On Tuesday, the most brilliant performances came from a pair of Eastern European sides but the two English clubs also shone.  Others of the big boys found the going a bit tougher, however.

For Luiz Adriano and Shakhtar, there may be a rock but they've yet to be stuck in a hard place.

Groups G & H find Chelsea, 2-0 winners over Olympique de Marseille, and Arsenal, 3-1 victors at Partizan Belgrade, atop their respective tables but neither is alone in their perfection.  Shakhtar Donetsk traveled cross-continent, with their 3-0 manhandling of Braga making the trip worthwhile.  Luiz Adriano doubled for the Ukrainians.  Meanwhile, Spartak Moscow defended Luzhniki Stadium against the invasion of MSK Zilina, again by a 3-0 count.  It was Ari who had the brace in this one.  Who says Brazilians can’t play in the cold weather?

Spartak’s 6 point lead over OM may not be as healthy as it looks, however.  The Russians face back to back encounters with Chelsea, while the French champions will look to take out their early frustrations on the lowly Slovakians.  Spartak will find it much more difficult to steal a result at Stamford Bridge than they did at the Velodrome.

The good side and the bad, for Bayern. (You can tell who's who by the shoes)

In Group E, Bayern remained perfect, with a 2-1 victory over FC Basel.  The Bavarians did have to come from behind, on the back of Bastian Schweinsteiger’s brace, after Alexander Frei had put the Swiss champs in front, early in the match.  Roma, fresh from their win over Inter, handled CFR-Cluj by the same 2-1 score.  They left it late, though, peppering the Cluj goal but unable to break through until Phillipe Mexes finally beat a stalwart Nuno Claro, on 69 minutes.  Super-sub Marco Borrielo, then struck, just 2 minutes after Mexes, but Ionut Rada pegged one back, with a 12 minutes still on the clock, to make it a nervous finish for the Italians.

The Group of Legends, aka G, is promising to be one of intrigue.  Real Madrid have staked an early claim to the top place but still struggled to find the goal, on this particular night against AJ Auxerre.  Cristiano Ronaldo was denied twice and Gonzalo Higuain saw a defender  turn back his close range effort, which had a beleaguered Olivier Sorin beaten.  Finally, with less than 10 minutes remaining, Angel di Maria struck a left footed volley which, mercifully for the Spaniards, found the far corner, beyond Sorin’s reach.  Until Los Meringues begin to finish with regularity, however, questions will continue to be asked of them.

Perspective is a funny thing. Ibra didn't look such a giant with Barca.

The other match in the group was played out at the Amsterdam Arena.  Luis Suarez gave the AC Milan defence fits all evening but his wonderful play, splitting Alessandro Nesta’s wickets and then laying off for Mounir al Hamdaoui to finish, gave Ajax the early lead.  Robinho had two chances to put the Rossonerri on the board but failed to finish both times.  It was Zlatan Ibrahimovic, proving with every match that last year’s struggles at Barca weren’t down to him, who brought Milan even.  His finish was pure and graceful power, as he chested a wild Clarence Seedorf delivery and, when the ball refused to settle, leapt into the air, to thunder it home.

In the late going, Robinho would again misfire, denying his club what would have been an important victory.  Unlike Ibra, it’s beginning to look like the Brazilians problems at previous clubs are solely of his own making.

On Wednesday the fireworks went off in Group A, while in Group D, Barca fizzled.

The other half of that famous deal has stepped up, as well.

Earlier in the week, Rafa Benitez found himself assuring the panicky Italian media that there was no crisis at Inter, after the club lost to Roma.  For once, Rafa didn’t cite facts.  Had he done so, he’d have simply pointed out that last year he was plying his trade in Liverpool, so if you want to talk crisis, well, there’s a way to go yet at the Giuseppe Meazza. (Just give him time.) After Samuel Eto’o had bagged himself a hat trick and set up Wesley Sneijder, with a perfect through ball, for another in a 4-0 pasting of visiting Werder Bremen, the managerial deathwatch in the Serie A was forced to look elsewhere for a potential victim.

Tottenham had an equally prolific evening, although the wealth was spread around a bit more judiciously.  Harry Redknapp played it wide open from the start and after some early threats, FC Twente proved unable to take advantage of a loose Spurs defence.  Rafael van der Vaart had a rather schizophrenic evening, missing an early penalty, one of three on the night gifted to the home club, then making amends with a splendid left footed volley to put his side ahead, before taking a second yellow, after arriving late to a mid-air collision with Rosales Roberto.  Even a man down, however, Spurs were not to be denied, with Roman Pavlyuchenko making good on his pair of PKs, on either side of a Nacer Chadii strike for the visitors.  Gareth Bale would wrap things up, charging in from the left, on 85 minutes to blaze one past Nikolay Mihaylov.

