Higuaín Scores Winner For Argentina, Belgium Done

 1-0 

Argentina faced Belgium today for the third quarter-final of the World Cup.  Both teams won in extra-time by a one goal margin; Argentina beating Switzerland 1-0 and Belgium beating the United States 2-1.  Against the United States Belgium were able to control possession and fire a birage of shots throughout the match.  However today against Argentina, Belgium struggled to get the offense clicking and only produced one shot on target.

Argentina scored early in the match thanks in part to some good fortune.  Di María intended to play a pass to Zabaleta making an overlap run, but the ball came off Vertonghen and deflected conveniently for Higuaín.  Taking the shot first-time out of the air, Higuaín scored the only goal of the first-half (8').

Argentina took a blow later in the half when Di María came out with an injury.  He took a shot that was blocked and came away holding his thigh.  He received some treatment and tried to continue, but quickly realized he was not fit.  Enzo Perez replaced Di María and Argentina's offense definitely lost a dimension.

Belgium made changes as the match went on and brought in Romelu Lukaku who was a positive substitute against the United States.  Argentina's defense held strong though and did not allow and clear chances for Belgium late in the game.

The Netherlands and Costa Rica play later today to determine who Argentina face in the semi-finals.  Costa Rica are the under-dogs, but teams from the Americas have been good this World Cup.

Belgium Top Russia With Late Goal

 1-0 

Two late goals saved Belgium from defeat in their first match against Algeria.  Marouane Fellaini and Dries Mertens came in off the bench and each scored in the last twenty minutes to take the win away from Algeria.  Today against Russia, Fellaini and Mertens were in the starting line-up for Belgium.

Russia ended their first match in a 1-1 draw against South Korea.  Alexander Kerzhakov scored the equalizer for Russia, but started today's match on the bench.  Aleksandr Kokorin was the starting forward for Russia who struggled to impact the game.  Kokorin only had one real chance to score coming late in the first-half.  A header right in front of the Belgium goal was sent wide of the post and Kokorin did not see much of the ball after that.

Romelu Lukaku was again the starting forward for Belgium and again he was less than impressive.  Shortly after half-time he was replaced by Divock Origi and Belgium benefited from the change for a second straight match.  On a counter-attack Origi played Eden Hazard behind the Russian back line.  Hazard was able to turn the corner and played a return pass to Origi who scored with a first-time shot (88').

Some criticism must be made of the Russian coach Fabio Capello after today's match.  Russia was getting nothing out of forward Kokorin but he played the entire match.  Capello did make three changes in the match, but two of them were bringing in forwards Dzagoev and Kerzhakov with less then ten minutes left in the match.  With almost no time to get into the game it is not surprising Russia could not produce an equalizer.

Winning the first two games, Belgium have earned enough points to reach the knock-out round.  Belgium has a ton of talent, but so far they have no been able to really play as a team.  They have been able to get away with it so far, though the competition will only get better outside the group stage.

P.S.G. Handle Slumping Chelsea in UCL

 3-1 

Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain faced off today in a Champions League match in the French capital.  P.S.G. are well in control of Ligue 1 while Chelsea are in trouble of letting the Premier League slip away.  Over the weekend Chelsea were stunned by Crystal Palace and today they looked to get past that embarrassing defeat with a win in the first-leg of the UCL quarter-final.

P.S.G. took the lead in the early moments of the match when Chelsea captain John Terry made a poor clearance off the line.  Terry headed the ball short and it fell right to Lavezzi inside the box.  In one motion Lavezzi brought the ball down with a chest-trap before finishing with a volley (3').

Chelsea were able to respond when P.S.G. captain Thiago Silva missed his slide-tackle inside the box.  Oscar drew the foul to earn a penalty and Eden Hazard scored from the spot (27' P).  Up to that point in the match the referee had been, to put it nicely, inconsistent.  Though on this occasion the call was correct and the first-half ended on level terms.

Chelsea's starting striker Schürrle was not having any impact on the game and in the second-half he was removed for the more prototypical center-forward Torres.  However, before he had a chance to influence the match Chelsea conceded an own-goal.  A free-kick for P.S.G. near the corner flag was sent into the box by Lavezzi and David Luiz turned the ball into his own net to put Chelsea behind again (61').

After retaking the lead P.S.G. were able to take control for the rest of the match.  Not everything went their way though as a pair of injuries to key players forced changes to the side.  First Ibrahimovic pulled up holding the back of his thigh indicating a probable hamstring injury.  He went straight to the locker room after coming off the field which is a bad indication for the seriousness of the injury.  Later Marco Verratti came off after a collision in midfield, but he was able to watch the rest of the match from the bench.

