Ajax 3-0 NEC
VVV Venlo 3-0 Waalwijk
Heerenveen 0-2 Feyenoord
Twente 3-1 NAC
PSV 1-0 AZ
Den Haag 1-4 Heracles
Vitesse 2-2 Utrecht
Willem II 1-3 Roda
Sparta 2-4 Groningen
When oh when oh when will Twente or PSV start dropping points? No time soon as it looks at the moment. Both were winners yet again at the weekend and both look unstoppable. Miroslav Stoch is in sensational form and pretty much ran the show against NAC. He caused Breda problems from the off and it was just a matter of time as to when Twente would translate that dominance on the field onto the scoreboard. And yet they did have to come from behind. Stoch had a free-kick spectacularly saved by Jelle ten Rouwelaar and the Slovakian winger played in Blaise N'Kufo only for the big Swiss to be pulled down by Rob Penders. N'Kufo's penalty was weak though and ten Rouwelaar saved again. Just before the break, NAC finally broke away and Edwin de Graaf sprinted up the wing, cut along the byline and fired in from a tight angle. It was brief respite. After the break, Dwight Tiendalli won another penalty, Stoch this time taking responsibility and chipped cheekily down the middle for 1-1. The floodgates opened and Stoch's second came soon after, a stunning strike from the edge of the box. Bryan Ruiz was played in a deeper role, covering the absent Kenneth Perez, but popped up with a third in the dying moments to seal the win, punishing NAC's inability to clear. Meanwhile, PSV ground out a 1-0 win over AZ, Ola Toivonen with the winner four minutes from time coming after Mounir El Hamdaoui was sent off.
Ajax won too, refinding their goal-scoring touch, but remain well adrift of the top two. Luis Suarez also got back in the goals, turning in a corner for the opener just before the break, despite NEC having at least as many decent early chances as their hosts. Suarez combined with Marko Pantelic to set up Siem de Jong for the second and Mitchell Donald made it three late on, again with Suarez involved. They'll be doing well to hold onto their inspirational Uruguayan captain come January. Feyenoord are still in a lonely fourth, Kevin Hofland and Jon Dahl Tomasson with the goals that saw off Heerenveen, as Utrecht dropped points at Vitesse. After going behind to Lasse Nilsson's penalty, Utrecht went ahead through Ricky van Wolfswinkel and Jacob Mulenga, two guys so impressive against Ajax the previous week, but Claudemir snatched a point at the death.
Waalwijk remain bottom and are in danger of being cut adrift again as their mini-revival now looks well and truly over as they were well beaten by VVV. Adil Auassar and Micheal (sic) Timisela handed Venlo a two-goal half-time lead and Len Leemans made it three after the break to cap a pretty easy win. Den Haag slip back into the bottom three after a tubbing from the still impressive Heracles. Bas Dost's first half double put the Almelo side in control and, though a Mark Looms own goal gave ADO hope, late goals from Marko Vejinovic and Willy Overtoom sealed a big win. Willem II are ahead of ADO only goal difference after they were heavily beaten at home. Mads Junker put Roda ahead early on, but the Tilburgers were level moments later through Christophe Gregoire's penalty. Ruud Vormer and a second from Junker eased Roda through after the break. Sparta are starting to stutter and lost again, a Thomas Enevoldsen hat-trick seeing Groningen to the points. His first was cancelled out by Erik Falkenburg, but Groningen were back ahead within three minutes through Tim Matavz. Enevoldsen completed his treble before half-time and Sparta could only muster one goal in reply from Sander van Gessel and leaves them adrift in the race for Europe.
The home of football sarcasm
Monday, 14 December 2009
Wednesday, 9 December 2009
Ligue 1 week 17 (part 1) and Le Mans twitch first
Lille v St Etienne
Toulouse v Sochaux
Two games in France on Thursday night form the start of an English week which won't be concluded until Wednesday December 16. Yes, it's classic FFF organisation once again - you should all be used to that by now. Two games this Thursday are followed by a full weekend round as usual (previews on Friday night) which itself is followed by eight games next Tuesday and Wednesday. Then comes another midweek round just before Christmas which precedes the winter break. Got that? There will be questions later...
Lille won a thriller last weekend against Lyon, coming from 3-1 down to snatch a late win and recent form in Ligue 1 and in Europe has been much better. St Etienne, meanwhile, are grubbing around for points and were very fortunate to grab a point off Sochaux last Saturday. Fortunately for them, they're hard to break down and have a keeper, Jeremie Janot, in prime form. Given the disparity in recent form, it's hard to look past a Lille win, but not by more than a single goal. Both Sochaux and Toulouse are utterly unpredictable. Les Violets became the first side this season to go down to Grenoble, so that probably means they're due for a win here. Sochaux, meanwhile, hammered St Etienne last weekend but failed to find the breakthrough. The normally prolific Vaclav Sverkos has lost his touch recently and they'll need him to start finding the back of the net again if they're to keep themselves out of bother. It's got goalless draw written all over it.
Elsewhere in the league, it's taken this long for a Ligue 1 manager to lose his job and it's Le Mans who have blinked first. Second-bottom with just nine points to their name, they wanted their Portuguese manager Paolo Duarte not to go to the African Nations Cup in his role as Burkina Faso boss in order that he concentrate on his club duties. Duarte refused and so has left the club. Arnaud Cormier, formerly Duarte's assistant, takes over, at least until the end of the season.
Toulouse v Sochaux
Two games in France on Thursday night form the start of an English week which won't be concluded until Wednesday December 16. Yes, it's classic FFF organisation once again - you should all be used to that by now. Two games this Thursday are followed by a full weekend round as usual (previews on Friday night) which itself is followed by eight games next Tuesday and Wednesday. Then comes another midweek round just before Christmas which precedes the winter break. Got that? There will be questions later...
