Michezo magazetini leo...

Michezo magazetini leo...

Status
Not open for further replies.
Gordon Strachan proves shock target for Dynamo Kiev

Apr 10 2011 by Alan Nixon, The People
strachan-main-663962594.jpg

Gordon STRACHAN is in line for a surprise managerial comeback – with wealthy Ukrainian giants Dynamo Kiev.
Strachan has been concentrating on TV work since tearing up his contract at Middlesbrough in October and walking away from the Riverside without compensation.
The Scot suffered a disastrous 12 months at Boro following success with Celtic.
But now Kiev are considering Strachan, 54, as a shock choice to become their new coach, with veteran Yuri Syomin's position to be reviewed at the end of the season.
Syomin is back at Kiev for a second spell, helping them to progress at the expense of Manchester City in the Europa League and challenging for the domestic title.
However, Kiev may decide to go for a younger man – and they have a big budget to tempt Strachan with as they try to oust Shakhtar Donetsk as Ukraine's top club.
This could be Strachan's biggest challenge yet, and it definitely interests him.
 
Ashley Young shoots down Joey Barton's midfield boast

Apr 10 2011 by Dave Kidd, The People
Add a comment
Recommend (2)



barton-main-275553475.jpg

ASHLEY YOUNG has shot down Joey Barton's boast he considers himself the best midfield player in England.
Aston Villa forward Young has established himself in Fabio Capello's starting line-up this season while motormouth Barton is still talking up his own abilities from the sidelines.
Barton even branded Young's former Aston Villa team-mate Gareth Barry a teacher's pet in an explosion of jealousy.
But Young, set for a summer move to Manchester United, insists that if Barton had been the nation's leading midfielder, he would have at least made Capello's squad for the qualifier against Wales a fortnight ago.
Humiliation
Young and Barton will be stand-in captains when Newcastle visit a Villa team who are desperate for a victory in their fight against relegation and to avenge the horrific 6-0 defeat at Newcastle in August which set the trend for an *dismal season.
Young ensured it might not be the warmest of *handshakes before kick-off, by insisting: "There are a lot of good players in England.
"But if you look at when we were away with England the other week, the best *midfielders were picked by Fabio Capello in the squad – so Joey Barton's a good player but he wasn't *selected in the England squad.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. He said what he said and that's what he thinks. We want to put things right against Newcastle. It is not a nice feeling when you concede six goals in the way we did.
"When you come back home, and get to play the same team again, you want to set the record straight.
"We got an early penalty and it was missed. As a team, it was one of those defeats you don't want to think about and try to put it out of your memory.
"All the players were upset in the changing room afterwards."
That Tyneside humiliation ended popular caretaker boss Kevin MacDonald's chances of succeeding Martin O'Neill permanently.
But while Young's own form has been outstanding, Villa have struggled desperately under Gerard Houllier and are in *severe relegation danger.
MacDonald is waiting in the wings to take over again if Villa are beaten today and Houllier sacked.
Young, 25, will *become the third England star to leave Villa for Manchester in the last three *summers, after Gareth Barry and James Milner quit for City.
Young has again refused to commit his future to Villa. He has just one more season left on his contract and knows United and Liverpool are keen to land him.
His ambitions to win trophies and play Champions League football at Villa look remote, after they came so close to *competing in Europe's premier competition under O'Neill.
Ambitious
Young said: "It's always nice to be linked to those sort of teams but I'm an Aston Villa player, I've got a year left of my *contract. I just want to do well for the club.
"I've always said that I'm an *ambitious *person. To play in the biggest competitions, the European Championships, the Champions League, FA Cup finals, League Cup *finals, the World Cup, the Euros, I want to play in them all.
"We came very close to *achieving Champions League football when we were looking to break into the top four and we just missed ou.
"I've always said we are going to talk about contracts at the end of the season and that has not changed.
"I'm concentrating on *everything that is going on out on the pitch and my focus is fully on doing well for Villa and *getting ourselves out of the *situation we find ourselves in.
"There is nothing *going on in the *background, I'm *concentrating on *football and I think my *performances have been good.
"Every player would want to win trophies, *titles and medals. I'm no *different.
"I'm an ambitious person like any *other *person who's in football."
Young admits he has made a huge *breakthrough by *starring in England's last three games – *scoring against Denmark, then *setting up goals against Wales and Ghana.
He said: "Starting for *England is always a *massive goal for me, a massive *achievement. Fingers crossed I can *continue in the next *qualifier against *Switzerland in June.
"The first thing is to get into the squad and the main thing is for me to be playing well for Villa.
"I've got to concentrate on things that are going on at Villa and to getting us out of this situation is at the *forefront of my mind."
 
Ashley Young shoots down Joey Barton's midfield boast

Apr 10 2011 by Dave Kidd, The People
Add a comment
Recommend (2)



barton-main-275553475.jpg

ASHLEY YOUNG has shot down Joey Barton’s boast he considers himself the best midfield player in England.
Aston Villa forward Young has established himself in Fabio Capello’s starting line-up this season while motormouth Barton is still talking up his own abilities from the sidelines.
Barton even branded Young’s former Aston Villa team-mate Gareth Barry a teacher’s pet in an explosion of jealousy.
But Young, set for a summer move to Manchester United, insists that if Barton had been the nation’s leading midfielder, he would have at least made Capello’s squad for the qualifier against Wales a fortnight ago.
Humiliation
Young and Barton will be stand-in captains when Newcastle visit a Villa team who are desperate for a victory in their fight against relegation and to avenge the horrific 6-0 defeat at Newcastle in August which set the trend for an *dismal season.
Young ensured it might not be the warmest of *handshakes before kick-off, by insisting: “There are a lot of good players in England.
“But if you look at when we were away with England the other week, the best *midfielders were picked by Fabio Capello in the squad – so Joey Barton’s a good player but he wasn’t *selected in the England squad.
“Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. He said what he said and that’s what he thinks. We want to put things right against Newcastle. It is not a nice feeling when you concede six goals in the way we did.
“When you come back home, and get to play the same team again, you want to set the record straight.
“We got an early penalty and it was missed. As a team, it was one of those defeats you don’t want to think about and try to put it out of your memory.
“All the players were upset in the changing room afterwards.”
That Tyneside humiliation ended popular caretaker boss Kevin MacDonald’s chances of succeeding Martin O’Neill permanently.
But while Young’s own form has been outstanding, Villa have struggled desperately under Gerard Houllier and are in *severe relegation danger.
MacDonald is waiting in the wings to take over again if Villa are beaten today and Houllier sacked.
Young, 25, will *become the third England star to leave Villa for Manchester in the last three *summers, after Gareth Barry and James Milner quit for City.
Young has again refused to commit his future to Villa. He has just one more season left on his contract and knows United and Liverpool are keen to land him.
His ambitions to win trophies and play Champions League football at Villa look remote, after they came so close to *competing in Europe’s premier competition under O’Neill.
Ambitious
Young said: “It’s always nice to be linked to those sort of teams but I’m an Aston Villa player, I’ve got a year left of my *contract. I just want to do well for the club.
“I’ve always said that I’m an *ambitious *person. To play in the biggest competitions, the European Championships, the Champions League, FA Cup finals, League Cup *finals, the World Cup, the Euros, I want to play in them all.
“We came very close to *achieving Champions League football when we were looking to break into the top four and we just missed ou.
“I’ve always said we are going to talk about contracts at the end of the season and that has not changed.
“I’m concentrating on *everything that is going on out on the pitch and my focus is fully on doing well for Villa and *getting ourselves out of the *situation we find ourselves in.
“There is nothing *going on in the *background, I’m *concentrating on *football and I think my *performances have been good.
“Every player would want to win trophies, *titles and medals. I’m no *different.
“I’m an ambitious person like any *other *person who’s in football.”
Young admits he has made a huge *breakthrough by *starring in England’s last three games – *scoring against Denmark, then *setting up goals against Wales and Ghana.
He said: “Starting for *England is always a *massive goal for me, a massive *achievement. Fingers crossed I can *continue in the next *qualifier against *Switzerland in June.
“The first thing is to get into the squad and the main thing is for me to be playing well for Villa.
“I’ve got to concentrate on things that are going on at Villa and to getting us out of this situation is at the *forefront of my mind.”
 
Harry: Jose special enough for United


RivalsDM



PRINT RSS



Updated Apr 15, 2011 6:21 AM ET
Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp is confident Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho is a future Manchester United manager.
Redknapp came up against the Portuguese coach in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, with his Spurs side bowing out 5-0 on aggregate after Wednesday night's 1-0 defeat at White Hart Lane.
Sat., Apr. 16​
Birmingham vs. Sunderland
Blackpool vs. Wigan
Everton vs. Blackburn
West Brom vs. Chelsea
West Ham vs. Aston Villa
Sun., Apr. 17​
Arsenal vs. Liverpool
Tue., Apr. 19​
Newcastle vs. Man Utd
Wed., Apr. 20​
Chelsea vs. Birmingham
Tottenham vs. Arsenal
BPL Scores | Table | Fixtures​


Mourinho has divided opinion since arriving on English shores with Chelsea in 2004, fresh from winning the Champions League with Porto.
Despite going on to coach Inter Milan and Real, Mourinho has spoken of his desire to return to club management in England.
But Redknapp believes the Portuguese will have to bide his time with United boss Sir Alex Ferguson giving no sign he is set to retire any time soon.
"Of those (managers) I have faced this campaign there is one who stands head and shoulders above the others - Jose Mourinho," Redknapp told The Sun. "Some are calling the Real Madrid boss the Marmite manager - you either love him or hate him.
"I am one of those who has nothing but admiration for the former Chelsea chief, who I think will end up managing Manchester United one day in the very distant future when Alex Ferguson calls time.
"But every time I see Alex he looks younger than the last occasion I bumped into him. He is showing no signs of wear and tear. His enthusiasm is limitless. He wants to carry on - so Jose could have a very long wait."
Ferguson was appointed in 1986 and has led United to the most successful spell in the club's history.
It would take a big character to succeed the 69-year-old Scot when he is ready to step down - not only due to his trophy-laden reign at Old Trafford but because of the stature of United and its players.
But Redknapp reckons Mourinho is one of the few men with the ego and the self-belief to take on such a challenge.
"Sure, Jose is arrogant but what is wrong with that?" he added. "After our game on Wednesday night, Mourinho said that the Premier League is his natural habitat and I'd have to agree.
"Jose is switched on to the demands of the modern game and tuned in to his mega-star, world-class players who give him the utmost respect because they know he is exceptional at his job. For me, he is a very clever manager."
 