Enyeama does a lot of this for both club and country. Oh, and did I mention he takes PK's as well as stopping them?

In Group B, Schalke took their time in breaking down Benfica, at the Veltins-Arena.  Raul was running rampant all evening but couldn’t find the finishing touch.  Finally, Jefferson Farfan did.  To the right of goal, in the 73rd minute, he buried his chance to put the Germans on top.  Unrelenting, Raul would lead one more charge, sending Klass-Jan Huntelaar in alone to insure the victory.  In Israel, Vincent Enyeami, the Nigerian keeper put in another yeoman effort but was unable to stem the tide for an overmatched Hapoel Tel-Aviv.   The 3-1 defeat to Lyon belied his efforts, especially considering one of his own defenders clattered into him as he came out to smother a loose ball, leading to the final French tally.  Whatever his contract status, if he continues this display throughout the group stage, after a splendid World Cup, he may find himself the subject of much courting in the January window.  Rumours have it Arsenal are looking for an alternative to Manuel Almunia.

Just in case 6 officials aren't sufficient, Little Pea indicates where he has placed the ball.

As the Spanish night wore on, it looked as though neither Valencia nor Manchester United would capitalise on any of a handful of chances and United would continue on their run of scoreless draws.  Then, in the late going substitutes Federico Macheda and Javier Hernandez combined.  Macheda driving from the right sent a pass skittering across the top of the box, which Chicharito ran onto and lashed back against the grain, to give United all three points and a share of the group lead.  Rangers struck much earlier at the Ibrox, with James Naismith running in to flick in a stunning half volley on 18 minutes.  Although, they never looked to be in much danger, the Glaswegians wasted too many chances to put the game beyond doubt.  Still, they share top billing in the group with United ahead of a home and home with the Spaniards.

In the biggest surprise of the competition, it’s FC Copenhagen who find themselves atop Group D, with a perfect record.  After sneaking by Rubin Kazan, in Denmark, the Danes came to Athens, unintimidated by the big names their opponents could boast.

Tzorvas' tirade against his line translates into "pot, kettle, black."

Dame N’Doye, not to be confused with Dames Helen Mirren or Judi Doench, chased down a long ball, just before the half hour, arriving well before an adventurous but misguided Alexandros Tzorvas, the Panathanaikos net-minder, who, for some reason, thought he could get there first.  A well struck chip, from N’Doye, curled over the sliding keeper and bounced happily into goal.  Not ten minutes had passed when Martin Vingaard scorched the turf with his free kick.  Somehow, it found its way under the wall and past a surprised Tzorvas.  His angry remonstrations brought him some cold looks from his defenders; no wonder, given his own gaffe, earlier.

Noboa and Rubin Kazan have the Catalans' number

Barcelona, meanwhile, will have work to do against the Danish champs, having once again failed to deal with Russian holders, Rubin Kazan.  Each side converted a penalty, like clockwork, Christian Noboa on the half hour and David Villa on the hour but no one stepped up at the death to decide this one.  Every Goliath has a David and for Barca it would seem to be Rubin Kazan.

Once again, time and space demand that we give the Europa League results the Siskel & Ebert treatment.  So without further ado…

Thumbs up to Lech Poznan (2-0 Red Bull Salzburg), topping Group A with 6 points, Juventus (1-1 at Man City), Sporting Lisbon (5-0 Levski Sofia), BATE Borisov (4-1 AZ Alkmaar), Zenit St. Petersburg (4-2 AEK Athens) and CSKA Moscow (3-0 Sparta Praha).

Thumbs down to Atletico Madrid (1-1 Bayer Leverkusen), a tough match to be sure but the holders needed to take all 3 points at home to get out of the cellar.  Also, were Liverpool (0-0 at FC Utrecht), Napoli (3-3 at Steaua Bucuresti), Getafe (0-2 at Young Boys) and Dynamo Kiev (0-2 at Sheriff Tirsapol).

And with that, on to the weekend fare:

Andrew Gibney

Andrew Gibney

Scottish Premier League

Hearts v Rangers

After a great European result midweek Rangers will look to continue their run when they visit Tynecastle for this weekend’s early kick-off. A win for Hearts could give their inconsistent season the kick start it needs. It’s been wo years since Hearts last routed an Edinburgh invasion by the Glasgow giants.  To do so, on Saturday, stopping Kenny Miller from adding to his ten league goals must be their priority.