Lille won a thriller last weekend against Lyon, coming from 3-1 down to snatch a late win and recent form in Ligue 1 and in Europe has been much better. St Etienne, meanwhile, are grubbing around for points and were very fortunate to grab a point off Sochaux last Saturday. Fortunately for them, they're hard to break down and have a keeper, Jeremie Janot, in prime form. Given the disparity in recent form, it's hard to look past a Lille win, but not by more than a single goal. Both Sochaux and Toulouse are utterly unpredictable. Les Violets became the first side this season to go down to Grenoble, so that probably means they're due for a win here. Sochaux, meanwhile, hammered St Etienne last weekend but failed to find the breakthrough. The normally prolific Vaclav Sverkos has lost his touch recently and they'll need him to start finding the back of the net again if they're to keep themselves out of bother. It's got goalless draw written all over it.
Elsewhere in the league, it's taken this long for a Ligue 1 manager to lose his job and it's Le Mans who have blinked first. Second-bottom with just nine points to their name, they wanted their Portuguese manager Paolo Duarte not to go to the African Nations Cup in his role as Burkina Faso boss in order that he concentrate on his club duties. Duarte refused and so has left the club. Arnaud Cormier, formerly Duarte's assistant, takes over, at least until the end of the season.
Tuesday, 8 December 2009
Advocaat replaces Koeman in Alkmaar
Dutch champions AZ have moved quickly to replace Ronald Koeman, sacked at the weekend following defeat at home to Vitesse. In comes the vastly experienced Dick Advocaat who was first choice to succeed Bayern-bound Louis van Gaal in the summmer, but the former Rangers and Zenit St Petersburg boss had already agreed terms to become Belgium's gaffer.
Sacked by Zenit after a run of poor results, Advocaat took up the Belgium job earlier than planned, but failed to take them to the World Cup finals. That means he'll only have friendlies to worry about on the international scene for the rest of the season which makes combining the roles significantly easier.
Advocaat takes charge in Alkmaar for the rest of the current season. In a press conference, he said "We need to get European football at AZ. If we do not achieve this, then I will have done something wrong." That's setting your stall out early. AZ are currently six points off qualifying for the Europa League and seventeen from making it into second place and the qualifiers for the Champions League. He has the talent at the club, but he'll need far more luck than Koeman was afforded.
Sacked by Zenit after a run of poor results, Advocaat took up the Belgium job earlier than planned, but failed to take them to the World Cup finals. That means he'll only have friendlies to worry about on the international scene for the rest of the season which makes combining the roles significantly easier.
Advocaat takes charge in Alkmaar for the rest of the current season. In a press conference, he said "We need to get European football at AZ. If we do not achieve this, then I will have done something wrong." That's setting your stall out early. AZ are currently six points off qualifying for the Europa League and seventeen from making it into second place and the qualifiers for the Champions League. He has the talent at the club, but he'll need far more luck than Koeman was afforded.
Monday, 7 December 2009
Toulouse become Grenoble's first victims: Ligue 1 reviews
St Etienne 0-0 Sochaux
Valenciennes 3-1 Monaco
Montpellier 2-1 Le Mans
Nice 1-3 Marseille
Rennes 1-0 Lorient
Bordeaux 1-0 PSG
Boulogne 2-1 Lens
Grenoble 1-0 Toulouse
Auxerre 1-3 Nancy
Lille 4-3 Lyon
Grenoble's miserable season finally got a boost this weekend as their recent improved performances finally helped them to a win at the fifteenth time of asking. Ten minutes from time in a scrappy game, Grenoble got the goal that saw them double their points tally in one easy step. They'd had the better chances throughout and finally made the breakthrough when overworked TFC keeper Olivier Blondel couldn't hold Danijel Ljuboja's free-kick and Nicolas Dieuze was johnny-on-the-spot to prod in the loose ball and send the crowd up in the Alps wild.
That result overshadows game of the weekend which came at Lille where the home side were on the wrong end of a Lisandro Lopez hat-trick before mounting a terrific fightback. The Argentine's first came in just the second minute, beating Mickael Landreau at his near-post and he added a penalty twenty minutes later. Hugo Lloris spilled Gervinho's shot right onto Pierre-Alain Frau's head as Lille pulled one back, but Lopez added his third before the break, cutting in off the left flank and firing home with his right. Eight minutes into the second half, Gervinho got on the scoresheet himself, tucking one in at the back post and a Yohan Cabaye penalty squared it up with twenty minutes to go. With seconds of stoppage time remaining, Gervinho got free in the box and tucked in a dramatic late winner from close range.
Auxerre looka completely different side to the one that made it to the top of the league as they were humbled at home by Nancy. Andre Luiz put the Lorraine side in front, but they went into half-time level thanks to Valter Birsa. The second half was all Nancy, Abdeslam Ouaddou and Youssuf Hadji getting the goals their performance deserved, though Bocundji Ca's late dismissal spoiled it a little. With all others falling by the wayside, Bordeaux opened up a lead at the top by halting PSG's recent revival. Jaroslav Plasil nodded in the only goal of the game halfway through the first half as the champions opened up a four-point gap. That gap is now back to Montpellier who beat ten-man Le Mans. Karim Ait Fana put them in front before Mathieu Dossevi was sent off moments from half-time. Anthony Le Tallec equalised, but numerical superiority told with Lilian Compan grabbing the winner. Valenciennes are up to third thanks to their recent run. Late goals from Mamadou Samassa and Fahid Ben Khalfallah won it for VA after Nene's penalty had equalised David Ducourtioux's opener.
