070929: Birmingham City 0 - 1 Man Utd

Man Utd official website report
Soccernet report

It was a great game and as Sir Alex pointed out, it was the toughest game of the season so far and for Man Utd to still come up with a win, albeit another narrow one, shows they are not going to give up their title that easily.

This win coupled with a fifth successive clean sheet propels Man Utd to second in the league behind the impressive Arsenal side who also won their away game at West Ham United. The only sore point was that Man Utd will make do without custodian, Edwin van der Sar, who injured his toe in the first half, for a few games maybe. Despite the injury, Man Utd has a ready-made replacement in Tomas Kusczak who impressed with his first league game in goal this season.

After the midweek lost in the League Cup, Sir Alex opted to restore the starting XI that defeated Chelsea last Sunday, which was somewhat surprising considering they have a key Champions' League clash against Roma this coming week. I am quite sure Sir Alex is doing this so as to let Tevez and Rooney settled into the side and find their rhythm (people have been saying that they simply can't play in the same side together) and I have no doubt this decision will be vindicated by the truckload of goals this team promises to bring.

It was a game of two halves and Birmingham totally ran over Man Utd in the first. Ferdinand and co. were outstanding though, and despite the sluggish offensive movement, the defence kept Man Utd in the game. It was a totally different second half as Man Utd turned up their performance slightly and five minutes into the second half, the Man of the Match for me, Rio Ferdinand, played a delightful deep ball from the Man Utd half, which didn't bring any danger till Quedrue failed to read the ball.

The twinkle-toed Ronaldo took advantage, danced around 3 or 4 Birmingham players and scored with a cool finish for his first league goal of the season. Man Utd then proceeded to dominate proceedings but Birmingham still provided a few scares with Kusczak really proving his ability and keeping a clean sheet for himself. His performance may just convinced Sir Alex that he has got a good replacement for the not so young Edwin van der Sar.

By the time the match ended, Man Utd probably were just about lucky to have snatched the win. Birmingham has shown they can play a good game against their more illustrious opponents but they refused to do so against Liverpool recently. Maybe they should be more confident and Steve Bruce may be in for a comfortable return to the top league in England.

~Akim~

070927: Juventus 4 - 0 Reggina, League Cup 3rd Rd: Man Utd 0 - 2 Coventry City

I will now summarise two matches played on 27 September.

Match 1: Juventus 4 - 0 Reggina

Juventus website match report
Soccernet Match Report

Another high-scoring match in which Juventus dominated and deserved to win. In preparation for the big derby game against Torino on Sunday, Juventus rested some players including Iaquinta but it was the current old sharpshooter, Trezeguet, who scored yet again, bringing his tally to 6 goals in 5 serie A games.

A goal-less first half was compensated with goals galore in the second.

I am sure Ranieri meant no disrespect to Reggina but he actually subbed the goalkeeper, Buffon, as the replacement, Belardi, was a former Reggina keeper, and that Buffon had "physical" problem too.

Another milestone, after Trezeguet's 100 Serie A goals at the weekend was that the manager, Claudio Ranieri, was managing his 200 Serie A games, well done, sir!

JUVENTUS: Buffon (Belardi 60'), Birindelli, Legrottaglie, Criscito, Molinaro; Nocerino, Zanetti, Tiago, Salihamidzic (Olivera 78'), Palladino, Trezeguet.
Subs not used: Grygera, Chiellini, Almiron, Nedved, Del Piero.

Scorers: Legrottaglie 48', Salihamidzic 50', Trezeguet' 76, Palladino 90'

Match 2: League Cup 3rd Rd: Man Utd 0 - 2 Coventry City

match report

Tomasz Kuszczak
Phillip Bardsley
Jonathan Evans
John O'Shea
Gerard Pique
Danny Simpson
Chris Eagles
Lee Martin
Luis Nani
Oliveira Anderson
Fangzhou Dong

This was the starting XI that started against Coventry and the result is really disappointing, given the perceived depth in the Man Utd squad. To me, it is not so much about the defence but rather, the offence around whom the future of Man Utd very much depend on. The two summer signings, costing a total of 34mil, Nani and Anderson, are still finding their feet, and they need to find their feet quicker, else, they may find places on the benches rather than being started more often this season.

To be fair, Ronaldo, after a great debut way back in 2003, fizzled out for a while and had to adapt too before exploding into the player he is right now. So Nani and Anderson, being almost as young as when Ronaldo made his debut, will have opportunities to develop at Old Trafford given the massive amount invested.

Nevertheless, it was a game when they could have shown their abilities along with Eagles, Martin and Dong, who are all players in the offensive set-up and trainees of the Academy, unlike Nani and Anderson, who developed their talents elsewhere before coming over. They all have to start taking their chances and play well whenever they get the chance.

Sir Alex, needless to say, was disappointed too and I can only imagine him thinking that there will never be that time (when Beckham, Phil and Gary Neville, Butt and Scholes all made their way almost at the same time) again when the youngsters from the Academy made their way firmly to the first team.

