Some viewers may have done a double-take early Saturday while watching the replay of Liverpool's first goal against Wolverhampton Wanderers to see if Fernando Torres was offside or not. With hair bobbing up and down, it was a female assistant referee who made the critical decision to keep her flag down, allowing Torres to run on and take a pass from Raul Meireles and for Torres to slide the ball into the back of the net.

West Brom have one of the better runs for the next few weeks, including a great home double in week 27 against West Ham and Wolves - there should be at least a few points in it for a Baggie player or two in this gameweek. Over the next 5 weeks, their toughest competition comes from Man City away in week 26, but is bookended with a match against Stoke and Birmingham as well as a match against Wigan in week 25.

Yesterday morning, I woke up early to watch the Wolves – Liverpool game. Before the match began, it was mentioned that there would be a female linesman assisting the referee, Martin Atkinson. I admit, I was happy to see this, since it is a rare occurrence, and as a woman, I rarely get to see my gender represented on the football pitch.

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It's now official. Freddie Ljungberg will not be a part of the Chicago Fire next season.

By FRANCO PANIZO

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. - MLS coaches were probably wishing that Joe Gyau was entering the upcoming draft.

Gyau, who is under contract with German club TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, enjoyed an impressive outing in the U.S. U-20 national team's intra-squad scrimmage on Sunday afternoon.

I hope everyone's rage has died down a little. Mine was slowly subsiding as I looked ahead to the West Ham game on the weekend and today's MLS SuperDraft. However, my anger began to bubble up again after hearing the latest comments from our captain:

"I don't know if it is long ball or it is a rugby kick but it worked for them.

Written by Gooner in Exile

West Ham 0 Arsenal 3

This game doesn't really require a report the stats say it all:

......................................WH ARS

Possession 34% 66%

Shots on Target 6 13

Shots off Target 1 7

Corners 4 10

As complete a victory as you are likely to see.

La Liga has been a constant battle this season. Jose Mourinho brings a sinister atmosphere wherever he goes, and compared with this shimmering Barcelona team, Mourinho looks even more like a "bad guy". While Barcelona had no trouble in their 4-1 win over Malaga, Real Madrid were unable to defeat bottom-placed Almeria.

By Dominic Vieira, writing from Lancaster

It's a struggle to talk about the 2010/11 La Liga without referring to Barcelona or Real Madrid who are dominating the league by a clear mile. It's even harder not to discuss the master tactics of coaching wizards Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola, now imagine how painful it is excluding Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo from that conversation?

If you don't tingle with pride at being an Arsenal supporter today then you my friend have a severe case of Jaguaritis and that is not good because yesterday we walked with giants and witnessed the quality of champions.

How dare these pie eating upstarts take two points off us up North? How dare they?

I've just got enough time to get a quick preview done before I head off to the ground. Barnet are the visitors to Broadhall Way today, just over 2 months ago since we beat them 3-0 at Underhill. A lot has changed since that Tuesday night in early November. We haven't won a game in the league since, whilst Barnet have now parted company with former Boro boss Mark Stimson.

Indulge me, it's my birthday.
The programme pictured is from the first match played at Easter Road after I was born in 1980.
A league game against Celtic. And a goal for George Best. Dodgy video footage below of Best sending Peter Latchford into the back of the net along with the ball.

Michael Owen has today confirmed that if he plays against Liverpool tomorrow and scores, he will celebrate.

"I will certainly celebrate, that's not a question," said Owen. "Let's hope I have that problem, that I get a chance and that I put it away. I'm not really a fan of players going to their old teams and not celebrating.

By FRANCO PANIZO

Jonathan Spector's time at West Ham United may be numbered, but the U.S. national team defender is doing his best to make sure he leaves with a bang.

Spector continued his cup heroics this weekend, scoring the winner in West Ham's 2-0 victory over Barnsley in the third round of the FA Cup.

The U.S. U-20 MNT played an intrasquad scrimmage in front of coaches and scouts from every MLS club, a slew of media and some fans at the Central Broward Regional Park – the same field as the MLS combine games.

Those in attendance were treated to an impressive display, with the game being played at a high pace – especially for an intrasquad.

*Word of Edson Buddle's signing with German Budesliga 2 club FC Ingolstadt came down today as I was standing on a Home Depot Center practice field watching a U.S. Men's National Team practice.

I'll have thoughts on the move from the likes of Coach Bob Bradley, Buddle's (now former) Galaxy teammate A.

Under pressure Avram Grant saw his West Ham side beat Birmingham City 2-1 in the first leg of their English League Cup semi-final.

West Ham took a deserved lead on 13 minutes when Mark Noble drove a ferocious shot through a throng of Birmingham bodies to make it one nil. West Ham continued to pile on the pressure but they could not get a second goal past Ben Foster as denied Spector, James Tomkins and, most impressively, Obinna all in the first half.

Under pressure Avram Grant saw his West Ham side beat Birmingham City 2-1 in the first leg of their English League Cup semi-final.

West Ham took a deserved lead on 13 minutes when Mark Noble drove a ferocious shot through a throng of Birmingham bodies to make it one nil. West Ham continued to pile on the pressure but they could not get a second goal past Ben Foster as denied Spector, James Tomkins and, most impressively, Obinna all in the first half.