Yaya Touré delights blue Manchester as City down 10-man United




#content > .six-col { float: none; }.m-sport { border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(0, 128, 0); }.m-sport #tabs { border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(153, 153, 153); }.m-sport h2 { margin-top: 0pt; border-top: 0pt none; font-size: 14px ! important; padding: 9px 0pt 12px ! important; }.m-sport th { padding-right: 30px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 150px; }.m-sport li { display: inline; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); }.football .article-attributes { border-top: medium none ! important; }

FA Cup

Manchester City 1
  • Yaya Touré 52
Manchester United 0



  • Paul Wilson at Wembley
  • guardian.co.uk, Saturday 16 April 2011 19.24 BST
    Manchester-City.-Manchest-007.jpg
    Manchester United's Dimitar Berbatov (left) goes up for the ball with Pablo Zabaleta (centre) and Joleon Lescott of Manchester City during the FA Cup semi-final. Photograph: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

    Whatever now happens in the FA Cup and whatever the banner at Old Trafford may say it is not quite true to suggest Manchester City have not won anything for the past 35 years. They won their biggest match of the season here and, although their conquered neighbours will be reluctant to admit it, one of Manchester United's biggest matches of the season too.
    They denied United a treble, and while that may not quite count as knocking them off their perch, it is a beginning. It would be typical of City to go and lose to either Bolton or Stoke in the final now, yet they will always have this happy memory. It was a match they had to win to retain any sort of local pride, not to mention wider credibility after all the money that has been spent, and in the end they won it surprisingly convincingly. Ryan Giggs never started in the game and Paul Scholes did not finish it, but this was emphatically City's day, not a reprise of 1999.
    Pre-match rumours of a weakened United side proved unfounded as Sir Alex Ferguson named something close to his strongest available team. Javier Hernández had to be content with a place on the bench with Dimitar Berbatov leading the attack on his own in similar fashion to the home league game against Fulham last week, the first occasion United had to manage without the suspended Wayne Rooney.
    For his part Roberto Mancini left Edin Dzeko on the bench and went with a front three comprising Adam Johnson, Mario Balotelli and David Silva. The formation was no surprise, nor was the absence of Carlos Tevez, but what City fans were anxious to see was how aggressively their side would attack after the limp surrender at Liverpool on Monday night.
    They were still waiting to find out, after 15 minutes of typically stodgy semi-final fare from both sides, when United suddenly burst into action and came close to taking the lead with an intricately worked passing move. Only Joe Hart's reactions denied Berbatov in the end, but the way Michael Carrick, Paul Scholes and Park Ji‑sung played the striker clear on goal with a series of short, precise passes through the middle was almost Brazilian in its slick audacity. United almost caught City out from the resultant throw-in, too, and were grateful Aleksandar Kolarov stayed alert at the far post to prevent Berbatov sliding home Nani's low cross.
    Nemanja Vidic flashed a header wide from a corner as United began to rack up the goal attempts midway through the first half. By that point in the game City had had none worthy of the name. The first proper City threat arrived just past the half-hour mark, when Silva's accurate cross from the right picked out Balotelli near the penalty spot, only for the ball to stick under the striker's feet. Had the Italian managed to get in a shot he might have scored, but when Barry took over the Englishman was obliged to shoot from a narrower angle and could find only the side-netting.
    All the same, City were inspired to produce their best spell of the first half: Balotelli forced a save from Van der Sar with a deceptively powerful effort from 30 yards out; then from a Johnson corner Joleon Lescott volleyed over at the far post from a position a recognised forward ought to have at least hit the target. City were thus able to claim a rough parity of attacking ambition by the time the interval arrived, in fact with a late near miss from Vincent Kompany and a good block from Vidic being required to stop a promising Yaya Touré run they probably shaded the first period. They had started with sensible rather than excessive caution and, with United possibly tiring after their midweek exertions against Chelsea, City played their way into the game and finished the first half looking the more purposeful.
    Balotelli also began the second half looking sharp, freeing Kolarov on a left wing overlap and narrowly failing to convert his return ball to the near post, though it was Touré who finally opened the scoring when United made a series of defensive errors. First Van der Sar put his own defenders under pressure with a weak clearance, then Carrick surrendered possession to Touré to make the situation worse. Suddenly gathering momentum as United's cover evaporated, Touré held off Vidic before rolling a low shot beneath Van der Sar.
    With United barely venturing out of their own half, City relaxed to the extent of making a few trick passes as the hour came up, although what they really needed to settle the matter was another goal. While Balotelli playing with confidence verging on impudence is a sight to behold, his tendency to waste good positions with too nonchalant a pass would have been better saved for less fraught situations. Johnson almost forced an own goal from Van der Sar and Lescott headed wide from a Silva cross before United reminded their opponents that they were still in the game.
    What settled City's nerves in the end was United going down to 10 men, with Scholes all too predictably seeing straight red for a lunging challenge that raked Zabaleta's thigh. In fairness the ball was there to be won and neither player was holding back, but whereas Zabaleta succeeded in reaching the ball Scholes played only the man. Berbatov was sacrificed for a replacement midfielder in Anderson, a switch that seemed to further reduce the likelihood of United getting back on terms, although not every City supporter would have been happy to see Shaun Wright-Phillips take over from Johnson for the last 11 minutes. Mancini was possibly not banking on an extra five minutes of stoppage time as well though, despite the substitute infuriating as only he can, City managed to see it out.

 
Yaya Touré delights blue Manchester as City down 10-man United




#content > .six-col { float: none; }.m-sport { border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(0, 128, 0); }.m-sport #tabs { border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(153, 153, 153); }.m-sport h2 { margin-top: 0pt; border-top: 0pt none; font-size: 14px ! important; padding: 9px 0pt 12px ! important; }.m-sport th { padding-right: 30px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 150px; }.m-sport li { display: inline; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); }.football .article-attributes { border-top: medium none ! important; }

FA Cup

Manchester City 1
  • Yaya Touré 52
Manchester United 0



  • Paul Wilson at Wembley
  • guardian.co.uk, Saturday 16 April 2011 19.24 BST
    Manchester-City.-Manchest-007.jpg
    Manchester United's Dimitar Berbatov (left) goes up for the ball with Pablo Zabaleta (centre) and Joleon Lescott of Manchester City during the FA Cup semi-final. Photograph: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

    Whatever now happens in the FA Cup and whatever the banner at Old Trafford may say it is not quite true to suggest Manchester City have not won anything for the past 35 years. They won their biggest match of the season here and, although their conquered neighbours will be reluctant to admit it, one of Manchester United's biggest matches of the season too.
    They denied United a treble, and while that may not quite count as knocking them off their perch, it is a beginning. It would be typical of City to go and lose to either Bolton or Stoke in the final now, yet they will always have this happy memory. It was a match they had to win to retain any sort of local pride, not to mention wider credibility after all the money that has been spent, and in the end they won it surprisingly convincingly. Ryan Giggs never started in the game and Paul Scholes did not finish it, but this was emphatically City's day, not a reprise of 1999.
    Pre-match rumours of a weakened United side proved unfounded as Sir Alex Ferguson named something close to his strongest available team. Javier Hernández had to be content with a place on the bench with Dimitar Berbatov leading the attack on his own in similar fashion to the home league game against Fulham last week, the first occasion United had to manage without the suspended Wayne Rooney.
    For his part Roberto Mancini left Edin Dzeko on the bench and went with a front three comprising Adam Johnson, Mario Balotelli and David Silva. The formation was no surprise, nor was the absence of Carlos Tevez, but what City fans were anxious to see was how aggressively their side would attack after the limp surrender at Liverpool on Monday night.
    They were still waiting to find out, after 15 minutes of typically stodgy semi-final fare from both sides, when United suddenly burst into action and came close to taking the lead with an intricately worked passing move. Only Joe Hart's reactions denied Berbatov in the end, but the way Michael Carrick, Paul Scholes and Park Ji‑sung played the striker clear on goal with a series of short, precise passes through the middle was almost Brazilian in its slick audacity. United almost caught City out from the resultant throw-in, too, and were grateful Aleksandar Kolarov stayed alert at the far post to prevent Berbatov sliding home Nani's low cross.
    Nemanja Vidic flashed a header wide from a corner as United began to rack up the goal attempts midway through the first half. By that point in the game City had had none worthy of the name. The first proper City threat arrived just past the half-hour mark, when Silva's accurate cross from the right picked out Balotelli near the penalty spot, only for the ball to stick under the striker's feet. Had the Italian managed to get in a shot he might have scored, but when Barry took over the Englishman was obliged to shoot from a narrower angle and could find only the side-netting.
    All the same, City were inspired to produce their best spell of the first half: Balotelli forced a save from Van der Sar with a deceptively powerful effort from 30 yards out; then from a Johnson corner Joleon Lescott volleyed over at the far post from a position a recognised forward ought to have at least hit the target. City were thus able to claim a rough parity of attacking ambition by the time the interval arrived, in fact with a late near miss from Vincent Kompany and a good block from Vidic being required to stop a promising Yaya Touré run they probably shaded the first period. They had started with sensible rather than excessive caution and, with United possibly tiring after their midweek exertions against Chelsea, City played their way into the game and finished the first half looking the more purposeful.
    Balotelli also began the second half looking sharp, freeing Kolarov on a left wing overlap and narrowly failing to convert his return ball to the near post, though it was Touré who finally opened the scoring when United made a series of defensive errors. First Van der Sar put his own defenders under pressure with a weak clearance, then Carrick surrendered possession to Touré to make the situation worse. Suddenly gathering momentum as United's cover evaporated, Touré held off Vidic before rolling a low shot beneath Van der Sar.
    With United barely venturing out of their own half, City relaxed to the extent of making a few trick passes as the hour came up, although what they really needed to settle the matter was another goal. While Balotelli playing with confidence verging on impudence is a sight to behold, his tendency to waste good positions with too nonchalant a pass would have been better saved for less fraught situations. Johnson almost forced an own goal from Van der Sar and Lescott headed wide from a Silva cross before United reminded their opponents that they were still in the game.
    What settled City's nerves in the end was United going down to 10 men, with Scholes all too predictably seeing straight red for a lunging challenge that raked Zabaleta's thigh. In fairness the ball was there to be won and neither player was holding back, but whereas Zabaleta succeeded in reaching the ball Scholes played only the man. Berbatov was sacrificed for a replacement midfielder in Anderson, a switch that seemed to further reduce the likelihood of United getting back on terms, although not every City supporter would have been happy to see Shaun Wright-Phillips take over from Johnson for the last 11 minutes. Mancini was possibly not banking on an extra five minutes of stoppage time as well though, despite the substitute infuriating as only he can, City managed to see it out.
 
Comments in chronological order (Total 201 comments)

Post a comment
  • icons_staff_16.gif
    Staff
  • icons_contributor_16.gif
    Contributor










  • 60x60.png
    Rado 16 April 2011 7:28PM

    Very nice. Very nice.
    Any United fans like to comment?
    Oh, and YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


  • 60x60.png
    HK1234 16 April 2011 7:29PM

    Nice to see Scholes properly punished for once. Priceless seeing his shocked face.
    Wonderful sportsmanship from Ferdinnd at the end.


  • no-user-image.gif
    PowerBear 16 April 2011 7:29PM

    This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn't abide by our community standards. Replies may also be deleted. For more detail see our FAQs.


  • no-user-image.gif
    baffledchump 16 April 2011 7:29PM

    Righteous Justice steps in and prevents any team that includes John O'Shea as a regular starter from winning the Treble.


  • no-user-image.gif
    Infinity123 16 April 2011 7:29PM

    Fair play to city.
    Looking forward to the heady mix of excuses and hubris which will undoubtedly follow below.



  • no-user-image.gif
    ModestLouse 16 April 2011 7:29PM

    So this is why Berba misses out on the majority of the big games..... just not clinical enough when it really matters
    Gutted - cant really argue with the result unfortunately..


  • 60x60.png
    kallesved 16 April 2011 7:29PM

    This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn't abide by our community standards. Replies may also be deleted. For more detail see our FAQs.



  • no-user-image.gif
    tonyburke06 16 April 2011 7:29PM

    Well played City, we weren't at the races today, no treble this year but we still have bigger fish to fry.





  • no-user-image.gif
    glapots 16 April 2011 7:30PM

    Scholes - no class!
    Ferdinand - enjoy reading your tweets!
    Treble!? Surely you were having a laugh?


