Netherlands Take Revenge, Stun Spain

 1-5 

Defending World Cup champions Spain were in action today in a first round match against the Netherlands.  In the 2010 World Cup final Spain defeated the Netherlands 1-nil in overtime to lift the Cup.  Today the result was quite different as the Dutch punished Spain for their previous heart-break.

Spain fielded a similar line-up to that during the Euros and the Confederations Cup with one major exception.  Diego Costa got the start for Spain at striker after choosing not to play for Brazil.  The striker helped Spain take the lead when he won a penalty kick in the first-half.  Dutch defender Stefan De Vrij missed his slide tackle on Diego Costa in the box and the spot-kick was given for Spain.  Xabi Alonso took the shot and scored the penalty with a well placed drive to the corner (27').

Not shaken by the deficit, the Netherlands responded just before half-time to level the score.  Daley Blind played an early cross into the box to pick out Robin Van Persie.  The Dutch captain timed his run well to stay on-sides and with his first touch struck a perfect header that beat Spanish keeper Iker Casillas (44').

In the second-half Spain's defense fell apart and captain Casillas was a complete mess between the posts.  Arjen Robben scored shortly after the break to give the Dutch the lead.  A great first touch to trap the ball inside the box set him up for a second touch around defender Pique before beating the keeper (53').

Not long after falling behind Spain elected to make a pair of changes removing Diego Costa and Xabi Alonso for Torres and Pedro.  However as soon as the two came into the match, the Netherlands extended the lead on a set-piece.  Sneijder delivered the free-kick into the box and Dutch centerback De Vrij scored at the back-post (64').

Later Van Persie scored another goal when Casillas coughed up the ball after mishandeling a back-pass.  Van Persie was quick to snatch the ball away from the keeper and fire off a shot on an empty net (72').  Then Robben scored a second goal when a long ball played forward gave him room to out-run Sergio Ramos.  Casillas attempted to stop Robben's run by coming off his line, but the Dutch forward confidently dribbled around the keeper and scored the final goal of the match (80').

The Dutch successfully got revenge on the team that kept them from lifting the trophy four years ago and will be favored to win the group.  Australia and Chile make up the rest of the group, but do not have much of a chance to reach the knock-out rounds.  Spain do not need to panic just yet and should be able to advance out of the group stage despite today's poor performance.  Once they do get out though, they will have to play much better against the next level of competition.

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.  

Liverpool Win Titanic Match Over Manchester City

 3-2 

Today's match between Liverpool and Manchester City has been on the radar for some time now with title implications on the line.  Playing at Anfield, there were no surprises in the starting line-ups with both clubs putting their best eleven out for this crucial match.  Suarez, Sturridge, and Sterling headed the Liverpool attack while David Silva, Nasri, and Dzeko lead Manchester City.

Liverpool got off to a great start and had all the momentum in the opening stages of the game.  A pair of goals in the first-half had them in good position, for a time, as City struggled to get into the match.  First Raheem Sterling made a run behind defender Kompany and Suarez played a through-ball to put him in-on-goal.  Keeper Joe Hart came off his line in an attempt to intervene, but ended up in no-mans-land allowing Sterling to work enough space and bury the shot (6').

Yaya Touré was then forced to come out soon after the first goal with an injury.  While taking a shot from range, Toure injured his groin and could not continue.  Javi Garcia replaced him less than twenty minutes into the match.

Liverpool added a second goal from a set-piece later in the half to extend the lead.  Captain Gerrard delivered a corner-kick into the box and Martin Skrtel was at the near-post to attack the cross.  With a glancing header, Skrtel was able to sent the ball to the opposite post and find the side netting (26').

Manchester City eventually got into the match and gained a lot of momentum coming out in the second-half.  James Milner came on in place of Jesús Navas and the visitors started to take control of the match.  Shortly after coming on, Milner setup the first goal for City by rolling the ball into the path of David Silva who turned the shot into the net (57').  Moments later David Silva created another goal for City to level the score.  He intended to play a ball across the face of goal, but the pass came off defenders Glen Johnson and Sktrel causing a fortunate own-goal (62').

