It was a busy week on both sides of the channel as the EPL narrowed to a two horse race and the marauding Spaniards remained neck and neck. Goals, drama, and slack defending abounded as City finally managed to score more goals than an opponent. And quite the opponent it was! Meanwhile, Madrid relied on late magic to beat a mid table side but was happy to stay alive. But why I am telling you this when a picture says so much more?
In Iberia…
Real Madrid struggled to overcome a spirited Almeria at the Santiagu Bernabeu. Despite an early Sergio Ramos goal, two second half goals from Almeria put the merengues on the backfoot for a large chunk of the match. Still, the substitution of Karim Benzema sparked Madrid comeback, with Cristiano Ronaldo also playing a key part.
The Portuguese heartthrob threw a hissy fit after missing his penalty kick, and things got worse after he scored the game winning goal. Portu-hulk…Got…Angry….PORTU-HULK TAKE OFF SHIRT! Granted, a large collection of teenage girls screamed with delight (and perhaps a handful of their fathers), although Florentino Perez shook his head in disgust. “How am I supposed to sell millions of this clown’s shirt when he himself doesn’t wear it?”
Meanwhile, Barcelona beat Deportivo La Coruna with strong performances by both Leo Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The lumbering Swede and pint sized Argentine may play opposite styles of footy, but sometimes opposites attract. And sometimes opposites peacefully and silently coexist out of necessity, never crossing a word, all for the childrens’ sake.
The Catalan universe continued to run on paradoxes, as the goliath Zlatan headed wide at 14 minutes, yet the diminutive Messi headed home in the second half for the winner. Still, after a handful of draws, the Azulgrana were more than happy to snatch a few points from those pesky Galicians.
Across the channel…
Arsenal ended their rough spell with a 2-0 victory over Stoke City. With Robin Van Persie injured for an extended period and no amount of Serbian witchdoctor magic speeding his recovery, Arsene Wenger opted to place Andrei Arshavin at the tip of his attacking triangle.
Cesc Fabregas pulled a CR9 and missed a penalty kick, but the impressive Arshavin recovered from a lingering Slovenian hangover to score the opening goal. And was assisted by the repentant yet still slick passing Spaniard.
At the Eastlands, Manchester City picked up their first major scalp with a 2-1 victory over league leading Chelsea. The Blues started brightest, but Didier Drogba failed on numerous occasions to extend the 1-0 lead after an Adebayor own goal.
Most importantly for City, Carlos Tevez took a break from his busy modelling career (he’s the “before pic” for total facial reconstructive surgery co.) to curl in a delightful freekick that put City ahead. And City finally ended their run of one hundred and one straight draws.
Manchester United demolished West Ham with a 4-0 victory at Old Trafford. The makeshift Red Devils defense, with Gary Neville in central defense and Darren Fletcher at right back, did little work as United dominated possession with a rejuvenated Michael Carrick pulling the strings to perfection.
Still, the old but but not yet decrepit fledglings stole the show, as a Scholes’ cannon and a classic Giggs’ scamper resulted in the first two goals. AntonioValencia also continued his impressive run, calmly finishing an Anderson cross to add to an understated yet impressive first six months for United.
At Liverpool, the expectations are so low that even Rafa Benitez could find the positives in a dismal 0-0 draw at Ewood Park. Yes, the Scouser defense did manage to keep a clean sheet on the road.
When asked to list the positives, the unusually optimistic Benitez noted “well, Kuyt did not get injured…Lucas did not get injured….Benayoun did not get injured…Carragher did not get injured…Ngog did not get injured…” And the Futfanatico correspondent left after half an hour of such ramblings.
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