St. Johnstone v Hibernian

John Hughes’Hibs side travel to Perth, in what is a must win game for the underachieving Edinburgh side.  Anything but a win could see Hughes out of a job and his team languishing dangerously near the foot of the table. A decent performance against Celtic last week will give the Hibees hope.  St. Johnstone sit 11th in the league and in need of some hope of their own.  Three points would give them a healthy dose.  Last week’s defeat, to Dundee United, had followed a good run of two wins, both at McDiarmid Park, so the home crowd will be in full throat, to restore their side’s momentum.  English forward Sam Parkin will be looking to add to his two league goals and pile the pressure on John Hughes and the Hibernian board.

Chris Mann

Chris Mann

League One

Southampton v Bournemouth…Saturday

An underrated rivalry, passions will be running high when Southampton and Bournemouth meet at St Mary’s Stadium this weekend. Although Nigel Adkins’side will start the game as favourites, The Saints have had an indifferent start to the campaign and, should Eddie Howe’s high-flying Bournemouth continue in the excellent fashion in which they’ve been playing, there’s no reason why they can’t take all three points. It will be a highly-charged game on the South Coast.

La Liga

Real Madrid v Deportivo La Coruna…Sunday

The pressure on Jose Mourinho has been ramped up in the last few days with a lacklustre 0-0 draw with Levante last weekend, a shaky 1-0 win over Auxerre in mid-week and an ugly spat with midfielder Pedro Leon, so the onus is on Madrid to produce a good performance against Deportivo on Sunday night. Depor, however, are in an even stickier situation than their illustrious opponents, languishing in 19th place and yet to register a win in the league despite a smattering of quality throughout the squad. Madrid should win this game, particularly at the Bernabeu, but should they somehow contrive to miss out on victory the pressure on their coach will reach torturous levels.

Fabricio Presilli

Fab Presilli

Campeonato Brasileiro 27th round

In Brazil most of the games will be played Saturday because we will have presidential elections Sunday.

Cruzeiro v Atlético Paranaense

Two smoking hot teams. Cruzeiro are trying to keep pace with leaders Fluminense and Corinthians, while Atlético needs a win to get closer to a top three spot.

Botafogo v Flamengo

A derby in Rio. Champion Flamengo is dangeroulsy close to the relegation zone, not a good season for them.  All year, they’ve struggled to find forwards. Botafogo is favoured but history shows they don’t usually deliver against rivals.

Argentina Apertura 9th Round

San Lorenzo v Estudiantes…Sunday

Estudiantes took the lead, in the table, with a win this week.  San Lorenzo are sitting third. If Juan Sebastian Veron’s club get the win they’ll be a confortable distance ahead of chasers Velez and River. At stake are places in the next Copa Libertadores.

Geoff Edwards

Geoff Edwards

Bundesliga

Borussia Dortmund v Bayern Munich…Sunday

At times, during their midweek Champions League victory at Basel, Bayern were unplayable, a shining example of high class, possession football. But the problem remains, Bayern are struggling to create enough chances to see off more limited opponents, and, when you have defenders prone to mishaps, that can prove very costly. It will be interesting to see how Louis van Gaal approaches the game. Will he stick with his trusted 4-2-3-1, or go with the 4-4-2 that brought about victory in Switzerland?

There are no such problems for van Gaal’s opposite number Juergen Klopp. Dortmund are settled in their system and personnel and are in top form. They will not be downhearted by their unlucky midweek defeat to Sevilla and, roared on as always by the ‘Yellow Wall,’ will prove a stern test for Bayern.

Martin Palazzotto

Martin Palazzotto

The MLS Weekend

As the US top flight enters the final month of the regular season, the top spots, in both the Eastern and Western Conferences are up for grabs.

In the east, on Sunday, the Red Bulls host the Kansas City Wizards.  KC, even if they can pull off the improbable, will need some help from Columbus, who welcome the San Jose Earthquakes to Crew Stadium.  The ‘Quakes sit in the last playoff spot, 6 points ahead of the Wizards but, more importantly, the home side are just 1 point ahead of the Red Bulls for the top seed in the east and can’t afford to slip up.  These two matches have the potential for being defining moments in the season for each of the clubs involved.

Champions Real Salt Lake journey to the Atlantic coast, on Sunday, to take on New England.  The down and out Revs’pride might motivate them to put a dent in RSL’s plans for overtaking the Galaxy.  FC Dallas, still very much in the frame for top honours, host the slumping Chicago Fire.  The big money moves (by MLS standards) for Freddie Ljungberg and Nery Castillo haven’t paid immediate dividends and the Fire’s playoff aspirations have been smothered.  The Hoops aren’t the type to take wounded prey too lightly, however.

