Inter held by Atalanta as title rivals flounder
December 13, 2009
Italian league leaders Inter Milan were held to a 1-1 draw at Atalanta on Sunday that prevented them from fully capitalising on slips-up by their main title rivals, Juventus and AC Milan.
Inter, the four-time defending champions, were looking to bounce back from a 2-1 defeat at Juventus last weekend and they took a 15th-minute lead when their 10-goal top scorer Diego Milito outfoxed three defenders to score.
Jose Mourinho’s side were made to toil in the second period following the 65th-minute dismissal of midfielder Wesley Sneijder for two bookable offences and they allowed Atalanta to snatch a point through substitute Simone Tiribocchi with nine minutes to play.
Inter lead the table with 36 points from 16 games. Milan are five points back in second place after losing 2-0 at home to Palermo, while Juve trail Milan by a point after their 3-1 loss at Bari on Saturday.
Milan went into their meeting with Palermo on the back of five straight Serie A victories but they were undone by two goals early in the second half that owed much to the brilliance of Fabrizio Miccoli.
Miccoli cut in from the left flank before bending a fine finish around Dida in the 49th minute and he provided the spark for the visitors’ second goal shortly after the hour mark when he sped down the left before finding Javier Pastore, who in turn fed Mark Bresciano to slam home from close range.
Elsewhere, Fiorentina’s recent dismal run continued with a 2-1 defeat at Chievo, while Parma kept pace with the top three by winning 2-1 at home to Bologna and under-performing Lazio won 1-0 at home to Genoa.
Roma travel to Sampdoria in Sunday’s late match and the club from the capital will move up to fifth place, a point behind Parma, if they win.
Juventus’s week went from bad to worse on Saturday, when they followed up their mid-week Champions League elimination at the hands of Bayern Munich by losing 3-1 at promoted Bari.
Ciro Ferrara’s team were second-best throughout and their performance was symbolised by a missed penalty in the 68th minute by misfiring summer signing Diego.
ROME (AFP)
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Arsenal want Dutch compensation for striker injury
December 13, 2009
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says the club are to seek compensation from the Dutch football federation for the ankle injury striker Robin van Persie suffered during Holland’s friendly against Italy on November 14, media reports said Sunday.
“We are working on this with our lawyers at the moment and we are definitely going for it,” newspapers quoted Wenger as saying.
“I expect financial compensation for the damage it can make to the championship and the salary involved. It is especially frustrating to lose your players for the rest of the season in a friendly game,” Wenger added.
The loss of Van Persie is a big blow to the Gunners’ English Premiership title hopes as he is an integral figure in the squad.
He is expected to miss most of the rest of the season.
Wenger also said he believed the Dutch federation had misdiagnosed the injury and added that “there are a lot of things that have not been done properly after he was injured.”
British media quoted the Dutch federation as saying only that it took note of Wenger’s comments.
LONDON (AFP)
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Stuttgart hoping to build on European success
December 13, 2009
Stuttgart’s new coach Christian Gross will be hoping his team can build on their European success on Sunday.
Having reached the Champions League’s last 16, the club are 16th in the Bundesliga table and in the dreaded relegation zone.
Gross took over from Markus Babbel as coach last Sunday and enjoyed immediate success when his side beat Romanian champions Unirea Urziceni 3-1 on Wednesday.
With just two wins to their credit from 15 games, Stuttgart need to beat Mainz, who are ninth, to get out of the bottom three and boost some low morale.
Ex-Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann landed himself in hot water in the wake of Babbel’s dismissal by claiming his Stuttgart bosses bowed to pressure from angry fans.
Team manager Horst Heldt has said there will be consequences for Lehmann.
Having been dumped out of the Champions League on Tuesday after Manchester United beat them 3-1 at home, defending German champions Wolfsburg have the chance to get their league campaign back on track at home to Dortmund on Sunday.