  • 60x60.png
    Here4sharingopinion 16 April 2011 7:30PM

    oh dear carrick is back in form!!!!!!!!!! scholes wat were u thinking?????? n dats y berbatov neva starts big games(as good a player he is) oh dear thanks writers 4 jinxing it with all the talk


  • 60x60.png
    Holdypaw20 16 April 2011 7:30PM

    Best team won on the day, Scholes was a disgrace as always. As for Ferdinand at the end LOLZZZZZZZZ


  • no-user-image.gif
    Rupertagain 16 April 2011 7:31PM

    "Scholes all to predictably seeing straight red for a lunging challenge that raked Zabaleta's thing"
    Why did Zabaleta have his thing out at Wembey?



  • 60x60.png
    winterof79 16 April 2011 7:31PM

    "What settled City's nerves in the end was United going down to 10 men, with Scholes all to predictably seeing straight red for a lunging challenge that raked Zabaleta's thing"
    No wonder he got sent off really


  • no-user-image.gif
    dwinst 16 April 2011 7:31PM

    Way-hey do I get be first to comment? Being a Man U fan, I have to say well done to the Noisy Neighbours. Well deserved victory. Man Utd to be honest, other than a couple of chances were Wank!! Scholes Adios mate. Park great goal in the week, but he's shit, don't care how much like a headless chicken you resemble. Carrick, muppet. Can't see how Utd are going to achieve much more in the CL. Prem League all but sewn up. That's my rant anyway.


  • no-user-image.gif
    coxsoccer 16 April 2011 7:31PM

    Yaya Toure is a hell of a player sometimes.
    De Jong was superb and even Lescott put a goo shift in. No City players were any worse than a 7/10.
    No Man Utd players were any better than a 6/10 after the firtst half an hour.




  • 60x60.png
    vahavta 16 April 2011 7:31PM

    Utd fan choosing to comment.
    Just another example that we need to buy a midfield. We have been winging it this season, and it will not surprise me at all if we are made to look very foolish by the end, and end up with f-all.
    City deserved it. Not much else to say other than come on either Bolton or Stoke!



  • no-user-image.gif
    dwinst 16 April 2011 7:32PM

    Shit, correction I wasn't first to post. Can't get anything right today being a Red!! ; )


  • 60x60.png
    hozho 16 April 2011 7:32PM

    "Whatever now happens in the FA Cup iand wsahtever the bannerv at Old Trafford may say it is not quite true to suggest Manchester City have not wonm anything for the last 35 years."
    Get it together, Pual.


  • no-user-image.gif
    retalivity 16 April 2011 7:32PM

    ferdinand once again epitomising his club - graceless.
    stuff for them....now onto schalke/barca to stuff them in the champs league


  • 60x60.png
    IngmarBergkamp 16 April 2011 7:32PM

    What an idiot Rio Ferdinand is. Obviously in Balotelli's ear all game trying to wind him up and get him sent off, looks like it back-fired; Balotelli gave him some back at the end and quite rightly so, too.


  • no-user-image.gif
    jrsuperstar 16 April 2011 7:32PM

    Well I think that most would agree that without the foreign players on the pitch, the match would have been on par with a Stoke vs Bolton game without the excitement. Best thing that City could do is get rid of their English players and they should easily win the league next year. How any team with the aspirations of City has players such as Lescott, Wright-Phillips, Barry and Johnson on the pitch is beyond me.



  • 60x60.png
    LittleEgg 16 April 2011 7:32PM

    Fergie said 'it'll be our experience that gets us through'. Experienced Carrick gives the ball away. Experienced Scholes gets sent off. And experienced VDS eclipsed by a brilliant Hart.
    Congrats City.


  • 60x60.png
    KoaChinHorSays 16 April 2011 7:33PM

    2009 – Barcelona CL Final
    2010 – Bayern Munich CL QF
    2011 – Man City FA Cup SF
    Cometh the hour, cometh the man
    Michael Carrick
    What? ****ing what?


  • no-user-image.gif
    theresonly1jbarnes 16 April 2011 7:33PM

    One Michael Carrick, there’s only one Michael Carrick, one Michael Caaaarick,
    There’s only one Michael Caaarick!!



  • no-user-image.gif
    lawsy009 16 April 2011 7:33PM

    If only Rio Ferdinand was that close to Mario Balotelli throughout the game...




  • 60x60.png
    1723985 16 April 2011 7:33PM

    I ****ing love Paul Scholes though, what a hilarious player - I think there's something of a pity he was the only manc on the field, I don't like to be the person who complains about the globalisation of the modern game etc etc. But there's something wrong with that.



  • 60x60.png
    meetandveg 16 April 2011 7:33PM

    Whatever they do they still have to wake up every morning and know they’re only Man City and they have to wear that ridiculous strip and over-pay unwanted mediocrity to play for them.


  • no-user-image.gif
    supermj 16 April 2011 7:33PM

    This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn't abide by our community standards. Replies may also be deleted. For more detail see our FAQs.


  • 60x60.png
    jkhd 16 April 2011 7:34PM

    Anyone else missing the 'recommend' button. Next to the posts.

    ​
    Same.
    And the bold, italic etc buttons
 
Late goal from Gabriel Agbonlahor helps Aston Villa sink West Ham




#content > .six-col { float: none; }.m-sport { border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(0, 128, 0); }.m-sport #tabs { border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(153, 153, 153); }.m-sport h2 { margin-top: 0pt; border-top: 0pt none; font-size: 14px ! important; padding: 9px 0pt 12px ! important; }.m-sport th { padding-right: 30px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 150px; }.m-sport li { display: inline; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); }.football .article-attributes { border-top: medium none ! important; }

Premier League

West Ham United 1
  • Keane 2
Aston Villa 2
  • Bent 36,
  • Agbonlahor 91




  • Paul Doyle at Upton Park
  • guardian.co.uk, Saturday 16 April 2011 17.07 BST
    Aston-Villa-celebrate-007.jpg
    Aston Villa players celebrate Darren Bent's equaliser at Upton Park. Photograph: Rebecca Naden/PA

    The last time West Ham United went down, in 2003, they did so with a raft of England players in their ranks. Aston Villa arrived at Upton Park at risk of suffering a similar fate this season but after sparkling performances by their internationals they departed relatively worry-free and pushed West Ham closer to a return to the Championship.
    The hosts hired a local brass band to blare Land of Hope and Glory before kick-off and their players suggested they were eager to get into that spirit by opening the scoring in the second minute.
    Villa's Ashley Young played his part, too, dawdling as the visiting defence rushed out after half-clearing a Mark Noble corner and thereby leaving Robbie Keane onside to collect Thomas Hitzlsperger's header over the top. The Irishman swivelled sharply and slammed the ball into the net from close range. But that was the end of West Ham's glory. Hope just about lingers.
    But Young more than atoned for his early slackness. His redemption began in the sixth minute, when he dashed off the left wing and into the home penalty area before firing a low shot that was deflected wide. He made a similar run moments later and this time found the target but Rob Green saved. Brad Friedel did likewise at the other end in the 20th minute, when Carlton Cole tested him with a drive from the edge of the area.
    By then West Ham, who had started without their injured talisman, Scott Parker, had lost the centre-back Manuel da Costa following an awkward challenge by Darren Bent. The Villa striker had cause to groan, too, when his seemingly legitimate goal in the 24th minute was disallowed for a supposed foul on the West Ham right-back Lars Jacobsen.
    Never mind: 12 minutes later he scored one that counted. As with Keane's strike, the goal was punishment for dithering by a midfielder, Mark Noble being caught in possession in the penalty area by Emile Heskey before Luke Young delivered a cross that Bent headed in expertly from eight yards.
    Villa dominated after that as Bent and Ashley Young excelled and the effect of Parker's absence became apparent on West Ham, who looked irreparably fragmented. "It was a very crucial match and the players knew it and they were a little bit nervous, especially without Parker," said Avram Grant, who knows that, with Parker's ankle injury possibly sidelining him for another two weeks, his team cannot afford to carry on like this. "We need to deal with this situation," the West Ham manager said.
    Green had to thwart Bent from close range at the start of the second half after Matthew Upson misread a bounce and from the resulting corner Cole booted a James Collins header off the line. Two minutes later Green foiled Ashley Young with a superb diving save from a curling 20-yard free-kick. Bent's ability to continually find space was making a mockery of the home defence but in the 72nd minute he reprieved them by missing his easiest chance of the game, scuffing a shot from six yards after a fine run and cross by Kyle Walker.
    Ashley Young again went close in the 76th minute before Cole squandered an opportunity to score against the run of play. After a mighty punt by Green, the striker beat Richard Dunne and Friedel to the ball but lobbed wide from 15 yards. A home winner would have been unjust, indeed even a draw would have been undeserved and in stoppage time they were denied that dividend.
    Inevitably, Ashley Young created the goal, tricking his way down the right before crossing for the substitute Gabriel Agbonlahor to head in from six yards.
    "I told the players before the game that this could be a turning point and we couldn't miss it," said Gérard Houllier, the much-maligned manager whose own position may not yet be quite as comfortable as that of his team, who now sit ninth. "When you're in danger you can't have egos in the team and you can't have grudges. You've got to be man enough to work for each other. I thought we did that. The season is going into the home straight and we are well-placed."
    THE FANS' PLAYER RATINGS AND VERDICT

    ROGER HART, Observer reader Before hand I was concerned, but we scored early and we looked really good, with plenty of neat passing and wide play. They equalised against the run of play and in the second half, they found an extra gear and they were the ones spreading the play. When O'Neil went off that was a big loss. We had a good chance near the end but Cole cleared the bar and then they scored.
    The fan's player ratings Green 7; Jacobsen 5, Da Costa 4 (Gabbidon 14 6), Upson 5, Bridge 6; O'Neil 6 (Ba 62 4), Noble 6, Hitzlsperger 7; Obinna 5, (Hines 58 4) Keane 6, Cole 7
    JONATHAN PRITCHARD, Observer reader It is a massive relief for us to be almost safe. We didn't start the game very well and West Ham dominated the first half. But in the second half we were the better team. We are a different team since we changed formation to 4-4-2 and it's a shame Houllier didn't spot that earlier. It's nice to see Hitzlsperger back in the Premier League and we wish West Ham well but there's no room for sentiment. We're ninth in the league now, it's crazy.
    The fan's player ratings Friedel 7; Walker 7, Collins 6, Dunne 6, L Young 6; Downing 7, Petrov 8, Reo-Coker 8, A Young 7; Bent 7, Heskey 7 (Agbonlahor 78 7)
    To take part in the Fans' Verdict, email sport@observer.co.uk

 
Late goal from Gabriel Agbonlahor helps Aston Villa sink West Ham







Premier League

West Ham United 1
  • Keane 2
Aston Villa 2
  • Bent 36,
  • Agbonlahor 91




  • Paul Doyle at Upton Park
  • guardian.co.uk, Saturday 16 April 2011 17.07 BST
    Aston-Villa-celebrate-007.jpg
    Aston Villa players celebrate Darren Bent's equaliser at Upton Park. Photograph: Rebecca Naden/PA

