BASEL, SWITZERLAND – FC Basel scored a famous victory when they beat the stars of Manchester United 2-1 in the final game of the group stage of the Champions League 7 December. Basel are now in the knock-out stage while Manchester United join their Man City neighbours in the Europa League.
Arsenal and Chelsea are the only Premier League teams to reach the final 16.
Man United started well, with Nani repeatedly find his way past the Basel defence. Basel scored on almost their only attack when Streller took advantage of a United mix up, where Nemanja Vadic felled his fellow defender Chris Smalling, to take the lead. United fought back with ten shots on target in the first half but never managed to really dominate the game.
Wayne Rooney managed to mess up the best chance, when clear in the goalmouth. Alex Frei scored in the 84th minute to leave Basel two goals clear. Phil Jones pulled one back in the final minute of regular time, but United could not perform another miracle. Benfica won the group with Basel second and Man United third.
In Group A Bayern Munich qualified despite losing their final game against Man City 2-0 but City were still knocked out as Naples won against Villa Real. Real Madrid won 0-3 at Ajax despite fielding a reserve team. Lyon managed to qualify with a 1-7 thrashing of Dinamo Zagreb.
Link: UEFA
SAO PAULO, BRAZIL - Sócrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de Oliveira : there will probably never be another footballer quite like him. Named, like his brothers, after a Greek philosopher Socrates was Brazil’s captain, a medical doctor, political activist, heavy drinker, smoker, a self proclaimed anti-athlete and a fan of Ché Guevara. The Brazilian icon died of intestinal infection, 4 December, aged 57. The tall, bearded midfield was an integral part in the Brazilian team of the early 1980s, playing with a languid style that disguised his ability to suddenly turn a game.
On the field the Premier League continued in a familiar vein with Manchester City storming past Norwich 5-1 and Man United staying second with a 0-1 win at Aston Villa. For some interesting details on the financing of Man City visit The Swiss Ramble blog. The two Manchester teams are drawn to play each other in the FA Cup. Chelsea were fortunate not to have Luiz sent off early on but then went on to win 0-3 at Newcastle.
In the Swiss Super League Basel beat Lucerne to extend their lead at the top. Servette lost 0-1 t0 Zurich. Real Madrid won 0-3 against sporting Gijon while Barcelona beat Levante 5-0.
Links to other sites: Premier League, Guardian
STOKE, ENGLAND – Manchester United lost their perfect start to the season but stayed top of the Premier League with a 1-1 draw at Stoke, 24 September. They still lead their Man City neighbours on goal difference but the slip up will give a little hope to Basel FC which will be travelling to Old Trafford for their European Champions League match on Tuesday evening. They will be without star striker Wayne Rooney who is suffering a strained hamstring. Man City won 2-0 against Everton while Chelsea won 4-1 against Swansea to stay third. fernando Torres sored again but was sent off for a dangerous tackle. Arsenal avoided disaster with a 3-0 win over Bolton which kept Arsene Wenger’s men off the bottom.
Barcelona and Real Madrid both thrashed their opponents in La Liga. The Swiss local derby between Geneva Servette and Lausanne ended in a dull 0-0 draw. Sion and Neuchatel Xamax continue to make more news off the field than on it.
Links to other sites: Premier League, Guardian
International sports, football
Old Trafford,Manchester(GenevaLunch) - Manchester United wrapped up the season with an entertaining 4-2 win over Blackpool to end at the top of the Premier League, with a nine point lead over Chelsea, 22 May. Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich punished coach Carlo Ancelotti with the sack and the club are now searching for yet another person willing to trade enormous wealth for limited job security. Manchester City ended just behind Chelsea on goal difference with Arsenal taking the other Champions League spot. Man United take on the mighty Barcelona in the final at Wembley, 28 May.
West Ham, Blackpool and Birmingham were relegated in an afternoon when five teams were fighting to avoid the two remaining relegation spots. Wigan escaped the drop thanks to a 0-1 win at Stoke.
Links to other sites: Premier League, Guardian, The Sun
International sports, football
Old Trafford, Manchester (GenevaLunch) - Manchester United need just one point from their final two games, against Blackburn and Blackpool, to win a record 19th league title. They beat Premier League second place team Chelsea 2-1 on Sunday, 8 May, but could have easily scored five given their dominance. Things started perfectly for the Reds as Javier Hernandes scored in the first minute and Nemanja Vidic doubled the lead in the 23rd to the delight of the 75,000 fans at the game. Man United now head the Premier League by six points with just two games left to play. Third placed Arsenal lost to Stoke City 3-1 while Man City also slipped up as they fell 2-1 at Everton. Spurs were held 1-1 by Blackpool.