Sunday
Mainz 05 v VfB Stuttgart
VfL Wolfsburg v Borussia Dortmund
BERLIN (AFP)
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Atletico Madrid, Villarreal match-up
December 13, 2009
Atletico Madrid host Villarreal at the Vicente Calderon on Sunday in a match-up between two sides recovering from horrid starts.
Both these sides harboured top four aspirations in pre-season but Atletico had their worst league start in 56 years while Villarreal had their worst start in the club’s history.
“Both teams are in a similar situation and we have the squads to be much higher in the table,” said Villarreal’s Diego Godin.
Villarreal are two points better off than Atletico, down in 13th place, and neither side can afford many more slip-ups or risk missing out on Europe altogether.
After surrendering third to Valencia, Sevilla travel to Sporting Gijon looking to resurrect their title charge.
Sevilla have drawn their last two home matches to fall nine points behind Barcelona although they have a game in hand.
Elsewhere high-flying Real Mallorca go in search of their first away win of the season at Osasuna on Sunday.
Mallorca have won all seven of their home matches to climb to sixth but remarkably have yet to win on their travels.
Fixtures
Sunday – all 1600 GMT unless stated
Valladolid v Malaga, Getafe v Tenerife, Racing Santander v Xerez, Almeria v Deportivo La Coruna, Osasuna v Real Mallorca, Atletico Madrid v Villarreal (1800 GMT), Sporting Gijon v Sevilla (2000 GMT)
MADRID (AFP)
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Inter Milan head to Atalanta with injury worries
December 13, 2009
Serie A leaders Inter Milan face a trip to struggling Atalanta with some injury worries as both Walter Samuel and Dejan Stankovic, who limped off against Rubin, are set to miss the clash on Sunday.
However, Ivan Cordoba should deputise for Samuel while coach Jose Mourinho can bring Esteban Cambiasso or Muntari Sulley back into the midfield or even push Javier Zanetti into the middle and bring Cristian Chivu back in at left-back.
Elsewhere, AC Milan host Palermo and are looking to extend their 13-match unbeaten run in all competitions.
They have won their last five league games to close to within four points of Inter in second place.
Sunday
AC Milan v Palermo, Atalanta v Inter Milan, Catania v Livorno, Chievo v Fiorentina, Lazio v Genoa, Parma v Bologna, Sampdoria v AS Roma, Siena v Udinese
ROME (AFP)
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Bordeaux primed to undermine Lyon title bid
December 13, 2009
French league leaders Bordeaux welcome Lyon to the Stade Chaban-Delmas on Sunday knowing that victory would take them eight points clear of their title rivals at the top of the table.
Both clubs have qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League, but Bordeaux’s league form is much better and with the winter break approaching they have a prime opportunity to deal their foes a timely psychological blow.
The reigning champions recovered from a first home defeat in over two years against Valenciennes to record back-to-back wins at Nancy and at home to Paris Saint-Germain, but Lyon have just one win in their last seven league matches.
Lyon, the dominant side of the decade who won seven straight titles between 2002 and 2008, warmed up for the clash with a 4-0 Champions League win over Hungarian side Debrecen in mid-week, but coach Claude Puel rejected suggestions his team were in need of a lift.
“It’s not a question of relief or of being reassured or I don’t know what,” said the former Lille manager.
“The previous matches are out of our system and we’re concentrating on the games ahead. Now, with Bordeaux, we change the register and the competition. We’ll have to recover well for the match on Sunday.”
Laurent Blanc was able to field a second-string XI for Bordeaux’s final Champions League assignment, a 1-0 win at Israeli outfit Maccabi Haifa.
The first-team stars are expected to return on Sunday, with midfielder Yoann Gourcuff set to play despite having missed training on Wednesday with toothache.
Lyon will likely be without their France international winger Sidney Govou, who was forced off with an injury in the 29th minute of their victory at home to Debrecen on Wednesday.
Govou hurt himself in the build-up to Bafetimbi Gomis’s 25th-minute opener and was replaced by Bosnian starlet Miralem Pjanic, who stands by to deputise.
Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris required stitches after a clash of heads with Debrecen’s French striker Adamo Coulibaly but his injuries are not thought serious enough to jeopardise his participation against Bordeaux.
Second-placed Montpellier, who spent the last five seasons in Ligue 2, could close to within a point of Bordeaux at the head of the standings if they win at Toulouse on Sunday afternoon.
Bottom side Grenoble, who picked up their first win of the season at home to Toulouse last weekend, visit Sochaux, while PSG hope to have Turkish striker Mevlut Erding back from a knee problem for the visit of Saint-Etienne.
Fixtures
Sunday (1600GMT unless otherwise stated)
Monaco v Lille, Paris Saint-Germain v Saint-Etienne, Sochaux v Grenoble, Toulouse v Montpellier, Lyon v Bordeaux (2000GMT)
PARIS (AFP)
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Cayman Islands seals last place in U-17 Women’s Championship
December 13, 2009
Marissa McLaughlin scored five minutes after the opening kickoff, enough to give the Cayman Islands a 1-1 draw against the Dominican Republic on Saturday and the final berth in the CONCACAF Under-17 Women’s Championship.
McLaughlin’s goal helped earn a 3-3 aggregate draw and a 2-1 victory on away goals having drawn the first leg 2-2 a week ago in the Dominican Republic in the two-leg Caribbean third-place playoff.
Anajairo Burgos equalized in the 26th minute, her third goal of qualifying, but the Dominicans were unable to score the winner.
The Cayman Islands becomes the eighth and last team in the field for the championship, set for March 9-20 in San Jose, Costa Rica.
It will join the defending champion United States, host Costa Rica and Haiti in Group B. Group A will consist of Canada, Mexico, Jamaica and Panama.
GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands
Concacaf
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Atlante to face Barcelona, beats Auckland at Club World Cup
December 13, 2009
CONCACAF champion Atlante earned a semifinal encounter with European counterpart FC Barcelona, getting a first-half goal from David Arreloa and cruising to a 3-0 victory over Auckland City on Saturday at the Club World Cup.
Christian Bermudez added a second-half goal and Lucas Silva tacked on another in injury time to send Atlante to the Wednesday clash against the perennial world club power.
The Mexican side dominated possession from the start and went ahead in the 36th minute when Auckland City failed to clear a corner and the ball fell in the penalty area to Arreloa, who capitalized by sending the ball to the bottom corner.
Atlante continued to control the match in the second half with Rafael Marquez, who in the first half shot wide and had a chance saved by Auckland goalkeeperJacob Spoonley, was thwarted a third time by defender Ivan Vicelich in the 53rd minute.
The Oceania champion then managed its best period, getting a shot from distance by Chad Coombes and a close-range effort from Adam Dickinson.
Bermudez, however, stifled the surge and doubled Atlante’s lead in the 69th, getting the ball in the area and beating Spoonley a second time.
Silva replaced Santiago Solari in the 74th minute and completed the victory with a goal in the first minute of injury time.
A victory over Barcelona would earn Atlante a berth in the title game against either the Asian champion Pohang Steelers of Korea Republic or Copa Libertadores winner Estudiantes of Argentina.
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates
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Benitez demands Liverpool show their worth
December 13, 2009
Rafael Benitez believes Liverpool will use Sunday’s showdown with Arsenal to kick-start a season in danger of spiralling out of control.
Benitez’s side have won just three of their last 14 matches, a woeful run that has seen the Reds crash out of the Champions League and slip to seventh in the Premier League.
They suffered one final indignity in Europe’s elite club competition on Wednesday as a distinctly average Fiorentina won 2-1 at Anfield, but Benitez is convinced that result could prove the catalyst for a far more successful second half of the season.
The pressure to finish in the Premier League’s top four and qualify for next season’s European Cup is growing by the week. Yet Benitez is confident that the return of fit-again Fernando Torres will inspire his team, who start the weekend 12 points adrift of leaders Chelsea and four behind fourth-placed Tottenham.
