Shock Exits In Last 32

Second leg time in the Europa League Last 32 and there were a few shocks both on the night and on aggregate as the tradition of unpredictability continued to flourish with only one English side safely into the last 16.

That side is Tottenham who went behind to a Zozulya strike in the 47th minute to mean they needed three goals to advance and they levelled nine minutes later through Eriksen with their hopes boosted just after hour as Zozulya was dismissed. Adebayor struck twice in four minutes to turn the tie around with goals in the 65th and 69th minutes and they held on to set up a tie with Benfica.

The Portuguese side advanced after a 3-0 win over PAOK and 4-0 overall but needed the sending off of Katsouranis in the 69th minute to spur them on as a minute later Gaitan scored the opener and Lima and Markovic sealed the win in the 78th and 79th minutes respectively.

Real Betis will be a slight surprise to have advanced after they beat Rubin Kazan 2-0 to go through 3-1 overall with goals from Villar on half time and Castro on the hour mark sealing a safe passage where they will play fellow La Liga side Sevilla. Sevilla set up the meeting after a 2-1 win at home to Maribor resulting in a 4-3 aggregate after Reyes put them in front in the 42nd minute with Gameiro adding a second just before the hour, Maribor setup a frantic finish when Vrsic struck in the final minute but the Spanish side held on.

Swansea knew a draw away to Napoli would see them through and with 12 minutes to go it was looking good after De Guzmas had struck on the half hour to cancel out Insigne's opener in the 16th minute but the might of the Italians saw Higuain put them in front again in the 78th minute and Inler dashed the Swan's hopes further with a third in the final minute that sets up a tie with Porto.

Porto advanced by the virtue of away goals after drawing 3-3 on the night and 5-5 overall, the disaster from the first leg that saw them blow a 2-0 lead, saw them do the opposite as they went 2-0 down to Frankfurt with Aigner and Meier putting the hosts in front but Mangala struck in the 58th minute before levelling in the 71st minute to put the tie at 4-4 but Meier hit his second five minutes later to regain the German's advantage but a leveller and crucial third away goal for Porto came four minutes from the end through Ghilas.

Juventus completed a 4-0 aggregate win with a 2-0 victory away to Trabzonspor with goals from Vidal in the 18th minute and Osvaldo in the 33rd minute setting up an all Italian tie with Fiorentina who had to settle for a 1-1 draw at home to Esbjerg as they led through Ilicic in the 47th minute only to be pegged back in the final minute after a leveller from Vestergaard but it was only consolation overall as hosts completed a 4-2 win on aggregate.

Plzen advanced with a 2-1 win away to Shakthar and 3-2 aggregate win after scoring twice in four minutes either side of the half hour with Kolar putting them in front with Petrzela making it two in the 33rd minute, Shakthar ensured a frantic finish when the scored in the 88th minute through Adriano but were unable to level and force extra time as Plzen setup a tie against Lyon.

Lyon left it late to secure a place in the next round and were given a lifeline when Chornomorets went down to ten men in the 76th minute when Zubeyko was dismissed and Lacazette hit the winner for the hosts in the 80th minute to secure a 1-0 aggregate win.

The biggest shock of the round was Red Bull Salzburg who completed a humiliating 6-1 aggregate win over Ajax with a 3-1 win last night, Van der Hoorn put the hosts in front with an own goal in the 56th minute and his side needed a miracle when Salzburg went 2-0 up through Mane in the 66th minute. Soriano made it 3-0 in the 77th minute for a 6-0 aggregate lead but Ajax avoided a double nilling with a consolation through Klaassen in the 82nd minute but the Austrians move on to face Basel.

The Swiss side secured a safe passage with a 3-0 win against Maccabi Tel Aviv with Stocker putting them in front in the 16th minute, Maccabi knew a leveller would put them through on away goals but it didn't come and Basel confirmed the win with a double from Streller in the 60th and 71st minutes.


Ludogorets have surprised a lot of people this season and went one better as they advanced 4-3 on aggregate after a hard fought draw against Lazio who led after the first minute through Diao and levelled on aggregate. Lazio gained an advantage in tthe 54th minute when Perea put them in but the hosts made it 2-2 overall with a Bezjak strike in the 67th minute before going in front with Zlatinski scoring in the 78th minute. Klose made it 3-2 on the night and 3-3 overall with nine minutes to go and meaning Lazio were going through but Azevedo made it 3-3 on the night with two minutes to go and secured a tie with Valencia.

