Friday:
Arminia v Hertha
Saturday:
Schalke v Bremen
Wolfsburg v Bochum
Monchengladbach v Hoffenheim
Karlsruhe v Hamburg
Leverkusen v Stuttgart
Eintracht v Cologne
Sunday:
Bayern v Dortmund
Energie v Hannover
The top two in Germany both have very winnable games this week with Hoffenheim away at rock bottom Gladbach and Hertha travelling to Bielefeld. Hertha will be without top striker Marko Pantelic as they look to continue their impressive run of six wins from the last seven. Hoffenheim won't be heartened to hear that their owner, Dietmar Hopp, has had €2bn wiped off his fortune thanks to the ongoing financial armageddon. But Hopp's in this for the long-term and the club won't be harmed by any financial issues the owner may suffer in the short term. The team are still just about together on the field, though one more injury up front and they're in bother. But they're playing Gladbach this week, so chalk down a 2-0 away win. Hamburg are well in the hunt as well and they're also away at a relegation-threatened side, Karlsruhe. Top game of the week sees Bayern welcome Dortmund, just two places behind, to the Allianz. Dortmund were poor in drawing with Leverkusen last week, but have plenty of ability and Bayern are proving very much hot-and-cold. This could go either way, but I'll say home advantage and a win for the Bavarian behemoth.
Also up at a congested top end, Stuttgart go to Leverkusen. The Bayer-owned side have precocious Bayern nipper Toni Kroos on loan. How Bayern fail to continue the development of such talent is a mystery and one which may well come back and bite them on the arse. Kroos is a tremendous player and just the sort to provide the ammo for fellow wunderkind Patrick Helmes. I'm fed up of eulogising about this kid. He is the real deal and hopefully he'll be in the national side on a regular basis sooner rather than later.
Bochum and Energie both have tough games. Bochum travel to Wolfsburg where, thanks to Grafite's goals, the home side are still in the frame for a European spot. Energie welcome Hannover to the Freundschaft and while Hannover are no great shakes themselves, Energie are rubbish.
The two biggest underachievers in the league face off in Gelsenkirchen where Bremen visit the AufSchalke. Bremen are still without their three top strikers, but Schalke will have Orlando Engelaar back in place of Fabain Ernst who has signed for Besiktas. This one has 0-0 written all over. Finally, if you want a game to avoid this weekend, give a wide body swerve to the Commerzbank Arena where Cologne go to face Eintracht. These two are adrift in mid-table separated by four points from each other. It promises to be as dull as dull can be.
The home of football sarcasm
Friday, 6 February 2009
PSV belt ADO, Twente go second: Eredivisie reviews and previews
Willem II 1-2 Volendam
Vitesse 1-0 Heerenveen
Ajax 2-2 Heracles
Twente 4-1 NAC
AZ 1-0 Roda
Feyenoord 1-0 Sparta
Utrecht 3-0 De Graafschap
Groningen 2-0 NEC
PSV 6-0 Den Haag
The big movers in the midweek round of games were Twente who took advantage of Ajax's slip-up to go second. Where Twente were profligate in drawing 0-0 with Utrecht last weekend, Marko Arnautovic in particular turning down any number of chances, this time they were clinical. Arnautovic got the first and Peter Wiesgerhof made it two by the break before Eljero Elia added a third on the hour. Fouad Idabdellhay got one back for the visitors before Romano Denneboom made it four in stoppage time. Kenneth Perez pulled all the strings for Twente as they dominated from start to finish.
That puts them second thanks to Ajax's continued poor run. It could have been worse than a draw as Heracles lead 2-0 going into half-time. After weathering an early Ajax storm, with keeper Martin Pieckenhagen in inspired form, Heracles hit them on the counter with a Ricky van den Bergh goal on 12 minutes and Vojtěch Schulmeister made it two on the half hour and Heracles were on their way to a first away win. Until the seventieth minute, that is, when Miralem Sulejmani latched onto Robert Schildder's cross to pull one back. Pieckenhagen turned from hero to villian just a couple of minutes later, fouling Siem de Jong in the box and Luis Suarez beat him from the spot. Sulejmani turned the ball home in the dying seconds but was offside. It would have been cruel on Heracles.
Down at the bottom, Volendam's vastly improved form is causing headaches for the rest of them down there. Their first away win came in Tilburg and from an early goal down. Arjan Swinkels had slotted home an early penalty after Tim Bakens pulled down Sergio Zijler, but the better chances were going Volendam's way. It took them until after the break to hit back through Rowin van Zaanen heading home at the back post and it was he who supplied the cross for Henny Schilder's 85th minute winner after his side had pounded the Tilburg goal for the last half hour.
This brought Volendam a point behind De Graafschap at the bottom who were undone by Cedric van der Gun's hat-trick at Utrecht. His first came on the half hour and a second followed in first half stoppage time and he completed his hat-trick seven minutes from time to hammer home Utrecht's dominance. The Rotterdam derby ended with a 1-0 win for Feyenoord, easing them away from trouble, but leaving Sparta firmly in the smelly stuff. Diego Biseswar got the only goal 12 minutes into the contest. Erik Falkenburg's 25-yard free-kick almost got Sparta back on terms, but Feyenoord hung on for Leon Vlemmings first win in charge despite late pressure.
Heerenveen's good run came to an end in Arnhem where Vitesse won courtesy of a late Nicky Hofs goal. Vitesse successfully cut off the supply lines to the dangerous Danijel Pranjic and bided their time in picking off an increasingly desperate Heerenveen on the break, Hofs lashing in a 30-yard stunner six minutes from time. Heerenveen slip behind PSV on the table after the Eindhoven side smashed six past a sorry-looking Den Haag. The front players all looked sharp with young guns Ola Toivonen and Nordin Amrabat (twice) on the scoresheet and the Hungarian Balázs Dzsudzsák hitting a hat-trick, one a fine, curling free-kick from 25 yards. Groningen kept up their run with a 2-0 win over 10-man NEC. Ramon Zomer felled Marcus Berg in the box on 25 minutes and saw red. Berg dusted himself down to convert from 12 yards and that was pretty much that. NEC rarely raided forwards and it was only a matter of time before Groningen hit a second to seal it. They had to wait until the hour mark when Koen van der Laak fired home from close range.
And so AZ remain nine clear at the top and looking completely unflustered, though Roda frustrated them for long periods in Wednesday night. It took 76 minutes for the league leaders to finally break through with Mounir El Hamdaoui's 20th league goal of the season proving enough.
And from there, we go straight into the weekend fixtures:
Saturday:
Roda v Sparta
Heerenveen v NAC
AZ v Willem II
Heracles v NEC
Sunday:
Utrecht v Den Haag
Vitesse v Ajax
Feyenoord v Groningen
De Graafschap v Twente
Volendam v PSV
Volendam's improvement will be sorely tested by a PSV side who seem to have found their feet quickly since Huub Stevens quit. Fortunately, their big relegation rivals also have tough games. De Graafschap will find it tough to get anything from FC Twente and Den Haag will, like everyone else who visits, do well to get anything from Utrecht. Roda v Sparta is the big one down at the bottom end with the winners moving clear, at least for a couple of weeks, and the losers deep in trouble. So that'll be a draw.
AZ are on a run of ten straight home wins and Willem II will be scalp number eleven there, with AZ cruising towards their first title since 1981. If Vitesse go as well as they did midweek, then Ajax's woes could increase. Though the Amsterdam side aren't winning, they are drawing a lot, but that isn't enough to maintain a credible title challenge. Groningen's good form should continue at hapless Feyenoord where that derby win papers over more than a few extreme cracks and Heerenveen look a good bet to get back on track against NAC. Game of the week is at Almelo where Heracles take on NEC. Both sides like to attack and are flimsy at the back so it should mean goals, goals, goals.