At the bottom of the table six teams could possibly go down: West Ham, Wigan, Blackpool, Wolves, Birmingham and Blackburn.
Barcelona are also one point away from clinching the La Liga title as they lead Real Madrid by eight points with three games to play. In the Swiss Super League FC Basel and Zurich head the table and will meet in Zurich on Wednesday.
Links to other sites: Premier League, Guardian,
Old Trafford stadium ahead of the Barclays Premiership match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on September 9 2006 in Manchester, England (Photo, John Peters/Manchester United, Getty Images)
Geneva / Nyon, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – There are only 500 new micro-blasted black ceramic Hublot King Power Red Devil watches and their proud owners must be crazy about football, and especially about Man United, because every minute that ticks on these watches is worth a fortune.
Hublot isn’t saying how much it’s charging for the King Power Red Devil Watch, or the 250 King Gold 18K version, but these are no plain old timepieces, and if you have to ask you probably can’t afford it (hint: they start at several thousand francs or dollars).
Hublot has been the official timekeeper for Manchester United since 2008, and now the Swiss watchmaker has used real blades of grass from Old Trafford’s turf to make the watch indexes.
International sports, football
Emirates Stadium, London (GenevaLunch) - Arsenal beat Manchester United 1-0 on Sunday, 1 May, to breathe new life into the Premier League’s last few matches. On Saturday Chelsea came back from a goal behind against Tottenham to win 2-1 thanks to a goal which did not quite cross the line and another that was just off-side. Man United still heads the Pemier League by three points but if Chelsea win at Old Trafford next weekend the title race will be wide open.
At the bottom of the League West Ham are two points back from Wolves with Wigan another point away. The next three contenders for the relegation spots are Blackpool, Blackburn and Birmingham.
Links to other sites: Premier League, Guardian
International sports, Champions League football
Old Trafford, Manchester (GenevaLunch) – Manchester United again spoiled Roman Abramovich’s dream of a Champions League trophy when they beat Chelsea 2-1 at Old Trafford, 12 April. The first goal was scored by Javier Henandez after a piece of magic by veteran Ryan Giggs. Chelsea were then reduced to ten men as Ramires committed a second foul and it looked like the Reds could cruise through. Didier Drogba, who came on to replace Torres at half time struck back with a powerful goal but this was cancelled out a minute later when Giggs provided another assist for Park Ji-Sung to put the game out of reach for a 3-1 aggregate.
In the other quarter-final Lionel Messi scored to give Bacelona a 0-1 win to go through against Shaktar Donetsk for a 6-1 aggregate win. Barcelona should meet Real Madrid in the semi-finals while Manchester will face FC Schalke unless Inter Milan pull off a miracle after losing the first game 2-5.
Chelsea and Man United will face off during the UEFA quater-finals
Geneva and Nyon, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The Friday morning Uefa draw for the Champions League quarter-finals will provide real tension for the 5-6 and 12-13 April matches. Chelsea and Manchester United face off, and as the Uefa report on the draw points out:
“Sir Alex Ferguson’s team denied Chelsea a first European Champion Clubs’ Cup in a dramatic penalty shoot-out in Moscow three years ago, and the London club will have a shot at revenge next month. While Chelsea are reigning English champions, United currently lead them by nine points in the Premier League and have history on their side in the competition having been crowned Europe’s finest three times.”
FC Internazionale Milano will meet FC Schalke 04. The two clubs last met in a major tournament in 1997.
Nine-time trophy winners Real Madrid CF is up against Tottenham Hotspur FC, so Madrid escapes playing Barcelona at this stage, but the Spanish teams could face each other in the semi-finals if FC Barcelona chases out FC Shakhtar Donetsk.