To make matters worse for Liverpool, Daniel Sturridge was force out with an injury and Joe Allen came on in his place.  But the Reds found an opening thanks to a mistake by Kompany in his own box.  The City captain scuffed a clearance and Coutinho pounced on the loose ball, smashing the shot home for the winning goal (78').

This win is the biggest of the season for Liverpool who extend their lead in the league table.  Chelsea reamin in second-place and City in third, though Manchester have played two fewer matches.  With only four matches left to play, Liverpool control their own fate and will need another strong performance when they play Chelsea in two weeks time.

Arsenal and Man City Miss Out, End Even

 1-1 

Earlier today Chelsea were stunned by Crystal Palace in a 1-0 loss.  John Terry scored an own-goal and Chelsea missed out on claiming any points.  Manchester City came into the later match against Arsenal with a chance to take the top spot if they could beat the Gunners at the Emirates Stadium.

City had a better start to the game and enjoyed the majority of possession in the early stages of the game.  David Silva was able to create the first goal of the match when Arsenal gave up possession in midfield.  Silva had space to dribble a long way towards the Arsenal goal and picked out Edin Dzeko running to the back-post.  Dzeko's shot was partially blocked by keeper Szczesny before coming off the post.  The rebound off the post then came back to David Silva who managed to get a foot on the ball to score (18').

The rest of the first-half featured a series of four yellow cards, three of them going to Manchester City.  Fortunately for both clubs, no one was shown a second yellow and both clubs finished with eleven men.

Arsenal regrouped during the half-time break and came out in the second-half with more intensity.  Their improved play paid off quickly and the Gunners managed to level the score.  Lukas Podolski delivered a skipping cross into the box and Mathieu Flamini was able to slip in front of defender Demichelis to get a shot at goal for the equalizer (53').

After conceding the goal, Manchester City played more conservatively bringing in Milner and Javi Garcia to secure the midfield.  Arsenal on the other hand went for more aggressive changes and brought Oxlade-Chamberlain and Yaya Sanogo on to the pitch.  However neither side could produce a go-ahead goal and the match ended in a draw.

For the moment Chelsea remain at the top of the table, but Liverpool will have a chance to take the lead tomorrow when they face Tottenham at Anfield.  The title race is anything but certain though, as just five points separate the current top-four.

Manchester City Rebound in League Play, Top Stoke

 1-0 

Manchester City certainly needed a win following the truly disappointing loss to Barcelona in the Champions League midweek.  Today Man. City hosted Stoke City for a Premier League game that was favorable for Machester to bounce back.

Edin Dzeko and Álvaro Negredo started in the attack with David Silva and Nasri occupying the wings for Manchester.  Peter Crouch was the lone striker for Stoke with Charlie Adam and Peter Odemwingie as his main support.

Neither side scored in the first-half, though both were able to test the opposite keeper.  Manchester City had far and away the majority of possession (over seventy percent) and created more shots on target.  Stoke were forced to defend for most of the match and they fended off the home side's attack well for a long time.

Eventually the persistent attack from Manchester City paid off and the dead-lock was broken.  Rightback Aleksander Kolarov fired a low cross into the box that Yaya Toure was able to redirect towards goal.  Stoke keeper Begovic got a hand to the shot, but could not turn it away from his goal and the ball found the net (70').

Stoke City could not create an equalizer in the time remaining as Manchester held on for the win.  Though the margin of victory was slim today, the win was the right kind of response from Manchester City.  Chelsea and Arsenal also won league matches today meaning there was no change at the top of the table.