In the final moments of the match P.S.G. were able to add another goal from their final substitute Javier Pastore.  Making a run along the Chelsea end-line, Pastore manage to dribble around Azpilicueta and Lampard to work a shot from a tight angle, beating keeper Cech at the near-post (90 +3').

The deficit is not insurmountable for Chelsea who will have a chance to redeem themselves next week at Stamford Bridge.  Chelsea did manage to score an important away goal which could prove to be their life-line in the second-leg.  Also in their favor is the possible absence of Ibrahimovic who may not be able to play when the two meet again.

Galatasaray Fall to Chelsea in Champions League

 3-1agg. 

Turkish club Galatasaray travelled to London for the second leg of their Champions League fixture with Chelsea.  The first meeting ended in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea having an away goal advantage.  Former Chelsea striker Drogba was again in the line-up for Galatasaray and again the Ivorian failed to score against his old club.

Samuel Eto'o started as striker for Chelsea with Hazard, Oscar, and Willian in support.  Together the Chelsea offense was far more effective than Galatasaray's and had their defense struggling to keep up.

Chelsea scored twice in the first-half, one coming at the start and one at the end.  First Eto'o was played in-on-goal with a through ball from Oscar to open up a shooting lane.  The shot took a deflection off defender Chedjou on it's way towards goal and keeper Muslera got a hand to it.  However he could not turn the shot away from goal and Chelsea took the lead(4').

Then in closing moments of the first-half Gary Cahill scored on a set-piece.  Frank Lampard delivered a corner-kick into the box and Terry won the header in the air.  His header was on target and Muslera blocked the initial shot, but the rebound was left in front of goal and Cahill easily turned the loose ball into the net (42').

The second-half did not improve for the visitors despite the substitutions made by manager Roberto Mancini.  In fact, Galatasaray did not manage to get a single shot on target over the course of the match making it rather impossible to get back into contention.

Chelsea is now the only English club to advance into the quarter-finals with Manchester City and Arsenal already falling out of the tournament.  Manchester United also has a chance to stay alive with their second-leg match with Olympiakos coming tomorrow at Old Trafford.

Chelsea Clobber Tottenham at Stanford Bridge

 4-0 

Premier League leaders Chelsea hosted a much improved Tottenham side today at Stanford Bridge.  Since Tim Sherwood has taken over the reigns as the Hotspurs manager late in December, Tottenham have worked their way back into Champions League contention.

Initially for Chelsea, Fernando Torres was scheduled to make the start at striker, but suffered a groin injury durring his pre-game warm up.  Samuel Eto'o was thrust into the line-up in his place and after avoiding an injury himself early in the match, provided a spark fot the Blues.

The first-half was rather wide open with neither team able to get the upper hand.  Tottenham were able to match the play of Chelsea despite being on the road.  However after the first-half the wheels started to come off.

In the second-half Tottenham defender Vertongen slipped while attempting to make a back-pass to his keeper and Eto'o was quick to pounce on the loose ball.  Eto'o managed to fire the shot between the legs of keeper Lloris to put Chelsea ahead (56').

Shortly after the first goal Tottenham were put deeper into trouble when centerback Younes Kaboul was sent off.  Kaboul committed a foul in the box on Eto'o earning a red card plus giving Chelsea a penalty.  Eden Hazard scored from the spot and Tottenham were in all essence done for (60').

Late in the game Eto'o was replaced by Demba Ba and more sloppy play by the dejected Tottenham defense allowed him to score two goals.  First a cross into the box by Oscar was not cleared by Sandro and Ba was able to split the legs of Lloris to score (88').  Then a moment later Kyle Walker made an ill-advised backwards header that went right to Ba who scored easily for the last goal of the match (90').

The final score does not accurately describe the performance by Tottenham, especially considering the first-half effort.  Sometimes when it rains it pours, and Chelsea managed to capitalize on every mistake by Tottenham.  With the win Chelsea extend their lead in first-place, though they have played more games than anyone other club in the top-four.  Nonetheless they are in good shape to close out the season as Premier League champions.

Manchester City Shutout At Home, Chelsea Win Again

 0-1 

The biggest match-up this week was the Monday feature of Manchester City hosting Chelsea.  Manchester City held the first-place position in the table prior to Arsenal's win on Saturday, but could reclaim the top spot with a win today.  Chelsea, in third-place, aimed to upset the home side and become level with City in points.

