Thursday 29 November 2012

United and City win but Chelsea draw in Premiership

Manchester United and Manchester City both secured wins but Chelsea could only grab a goalless draw against Fulham on a busy midweek round of fixtures.

Robin Van Persie scored the fastest goal this season in the Premier League, scoring after 33 seconds to win 1-0 against West Ham.

Man. City won 2-0 versus Wigan away, with Mario Balotelli and James Milner both grabbing goals.

Swansea stopped high-flying West Brom in their tracks with Wayne Routledge scoring a brace in a 3-1 victory, while Tottenham beat Liverpool 2-1.

The full results are:
Swansea 3-1 West Brom
Wigan 0-2 Man. City
Tottenham 2-1 Liverpool
Stoke 2-1 Newcastle
Man. United 1-0 West Ham
Everton 1-1 Arsenal
Southampton 1-1 Norwich
Chelsea 0-0 Fulham

Wednesday 28 November 2012

Redknapp draws in first QPR game

Harry Redknapp's QPR side secured a 0-0 draw with Sunderland in the ex-Spurs manager's first game in charge of the West London side.

A late goal from striker Christian Benteke gave Aston Villa a win against Reading and lifted the Villains out of the bottom three.

Monday 26 November 2012

Cricket: England win second test

England beat India by 10 wickets to secure a second test win, levelling the 4-test series at 1-1.

Alistair Cook (122), Kevin Peitersen (186) both scored centuries. Monty Panesar took 5-129 in India's first innings, and 6-81 in the second, while Graeme Swann took 70-4 and 43-4.

Sunday 25 November 2012

Benitez booed in Chelsea draw

Rafael Benitez was booed throughout the game by the Chelsea faithful at Stamford Bridge in a 0-0 draw with Man. City.

Liverpool were held away by Swansea to a 0-0 draw, and Southampton continued their winning streak in a 2-0 victory over Newcastle. Tottenham beat West Ham 3-1.

Robinson quits as Scotland coach

Rugby Union: Andy Robinson has stepped down from his role as Scotland coach after his team's dismal 15-21 loss against Tonga.

England, Wales and Scotland lose in Rugby Union

England lost 15-16 to South Africa, Wales lost 10-33 to New Zealand and Scotland a surprising 15-21 loss against Tonga.

Ireland, however, scored 7 tries in a 46-24 win over Argentina.

Saturday 24 November 2012

QPR lose as Manchester United go top

Manchester United floated to the top of the Premier League as they beat QPR 3-1. Harry Redknapp did not choose the team, though.

Arsenal drew 0-0 with Aston Villa, and West Brom beat Sunderland 4-2!

The final results are:
Sunderland 2-4 West Brom
Man. United 3-1 QPR
Wigan 3-2 Reading
Stoke 1-0 Fulham
Everton 1-1 Norwich
Aston Villa 0-0 Arsenal

Friday 23 November 2012

Pujara again thwarts England in second test

Cheteshwar Pujara again scored a ton against England as India finished day one of the second test on 266-6.

Monty Panesar finished the day on 4-91.

Hughes goes and Redknapp comes at QPR

Harry Redknapp has taken over from Mark Hughes as the new QPR boss.

Rangers sit bottom of the Premier League table, the only club to still not have won a Premier League game this season.

But Redknapp, 65, is no stranger to a tough challenge, having taken over at Tottenham in 2008 with the team 19th.

Mark Hughes was dismissed on Friday.

Thursday 22 November 2012

City go out and Gunners go through in Champions League

Manchester City's 1-1 draw with Real Madrid was not enough to keep their low chances of going through the group stage alive, and they became the first British side to go out of the European competition.

Arsenal, meanwhile, beat French side Montpellier 2-0 to cement their place in the second round, following Manchester United into the knockout stages.

Wednesday 21 November 2012

Benitez takes over in short term

Ex-Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has replaced Roberto Di Matteo, who was sacked earlier today, as Chelsea manager until the end of the season.

Benitez, 52, has been out of work since leaving his job as Inter Milan boss after just six months in charge and his appointment may pave the way for former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola to go to Stamford Bridge.

Benitez is, amazingly, Roman Abramovich’s ninth manager in his nine years in charge of Chelsea.