Lorient also lost ground on the leaders, beaten by Moussa Sow's second minute strike, while Marseille got back to winning ways at Nice. Mamadou Niang is back and opened the scoring twenty minutes in. Kafoumba Coulibaly equalised, but Nice were reduced to ten men on the stroke of half-time, Onyekachi Apam sent off. Lucho Gonzalez eventually made the pressure count, volleying in from Niang's knock-down, and Bakary Koné made it safe in the dying moments. St Etienne had keeper Jeremie Janot to thank for a string of outstanding saves that kept Sochaux out at the Geoffroy-Guichard, earning Les Verts a valuable point while Boulogne ended a run of four straight defeats by overcoming the early dismissal of Mame N'Diaye to beat Lens. After N'Diaye picked up a second yellow card in just the 16th minute, Boulogne made their job more difficult by putting Lens in front, Bira Dembele heading past his own keeper. Ovidy Karuru equalised on 38 minutes and Lens returned an earlier favour on the stroke of half-time when Romain Sartre scoring an own goal as a free-kick pinballed round the area.
Valenciennes 3-1 Monaco
Montpellier 2-1 Le Mans
Nice 1-3 Marseille
Rennes 1-0 Lorient
Bordeaux 1-0 PSG
Boulogne 2-1 Lens
Grenoble 1-0 Toulouse
Auxerre 1-3 Nancy
Lille 4-3 Lyon
Grenoble's miserable season finally got a boost this weekend as their recent improved performances finally helped them to a win at the fifteenth time of asking. Ten minutes from time in a scrappy game, Grenoble got the goal that saw them double their points tally in one easy step. They'd had the better chances throughout and finally made the breakthrough when overworked TFC keeper Olivier Blondel couldn't hold Danijel Ljuboja's free-kick and Nicolas Dieuze was johnny-on-the-spot to prod in the loose ball and send the crowd up in the Alps wild.
That result overshadows game of the weekend which came at Lille where the home side were on the wrong end of a Lisandro Lopez hat-trick before mounting a terrific fightback. The Argentine's first came in just the second minute, beating Mickael Landreau at his near-post and he added a penalty twenty minutes later. Hugo Lloris spilled Gervinho's shot right onto Pierre-Alain Frau's head as Lille pulled one back, but Lopez added his third before the break, cutting in off the left flank and firing home with his right. Eight minutes into the second half, Gervinho got on the scoresheet himself, tucking one in at the back post and a Yohan Cabaye penalty squared it up with twenty minutes to go. With seconds of stoppage time remaining, Gervinho got free in the box and tucked in a dramatic late winner from close range.
Auxerre looka completely different side to the one that made it to the top of the league as they were humbled at home by Nancy. Andre Luiz put the Lorraine side in front, but they went into half-time level thanks to Valter Birsa. The second half was all Nancy, Abdeslam Ouaddou and Youssuf Hadji getting the goals their performance deserved, though Bocundji Ca's late dismissal spoiled it a little. With all others falling by the wayside, Bordeaux opened up a lead at the top by halting PSG's recent revival. Jaroslav Plasil nodded in the only goal of the game halfway through the first half as the champions opened up a four-point gap. That gap is now back to Montpellier who beat ten-man Le Mans. Karim Ait Fana put them in front before Mathieu Dossevi was sent off moments from half-time. Anthony Le Tallec equalised, but numerical superiority told with Lilian Compan grabbing the winner. Valenciennes are up to third thanks to their recent run. Late goals from Mamadou Samassa and Fahid Ben Khalfallah won it for VA after Nene's penalty had equalised David Ducourtioux's opener.
Lorient also lost ground on the leaders, beaten by Moussa Sow's second minute strike, while Marseille got back to winning ways at Nice. Mamadou Niang is back and opened the scoring twenty minutes in. Kafoumba Coulibaly equalised, but Nice were reduced to ten men on the stroke of half-time, Onyekachi Apam sent off. Lucho Gonzalez eventually made the pressure count, volleying in from Niang's knock-down, and Bakary Koné made it safe in the dying moments. St Etienne had keeper Jeremie Janot to thank for a string of outstanding saves that kept Sochaux out at the Geoffroy-Guichard, earning Les Verts a valuable point while Boulogne ended a run of four straight defeats by overcoming the early dismissal of Mame N'Diaye to beat Lens. After N'Diaye picked up a second yellow card in just the 16th minute, Boulogne made their job more difficult by putting Lens in front, Bira Dembele heading past his own keeper. Ovidy Karuru equalised on 38 minutes and Lens returned an earlier favour on the stroke of half-time when Romain Sartre scoring an own goal as a free-kick pinballed round the area.
Babbel out, Gross in: Bundesliga reviews
Bayern 2-1 Monchengladbach
Dortmund 4-0 Nurnberg
Stuttgart 1-1 Bochum
Hannover 0-0 Leverkusen
Hamburg 0-0 Hoffenheim
Wolfsburg 2-2 Freiburg
Eintracht 2-0 Mainz
Cologne 0-0 Bremen
Schalke 2-0 Hertha
A point against Bochum actually moved Stuttgart up a place on the league ladder, but they remain in the bottom three and that was enough for the board to sack Markus Babbel as manager. A year ago, he took over a shambles of a side after Armin Veh was dismissed and set about building an impressive unbeaten run that took the club to within an ace of winning the league. Mario Gomez was sold, but in his place came Pavel Pogrebnyak and Alex Hleb: the former simply hasn't settled while the latter embodies the old cliché about never going back. A dismal Champions League campaign also hasn't helped Babbel's cause and he's out with Christian Gross - who still somehow has a decent reputation in Germany - coming in. Serdar Tasci's goal on the hour looked to have won a valuable three points, especially when Diego Klimovic was sent off for Bochum with time running out. However, a stunning Christian Fuchs free-kick in the last minute rescued a point for fellow strugglers Bochum and sealed Babbel's fate.
Draws were order of the day at the top end, Leverkusen held by Hannover for whom goalkeeper Florian Fromlowitz was outstanding, Cologne kept Bremen at bay, Hamburg and Hoffenheim failed to muster a goal and Wolfsburg were held by Freiburg. Freiburg were ahead twice through Mohamadou Idrissou and Ivica Banovic, but were pegged back twice, first by a terrible own goal from Feliz Bastians and later by Fabian Johnson, set up brilliantly by Zvejzdan Misimovic. Edin Dzeko looked to have won it late on when picked out six yards from goal by Misimovic, but a great save from Simon Pouplin secured a point for Freiburg.