    The last time West Ham United went down, in 2003, they did so with a raft of England players in their ranks. Aston Villa arrived at Upton Park at risk of suffering a similar fate this season but after sparkling performances by their internationals they departed relatively worry-free and pushed West Ham closer to a return to the Championship.
    The hosts hired a local brass band to blare Land of Hope and Glory before kick-off and their players suggested they were eager to get into that spirit by opening the scoring in the second minute.
    Villa's Ashley Young played his part, too, dawdling as the visiting defence rushed out after half-clearing a Mark Noble corner and thereby leaving Robbie Keane onside to collect Thomas Hitzlsperger's header over the top. The Irishman swivelled sharply and slammed the ball into the net from close range. But that was the end of West Ham's glory. Hope just about lingers.
    But Young more than atoned for his early slackness. His redemption began in the sixth minute, when he dashed off the left wing and into the home penalty area before firing a low shot that was deflected wide. He made a similar run moments later and this time found the target but Rob Green saved. Brad Friedel did likewise at the other end in the 20th minute, when Carlton Cole tested him with a drive from the edge of the area.
    By then West Ham, who had started without their injured talisman, Scott Parker, had lost the centre-back Manuel da Costa following an awkward challenge by Darren Bent. The Villa striker had cause to groan, too, when his seemingly legitimate goal in the 24th minute was disallowed for a supposed foul on the West Ham right-back Lars Jacobsen.
    Never mind: 12 minutes later he scored one that counted. As with Keane's strike, the goal was punishment for dithering by a midfielder, Mark Noble being caught in possession in the penalty area by Emile Heskey before Luke Young delivered a cross that Bent headed in expertly from eight yards.
    Villa dominated after that as Bent and Ashley Young excelled and the effect of Parker's absence became apparent on West Ham, who looked irreparably fragmented. "It was a very crucial match and the players knew it and they were a little bit nervous, especially without Parker," said Avram Grant, who knows that, with Parker's ankle injury possibly sidelining him for another two weeks, his team cannot afford to carry on like this. "We need to deal with this situation," the West Ham manager said.
    Green had to thwart Bent from close range at the start of the second half after Matthew Upson misread a bounce and from the resulting corner Cole booted a James Collins header off the line. Two minutes later Green foiled Ashley Young with a superb diving save from a curling 20-yard free-kick. Bent's ability to continually find space was making a mockery of the home defence but in the 72nd minute he reprieved them by missing his easiest chance of the game, scuffing a shot from six yards after a fine run and cross by Kyle Walker.
    Ashley Young again went close in the 76th minute before Cole squandered an opportunity to score against the run of play. After a mighty punt by Green, the striker beat Richard Dunne and Friedel to the ball but lobbed wide from 15 yards. A home winner would have been unjust, indeed even a draw would have been undeserved and in stoppage time they were denied that dividend.
    Inevitably, Ashley Young created the goal, tricking his way down the right before crossing for the substitute Gabriel Agbonlahor to head in from six yards.
    "I told the players before the game that this could be a turning point and we couldn't miss it," said Gérard Houllier, the much-maligned manager whose own position may not yet be quite as comfortable as that of his team, who now sit ninth. "When you're in danger you can't have egos in the team and you can't have grudges. You've got to be man enough to work for each other. I thought we did that. The season is going into the home straight and we are well-placed."
    THE FANS' PLAYER RATINGS AND VERDICT

    ROGER HART, Observer reader Before hand I was concerned, but we scored early and we looked really good, with plenty of neat passing and wide play. They equalised against the run of play and in the second half, they found an extra gear and they were the ones spreading the play. When O'Neil went off that was a big loss. We had a good chance near the end but Cole cleared the bar and then they scored.
    The fan's player ratings Green 7; Jacobsen 5, Da Costa 4 (Gabbidon 14 6), Upson 5, Bridge 6; O'Neil 6 (Ba 62 4), Noble 6, Hitzlsperger 7; Obinna 5, (Hines 58 4) Keane 6, Cole 7
    JONATHAN PRITCHARD, Observer reader It is a massive relief for us to be almost safe. We didn't start the game very well and West Ham dominated the first half. But in the second half we were the better team. We are a different team since we changed formation to 4-4-2 and it's a shame Houllier didn't spot that earlier. It's nice to see Hitzlsperger back in the Premier League and we wish West Ham well but there's no room for sentiment. We're ninth in the league now, it's crazy.
    The fan's player ratings Friedel 7; Walker 7, Collins 6, Dunne 6, L Young 6; Downing 7, Petrov 8, Reo-Coker 8, A Young 7; Bent 7, Heskey 7 (Agbonlahor 78 7)
    To take part in the Fans' Verdict, email sport@observer.co.uk
 
Ronaldo rescues Real Madrid to shock Barcelona in El Clásico

Real Madrid 1-1 Barcelona





  • Sid Lowe in Madrid
  • The Observer, Sunday 17 April 2011 <li class="history">Article history
    Lionel-Messi-007.jpg
    Lionel Messi celebrates after putting Barcelona ahead against Real Madrid. Photograph: Dani Pozo/AFP/Getty Images

    Real Madrid all but relinquished the league title and yet when the final whistle blew, there was a huge roar from the Santiago Bernabéu. Soon, a chant of "Madrid! Madrid!" went round the stadium. If this game's real value was to be found in the psychological impact it could have on the series of four matches in 18 days upon which these sides embarked on Saturday night, for Real Madrid it shifted from fatalism to optimism in 10 unexpected second-half minutes.
    With 10 minutes to go, Barcelona were leading 1-0 through a Leo Messi penalty and were strolling, their superiority embarrassing this mighty arena. Madrid were forced to chase the ball, only to see it denied them, for ever arriving too late. They had just 23% of the ball, were down to 10 men and even José Mourinho appeared to have given up. His substitutions &#8211; withdrawing Angel Di María and Xabi Alonso &#8211; suggested a coach who was already seeking to protect his key players for the Copa del Rey final on Wednesday and the Champions League semi-final. Their morale, though, was already irrevocably damaged.
    Or so it seemed. The change, with Mesut Ozil coming on, turned out to have major impact. Marcelo was played in. Dani Alves came across to make the challenge, diving in to nudge the ball behind for a corner. But Marcelo tumbled and, with Mourinho leaping at the side of the pitch, a lifeline offered, referee César Muñiz Fernández pointed to the spot. Cristiano Ronaldo scored and this saga shifted. Madrid had been rescued, Barcelona shook.
    It was the second penalty of a match that until then had left many hoping that this series of games will improve and that the climax will be better than the opening chapter; a series that left few in any doubt that Barcelona were dominant. The first had arrived 10 minutes into the second half, when Villa was sent dashing behind the Madrid defence as the ball, holding up on the turf, bounced up slowly. As the striker tried to turn away from Albiol, the defender, wrong-footed, handled the ball accidentally and then rather more intentionally grabbed Villa around the neck and pulled him to the ground. Muñiz Fernández pointed to the spot &#8211; and then pulled out a direct red card which means that the defender will not be able to play in the final of the Copa del Rey. Mourinho smiled sarcastically. Messi scored his 30th league goal of the season, his 49th in all competitions. It was the first he had scored against a side managed by Mourinho.
    There was little reason to suppose Madrid would get back into it, either. This had been a surprisingly flat game but one that the opposition had largely dominated.
    Barcelona had much more of the ball but there was a slowness to their play &#8211; Mourinho had ordered that the grass be left long &#8211; and a lack of clarity and fluidity, the ball moved around reduced spaces and deep areas of the pitch, accumulating bodies and passes but not opportunities. For Barça, who knew that a draw would preserve their league advantage, nor did there appear to be much urgency. For Madrid, the urgency came in the speed with which they launched themselves forward from deep, where they lay in wait, and the pressure they applied to their opponents.
    In the opening 20 minutes, Barcelona had 83% of the possession. By half-time, Madrid had managed to claw back a bit of possession but not much: they had just 23%, 116 passes to Barcelona's 383. Víctor Valdés had made more passes than Xabi Alonso. Chances were few &#8211; a Ronaldo free-kick and header, a Messi lob and a strike after a weaving run&#8211; and those stats would not change much. But Madrid had more, if largely speculative shots and both teams appeared comfortable, happy to bide their time &#8211; Barcelona seeking space to thread through the pass; Madrid seeking the swift diagonal and the break, the chance to suck the rivals in and sprint beyond them.
    Barcelona did find one of those passes on 25 minutes. Messi slotted the ball through for Villa. He got to the ball fractionally quicker, turned away from Iker Casillas and turned to seek the contact. He found it too, the goalkeeper catching him, but the referee saw it differently. He would have another chance to point to the spot in the second half and this time did not deny Barcelona a penalty. When Messi scored, Barcelona's huge morale-boosting victory and title-clinching victory looked a certainty. Complete control, already exercised, followed. Definitive, too, it seemed. But then, when it looked so easy for the visitors, another penalty also appeared.
    The draw means that Barcelona's league lead remains a virtually unassailable eight points, plus head to head goal difference with six games to go. But 10-man Madrid ultimately, unexpectedly felt like the victory was theirs.

 
Ronaldo rescues Real Madrid to shock Barcelona in El Clásico

Real Madrid 1-1 Barcelona


Sid Lowe in Madrid
  • The Observer, Sunday 17 April 2011 <li class="history">Article history
    Lionel-Messi-007.jpg
    Lionel Messi celebrates after putting Barcelona ahead against Real Madrid. Photograph: Dani Pozo/AFP/Getty Images

    Real Madrid all but relinquished the league title and yet when the final whistle blew, there was a huge roar from the Santiago Bernabéu. Soon, a chant of "Madrid! Madrid!" went round the stadium. If this game's real value was to be found in the psychological impact it could have on the series of four matches in 18 days upon which these sides embarked on Saturday night, for Real Madrid it shifted from fatalism to optimism in 10 unexpected second-half minutes.
    With 10 minutes to go, Barcelona were leading 1-0 through a Leo Messi penalty and were strolling, their superiority embarrassing this mighty arena. Madrid were forced to chase the ball, only to see it denied them, for ever arriving too late. They had just 23% of the ball, were down to 10 men and even José Mourinho appeared to have given up. His substitutions – withdrawing Angel Di María and Xabi Alonso – suggested a coach who was already seeking to protect his key players for the Copa del Rey final on Wednesday and the Champions League semi-final. Their morale, though, was already irrevocably damaged.
    Or so it seemed. The change, with Mesut Ozil coming on, turned out to have major impact. Marcelo was played in. Dani Alves came across to make the challenge, diving in to nudge the ball behind for a corner. But Marcelo tumbled and, with Mourinho leaping at the side of the pitch, a lifeline offered, referee César Muñiz Fernández pointed to the spot. Cristiano Ronaldo scored and this saga shifted. Madrid had been rescued, Barcelona shook.
    It was the second penalty of a match that until then had left many hoping that this series of games will improve and that the climax will be better than the opening chapter; a series that left few in any doubt that Barcelona were dominant. The first had arrived 10 minutes into the second half, when Villa was sent dashing behind the Madrid defence as the ball, holding up on the turf, bounced up slowly. As the striker tried to turn away from Albiol, the defender, wrong-footed, handled the ball accidentally and then rather more intentionally grabbed Villa around the neck and pulled him to the ground. Muñiz Fernández pointed to the spot – and then pulled out a direct red card which means that the defender will not be able to play in the final of the Copa del Rey. Mourinho smiled sarcastically. Messi scored his 30th league goal of the season, his 49th in all competitions. It was the first he had scored against a side managed by Mourinho.
    There was little reason to suppose Madrid would get back into it, either. This had been a surprisingly flat game but one that the opposition had largely dominated.
    Barcelona had much more of the ball but there was a slowness to their play – Mourinho had ordered that the grass be left long – and a lack of clarity and fluidity, the ball moved around reduced spaces and deep areas of the pitch, accumulating bodies and passes but not opportunities. For Barça, who knew that a draw would preserve their league advantage, nor did there appear to be much urgency. For Madrid, the urgency came in the speed with which they launched themselves forward from deep, where they lay in wait, and the pressure they applied to their opponents.
    In the opening 20 minutes, Barcelona had 83% of the possession. By half-time, Madrid had managed to claw back a bit of possession but not much: they had just 23%, 116 passes to Barcelona's 383. Víctor Valdés had made more passes than Xabi Alonso. Chances were few – a Ronaldo free-kick and header, a Messi lob and a strike after a weaving run– and those stats would not change much. But Madrid had more, if largely speculative shots and both teams appeared comfortable, happy to bide their time – Barcelona seeking space to thread through the pass; Madrid seeking the swift diagonal and the break, the chance to suck the rivals in and sprint beyond them.
    Barcelona did find one of those passes on 25 minutes. Messi slotted the ball through for Villa. He got to the ball fractionally quicker, turned away from Iker Casillas and turned to seek the contact. He found it too, the goalkeeper catching him, but the referee saw it differently. He would have another chance to point to the spot in the second half and this time did not deny Barcelona a penalty. When Messi scored, Barcelona's huge morale-boosting victory and title-clinching victory looked a certainty. Complete control, already exercised, followed. Definitive, too, it seemed. But then, when it looked so easy for the visitors, another penalty also appeared.
    The draw means that Barcelona's league lead remains a virtually unassailable eight points, plus head to head goal difference with six games to go. But 10-man Madrid ultimately, unexpectedly felt like the victory was theirs.
 