The La Liga side drew 0-0 at home to Dynamo Kyiv to advance after a 2-0 first leg win gave them a strong advantage while Anzhi advanced with a 2-0 win over Genk with a Tshimanga own goal putting them in front just after the hour mark and Aliyev made it two in the 71st minute. Genk were given a lifeline when Anzhi had Tagirbekov dismissed with nine minutes to go but filed to capitalise as the Russians set up a tie with AZ.

AZ left it late to secure a 1-0 away win in the first leg against Liberec and it was the hero Viergever who put them in front in the 19th minute last night and gave them a two goal advantage which was halved by Budnik in the 72nd minute but the Czech's were unable to level and meant the Dutch side advanced 2-1 on aggregate. 

Top Four Go Clear

As the European competitions returned last week some teams were playing their third game in the space of a week but for others their first with having no place in domestic or European cups.

Saturday's early kick off saw Chelsea sneak a last-gasp win over Everton with Terry connecting to a cross that bounced off Howard and in to break the visitors hopes of a well deserved point while sending the hosts clear at the top.

Arsenal accepted the challenge of a bigger gap and reduced it to one point with a 4-1 win at home to Sunderland with Giroud hitting a double inside 31 minutes to put the hosts in control with Rosicky making it three just before the break and Koscielny sealing the win just before the hour mark, Sunderland did pull one back but in the 81st minute through Giaccherini as they go into a two week break from the league with the League Cup final up next.

Hull stunned Cardiff in a 4-0 rout which saw them lead after only 18 minutes through Huddlestone but Jelavic showed why Bruce signed him from Everton with a double either side of half time and they were four up and clear in the 67th minute when Livermore struck to end a terrible afternoon for the hosts.

Man City prepared for next weeks League Cup final with a slim 1-0 win at home to Stoke with Toure hitting the winner in the 70th minute to end a run of two games without a goal while West Brom left it late to secure a point at home to Fulham with Dejagah putting the visitors in front after 28 minutes and they looked good for a rare win until Vydra levelled for the hosts with four minutes to go.

West Ham continued their recent rise in form with a 3-1 win at home to Southampton despite falling behind early on to Yoshida's opener in the eighth minute but Cole levelled in the 20th minute and Jarvis completed the comeback three minutes later to put them 2-1 up at the break. Southampton pushed but were out of the running when Nolans hit a third in the 71st minute to complete the win and put his side into the top half.

The late kick-off saw Man Utd travel to Crystal Palace and to the surprise of many the sides were level at half time but United sealed a win with two goals in five minutes, Van Persie struck a penalty in the 62nd minute and in celebrating a new contract Rooney hit a second in the 67th minute to keep up their hopes of a top four finish.

Sunday began with Swansea travelling to Liverpool in a game that many were surprised was not televised and even more so after a seven goal thriller saw Liverpool keep up their title chances with a 4-3 win. Sturridge became only the second player to score in eight consecutive games with an opener after three minutes, Henderson made it two in the 20th minute but a resilient Swansea were level inside seven minutes as Shelvey struck against his former side and Bony levelled with a clever connection past Mignolet. Liverpool went in front again in the 36th minute as Sturridge got his second to put them into the break 3-2 up

Swansea were level three minutes into the second half when Bony was fouled by Skrtel and converted the resulting penalty past Mignolet for 3-3, Liverpool knew that all of their title rivals had won and to keep up with them they had to do the same and the joy came 16 minutes from the end when Henderson hit his second and Liverpool's fourth to move them clear of Tottenham and Everton.

The first Super Sunday game saw Newcastle host Aston Villa in a game that both sides where both sides knew a win would turn around their mixed form but it was the hosts who left it late to seal the win as Remy struck a last-gasp winner that kept them in tow with the top seven.

The second game meant that Tottenham needed a win away to Norwich to reduced the gap to Liverpool in fourth but just like in midweek they suffered a 1-0 loss as Snodgrass sealed the win for the Canaries in the 48th minute to move them up to 14th,

EPL Sides Draw A Blank

The winter break is over and the Europa League has returned at the Last 32 with only two English representatives in the shape of Swansea and Tottenham.

Tottenham suffered a 1-0 loss away to Dnipro who had the much talked about Konoplyanka to thank with a winning strike from the spot nine minutes from the end while fellow English side, Swansea secured a 0-0 draw at home to a strong Napoli side giving them hopes of advancing if they score in Naples.