Vitesse 1-0 Heerenveen
Ajax 2-2 Heracles
Twente 4-1 NAC
AZ 1-0 Roda
Feyenoord 1-0 Sparta
Utrecht 3-0 De Graafschap
Groningen 2-0 NEC
PSV 6-0 Den Haag
The big movers in the midweek round of games were Twente who took advantage of Ajax's slip-up to go second. Where Twente were profligate in drawing 0-0 with Utrecht last weekend, Marko Arnautovic in particular turning down any number of chances, this time they were clinical. Arnautovic got the first and Peter Wiesgerhof made it two by the break before Eljero Elia added a third on the hour. Fouad Idabdellhay got one back for the visitors before Romano Denneboom made it four in stoppage time. Kenneth Perez pulled all the strings for Twente as they dominated from start to finish.
That puts them second thanks to Ajax's continued poor run. It could have been worse than a draw as Heracles lead 2-0 going into half-time. After weathering an early Ajax storm, with keeper Martin Pieckenhagen in inspired form, Heracles hit them on the counter with a Ricky van den Bergh goal on 12 minutes and Vojtěch Schulmeister made it two on the half hour and Heracles were on their way to a first away win. Until the seventieth minute, that is, when Miralem Sulejmani latched onto Robert Schildder's cross to pull one back. Pieckenhagen turned from hero to villian just a couple of minutes later, fouling Siem de Jong in the box and Luis Suarez beat him from the spot. Sulejmani turned the ball home in the dying seconds but was offside. It would have been cruel on Heracles.
Down at the bottom, Volendam's vastly improved form is causing headaches for the rest of them down there. Their first away win came in Tilburg and from an early goal down. Arjan Swinkels had slotted home an early penalty after Tim Bakens pulled down Sergio Zijler, but the better chances were going Volendam's way. It took them until after the break to hit back through Rowin van Zaanen heading home at the back post and it was he who supplied the cross for Henny Schilder's 85th minute winner after his side had pounded the Tilburg goal for the last half hour.
This brought Volendam a point behind De Graafschap at the bottom who were undone by Cedric van der Gun's hat-trick at Utrecht. His first came on the half hour and a second followed in first half stoppage time and he completed his hat-trick seven minutes from time to hammer home Utrecht's dominance. The Rotterdam derby ended with a 1-0 win for Feyenoord, easing them away from trouble, but leaving Sparta firmly in the smelly stuff. Diego Biseswar got the only goal 12 minutes into the contest. Erik Falkenburg's 25-yard free-kick almost got Sparta back on terms, but Feyenoord hung on for Leon Vlemmings first win in charge despite late pressure.
Heerenveen's good run came to an end in Arnhem where Vitesse won courtesy of a late Nicky Hofs goal. Vitesse successfully cut off the supply lines to the dangerous Danijel Pranjic and bided their time in picking off an increasingly desperate Heerenveen on the break, Hofs lashing in a 30-yard stunner six minutes from time. Heerenveen slip behind PSV on the table after the Eindhoven side smashed six past a sorry-looking Den Haag. The front players all looked sharp with young guns Ola Toivonen and Nordin Amrabat (twice) on the scoresheet and the Hungarian Balázs Dzsudzsák hitting a hat-trick, one a fine, curling free-kick from 25 yards. Groningen kept up their run with a 2-0 win over 10-man NEC. Ramon Zomer felled Marcus Berg in the box on 25 minutes and saw red. Berg dusted himself down to convert from 12 yards and that was pretty much that. NEC rarely raided forwards and it was only a matter of time before Groningen hit a second to seal it. They had to wait until the hour mark when Koen van der Laak fired home from close range.
And so AZ remain nine clear at the top and looking completely unflustered, though Roda frustrated them for long periods in Wednesday night. It took 76 minutes for the league leaders to finally break through with Mounir El Hamdaoui's 20th league goal of the season proving enough.
And from there, we go straight into the weekend fixtures:
Saturday:
Roda v Sparta
Heerenveen v NAC
AZ v Willem II
Heracles v NEC
Sunday:
Utrecht v Den Haag
Vitesse v Ajax
Feyenoord v Groningen
De Graafschap v Twente
Volendam v PSV
Volendam's improvement will be sorely tested by a PSV side who seem to have found their feet quickly since Huub Stevens quit. Fortunately, their big relegation rivals also have tough games. De Graafschap will find it tough to get anything from FC Twente and Den Haag will, like everyone else who visits, do well to get anything from Utrecht. Roda v Sparta is the big one down at the bottom end with the winners moving clear, at least for a couple of weeks, and the losers deep in trouble. So that'll be a draw.
AZ are on a run of ten straight home wins and Willem II will be scalp number eleven there, with AZ cruising towards their first title since 1981. If Vitesse go as well as they did midweek, then Ajax's woes could increase. Though the Amsterdam side aren't winning, they are drawing a lot, but that isn't enough to maintain a credible title challenge. Groningen's good form should continue at hapless Feyenoord where that derby win papers over more than a few extreme cracks and Heerenveen look a good bet to get back on track against NAC. Game of the week is at Almelo where Heracles take on NEC. Both sides like to attack and are flimsy at the back so it should mean goals, goals, goals.
Tuesday, 3 February 2009
Aguirre leaves Atletico - Roma show the way?
Yesterday evening, Atletico Madrid bowed to sustained media pressure by parting company with their Mexican coach, Javier Aguirre. Since the turn of the year, Los Colchoneros have not won a single game in league or cup, and have dropped out of the top six in the league table as a result. Aguirre has paid for this slump in form with his job, and for many Atleti fans it is a dismissal that can't come soon enough as they still have definite ambitions on both domestic and European fronts.
For me, Atleti president Enrique Cerezo has been forced, rather than voluntarily choosing, to take this course of action. Mindful of the fans displeasure and his own re-election chances, terminating Aguirre's contract seemed the only realistic option to appease the socios. Of course, during his three-year tenure, Aguirre seemed to be permanently on trial. Atleti's fans are some of the most demanding in the business, perhaps because of their rivals' enviable record in the north of the city.
After a solid first half, January saw it all fall apart. First, they were dismantled by a rampant Valencia at the Mestalla; Then they conceded 3 at home to Athletic Bilbao, a game in which the influential Maniche was sent off; then draws against Almeria and then Malaga, before the final straw last weekend; a humiliating home defeat to Valladolid, who had just one away win to their name before that match. The white hankies once again came out and the chants of 'Javier, go home' rang round the Calderon.
In a sense, Aguirre has only himself to blame. His big-money signings of Johnny Heitinga and Thomas Ujfalusi have failed to shore up a defence that has conceded 33 goals - no side in the top half has conceded more. The perplexing loan acquisition of Argentine water-carrier Ever Banega from Valencia and Paolo Assuncao from FC Porto proved similarly ineffective. Whilst Maniche has excelled alongside Maxi Rodriguez and Simao (when he can be bothered), Atletico's success seemed to be based on conceding loads, but scoring more. Not the best strategy and so it has proved.
Some pundits have pointed to the fact that media comments since christmas from the likes of Kun Aguero, Forlan and Maxi suggest he has lost the dressing room. I can imagine that is quite some dressing room to control at the best of times, but when you're losing it must be virtually impossible to contain the ire. His departure therefore seemed inevitable.
Perhaps, on the other hand, Cerezo has been hasty. It is worth noting, that before Christmas Aguirre had guided his team on a 15-game unbeaten run in all competitions, which had secured their safe passage through to the knock-out stages of the Champions League and a seemingly secure place in the top four domestically. A tie against Porto in the last 16 gives them an excellent chance of progressing to the quarter finals, and Diego Forlan was in excellent scoring touch. Atletico on their day are amongst the most attractive sides in La Liga and Aguirre can claim a great deal of credit for that.
A lesson could be learnt from recent events across the Mediterranean, where Roma endured a shocking start to the season, flirting with the relegation places after 10 matches. In the Premiership, such a run of form would lead to a very public sacking and a juicy pay-off, especially considering the money that Luciano Spalleti had spent in the summer on the likes of John Arne Riise, Julio Baptista and Jeremy Menez. At the beginning of November, people were wondering what the Roma hierachy were doing, still employing this clown.