So anyone scoring a win at the top end made hay and two of them did: Bayern and Schalke. After a goalless first half, Schalke eventually got the reward that their dominance of the game against Hertha deserved. Kevin Kuranyi headed home their first on the hour from a suspiciously offside looking position and Hertha's task was made much harder when Christoph Janker was sent off for a second yellow. Rafinha added a penalty in the dying few moments to wrap it up leaving Hertha still further adrift at the bottom. Bayern looked to be heading for a draw in the Friday game at home to Gladbach, Roel Brouwers equalising Mario Gomez's opener, but a superb free-kick from Holger Badstuber found the inside of the far post to nick all three points.
Dortmund won again and it's been ages since they last lost. They were three up by half time, Kevin Grosskreutz, Lucas Barrios and Mohamed Zidan sending BvB on their way. Mats Hummels added a fourth in the second half to send Dortmund up to seventh, just a point off the European places. Eintracht won the Rhein-Main derby with Maikl Franz reaching a deep cross at the back post to volley home on the half-hour. Mainz's Chadlj Amri was sent off after the break, his second yellow resulting in the inevitable red twenty minutes from time. Mainz battled hard, but Alex Meier was on the end of a quick break that had Eintracht four-on-two with seconds remaining to seal local bragging rights, for the time being at least.
Dortmund 4-0 Nurnberg
Stuttgart 1-1 Bochum
Hannover 0-0 Leverkusen
Hamburg 0-0 Hoffenheim
Wolfsburg 2-2 Freiburg
Eintracht 2-0 Mainz
Cologne 0-0 Bremen
Schalke 2-0 Hertha
A point against Bochum actually moved Stuttgart up a place on the league ladder, but they remain in the bottom three and that was enough for the board to sack Markus Babbel as manager. A year ago, he took over a shambles of a side after Armin Veh was dismissed and set about building an impressive unbeaten run that took the club to within an ace of winning the league. Mario Gomez was sold, but in his place came Pavel Pogrebnyak and Alex Hleb: the former simply hasn't settled while the latter embodies the old cliché about never going back. A dismal Champions League campaign also hasn't helped Babbel's cause and he's out with Christian Gross - who still somehow has a decent reputation in Germany - coming in. Serdar Tasci's goal on the hour looked to have won a valuable three points, especially when Diego Klimovic was sent off for Bochum with time running out. However, a stunning Christian Fuchs free-kick in the last minute rescued a point for fellow strugglers Bochum and sealed Babbel's fate.
Draws were order of the day at the top end, Leverkusen held by Hannover for whom goalkeeper Florian Fromlowitz was outstanding, Cologne kept Bremen at bay, Hamburg and Hoffenheim failed to muster a goal and Wolfsburg were held by Freiburg. Freiburg were ahead twice through Mohamadou Idrissou and Ivica Banovic, but were pegged back twice, first by a terrible own goal from Feliz Bastians and later by Fabian Johnson, set up brilliantly by Zvejzdan Misimovic. Edin Dzeko looked to have won it late on when picked out six yards from goal by Misimovic, but a great save from Simon Pouplin secured a point for Freiburg.
So anyone scoring a win at the top end made hay and two of them did: Bayern and Schalke. After a goalless first half, Schalke eventually got the reward that their dominance of the game against Hertha deserved. Kevin Kuranyi headed home their first on the hour from a suspiciously offside looking position and Hertha's task was made much harder when Christoph Janker was sent off for a second yellow. Rafinha added a penalty in the dying few moments to wrap it up leaving Hertha still further adrift at the bottom. Bayern looked to be heading for a draw in the Friday game at home to Gladbach, Roel Brouwers equalising Mario Gomez's opener, but a superb free-kick from Holger Badstuber found the inside of the far post to nick all three points.
Dortmund won again and it's been ages since they last lost. They were three up by half time, Kevin Grosskreutz, Lucas Barrios and Mohamed Zidan sending BvB on their way. Mats Hummels added a fourth in the second half to send Dortmund up to seventh, just a point off the European places. Eintracht won the Rhein-Main derby with Maikl Franz reaching a deep cross at the back post to volley home on the half-hour. Mainz's Chadlj Amri was sent off after the break, his second yellow resulting in the inevitable red twenty minutes from time. Mainz battled hard, but Alex Meier was on the end of a quick break that had Eintracht four-on-two with seconds remaining to seal local bragging rights, for the time being at least.
Koeman pays price for AZ struggles: Eredivisie reviews
AZ 1-2 Vitesse
Breda 2-2 Sparta
Roda 1-1 Den Haag
VVV Venlo 2-1 Willem II
Utrecht 2-0 Ajax
Feyenoord 3-1 Groningen
Waalwijk 0-2 PSV
NEC 3-4 Twente
Heracles 3-1 Heerenveen
A seventh defeat of the season was too much for the beleaguered AZ board who dispensed of the services of Ronald Koeman after Vitesse sprang a surprise with a win at the Almaaderhout. It left the champions seventh after the festive weekend (it was St Nicholas' Day on Saturday), fully 19 points adrift of the league lead. Koeman hasn't been able to replicate the form shown last season, although the loss of players of the calibre of Demy de Zeeuw didn't help. Neither has injuries to Moussa Dembele and Mounir El Hamdaoui who were so impressive last season. Moreover, the ongoing financial crisis which claimed their main sponsors and owners has severely hampered the club as it looks to move forward. However, push comes to shove at some point and a home defeat to Vitesse was enough for the board to push the button. Dembele was back in for this one and put the champions in front nine minutes in, but two goals in ten second half minutes turned the game on it's head, Lasse Nilsson and Dalibor Stevanovic giving the Arnhem side the lead. As tempers frayed, Dembele and Stevanovic were sent off following a scuffle and Vitesse almost made it three late on as AZ poured forward in search of an equaliser. Even if it had come, it would probably have been too late for Koeman.
