Arsenal are currently leading the race for the coveted Third Place in the Premiership, which guarantees direct entry into the Group Stages of the Champions League, but after yesterday's results they are just one point ahead of Chelsea and two ahead of Spurs.
The race is still far from over though as both teams below them have a game in hand, and the Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas believes that his Tottenham team are now in control of their fate once again.
It is no secret that most of Bayern Munich's squad endured a sleepless night following the
penalty shoot-out defeat to Chelsea in Saturday's UEFA Champions League final. But after hours of
reflection, at least some are able to put it all into perspective.
Bayern had 43 shots to the Blues' nine, while also delivering 20 corners to the Premier League
outfit's one.
This year's UEFA Champions League final matchup was not one many would have predicted at the
beginning of the season. The entire tournament provided more surprises and upsets then usual –
minnows beating powerhouses became the norm. For FC Bayern Munich, the Champions League final
seemed liked destiny.
TweetChampions League final hero Didier Drogba has labelled Chelsea's Champions League triumph as
"our destiny," but remains coy on his future at Stamford Bridge. Drogba headed home a precious
equaliser two minutes from time before tucking in the decisive penalty during a tense shootout as
the Clues became the first London club to lift the [.
Phil Dowd will referee tomorrow's FA Cup Final at Wembley between Chelsea and Liverpool and the
man in the middle can't wait for his day with destiny which he hopes doesn't become a day to forget
with a bad decision made by the man himself.
Chelsea proved their critics wrong last night when they thrashed Napoli 4-1 at Stamford Bridge
to clinch a place in the the quarter finals of the Champions League. An amazing performance from
senior players Drogba, Terry, Lampard and Ivanovic made it 3 wins in 3 games for Roberto Di Matteo
and ensured that at least one club from England made it to the last eight for the 16 consecutive
season.
After busting his nose against Blackburn at the weekend, Petr Cech has been ferried over to
Milan to have a personalised carbon fibre facemask added to his padded helmet in order for him to
play for the Czech Republic against Montenegro on Friday...
All well and good, except the good folks over on the Chelsea Facebook page
have noticed a worrying pattern in the evolution of Cech's headgear over the last few years.
The long-suffering Arsenal midfielder Abou Diaby was recalled to the French international team,
despite only playing two full games for Arsenal in the last year, and he rewarded Didier Deschamps
by scoring the only goal of the game as France kicked off their World Cup Qualifying campaign with
a 1-0 win over Finland.
Today sees the first round of internationals take place as teams, you know, play against each
other and stuff. And there'll be some goals and corners and yellow cards and red cards, but they're
not all made out of ticky-tacky and they won't turn out all the same.
From an Arsenal point of view you can see the players on duty here and we'll be keeping
everything crossed that they come through tonight, then Tuesday night, without any problems so they
can continue their start to the season with the real football, the football that people actually
care about.
Perry here. So its my turn to finish up the player reviews with this post, so we can quickly
move into the silly season rumors and gossip mill shortly. We'll also take some time to highlight
our players on international duty and how they fare (honestly could careless if they do well, just
praying they come back minus injuries).
If ever there was a match made in Heaven in the footballing world, it would have to be between
Arsenal and Thierry Henry, who have found each other again after a five-year absence, with the
magic the same as it ever was.
It was an otherwise drab encounter, with little to get excited about as a makeshift Arsenal team
struggled to break down a determined and dogged Leeds side coming with only one intention a
lucrative replay.
"If it be now, 'tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it
will come: the readiness is all." – Hamlet, Vii It was an article of faith. There's really no
better term for it. One day it would happen. Not might, not could, would. It had been so
close before; in 1997 when Dooley hit the crossbar, in 2009 when an early.
In 2011 the Senior National team lost a first round match to Panama in the Gold Cup. There was
much wailing and gnashing of teeth, questioning of the coach's system, player selection, the
ability of the two lynchpins of the offense to play together, etc. The US team was doomed; it
probably wouldn't make it to the quarter finals, much less the finals that seemed its destiny days
before.
This article titled "Euro 2012: Spain and Croatia need only a 2-2 draw to eliminate Italy" was
written by Sid Lowe in Gdansk, for guardian.co.uk on Friday 15th June 2012 11.36 UTC
A 4-0 victory over Ireland means that Spain's fate is in their own hands. More intriguingly, so
is Italy's. For the Italians, the feeling is uncomfortably familiar: at Euro 2004 they were knocked
out of the group stage after a 2-2 draw between Sweden and Denmark that suited both sides.