For now, the League Cup is not ours. Congrats to Coventry, and all the best to them in the League Cup journey.

my review on Man U VS Chelsea's match

Yesterday's game was not the best i've seen. The first half was played better than the second. Manchester United won 2 - 0, first score was by Carlos Tevez! (tevez is cute!) It was a beautiful heading, his very first goal for Man U. (tak sia - sia beli kau, tevez...) =p

Dear was of course all excited about it! =p

The other goal was made by Louis Saha, in a penalty kick. It was an easy one! But they could have scored more before that. (like i said it wasnt the best game) There were alot of passing around but no attempts, which made the second half a little draggy and boring.

Michael Carrick, in my opinion, could be the man of the match, he made a few good passing, long shots. And he played better than the rest of them, i think.
Overall, im happy, or rather relieved that we managed to score twice, but we could have done better. Man U wasnt playing at its standard, i think, so i hope the next match will be better! =)
GLORY GLORY MAN UNITED!
~huda~

070923: Roma 2 - 2 Juventus

Roma 2 - 2 Juventus

Games against Roma isn't always easy and it was a brilliant game (from the description of the match on the official Juventus website) as Juventus apparently started out with a 4-3-3 formation.

Roma's golden boy and one-club player, Francesco Totti, scored a brace while Iaquinta assisted a goal for Trezeguet and scored the equaliser in the dying minutes earning himself a Man of the Match performance.

Iaquinta is turning out to be a positive summer signing for Juventus although I wasn't that impressed with him while he was at Udinese. He may just be a regular starter for the Italian team if he keeps scoring and assisting goals there, though there are some serious contenders who are ahead of him in the pecking order eg Toni, Gilardino.

Trezeguet has also reached a milestone by scoring his 100 goals in Serie A. Well Done!!
JUVENTUS: Buffon; Grygera, Andrade (Birindelli 54'), Criscito (Legrottaglie 46'), Chiellini; Nocerino, Zanetti, Nedved; Iaquinta, Trezeguet, Del Piero (Palladino 74').
Subs not used: Vanstrattan, Molinaro, Salihamidzic, Tiago

Roma: Totti 30' and 36'
Juventus: Trezeguet 17', Iaquinta 88'

Champions League Phase 1 Rd 1 of 6: Sporting Lisbon 0 - 1 Man Utd

This morning @ 2.24am was Man U's game against SC Portugal. Dear stayed over at my place just to watch it. =)
Rooney was back from his leave due to his injury, i was happy to see him play again. I think Man U played quite 'slow', im not sure whats the right word. The game was a boring one, there were a few attempts from both sides. Portugal is quite a good team (thats what i think) and also since our own Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani Almeida came from that team, so i was quite worried for Man U.
By half time, it was still 0 - 0. Man U scored at 60+ mins, by Ronaldo, it was a good score. Afterwards, he apologised to the Portugal fans. Like dear said, it was a sign of respect, after all it was that team that created him. I was glad and surprised that the Portugal fans still applaud and cheer for him when he left the field.
At 90mins, the final score was 0 - 1. =)
Im satisfied, i hope dear is too. His stay at my place is worth it after all. ;p

Real Madrid - Same Old Brand New supersquad

vs Almeria (070916) match report 1

vs Almeria (070916) match report 2

There is something exciting about the Real Madrid squad, which on current form, makes them almost invincible.

They are like the Harlem Globetrotters of basketball, having exciting talents all over especially in the offensive line.

1 Casillas • 2 Salgado • 3 Pepe • 4 Ramos • 5 Cannavaro • 6 Diarra • 7 Raúl • 8 Gago • 9 Soldado • 10 Robinho • 11 Robben • 12 Marcelo • 13 Codina • 14 Guti • 15 Drenthe • 16 Heinze • 17 van Nistelrooy • 18 Saviola • 19 Baptista • 20 Higuaín • 21 Metzelder • 22 Torres • 23 Sneijder • 24 Balboa • 25 Dudek

They won their match recently against a promoted team, Almeria, making it their third win in a row with a first goal for one of these exciting players, Argentinian Javier Saviola, massively underused at his ex-club, Barcelona.

But one talent stood out among all the rest, and that player is WESLEY SNEIJDER {pronounced"Sch-Nai-Der"} (profile), purported (haha) David Beckham's replacement. He is no replacement for David Beckham, he is much better!

At first when I read Real had bought the player during the summer, I was thinking "How is he going to fit in?"

Looks like he has already.

~Akim~

070916: Juventus 0 - 1 Udinese

Juventus 0 - 1 Udinese

Juventus suffered a disappointing defeat at home as Di Natale, Italy's hero against Ukraine in midweek, scoring yet again for Udinese. The international break sure broke Juventus' momentum but hopefully they recover next week in a big match against Roma.

JUVENTUS: Buffon; Birindelli, Andrade, Criscito, Chiellini; Camoranesi (Nocerino 30'), Zanetti (Tiago 56'), Almiron, Nedved; Del Piero, Trezeguet (Iaquinta 56')
Subs not used: Belardi, Legrottaglie, Molinaro, Palladino

070915: Everton 0 - 1 Man Utd

The international games in the last week may have contributed to a lacklustre performance from both sides as James McFadden, Scottish hero in the famous 1-0 win against France last Wednesday, started from the bench for Everton and Man Utd playing at pedestrian pace and despite having another 20+ shots on goal, they were not forceful and lack conviction in trying to get that goal from open play.