Comments in chronological order (Total 176 comments)

Post a comment
  • icons_staff_16.gif
    Staff
  • icons_contributor_16.gif
    Contributor



  • 60x60.png
    meetandveg 16 April 2011 11:06PM

    I hope both teams completely hobble each other over the course of the 4 matches and either Utd or Schalke play the CL final against the winners' under 16 team. Cronaldo finally gets his goal against Barça after 1000000000minutes and a dodgy pen against the run of play, well done lad, you're a star.





  • no-user-image.gif
    mackacavs 16 April 2011 11:09PM

    Even though Barca are obviously fantastic, they still hugely rely on Messi.
    Created almost everything for them today.



  • 60x60.png
    01AlanBennett 16 April 2011 11:11PM

    After so many exciting Clásicos in recent memory I suppose we were due a game like tonight's.


  • no-user-image.gif
    ahsanib 16 April 2011 11:11PM

    So at the Bernabeu, a Barca player has to be strangled to get a penalty (witness no call on Villa in 1st half). But when Alves gets the ball first? Pweet! Spot kick!
    Whatever. I'm happy with a 1-1. Probably a fair result. Neither team played very well, just well enough. Thus draw is fair.
    Pepe in midfield was a bit of a wrinkle but you could see the Barca players, particularly Messi, get a handle of it by the close of the 2nd half. Mou might have played his hand too early. On to the Mestalla.



  • no-user-image.gif
    seathescars 16 April 2011 11:12PM

    David Villa's developing a bit of Torres syndrome, he looked a bit forlorn out there, with Messi constantly trying to feed him.



  • no-user-image.gif
    arsetechnica 16 April 2011 11:12PM

    Mostly an unspectacular game, it has to be said. Although credit to Real for playing the only way to stop Barca: defend solidly in your half and counterattack. I didn't think Mourinho had the players for it.


  • no-user-image.gif
    crazyfatguy 16 April 2011 11:12PM

    You know there was a terrible referee on the pitch when both sides can have legitimate gripes.


  • 60x60.png
    JamieDavidson 16 April 2011 11:13PM

    Disappointing game. Disappointing football, disappointing gamesmanship (from both sides, before the Barcelona backlash crowd arrive, it's just that Madrid are better at it).
    Not Messi's most edifying display by any measure. Still, I doubt my marginally dimmed view of him will last.


  • no-user-image.gif
    arsetechnica 16 April 2011 11:15PM

    It's interesting that Mourinho apparently practiced with 10 men in preparation for this game, so it's not just me.


  • no-user-image.gif
    MNoone 16 April 2011 11:15PM

    Reading that MBM by Scott Murray, he seems to be on a mission to prove Barcelona players are cheats and divers. But absolutely nothing from him on the Marcelo dive to earn the penalty. I am guessing his Barca hatred clouds his judgement when it comes to the best divers in Spanish football at the moment - Di Maria, Marceloa and Ronaldo co. He even selects a few emails from Barca haters proving that Messi is a "disgraceful sportsman". Messi of all people. Talk about having an axe to grind.


  • no-user-image.gif
    oranjehype 16 April 2011 11:16PM

    i think barcelona are the kings of gamesmanship. from biscuits to messy you have hte entire gamut. it appears like no one is allowed to tackle them. when xavi is tackled, he just goes down with his hands up and asks for a foul. when messi is tackled he asks for a card as well. the ref's job is pretty difficult.



  • no-user-image.gif
    arsetechnica 16 April 2011 11:18PM

    I don't mind the odd going down easily to win an advantage, but I hate Busquets. Even his quality as a player doesn't make up for his lack of sportsmanship


  • 60x60.png
    JamieDavidson 16 April 2011 11:19PM

    i think barcelona are the kings of gamesmanship. from biscuits to messy you have hte entire gamut. it appears like no one is allowed to tackle them. when xavi is tackled, he just goes down with his hands up and asks for a foul. when messi is tackled he asks for a card as well. the ref's job is pretty difficult.
    ​
    All true, but I don't know if that makes them the 'kings of gamesmanship'. It's all pretty rudimentary stuff. Madrid, on the other hand, simply fall over, placing their fate in the hands of gravity. And they win free kick after free kick by doing so.


  • no-user-image.gif
    Griffey 16 April 2011 11:21PM

    I can see why Madrid's penalty was given, however dodgy people think it might have been.
    What was revealing for me was Mourinho's celebration in just being awarded the penalty. It was an admission of inferiority. So this is really what it's come to - getting excited about the chance of not being associated with another loss to Barca - and in a home fixture too!
    As for Messi, a truly fantastic player, but by gosh he always seems a little too casual with taking penalties.


  • 60x60.png
    DIPSET 16 April 2011 11:22PM

    Not the first time Pep has got the timing of his substitutions wrong.... Ally that with a club transfer policy that seems made up on the go, you kinda come away feeling a weird sense of frustration, almost like half the damage done to Barca is self-inflicted...



  • no-user-image.gif
    pirana 16 April 2011 11:23PM

    Not a good game, happy with the result nonetheless. I expect to see a lot of comments about how Alves and Busquets dive, and how Di Maria and Ronaldo are model footballers.


  • 60x60.png
    blaugrananord 16 April 2011 11:24PM

    Lest anyone accuse me of viewing the game through blaugrana-tinted glasses...
    a. Real's penalty was deserved. Alves had no choice but to stick his toe out at Marcelo, which was mainly because Barca's back line (especially you, Piqué) were running around aimlessly once Adebayor came on
    b. Busquets' playacting and Messi's card-waving were disgraceful and deserved at least a caution.
    That said, how does Casillas not get booked for taking Villa out in the box early on? Bloody disgraceful decision, that.
    It was hardly a game for the ages, but it mattered the least of the four. Bring on the Copa del Rey!


  • 60x60.png
    sujay7pires 16 April 2011 11:27PM

    1 down and 3 more instalments of that dross.
    That was possibly the worst refereeing I have ever seen. That's inspite of watching the EPL.


  • no-user-image.gif
    penya 16 April 2011 11:27PM

    Yeah, not a great game which is mostly down to Mou and his usual negative if gritty ways. With Puyol OK that means that Busquets can stay in midfield as we did drop back to much when he went into the back 4. I worry that Messi and Villa are not scoring much but they shouldn't be problem. As per the ref, he was OK. If Marcelo's was a PK then so was Villa's while I wonder how Pepe didn't get booked for persistent fouling but that happens when you play away. Barca do get there fair share at the Nou Camp. 1 down, 2 to go.


  • no-user-image.gif
    LaNene 16 April 2011 11:27PM

    meetandveg 16 April 2011 11:06PM I hope both teams completely hobble each other over the course of the 4 matches and either Utd or Schalke play the CL final against the winners' under 16 team. Cronaldo finally gets his goal against Barça after 1000000000minutes and a dodgy pen against the run of play, well done lad, you're a star.
    yeah keep hoping


  • no-user-image.gif
    NLCDNexpat 16 April 2011 11:27PM

    Too bad...too bad... Ibi should have put that away for his first for the Catalans. Nice though...


  • 60x60.png
    sujay7pires 16 April 2011 11:29PM

    Atleast Perez will be happy. They didn't lose and managed a goal.
    Mourinho asking for Alves to be booked was a f*cking disgrace. Talk about managers setting an example eh?



  • no-user-image.gif
    penya 16 April 2011 11:30PM

    As I watch the press conference, I am reminded what a dick Mourinho is. No one can doubt his success but he is scum on and off the pitch.


  • 60x60.png
    DIPSET 16 April 2011 11:30PM

    Oh yeah almost forgot...First, sand on the pitch at Stamford Bridge a couple years back, now tonight, the grass not being cut since the last Madrid home game s !?!? Jcheezz!! Whatever it takes, huh.......lol



  • 60x60.png
    sujay7pires 16 April 2011 11:34PM

    As per the ref, he was OK. If Marcelo's was a PK then so was Villa's while I wonder how Pepe didn't get booked for persistent fouling but that happens when you play away.
    ​
    The ref was rubbish, bottled it time and time again. Gave some really stupid decisions and in general had a really really poor game. I mean, booking Pique for absolutely nothing?
    How Pepe stayed on the pitch is beyond me. The ironic part of the whole match was Pepe asking Messi to "use his head, think". Brilliant.


  • no-user-image.gif
    MNoone 16 April 2011 11:34PM

    That referee was absolutely dreadful. It was almost like he was waiting for a chance to gift Madrid a penalty. Apparently he has given madrid 10 penalties before. Same drivel from Mourinho - apparently Madrid drew because they played with 10 men and he is going to practice with 10 men. Oh, boy. Will this moron ever grow up?


  • no-user-image.gif
    oranjehype 16 April 2011 11:35PM

    of course madrid are not as good a team as barca. does not mean that barca have a divine right to win because they are the best team in the world. it was a penalty and madrid actually created some good chances after going one down. so all credit to them. pepe was fantastic today. madrid will miss ricky c in the champs league.



  • no-user-image.gif
    oranjehype 16 April 2011 11:37PM

    why should pepe be sent off? he was consistently winning the ball. that is the attitude of barca and their fans. if anyone tackles them and wins they ball, it is automatically a foul.


  • no-user-image.gif
    APPAUH 16 April 2011 11:38PM

    Hey, I don't blame Villa but i blame the referee for succeeding in sharing the point. i know we will get them another day. Madrid shame on you.


  • no-user-image.gif
    RodgerTheDodger 16 April 2011 11:38PM

    Absolutely disgusting ! The Spanish Football Association completely failed to follow UEFA guidelines and appoint a referee that would gift Barcelona the match. How many Madrid players were sent off - none ! How many penalties did Barcelona get - a measly one when it was clear they needed more, and unforgivably that was counterbalanced by a the totally wrongful act of a penalty for Madrid.
    UEFA need to investigate this. I suspect that the referee was not even a Barcelona supporter ! I ask you, what ridiculous unfairness.
    Still, it will be different in the Champions League. There it will be done properly.


  • 60x60.png
    elscollonsdelgos 16 April 2011 11:39PM

    It's obvious why Mourinho's Madrid play why they do - to beat Barça in areas in which they're weak - but the Madid fans in the bar in Santa Coloma said they can't stand the way Madrid play. It's as if they find it humiliating.
    1-1's not a bad result for Barça. I'd be happy with D-W-D-W over the 4 matches.


  • 60x60.png
    dublinroo 16 April 2011 11:41PM

    Still, it will be different in the Champions League. There it will be done properly.
    ​
    Aye, you never get dodgy refs in the champions league...
    One Madrid player was sent off, by the way. But sod the facts.