Ajax lost more ground on the leaders with not only a defeat in Utrecht, but also one in which they failed to score. The first half was one-way traffic with Ajax enjoying two-thirds of the possession and creating chance after chance. And yet they were indebted to Maarten Stekelenburg for keeping it level at the break as he pulled off a great reflex save from Ricky van Wolfswinkel on one of Utrecht's rare attacks. Three minutes after the break, Jacob Mulenga showed great strength to shrug off the attentions of Toby Alderweireld to score. After Marko Pantelic had wasted Ajax's best chance of the game, Jan Wuytens made it 2-0 and Ajax's afternoon was completed by Vurnon Anita's late dismissal. Later on Sunday, PSV and Ajax both won to leave Ajax nine points off the pace. It really is a two-horse race now. PSV had a comfortable afternoon in Waalwijk as RKC were brushed aside, Jonathan Reis putting his side ahead on the hour and Danko Lazovic making it safe eight minutes from time. Twente had Bryan Ruiz to thank for rescuing them against NEC who mounted a tremendous fightback in a crazy first 45. John Goossens put the Nijmegeners ahead on the quarter hour, Bjorn Vleminckx instigating a neat move which Goossens finished in style, but Twente weren't behind for long as Kenneth Perez's perfect free-kick to the top corner levelled it up three minutes later. A further seven minutes on and Ruiz set up Blaise N'Kufo to give Steve McClaren's side the lead and Miroslav Stoch made it three on the half-hour. Back came NEC with Vlemickx scoring twice before half-time, Goossens turning provider for the first and the burly Swede losing his man in the box for a simple tap-in to make it 3-3. He turned villain in the second half, sent off for kicking out at Douglas. They were looking good to hold out, but in the 89th minute, Ronnie Stam's cross was met by Ruiz and the Costa Rican headed in the winner.
That defeat leaves NEC second-bottom on 13 points with four clubs sitting just a point above them. Two of those are Roda and Den Haag who drew 1-1 with one another on Friday. Mads Junker put Roda ahead only for Karim Soltani to level it and Roda were grateful for a point as they survived the last ten minutes a man short after Arnaud Djum was sent off. Willem II are another of those on 14 after they were denied by a late fightback from VVV Venlo. Arjan Swinkels put the Tilburgers ahead with a terrific, looping volley and, going into the last ten minutes, that looked like enough. Adil Auasser squared it up nine minutes from time and a stoppage time penalty from Keisuke Honda won it for VVV. Groningen are also on 14 and were soundly beaten by Feyenoord despite going ahead early through Koen van de Laak. Second half strikes from Stefan Babovic, Roy Makaay and Jon Dahl Tomasson eased Feyenoord to the win.
Heracles move above AZ into sixth after a comfortable win over Heerenveen. Mark Looms and a Willy Overtoom penalty gave Heracles a first half lead. Oussama Assaidi pulled one back late on, but any thoughts of a comeback were scotched by Bas Dost. European hopefuls Sparta and NAC drew 2-2, Rydell Poepon grabbing an equaliser after Sparta had blown a lead. Erik Falkenburg put them ahead in the first half, but Leonardo and Patrick Zwaanswijk scored within three minutes of each other after the break to put NAC in front. The lead only lasted three minutes before Poepon struck and so it remained.
Breda 2-2 Sparta
Roda 1-1 Den Haag
VVV Venlo 2-1 Willem II
Utrecht 2-0 Ajax
Feyenoord 3-1 Groningen
Waalwijk 0-2 PSV
NEC 3-4 Twente
Heracles 3-1 Heerenveen
A seventh defeat of the season was too much for the beleaguered AZ board who dispensed of the services of Ronald Koeman after Vitesse sprang a surprise with a win at the Almaaderhout. It left the champions seventh after the festive weekend (it was St Nicholas' Day on Saturday), fully 19 points adrift of the league lead. Koeman hasn't been able to replicate the form shown last season, although the loss of players of the calibre of Demy de Zeeuw didn't help. Neither has injuries to Moussa Dembele and Mounir El Hamdaoui who were so impressive last season. Moreover, the ongoing financial crisis which claimed their main sponsors and owners has severely hampered the club as it looks to move forward. However, push comes to shove at some point and a home defeat to Vitesse was enough for the board to push the button. Dembele was back in for this one and put the champions in front nine minutes in, but two goals in ten second half minutes turned the game on it's head, Lasse Nilsson and Dalibor Stevanovic giving the Arnhem side the lead. As tempers frayed, Dembele and Stevanovic were sent off following a scuffle and Vitesse almost made it three late on as AZ poured forward in search of an equaliser. Even if it had come, it would probably have been too late for Koeman.
Ajax lost more ground on the leaders with not only a defeat in Utrecht, but also one in which they failed to score. The first half was one-way traffic with Ajax enjoying two-thirds of the possession and creating chance after chance. And yet they were indebted to Maarten Stekelenburg for keeping it level at the break as he pulled off a great reflex save from Ricky van Wolfswinkel on one of Utrecht's rare attacks. Three minutes after the break, Jacob Mulenga showed great strength to shrug off the attentions of Toby Alderweireld to score. After Marko Pantelic had wasted Ajax's best chance of the game, Jan Wuytens made it 2-0 and Ajax's afternoon was completed by Vurnon Anita's late dismissal. Later on Sunday, PSV and Ajax both won to leave Ajax nine points off the pace. It really is a two-horse race now. PSV had a comfortable afternoon in Waalwijk as RKC were brushed aside, Jonathan Reis putting his side ahead on the hour and Danko Lazovic making it safe eight minutes from time. Twente had Bryan Ruiz to thank for rescuing them against NEC who mounted a tremendous fightback in a crazy first 45. John Goossens put the Nijmegeners ahead on the quarter hour, Bjorn Vleminckx instigating a neat move which Goossens finished in style, but Twente weren't behind for long as Kenneth Perez's perfect free-kick to the top corner levelled it up three minutes later. A further seven minutes on and Ruiz set up Blaise N'Kufo to give Steve McClaren's side the lead and Miroslav Stoch made it three on the half-hour. Back came NEC with Vlemickx scoring twice before half-time, Goossens turning provider for the first and the burly Swede losing his man in the box for a simple tap-in to make it 3-3. He turned villain in the second half, sent off for kicking out at Douglas. They were looking good to hold out, but in the 89th minute, Ronnie Stam's cross was met by Ruiz and the Costa Rican headed in the winner.