Then, lo and behold, the bald former Udinese tactician stirred the Giallorossi out of their funk, and they have lost just once in 15 league games. Much of Roma's form can be tied to whether or not Francesco Totti is on the park, but its also worth praising the contributions of Julio Baptista, Mirko Vucinic, Alberto Aquilani and the duo at the back, Phillipe Mexes and Juan (A Brazilian centre half who's good - yeah I know, but just trust me). Now Roma are in sixth, three points behind Genoa in the final Champions League place and full of confidence. Here is a case study in patience from those at the helm of a big, demanding club but who probably know they aren't going to seriously challenge Inter or Juventus for the title. Spalleti was given time to turn it around, and did. Perhaps Aguirre, given his previous achievements with Atleti, should have been afforded the same treatment.
For me, Atleti president Enrique Cerezo has been forced, rather than voluntarily choosing, to take this course of action. Mindful of the fans displeasure and his own re-election chances, terminating Aguirre's contract seemed the only realistic option to appease the socios. Of course, during his three-year tenure, Aguirre seemed to be permanently on trial. Atleti's fans are some of the most demanding in the business, perhaps because of their rivals' enviable record in the north of the city.
After a solid first half, January saw it all fall apart. First, they were dismantled by a rampant Valencia at the Mestalla; Then they conceded 3 at home to Athletic Bilbao, a game in which the influential Maniche was sent off; then draws against Almeria and then Malaga, before the final straw last weekend; a humiliating home defeat to Valladolid, who had just one away win to their name before that match. The white hankies once again came out and the chants of 'Javier, go home' rang round the Calderon.
In a sense, Aguirre has only himself to blame. His big-money signings of Johnny Heitinga and Thomas Ujfalusi have failed to shore up a defence that has conceded 33 goals - no side in the top half has conceded more. The perplexing loan acquisition of Argentine water-carrier Ever Banega from Valencia and Paolo Assuncao from FC Porto proved similarly ineffective. Whilst Maniche has excelled alongside Maxi Rodriguez and Simao (when he can be bothered), Atletico's success seemed to be based on conceding loads, but scoring more. Not the best strategy and so it has proved.
Some pundits have pointed to the fact that media comments since christmas from the likes of Kun Aguero, Forlan and Maxi suggest he has lost the dressing room. I can imagine that is quite some dressing room to control at the best of times, but when you're losing it must be virtually impossible to contain the ire. His departure therefore seemed inevitable.
Perhaps, on the other hand, Cerezo has been hasty. It is worth noting, that before Christmas Aguirre had guided his team on a 15-game unbeaten run in all competitions, which had secured their safe passage through to the knock-out stages of the Champions League and a seemingly secure place in the top four domestically. A tie against Porto in the last 16 gives them an excellent chance of progressing to the quarter finals, and Diego Forlan was in excellent scoring touch. Atletico on their day are amongst the most attractive sides in La Liga and Aguirre can claim a great deal of credit for that.
A lesson could be learnt from recent events across the Mediterranean, where Roma endured a shocking start to the season, flirting with the relegation places after 10 matches. In the Premiership, such a run of form would lead to a very public sacking and a juicy pay-off, especially considering the money that Luciano Spalleti had spent in the summer on the likes of John Arne Riise, Julio Baptista and Jeremy Menez. At the beginning of November, people were wondering what the Roma hierachy were doing, still employing this clown.
Then, lo and behold, the bald former Udinese tactician stirred the Giallorossi out of their funk, and they have lost just once in 15 league games. Much of Roma's form can be tied to whether or not Francesco Totti is on the park, but its also worth praising the contributions of Julio Baptista, Mirko Vucinic, Alberto Aquilani and the duo at the back, Phillipe Mexes and Juan (A Brazilian centre half who's good - yeah I know, but just trust me). Now Roma are in sixth, three points behind Genoa in the final Champions League place and full of confidence. Here is a case study in patience from those at the helm of a big, demanding club but who probably know they aren't going to seriously challenge Inter or Juventus for the title. Spalleti was given time to turn it around, and did. Perhaps Aguirre, given his previous achievements with Atleti, should have been afforded the same treatment.
Belgian week
Tuesday:
Willem II v Volendam
Vitesse v Heerenveen
Ajax v Heracles
Wednesday:
Twente v NAC
AZ v Roda
Feyenoord v Sparta
Utrecht v De Graafschap
Groningen v NEC
Thursday:
PSV v Den Haag
It's a Belgian week in the Eredivisie with a full programme of midweek fixtures. Top of the bill is the Rotterdam derby at the De Kuip. The sides are level on points and both are deep in trouble. Sparta may have expected to be in this position, but Feyenoord not so. While they have their key off-field appointments made for next season, the problem is that, this season, they are absolutely rubbish. Roy Makaay, on aging legs and the grey beginning to show through, is still quality, if a little slower than in his pomp at Deportivo and Bayern. Trouble is, he's having to do it all and, as a result, looks shot to bits. Jon-Dahl Tomasson is hardly a spring chicken. They have a massive squad, hopelessly bloated in fact, and paying all those wages - some of them extremely high - is crippling the club. Mario Been and Leo Beenhakker will form a mighty managerial partnership next season, but at what level? Caretaker Leon Vlemmings hasn't had a win yet in his short reign. The best he can hope for here is a point and Sparta would be happy with that.
FC Groningen have a tough task in maintaining their good run as durable NEC visit the Euroborg. The Nijmegen side punished Feyenoord at the weekend and are a tough side to beat. Groningen have been winning by the odd goal recently, so expect a low scoring game. Heerenveen are the form side - AZ apart - at the moment and Vitesse welcome them to the Gelredome on Tuesday. Theo Bos's Arnhem side sprung a surprise earlier in the season at the Abe Lenstra which Heerenveen will be keen to avenge, but an encouraging 2-0 win over Willem II will give Vitesse confidence going into this one. Over in Tilburg, Willem II take on Volendam with the visitors buoyed by a good performance away from home at the weekend. Andries Jonker has problems at Tilburg with a host of players missing. He's hired former player Nuelson Wau a contract to the end of the season after the 28-year old defender had been training with the club in order to stay fit.
Suspensions continue to be an issue for Marco van Basten. Jan Verthongen is back, but Thomas Vermaelen is still out after their recent red cards. Heracles are at a bit of a tipping point. A couple of wins and they're back up in the European places, but a couple of defeats and they're right back in the mire. It'll be difficult for them in Amsterdam on Tuesday night. Twente host NAC with the Enschede side looking to become the main challengers to runaway leaders AZ. NAC have European ambitions of their own, but if Twente can convert chances, as they had been doing before the awful 0-0 draw with Utrecht at the weekend, then they ought to be too good, especially on home soil. AZ host Roda and the league leaders should have few problems in racking up three more points as they coast to the championship.
PSV showed immediate improvement since Huub Stevens' resignation, perhaps indicative of the lack of response to Stevens' inimitable managerial style. They welcome Den Haag to the Philipsstadion on Thursday and will be hot favourites to continue on an upward curve. There are still problems at the club which need long-term remedies, but the response to Dwight Lodeweges' caretakership has been encouraging for fans in Eindhoven. De Graafschap are in the slide and travel to Utrecht in rotten form. Having won just once on the road all season, De Graafschap start this one as outsiders, but wins have been hard to come by for Utrecht, the draw specialists, of late. Another 0-0 wouldn't be a surprise.
Willem II v Volendam
Vitesse v Heerenveen
Ajax v Heracles
Wednesday:
Twente v NAC
AZ v Roda
Feyenoord v Sparta
Utrecht v De Graafschap
Groningen v NEC
Thursday:
PSV v Den Haag
It's a Belgian week in the Eredivisie with a full programme of midweek fixtures. Top of the bill is the Rotterdam derby at the De Kuip. The sides are level on points and both are deep in trouble. Sparta may have expected to be in this position, but Feyenoord not so. While they have their key off-field appointments made for next season, the problem is that, this season, they are absolutely rubbish. Roy Makaay, on aging legs and the grey beginning to show through, is still quality, if a little slower than in his pomp at Deportivo and Bayern. Trouble is, he's having to do it all and, as a result, looks shot to bits. Jon-Dahl Tomasson is hardly a spring chicken. They have a massive squad, hopelessly bloated in fact, and paying all those wages - some of them extremely high - is crippling the club. Mario Been and Leo Beenhakker will form a mighty managerial partnership next season, but at what level? Caretaker Leon Vlemmings hasn't had a win yet in his short reign. The best he can hope for here is a point and Sparta would be happy with that.
