071229: West Ham 2 - 1 Man Utd

West Ham 2 - 1 Man Utd on ManUtd.com
West Ham 2 - 1 Man Utd on Soccernet.com

A costly Ronaldo penalty coupled with the most disappointing display of Man Utd football this season (but not its first) ensured West Ham extended their hot streak of 3 consecutive wins against the Red Devils dating back to Alan Curbishley's first game in charge of the Hammers.

Curbishley was the mastermind of this tremendous and truly deserved victory; the first from any club against the Devils this season and one that Sir Alex Ferguson had to kowtow to.

In a similar display of contain and attack football exhibited by Everton against the Devils last week, the Hammers were more successful.

It was Man Utd, however, who scored the first goal with a wonderful piece of play. Louis Saha played through Ryan Giggs down the left flank with a sublime lobbed pass who crossed for Ronaldo to customarily head in his 18th goal of the season.

That play proved to be Man Utd's first and perhaps only creative display for the match as West Ham hounded for and camped Man Utd's half with the ball, prodding for openings and weaknesses in the defence.

Eventually, it took two set piece goals from first, Anton Ferdinand, Rio's younger brother, and Matthew Upson to break Man Utd down following that dear Ronaldo penalty miss which could have secured the 3 points for Man Utd.

I am just looking forward to the reverse home fixture and see Man Utd tear them apart.

With Arsenal beating Everton with a flattering and 2-Dimensional 4-1 scoreline, Man Utd are now 2 points off the new league leaders. Yet, Man Utd has always been strong after the New Year historically and that bodes well for Devils fans.

071216: Liverpool 0 - 1 Man Utd

Liverpool 0 - 1 Man Utd on ManUtd.com
Liverpool 0 - 1 Man Utd on Soccernet.com
It was a cagey and defensive but professional performance from Man Utd and on the outset, it was never likely going to be a high scoring game.

Two Liverpool chances were cleared on the goal-line, one of which was caused by a rare van Der Sar lapse in concentration in handling a cross prompting an outburst from Rio Ferdinand who had inadvertently turned the ball towards goal.

However, a well-worked corner led to the only goal of the game in the 43rd minute of the first half, and as it was again in the game against Derby last week, Carlos Tevez managed to be at the right place at the right time to prod home the winner, although Benayoun seemed rather lazy to close him down.

Man Utd were comfortable with Liverpool taking the initiative with Hargreaves and the lightning quick Anderson breaking down Liverpool's play at times with timely interception and tackles.

Ferdinand and Vidic were marshalling the backline with relative ease and as a result, Man Utd were not seriously threatened.

At the end of the match, Liverpool were left to rue a day of what-ifs and must now be considering how to effectively take their chances against their bigger rivals which include Chelsea and Arsenal as Liverpool have the poorest results amongst the Big Four.

071215: Lazio 2 - 3 Juventus

Lazio 2 - 3 Juventus on Juventus.com
Lazio 2 - 3 Juventus on Soccernet.com

Another great win for Juventus. Seemingly evergreen striker Del Piero is staking his claim for a place in Italy's squad for Euro 2008 by scoring two goals. Trezeguet grabbed the first goal of the match.

071208: Man Utd 4 - 1 Derby County

Man Utd 4 - 1 Derby County on ManUtd.com
Man Utd 4 - 1 Derby County on Soccernet.com
Derby had put up a spirited display till the last 5mins of the first half when they finally collapsed coupled with the pending torrential downpour. The first half ended 2 - 0.

In the 2nd half, I myself collapsed in part due to the two games I had earlier. I had managed to watch till the 55 min, but Tevez scored his 2nd (!) 5mins later. I woke up again and found Derby had pulled a goal back, which they celebrated as though they had just won the league title.

I then slept again and woke up at 1am to find the game had long ended. I discovered then that Man Utd had won 4-1.

Euro 2008 Italy horror

Full story

I was really horrified when I read which teams Italy had drawn for the group phase for Euro 2008. In a severe Group of Death, it was revealed that 3 superpowers in world football (the current World Champions, France and Netherlands (Holland)) will face off one after the other. Rounding out this group (Group B) will be Romania, though from the way the draw turned out, Italy could have face either Germany, Spain and Portugal.

It may be a blessing in disguise in that Italy will get the chance to prove their title aspirations at an early stage in the tournament. This is because they have always had to face rather easier teams in previous competitions but yet they either fail to live up to expectations or struggle to win.

Hopefully, the two other tough teams will get Italy in the groove for the later stages and knocking out one of the dangerous opponents. I am hoping and predicting it will be France.

Group A:
Switzerland,Co-Host
Czech Rep (one of my picks to win but Italy will be Champs anw)
Portugal (another pick)
Turkey
Predictions: Czech to top, Portugal runner-ups but lose on goal difference

Group B:
Austria,Co-Host
Croatia
Germany
Poland
Predictions: Germany top, Croatia

Group C:
Netherlands
Italy (my team)
Romania
France
Predictions: World Champs to top easily with 1-0, 2-1 wins, Netherlands

Group D:
Greece,defending Champs
Sweden
Spain
Russia
Predictions: Spain (finally!! if Spain loses this great chance in an easy group, heads will roll - again), Sweden

I really can't wait for Euro 2008 to come around!

~Akim~

071201: AC Milan 0 - 0 Juventus

AC Milan 0 - 0 Juventus

Two top teams battle out a goalless draw. If only SCV features this game.