That defeat leaves NEC second-bottom on 13 points with four clubs sitting just a point above them. Two of those are Roda and Den Haag who drew 1-1 with one another on Friday. Mads Junker put Roda ahead only for Karim Soltani to level it and Roda were grateful for a point as they survived the last ten minutes a man short after Arnaud Djum was sent off. Willem II are another of those on 14 after they were denied by a late fightback from VVV Venlo. Arjan Swinkels put the Tilburgers ahead with a terrific, looping volley and, going into the last ten minutes, that looked like enough. Adil Auasser squared it up nine minutes from time and a stoppage time penalty from Keisuke Honda won it for VVV. Groningen are also on 14 and were soundly beaten by Feyenoord despite going ahead early through Koen van de Laak. Second half strikes from Stefan Babovic, Roy Makaay and Jon Dahl Tomasson eased Feyenoord to the win.
Heracles move above AZ into sixth after a comfortable win over Heerenveen. Mark Looms and a Willy Overtoom penalty gave Heracles a first half lead. Oussama Assaidi pulled one back late on, but any thoughts of a comeback were scotched by Bas Dost. European hopefuls Sparta and NAC drew 2-2, Rydell Poepon grabbing an equaliser after Sparta had blown a lead. Erik Falkenburg put them ahead in the first half, but Leonardo and Patrick Zwaanswijk scored within three minutes of each other after the break to put NAC in front. The lead only lasted three minutes before Poepon struck and so it remained.
Friday, 4 December 2009
Ligue 1 week 15
Valenciennes v Monaco
Montpellier v Le Mans
Nice v Marseille
Rennes v Lorient
St Etienne v Sochaux
Bordeaux v PSG
Grenoble v Toulouse
Auxerre v Nancy
Boulogne v Lens
Lille v Lyon
Top game this week sees PSG travel to leaders Bordeaux. A good week for the Parisians sees them travel in good spirits and they have players back on deck; Stephane Sessegnon back from suspension and Mamadou Sakho and Marcos Ceara from illness. Guillaume Hoarau and Gregory Coupet are out, the latter with a badly broken leg sustained in the win over Auxerre. Bordeaux have Yoann Gourcuff back in contention, but Brazilian duo Wendel and Fernando are both suspended. PSG may lie in seventh, but they're only six points off the top. A win for them here and they are suddenly contenders.
Should Bordeaux trip up, Lyon can go ahead of them with a win over Lille. That won't be easy as Lille have come into some form in the league, though they were humped in the Europa League this week by Valencia. Auxerre, meanwhile, should return to winning ways against Nancy. Lorient have propelled themselves into fourth, just three points back from the summit. They have a tough game against Rennes this week which is a game between two well-matched outfits. Montpellier are still right in there and should be too good for Le Mans this week. Valenciennes's away form has seen them creep up the table. They're at home this week against Monaco who are also right in the mix. Marseille aren't a million miles away and still have that game in hand. They're away at Nice this week, a tough fixture at the best of times, and it should be fiery. It's all shaping up for a fascinating season.
Grenoble's fruitless search for a win looks set to roll over to next week as they welcome Toulouse to Stade des Alpes and there's a huge game at the bottom between Boulogne and Lens. St Etienne are at home to Sochaux with both sides desperate for points to ease away from immediate danger.
Montpellier v Le Mans
Nice v Marseille
Rennes v Lorient
St Etienne v Sochaux
Bordeaux v PSG
Grenoble v Toulouse
Auxerre v Nancy
Boulogne v Lens
Lille v Lyon
Top game this week sees PSG travel to leaders Bordeaux. A good week for the Parisians sees them travel in good spirits and they have players back on deck; Stephane Sessegnon back from suspension and Mamadou Sakho and Marcos Ceara from illness. Guillaume Hoarau and Gregory Coupet are out, the latter with a badly broken leg sustained in the win over Auxerre. Bordeaux have Yoann Gourcuff back in contention, but Brazilian duo Wendel and Fernando are both suspended. PSG may lie in seventh, but they're only six points off the top. A win for them here and they are suddenly contenders.
Should Bordeaux trip up, Lyon can go ahead of them with a win over Lille. That won't be easy as Lille have come into some form in the league, though they were humped in the Europa League this week by Valencia. Auxerre, meanwhile, should return to winning ways against Nancy. Lorient have propelled themselves into fourth, just three points back from the summit. They have a tough game against Rennes this week which is a game between two well-matched outfits. Montpellier are still right in there and should be too good for Le Mans this week. Valenciennes's away form has seen them creep up the table. They're at home this week against Monaco who are also right in the mix. Marseille aren't a million miles away and still have that game in hand. They're away at Nice this week, a tough fixture at the best of times, and it should be fiery. It's all shaping up for a fascinating season.
Grenoble's fruitless search for a win looks set to roll over to next week as they welcome Toulouse to Stade des Alpes and there's a huge game at the bottom between Boulogne and Lens. St Etienne are at home to Sochaux with both sides desperate for points to ease away from immediate danger.