Di Matteo sacked as Chelsea boss

Roberto Di Matteo had left the post of Chelsea manager after the Blues' 3-0 loss to Juventus.

Despite Champions League and FA Cup trophies in May, the former assistant manager has been sacked after just 8 months in charge.

The main candidates for the job are ex-Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola and former Inter Milan and Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez.

Bad night for Brits in Champions League

Man. United, Chelsea and Celtic all lost in the Champions League, with Chelsea & Celtic looking like they're going out of the competition.

A youthful Manchester United side travelled to Turkey to face Galatasaray, with an average age of 24. They could only create half-chances, and eventually lost 1-0, losing their 100% record. However, they've already qualified, so it isn't threatening.

Celtic, however, were still contenders for going out, but at the start of the night they only needed a draw to go through. Benfica weren't going down without a fight though. The Portuguese side went ahead, for Celtic to draw level, before finally winning 2-1.

Chelsea lost 3-0 away to Juventus, with their chances of qualification getting slimmer and slimmer, needing a win in their last game and hope Shaktar beat Juve.

Tuesday 20 November 2012

Beckham to leave LA Galaxy

David Beckham has quit MLS side LA Galaxy, claiming he wants 'a new challenge' before his playing career ends.

Despite playing down talks of a move to Australia just days beforehand, has not said where he plans to go.

West Ham equalise to draw with Stoke

Joey O'Brien made it 1-1 at Upton Park for the Hammers after Jon Walters' early goal put Stoke ahead.

After being called 'El Long Ballio', not many people thought that this match would be a thriller.

And it was more or less the long ball game, with Stoke aiming for Peter Crouch and West Ham aiming for Andy Carroll

Monday 19 November 2012

Cricket: England lose first test

England's cricket team lost by 9 wickets against India in the first test in Ahmedabad.

Despite Alistair Cook (176) and Matt Prior (91) both hitting high scores, England were all out for 406, with Pragyan Ojha taking 4-120, leaving India with just 77 needed to win.

Virender Sehwag, who scored 117 in the first innings, went out for 25, but Cheteshwar Pujara scored 41 to help India secure the win.

Sunderland defeat 10-man Fulham

Martin O'Neill's Sunderland secured a vital three points in a 3-1 away win against Fulham who had Brede Hangeland sent off.

Fletcher, Cuellar and Sessegnon scored for the Black Cats, with Petric getting one for Fulham.

Sunday 18 November 2012

Ireland XV thrash Fiji but England and Scotland lose

Rugby Union: Ireland XV thrashed Fiji 53-0 but England lost 20-14 to Australia and Scotland were defeated 21-10 by South Africa in the autumn tests.

Scotland tried hard, but were ultimately overcome by South Africa at Murrayfield, losing 21-10.

Stuart Lancaster's England lost against Australia, the Wallabies grabbing a narrow but deserved win, 20-14.

Ireland XV (a contract means that 'Ireland' can only play home games at the Aviva Stadium, and because this game was held in Limerick, they had to change the name, and the players didn't get a cap) then completely thrashed Fiji, scoring 8 tries in a 53-0 victory.

Cook saves England against India

Alistair Cook batted a 168 n.o. to help England run the first test into the final day.

Despite Umesh Yadav taking two wickets in two balls, Cook and Matt Prior (84 n.o.) put England ten runs ahead of India in the first test, at the close the score being 340-5.

Saturday 17 November 2012

Ireland XV thrash Fiji but England and Scotland lose

Rugby Union: Ireland XV thrashed Fiji 53-0 but England lost 20-14 to Australia and Scotland were defeated 21-10 by South Africa in the autumn tests.

Scotland tried hard, but were ultimately overcome by South Africa at Murrayfield, losing 21-10.

Stuart Lancaster's England lost against Australia, the Wallabies grabbing a narrow but deserved win, 20-14.

Ireland XV (a contract means that 'Ireland' can only play home games at the Aviva Stadium, and because this game was held in Limerick, they had to change the name, and the players didn't get a cap) then completely thrashed Fiji, scoring 8 tries in a 53-0 victory.

Series of superb scores on exciting Premier League day

A series of surprising and exciting results happened on an superb Saturday.