Torres returned from a groin injury to make a substitutes appearance against Fiorentina and the Spain striker is poised to start against Arsenal along with Italian midfielder Alberto Aquilani.
“I think we will be in a better position if we don’t have too many problems with injuries in the next few weeks,” Benitez said.
“Torres and Steven Gerrard didn’t play too many games together last season, but the team did well.
“It is the same this year. If both are fit and can play together, we will push them, but we also have to protect them.
“The Arsenal match is important, but every game will be important until the end of the season.
“We have to start with this one because Arsenal are near the top of the table, so if we can win we will be closer and will have a better chance of finishing in the top four.
“Every year you have to approach the season thinking about wining something, but each season is different.
“We have had some problems before, but now our idea is to improve in the league and afterwards think about the Europa League and the FA Cup.
“Sometimes the team has a bad moment, but that is the same at all the clubs. The only way to change things is to work harder and try to do things well.”
Benitez has been forced to issue a biting response to the criticism flowing his way in recent weeks.
He singled out former Anfield boss Graeme Souness and Jurgen Klinsmann, the ex-Germany coach linked with the Liverpool job two years ago, after they wrote off his team on television following the Fiorentina match.
Speaking about Klinsmann, Benitez said: “I think he was an expert in marketing. His management career? Short.”
He added: “There is always criticism but I don’t listen. I turn off the volume on the TV.
“If someone talks too much, it is their problem, but the fans know the record they both have as managers, fantastic!”
Like Liverpool, Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal have been cast adrift in the title race.
The Gunners are four points and four places better off than Liverpool, but Wenger’s men have lost two of their last three league games and arrive on Merseyside on the back of a 1-0 Champions League defeat against Olympiakos.
Wenger insists the game is as important to his side than it is to Liverpool, and is refusing to write off Benitez’s side.
“For us, it’s a very big game,” Wenger said. “I don’t deny that. We go into this game with that feeling.
“Everybody has a real chance of not making the top four if you don?t perform right.
“They?re (Liverpool) a contender like everybody else. It?s very early in the season still, with many games to be played, and Liverpool have the quality.”
Wenger has also had to contend with the loss of key players to injury and will once again be without Robin van Persie and Nicklas Bendtner, while Tomas Rosicky and Emmanuel Eboue are also out.
LIVERPOOL, England (AFP)
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McCarthy delighted with Wolves’ White Hart Lane triumph
December 13, 2009
Kevin Doyle scored the only goal of the game as early as the third minute as Wolves defended brilliantly to hold on to claim a sensational win over Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.
Spurs enjoyed much of the possession but could not pose great threat to goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann and so, Harry Rednapp’s men failed to score.
McCarthy was full of praise for his players and said they deserved the win, but also thanked the Wolves away “fabulous” support.
“The players were magnificent for 96 minutes,” he told Sky Sports.
“It’s a bit of hand in glove, when we play well they (the fans) get the benefit from it and when we’re holding on we get the benefit from their fabulous support.
“We did hang on, but I think we deserved our victory.”
Doyle headed home as early as the third minute after Nenad Milijas whipped in a good cross and McCarthy praised the Serbian’s skill.
“Nenad is settling into life in the Premiership,” he added. “I don’t know how many assists he had. When you put balls in like that its difficult to defend.
“And Doyle, we bought him to score goals and he’s done just that today.
“If you don’t get a good delivery you’ve got no chance of scoring, he’s putting them in right on the button at the minute and we look a threat from every free-kick and corner.”
McCarthy admitted that he did not even watch Wigan’s nightmare 9-1 defeat at the hands of Tottenham, believing that the result would have never had any kind of impact on his team’s visit to White Hart Lane.
“That result was a bit Disneyworld, wasn’t it,” he remarked. “Everything went right.
“I would imagine every time the ball went in the box it ended up in Wigan’s net and Wigan responded properly and beat Sunderland the week after.
“I never looked at it, I never read the report from it. I watched them against Manchester United and I watched them against Everton.”
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