Bundesliga round 15
Bayern v Monchengladbach
Hannover v Leverkusen
Hamburg v Hoffenheim
Wolfsburg v Freiburg
Dortmund v Nurnberg
Stuttgart v Bochum
Eintracht v Mainz
Cologne v Bremen
Schalke v Hertha
It's derby time on the river Main where Mainz go to the Commerzbank Arena to take on Eintracht. After coming back up last season, Mainz have really made an impression this term and sit four points and four places above their big city neighbours. Indeed, they're above the champions, Wolfsburg, which they'd have taken in the blinking of an eye if offered. Not that Eintracht are doing badly. They were among many people's favourites for the drop, mainly because of the terrible, dull and negative play that marked out their 2008/9 season. That's not gone completely, but they're slightly more expansive and their improved showing reflects that. It should be a good one.
Bayern take on Gladbach in the Friday game with Van Gaal set to name the same side that won last week at Hannover. That means a start for Mario Gomez alongside Ivica Olic. Gladbach have a tight defence which a Bayern attack without Franck Ribéry and Arjen Robben only likely to get a few minutes at the end will have difficulty breaking down. There are a couple of top v bottom clashes as Bremen go to Cologne in good shape for the three points and Hertha are at Schalke. Hamburg are at home to Hoffenheim in what looks a good game. Leverkusen look good to keep their lead after the weekend as they go to Hannover. Wolfsburg need to pick up the pace and a home game with Freiburg is as good a place to start as any. Dortmund's decent recent form shouldn't be too stretched at home to Nurnberg and there's a big game at Stuttgart where Bochum are the visitors.
Hannover v Leverkusen
Hamburg v Hoffenheim
Wolfsburg v Freiburg
Dortmund v Nurnberg
Stuttgart v Bochum
Eintracht v Mainz
Cologne v Bremen
Schalke v Hertha
It's derby time on the river Main where Mainz go to the Commerzbank Arena to take on Eintracht. After coming back up last season, Mainz have really made an impression this term and sit four points and four places above their big city neighbours. Indeed, they're above the champions, Wolfsburg, which they'd have taken in the blinking of an eye if offered. Not that Eintracht are doing badly. They were among many people's favourites for the drop, mainly because of the terrible, dull and negative play that marked out their 2008/9 season. That's not gone completely, but they're slightly more expansive and their improved showing reflects that. It should be a good one.
Bayern take on Gladbach in the Friday game with Van Gaal set to name the same side that won last week at Hannover. That means a start for Mario Gomez alongside Ivica Olic. Gladbach have a tight defence which a Bayern attack without Franck Ribéry and Arjen Robben only likely to get a few minutes at the end will have difficulty breaking down. There are a couple of top v bottom clashes as Bremen go to Cologne in good shape for the three points and Hertha are at Schalke. Hamburg are at home to Hoffenheim in what looks a good game. Leverkusen look good to keep their lead after the weekend as they go to Hannover. Wolfsburg need to pick up the pace and a home game with Freiburg is as good a place to start as any. Dortmund's decent recent form shouldn't be too stretched at home to Nurnberg and there's a big game at Stuttgart where Bochum are the visitors.
Eredivisie round 16
AZ v Vitesse
NAC v Sparta
Roda v Den Haag
VVV Venlo v Willem II
Utrecht v Ajax
Feyenoord v Groningen
Waalwijk v PSV
NEC v Twente
Heracles v Heerenveen
The leading trio are all away from home this week in the Netherlands. The top two should still be OK for three more points and the preservation of their unbeaten records, but Ajax have a tough looking trip to Utrecht. NEC are in form that does the term patchy a disservice and Twente's ruthlessness shouldn't be tested too greatly. PSV, meanwhile, will be in Waalwijk. It's impossible to see a home win in that one. Should the top two win, then Utrecht can all but end Ajax's title hopes, but with Ajax still going goal crazy, you can expect entertainment. Ajax start favourites, but Utrecht are tough to beat, especially at the Galgewaard.
Roda and Den Haag face off with both sides in the bottom three and a win for either will pull them well clear of immediate danger with a clutch of clubs just a point above them. Willem II, VVV Venlo, Vitesse and Groningen are all on 14 points and the first two of those go up against one another this week. That should be entertaining and, again, a win for either would be a huge result. Vitesse go to Alkmaar to face AZ who are just beginning to come together as a side, even if they are still without Mounir El Hamdaoui and Moussa Dembele. Groningen are at Feyenoord. Home win.
Finally, there are a couple of intriguing clashes of the European hopefuls. Heerenveen may just be beginning to get going and take on Heracles who can play some really nice football. They're a hard side too who won't give the Friesians any time on the ball. Sparta go to Breda to take on NAC and, again, it should be a pretty good game.
NAC v Sparta
Roda v Den Haag
VVV Venlo v Willem II
Utrecht v Ajax
Feyenoord v Groningen
Waalwijk v PSV
NEC v Twente
Heracles v Heerenveen
The leading trio are all away from home this week in the Netherlands. The top two should still be OK for three more points and the preservation of their unbeaten records, but Ajax have a tough looking trip to Utrecht. NEC are in form that does the term patchy a disservice and Twente's ruthlessness shouldn't be tested too greatly. PSV, meanwhile, will be in Waalwijk. It's impossible to see a home win in that one. Should the top two win, then Utrecht can all but end Ajax's title hopes, but with Ajax still going goal crazy, you can expect entertainment. Ajax start favourites, but Utrecht are tough to beat, especially at the Galgewaard.
Roda and Den Haag face off with both sides in the bottom three and a win for either will pull them well clear of immediate danger with a clutch of clubs just a point above them. Willem II, VVV Venlo, Vitesse and Groningen are all on 14 points and the first two of those go up against one another this week. That should be entertaining and, again, a win for either would be a huge result. Vitesse go to Alkmaar to face AZ who are just beginning to come together as a side, even if they are still without Mounir El Hamdaoui and Moussa Dembele. Groningen are at Feyenoord. Home win.
Finally, there are a couple of intriguing clashes of the European hopefuls. Heerenveen may just be beginning to get going and take on Heracles who can play some really nice football. They're a hard side too who won't give the Friesians any time on the ball. Sparta go to Breda to take on NAC and, again, it should be a pretty good game.