  • 60x60.png
    elscollonsdelgos 16 April 2011 11:41PM

    Mourinho's well on his way to winning UEFA's Golden Whinge award. Not even Arsene Whinger is in with a chance.


  • no-user-image.gif
    Tamales 16 April 2011 11:42PM

    Barca's squad is too narrow. That's going to be their undoing. Barca started with their best line-up and every substitution was a step down. Puyol was rushed back and it backfired. Madrid, on the other hand, brought Ozil, Arbeloa and Adebayor who changed the game and still had Kaka and Higuain on the bench. Madrid can rotate their back four (five) quite easily so suspensions, injuries and fatigue are not that problematic. I can see Madrid progressing in CL after today's game.



  • no-user-image.gif
    RodgerTheDodger 16 April 2011 11:45PM

    @dublinroo,
    Certainly, when Barcelona are playing in the CL I notice that 'sod the facts' is generally the referee's attitude.




  • no-user-image.gif
    XavIniesta78 16 April 2011 11:50PM

    Wow, after all this talk it comes down to this: Madrid, a team, where C. Ronaldo alone, coast more than the whole staring eleven from Barcelona, is so cowardice to play with all men behind the ball for a draw on their own turf. They could got this kind of performance with a lot less investment
 
Comments in chronological order (Total 176 comments)

Post a comment
  • icons_staff_16.gif
    Staff
  • icons_contributor_16.gif
    Contributor



  • 60x60.png
    meetandveg 16 April 2011 11:06PM

    I hope both teams completely hobble each other over the course of the 4 matches and either Utd or Schalke play the CL final against the winners’ under 16 team. Cronaldo finally gets his goal against Barça after 1000000000minutes and a dodgy pen against the run of play, well done lad, you’re a star.





  • no-user-image.gif
    mackacavs 16 April 2011 11:09PM

    Even though Barca are obviously fantastic, they still hugely rely on Messi.
    Created almost everything for them today.



  • 60x60.png
    01AlanBennett 16 April 2011 11:11PM

    After so many exciting Clásicos in recent memory I suppose we were due a game like tonight's.


  • no-user-image.gif
    ahsanib 16 April 2011 11:11PM

    So at the Bernabeu, a Barca player has to be strangled to get a penalty (witness no call on Villa in 1st half). But when Alves gets the ball first? Pweet! Spot kick!
    Whatever. I'm happy with a 1-1. Probably a fair result. Neither team played very well, just well enough. Thus draw is fair.
    Pepe in midfield was a bit of a wrinkle but you could see the Barca players, particularly Messi, get a handle of it by the close of the 2nd half. Mou might have played his hand too early. On to the Mestalla.



  • no-user-image.gif
    seathescars 16 April 2011 11:12PM

    David Villa's developing a bit of Torres syndrome, he looked a bit forlorn out there, with Messi constantly trying to feed him.



  • no-user-image.gif
    arsetechnica 16 April 2011 11:12PM

    Mostly an unspectacular game, it has to be said. Although credit to Real for playing the only way to stop Barca: defend solidly in your half and counterattack. I didn't think Mourinho had the players for it.


  • no-user-image.gif
    crazyfatguy 16 April 2011 11:12PM

    You know there was a terrible referee on the pitch when both sides can have legitimate gripes.


  • 60x60.png
    JamieDavidson 16 April 2011 11:13PM

    Disappointing game. Disappointing football, disappointing gamesmanship (from both sides, before the Barcelona backlash crowd arrive, it's just that Madrid are better at it).
    Not Messi's most edifying display by any measure. Still, I doubt my marginally dimmed view of him will last.


  • no-user-image.gif
    arsetechnica 16 April 2011 11:15PM

    It's interesting that Mourinho apparently practiced with 10 men in preparation for this game, so it's not just me.


  • no-user-image.gif
    MNoone 16 April 2011 11:15PM

    Reading that MBM by Scott Murray, he seems to be on a mission to prove Barcelona players are cheats and divers. But absolutely nothing from him on the Marcelo dive to earn the penalty. I am guessing his Barca hatred clouds his judgement when it comes to the best divers in Spanish football at the moment - Di Maria, Marceloa and Ronaldo co. He even selects a few emails from Barca haters proving that Messi is a "disgraceful sportsman". Messi of all people. Talk about having an axe to grind.


  • no-user-image.gif
    oranjehype 16 April 2011 11:16PM

    i think barcelona are the kings of gamesmanship. from biscuits to messy you have hte entire gamut. it appears like no one is allowed to tackle them. when xavi is tackled, he just goes down with his hands up and asks for a foul. when messi is tackled he asks for a card as well. the ref's job is pretty difficult.



  • no-user-image.gif
    arsetechnica 16 April 2011 11:18PM

    I don't mind the odd going down easily to win an advantage, but I hate Busquets. Even his quality as a player doesn't make up for his lack of sportsmanship


  • 60x60.png
    JamieDavidson 16 April 2011 11:19PM

    i think barcelona are the kings of gamesmanship. from biscuits to messy you have hte entire gamut. it appears like no one is allowed to tackle them. when xavi is tackled, he just goes down with his hands up and asks for a foul. when messi is tackled he asks for a card as well. the ref's job is pretty difficult.
    ​
    All true, but I don't know if that makes them the 'kings of gamesmanship'. It's all pretty rudimentary stuff. Madrid, on the other hand, simply fall over, placing their fate in the hands of gravity. And they win free kick after free kick by doing so.


  • no-user-image.gif
    Griffey 16 April 2011 11:21PM

    I can see why Madrid's penalty was given, however dodgy people think it might have been.
    What was revealing for me was Mourinho's celebration in just being awarded the penalty. It was an admission of inferiority. So this is really what it's come to - getting excited about the chance of not being associated with another loss to Barca - and in a home fixture too!
    As for Messi, a truly fantastic player, but by gosh he always seems a little too casual with taking penalties.


  • 60x60.png
    DIPSET 16 April 2011 11:22PM

    Not the first time Pep has got the timing of his substitutions wrong.... Ally that with a club transfer policy that seems made up on the go, you kinda come away feeling a weird sense of frustration, almost like half the damage done to Barca is self-inflicted...



  • no-user-image.gif
    pirana 16 April 2011 11:23PM

    Not a good game, happy with the result nonetheless. I expect to see a lot of comments about how Alves and Busquets dive, and how Di Maria and Ronaldo are model footballers.


  • 60x60.png
    blaugrananord 16 April 2011 11:24PM

    Lest anyone accuse me of viewing the game through blaugrana-tinted glasses...
    a. Real's penalty was deserved. Alves had no choice but to stick his toe out at Marcelo, which was mainly because Barca's back line (especially you, Piqué) were running around aimlessly once Adebayor came on
    b. Busquets' playacting and Messi's card-waving were disgraceful and deserved at least a caution.
    That said, how does Casillas not get booked for taking Villa out in the box early on? Bloody disgraceful decision, that.
    It was hardly a game for the ages, but it mattered the least of the four. Bring on the Copa del Rey!


  • 60x60.png
    sujay7pires 16 April 2011 11:27PM

    1 down and 3 more instalments of that dross.
    That was possibly the worst refereeing I have ever seen. That's inspite of watching the EPL.


  • no-user-image.gif
    penya 16 April 2011 11:27PM

    Yeah, not a great game which is mostly down to Mou and his usual negative if gritty ways. With Puyol OK that means that Busquets can stay in midfield as we did drop back to much when he went into the back 4. I worry that Messi and Villa are not scoring much but they shouldn't be problem. As per the ref, he was OK. If Marcelo's was a PK then so was Villa's while I wonder how Pepe didn't get booked for persistent fouling but that happens when you play away. Barca do get there fair share at the Nou Camp. 1 down, 2 to go.


  • no-user-image.gif
    LaNene 16 April 2011 11:27PM

    meetandveg 16 April 2011 11:06PM I hope both teams completely hobble each other over the course of the 4 matches and either Utd or Schalke play the CL final against the winners’ under 16 team. Cronaldo finally gets his goal against Barça after 1000000000minutes and a dodgy pen against the run of play, well done lad, you’re a star.
    yeah keep hoping


  • no-user-image.gif
    NLCDNexpat 16 April 2011 11:27PM

    Too bad...too bad... Ibi should have put that away for his first for the Catalans. Nice though...


  • 60x60.png
    sujay7pires 16 April 2011 11:29PM

    Atleast Perez will be happy. They didn't lose and managed a goal.
    Mourinho asking for Alves to be booked was a f*cking disgrace. Talk about managers setting an example eh?



  • no-user-image.gif
    penya 16 April 2011 11:30PM

    As I watch the press conference, I am reminded what a dick Mourinho is. No one can doubt his success but he is scum on and off the pitch.


  • 60x60.png
    DIPSET 16 April 2011 11:30PM

    Oh yeah almost forgot...First, sand on the pitch at Stamford Bridge a couple years back, now tonight, the grass not being cut since the last Madrid home game s !?!? Jcheezz!! Whatever it takes, huh.......lol



  • 60x60.png
    sujay7pires 16 April 2011 11:34PM

    As per the ref, he was OK. If Marcelo's was a PK then so was Villa's while I wonder how Pepe didn't get booked for persistent fouling but that happens when you play away.
    ​
    The ref was rubbish, bottled it time and time again. Gave some really stupid decisions and in general had a really really poor game. I mean, booking Pique for absolutely nothing?
    How Pepe stayed on the pitch is beyond me. The ironic part of the whole match was Pepe asking Messi to "use his head, think". Brilliant.


  • no-user-image.gif
    MNoone 16 April 2011 11:34PM

    That referee was absolutely dreadful. It was almost like he was waiting for a chance to gift Madrid a penalty. Apparently he has given madrid 10 penalties before. Same drivel from Mourinho - apparently Madrid drew because they played with 10 men and he is going to practice with 10 men. Oh, boy. Will this moron ever grow up?


  • no-user-image.gif
    oranjehype 16 April 2011 11:35PM

    of course madrid are not as good a team as barca. does not mean that barca have a divine right to win because they are the best team in the world. it was a penalty and madrid actually created some good chances after going one down. so all credit to them. pepe was fantastic today. madrid will miss ricky c in the champs league.



  • no-user-image.gif
    oranjehype 16 April 2011 11:37PM

    why should pepe be sent off? he was consistently winning the ball. that is the attitude of barca and their fans. if anyone tackles them and wins they ball, it is automatically a foul.


  • no-user-image.gif
    APPAUH 16 April 2011 11:38PM

    Hey, I don't blame Villa but i blame the referee for succeeding in sharing the point. i know we will get them another day. Madrid shame on you.


  • no-user-image.gif
    RodgerTheDodger 16 April 2011 11:38PM

    Absolutely disgusting ! The Spanish Football Association completely failed to follow UEFA guidelines and appoint a referee that would gift Barcelona the match. How many Madrid players were sent off - none ! How many penalties did Barcelona get - a measly one when it was clear they needed more, and unforgivably that was counterbalanced by a the totally wrongful act of a penalty for Madrid.
    UEFA need to investigate this. I suspect that the referee was not even a Barcelona supporter ! I ask you, what ridiculous unfairness.
    Still, it will be different in the Champions League. There it will be done properly.


  • 60x60.png
    elscollonsdelgos 16 April 2011 11:39PM

    It's obvious why Mourinho's Madrid play why they do - to beat Barça in areas in which they're weak - but the Madid fans in the bar in Santa Coloma said they can't stand the way Madrid play. It's as if they find it humiliating.
    1-1's not a bad result for Barça. I'd be happy with D-W-D-W over the 4 matches.