FC Groningen have a tough task in maintaining their good run as durable NEC visit the Euroborg. The Nijmegen side punished Feyenoord at the weekend and are a tough side to beat. Groningen have been winning by the odd goal recently, so expect a low scoring game. Heerenveen are the form side - AZ apart - at the moment and Vitesse welcome them to the Gelredome on Tuesday. Theo Bos's Arnhem side sprung a surprise earlier in the season at the Abe Lenstra which Heerenveen will be keen to avenge, but an encouraging 2-0 win over Willem II will give Vitesse confidence going into this one. Over in Tilburg, Willem II take on Volendam with the visitors buoyed by a good performance away from home at the weekend. Andries Jonker has problems at Tilburg with a host of players missing. He's hired former player Nuelson Wau a contract to the end of the season after the 28-year old defender had been training with the club in order to stay fit.
Suspensions continue to be an issue for Marco van Basten. Jan Verthongen is back, but Thomas Vermaelen is still out after their recent red cards. Heracles are at a bit of a tipping point. A couple of wins and they're back up in the European places, but a couple of defeats and they're right back in the mire. It'll be difficult for them in Amsterdam on Tuesday night. Twente host NAC with the Enschede side looking to become the main challengers to runaway leaders AZ. NAC have European ambitions of their own, but if Twente can convert chances, as they had been doing before the awful 0-0 draw with Utrecht at the weekend, then they ought to be too good, especially on home soil. AZ host Roda and the league leaders should have few problems in racking up three more points as they coast to the championship.
PSV showed immediate improvement since Huub Stevens' resignation, perhaps indicative of the lack of response to Stevens' inimitable managerial style. They welcome Den Haag to the Philipsstadion on Thursday and will be hot favourites to continue on an upward curve. There are still problems at the club which need long-term remedies, but the response to Dwight Lodeweges' caretakership has been encouraging for fans in Eindhoven. De Graafschap are in the slide and travel to Utrecht in rotten form. Having won just once on the road all season, De Graafschap start this one as outsiders, but wins have been hard to come by for Utrecht, the draw specialists, of late. Another 0-0 wouldn't be a surprise.
Monday, 2 February 2009
Superliga Round 16: Mantorras keeps Benfica in the hunt
Academica 2-2 E. Amadora
Belenenses 1-3 FC Porto
Benfica 1-0 Rio Ave
Braga 2-0 P. Ferreira
Maritimo 1-0 Naval
Nacional 0-0 Leixoes
Setubal 2-4 Guimaraes
Trofense 0-0 Sporting
We start our round-up in Lisbon where Benfica struggled for 88 minutes to break down a stubborn Rio Ave - the bottom side in the SuperLiga - in awful, rain-swept conditions at the Estadio da Luz. Oscar Cardozo struck the woodwork twice and Angel Di Maria missed a sitter and it looked like O Glorioso were destined to drop two points in the title race. Enter the brittle Angolan striker Pedro Mantorras, a cult figure with Benfica fans and whose life story is like many in his home country - irrevocably changed by the devastating civil war. He runs orphanages and sports programmes in his home country and he came off the bench here to stab home from close range and send the home fans wild, for it was 3 crucial points given the context of the title race. Last season this would have been a game Benfica drew, but they are a different, far more resillient side under Quique Sanchez Flores and they will push Porto all the way.
Porto went back to the top of the table on Sunday following a fairly convincing 3-1 win in Belenenses. 'Hulk', the brick-shithouse sized Brazilian, gave the visitors the lead before Cristian Rodriguez continued his good goalscoring form by doubling that advantage. And, although Belenenses pulled on back through Saulo - a new signing from Naval - Lucho Gonzalez put the game beyond doubt with a third.
Sporting dropped two points for the second match running as they were held by struggling Trofense. Paolo Bento's men dominated the entire match, but could not find a way past home goalkeeper Paolo Lopez, with Liedson and Vukcevic missing good chances and Derlei having a goal chalked off (correctly) for offside. It means Sporting Clube sit 3 points off the leaders, in third.
Elsewhere Guimares scored a priceless away win at lowly Setubal, on-loan Columbian Wason Renteira and Albert Meyond fired Braga to a 2-0 win over Pacos Ferreira and Leixoes missed the chance to jump level with Sporting after they were held at Nacional.
Belenenses 1-3 FC Porto
Benfica 1-0 Rio Ave
Braga 2-0 P. Ferreira
Maritimo 1-0 Naval
Nacional 0-0 Leixoes
Setubal 2-4 Guimaraes
Trofense 0-0 Sporting
We start our round-up in Lisbon where Benfica struggled for 88 minutes to break down a stubborn Rio Ave - the bottom side in the SuperLiga - in awful, rain-swept conditions at the Estadio da Luz. Oscar Cardozo struck the woodwork twice and Angel Di Maria missed a sitter and it looked like O Glorioso were destined to drop two points in the title race. Enter the brittle Angolan striker Pedro Mantorras, a cult figure with Benfica fans and whose life story is like many in his home country - irrevocably changed by the devastating civil war. He runs orphanages and sports programmes in his home country and he came off the bench here to stab home from close range and send the home fans wild, for it was 3 crucial points given the context of the title race. Last season this would have been a game Benfica drew, but they are a different, far more resillient side under Quique Sanchez Flores and they will push Porto all the way.
Porto went back to the top of the table on Sunday following a fairly convincing 3-1 win in Belenenses. 'Hulk', the brick-shithouse sized Brazilian, gave the visitors the lead before Cristian Rodriguez continued his good goalscoring form by doubling that advantage. And, although Belenenses pulled on back through Saulo - a new signing from Naval - Lucho Gonzalez put the game beyond doubt with a third.
Sporting dropped two points for the second match running as they were held by struggling Trofense. Paolo Bento's men dominated the entire match, but could not find a way past home goalkeeper Paolo Lopez, with Liedson and Vukcevic missing good chances and Derlei having a goal chalked off (correctly) for offside. It means Sporting Clube sit 3 points off the leaders, in third.
Elsewhere Guimares scored a priceless away win at lowly Setubal, on-loan Columbian Wason Renteira and Albert Meyond fired Braga to a 2-0 win over Pacos Ferreira and Leixoes missed the chance to jump level with Sporting after they were held at Nacional.
Serie A Round 22: Juve crash again
Juventus 2-3 Cagliar
iNapoli 2-2 Udinese
Atalanta 1-0 Catania
Chievo 1-1 Sampdoria
Genoa 1-0 Palermo
Lazio 0-3 AC Milan
Inter 1-1 Torino
Reggina 2-2 Roma
Siena 1-2 Lecce
On Saturday, Juventus lost their second straight game despite leading 2-1 at home to Cagliari, who have started 2009 in stunning fashion – unbeaten thus far. Biondini gave the visitors the lead before two goals in six minutes from Momo Sissoko and Pavel Nedved put Juventus in front. However, Jeda scored his second goal in a week , converting Cossu’s cross to level up, before Matri scored a 78th minute winner capping a memorable display of lightning counter-attack football from the Sardinians.
Also on Sunday, Napoli looked to be cruising at home to Udinese after Ezeqiuel Lavezzi and Marek Hamsik, the young frontmen who have been dazzling Italians this season, scored within three minutes of each other to put the hosts 2-0 up. Udinese, to their credit, fought back and Antonio Di Natale pulled one back via the penalty spot Fabio Quagliarella struck an absolutely sublime volley (seriously, look it up on YouTube, it is sensational) to equalise, and that is how it stayed. Napoli’s stumbling start to 2009 continues.
On Sunday, Inter could only manage a lacklustre draw at home to Torino that continues their poor start to 2009. The only thing keeping them top is the misfiring challenge of Juventus. Torino took the lead through Man City reject Rolando Bianchi just after half time, before Nicolas Burdisso equalized 10 minutes later. Both Hernan Crespo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic struck the woodwork late on, and Ricardo Quaresma, heckled by the home fans throughout his substitute appearance, also missed a good chance.