Thursday, 3 December 2009
Auxerre's spell on top short-lived: Ligue 1 reviews
Toulouse 1-0 Boulogne
Lille 4-0 Valenciennes
Sochaux 1-0 Nice
Lorient 2-2 Grenoble
PSG 1-0 Auxerre
Lens 1-0 Marseille
Nancy 0-3 Bordeaux
Le Mans 1-1 St Etienne
Lyon 1-1 Rennes
Monaco P-P Montpellier
Boulogne 2-5 PSG
Playing twice in the week, it turned out to be a decent time for PSG with six points to show for it. That propels them up the table and back in the running for Europe as the rest of the top half dozen trip over themselves. They started by beating the new league leaders Auxerre at Parc des Princes thanks to a Jeremy Clément header half-way through the second half. That ended a very brief stay at the top for AJA who were, as they will be for a few weeks yet, their talisman, Ireneusz Jelen. The rearranged game with Boulogne followed, and they trailed at the break thanks to a thunderous strike from range from Guillaume Ducatel, but a second-half goal glut saw the Parisians romp to victory. Clément Chantome got round the back to volley in from a tight angle on the hour to square things up and they were in front two minutes later with a Pegguy Luyindula penalty. Mevlut Erding's double capped a great ten minutes for PSG, one a free header on the penalty spot, the second swept in left-footed from the edge of the box. Johan Ramare pulled one back with a penalty, but Jean-Eude Maurice embarrassed Jean-Francois Bedenik in the Boulogne goal who fumbled a tame shot over the line.
Auxerre's slip gave Bordeaux the chance to return to the top and they took it, comfortably beating Nancy with Yoann Gouffran the star. He set up Fernando for the first and grabbed the third himself with Wendel getting the second after a weaving run through the Nancy rearguard. A point for Lyon was enough to see them back up to second, Lisandro Lopez equalising just before half-time after Asamoah Gyan had put Rennes ahead early on. Lorient missed the chance to improve their position further, though it could have been worse as they had to rely on a last-minute equaliser from Kevin Gameiro to snatch a point off improving Grenoble. Daisuke Matsui and Jimmy Juan had put Grenoble in front after Bostjan Cesar's penalty had initially handed Lorient the lead, but Gameiro denied Grenoble a first win of the season, stealing in after the keeper had come and got nowhere.
A point for St Etienne means that the point for Grenoble still leaves them 11 adrift of safety. Aruajo Ilan put Les Verts ahead in Le Mans, but Anthony Le Tallec denied them a much-needed win. Lens won against Marseille - a huge result - thanks to a late, late goal from Eduardo dos Santos which pulls them away from immediate danger. Improving Lille were the big winners of the weekend, sticking four past Valenciennes, Gervinho with two of them. Toulouse snuck past Boulogne, making it a bad week for the north-coast side. Mohamed Fofana headed in midway through the first half to keep Les Violets moving in the right direction. Nice's recent revival was halted by a refreshed and rejuvenated Sochaux, Yassin Mikari with a neat first-half finish getting the only goal of the game.
Lille 4-0 Valenciennes
Sochaux 1-0 Nice
Lorient 2-2 Grenoble
PSG 1-0 Auxerre
Lens 1-0 Marseille
Nancy 0-3 Bordeaux
Le Mans 1-1 St Etienne
Lyon 1-1 Rennes
Monaco P-P Montpellier
Boulogne 2-5 PSG
Playing twice in the week, it turned out to be a decent time for PSG with six points to show for it. That propels them up the table and back in the running for Europe as the rest of the top half dozen trip over themselves. They started by beating the new league leaders Auxerre at Parc des Princes thanks to a Jeremy Clément header half-way through the second half. That ended a very brief stay at the top for AJA who were, as they will be for a few weeks yet, their talisman, Ireneusz Jelen. The rearranged game with Boulogne followed, and they trailed at the break thanks to a thunderous strike from range from Guillaume Ducatel, but a second-half goal glut saw the Parisians romp to victory. Clément Chantome got round the back to volley in from a tight angle on the hour to square things up and they were in front two minutes later with a Pegguy Luyindula penalty. Mevlut Erding's double capped a great ten minutes for PSG, one a free header on the penalty spot, the second swept in left-footed from the edge of the box. Johan Ramare pulled one back with a penalty, but Jean-Eude Maurice embarrassed Jean-Francois Bedenik in the Boulogne goal who fumbled a tame shot over the line.
Auxerre's slip gave Bordeaux the chance to return to the top and they took it, comfortably beating Nancy with Yoann Gouffran the star. He set up Fernando for the first and grabbed the third himself with Wendel getting the second after a weaving run through the Nancy rearguard. A point for Lyon was enough to see them back up to second, Lisandro Lopez equalising just before half-time after Asamoah Gyan had put Rennes ahead early on. Lorient missed the chance to improve their position further, though it could have been worse as they had to rely on a last-minute equaliser from Kevin Gameiro to snatch a point off improving Grenoble. Daisuke Matsui and Jimmy Juan had put Grenoble in front after Bostjan Cesar's penalty had initially handed Lorient the lead, but Gameiro denied Grenoble a first win of the season, stealing in after the keeper had come and got nowhere.
A point for St Etienne means that the point for Grenoble still leaves them 11 adrift of safety. Aruajo Ilan put Les Verts ahead in Le Mans, but Anthony Le Tallec denied them a much-needed win. Lens won against Marseille - a huge result - thanks to a late, late goal from Eduardo dos Santos which pulls them away from immediate danger. Improving Lille were the big winners of the weekend, sticking four past Valenciennes, Gervinho with two of them. Toulouse snuck past Boulogne, making it a bad week for the north-coast side. Mohamed Fofana headed in midway through the first half to keep Les Violets moving in the right direction. Nice's recent revival was halted by a refreshed and rejuvenated Sochaux, Yassin Mikari with a neat first-half finish getting the only goal of the game.
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