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.
City of Manchester Stadium (GenevaLunch) - Tottenham Hotspurs scored a vital away win at Manchester City to qualify for the vital fourth Premier League place amongst the elite European Champions League teams next season. The high spending Manchester City will have to settle for a place in the Europa Cup. Spurs were deserving winners, with a late goal from Peter Crouch providing the 0-1 victory in a game where they had the better organisation and more chances, 5 May. Manchester United’s noisy neighbours will have to wait at least another season to compete with the top European clubs.
Inter Milan won the Italian Cup with a 1-0 over A S Roma to claim the first part of a potential treble. They lead Roma in the Serie A championship and are in the finals of the European Champions League against Bayern Munich. The match was an ill-tempered affair after accusations that Roma’s arch rivals Lazio had allowed Inter to win their last Serie A game in order to stop Roma from taking the title.
Links to other sites: Guardian, Premier league
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
Old Trafford, Manchester, England (GenevaLunch) - It was like turning the clock back nearly four decades as Leeds traveled to Old Trafford and won 0-1 in the third round of the FA Cup. It was their first win since 1981 at the home of the current champions. Manchester manager Sir Alex Ferguson was critical of his players for their lack of commitment. Chelsea strolled past Watford 5-0 and are now the firm favourites for the Cup. Arsenal came from behind to be at West Ham 1-2.
England (GenevaLunch) – Chelsea lost their 100 percent record as they lost 3-1 at Wigan after goalkeeper Petr Cech was sent off and conceded a penalty for tripping Hugo Rodallego. Manchester United moved to the top of the Premier League with a one goal advantage over Chelsea as they won at Stoke 0-2. Liverpool thrashed Hull 6-1 with the help of a superb hat-trick from Fernando Torres. Robbie Keane did even better for Spurs as he scored four goals in the 5-0 thrashing of Burnley.
At the bottom end Portsmouth set a new Premier League record by losing the first seven games of the season.
Details: Premier League
Premier League, England (GenevaLunch) - Chelsea are now the only team in the Premier League with a 100% record. They beat their London rivals Tottenham 3-0 in a game where the only real controversy was when the referee refused to award Spurs a penalty that might have brought them back to 1-1. The Manchester Derby was a much more exciting affair as Man City travelled to Old Trafford to see how the newly assembled team would fare against the current champions.
Premier League, England (GenevaLunch) – Chelsea moved to the top of the table with a convincing 3-0 victory over Burnley. Tottenham are also on 12 points from four games after beating Birmingham 2-1 with a late goal from Aaron Lennon, following a Peter Crouch header, which gave Spurs a 2-1 win. They lost Luka Modric to injury, apparently a fractured bone in his leg which will put him out of action for a few months.
Premier league, England (GenevaLunch) -Tottenham, Chelsea Arsenal and Man City are the only teams to have won all their games so far this season. Spurs and Chelsea have won three to top the table. Man United came back from an earlier loss to crush Wigan 0-5, Arsenal beat Portsmouth 4-1. Five teams have yet to score a point.
Details: premierleague.com
Premier League(GenevaLunch) – Newly promoted Burnley celebrated their first home game in the top division by beating current champions Manchester United 1-0. Man United were appalling, with a much weakened defense in the absence of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, while Michael Owen was completely out of touch at the front and was substituted in the second half.
(GenevaLunch) - Manchester United stayed in the hunt for an unprecedented five trophies by beating Spurs 2-1 in the FA Cup. Tottenham can now concentrate on the more important job of avoiding relegation.