Inter remain 6 points clear as AC Milan jumped above Juventus following their comfortable dispatching of Lazio. David Beckham provided assists for Pato and Ambrosini for the first two goals before Kaka added a third. Genoa continued their excellent form with a 1-0 victory over Palermo. They made it hard for themselves despite dominating the game, with Diego Milito, Giuseppe Biava and Domenico Criscito missing good chances before Criscito eventually forced home an 88th minute winner for a deserved victory, that keeps them in fourth.
Roma’s superb run was halted by Reggina of all teams, although a portion of it can be put down to the truly atrocious weather conditions at the Stadio Oreste. The Calabrians went ahead through Francesco Cozza before David Pizarro equalized from range with a fearsome strike and then followed that up from the penalty spot. Reggina levelled with a penalty of their own from Bernardo Corradi, although at 7 points adrift they need more than equalisers at home now. Elsewhere, Gianpaolo Pazzini produced a moment of class to score an equalizer for Sampdoria at struggling Chievo and Atalanta continued their excellent home form with a win over Catania, who were livid that a Mascara effort was incorrectly ruled out for offside late on. Lecce scored an important away win in their fight against the drop thanks to goals in each half from Tiribocchi and Jose Castillo against Siena.
Bologna’s game against Fiorentina was put back a day due to heavy snow in Emilia-Romagna but it only served to delay the inevitable for the Rossoblu as Adrian Mutu netted twice in a 3-1 win at puts La Viola into fifth position. Alberto Gilardino sealed the win after Nicola Mingazzini had pulled one back for the embattled northerners.
iNapoli 2-2 Udinese
Atalanta 1-0 Catania
Chievo 1-1 Sampdoria
Genoa 1-0 Palermo
Lazio 0-3 AC Milan
Inter 1-1 Torino
Reggina 2-2 Roma
Siena 1-2 Lecce
On Saturday, Juventus lost their second straight game despite leading 2-1 at home to Cagliari, who have started 2009 in stunning fashion – unbeaten thus far. Biondini gave the visitors the lead before two goals in six minutes from Momo Sissoko and Pavel Nedved put Juventus in front. However, Jeda scored his second goal in a week , converting Cossu’s cross to level up, before Matri scored a 78th minute winner capping a memorable display of lightning counter-attack football from the Sardinians.
Also on Sunday, Napoli looked to be cruising at home to Udinese after Ezeqiuel Lavezzi and Marek Hamsik, the young frontmen who have been dazzling Italians this season, scored within three minutes of each other to put the hosts 2-0 up. Udinese, to their credit, fought back and Antonio Di Natale pulled one back via the penalty spot Fabio Quagliarella struck an absolutely sublime volley (seriously, look it up on YouTube, it is sensational) to equalise, and that is how it stayed. Napoli’s stumbling start to 2009 continues.
On Sunday, Inter could only manage a lacklustre draw at home to Torino that continues their poor start to 2009. The only thing keeping them top is the misfiring challenge of Juventus. Torino took the lead through Man City reject Rolando Bianchi just after half time, before Nicolas Burdisso equalized 10 minutes later. Both Hernan Crespo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic struck the woodwork late on, and Ricardo Quaresma, heckled by the home fans throughout his substitute appearance, also missed a good chance.
Inter remain 6 points clear as AC Milan jumped above Juventus following their comfortable dispatching of Lazio. David Beckham provided assists for Pato and Ambrosini for the first two goals before Kaka added a third. Genoa continued their excellent form with a 1-0 victory over Palermo. They made it hard for themselves despite dominating the game, with Diego Milito, Giuseppe Biava and Domenico Criscito missing good chances before Criscito eventually forced home an 88th minute winner for a deserved victory, that keeps them in fourth.
Roma’s superb run was halted by Reggina of all teams, although a portion of it can be put down to the truly atrocious weather conditions at the Stadio Oreste. The Calabrians went ahead through Francesco Cozza before David Pizarro equalized from range with a fearsome strike and then followed that up from the penalty spot. Reggina levelled with a penalty of their own from Bernardo Corradi, although at 7 points adrift they need more than equalisers at home now. Elsewhere, Gianpaolo Pazzini produced a moment of class to score an equalizer for Sampdoria at struggling Chievo and Atalanta continued their excellent home form with a win over Catania, who were livid that a Mascara effort was incorrectly ruled out for offside late on. Lecce scored an important away win in their fight against the drop thanks to goals in each half from Tiribocchi and Jose Castillo against Siena.
Bologna’s game against Fiorentina was put back a day due to heavy snow in Emilia-Romagna but it only served to delay the inevitable for the Rossoblu as Adrian Mutu netted twice in a 3-1 win at puts La Viola into fifth position. Alberto Gilardino sealed the win after Nicola Mingazzini had pulled one back for the embattled northerners.
Bayern slip and Hoffenheim take charge
Hamburg 1-0 Bayern
Hertha 2-1 Eintracht
Hoffenheim 2-0 Energie
Hannover 1-0 Schalke
Stuttgart 2-0 Mönchengladbach
Cologne 1-1 Wolfsburg
Dortmund 1-1 Leverkusen
Bochum 2-0 Karlsruhe
Bremen 1-2 Arminia
Hamburg beat a disappointing Bayern side on Friday night, a result that - briefly - sent them top. Luca Toni missed a host of chances for the Bavarians and it seemed to get to them. Hamburg, conversely, bided their time and Mladen Petric headed past Michael Rensing just before the break. Martin Jol has been working with his hands tied to a degree, but managed to sign five players following this win as they look to maintain their title push. Prime among these is Venezuelan Tomas Rincon, seen as the long-term successor to Nigel de Jong.
With Bayern losing, Hoffenheim had the chance to go clear at the top with a win over lowly Energie Cottbus. And they did. The villagers, without many of their top strikers, made short work of their relegation-threatened rivals. Demba Ba scored early on before Boubacar Sanogo, on his debut for the club, doubled the lead on 63 minutes. That's goal number 44 for Hoffenheim in this remarkable first season in the Bundesliga. Hetha Berlin pushed Bayern down to fourth with their win over Eintracht. They could even afford a missed penalty, earned by Marko Pantelic and missed by Cicero. Perhaps they should have left it to Pantelic who scored both Hertha goals, in the 17th and 50th minutes. Eintracht did strike back on 53 through Benjamin Köhler and, but for an excellent save from Jaroslav Drobny, could have levelled it through Alexander Meier, but the Berliners held on for the win.
It could have been even worse for Bayern had Leverkusen done better than a draw at Dortmund. Instead, it finished 1-1, leaving both sides on the fringes of the European places. Alex Frei put Dortmund ahead at the back end of the first half, but wunderkid Patrick Helmes equalised after an hour; Tranquilo Barnetta causing havoc in the Dortmund defence in the build-up. Simon Rolfes should have won it late on, but somehow managed to clear the crossbar from virtually underneath it - almost impossible, one would think.
Bremen and Schalke both lost ground thanks to surprise defeats. Bremen, at home, were undone by a determined Arminia side who eased their relegation fears a little. Bremen were without many of their top players - Diego and Claudio Pizarro for two - and Arminia weren't about to dish out charity. Michael Lamey crossed for Torben Marx to open the scoring for Bielefeld on 24 minutes, but Hugo Almeida equalised seconds before the break; Mesut Ozil and Torsten Frings working a neat free-kick routine after Arminia keeper Dennis Eilhoff had handled outside the box. Just four minutes after the restart, Frings got caught in possession and Christopher Katongo latched onto it to set up Artur Wichniarek to fire home the winner. Pressure is beginning to build on Schalke boss Fred Rutten after this latest defeat, away at Hannover. Sergio Pinto's eighth minute goal was the difference in the end.
Bochum pulled themselves out of the bottom three and plunged their opponents Karlsruhe back in. The 2-0 win ended a 13-game sequence without a win and it was goals from Christian Fuchs and Diego Klimowicz and Karlsruhe, despite dominating possession could do precious little about it. Mönchengladbach remain rooted to the foot of the ladder after Stuttgart beat them 2-0. It wasn't vintage stuff from Stuttgart, but Ciprian Marica and a late one from Mario Gomes were enough.