Barcelona Burn Manchester City in Champions League

 0-2 

The UEFA Champions League returned today with the first leg of the knock-rounds featuring a big match between English giants Manchester City hosting Spanish powerhouse Barcelona.  Naturally the visitors from La Liga had a strong Spanish presence, but City too fielded Spanish players David Silva, Álvaro Negredo, and Jesús Navas in their offense.

As Barcelona are prone to do, the possession was heavily in their favor which limited the chances from Manchester City.  At half-time there was no score with only three shots on target combined between the clubs.  City had defended the potent Barcelona attack well for the first forty-five minutes, but the second-half was rather disastrous.

Barcelona won a penalty when Messi was fouled by centerback Martín Demichelis in the box.  The referee determined the foul was an effort to deny a "goal scoring opportunity" and sent Demichelis off with a red card.  Messi then scored from the spot to put Barcelona ahead (54').

On the verge of stoppage-time Barcelona added a second goal from fullback Dani Alves.  Coming in late off the bench, Neymar played Alves in-on-goal and the fullback score with a nutmeg shot on keeper Joe Hart (90').

Manchester City had a tall task ahead trying to score one goal when they replay at Camp Nou, but the second goal may have just ended their Champions League hopes.  City will have several weeks to come up with a new game plan before heading to Spain for the second leg on March 12th.

Manchester City Eliminate Chelsea From FA Cup

 2-0 

The current top four clubs in the Premier League were paired off for the fifth round of the FA Cup with Manchester City hosting Chelsea today and Arsenal hosting Liverpool tomorrow.  Chelsea hold the top spot with Manchester City three points behind in third.  Today at the Etihad though Manchester City were far and away the superior team.

Manchester City had all the offense in the first-half and took the lead when starting forward Stevan Jovetić scored.  Edin Dzeko played the final ball that put Jovetić in-on-goal and the striker finished with a shot that just caught the inside of the post before finding the net (16').

After half-time Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho removed the ineffective Eto'o for Mohamed Salah.  Striker Torres also came in later looking to get something going offensively.  However neither were able to fuel the attack, and it was Manchester City's first substitute that made the biggest impact in the second-half.  Samir Nasri came on after an hour of play and scored a second goal for the home side.  A give-and-go with David Silva set him up for an easy finish from close range for the final goal of the match (67').

Obviously with today's win Manchester City eliminate Chelsea from the FA Cup and move on the quarterfinals.  The next match for Manchester City is another tournament game in the Champions League.  F.C. Barcelona come to the Etihad Stadium for the first of two meeting between the clubs.  Chelsea are also still alive in the Champions League and travel to Turkey for a match with Galatasaray.

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.

Negredo Scores Hat-Trick, Manchester City Cruise

 6-0 

Manchester City and West Ham United met today for the first-leg of a Capital One Cup semifinal.  Manchester City have only conceded one goal in the tournament and finished ten in the first three matches.  West Ham had a big win against Tottenham to reach this stage of the Cup, but their last result was a dreadful 5-nil loss to Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup.

Playing at home, Manchester City got off to a hot start and scored three goals in the first-half.  Álvaro Negredo scored the first two, both coming from well played through-balls.  Yaya Touré first played a long though-ball from behind midfield that split the West Ham centerbacks.  Negredo timed his run perfectly and finished with a confident first-touch finish (12').

Negredo then linked up with fellow striker Edin Dzeko to get behind the West Ham back line.  Dzeko played the ball forward into space and Negredo was able to beat keeper Adrián coming off his line with a sliding shot (26').

Yaya Touré scored the last goal of the first-half with an impressive individual effort.  Touré jumped on a loose ball at midfield and found space to run at goal.  The West Ham centerbacks did not step to Touré and allowed him to dribble all the way into their own box.  Touré was more than obliged to take the space and scored rather easily (40').

West Ham had nothing to build on heading into the second-half, and only found themselves further down by the end of the match.  Negredo scored a third goal for City when a pass from David Silva was deflected inside the West Ham box.  Negredo did not appear to be the intended target, but off the deflection, Silva's pass fell right in front of him and he finished first-touch to complete his hat-trick (49').