Quarter-final draw (5/6 and 12/13 April)
Real Madrid CF (ESP) v Tottenham Hotspur FC (ENG)
Chelsea FC (ENG) v Manchester United FC (ENG)
FC Barcelona (ESP) v FC Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)
FC Internazionale Milano (ITA) v FC Schalke 04 (GER)
Semi-final draw (26/27 April and 3/4 May)
1: Inter/Schalke v Chelsea /Manchester United
2: Madrid/Tottenham v Barcelona/Shakhtar
Final (28 May, Wembley)
Winner semi-final 2 v Winner semi-final 1
International sports, football
Stamford Bridge, London (GenevaLunch) - Chelsea were knocked out of the FA Cup by Everton, 20 February and face the possibility of ending the season not merely with no trophies but failing to qualify for next year’s Champions League. Everton equalised in the final minutes of extra time after a dull goal-less 90 minutes followed by a Frank Lampard strike put Chelsea ahead. In the penalty shoot-out Nicolas Anelka and Ashley Cole missed for Chelsea, allowing Phil Neville to make the winning strike. Manchester United put up a lacklustre performance that was just enough to get past lowly Crawley Town 1-0. Man City were more impressive as they powered past Notts County 5-0. Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw by Leighton Orient and now need to win the replay at the Emirates Stadium to face Manchester United in the quarter-finals at Old Trafford.Celtic thumped Rangers 3-0 in Scotland.
Real Madrid’s coach José Mourinho extended his own special record of 148 home league games without a loss, and Real Madrid’s home wins run to twelve games, with a 2-0 defeat of Levante.
Claudio Ranieri has resigned as coach of Roma after wasting a 0-3 lead to lose 4-3 at Genoa, and a 2-3 loss against Shaktar Donetsk in the Champions League. Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti might soon be available to take over.
International sports, football
Stamford Bridge, London (GenevaLunch)- Chelsea paid £50 million to Liverpool for their Spanish striker Fernando Torres but it was not enough to win their next match up. Torres was substituted in the game shortly before Liverpool scored the only goal of the match 6 February. Manchester United failed in their bid to create a new club record for the number of games without defeat when they went down 2-1 to bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers. Despite the loss Man United stay four points clear of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League. Saturday’s games broke a number of Premiership records: for the maximum number of goals and for the biggest comeback when Newcastle recovered from 0-4 down against Arsenal to draw 4-4.
Links to other sites: Premier League, Guardian
International sports, football
Stamford Bridge, London (GenevaLunch) - Chelsea slipped up in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Aston Villa that featured three goals in the final 10 minutes. Chelsea came back from a goal down with two quick goals by Didier Drogba and captain John Terry only to concede a late equalizer that leaves them in fifth place in the Premier League, 2 January. The top two places are held by the Manchester clubs, with United ahead on goal difference and also having two games in hand. Man United won 1-2 at West Brom while City beat Blackpool 1-0. Arsenal put on a fine display to beat Birmingham 0-3 and stay third with Spurs next after a 1-0 victory over Fulham. Liverpool came from a goal down to beat Bolton 2-1 and offer a life-line to embatttled managerRoy Hodgson.
Celtic scored a 0-2 win at Rangers in the Scottish Premier League Old Firm clash. Barcelona stay five points clear of Real Madrid after beating Levante 2-1.
Links to other sites: Premier League, Guardian
International sports, football
St Andrew’s Stadium, Birmingham (GenevaLunch) - Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw at St Andrew’s, 28 December, when Birmingham City striker Lee Bowyer scored a late equaliser when a possible foul, a clear handball and marginal off-side decision all went the way of the home team. The result was still enough to push United back to the top of the Premier League, ahead of Man City on goal difference. Manchester City swept Aston Villa away 4-0 with a hat-trick by Mario Balotelli, including two penalties. Arsenal are third after outplaying Chelsea 3-1 to end a series of five successive losses to their London rivals. Spurs are fourth, ahead of Chelsea, after a 2-0 win over Newcastle.
Links to other sites: Premier League, The Sun
International sports, European Champions League football
Nyon, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The draw for the first knockout round of the European Champions League took place in Nyon from 12:00 Friday 17 December. Highlights include a re-match of last season’s final between Inter Milan and Bayern Munich, while the crowd pleaser is likely to be Arsenal against Barcelona, another rematch from last season. AC Milan play Spurs while Chelsea travel to Copenhagen for their first match. Manchester United meet Marseille. The full fixture list is:
Roma v Shakhtar Donetsk
Milan v Tottenham
Valencia v Schalke
Internazionale v Bayern Munich
Lyon v Real Madrid
Arsenal v Barcelona
Marseille v Manchester United
FC Copenhagen v Chelsea
In the Europa League FC Basel meet Spartak Moscow while Young Boys meet St Petersburg.
International sports, football
Emirates Stadium, London (GenevaLunch) – Arsenal moved to the top of the Premier League thanks to two superb goals by Samir Nasri their talented French international. The Gunners beat Fulham 2-1 to move ahead of Manchester United, whose game at Blackpool was postponed because of the weather. Chelsea missed the chance to move into first place when they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Everton. West Ham were pushed into last place when they lost to Sunderland. The other two relegation places are occupied by Wolves and Wigan.
