shot over the wall and got the dip on the shot to bring the ball back down under the crossbar (45 +1').

A goal right before half-time is often a morale killer, but Nigeria were not discouraged and quickly got another equalizer after the break.  Playing a give-and-go with Emmanuel Emenike, Musa again got in behind the Argentina defense and fired a shot to beat the keeper near-post (47').

Nigeria fell behind once more though during a set-piece for Argentina.  A corner-kick was sent into the box, but no one for Nigeria could clear the cross off the line.  This gave leftback Marcos Rojo the opportunity to attack the cross and he scored with a shot off his knee (50').

Nigeria could not come up with a third equalizer and Argentina claim their third win in three matches.  Fortunately for Nigeria today's loss does not hurt them.  Bosnia-Herzegovina beat Iran in the other Group F match meaning Nigeria still have enough points to reach the knock-out round.

Manchester City Breeze By West Bromwich

 3-1 

Manchester City hosted West Bromwich Albion today in a relatively easy fixture for the home team.  West Bromwich are floating around the relegation zone while City are trying to work back into the top spot in the Premier League table.  City came into the match in third place with two fewer games played than Liverpool and Chelsea, the first and second place teams respectively.  

Manchester City got on the board very quickly today when fullback Zabaleta pushed forward and benefited from a free shot by Agüero.  West Bromwich keeper Ben Foster blocked the initial shot by Agüero, but the rebound setup Zabaleta who scored with a diving header to take an early lead (3').

Soon after Agüero scored one on his own to extend the lead for City.  The West Bromwich defense could not close down the striker and Agüero was able to fire a shot from outside the penalty box into the far corner of the net (10').

West Bromwich got one goal back moments later on a well executed counter-attack.  Zabaleta lost possession to Liam Ridgewell who then play the ball forward to Sessegnon making a break.  Sessegnon picked out forward Vydra, then a final pass to Graham Dorrans led to the goal.  Dorrans did well to avoid Clichy inside the box and scored the only goal for West Brom against the scrambling City defense (16').

City managed to score one more goal in the first-half from a corner-kick to reestablish a two goal lead.  Nasri delivered the cross into the box and Kompany managed to get just a piece of the ball with a header to flick the ball on to Demichelis at the far-post.  Demichelis was left unmarked and scored an easy tap in for the final goal of the match (36').

The second-half was less eventful than the first as neither team were able to change the score.  The most crucial moment in the second-half came from an injury sustained by David Silva.  The midfielder came away from a challenge holding his ankle and had to be taken off on a stretcher.  We will have to wait and see how serious the injury is, but it could mean the end of the season for the Spanish international.  

Manchester City Thump Tottenham, Take First Place

 1-5 

Manchester City came into today's match against Tottenham with a chance to take the top spot in the Premier League table.  Arsenal tied Southampton the day before leaving only a two point gap between City in second place.

Despite playing on the road, Manchester City got off to a great start and held nearly all of possession in the first fifteen minutes.  Sergio Agüero started alongside Edin Dzeko at forward and put City in front early.  David Silva played the pass that put Agüero in scoring position and the striker finished with a slight chip shot over keeper Lloris coming off his line (15').

Agüero nearly scored a second goal with a header, but this time Lloris made the big play, getting his palm on the ball for the save.  The Argentine striker was looking good and put his team ahead, but moments before half-time Agüero pulled up with a hamstring problem.  He was immediately removed from the match and sent to the locker room with Stevan Jovetić taking his place.

The margin between the two clubs was only one goal at the start of the second-half, but a missed tackle by Tottenham defender Danny Rose ended any real chance of a come-back.  Rose was shown a red card for a tackle from behind on Dzeko inside the box to give City a penalty as well as leave his side down a man for the rest of the match.  Yaya Touré scored from the spot to give City a two goal lead (51').  Edin Dzeko then score a goal himself an instant later.  David Silva had a shot blocked that fell for Dzeko who finished the loose ball (53').

Tottenham managed to score one goal for a glimmer of hope in the second-half when substitute Etienne Capoue found the net.  A Tottenham corner-kick was not cleared off the line by City's defense and Capoue was able to turn a shot towards goal that beat keeper Joe Hart (59').  Capoue's goal was the only goal Tottenham could produce though, and City were not content with their three goals.

Substitute Jovetić scored his first ever Premier League goal when his shot took a fortunate deflection and ended up in the net (78').  Then in the final minutes of regulation captain Kompany scored when a blocked shot fell for him.  Kompany finished right in front of goal for the final score of the match (89').