  • 60x60.png
    dublinroo 16 April 2011 11:41PM

    Still, it will be different in the Champions League. There it will be done properly.
    ​
    Aye, you never get dodgy refs in the champions league...
    One Madrid player was sent off, by the way. But sod the facts.


  • 60x60.png
    elscollonsdelgos 16 April 2011 11:41PM

    Mourinho's well on his way to winning UEFA's Golden Whinge award. Not even Arsene Whinger is in with a chance.


  • no-user-image.gif
    Tamales 16 April 2011 11:42PM

    Barca's squad is too narrow. That's going to be their undoing. Barca started with their best line-up and every substitution was a step down. Puyol was rushed back and it backfired. Madrid, on the other hand, brought Ozil, Arbeloa and Adebayor who changed the game and still had Kaka and Higuain on the bench. Madrid can rotate their back four (five) quite easily so suspensions, injuries and fatigue are not that problematic. I can see Madrid progressing in CL after today's game.



  • no-user-image.gif
    RodgerTheDodger 16 April 2011 11:45PM

    @dublinroo,
    Certainly, when Barcelona are playing in the CL I notice that 'sod the facts' is generally the referee's attitude.




  • no-user-image.gif
    XavIniesta78 16 April 2011 11:50PM

    Wow, after all this talk it comes down to this: Madrid, a team, where C. Ronaldo alone, coast more than the whole staring eleven from Barcelona, is so cowardice to play with all men behind the ball for a draw on their own turf. They could got this kind of performance with a lot less investment
 

Anger reigns as Amir Khan wins homecoming against Paul McCloskey

&#8226; Barry Hearn shouts abuse at referee over stoppage
&#8226; Khan rejects talk of a rematch



  • Jamie Jackson at the MEN Arena
  • The Observer, Sunday 17 April 2011 <li class="history">Article history
    Barry-Hearn-007.jpg
    Barry Hearn (centre) protests over the fight being stopped due to a cut to Paul McCloskey's face in the WBA light-welterweight title fight, which was won by Amir Khan. Photograph: Dave Thompson/PA

    Perhaps the pre-fight shenanigans featuring his promoters offered an omen that Amir Khan's fourth defence of his WBA light-welterweight crown against Paul McCloskey would end in uproar.
    Midway through the sixth round referee Luis Pabón made himself truly unpopular by stopping what had been a riveting bout due to an accidental clash of heads that left McCloskey's left eye cut. After the judges's cards were consulted, Khan was declared the unanimous 60-54 winner, which was a fair reflection of the action. But Pabón was about to face the fury of Barry Hearn, the owner of Matchroom, McCloskey's promoter.
    After clambering into the ring Hearn shouted at the Puerto Rican official: "You're a ****ing disgrace, a ****ing disgrace." Later he said: "If I was Khan I'd be ashamed. The referee showed enormous ineptitude. This was a world-title fight. If you see the cut you'd be amazed. It's a nick. It's the worse stoppage I've ever seen."
    Hearn has promoted professional boxing since the 1980s. And although his outrage had no material effect on the decision, when McCloskey strolled round the ring shaking his head the sense deepened that he should have been allowed to continue. The European champion said: "I'm numb, I'm really angry, I want a rematch. Obviously Amir was completely knackered after the second round. This is what I've dreamed about all my life and it's been taken away by a doctor and a referee."
    Khan was unrepentant. "To be honest if that fight did happen and it went a couple more rounds I think I would have knocked him out. But this is boxing and I think the referee made the right choice to stop the fight," he said.
    "I was just getting better and better and catching him with some good combinations. He chose to stop the fight. I would have stayed in the fight and continued. A win's a win; people can say what they want." Would he consider a rematch? "I want to go to bigger things. Why do I have to go back and fight someone like Paul McCloskey? Like I said from day one, he's a European class [and] I'm a world-class fighter." Khan was correct, of course. He could do nothing about Pabón's decision. Despite McCloskey's bravado, the champion was also right to state he had been starting to seriously rock his opponent.
    Watched by a raucous arena that included Baroness Warsi, the Conservative party chairman, Ricky Hatton and Alex Reid (the estranged husband of glamour model Katie Price, for the blissfully unaware), each man had entered to a wall of sound.
    When the clash started Khan edged the opening round, although it was clear McCloskey was here to fight. While the man from Dungiven in Northern Ireland tried to square the ring off, it was a left-right combination from Khan that was the pick of the action. The challenger, who was unbeaten in all 22 of his professional outings, had his best three minutes of the contest in the third round. The faint grin he wore as he continued to walk and weave towards Khan must have been disconcerting for the champion.
    McCloskey fell over in the fourth round but Khan was the clumsier, off-loading too many telegraphed blows, although his class was still present in some sporadic punches that hurt the Irishman. The sixth and final round had Khan nearly putting the Irishman down before he was cut and the boos began.
    This all followed on from the farrago created by Khan's own Khan Promotions, Ricky Hatton's Hatton Promotions and Golden Boy, Oscar De La Hoya's American company. Khan lost around £1.5m when the bout was switched from Sky Box Office to Primetime. But at least he still has his crown.

 

Anger reigns as Amir Khan wins homecoming against Paul McCloskey

• Barry Hearn shouts abuse at referee over stoppage
• Khan rejects talk of a rematch



  • Jamie Jackson at the MEN Arena
  • The Observer, Sunday 17 April 2011 <li class="history">Article history
    Barry-Hearn-007.jpg
    Barry Hearn (centre) protests over the fight being stopped due to a cut to Paul McCloskey's face in the WBA light-welterweight title fight, which was won by Amir Khan. Photograph: Dave Thompson/PA

    Perhaps the pre-fight shenanigans featuring his promoters offered an omen that Amir Khan's fourth defence of his WBA light-welterweight crown against Paul McCloskey would end in uproar.
    Midway through the sixth round referee Luis Pabón made himself truly unpopular by stopping what had been a riveting bout due to an accidental clash of heads that left McCloskey's left eye cut. After the judges's cards were consulted, Khan was declared the unanimous 60-54 winner, which was a fair reflection of the action. But Pabón was about to face the fury of Barry Hearn, the owner of Matchroom, McCloskey's promoter.
    After clambering into the ring Hearn shouted at the Puerto Rican official: "You're a ****ing disgrace, a ****ing disgrace." Later he said: "If I was Khan I'd be ashamed. The referee showed enormous ineptitude. This was a world-title fight. If you see the cut you'd be amazed. It's a nick. It's the worse stoppage I've ever seen."
    Hearn has promoted professional boxing since the 1980s. And although his outrage had no material effect on the decision, when McCloskey strolled round the ring shaking his head the sense deepened that he should have been allowed to continue. The European champion said: "I'm numb, I'm really angry, I want a rematch. Obviously Amir was completely knackered after the second round. This is what I've dreamed about all my life and it's been taken away by a doctor and a referee."
    Khan was unrepentant. "To be honest if that fight did happen and it went a couple more rounds I think I would have knocked him out. But this is boxing and I think the referee made the right choice to stop the fight," he said.
    "I was just getting better and better and catching him with some good combinations. He chose to stop the fight. I would have stayed in the fight and continued. A win's a win; people can say what they want." Would he consider a rematch? "I want to go to bigger things. Why do I have to go back and fight someone like Paul McCloskey? Like I said from day one, he's a European class [and] I'm a world-class fighter." Khan was correct, of course. He could do nothing about Pabón's decision. Despite McCloskey's bravado, the champion was also right to state he had been starting to seriously rock his opponent.
    Watched by a raucous arena that included Baroness Warsi, the Conservative party chairman, Ricky Hatton and Alex Reid (the estranged husband of glamour model Katie Price, for the blissfully unaware), each man had entered to a wall of sound.
    When the clash started Khan edged the opening round, although it was clear McCloskey was here to fight. While the man from Dungiven in Northern Ireland tried to square the ring off, it was a left-right combination from Khan that was the pick of the action. The challenger, who was unbeaten in all 22 of his professional outings, had his best three minutes of the contest in the third round. The faint grin he wore as he continued to walk and weave towards Khan must have been disconcerting for the champion.
    McCloskey fell over in the fourth round but Khan was the clumsier, off-loading too many telegraphed blows, although his class was still present in some sporadic punches that hurt the Irishman. The sixth and final round had Khan nearly putting the Irishman down before he was cut and the boos began.
    This all followed on from the farrago created by Khan's own Khan Promotions, Ricky Hatton's Hatton Promotions and Golden Boy, Oscar De La Hoya's American company. Khan lost around £1.5m when the bout was switched from Sky Box Office to Primetime. But at least he still has his crown.
 
Andy Murray loses to Rafa Nadal but wins back his sense of pride

&#8226; Briton turns jeers to cheers as he recovers his best form
&#8226; Murray will have MRI scan to determine scale of elbow injury



  • Simon Cambers in Monte Carlo
  • guardian.co.uk, Saturday 16 April 2011 20.02 BST <li class="history">Article history
    andy-murray-007.jpg
    Andy Murray plays a forehand during his three-sets defeat by Rafael Nadal. Photograph: Julian Finney/Getty Images

    It says an awful lot for just how far Andy Murray has come in the space of a week that for a time in his semi-final at the Monte Carlo Masters it looked like he might just do the unthinkable. No one has beaten Rafael Nadal here since he was a 16-year-old in 2003 and yet Murray, who was in one of the worst runs of form of his life, had the Spaniard shrugging his shoulders in disbelief.
    In the end, reality bit back and the world No1 battled his way to a 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 victory. But having pushed Nadal to the limit for almost three hours of scintillating tennis on what is supposed to be his weakest surface, Murray will leave the Cote d'Azur with his belief hugely boosted and a renewed confidence that sets him up nicely for the months to come.
    Unfortunately, he will also head off with a concern about the extent of an elbow injury that emerged out of nothing and almost prevented him from facing Nadal. The Scot needed a cortisone injection just before the semi-final and he will have an MRI scan to assess the damage.
    "You sometimes get a bit of bone that sort of has fallen off," Murray said as he tried to explain what this latest problem might be. "It sounds worse than it is, but its basically floating around in the joint. So every time I bend it, I get a lot of clicking. Right now it just feels really bruised. I'm happy that I gave it my best, but I think I can do better. It was disappointing because I felt like I was playing well."
    To think that the Scot arrived here having not won a set since the Australian Open in January. Wins over Radek Stepanek, Gilles Simon and Frederico Gil showed his game and mind were back in the right place but yesterday's performance was something else. Nadal had lost one set here in the past four years and seemed untouchable, but a crowd that had jeered Murray on Thursday for his ruthlessness against an injured opponent changed their tune to "Andy, Andy, Andy". It was a stunning spectacle.
    From the start he took the attack to the world No1, slamming crosscourt backhands into Nadal and winning more than his fair share.
    It might have been disheartening to be trailing 4-1 given how well he was playing but he drew level at 4-4 after a mammoth 14-minute game, only for Nadal to hold and then break again to take the first set.
    That might have been the beginning of the end, but Murray continued to attack and was hurting Nadal with the power and precision of his groundstrokes, his forehand down the line proving increasingly effective. Having broken to lead 2-1 in the second set he saved five break points in the following game before holding serve after 19 minutes of pure effort.
    A second break took him to 4-1 and though he dropped serve in the next game he broke again and won the set with a perfectly weighted drop shot that Nadal did not even try to run down.
    But Nadal, yet again, showed that matching him over the distance is a task few can manage and Murray netted a backhand to drop serve as the Spaniard took a 4-0 lead in the deciding set. Murray broke back in the fifth game, but Nadal cruised through to a place in the final against another Spaniard, David Ferrer.

