Did You Catch It? 20-22 Aug. 2010

No, Elmo, I never bagged six.

Hi boys and girls, today’s report is brought to you by Chelsea, Arsenal, Newcastle and the number six.

Six does seem to be the hot number in the Premier League, to begin the season.  The Gunners reached that total against Blackpool on Saturday, as did the Blues for the second week running, this time at Wigan (Ladbrokes has posted 6-1 odds that the Latics will officially change their nickname to the Lambs, as in sacrificial).

Sunday saw the most stunning six of them all, though, with Toon absolutely throttling Villa, at St. James Park.  It was a happy result for everyone around the league, too, as it means Joey Barton will be shaving that creepy mustache off his upper lip.

So, if you play the lottery, make sure six is on your ticket for the immediate future.  Meanwhile, all the lads from WFC are back to talk about the goings on from the weekend.

Enjoy.

Matt Dalton

Matt Dalton

Arsenal 6, Blackpool 0

Indeed, it’s not very often that we are treated to 6 goal games but, like London buses, they all seemed to come at once this weekend!  The Arsenal – Blackpool match, as predicted, was one of those to feature a sackful of goals.  Blackpool might well be counting themselves a bit unfortunate, having been reduced to ten men fairly early on.

Elsewhere, Chelsea thumped Wigan, one of my tips for the drop, by the same scoreline.  Then Newcastle decided to join the party yesterday, by giving Stephen Ireland a stinker of a birthday present, on his debut for the Villans!  Topping it off this evening, my beloved Liverpool received a pretty conclusive footballing lesson from the Premier League’s latest rich boys, Manchester City. You have to take your hat off to City, they didn’t do much wrong and fully deserved not only the three points but all three goals.

I hope every Premier League weekend is as entertaining as this one, although with a little luck, Liverpool will not be on the end of a roasting like that, too often!

Geoff Edwards

Geoff Edwards

Bayern Munich 2, Wolfsburg 1

Can anyone stop Thomas Müller? After his World Cup heroics, it was perhaps fitting that he scored the Bundesliga’s 1st goal.  What a goal it was, too, beautifully worked by the ‘New Bomber’and fellow starlet Toni Kroos.

After being comprehensively outplayed in the 1st half, Steve McClaren deserves credit for lifting his side, at the break, and sending them back out onto the Allianz Arena turf with fire in their bellies. Substitute Zvjezdan Misimovic was instrumental, as Wolfsburg looked the better side in the 2nd half.   They equalised deservedly through Edin Dzeko, then wasted a number of chances to put themselves ahead, before being hit with a last minute sucker punch from another German World Cup hero, Bastian Schweinsteiger.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2NQjpOouZc

A disappointing start for McClaren, but plenty of positives to take from the 2nd half performance.

Tapesh Patel

Tapesh Patel

Paris Saint-Germain 1, Bordeaux 2

This match took a while to get going but really caught fire in an end-to-end second half. If anything, Bordeaux had the better of possession, although PSG occasionally threatened on the counter.  Les Girondins were also superb on set pieces and so it proved, when Alou Diarra headed home from a 68th minute corner. The Parisians equalised 8 minutes later, with veteran Ludovic Giuly squaring for Guillaume Hoarau to tap home.

It was the lads from the wine country who had the last laugh, however, and on 95 minutes, centre-back Mickael Ciani scored the winner, sparking crazed celebrations from the away crowd. The eleventh hour dramatics made this a brilliant match for the neutral, yet Bordeaux fans will undoubtedly be happy that their team has kick-started its season, after stalling out of the gate.

Chris Mann

Chris Mann

Wigan Athletic 0, Chelsea 6

I thought the Londoners might hand out a thrashing to Roberto Martinez’s charges and so it proved. After a bright start Wigan subsided alarmingly quickly, seemingly forgetting the art of defending and capitulating, in the face of some delightful play from Florent Malouda and Didier Drogba. Even at 6-0, it could have been worse for The Latics.

Leeds United 3, Millwall 0

Despite Millwall having had the better start to the season, it was Leeds who triumphed, on home turf, overcoming the Lions in what was an enthralling game, at Elland Road. With the momentum continually switching between the teams, Millwall took the lead before Lloyd Sam’s single strike and a brace from Davide Somma sealed the points for Simon Grayson’s side. An entertaining advertisement for The Championship.

Fab Presilli

Fabricio Presilli

River Plate 3, Independiente 1

River got their third win of the season with a stunning first half display.  Striker Rogelio Funes Mori scored two goals and got a big lift from his attacking midfielders, Manuel Lanzini and Diego Buonanotte.  Although outplayed in the second half by Independiente, el Millionarios managed to secure the win and keep pace with Velez Sarsfield, at the top of the Apertura table.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ytclt_8XIw8

Santos 2, Atletico MG 0

Neymar delivered, after deciding to stay with Santos, scoring a penalty kick and assisting the second goal.  With the 18 year old secured, the club can now can focus on the national championship, and realistically target the domestic triple crown.

Vasco de Gama 2, Fluminese 2

The Rio derby was even all the way. Vasco remain undefeated since the World Cup but Fluminense are still atop the table. Vasco’s Carlos Alberto (no, not that one) was the star of the night with two assists. Deco made his debut in Rio, but he couldn’t shake off his jet lag, losing a good opportunity at the end.

httpv://youtube.com/watch?v=u5V74nhYAxw

The Brasilian story of the weekend, however, turned out to be Corinthians’destruction of Sao Paolo.  Corinthians scored three goals at their rival and São Paulo seems hopelessly lost, needing a quick shift in order to get back on track.

Martin Palazzotto

Martin Palazzotto

Toronto FC 1, New York Red Bull 4

I think I put the kaibosh on TFC over the weekend, somehow telepathically overinflating their egos with my pre-match hype.  They did play amazingly well against Cruz Azul, in mid-week, but came out completely flat against Thierry Henry, et al, on Saturday.

Rafa Marquez opened his MLS account with an absolute scorcher on 35 minutes.  From about 25m in front of goal, the Mexican captain ran onto a little side pass,  sending a goal seeking missile, bending and twisting, through 3 defenders and beyond the reach of a helpless Stefan Frei.   The lead doubled moments later on a classic own goal.  After pegging one back through Dwayne Derosario, the Reds fell apart, surrendering a penalty on a handball that resembled the opening tip off for an NBA game and then gifting the Red Bulls a 4th goal, when Frei mishandled a fairly routine cross, into the box.

Here are the highlights, with apologies, in advance, for the sorry excuse for commentators.  They really are dolts.  It is a laugh, though, to hear of the incredible patience of Tee-Airy Hawn-ree, in signing autographs for over five minutes.  Wow, what a great guy, giving up so much of his time for the fans.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bPjkr0Iy-A

The gap between the two clubs, in the Eastern standings, widened to eight points and Toronto faces a long flight to Corona, Panama, for a mid week CCL clash with Arabe Unido, and then back home again, to face the defending MLS champs, Real Salt Lake.

Until next weekend, here’s a little fun from the Dutch Jupiler League (2nd div.), where Sparta Rotterdam showed no mercy to Allmere City, romping to a 12-1 victory after going a man up in the early going.   Sparta’s Johan Voskamp was the most bloodthirsty of the Kasteelheren, with not 6 but 8 goals. It took Andy Carroll, Theo Walcott and Nicolas Anelka combined, to match that!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbrNFun87AA&feature=related