Barcelona beat the Spanish air controllers strike by travelling by train and bus to Pamplona, where they won 3-0. Real Madrid recovered from their 5-0 mauling in El Clasico to beat Valencia 2-0 with the aid of two late goals by Cristiano Ronaldo.
In the Swiss Super League Lucerne stay in first place after beating Bellinzona 3-0. FC Basel are second following their 3-1 win over Young Boys. FC Sion beat Grasshoppers 2-0.
Links to other sites: Premier League, Guardian
International sports, football
Old Trafford, Manchester, England (GenevaLunch) - Dimitar Berbatov went some way to silencing his critics when he scored five goals to lead Manchester United to an emphatic 7-1 victory over Blackburn. United now head the Premier League by two points from Chelsea. Wayne Rooney was also in top form but did not manage to score for himself despite setting up chances for his teammates. Arsenal won 2-4 at Aston Villa and are now third in the Premier League, with equal points but a lower goal difference than Chelsea. Chelsea dominated the early part of the season but slipped up again with a 1-1 draw at Newcastle. Spurs came back from a goal down against Liverpool to snatch a 2-1 win. Liverpool will face Manchester United in the only all Premier League match in the FA Cup third round.
Links to other sites: BBC, Premier League
International sports, football
Birmingham, England (GenevaLunch) - Chelsea lost their fourth game of the season, and the third out of the last four Premier League matches with a 1-0 loss at Birmingham City. Chelsea are suffering from injuries as well as self-imposed disarray since sacking their assistant manager Ray Wilkins a few weeks ago. The team still head the League, but only on goal difference from Manchester United, who are unbeaten but have conceded seven draws so far this season. The Reds beat a nine-man Wigan 2-0 but it was an unconvincing display.
Spurs came back from two goals down at Arsenal to score their first away win in 17 years at their north London rival’s. West Ham lost 3-0 at Liverpool and stay at the bottom of the League: the result takes some of the pressure off Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson but West Ham boss Avram Grant looks like he might soon be out of a job.
In Spain both Real Madrid and Barcelona registered big wins as they get ready for “El Clásico,” the big match between the arch rivals. Real beat Bilbao 5-1 while Barca scored a record 8-0 away win at Almeria. Real still head La Liga ahead of the Catalans.
Links to other sites: Premier League, Guardian, Telegraph
International sports, football
Anfield Road, Liverpool (GenevaLunch) - Liverpool moved into the top half of the Premier League with a 2-0 win over leaders Chelsea just a few weeks after they were in the relegation places. Roy Hodgson’s men, with Fernando Torres back in striking form, cut Chelsea’s lead in the championship to just two points. Manchester United were rather lucky to beat Wolves 2-1, with both goals coming from their Korean ball of energy Park Ji-sung, in the final minutes of each half. They lost Owen Hargreaves after just five minutes of his long awaited return from injury as he limped off with a hamstring injury. Wayne Rooney is off for a week’s rehabilitation at the Nike training centre in Portland, Oregon, partly to get him away from the attention of the British press. Arsenal slipped back to 15 points behind the leaders with a 0-1 defeat to Newcastle. Manchester City are fourth after a 0-2 win at West Bromwich Albion.
Glasgow Celtic scored a record 9-0 while thrashing Aberdeen in the Scottish Premier League. The game featured two hat-tricks, three penalties and two red cards. Real Madrid and Barcelona both won to keep the top two spots in La Liga.
Links to other sites: Premier League, The Sun
Fifa investigating undercover journalists vote scam scandal
International sports, football
Update 18 October 06:05 Blackpool, England (GenevaLunch) - Blackpool failed to manage another giant-killing as they lost 2-3 at home to a Manchester City under the driving leadership of Carlos Tevez. The referee also seemed to favour the visiting multi-millionaires. Liverpool discovered that it takes more than a new owner to bring back the winning ways: they now share the bottom of the Premier League after being beaten by local rivals Everton. Chelsea still top the League, but by only a two-point lead after a 0-0 draw at Aston Villa. Manchester United threw away a two goal lead against West Brom, including a goalkeeping blunder by Van der Sar, to end 2-2.
Wayne Rooney was on the substitutes bench for most of the match and there is speculation that his falling out with manager Alex Ferguson might mean a parting of the ways.