Both Chelsea and Manchester United suffered shock defeats, the Blues losing 2-1 to West Brom, and the Red Devils succumbing 1-0 to Norwich.

Mark Hughes almost definitely signed his own firing, his QPR side losing 3-1 to fellow strugglers Southampton. Everton lost 2-1 to Reading, with the Royals, like the Saints, recording their first win of the season.

Man. City thrashed Aston Villa 5-0, while in the early kick-off, Arsenal overcame 10-man neighbours Tottenham 5-2.


Liverpool grabbed one of their best results of the season, beating Wigsn 3-0, while Swansea beat Newcastle 2-1 away.

The full results are:
Manchester City 5-0 Aston Villa
Arsenal 5-2 Tottenham
Liverpool 3-0 Wigan
QPR 1-3 Southampton
Reading 2-1 Everton
West Brom 2-1 Chelsea
Newcastle 1-2 Swansea
Norwich 1-0 Man. United

England fall early in 1st innings but build resistance in 2nd

England went all out for 191 before collecting a 111-0 at the close.

Pragyan Ojha took a great 5-45, with Ravi Ashwin following on 3-80, leaving England with a very tough job.

The tourists then batted their second innings, finishing with 111-0 on the close.

Woeful Wales suffer shock Samoa loss

Rugby Union: Wales lost 26-19 to Samoa in their second Autumn test.

After a dismal defeat to Argentina last week, stand-in coach Robert Howley demanded more from his players against the Samoan islanders.

But Samoa proved to much for Wales, who have gone from the heights of 4th at the World Cup and a Grand Slam win to these bad losses.

Friday 16 November 2012

Day two India v England: Pujara puts India in control

Cheteswar Pujara hit an unbeaten 206 as India took firm control over England on day two of the first test.

Pujara, on 98 from the close yesterday, led the way, before India declared on 521-8.

Ravichandran Ashwin then took two wickets when England finally started batting, leaving the tourists at 41-3 at the close.

Thursday 15 November 2012

Virender Sehwag century stops England

Cricket: Indian batsman Virender Sehwag scored 117 as India powered to a 323-4 close in the first test against England.

Cheteshwar Pujara also grabbed a high-score, with a 98 not out.

Graeme Swann was England's best, collecting all four wickets.

Zlatan zooms past England

Zlatan Imbrahimovic scored four as Sweden beat a England side full of debutants 4-2 in Stockholm.

Raheem Sterling, Steven Caulker, Leon Osman, Ryan Shawcross, Carl Jenkinson and Wilfried Zaha all received their first caps as England players.

But despite going into the break 2-1 ahead, England couldn't stop Paris Saint Germain striker Imbrahivomic, who's fourth was a simply amazing overhead kick.

Sunday 11 November 2012

Dzeko and Suarez save their clubs on Sunday

Edin Dzeko grabbed Manchester City a win and Luis Suarez saved a point for Liverpool on a busy Sunday.

City played Tottenham and trailed 1-0 for a long part of the game, but two late goals, from Sergio Aguero and Dzeko, gave Man. City a win, and kept the pressure up on Manchester United and overtook Chelsea.

Newcastle then suffered defeat at the hands of West Ham, ex-captain Kevin Nolan, now Hammers skipper, taking three points back to Upton Park, but Andy Carroll and Demba Ba, both playing against former clubs, couldn't make an impact in the 1-0 West Ham win.

Chelsea lost the opportunity to stay second in the league, after Luis Suarez cancelled out John Terry's goal, the Chelsea captain returning from a four-match ban to score with a header, before Suarez got one back to keep up Liverpool's unbeaten run.

Saturday 10 November 2012

Arsenal & Fulham trade goals in great match

Arsenal missed a late penalty to only draw 3-3 with Fulham, Dimitar Berbatov and Olivier Guroud both scoring braces.

Manchester United came back from 2 goals down to beat Aston Villa 3-2, and Marouane Fellaini kept up his fine form for Everton in a 2-1 win against Sunderland.

The full results are:
Aston Villa 2-3 Manchester United
Everton 2-1 Sunderland
Wigan 1-2 West Brom
Stoke 1-0 QPR
Arsenal 3-3 Fulham
Southampton 1-1 Swansea
Reading 0-0 Norwich

Friday 9 November 2012

Defoe hits hat-trick for Spurs in Europa League

Jermain Defoe scored three to help Tottenham go closer to succeeding their hope of going through the group stage.