The other striker Dzeko was able to add to the goal tally late in the match as West Ham had less and less to play for.  Two crosses from the left flank gave Dzeko a pair of scoring opportunities that the striker capitalized.  First Clichy rolled a cross to the near-post that Dzeko finished with a sliding effort (60').  Then substitute Kolarov played a cross to the middle of the box that Dzeko was able to step into and drive into the net (89').

West Ham have now conceded eleven goals in their last two match.  The Hammers will have a second chance to get back at City when the two clubs replay on the 21st, but it will take a miracle to overcome this deficit.  Manchester City in all likelihood will reach the final and could face rivals United if they rally back to beat Sunderland in their second-leg meeting.

Manchester City Edge Crystal Palace

 1-0 

Coming off a big win against Liverpool earlier this week, Manchester City had a considerably easier matchup with Crystal Palace today.  Crystal Palace have won a few games this season, but they have far too many loses and only one draw so far.  Crystal Palace also have one of the worst goal-differentials while Manchester City has the best in the Premier League.  Manchester City were the obvious favorites to win the match, but Crystal Palace did not make it easy.

Through the first-half Manchester City were far superior and racked up over a dozen shots to Crystal Palace's two.  Neither side scored, and the biggest incident came when Crystal Palace forward Cameron Jerome collided with City keeper Joe Hart.  Jerome caught Joe Hart in the head with his foot causing a laceration just below the eye for the keeper.  However it was Jerome that came up the worse for wear and had to come out with a knee injury.  Marouane Chamakh replaced Jerome with ten minutes left in the first-half.

After half-time City manager Pellegrini made some changes and brought in more offense.  Nasri and Negredo entered the match and soon after Manchester took the lead.  Jesús Navas was able to roll a cross into the box for Edin Dzeko who score with a firm one-touch finish (66').

Crystal Palace had defended well up to that point, but had little attacking presence.  Now behind a goal, Palace were in poor shape to respond and get the equalizer.  Jonathan Williams and Dwight Gayle came into the match for Crystal Palace, but City remained solid in defense and held on to the one-nil lead.

Manchester City remain in first-place and put the pressure back on Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool who all play tomorrow.  With a win against Newcastle, Arsenal could become level on points with Manchester City, however the goal-differential would keep City in first-place regardless.

Manchester City Leap Liverpool With Win

 2-1 

Manchester City hosted Liverpool today in a battle between top flight clubs.  Manchester City and Liverpool are fighting for position in the table, and look to unseat the league leading Arsenal.  Today would prove to be a tough defensive test with the league's two top scoring teams meeting at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester.

Liverpool scored first when Philippe Coutinho benefited from a run by Raheem Sterling.  Suarez played the through-ball for Sterling who managed to get a touch around keeper Joe Hart.  Sterling might have scored on his own, but Coutinho was in better position and came in late for the final touch that put Liverpool in front (24').

Manchester City were not down for long and scored the equalizer on a set-piece.  David Silva delivered the corner-kick that was won by Vincent Kompany at the near-post for a header finish (31').  Then on the verge of half-time Manchester City scored again to take the lead.  Jesús Navas setup Álvaro Negredo on a breakaway for the go-ahead goal.  Negredo's shot should have been saved by keeper Mignolet, but he was fooled by the flight of the ball and did not get a firm hand on the ball to turn it away.  Instead the ball ended up in the net for the deciding goal of the match (45 +1').

Liverpool worked several shots in the second-half, but none got past keeper Hart.  Victor Moses also entered the match in an attempt to add offense for Liverpool, but he never made any kind of impact.  The Reds fall to fourth place following today's loss, while City sit one point behind Arsenal in second-place.