International sports, football
Stamford Bridge, London (GenevaLunch) - Chelsea moved further ahead in the Premier League as they beat London rivals Arsenal 2-0 to open up a four point lead over Manchester City, who beat Newcastle 2-1. Man United are another point back after being held 0-0 at Sunderland. Liverpool are in the relegation zone after an embarrassing 1-2 loss to Blackpool, along with West Ham and Wolves.
In Spain Real Madrid thrashed Deportivo 6-1 but Barcelona were held 1-1 by Mallorca.
In the Swiss Super League Lucerne stay top after beating Young Boys 2-0 while second place Basel could only draw at home to Sion.
Links to other sites: Premier League, Guardian, TSR
International sports, football
City of Manchester Stadium, (GenevaLunch) - Chelsea lost their first game of the season when they went down to Manchester City in the battle of the billionaires. Carlos Tevez scored the only goal of the game. Manchester United failed to make the most of their chance to move within a single point of the champions when they could only manage a 2-2 draw at Bolton. A disappointing Wayne Rooney was substituted after an hour. Aresenal lost, going down 2-3 at home to West Brom. Liverpool managed a draw that just keeps them out of the bottom four.
Real Madrid were held to a 0-0 draw at Levante and slipped to third place behind Valencia and Barcelona.
Geneva Servette lost their second division game to local rivals Lausanne 1-2. Lucerne head Basel in the Swiss Super League after beating Saint-Gall 1-2.
Links to other sites: Premier League, Guardian,
International sports, football
Stadium of Light, Sunderland (GenevaLunch)- Sunderland provided the big surprise of the third weekend of the Premier League with a last minute winner against Manchester City. Chelsea continued their winning ways with a 2-0 over Stoke City. The London team tops the Premier League with a two point advantage over Arsenal and Manchester United as well as a huge advantage in goal difference, having scored 14 without conceding a single one. Man United beat West Ham 3-0 with Wayne Rooney scoring his first goal for 13 games thanks to a penalty. Arsenal won 1-2 at Wigan but their local rivals Spurs lost at home against Wigan, 0-1.
Links to other sites: Premier League, BBC, Guardian
International sport, football
Craven Cottage, London (GenevaLunch) - Chelsea, Arsenal and Newcastle all celebrated 6-0 wins in the Premier League but the real thrills occured when Manchester United travelled to Fulham, 22 August. Chelsea scored another six goal win in their second game of the season, crushing Wigan away to confirm their place at the top of the table as the only team to win their first two games. Arsenal winger Theo Walcott scored a hat-trick as Arsenal won 6-0, while newly promoted Newcastle took full advantage of the inexperience of the Aston Villa squad to register their first win of the season, with Andy Carroll also notching three goals in a 6-0 thrashing.
Manchester United were held to a 2-2 draw at Craven Cottage by Fulham in a thrilling game that left commentators breathless. There was a stunning goal by veteran Paul Scholes, a clumsy own goal, a missed penalty and a last minute equaliser.
Liverpool face Manchester City in Monday’s game after learning that the proposed bid for the club by a Hong Kong based businessman has fallen through.
Links to other sites: Premier League, The Sun
International sports, football
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Tottenham Hotspurs play Young Boys tonight, 17 August, in a play-off match to enter the lucrative European Champions League. Spurs finished strongly last season to take fourth place in the Premier League and started this season with a 0-0 draw at home against Manchester City. Spurs manager Harry Redknapp seems to be more worried about playing on an artificial Astroturf pitch than about the Bern opposition. Tottenham last played in the European Cup, as it was called then, back in 1962 when they lost to Benfica in the semi-finals. Young Boys are also seeking to revive old glories: they reached the European Cup semi- finals in 1959.
The first weekend of the Premier League saw Chelsea, who won last season, thrash newly promoted West Brom 6-0 with a hat-trick by Didier Drogba. Manchester United’s veterans Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs were in fine form as they beat Newcastle United 3-0. Arsenal drew 1-1 against Liverpool when they were gifted an own goal by the Liverpool goalkeeper in the last few minutes of the game.
Links to other sites: Premier League, Guardian
International sports, football
Wembley, London (GenevaLunch) - Chelsea completed their double of Premier League and FA Cup with a 1-0 win over Portsmouth. The victory seemed inevitable given the huge gap in resources between the two teams but Portsmouth, with the aid of the woodwork, made the London millionaires work more than anticipated. Pompey could have taken the lead when Kevin-Prince Boateng hit a feeble shot straight at the Chelsea goalie. Didier Drogba scored shortly afterwards and Chelsea controlled the rest of the match despite Frank Lampard missing a penalty.