Manchester City have been perfect at home this season winning all eleven previous league matches at the Etihad.  However, Chelsea won the first meeting at Stamford Bridge 2-1 and today they were again able to get the better of City.  Branislav Ivanovic scored for Chelsea following a blocked shot in the first-half.  Ramires fired a shot inside the box that was blocked and the rebound came out to Ivanovic.  The rightback stepped into his shot and picked out the far corner to give Chelsea the lead (32').

Ivanovic's goal was the only goal of the match as City were unable to respond.  Though Chelsea only scored the one goal, they created better chances than City throughout the match.  Thrice Chelsea were denied by the woodwork to the relief of keeper Joe Hart.  City had a few shots on target, but could not find the quality to get the equalizer.

Taking the big road-win, Chelsea are now level with Manchester City with 53 points in the league table.  City still maintain a huge goal-differential advatage, but getting shutout at home is cause for concern.  Up next City travel to Norwich and Chelsea host Newcastle.

Eto'o Hat-Trick Lift Chelsea Over United

 3-1 

Chelsea looked to keep pace with Arsenal and Manchester City, who both won matches yesterday, in their match today against Manchester United.  No Rooney or Van Persie for United who remain out injured giving Welbeck the start up front.  For Chelsea it was Samuel Eto'o who started at striker and made the biggest impact in the match.

Eto'o scored two goals in the first-half to give Chelsea the edge.  The first goal came when a left-footed shot from Eto'o took a favorable deflection off Michael Carrick.  The United midfielder was in good position to block the shot, but Carrick only got a piece of it and the ball was sent to the upper-ninety for Chelsea's first goal (17').

Eto'o scored a second goal following a corner-kick.  United defender the initial service, but Chelsea reclaimed possession and defender Gary Cahill found himself in a good position.  Cahill was able to work a cross into the box for Eto'o who scored first-touch moments before half-time (45').

Shortly after half-time Eto'o completed the hat-trick when Cahill again got involved on a corner-kick.  Cahill won a header at the near-post and United keeper De Gea managed to make the save.  He could not control the save though, and Eto'o was waiting just a yard away from goal for an easy finish (49').

Manchester United added striker Hernandez to play along side Welbeck and the young Mexican got a goal for the Red Devils late in the match.  Welbeck found Phil Jones in the box and Jones had a go at goal.  His shot may have been curling wide, but Hernandez was crashing the far-post and steered the ball into the net (78').

The one goal was all United could muster and their situation going forward was made worse when a challenge from captain Vidic earned him a red card in stoppage-time.  Vidic came in with both feet on a tackle to Eden Hazard and was immediately sent off.  Fullback Rafeal was lucky to not be shown a red card when he also made a two-footed tackle on Cahill.  He only saw a yellow card for his offense, but the match was essentially over at that point.

United probably have no realistic chance at defending their title with the current state of the club.  Injuries and general poor defense are holding back last season's champions who struggle to find that top form.  Chelsea are the real contenders with Arsenal and Manchester City just ahead in the table.  Next for Chelsea is an FA Cup match against Stoke City, while United get Sunderland in the Capital One Cup.

F.C. Basel Beat Chelsea Again in Champions League

 1-0 

Earlier in September the Swiss club F.C. Basel beat Chelsea 2-1 at Stamford Bridge.  In that match Oscar gave Chelsea the lead in the first-half, but conceded goals to Mohamed Salah and Marco Streller in the second-half.  Today in Switzerland, Oscar was a ghost for Chelsea and Samuel Eto'o was not playing well before coming out with an apparent groin injury.

Salah was the best player in the first-half for F.C. Basel and had two close chances saved by Petr Cech in goal.  Chelsea did not get much better in the second-half with Torres stepping in for Eto'o.  Torres was more involved in the attack, but could not find the space to test the keeper.

Late in the game F.C. Basel caught Chelsea napping following a substitution by the visitors.  Chelsea manager José Mourinho used his final substitution to bring on Kevin De Bruyne for Willian in a last-ditch effort to score the winner.  Instead the ensuing free-kick from F.C. Basel was played right behind the Chelsea defense.  Fabian Schär delivered the free-kick from behind midfield to put Mohamed Salah in-on-goal.  Chelsea defender Ivanović did not see Salah coming behind him and the Egyptian international had a free run at goal before scoring the game-winner (87').

Chelsea remain at the top of the Champions League group, while F.C. Basel now move ahead of German club Schalke 04.  After tomorrow's matches there will only be one more round of group play to sort out who advances to the knock-out round.  Chelsea are still in a good position to win the group, but that second spot will come down to the match between Basel and Schalke next month.