Daily Archives: September 18, 2011

Barcelona demolish Osasuna


“After two games without a win, Barcelona bounced back in style as they thrashed Osasuna 8-0 at the Camp Nou. Barcelona entered the game on the back of successive 2-2 draws with Real Sociedad and AC Milan, but they maintained over 80% possession on Saturday night as they threatened to run up double figures. Lionel Messi started the rout in only the fifth minute, and Barca enjoyed total domination throughout a first half in which they could feasibly have scored ten goals.” ESPN

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Tottenham Hotspur 4 – 0 Liverpool

“Emmanuel Adebayor scored twice on his home debut as Tottenham hammered four without reply past nine-man Liverpool to earn a morale-boosting first home win of the season. Luka Modric opened the scoring with a blistering 20-yard strike before Charlie Adam picked up a second yellow card for a late foul on Scott Parker.” ESPN

Tottenham 4-0 Liverpool: Tottenham dominate
“A wondergoal got them going and the rest came when Liverpool had a numerical disadvantage, but Tottenham were clearly the better side in this match. Harry Redknapp used his 4-4-2, with Niko Kranjcar out on the right – Rafael van der Vaart was half-fit, and on the bench.” Zonal Marking

Well done, Kenny. We may have lost, but the long-suppressed spirit of LFC is shining brightly…
“After last weeks defeat at Stoke, Kenny Dalglish basically blamed the referee for Liverpool’s failure to win the game. After the 4-0 hammering at Spurs today, I’ll admit I was a little worried that he would again publicly blame the referee for the club’s failings on the pitch. Thankfully, King Kenny’s post-match comments are a credit to the man, as well as being indicative of the true Liverpool way of doing things.” Liverpool Kop

Inter 0-0 Roma: interesting in theory, but not on the pitch

“Two sides lacking confidence contested a fairly tame 0-0 draw in Milan. Gian Piero Gasperini reverted to a three-man defence, but went with 3-4-1-2, as expected, rather than his favoured 3-4-3. Joel Obi came in on the left, and Wesley Sneijder was the number ten. Luis Enrique stuck with his preferred 4-3-3, but made a surprise decision to start two midfielders at full-back – Rodrigo Taddei on the left, Simone Perrotta on the right.” Zonal Marking

PSV 2 – 2 Ajax: Fair result in a very passionate match

“The first of this season’s clashes between two of the Eredivisie top three teams produced a passionate match that ended in a 2-2 draw, respecting the fact that, in terms of footballing quality, both sides put in an equal share. However, during various phases of the game one of either teams dominated the other, making this an attractive match with an unpredictable outcome till the very end.” 11 tegen 11

Lost in Space

“Sometimes your team is just beaten by a better team. Sometimes the opponent is stronger or faster or more technically skilled, and you just have to take your beating with the best grace you can muster. Thus the equanimity with which Alex Ferguson accepted Manchester United’s loss to Barcelona in last season’s Champions League final: Barça was simply and obviously better. (Sir Alex trudged home and took out his checkbook.)” Run of Play