 
Andy Murray loses to Rafa Nadal but wins back his sense of pride

• Briton turns jeers to cheers as he recovers his best form
• Murray will have MRI scan to determine scale of elbow injury



  • Simon Cambers in Monte Carlo
  • guardian.co.uk, Saturday 16 April 2011 20.02 BST <li class="history">Article history
    andy-murray-007.jpg
    Andy Murray plays a forehand during his three-sets defeat by Rafael Nadal. Photograph: Julian Finney/Getty Images

    It says an awful lot for just how far Andy Murray has come in the space of a week that for a time in his semi-final at the Monte Carlo Masters it looked like he might just do the unthinkable. No one has beaten Rafael Nadal here since he was a 16-year-old in 2003 and yet Murray, who was in one of the worst runs of form of his life, had the Spaniard shrugging his shoulders in disbelief.
    In the end, reality bit back and the world No1 battled his way to a 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 victory. But having pushed Nadal to the limit for almost three hours of scintillating tennis on what is supposed to be his weakest surface, Murray will leave the Cote d'Azur with his belief hugely boosted and a renewed confidence that sets him up nicely for the months to come.
    Unfortunately, he will also head off with a concern about the extent of an elbow injury that emerged out of nothing and almost prevented him from facing Nadal. The Scot needed a cortisone injection just before the semi-final and he will have an MRI scan to assess the damage.
    "You sometimes get a bit of bone that sort of has fallen off," Murray said as he tried to explain what this latest problem might be. "It sounds worse than it is, but its basically floating around in the joint. So every time I bend it, I get a lot of clicking. Right now it just feels really bruised. I'm happy that I gave it my best, but I think I can do better. It was disappointing because I felt like I was playing well."
    To think that the Scot arrived here having not won a set since the Australian Open in January. Wins over Radek Stepanek, Gilles Simon and Frederico Gil showed his game and mind were back in the right place but yesterday's performance was something else. Nadal had lost one set here in the past four years and seemed untouchable, but a crowd that had jeered Murray on Thursday for his ruthlessness against an injured opponent changed their tune to "Andy, Andy, Andy". It was a stunning spectacle.
    From the start he took the attack to the world No1, slamming crosscourt backhands into Nadal and winning more than his fair share.
    It might have been disheartening to be trailing 4-1 given how well he was playing but he drew level at 4-4 after a mammoth 14-minute game, only for Nadal to hold and then break again to take the first set.
    That might have been the beginning of the end, but Murray continued to attack and was hurting Nadal with the power and precision of his groundstrokes, his forehand down the line proving increasingly effective. Having broken to lead 2-1 in the second set he saved five break points in the following game before holding serve after 19 minutes of pure effort.
    A second break took him to 4-1 and though he dropped serve in the next game he broke again and won the set with a perfectly weighted drop shot that Nadal did not even try to run down.
    But Nadal, yet again, showed that matching him over the distance is a task few can manage and Murray netted a backhand to drop serve as the Spaniard took a 4-0 lead in the deciding set. Murray broke back in the fifth game, but Nadal cruised through to a place in the final against another Spaniard, David Ferrer.
 
Judd Trump takes out title holder Neil Robertson at world championship

&#8226; Australian loses 10-8 to young challenger
&#8226; Trump faces Marco Fu or Martin Gould



  • Phil Yates at the Crucible
  • guardian.co.uk, Saturday 16 April 2011 22.51 BST <li class="history">Article history
    Judd-Trump-World-Snooker--007.jpg
    England's Judd Trump on the way to beating title holder Neil Robertson 10-8. Photograph: Anna Gowthorpe/PA

    Judd Trump, suddenly realising the immense potential he displayed as a prolifically successful junior, beat Neil Robertson, the title holder, 10-8 in the first round of the Betfred.com World Championship.
    Since the Crucible became permanent home to snooker's premier event in 1977, seven defending champions have failed to clear their initial hurdle but, unlike the majority of those, Robertson's immediate demise is not a major upset.
    Trump, who won the English Under-15 Championship as a precociously talented 10-year-old, stalled as a professional but, now 21, finally broke through by winning the China Open two weeks ago.
    "I definitely wouldn't have won this match if I hadn't lifted the trophy in China," said Trump, whose confidence surged after overcoming a series of tough opponents in Beijing.
    Trump led 5-4 after the morning's play but missed key balls early in the second session as Robertson, assisted by clinical clearances, snatched two frames on the black in moving 7-6 ahead.
    However, Trump remained resolute and the manner in which he coolly compiled an 83 break in the decisive frame demonstrated that the Bristolian possesses a steely nerve to augment outstanding natural ability.
    Trump now plays Marco Fu or Martin Gould in the last 16, convinced that a lack of experience will not prevent him collecting the £250,000 first prize.
    Robertson's exit means that Stephen Hendry, in 1996, remains the last player to retain the world title.

 
Rory McIlroy remains on top at Malaysian Open despite rain disruption

&#8226; Play suspended with third round uncompleted after rain delay
&#8226; Northern Ireland's McIlroy two shots clear of field at 12 under



  • Press Association
  • guardian.co.uk, Saturday 16 April 2011 14.33 BST <li class="history">Article history
    Rory-McIlroy-007.jpg
    Rory McIlroy plays a shot during his third round at the Malaysian Open. Photograph: Ian Walton/Getty Images

    A solitary birdie kept Rory McIlroy out in front as rain curtailed the third round of the Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur. The Northern Irishman, who continues to responded positively to his Masters collapse last weekend, had completed nine holes on Saturday when bad light ended play, after heavy rain forced an earlier delay of more than three hours.
    The single shot he picked up came with a 10-foot putt at the par-four ninth and it enabled him to claim a two-shot lead on 12 under, having started the day level with Alexander Noren of Sweden.
    "I felt I probably should have been a couple better," McIlroy said. "I hit a couple of good shots that if they went a foot either way would have been great &#8211; the tee shot on 8 and second shot on 6 &#8211; if they had just stayed.
    "But it's OK. It's a solid start. I could have been two or three shots better off but it's obviously nice to hole that putt right at the end on the ninth and finish on a positive note. I've still got the lead but it is going to be a long day tomorrow.
    "You've got to make every shot count out there. Twenty-seven holes in that heat tomorrow is going to be tough. I've got myself into a good position going into tomorrow and that's all that counts."
    Noren's card was far more colourful than McIlroy's as he birdied the 1st, 3rd and 7th but bogeyed the second and the 6th and ran up a double bogey at the par-three 4th to stand one over par through eight holes. He was in a share for second place at 10 under alongside Grégory Bourdy of France, who was six under for the round through 14 holes, and the Italian teenager Matteo Manassero, who was three under through nine.
    The world No1, Martin Kaymer, was a shot further back on nine-under, having picked up six strokes in 15 holes. England's Simon Dyson, who was second overnight, slipped back to two shots to eight under, while Charl Schwartzel, the new Masters champion, was down the field on two under after 11.
    Play will resume at 7.40am local time (12.40am BST) on Sunday as organisers try to remain on course to finish the tournament on time.

 
Chinese grand prix, Shanghai

Pressure increases on Mark Webber after first qualifying round exit

&#8226; Australian will start 18th on grid
&#8226; Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel takes pole



  • Paul Weaver in Shanghai
  • guardian.co.uk, Saturday 16 April 2011 14.41 BST <li class="history">Article history
    Mark-Webber-007.jpg
    Red Bull's Mark Webber went out in Q1 at the Chinese grand prix and will start in 18th place. Photograph: Aly Song/Reuters

    "Too easy, man." That was what McLaren drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, both said to Sebastian Vettel after the championship leader took his third pole of the season, and his 18th of his embryonic but brilliant career, for the Chinese grand prix.
    Vettel, who topped all three practice sessions, finished 0.7 seconds ahead of Button, with Hamilton third. But it was another disappointing day for Vettel's running mate Mark Webber, who capped an awful weekend by failing to qualify for Q2; the Australian will start 18th on the grid.
    It has been a testing time for Webber, who had a dreadful start to last weekend's Malaysian grand prix before finishing fourth. This week, the Red Bull driver &#8211; who has the most coveted seat in Formula One, particularly by Hamilton &#8211; reacted furiously after being asked if he felt like he was being "hit over the head by a baseball bat" by his world champion team-mate. The strain is showing.
    Webber blamed his troubles on a problem with his car's Kers system, which had to be disconnected. His tribulations were compounded when a timing miscalculation at the end of the first qualifying segment meant he did not have time to get two laps on the harder option tyre. "My first run was probably half a second shy of where I needed to be and then I had the Kers problem," said Webber. "So we decided to have another run on the prime. We never got out quick enough, so we only had one timed lap and the tyres weren't up to [temperature] so that second set was a bit more difficult for us to get the job done.
    "It was the team's decision to go with the primes, but I was cool with it. We only started to panic at the end when we realised we weren't going to get two laps. The tyre should have been enough, but on one lap it wasn't enough. So that's where we snookered ourselves really. I don't know the last time a Red Bull was out in Q1. When any top team goes out in Q1, we all put the hindsight goggles on and go 'we should have done this or that'. In the end, the option would have made life easier. That's obvious. But we didn't as a team. We all thought we would get two laps in on the prime, but we were a bit late going out. The timing was the problem, not the tyre."
    However, it was an encouraging day for the British driver, Paul di Resta, on his 25th birthday. For the third time in as many races, Di Resta out-qualified his Force India team-mate, Adrian Sutil, and will start in eighth place. There was also contrasting fortunes in the Mercedes camp. Nico Rosberg again not only beat but outclassed Michael Schumacher, finishing fourth in Q3. Schumacher came 14th and at one point looked to be struggling to make Q2. But it is Vettel who is on the brink of making it five wins in a row. "We have done it again, but every single time is tough," he said. "It wasn't straightforward; in Q2 I had a bit of a mistake, but, in Q3, we improved."
    Meanwhile, Hamilton has spoken out against suggestions that he has only reached the top of his profession because he has been groomed by McLaren &#8211; and in particular the former team principle Ron Dennis &#8211; since joining the team as a boy.
    "People always said I was the best prepared driver ever as I was groomed and all that crap," he said. "It was absolute rubbish. I tested and I worked my backside off to be as fit as I could be. I studied so hard. Harder than I ever did at school. I worked my backside off, plus I had good people behind me, plus my team and my family."
    Button, who won here last year as he made an impressive start to his McLaren career, said: "It is very fast-flowing circuit, like Malaysia. Last year was good for me, so I look forward to racing it this year. The thing is, in the last two races, Seb has done an amazing job in qualifying and then led from the start. He has not had an easy race, but nobody has really troubled him.
    "Hopefully, here, we can put him into the pack a bit more and then everything changes. They do have a quick car and Seb is doing a great job, but I don't think he is as far ahead as he looks."
    Front of grid 1 S Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1min 33.706secs; 2 J Button (GB) McLaren 1:34.421; 3 L Hamilton (GB) McLaren 1:34.463; 4 N Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes 1:34.670; 5 F Alonso (Sp) Ferrari 1:35.119; 6 F Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1:35.145; 7 J Alguersuari (Sp) Toro Rosso 1:36.158; 8 P di Resta (GB) Force India 1:36.190; 9 S Buemi (Swit) Toro Rosso 1:36.203; 10 V Petrov (Rus) Renault No Time. Race 8am

 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar Discussions

Our Community

Coming Soon

Regional Communities

Coming Soon
Back
Top Bottom
Menu
Forums
New posts
Log in
Register