I have talked so much about Man Utd having a Plan B in the previous posts last month and no surprise, it worked yet again as Vidic (again!) headed a brilliant match-winner from a Nani corner in one of the most (rare) boring Man Utd matches I have ever watched.

Man Utd allowed Silvestre his 1st start of the season and it was good to see him play as I know Ferguson is having a tough time giving his fringe players a chance to play. As a result, Nani was rested and Evra was deployed as a winger. Unfortunately, though, Silvestre suffered an awful-looking injury and had to be substituted by Nani.

The most noticeable difference was that Tevez and Giggs interchanged role as compared to their previous games. Ronaldo, coming back from a 3 game suspension was subdued by Leighton Baines and contributed poorly with 3 free-kicks outside the box.

Evra, before Silvestre's injury, seemed to be playing almost as the 3rd striker and was a menace then with his pace.

Wes Brown was awful yet again, contributing nothing offensively again and even mislaid a simple pass once more. I feel it is time O'Shea, who is technically more assured and physical as well, to start in that right back position before Gary Neville regained his place.

Saha started from the bench despite his match-winner before the international games but I won't be surprised if he starts the next time around as Man Utd are really devoid of a central striker.

Ferdinand and Vidic was superb in containing the dangerous pairing of Andrew Johnson and Yakubu, who were really on their own upfront but still provided some moments of anxiety towards Man Utd goal.

Hopefully, we will see the momentum building on in the first Champions' League match this week as Man Utd embarked on a familiar winning streak, but it will be better if they start scoring more than a single goal. This is hardly champions' form and to not score against the weaker teams may give the stronger teams eg Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool more confidence when they faced off against the champions.

~Akim~

070912: Euro 2008

Some of the latest scores from Euro 2008 played on 12 Sep

Ukraine 1 - 2 Italy
Schevchenko is scoring but he is not playing for Chelsea, weird, weird. My favourite country did better this time but they must not stutter now onwards.

France 0 - 1 Scotland
A massive and shock result. Scotland may qualify but will they surprise at Euro 2008 in the tournament proper?

England 3 - 0 Russia
Owen scores twice; will Steven Gerrard or Frank Lampard retire from international football? I hope they do, because England is doing well with Gareth Barry in the team, which begs the question. Why was Barry out of the team for so long... With Gerrard and Lampard fit, expect Barry to be removed from the team again.

070902: Cagliari 2 - 3 Juventus

Cagliari 2 - 3 Juventus

Another high scoring game, another win for the Serie B Champs! This game had it all, red cards, two in total and both for Juventus players, 2 Cagliari penalties (both converted) and also another Cagliari penalty claim not given after intervention from the asst referee.

With this win, they are top of the league and will face Udinese at home in two weeks' time because of the international games next week.

JUVENTUS: Buffon; Zebina, Andrade, Criscito (Legrottaglie 46'), Chiellini; Salihamidzic (Camoranesi'), Zanetti, Almiron (Nocerino 87'), Nedved; Del Piero, Trezeguet.
Subs: Belardi, Molinaro, Tiago, Palladino.

Calgliari: , Foggia 56' (pen) and 81' (pen)

Trezeguet 54', Del Piero 77', Chiellini 90'

070901: Man Utd 1 - 0 Sunderland

The 5th game of the season and Man Utd are grinding out results even on their own turf. It was another match which produced another round of stubborn opposition though it did not actually started out that way in the first ten minutes.

Before the start, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was given an honourable ovation and a special farewell sending off in front of Old Trafford, looking ever so chic in a black suit. As he made his way past the two teams, who formed a Guard-of-Honour formation, there was a sweet moment as he especially shook the hands of Sir Alex who had brought him to the club when he was 23.

As he left the pitch, he was also greeted with warmth by Roy Keane, who was the ex-captain of Man Utd and now manager of Sunderland.

Then on to the match proper.

There were some slick and crisp passing and Man Utd were playing more direct as compared to their previous games. Craig Gordon was busy in the Sunderland goal especially in the 2nd half, although most of the shots were not threatening.

The introduction of Louis Saha, after a long injury spell, in place of debutant Anderson, proved to be the masterstroke. It gave Man Utd that killer instinct in front of goal and as it turned out, Saha got the match winner. He had a great snap shot after a brilliant interchange of passes from midfield, and though it was saved, Saha showed Man Utd needs a real striker.

Wes Brown had a nightmare Right back performance as he made 4 wayward passes throughout the match and did not contribute anything significant offensively. I wonder what will have happen if the opposition had been any of the other top 4 teams. Maybe it's time Man Utd looked to their youth players; Johnny Evans come to mind, and I don't mind O'Shea playing there either.

Plan A did not work last night, but Plan B sure did. Vidic agonisingly missed from a Hargreaves corner and Saha scored from there later on.

Compliment to Sunderland for their resolute defending, but they need to be more brave offensively.