The big win means Manchester City take the top spot from Arsenal in the table.  Chelsea were also held to a draw by West Ham United today so they remain in third place.  Chelsea and City meet this weekend in league play for a chance to either stretch or shrink the points difference.

Manchester City Coast Over Blackburn in FA Cup

 5-0 

Blackburn Rovers forced a replay against Manchester City in the FA Cup when the first meeting ended in a 1-1 draw earlier this month.  Manchester City were the obvious favorites heading into today's match and this time City did not let Blackburn hang around.

Manchester City were not particularly good in the first-half though, especially considering their opponent.  Edin Dzeko may have had the worst first-half in his career at Manchester.  Every shot attempt from Dzeko was either way over the goal or well wide.  The defense was shuffled for the mid-week fixture with Clichy the only regular starter.  The defense handled Blackburn nonetheless, and only allowed one shot on target in the half.

In the final seconds of the first-half City did finally score thanks to the other striker Álvaro Negredo.  Fernandinho played the cross into the box and Negredo scored with a far-post header to take the lead (45').  Not surprisingly, the goal at the end of the half completely changed the shape of the game allowing City to impose their will on Blackburn.

At the start of the second-half Blackburn made a change at keeper and brought on Eastwood in place of Robinson.  Eastwood did not get a chance to settle into the game and was tested right away.  An early cross put Negredo behind the defense and Eastwood was forced off his line.  Negredo got to the ball first though, and scored with a chip-shot over Eastwood (47').

Dzeko then made up for his poor first-half performance with a pair of goals.  Both times Jesús Navas played the final ball for the striker, and both times Dzeko scored with first-touch shots at the near-post 67' and 79').  In between the two goal from Dzeko, Sergio Agüero was introduced and scored immediately.  Dzeko made the pass inside the box for Agüero who used his first touch of the match to create space then finished with his second touch (73').

In the end this was a rather comfortable win for Manchester City.  All three forwards used today scored as the powerful offense helps City advance to the next round.  Watford are the "lucky" club to play City in the next round later this month.

Super Goal By Osvaldo Saves Southampton

 1-1

Manchester City had a three game winning streak going, while Southampton lost their last three Premier League matches.  Today Southampton hosted Man. City and did not look like a team that was on such a cold streak.  Their offense was dynamic and had a lot of touches in City's box all game.

Manchester City scored the early goal though, when Sergio Agüero found space in the penalty area.  Fullback Aleksander Kolarov got forward and rolled a cross into the box that the Southampton defense could not quite clear. Agüero was waiting and scored with a one-touch finish (10').

Southampton were aggressive and did not let the deficit  discourage their game plan.  Late in the first-half Pablo Daniel Osvaldo leveled the score with a superb individual effort.  All alone up front, Osvaldo beat Kompany then Zabaleta on the dribble before hitting a perfect curling shot to the upper-ninety (42').

In the second-half the match was wide open and by the end Southampton created more chances than Manchester City.  Neither side could score, however, and both teams take one point.  All-in-all both teams can be happy with the result as Southampton snap a losing streak and City get one point on the road.

Late Winner From Torres Downs Manchester City

 2-1 

This weekend's marque Premier League matchup was between Manchester City playing at Chelsea.  Three points separated the two clubs with Chelsea ahead of Man. City before today's game.  Both clubs came out with a lot of intensity and three yellow cards were issued in the first-half alone.

Chelsea were first on the scoreboard after Torres setup Andre Schürrle.  Torres was able to beat defender Clichy to the endline and play the ball across the face of goal.  Schürrle was crashing the net and finished with an easy tap-in for the only goal of the first-half (33').

Manchester City's Sergio Agüero was very active throughout the match and scored the equalizer in the opening minutes of the second-half.  Samir Nasri played the through-ball to put Agüero behind the Chelsea defense and the striker ripped the shot inside the near-post (49').

Around the hour mark, both teams began using their substitutions and after the numerous changes the pace of the game noticeably declined.  A one-one draw looked to be the inevitable conclusion, but Chelsea caught a break and capitalized on a costly mistake.

A long ball from midfield was misplayed by defender Nastasić to give Torres a scoring opportunity.  Nastasić was looking to head the ball back to his keeper, but he did not notice that keeper Hart had come off his line to collect the ball.  With the errant back-pass heading towards goal and the keeper way out of position, Torres had an easy finish on the winning goal (90').

Chelsea are now in second place in the league table, tied with Liverpool and two points behind Arsenal at the top.  Arsenal and Chelsea meet this week for a Capital One Cup match and Manchester City play Newcastle in the same tournament.