Real Betis and Rubin drew 1-1 with the La Liga side leading after three minutes through Rosello with Rubin's night getting worse as Prudnikov was dismissed just before the half-hour but they soldiered on and levelled from a Eremenko penalty in the 74th minute to secure a draw and a what could prove to be a vital away goal.

Juventus bounced back from their Champions League exit with a 2-0 win over Trabzonspor with Osvaldo scoring in the15th minute and Pogba sealing the win in the final minute while Maribor and Sevilla shared four goals with Tavares and Gameiro putting them in level at the break but the La Liga side led through Fazio in the 72nd minute only to be pulled back by a Vrsic leveller nine minutes from the end.

Plzen and Shakthar drew 1-1- in the battle of the Champions League drop-outs with Tecl scoring in the 62nd minute with Adriano levelling two minutes later but because of the leveller the Ukrainians will be the happier with the away goal.

Chornomorets drew 0-0 with Lyon while a another scoreless game took place between Maccabi and Basel and a third between Anzhi and Genk with the hosts having Maksimov dismissed in the final minutes.

Ludogorets continued their fine run in the competition with a 1-0 win away to Lazio with Bezjak hitting the winner in the 45th minute but both sides ended with ten men with Dyakov sent off in the 54th minute and Cavanda sent off for the hosts in the 73rd minute as the visitors held on for the win.

Salzburg caused the shock of the night as they all but sealed a lace in the next round with a 3-0 win away to Ajax with a a double from Soriano sandwiching a Mane strike as they posted three away goals.

Three was the number for Fiorentina as they beat Esbjerg 3-1 with Matri and Ilicic sandwiching a leveller from Pusic all inside the first 15 minutes but Aquilani added a penalty in the 37th minute and they held on for the win.

Benfica take away a single away goal after winning 1-0 at PAOK with a strike from Lima while AZ left it late away to Liberec with Viergever sealing the win in the 89th minute,

Dynamo Kyiv looked to be on for a 0-0 draw at home to Valencia but Vargas in the 79th minute and a second in the last minute from Feghouli gave the La Liga side two away goals to give them a foot in the next round.

Porto hosted Frankfurt in a game i had a massive focus on with it being on my coupon and with eighteen minutes to go all was looking good as Quaresma and Varela had put them 2-0 up but in the space of five minutes disaster struck as Sanmartin pulled one back before Sandro scored an own goal to seal the draw, ruin my coupon and secure what could be two vital away goals.

2013 Finalists March On

Fifth round time in the FA Cup and a clash of the Premier League top four along with League One against Championship made for an exciting programme of games.

Saturday's early game saw League Cup finalists Sunderland face Southampton with going through with a 1-0 thanks to a strike from Gardner in the 49th minute to put their hopes of a double trip to Wembley within sight.

Sheffield Wednesday against Charlton was postponed due to the bad weather while Wigan kept up their hopes of a second consecutive final with a 2-1 win away to Cardiff after McCann put the holders ahead in the 18th minute. Campbell levelled for the hosts nine minutes later but the holders regained the lead through Watson just before the break and held on in the second half to advance to the last eight.

The evening kick-off saw Man City advance after a 2-0 win at home to title rivals Chelsea with Jovetic hitting his second City goal in the 16th minute with Nasri sealing the win in the 67th minute to keep up their hopes of the Quadruple.

Sunday began with Swansea travelling to Everton and the Toffees debutant Lacina Traore took only four minutes to hit his first goal with De Guzman levelling in the 15th minute. Naismith capitalised on a Swansea mistake to make it 2-1 in the 65th minute and the win was completed by a Baines penalty seven minutes later.

Sheffield United shocked Notts Forest despite going behind to a Paterson strike in the 28th minute but Coady levelled in the 66th minute before a Porter double in the final minutes, the second from the spot put them through with a 3-1 win.

The late kick off saw Arsenal host Liverpool with the hosts taking the lead after 16 minutes via Oxlade-Chamberlain and went further in front early in the second half through Podolski. Liverpool pulled one back when Gerrard slotted from the spot but were unable to level as Arsenal held on for the win.

Monday night saw Brighton host Hull with the Championship side taking the lead through Ulloa and with six minutes to go it looked like there would be a second surprise of the round but Aluko struck for the visitors to force a replay next week.