On Monday, it’s the Super Clasico.  The front running LA Galaxy are technically visitors, in their own stadium, as they take on Home Depot Center tenants, Chivas USA.  The Goats, in the ersatz relegation zone, will definitely be up to playing the spoiler role.

Mexican Apertura

Group 2 remains the main battleground in the Primera Division.  With one playoff berth available to three teams, there are no off weeks for the sides involved.

Santos Laguna v Toluca…Sunday

Los Diablos Rojos top the group but face a tough test against Santos, who have fallen into the wildcard spot, one point behind Monterrey.

Cruz Azul v Club America…Sunday

A capital city derby.  America will have an even larger challenge than Toluca, as Cruz Azul are running away with Group 3.  already a point behind their rivals, the Blue and Gold absolutely must get a result.

San Luis v Tigres…Sunday

The Gladiadores are hanging around, just two points behind Toluca, and have the easiest of the three matches this weekend.  As well, they’re the only ones at home.  Tigres may be out of the race in Group 1 but they aren’t pushovers, having 12 points to San Luis’13.

Serie A

Internazionale v Juventus…Sunday

Could there be any other match to highlight the Italian top flight this weekend?  Not only is this a fierce rivalry, furthered by the continuing investigation into the influencing of match officials, now focused on the Nerrazzurri.  Both sides are coming off big results in Europe, Juve drawing at Man City and Samuel Eto’o, enjoying the purest of form, personally dismantling Werder Bremen.  As well, Inter will be intent on returning to winning ways on the domestic front, after their Roman holiday, last week, turned sour.

Tapesh Patel

Tapesh Patel

The Premiership

Chelsea v Arsenal…Sunday

This one’s the pick of the bunch this weekend. Both sides have made solid starts to the season, and although the Chelsea bandwagon had more momentum a week ago, the brakes have been applied after defeats to Manchester City and Newcastle were followed by a stuttering win over a struggling Marseille outfit. The Gunners have also suffered in the league of late, having failed to complete a seemingly impossible comeback against West Brom.

Although it’s still early days, both sides know the importance of this one and, as such, this will be a tightly contested affair.  These two have scored 37 league goals between them this season, however, and with so much talent on show, it’s a match that shouldn’t be missed.

West Bromwich Albion v Bolton…Saturday

Strange things are happening at West Brom. Those in the know are mentioning the Midlands club in the same breath as ‘survival hopefuls.’Manager Roberto di Matteo seems to have brought out the best in his squad at the moment, and striker Peter Odemwingie currently looks to be the Premiership goal-scorer that the Baggies have lacked in recent years.

Up at Bolton, Owen Coyle has changed the mentality of his side, and boasts a surprise striker himself, with Johan Elmander starting to justify his hefty transfer fee. The Trotters like to please the fans,  too, which should make this a good spectacle.

The Championship

Preston v Reading…Saturday

Preston have struggled mightily this season, but followed up a win against Coventry City, last weekend, with a remarkable 6-4 fight back against Leeds, on Tuesday, having been 4-1 down. North End will hope to maintain their goal-scoring threat against an in-form Reading side possessing a miserly defence; the Royals have kept four clean sheets in their last five games.

Ligue 1

St. Etienne v Marseille…Saturday

Marseille, having won the Ligue 1 title last season, are looking to repeat this time around. After a poor start to the season, they’ve managed to recover and are now unbeaten in five matches. Didier Deschamps takes the plaudits for this but, now, must attempt to reverse Tuesday’s poor display against Chelsea.

OM are up against a Saint-Etienne side sitting proudly atop the league, fresh off defeating local rivals Lyon, last weekend. They will certainly be a tough nut to crack if that match was anything to go by.  Dmitri Payet, whose stock is quickly rising in French football with seven goals in the first seven games, leads the way for Les Verts.

…

It’s certainly going to be a busy weekend, so catch what you can and join us back here on Tuesday to review whatever you missed.  In the meantime, here’s another quick lesson for the kids.  Soccer is played with a big round ball.  Keep your eye on it.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjvYj56JLow

And there’s a lesson for Alex Tzorvas.  Your teammates are your friends.  Sometimes an apology and a high five are more effective than screaming at them.

See you on Tuesday!

Background

The Boxing Day fixture is usually one of the most anticipated events on the English football calendar, and it was certainly the case here as 30,890 fans turned up for the match at St Mary’s. St Mary’s is one of the new breed of stadia, built in the last 10-15 years, which is often, unfairly in my view, referred to as ‘identikit’or ‘McStadia’. This is because these stadia are perceived as soulless and lacking in character in comparison to those they replaced. In my view, these arenas will develop their own ‘soul’and character as time passes and new memories and achievements will be associated with it by the clubs and their fans.