After strengthening their defense with additions of Ryan Cochrane and Didier Domi so far this off-season, the Revolution will likely turn to Thursday's SuperDraft to bolster its offense. Holding the sixth overall the 2011 MLS Superdraft, the Revolution may need to look no further than University of Maryland forward Jason Herrick.

DOHA, Qatar — Ten-man Japan struggled past Syria 2-1 in a high-octane and controversial Asian Cup group match Thursday to keep alive their hopes of reaching the knockout rounds. Captain Makoto Hasebe opened the scoring for the three-time champions in the 35th minute but Syria pulled one back from a penalty controversially awarded against goalkeeper [.

Manchester City set their foot in the top of the premier league for at least one day after the Eastlands side escaped a thrilling match at home against Wolves in a game that marked the debut of City's new striker, Edin Dzeko.

Although the night was set to see Dzeko's first impression, it was Carlos Tevez that once again become the star for the Citizen after the Argentinian striker strike two goals on the night that helped the team took a 4-1 lead midway in the second half before the away team put up a fight by adding two goals in the last ten minutes.

MADRID, Spain — A spectacular lob from the half-way line by Ruben Cani helped Villarreal to a 4-2 victory over Osasuna on Saturday which kept them in third place in La Liga and maintained their push for a place in Europe. Villarreal went into the game with several important players missing but Marco Ruben took [.

Kenny Dalglish's slow start as Liverpool manager continued today at Anfield after his Reds could only muster a 2-2 draw against cross-town rivals Everton. After leading 1-0 at halftime, it took a Dirk Kuyt penalty to equalize for the hosts following an early second half goal frenzy from Everton.

Sylvain Distin scored for the visitors off a corner kick just forty seconds into the second half, cancelling out Raul Meireles' opener.

La Liga has been a constant battle this season. Jose Mourinho brings a sinister atmosphere wherever he goes, and compared with this shimmering Barcelona team, Mourinho looks even more like a "bad guy". While Barcelona had no trouble in their 4-1 win over Malaga, Real Madrid were unable to defeat bottom-placed Almeria.

Tim Sills: Has returned to Aldershot

Tim Sills' move to Aldershot brings the total number of strikers to have left Stevenage this January to 4. Lee Boylan and Terry Dixon were released, while Peter Vincenti signed for Aldershot last week. Sills has followed in Vincenti's path and has joined Dean Holdsworth's Shots after his contract at Broadhall Way was terminated earlier in the day.

DOHA, Qatar Ji Dong-won grabbed a brace as South Korea outclassed India at a wet Al Gharafa Stadium to set up a mouth-watering Asian Cup quarter-final against Iran. Koo Ja-cheol and substitute Son Heung-min also found the back of the net for South Korea, but Cho Kwang-rae's men will be left kicking themselves after [.

We can all breathe a little easier now. Arsenal are through to the next round of the FA Cup. We are the only team still competing in all 4 competitions, and our squad is better and healthier than ever. The FA Cup is a great competition, so it's great that we're still in it. There's still a long way to go, but this is one cup that we can realistically hope to win, if we work hard for it.

Stevie Nicol and the New England brass once again showed their collective eye for talent in snapping up five excellent picks in the 2011 MLS Superdraft. Here is a summary and brief analysis of the Revs' selections:

Rd. 1 Pick #6: AJ Soares, Central Defender, University of California

Soares was a great choice for the squad.

Photo by lism

I can't remember the last time I had a chance to watch Liverpool play in the early Saturday kick-off, so it'll be a treat to see them play in the early match against a Wolverhampton Wanderers side who are cruising after they recent victories against Chelsea and Liverpool.

By FRANCO PANIZO

From goals scored to key U.S. national team players ending their respective playing droughts, this weekend brought mostly good news.

Three Americans found the back of the net, including Edson Buddle, who enjoyed a dream debut with FC Ingolstadt 04.

By Gordon Fleetwood, writing from New York City

South American U20 Championships: Day 6

Paraguay bossed this Sunday encounter, yet still lost after Ecuador sneaked a goal in mid-way off the second half. The young Ecuadorians held on for dear lie for most of the game, but Edson Montaño's header meant that they left with all three points.

Just reading Jim White's excellent "Manchester United: The biography" (no, really). Dave Sexton, who taught Roy Hodgson, has just been dismissed:

For the players, though they liked the manager and admired his knowledge of the game, there was a sense of anticlimax, a feeling that somehow the voltage about the place had been reduced.

After a loss to Sweden in the Four Nations Tournament, the USA came back strong against Canada winning 2-1, and then finished it off with a win against China by a score of 2-0. The USA and Canada were tied for first place in the end, but the first tie-breaker was the head-to-head result, and since the USA defeated Canada, they took the title.

1. Sir Alex Ferguson obviously has a lot of faith in Ander Lindegaard to let him make his début behind a defence with the average age of 23 (that's including 29-year-old John O'Shea!). Or maybe he really believes in Chris Smalling and Jonny Evans' ability. By and large, we got away with. Smalling got higher than his opponent time and again to head clear and Fabio made some great runs down the left flank to get the ball out of danger.