Wolfsburg again failed to win away from home, drawing 1-1 in Cologne. It was better though, and they could have won it late on, Faryd Mondragon making fine saves from Grafite and Yoshito Okubu in the dying moments. Grafite had equalised Sergui Radu's opener - Radu is on loan at Cologne from Wolfsburg - but found Mondragon in man-of-the-match form for the rest of the game. Both sides remain resolutely mid-table material.
Hertha 2-1 Eintracht
Hoffenheim 2-0 Energie
Hannover 1-0 Schalke
Stuttgart 2-0 Mönchengladbach
Cologne 1-1 Wolfsburg
Dortmund 1-1 Leverkusen
Bochum 2-0 Karlsruhe
Bremen 1-2 Arminia
Hamburg beat a disappointing Bayern side on Friday night, a result that - briefly - sent them top. Luca Toni missed a host of chances for the Bavarians and it seemed to get to them. Hamburg, conversely, bided their time and Mladen Petric headed past Michael Rensing just before the break. Martin Jol has been working with his hands tied to a degree, but managed to sign five players following this win as they look to maintain their title push. Prime among these is Venezuelan Tomas Rincon, seen as the long-term successor to Nigel de Jong.
With Bayern losing, Hoffenheim had the chance to go clear at the top with a win over lowly Energie Cottbus. And they did. The villagers, without many of their top strikers, made short work of their relegation-threatened rivals. Demba Ba scored early on before Boubacar Sanogo, on his debut for the club, doubled the lead on 63 minutes. That's goal number 44 for Hoffenheim in this remarkable first season in the Bundesliga. Hetha Berlin pushed Bayern down to fourth with their win over Eintracht. They could even afford a missed penalty, earned by Marko Pantelic and missed by Cicero. Perhaps they should have left it to Pantelic who scored both Hertha goals, in the 17th and 50th minutes. Eintracht did strike back on 53 through Benjamin Köhler and, but for an excellent save from Jaroslav Drobny, could have levelled it through Alexander Meier, but the Berliners held on for the win.
It could have been even worse for Bayern had Leverkusen done better than a draw at Dortmund. Instead, it finished 1-1, leaving both sides on the fringes of the European places. Alex Frei put Dortmund ahead at the back end of the first half, but wunderkid Patrick Helmes equalised after an hour; Tranquilo Barnetta causing havoc in the Dortmund defence in the build-up. Simon Rolfes should have won it late on, but somehow managed to clear the crossbar from virtually underneath it - almost impossible, one would think.
Bremen and Schalke both lost ground thanks to surprise defeats. Bremen, at home, were undone by a determined Arminia side who eased their relegation fears a little. Bremen were without many of their top players - Diego and Claudio Pizarro for two - and Arminia weren't about to dish out charity. Michael Lamey crossed for Torben Marx to open the scoring for Bielefeld on 24 minutes, but Hugo Almeida equalised seconds before the break; Mesut Ozil and Torsten Frings working a neat free-kick routine after Arminia keeper Dennis Eilhoff had handled outside the box. Just four minutes after the restart, Frings got caught in possession and Christopher Katongo latched onto it to set up Artur Wichniarek to fire home the winner. Pressure is beginning to build on Schalke boss Fred Rutten after this latest defeat, away at Hannover. Sergio Pinto's eighth minute goal was the difference in the end.
Bochum pulled themselves out of the bottom three and plunged their opponents Karlsruhe back in. The 2-0 win ended a 13-game sequence without a win and it was goals from Christian Fuchs and Diego Klimowicz and Karlsruhe, despite dominating possession could do precious little about it. Mönchengladbach remain rooted to the foot of the ladder after Stuttgart beat them 2-0. It wasn't vintage stuff from Stuttgart, but Ciprian Marica and a late one from Mario Gomes were enough.
Wolfsburg again failed to win away from home, drawing 1-1 in Cologne. It was better though, and they could have won it late on, Faryd Mondragon making fine saves from Grafite and Yoshito Okubu in the dying moments. Grafite had equalised Sergui Radu's opener - Radu is on loan at Cologne from Wolfsburg - but found Mondragon in man-of-the-match form for the rest of the game. Both sides remain resolutely mid-table material.
La Liga Round 21: Barcelona squeeze past Racing
Athletic Bilbao 3-2 Malaga
CD Numancia 0-2 Real Madrid
Atletico Madrid 1-2 Valladolid
Deportivo 3-0 Villarreal
Espanyol 1-1 Recreativo
Osasuna 1-0 Mallorca
Racing 1-2 Barcelona
Real Betis 2-2 Getafe
Sporting Gijon 1-0 Sevilla
Valencia 3-2 Almeria
On Saturday, Athletic Bilbao hosted Malaga at the San Mames in a game so good, it deserves its own match report. Malaga took the lead in just the third minute, as Albert Luque pounced on a Baha shot and turned it in to subdue the vociferous home crowd. The lead last just over half an hour when Fernando Llorente held up a through-ball, and cut it back for a fabulous strike from Yeste to level up. After the break the visitors regained the lead after a concerted spell of pressure. Duda’s free kick was glanced into the net by Lolo. However, the brilliant Llorente brought the hosts back level with an exquisite turn and finish with 20 minutes to go. Throughout a thoroughly even contest both sides had chances to win, but it was Athletic who triumphed Susaeta’s 85th minute header from Torquera’s cross.
Contrast that game with Saturday’s other match, a rather soporific encounter between Numancia and Real Madrid. The hosts were the better side for long periods, but not for the first time were guilty of squandering good chances – Brit hit the side netting and Del Pino hit the post in the first half – and being punished for their profligacy. Raul pounced on a parried Higuain shot to record is 307th Real Madrid goal (equalling Di Stefano’s record) and then a terrific run and shot from Arjen Robben made it two shortly after. Numancia are pointless in 2009.
On Sunday, Barcelona once again closed that gap back to 12 points over Real Madrid, but only did so thanks to Lionel Messi. The little Argentine wizard came off the bench with his side 1-0 down to Racing following a Nikola Zigic penalty just after half time. Racing had edged a first half by employing a relentless, pressing, physical approach and its fair to say Barcelona didn’t like it – they seemed grossly offended that their opponents didn’t simply lay down and let them score as others have done. Barca were second best before Messi’s introduction, but his two quick goals – including a marvelous volley for the winner – swung it the visitors way and by the end it was all a fatigued Racing side could do to hold on for 2-1, despite the late dismissals of Marquez and Pique.
Sevilla slumped further behind following a lackluster display at Gijon which heaps further pressure on Manolo Jiminez. They are now, in third position, six points behind Real Madrid but have Valencia breathing down their necks. Javier Aguirre is another coach drawing the ire of demanding supporters after his Atletico side went down at home to Valladolid, a result which means they are still winless in 2009 and, thanks to Depor’s win, pushes them out of the European places. Valencia were the beneficiaries of this disarray, their narrow 3-2 win at home to Almeria, with goals from Villa and Joaquin either side of Negredo strikes, putting them in a much improved position.
Villarreal continue to struggle, their 3-0 defeat at Deportivo – thanks to goals from Lafita (2) and Riki – putting their European ambitions (of any nature) in jeopardy. Osasuna scored a priceless win at home to fellow relegation-battlers Mallorca thanks to a Walter Pandiani header in a bad-tempered game in Pamplona; Espanyol and Recre played out a 1-1 stalemate that helps neither and Real Betis managed to throw away a 2-goal advantage at home to Getafe, with strikes from Uche and Soldado rescuing a point for Victor Munoz’s men. The bottom three are now only separated by goal difference with Numancia three points ahead.