The sixth round draw threw up a number of notable ties as with Arsenal's win ended the hopes of a Merseyside derby as the winner hosts Everton, a repeat of the 2013 will take place as Man City host holders Wigan while there is the prospect of a Steel derby with Sheffield United possibly hosting city rivals Wednesday.

Arsenal v Everton
Brighton & Hove Albion or Hull City v Sunderland
Sheffield United v Sheffield Wednesday or Charlton Athletic
Manchester City v Wigan Athletic

Liverpool Close To Top After Weather Problems

A full midweek programme was affected but two late postponements that saw the games between Everton and Crystal Palace and Man City and Sunderland called off due to bad weather causing safety fears.

Tuesday was unaffected and saw a 0-0 draw between Cardiff and Aston Villa begin the night with a narrow win for Southampton away to Hull add to their impressive form after a winner in the 69th minute from Fonte. West Ham continued their rise up the table with a 2-0 win at home to Norwich with a late show that saw Collins score in the 84th minute and Diame finish the job in the 90th.

The late kick-off saw Chelsea look to go clear at the top and looked to be on to success when Ivanovic gave them the lead on half-time but just like Liverpool when face the Baggies recently, West Brom struck late on through Anichebe to secure a vital point that kept them outside of the drop zone.

Wednesday was reduced to four games but two of them saw four goals scored but nothing of the sort was seen at the Emirates when Arsenal and Man United faced off as they drew 0-0 and a another draw took place between Stoke and Swansea after an opener from Crouch was cancelled out in the second half by a leveller from Chico Flores.

Newcastle were dealt a blow to their top five hopes after  4-0 thrashing at home to Tottenham with a double from Adebayor sandwiching a third from Paulinho with the rout completed by Chadli two minutes from the end.

The late game saw Fulham look to build on their draw at Old Trafford with a win at home to Liverpool who had the chance to take advantage of Chelsea and City not pulling away at the top but their hopes were dented early on when a calamitous own goal by Toure gave the hosts the lead. Sturridge struck level four minutes before half time but Richardson regained the lead for Fulham just after the hour mark. Coutinho levelled in the 72nd minute and Liverpool completed a stunning comeback in the final minute when they were awarded a penalty that Gerrard tucked away for a magical 3-2 win.

 

Liverpool and Chelsea Capitalise At The Top.

A massive week for the sides began with a full weekend programme that certainly exceeded all expectation with a few huge surprises at Anfield and Old Trafford.

Saturday's lunch time kick-off saw Arsenal travel to Liverpool on a ten game unbeaten run and seven year since their last loss in front of the Kop. Arsenal were stunned as after barely a minute, Skrtel connected Gerrard's free-kick and swept it past Szczesny and doubled his tally in the 10th minute as Liverpool blitzed the Gunners.

Sterling and Sturridge added one each with only 20 minutes on the clock when the England striker struck and Arsenal were on their way to hammering as they went into the break 4-0 down. Sterling hit his second in the 52nd minute and Arsenal got what was sheer consolation when Arteta slotted a penalty past Mignolet in the 69th minute to reduce the deficit but a 5-1 defeat put out a message that Liverpool can not be written off in the fight for the title.

Chelsea had the chance to go top after Arsenal's loss and did so in style as Hazard struck a hat-trick in the 27th, 34th and 63rd minute with the sealer coming via a penalty as the Blues defeated Newcastle 3-0. West Ham rose to 15th with a 2-0 win away to Aston Villa with Nolan scoring both in the space of two minutes early in the second half to continue his and the Hammers improvement in form.

Crystal Palace and West Brom both got rewards for using their deadline day signings but it was the Eagles that made the most of it in a 3-1 win, Ince put them ahead after 15 minutes and fellow new boy Ledley added a second 12 minutes later to give them a 2-0 lead at the break. Bifouma struck on his Baggies debut three minutes into the second but Chamakh sealed the win for the hosts with a 69th minute penalty.

Norwich against Man City in the minds of many predictors was a comfortable win for the visitors but the Canaries defied their low league position to hold the league's top scorers to a draw and give themselves a vital point to avoid falling into the bottom three.

Southampton raced into an early lead at home to Stoke when Lambert struck inside seven minutes but new signing Odemwingie levelled for the Potters in the 38th minute only to see his effort cancelled out three minutes later by Davis who regained the lead for the hosts. The sides went in level at the break when former Southampton hero Crouch levelled in the 44th minute. Both sides pushed for a winner in the second half but to no avail as they shared the points.