Southampton were a Premier League club up until 5 seasons ago. Once a model of top flight stability, the Saints have lurched from one disaster to the next. From the appointment of Sir Clive Woodward (former England Rugby coach!) as Performance Director in 2005, through relegation from the Premier League in 2004-05, and then relegation from the Championship last season, it has been a tough time for the club. And that is only on the pitch.

Off the pitch, Saints sunk into administration and started their 2009-10 League One campaign with a 10-point deduction. Indeed, the Southcoast side were in danger of going out of business completely until they were rescued by the Swiss billionaire Markus Liebherr in July.

Unlike fierce local rivals Portsmouth, Southampton appear to have landed on their feet with their new investor. Liebherr already had an affiliation with Southampton through one of his business subsidiaries, Liebherr Cranes. With the help of Nicola Cortese, the new Executive Chairman, Liebherr has set about improving the infrastructure of the club, from administrative departments right through to the academy and the coaching and playing staff. The idea has been to set up a solid foundation on which to build long-term, sustainable success, rather than just throwing money around on flashy signings.

Since the takeover, things have been looking up for the Saints. Experienced new manager Alan Pardew has been able to bring in a host of new faces and, despite the 10-point deduction and a shaky start,  he has guided them into mid-table with a chance of qualifying for the play-offs at the end of the season. With the resources now at their disposal (Liebherr’s fortune is estimated at £2.6 billion), Saints’ultimate goal must be to get back into the Premier League.

The Match

Looking at the packed stands and hearing the fantastic atmosphere generated by the home fans, you would have have been forgiven for thinking you were at a Premier League match. The Saints fans were in full voice, especially in the Kingsland North Wing behind one of the goals, where most fans stood, despite the seating. It was an intimidating atmosphere for the visiting Grecians.

Looking away from the stands and onto the pitch however, it was painfully evident that this was League One fayre being served up. The match was high on physical endeavour but low on quality.

Exeter City have strong historical links with Brazilian football, and in the first half they could’ve used a little help from Pele as they were largely impotent, unable to trouble the Saints’defence. The Grecians, under promising young manager Paul Tisdale (an ex-Southampton player) were well-organised and compact, trying to play intelligently through midfield. Unfortunately, Exeter’s downfall was in their lack of individual quality in comparison with Pardew’s side.

After a nervy 15 minutes, Southampton broke the deadlock with the game’s first piece of real quality. Diminutive right-back Lloyd James cut in from the right touchline and fired a left-footed deflected shot past Paul Jones in the Exeter goal.

The goal settled Southampton’s nerves as they began to pass the ball better and get into crossing positions. With Morgan Schneiderlin and man of the match Dean Hammond patrolling the centre of midfield in front of Saints’back four, it was left to Southampton’s wide players (Adam Lallana, Michail Antonio) to provide the creativity. However, Saints didn’t create too many clear-cut chances, other than a David Connolly header hitting the crossbar, and their 2nd goal came from a set-piece on 30 minutes. James’free-kick was headed in by centre-back Neal Trotman.

Exeter never really looked like getting back into it in the first half. Things got worse for the Grecians when Tottenham loanee Troy Archibald-Henville was red-carded for a lunge on Schneiderlin. Up to that point, he had been their best player, doing a good job shielding Exeter’s back three and keeping it simple in possession.

With a mountain to climb, Exeter came out fighting in the 2nd half  and got back into the game on 68 minutes when centre-half Matthew Taylor headed home a Ryan Harley corner. The goal set up a nervous finale for the Saints and, despite the numerical disadvantage, Exeter began to dominate. Harley’s influence grew in central midfield as he probed away looking for the equaliser.

Unfortunately for Exeter, the equaliser never came. Pushing forward looking for the elusive 2nd goal, they left holes at the back. Saints substitute Papa Waigo N’Diaye, on loan from Fiorentina, latched onto a Rickie Lambert through ball and slid the ball past Jones on 88 minutes to seal a deserved victory.

The win keeps up Saints play-off hopes. If they were to win promotion, it would be a massive achievement given the 10 point handicap, but it is definitely not beyond their squad which is littered with players who have played at higher levels. The likes of Chris Perry, Radhi Jaidi, David Connolly, Graeme Murty and Kelvin Davis all have the required experience for a promotion push.

Alan Pardew will want to spend as little time as possible in League One, as will young talents like Dean Hammond and skilful midfielder Adam Lallana. These players couldn’t really hope to be at a better club. With an experienced manager at the helm and Swiss billions behind them, not to mention a fantastic stadium and large, vociferous fanbase, Southampton is a Premier League club in all but name.