CD Numancia 0-2 Real Madrid
Atletico Madrid 1-2 Valladolid
Deportivo 3-0 Villarreal
Espanyol 1-1 Recreativo
Osasuna 1-0 Mallorca
Racing 1-2 Barcelona
Real Betis 2-2 Getafe
Sporting Gijon 1-0 Sevilla
Valencia 3-2 Almeria
On Saturday, Athletic Bilbao hosted Malaga at the San Mames in a game so good, it deserves its own match report. Malaga took the lead in just the third minute, as Albert Luque pounced on a Baha shot and turned it in to subdue the vociferous home crowd. The lead last just over half an hour when Fernando Llorente held up a through-ball, and cut it back for a fabulous strike from Yeste to level up. After the break the visitors regained the lead after a concerted spell of pressure. Duda’s free kick was glanced into the net by Lolo. However, the brilliant Llorente brought the hosts back level with an exquisite turn and finish with 20 minutes to go. Throughout a thoroughly even contest both sides had chances to win, but it was Athletic who triumphed Susaeta’s 85th minute header from Torquera’s cross.
Contrast that game with Saturday’s other match, a rather soporific encounter between Numancia and Real Madrid. The hosts were the better side for long periods, but not for the first time were guilty of squandering good chances – Brit hit the side netting and Del Pino hit the post in the first half – and being punished for their profligacy. Raul pounced on a parried Higuain shot to record is 307th Real Madrid goal (equalling Di Stefano’s record) and then a terrific run and shot from Arjen Robben made it two shortly after. Numancia are pointless in 2009.
On Sunday, Barcelona once again closed that gap back to 12 points over Real Madrid, but only did so thanks to Lionel Messi. The little Argentine wizard came off the bench with his side 1-0 down to Racing following a Nikola Zigic penalty just after half time. Racing had edged a first half by employing a relentless, pressing, physical approach and its fair to say Barcelona didn’t like it – they seemed grossly offended that their opponents didn’t simply lay down and let them score as others have done. Barca were second best before Messi’s introduction, but his two quick goals – including a marvelous volley for the winner – swung it the visitors way and by the end it was all a fatigued Racing side could do to hold on for 2-1, despite the late dismissals of Marquez and Pique.
Sevilla slumped further behind following a lackluster display at Gijon which heaps further pressure on Manolo Jiminez. They are now, in third position, six points behind Real Madrid but have Valencia breathing down their necks. Javier Aguirre is another coach drawing the ire of demanding supporters after his Atletico side went down at home to Valladolid, a result which means they are still winless in 2009 and, thanks to Depor’s win, pushes them out of the European places. Valencia were the beneficiaries of this disarray, their narrow 3-2 win at home to Almeria, with goals from Villa and Joaquin either side of Negredo strikes, putting them in a much improved position.
Villarreal continue to struggle, their 3-0 defeat at Deportivo – thanks to goals from Lafita (2) and Riki – putting their European ambitions (of any nature) in jeopardy. Osasuna scored a priceless win at home to fellow relegation-battlers Mallorca thanks to a Walter Pandiani header in a bad-tempered game in Pamplona; Espanyol and Recre played out a 1-1 stalemate that helps neither and Real Betis managed to throw away a 2-goal advantage at home to Getafe, with strikes from Uche and Soldado rescuing a point for Victor Munoz’s men. The bottom three are now only separated by goal difference with Numancia three points ahead.
Draws all round
Le Havre 2-3 Nancy
Monaco 1-0 Grenoble
Le Mans 0-2 Nantes
Auxerre 0-0 Lorient
Valenciennes 1-0 Nice
PSG 2-0 Caen
Rennes 0-0 Toulouse
Sochaux 1-0 Marseille
Bordeaux 2-2 Lille
Lyon 1-1 St Etienne
After going goal crazy last week, Toulouse couldn't find a way past an obdurate Rennes defence. Two of the best defences in the land cancelled each other out and, as a result, the match was low on spectacle. Rennes had the better chances, but those too came few and far between. Jimmy Briand was lively and Mickaël Pagis shanked a couple of sharp chances over the bar, but neither keeper had an overly hard time in earning their money. On any other day, both sides would have lost ground on the leaders, but charity was in rich supply elsewhere.
Marseille couldn't find a way past Sochaux who had Mevlut Erding's goal to thank for easing them away from the bottom. Erding lobbed Steve Mandanda after latching onto a long through ball that the Marseille defence couldn't deal with and, despite OM having a massive amount of possession and all the chances, was that. Bordeaux had to come from behind to grab a draw with Lille. David Bellion put Laurent Blanc's side ahead, but goals from Ludovic Obraniak and Adil Rami put the northerners ahead. It was that man again - Yoann Gourcuff - who popped up with a header to snatch the point. It really should have been more for Bordeaux, but a host of chances wasted put paid to their chances.
All of which took the pressure off leaders Lyon, but they too kept everyone in it with a draw at St Etienne. Again, Les Verts failed to hold onto a lead after Kevin Mirallas's opener. Karim Benzema had forced Jeremie Janot to produce his best in the St Etienne goal before Juninho - inevitably with a free-kick - levelled matters. Lyon had to play out the last half hour with ten men with Frederic Piquionne picking up two yellows, but Lyon held out as St Etienne dominated possession without doing much with it.
The big winners of the weekend with everyone else failing to win were PSG, 2-0 winners over troubled Caen. Guillaume Hoarau had all the best chances, but it took him until the early moments of the second half to finally find the target, tucking home the rebound after Jeremy Clément's free-kick was pushed into his path by Vincent Plante. Pegguy Luyindula doubled the lead ten minutes later, Plante pushing Hoarau's shot invitingly into his path. Caen rarely threatened, but Mickaël Landreau did everything that was asked of him to keep them out. PSG move up to third. Caen are on the slide.
Valenciennes's good recent run continued with a much-needed victory at home to Nice. Their bog recent signing Jean-Claude Darcheville has settled quickly into life at Valenciennes and he tormented the Nice defence for most of the afternoon. His cross for strike partner Grégory Pujol was smashed home on the volley to secure the points. Valenciennes are moving in the right direction, now just two points from safety with a game in hand. Le Havre remain rooted to the foot of the table and went down 3-2 to Nancy. Le Havre thought they'd snatched a point with an equaliser in stoppage time - Amadou Alassane's second of the match - but Landry N'Guemo went up the other end to bang in a third for the visitors and take all three points. Alassane's first was responded to after just four minutes by Julien Féret and Jonathan Brison's second half goal put Nancy ahead. Back came Le Havre, only to be denied at the last.
Monaco eased their woes and put Grenoble into trouble with a 1-0 win in the Principality. Grenoble bossed the game for long periods, but a lack of a cutting edge was cruelly exposed by Alexandre Licata's goal in the second half after which Grenoble wilted. This is their third loss in four and they've not won since October. That's relegation form. Auxerre got a point in a 0-0 draw with Lorient, who lose ground in the race for European football next season. Unlike the Rennes-Toulouse game, this was an end-to-end encounter with chances galore. None were taken, but Lorient probably should have snatched it at the death when Hamed Namoucho dallied, allowing Benoit Pedretti to get back to him and put in a blinding tackle to rescue the situation. Finally, Nantes moved ahead of Le Mans after beating them 2-0. Nantes dominated throughout and second half goals from Yoann Poulard and Freddie Da Rocha sealed the points.
Monaco 1-0 Grenoble
Le Mans 0-2 Nantes
Auxerre 0-0 Lorient
Valenciennes 1-0 Nice
PSG 2-0 Caen
Rennes 0-0 Toulouse
Sochaux 1-0 Marseille
Bordeaux 2-2 Lille
Lyon 1-1 St Etienne
After going goal crazy last week, Toulouse couldn't find a way past an obdurate Rennes defence. Two of the best defences in the land cancelled each other out and, as a result, the match was low on spectacle. Rennes had the better chances, but those too came few and far between. Jimmy Briand was lively and Mickaël Pagis shanked a couple of sharp chances over the bar, but neither keeper had an overly hard time in earning their money. On any other day, both sides would have lost ground on the leaders, but charity was in rich supply elsewhere.