The game was pushed out of the news by a sting operation lead by the normally conservative Daily Mail which taped a supposedly private conversation between Lord Triesman and his ex-assistant (and mistress) Melissa Jacobs. The FA Chairman accused Russia and Spain of trying to bribe World Cup referees. Triesman has resigned and the English 2018 bid committee sent off grovelling apologies.
Barcelona won La Liga with a 4-0 thumping of Vallaloid. Inter Milan won Serie A and are in search of their own double in the final of the European Champions League against Bayern Munich. In Switzerland FC Basel won their 13th League title by winning 0-2 against Young Boys.
Links to other sites: Daily Mail, Guardian
International sports, football
Stamford Bridge, London (GenevaLunch) - Chelsea won the Premier League in style with an 8-0 thrashing of Wigan, 9 May. It was a day of superlatives: Chelsea’s biggest ever win, smashing the record for most goals scored in a season with 103 (Man United scored 97 in 1999-2000.) Didier Drogba recovered from a temper tantrum when Frank Lampard did not let him take a penalty to score a late hat-trick and win the Golden Boot for the most goals of the season (29), ahead of Wayne Rooney.
Anfield Road, Liverpool (GenevaLunch) - Steven Gerrard virtually handed the Premier League title to Chelsea when his feeble backpass to the goalkeeper was intercepted by Didier Drogba, allowing the Ivory Coast striker the simplest of goals. Frank Lampard later added another against a tired Liverpool team. The game ended 0-2, 2 May, and Chelsea only need to win their next game, at home against Wigan to lift the trophy. Manchester United at least kept the pressure on Chelsea to win their final game by beating Sunderland 0-1, thanks to a goal by Nani. Dimitar Berbatov missed three more chances for Man United, which did little for his chances of staying with the club next season. Arsenal play Wigan on Monday and are already certain to finish in the top four places that give access to the European Champions League. The fourth spot will go to Spurs or Man City who both won on Saturday and play each other Wednesday 5 May at the City of Manchester stadium.
Links to other sites: Premier League, Guardian
Stamford Bridge, London (GenevaLunch) - Chelsea shot back to the top of the Premier League with a thumping 7-0 win over Stoke. They are one point ahead of Manchester United with only two games left to play. Salomon Kalou scored a hat-trick while Frank Lampard added two more for the Blues. Man United briefly returned to the top of the table on Saturday, 25 April, when they beat Spurs 3-1, but Chelsea are again favourites once again. Their next game is a tough trip to Liverpool, Sunday 2 May while Man United go to Sunderland. Their final games will be home against Wigan and Stoke. Arsenal against Man City ended 0-0. The big match to determine the fourth place, which gives a place in the European Champions League, will be Man City against Spurs, 5 May.
Portsmouth, Burnley and Hull are relegated.
Links to other sites: Premier League, Guardian
White Hart Lane, London (GenevaLunch) - The battle for the top spot in the Premier League was thrown wide open as Chelsea put on a dismal display to lose 2-1 at Spurs. Jermain Defoe and Gareth Bale scored for Tottenham in the first half while Frank Lampard hit back with a goal in the 90th minute for Chelsea. The Blues, previously looking like they already had the title in their grasp, could easily have lost by more and also had captain John Terry sent off.
Manchester United were on top for much of their derby game with in-form Manchester City but it was not till the last minute of added time that veteran Paul Scholes headed in the only goal of the game. Chelsea now lead by just one point with three games left to play. Arsenal are in third place while Spurs moved past Man City to take the vital fourth place which earns entry into the European Champions League. The key game for this will be 5 May when Spurs go to Man City. Chelsea have a game to play against Liverpool while Man United will face Spurs. Another big game is 24 April when Arsenal host Man City.
Links to other sites: Premier League, Guardian
Madrid, Spain (GenevaLunch) - Barcelona trimphed against arch rivals Real Madrid at the Bernabeu stadium. They won 0-2 with goals from Lionel Messi and Pedro, both set up by beautiful passes from Xavi. Barcelona showed they are currently the best team in the world, but the Spanish press concentrated on the way Lionel Messi had completely outclassed Cristiano Ronaldo, the Euro 94 million signing from Manchester United.
Back in the Premier League Man United slipped again on Sunday 11 April when they could only manage a 0-0 draw at Blackburn.
