Old Trafford, Manchester, England (GenevaLunch) - Wayne Rooney and striking partner Dimitar Berbatov put on a display of class Sunday 14 March to beat Fulham 3-0. Man United returned to the top of the Premier League, two points clear of Chelsea but the Blues have a game in hand. Didier Drogba scored twice as Chelsea won 4-1 against West Ham. Arsenal are in third place after a 1-2 victory at Hull. The fight for the vital fourth place features Spurs and Man City with Liverpool drifting down to sixth place.
Stamford Bridge, London (GenevaLunch) – Chelsea fell apart in the second half of a bizarre match against Manchester City which featured two penalties, one for each side, and two players being sent off, both from Chelsea. The first big moment was a non-event, when Wayne Bridge refused to shake hands with John Terry. The next 40 minutes were tedious, with Chelsea having most of the play but making few chances. Frank Lampard put Chelsea ahead after a neat pass from Joe Cole.
Carlos Tevez then managed to make idiots of the Chelsea defence, latching on to a clearance from Wayne Bridge he shot past John Terry and then mis-hit a shot past Henrique Hilario, the aptly named Chelsea goalkeeper.
Stamford Bridge, London (GenevaLunch) - Chelsea took back the leadership of the Premier League as Didier Drogba scored twice to beat their local rivals 2-0. It was the second consecutive loss for the Gunners, following on the 3-0 loss to Manchester United last weekend. Man United briefly topped the table after crushing Portsmouth 5-0 with the help of two or three own goals by the unfortunate visitors, currently on the brink of bankruptcy. Liverpool won their deby match against Everton 1-0 to reclaim 4th place while Spurs played out a 0-0 draw against Aston Villa and Man City lost at Hull.
Barcelona maintained a five point lead in La Liga after beating Getafe 2-1 while arch rivals Real Madrid won 3-0 against RCD Espanyol.
Links to other sites: Premier League, La Liga
Chelsea, London, England (GenevaLunch) - Chelsea put on a superb show to crush Sunderland 7-2 despite having their star striker away at the African Nations Cup. Nicolas Anelka and Frank Lampard each got two while Florent Malouda, Ashley Cole and Michael Ballack scored the others. Meanwhile Didier Drogba scored for Ivory Coast as they beat Ghana 3-1.
Manchester United beat Burnley 3-0 to stay second in the Premier League. Cesc Fabregas was in fine form as Arsenal won 0-2 at Bolton. Spurs stay fourth despite a dull 0-0 draw at home to Hull. Everton beat Manchester City 2-0 and Liverpool again conceded a late goal as they were held 1-1 at Stoke, increasing the pressure on manager Rafael Benitez.
Links to other sites: Premier League
Hull, England (GenevaLunch) - Manchester United pulled back two precious points on leaders Chelsea when they won 1-3 at Hull City with a powerful display led by Wayne Rooney. Chelsea were held to a goal-less draw at Birmingham on Saturday and face a tough game on Monday 28 December against Fulham.
Fulham, London, England (GenevaLunch) - Manchester United lost another Premier League game when they were comprehensively beaten 3-0 by Roy Hodgson’s Fulham. The London manager, who once coached the Swiss national team, took full advantage of the shaky Manchester defense which was weakened by many injured absentees. Chelsea were only able to manage a 1-1 draw at West Ham, and this was thanks to a dubious penalty decision. Frank Lampard took it three times before the referee was satisfied. Chelsea now lead Man United by four points.
Manchester City won 4-3 against Sunderland but it was not enough to save the job of manager Mark Hughes, who is being replaced by Roberto Mancini, ex-manager of Inter Milan. Arsenal beat Hull 3-0 to take third place while Aston Villa are next after beating Stoke 1-0.
Links to other sites: Premier League, Times, UK
Capetown, South Africa (GenevaLunch) - Switzerland was the last ball taken out at the draw for the finals of the World Cup to be held in South Africa in 2010. They will meet Spain, Honduras and Chile in the first stage, with two teams going through to the next round. France are in the group headed by South Africa, along with Mexico and Uruguay. The host nation will be hard-pressed to make it to the second round. England will meet the USA, Algeria and Slovenia. The toughest group is G, which has Brazil, Portugal, Côte d’Ivoire and North Korea.
In the Premier League Manchester United powered their way past West Ham, winning 0-4.
England (GenevaLunch) - Manchester City won a bad-tempered duel with Arsenal 4-2, showing they have the talent to challenge the traditional big four teams but also revealing a nasty streak that may cost the team. Emmanuel Abedayor, transfered from Arsenal for £25 million at the end of last season, was involved in two incidents which are likely to be investigated by the FA authorities: the first was when he appeared to kick Robin Van Persie in the face, the second when he ran the length of the pitch to celebrate in front of the Arsenal fans after scoring at the other end.