Marseille couldn't find a way past Sochaux who had Mevlut Erding's goal to thank for easing them away from the bottom. Erding lobbed Steve Mandanda after latching onto a long through ball that the Marseille defence couldn't deal with and, despite OM having a massive amount of possession and all the chances, was that. Bordeaux had to come from behind to grab a draw with Lille. David Bellion put Laurent Blanc's side ahead, but goals from Ludovic Obraniak and Adil Rami put the northerners ahead. It was that man again - Yoann Gourcuff - who popped up with a header to snatch the point. It really should have been more for Bordeaux, but a host of chances wasted put paid to their chances.
All of which took the pressure off leaders Lyon, but they too kept everyone in it with a draw at St Etienne. Again, Les Verts failed to hold onto a lead after Kevin Mirallas's opener. Karim Benzema had forced Jeremie Janot to produce his best in the St Etienne goal before Juninho - inevitably with a free-kick - levelled matters. Lyon had to play out the last half hour with ten men with Frederic Piquionne picking up two yellows, but Lyon held out as St Etienne dominated possession without doing much with it.
The big winners of the weekend with everyone else failing to win were PSG, 2-0 winners over troubled Caen. Guillaume Hoarau had all the best chances, but it took him until the early moments of the second half to finally find the target, tucking home the rebound after Jeremy Clément's free-kick was pushed into his path by Vincent Plante. Pegguy Luyindula doubled the lead ten minutes later, Plante pushing Hoarau's shot invitingly into his path. Caen rarely threatened, but Mickaël Landreau did everything that was asked of him to keep them out. PSG move up to third. Caen are on the slide.
Valenciennes's good recent run continued with a much-needed victory at home to Nice. Their bog recent signing Jean-Claude Darcheville has settled quickly into life at Valenciennes and he tormented the Nice defence for most of the afternoon. His cross for strike partner Grégory Pujol was smashed home on the volley to secure the points. Valenciennes are moving in the right direction, now just two points from safety with a game in hand. Le Havre remain rooted to the foot of the table and went down 3-2 to Nancy. Le Havre thought they'd snatched a point with an equaliser in stoppage time - Amadou Alassane's second of the match - but Landry N'Guemo went up the other end to bang in a third for the visitors and take all three points. Alassane's first was responded to after just four minutes by Julien Féret and Jonathan Brison's second half goal put Nancy ahead. Back came Le Havre, only to be denied at the last.
Monaco eased their woes and put Grenoble into trouble with a 1-0 win in the Principality. Grenoble bossed the game for long periods, but a lack of a cutting edge was cruelly exposed by Alexandre Licata's goal in the second half after which Grenoble wilted. This is their third loss in four and they've not won since October. That's relegation form. Auxerre got a point in a 0-0 draw with Lorient, who lose ground in the race for European football next season. Unlike the Rennes-Toulouse game, this was an end-to-end encounter with chances galore. None were taken, but Lorient probably should have snatched it at the death when Hamed Namoucho dallied, allowing Benoit Pedretti to get back to him and put in a blinding tackle to rescue the situation. Finally, Nantes moved ahead of Le Mans after beating them 2-0. Nantes dominated throughout and second half goals from Yoann Poulard and Freddie Da Rocha sealed the points.
Sunday, 1 February 2009
Feyenoord flop as AZ march on
Roda 3-1 Heracles
Den Haag 0-1 Groningen
Willem II 0-2 Vitesse
NAC 1-1 Volendam
Ajax 0-1 Heerenveen
Twente 0-0 Utrecht
Sparta 0-2 AZ
De Graafschap 0-3 PSV
NEC 1-0 Feyenoord
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. How much worse can it get for Feyenoord? One of the giants of the game, they're now languishing just two points above the drop zone after Sunday's loss at Nijmegen. NEC dominated the game without creating too much by way of chances and Feyenoord could have sneaked one on the break, but Diego Biseswar shot wide when clean through on goal. They had Henk Timmer to thank for keeping them in it and, as the fourth official hoisted the board to indicate three added minutes to play, it looked as if they'd escaped the De Goffert with a point. Then in came a cross from the right and up popped substitute Milano Koenders to head home past a static defence that got caught ball-watching.
Roda won well on Friday night, putting them 16th, but closing on the teams ahead of them. Eric Addo scored in the first half and two more goals in three second half minutes from Andres Oper and Sekou Cissé put them into a comfort zone before Vojtěch Schulmeister got a consolation in the dying minutes. Volendam's point away in Breda doesn't do them much good, but their performance will. Joonas Kolkka continued his rich vein of form in front of goal for NAC with a 25-yarder, but Volendam refused to be cowed and recovered from Bernard Hofstede's missed penalty - he belted it high into the stands - with Rowin van Zaanen's equaliser. It doesn't bring them any closer to the main pack thanks to Roda's win. De Graafschap fall a place after a tubbing from PSV. Ibrahim Afellay continues to be brilliant and scored two of PSV's three, with Ola Toivonen getting the other. PSV remain fifth.
Ajax lost again, at home to Heerenveen, and had another man sent off, Thomas Vermaelen getting his marching orders this week. Heerenveen dominated and Danijel Pranjic's 30-yard free-kick was a majestic way to win any game, beating Maarten Stekelenberg with a curling shot into the top corner. You don't save those. That gave Twente the chance to move into second, but a tiresome 0-0 draw with Utrecht saw those hopes vanish.
AZ, predictably, coasted to a 2-0 win over Sparta to move nine points clear. It might only be nine, but it might as well be ninety, so dominant are the Alkmaar side. Moussa Dembele and Mounir El Hamdaoui got the goals as AZ march on serenely. Groningen kept up their good form with a 1-0 win over Den Haag with Gonzalo Garcia's goal proving enough and Vitesse beat Willem II thanks to goals from Mads Junker and Ricky van Wolfswinkel, easing their relegation worries.
Den Haag 0-1 Groningen
Willem II 0-2 Vitesse
NAC 1-1 Volendam
Ajax 0-1 Heerenveen
Twente 0-0 Utrecht
Sparta 0-2 AZ
De Graafschap 0-3 PSV
NEC 1-0 Feyenoord
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. How much worse can it get for Feyenoord? One of the giants of the game, they're now languishing just two points above the drop zone after Sunday's loss at Nijmegen. NEC dominated the game without creating too much by way of chances and Feyenoord could have sneaked one on the break, but Diego Biseswar shot wide when clean through on goal. They had Henk Timmer to thank for keeping them in it and, as the fourth official hoisted the board to indicate three added minutes to play, it looked as if they'd escaped the De Goffert with a point. Then in came a cross from the right and up popped substitute Milano Koenders to head home past a static defence that got caught ball-watching.
Roda won well on Friday night, putting them 16th, but closing on the teams ahead of them. Eric Addo scored in the first half and two more goals in three second half minutes from Andres Oper and Sekou Cissé put them into a comfort zone before Vojtěch Schulmeister got a consolation in the dying minutes. Volendam's point away in Breda doesn't do them much good, but their performance will. Joonas Kolkka continued his rich vein of form in front of goal for NAC with a 25-yarder, but Volendam refused to be cowed and recovered from Bernard Hofstede's missed penalty - he belted it high into the stands - with Rowin van Zaanen's equaliser. It doesn't bring them any closer to the main pack thanks to Roda's win. De Graafschap fall a place after a tubbing from PSV. Ibrahim Afellay continues to be brilliant and scored two of PSV's three, with Ola Toivonen getting the other. PSV remain fifth.
Ajax lost again, at home to Heerenveen, and had another man sent off, Thomas Vermaelen getting his marching orders this week. Heerenveen dominated and Danijel Pranjic's 30-yard free-kick was a majestic way to win any game, beating Maarten Stekelenberg with a curling shot into the top corner. You don't save those. That gave Twente the chance to move into second, but a tiresome 0-0 draw with Utrecht saw those hopes vanish.
AZ, predictably, coasted to a 2-0 win over Sparta to move nine points clear. It might only be nine, but it might as well be ninety, so dominant are the Alkmaar side. Moussa Dembele and Mounir El Hamdaoui got the goals as AZ march on serenely. Groningen kept up their good form with a 1-0 win over Den Haag with Gonzalo Garcia's goal proving enough and Vitesse beat Willem II thanks to goals from Mads Junker and Ricky van Wolfswinkel, easing their relegation worries.
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