In the past few months, we've seen the looks of surprise on the faces of people who've asked us the
million dollar question : "Who do you think will win the Euro 2012?" If
you've been a Fabulous Futbolita Friend (you know you are!
Coming into the Manchester derby today, we were told that potentially 650 million people around
the world would be glued to their TV sets to watch, what many people argued, was "The Game of the
Century". It's been my experience over the years that matches which are hyped up the way this game
was usually fizzle out as both teams fail to live up to their reputations.
TweetAnd so it comes down to this: a 90 minute showdown to decide the destiny of the Barclay's
Premier League title. For City it is win or bust; for United, a point will almost certainly be
enough to secure a record 20th league title. The biggest game in Premier League history?
Undoubtedly. The stakes could [.
Wednesday's defeat at Wigan was an ill-timed blip and also made for unpleasant viewing, but while
it added another twist to a Premier League title race that many mistakenly, because it's not over
until the title is secure considered to be all over, Manchester United are still in full control of
their destiny.
Game of the Week Montreal 1, Chicago 1 It was a touching scene, really, for anybody who'd been
invested in the Montreal Impact in any way since their rise from the snow and ice in 1992. It was
more than touching for those in attendance. It was destiny manifest. Don Garber, a broad grin
splashed across his face with the echoes of the native French-speaking PA announcer still bouncing
off the
Nepal saw off Bangladesh (the highest-ranked team in the tournament) 1-0 in the South Asian
Football Federation Cup in the final minute of injury time tagged onto the end of their Group B
game, with a 45-ish-yard free-kick from captain Sagar Thapa doing the business as the last grains
of sand ran through the egg-timer of destiny.
It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. Naturally, I'm describing Arsenal's
2011-2012 season. I'm a nice guy, and I don't want to hold Arsene wholly accountable for the team's
woes, particularly due to the simple fact that, well, that's what everybody else already does.
I am sure like me, many of you were surprised when you saw the result of Wednesday's Champions
League match between French side Olympique Lyon and Dinamo Zagreb of Croatia.
However, it is now emerging that Olympique Lyon's 7-1 drubbing of Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions
League on Wednesday could have been as a result of a betting scandal.
Jermaine Jones and the USA tangle with Jamaica again...
(Note: We so wanted to go with "The Beckerman Bowl" as our preview title. Alas, after
careful consideration and line-up review, we stepped back from that headline)
Jamaica's Independence Stadium...also known as "The Office.
D.C. United dropped their sixth consecutive road match and has put their once promising season in
peril. United's 1-0 loss to Real Salt Lake last evening has pushed them to the brink of playoff
extinction with their destiny now out of their own hands.
Tweet69 Minutes gone and Fulham are 2-0 to Manchester City on the 16th of April 2008. As it stands
Fulham's destiny next season is the Championship... After a shocking 12 Months as April 2008Â
approached. Fulham find themselves with a record of only four home wins, zero away wins and three
points from safety.
Seattle it is, and we couldn't be more proud. Montero, Alonso, Rosales, and the league's biggest
fan base? This isn't a desperation pick. This is destiny.
And if we're wrong – if you show us up, Seattle – there are 18 other teams more than willing to
carry this flag. We'll change this up as needed (accuracy is our prime value).
TweetAnd so it comes down to this: a 90 minute showdown to decide the destiny of the Barclay's
Premier League title. For City it is win or bust; for United, a point will almost certainly be
enough to secure a record 20th league title. The biggest game in Premier League history?
Undoubtedly. The stakes could [.
Benfica and Porto face off in Week 21in the Portuguese League with the winner moving three points
clear of the other for top spot in Portugal. The two clubs after 20 games sit with the exact same
record and a loss by either club would not spell the end of their title hopes but their destiny
would be not controlled by them.
Huddersfield Town have just announced the sacking of manager Lee Clark and all his coaching
staff with the club lying in fourth place in League One; a decision which initially seems shocking
considering the relative rude health Clark leaves the club in, but becomes altogether less so once
you consider the managerial jobs currently going begging.
I was seven when Rangers won their first league title of my lifetime.
Up until that point Celtic had won three championships. Aberdeen had matched them. And Dundee
United had slipped in with their solitary league win. I seem to just about remember Jim McLean
smiling that day.
There's not been much for us non-Old Firm fans to smile about since.
Not many of us will have experienced anything like it. There are 100,000 people in the stadium
urging you on while tens of millions round the country will have their fists clenched on the edge
of their seats in homes and warungs. Despite everyone being behind you it must be the loneliest
walks ever.