Newcastle drew 2-2 with Club Bruges, stopping their 100% win rate in this year's Europa competition.

Liverpool played a second-string side against Anzhi, and paid the price, losing 1-0, and hurting their hopes of getting through.

Thursday 8 November 2012

Celtic clinch historic win over Barca and United go through in Champo League

Celtic secured a historic victory as they beat Spanish giants Barcelona 2-1 to give themselves real hope of getting through the group stage of the Champions League.

Manchester United were the first British team to secure a set of fixtures in the next round, winning 3-1 against Braga.

Victor Moses saved Chelsea's skin, finding the final goal in a 3-2 win against Shaktar Donetsk.

Wednesday 7 November 2012

City on the brink and Arsenal squander lead in Champions League

Manchester City are on the brink of Champions League elimination despite coming back from two down to draw with Ajax 2-2.

After falling behind within the 20 minute mark, Yaya Toure fought back with a goal a few minutes after. Sergio Aguero then won City a point with a 75th minute goal.

However, City haven't done what they needed to do, and while there is still a slight chance that they will progress, it is out of their hands.

Arsenal also drew 2-2, however they lost a 2 goal lead, a early advantage taken away by Germans Schalke. They still have a good chance of getting through, though.

Tuesday 6 November 2012

Saints still winless after loss at Albion

Southampton are rock bottom of the Premier League after a 2-0 loss against West Brom, with only 4 points from ten games.

Peter Odemwingie scored a brace to inflict more damage on the Saints' hopes of survival, and raised more questions on if Nigel Adkins is the right man for the Southampton job.

Monday 5 November 2012

Levein leaves Scotland role

Craig Levein has exited his role as Scotland manager.

The former defender, 48, only won 3 of the 12 competitive games he was in charge for.

Scotland have made a bad start to their World Cup qualifying campaign, only getting 2 points from four games. Ex-Celtic boss Gordon Strachan and former Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish are leading favourites for the role.

Sunday 4 November 2012

Suarez saves Liverpool a point and QPR and Reading stay winless

Luis Suarez helped Liverpool grab a deserved point against 10-man Newcastle at Anfield, 1-1 the final score.

QPR and Reading stayed winless at the bottom of the Premier League, also ending in a 1-1 draw.

Van Persie scores in United victory

Robin Van Persie scored an early goal against former club Arsenal to help Manchester United beat the Gunners 2-1.

Swansea held Chelsea to a 1-1 draw, with Pablo Hernandez scoring for the Swans to stop the Blues keeping top spot.

Tottenham were booed off to a 1-0 loss to Wigan at White Hart Lane - a fixture they won 9-1 just two seasons ago.

The full results are:
Man. United 2-1 Arsenal
Tottenham 0-1 Wigan
Norwich 1-0 Stoke
Sunderland 0-1 Aston Villa
Fulham 2-2 Everton
Swansea 1-1 Chelsea
Man. City 0-0 West Ham

Thursday 1 November 2012

Chelsea get Leeds and Arsenal-Bradford in League Cup draw

Chelsea have been drawn away to Championship side Leeds in the League Cup quarter-finals.

Bradford, conquers of Wigan, have grabbed a home game against Arsenal, who beat Reading 7-5.

Swansea have a home game versus Middlesborough, and ex-Norwich boss Paul Lambert faces his old club as they travel to play Aston Villa.

Chelsea triumph in thriller in League Cup

Chelsea beat Manchester United 5-4 aet in a thrilling game at Stamford Bridge.

Despite Nani seemingly grabbing the win for United in the second half, a late Eden Hazard penalty put it to extra-time at 3-3.

Daniel Sturridge and Ramires put it at 5-3, before Ryan Giggs scored a consolation goal for United.

Liverpool also went out, with manager Brendan Rodgers' old team, Swansea succeeding in a 3-1 win at Anfield, knocking out the holders in doing so.

Norwich also pulled off an upset, scoring twice in the last ten minutes to beat Tottenham 2-1.

The full results are:
Chelsea 5-4 Manchester United (aet)
Liverpool 1-3 Swansea
Norwich 2-1 Tottenham