Bayern Munich Bust, Manchester City Prevail

 2-3 

The final round of the group stage in the Champions League started today with Manchester City playing Bayern Munich in Germany.  Both clubs earned enough points to advance out of the group stage coming into today's match, with Bayern Munich winning the last five including the meeting with City back in October.  Manchester City won every other match played in the Group D and had a chance to take the top stop away from Bayern.

Two early goals for Bayern Munich gave the home side a huge advantage and set the game up for a total blow-out.  Thomas Müller scored the first goal when defender Dante played him behind City's back line with a long diagonal pass.  Müller brought the ball down with a great chest-trap before beating keeper Joe Hart (5').  Mario Götze then added a second goal minutes later when a deflected shot fell for him.  Replay showed he may have been just offsides, but the flag stayed down and he was able to finish from close-range (12').

Manchester City's fortunes got worse before they get better.  Starting right-back Micah Richards had an issue with his hamstring and had to be replaced by Zabalete after only fifteen minutes.  Zabaleta is usually preferred in the starting eleven, but manager Manuel Pellegrini had intended to save him for the big Premier League game with Arsenal.  In any case, Zabaleta was an improvement, and City took over the match.

The come-back started when David Silva was left unmarked on a late run into the box.  Jesus Navas initiated the play with a cross to James Milner at the back-post.  Milner could only head the ball back to middle, and Silva came running in late to score for City (28').

The visitors took the momentum into the second-half and out-played Bayern for the rest of the match.  Milner won a Penalty for Manchester City when Dante missed his tackle and took down the winger in the box.  Aleksandar Kolarov stepped up to take the Penalty and scored from the spot to tie the game (59').

Then moments later a terrible mistake by Bayern defender Jerome Boateng opened the door for City to take the lead.  A cross by Navas was rolled into the box and Boateng was in good position to clear the ball off the line.  However he completely whiffed on his attempt and the ball kept rolling right to Milner at the back-post.  Milner finished with a well struck curling shot to pull ahead and silence the home fans (62').

Bayern Munich could not muster a response equalizer and end a ten game Champions League winning streak.  The German club still win the group by goal-differential, but Manchester City get the payback.  Manchester United also qualified for the knockout stage today while Chelsea and Arsenal will play tomorrow to earn their spots.

Bayern Munich Road to Repeat, Crush ManCity

1-3

In Champions League play, defending title winner Bayern Munich travelled to England to face the toughest Group D opponent Manchester City.  Last season Bayern Munich soundly won the Bundesliga before winning the all-German Champions League final.  Today they proved they are again serious contenders in the tournament with a decisive win over Manchester City.

Franck Ribéry got the German club started early when he was able to cut the ball inside to his right foot and beat keeper Joe Hart to the near-post (7').  Bayern Munich were around Manchester City's goal often which prevented City from building much on offense.

After half-time Manchester City had too many breakdowns that lead to more scoring for the visitors.  Thomas Müller made a well timed run behind defender Gaël Clichy who missed his clearance on long ball into the box.  Müller was able to take touch around the keeper before finishing the goal (56').  Moments later Müller created a turnover in Manchester City's defense and played Arjen Robben forward into space.  Robben beat defender Nastasić to work the shot for a third Bayern goal (59').

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini used all three substitutes in the second-half and the changes worked in his favor.  Álvaro Negredo replaced Edin Džeko and scored a late goal for the home club.  Negredo made a nice turn to get space for a shot on his left foot and he curled the shot just enough to get the deflection off the post and into the net (79').  

City then had a great chance to score another late goal when Yaya Touré was tackled from behind just outside the penalty area.  Defender Boateng was the last defender and missed his tackle earning him a red card.  David Silva hit the ensuing freekick well but off the crossbar.  Fortunately for Munich the ejection came with only a few minutes left and they were able to hold on with ten men.

Manchester City will get a chance to return the favor of a home defeat later in December when the two replay in Germany.  City need to see a lot of improvement though, if they wish to challenge the German giant.