Hull improved their form with a 2-0 victory away to Sunderland to half the hosts recent good run which started badly as Brown was dismissed after only four minutes and Hull took advantage and took the lead 12 minutes later through Long. They sealed the win as another new signing struck when Jelavic hit past Mannone just after the hour to confirm the three points would be going back to Hull.

The evening kick-off saw Swansea win the Welsh derby at home the Cardiff with a comfortable 3-0 win which was a surpise given that the sides were level at the break but Routeledge opened the scoring two minutes into the second half and Dyer and Bony struck in the 79th and 85th minutes to seal the win.

Super Sunday began with Tottenham sealing a narrow 1-0 win over top five rival Everton with Adebayor striking the vital winner in the 65th minute but this weekend was a case of the first and last games taking the headlines as Manchester United hosted basement boys Fulham in a shocking result  that began with Fulham leading after 19 minutes thanks to Sidwell's goal. United remained behind until the 78th minute when a double swung the game around with Van Persie levelling followed by a stunning strike from Carrick to put the hosts in front. However, United's home form continued to drop when Bent capitalised from a De Gea parry to level in the final minute and leave the hosts nine points adrift of 4th spot and 15 off the top.

Part one of a packed week is complete as the league moves on to a full midweek programme that starts tomorrow night.

Londoners Triumph As Mancunians Struggle

Midweek through up a number of surprises but would the trend continue into the weekend programme, well the discipline improved with only one sending and for a change no side managed to hit more than three goals and there were more wins at the bottom than the top.

Saturday's early kick-offs began with Sunderland travelling to Newcastle for the Tyne/Wear derby and the visitors continued their good run with 3-0 victory with Borini putting them in front with a 19th minute penalty and man of the moment Adam Johnson extended his scoring streak four minutes later.

Newcastle managed to keep Sunderland out until the 80th minute when Colback sealed the win to move his side up to 12th. In the other early game, West Ham shocked Swansea with a 2-0 win that saw the Geordie duo of Nolan and Carroll hit the headlines as they combined twice in the first half resulting in a double for Nolan. The partnership broke on the hour as Carroll was dismissed after a hit on Flores but the Hammers held on for a comfortable win.

Cardiff looked to be onto a bad day after five minutes at home to Norwich when Snodgrass gave the Canaries the lead but two goals in as many minutes early in the second half from Bellamy and Jones sealed the win that took them off the bottom of the table.

After their heavy midweek defeat, Everton looked to be onto yet another as they fell behind to a Bacuna opener at home to Aston Villa and with Lukaku out injured, stand in striker Naismith levelled in the 74th minute to give them hopes of a comeback. The hopes confirmed when Mirallas swept in a brilliant winner with five minutes to go to improve their top four hopes.

Southampton bounced back from a mixed run of results with a comfortable 3-0 win away to struggling Fulham who as a result now occupy the league's bottom spot but looked on for a point as the sides were level at half-time. Lallana gave Saints the lead in the 64th minute which quickly went to two and then three goals defecit as Lambert and Rodriguez sealed the three points.

Hull took an early lead at home to Tottenham through Long in the 12th minute but were pegged back by a Paulinho equaliser on the hour to share the points in a 1-1 draw while Stoke stunned Man United with 2-1 home win that saw all three goals come in a 14 minute period either side of half time.

Adam put the Potters in front in the 38th minute and they went in 1-0 up but the lead lasted only two minutes of the second period as Van Persie completed the comeback from his long injury layoff with a leveller to give United a lift but Adam erased that hope in style with a stunning winner four minute later to dent United's hopes of retaining the title.

Super Sunday began with Liverpool travelling to West Brom but despite Sturridge putting the visitors in front with his 50th league goal. the points were shared after a howler of a pass from Toure on the edge of his own area put Anichebe in for an easy leveller to dent Liverpool's chance of catching the top three.

Part two of Super Sunday saw Arsenal return to the top with a 2-0 win at home to Crystal Palace in what was a tight game but the difference was a brace from the returning Oxlade-Chamberlain as the Gunners went two points clear at the top.

The weekend came to a close with the Monday Night Football meeting between Man City and Chelsea at the Etihad with Chelsea taking a surprise lead through Ivanovic after 32 minutes which lasted until the end as Chelsea not only became the first team to stop City scoring but in doing so ended their unbeaten run at home in a brilliant end to the weekend's programme.