Newcastle were treated to a five star performance from Spurs as we despatched five goals without reply. The first came after some quick passing between Bale and Ade, the latter sending a cross along the six yard box, Benny unmarked on the far side, steamed in and blasted the ball into the net. 1-0
The second goal came after Krancjar controlled the ball with a neat touch and sent Ade down the wing.

Goals:
Rooney 47' 50'
Suarez 80'
The worst possible result. Not just a loss, a deserved loss – self-inflicted thanks to a feeble 30 minutes after the restart – but continued, probably increased, focus on the Suarez-Evra contretemps thanks to each acting like spoiled children.

Tello scores goal in victory over Real Sociedad (Photo: AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Lionel Messi scored one and assisted another as Barcelona successfully fought off their San Sebastian rivals in a freezing, sub-zero encounter at the Camp Nou.

Pep Guardiola rolled out the reserves for this one, choosing to rest key starters ahead of his team's Copa del Rey semi final clash with Valencia on Wednesday.

Liverpool will no doubt be dissapointed with the result given that they dominated the majority of the game, Spurs fans however, myself included, will no doubt be happy with a well battled away point.
Liverpool pressured us all over the pitch and hemmed us in forcing top backs to the wall defending throughout, mixed in with a helping of luck.

Spurs played for a scoreless draw, Spurs got their scoreless draw.
While Liverpool's attackers could and should have done more, Tottenham's defending merited the scoreless draw. King and Dawson were outstanding, with Parker almost as important. After a paucity of clear cut chances for both sides, each could have scored the winner in the last five minutes, with Friedel and Reina making huge saves on Bale and Suarez.

Arsenal 7-1 Blackburn Rovers

It may sound a tad melodramatic, but I've not enjoyed watching Arsenal as much this season as I should have done. All the peripheral stuff has been as fun as ever the Saturday morning anticipation, hopping on the tube, having a pint before the game and chinwagging with the usual motley crew.

Well, we kind of had an idea that Arsenal were playing well but not getting the results. It was a matter of details according to Arteta, Wenger, and others. It all came good in this one as Blackburn were the hapless victims of a rampant Arsenal side.

Chance conversion was another issue which was put to bed, at least temporarily, with 7 out of 8 shot on target registering on the scoreboard.

Puyol's header gives Barça 1-1 draw in first leg of Copa (Photo: AP Photo/Paul White)

Barcelona rallied from a goal down to ensure a 1-1 draw against Valencia in the first leg of their semi final showdown in the Copa del Rey.

La Mestalla provided all of the hostility the Catalans could handle, as Valencia came out of the gates in a surging frenzy, mounting unrelenting pressure in the opening minutes trying to force a crack in Barcelona's defensive armor.

In the preview I wrote, "there will be goals in this game for sure". I don't know how, but both sides managed to keep the ball out of their opponents' nets when scoring would have seemed like the easier option. Arsenal had a lot of chances, very good ones. And they missed them all.

Twitter went mad after the game, as it usually does after a disappointing result I guess.

You can see why Wigan are bottom of the league. Spurs strolled around the pitch like it was a training match, and Wigan were just content to bend over and take it. Wigan did get a consolation goal after they woke up eventually and started attacking us, but it was far too little far too late.
The first goal came from a sweet pass into the back post from Modric.

Goals:
Carroll 52'
Bellamy 61'
Kuyt 78'
The result implies dominance, and Liverpool were fairly dominant throughout, but 3-0 did not look likely at half-time.
Sure, had Liverpool taken one of their multiple first half chances, most notably from Kuyt in the third minute, or had Anthony Taylor given Adam an absolutely dead certain penalty in the 35th, the side might have strolled to victory sooner.

Messi shows frustration in draw against Villarreal (Photo: REUTERS/Heino Kalis)

Barcelona saw their La Liga title aspirations take a serious hit after suffering a goalless draw against Villarreal at El Madrigal on Saturday night.

Another road game, another setback.

It has been the same story all year long; with Barca now having dropped 13 points in league play away from the Camp Nou this season.

If you carefully select portions of this game you can make a video highlighting many of Arsenal's major problems. With another selection you could also show the reasons that make the Gunners such a great team to watch and support. It was a classic Cup tie and one that will remain in fans' memories for years to come if it can spark a run of form.

Manchester United have been dumped out of FA Cup following a 2-1 loss to Liverpool at Anfield. Antonio Valencia came
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Goals:
Agger 21'
Park 40'
Kuyt 88'
For the second match in a row: *shakes head* Football, man. Football.
A first half set play goal, followed by increased United pressure and the inevitable equalizer following a defensive mistake. In a 4-1-4-1 formation with Carragher holding in midfield, Liverpool were unable to settle on the ball, in a typically frenetic no-holds-barred cup game.

Jesus H Christ Almighty that was a dire performance. Granted, we're through to the fifth round, a win is a win and all that but for the majority of the match, not only did we look like the championship side, but a championship side with only 10 men still on the bloody pitch! Never mind, they were obviously saving their energy for the thrashing of Wigan on Tuesday.

Pedro celebrates goal that moves Barcelona through to next round of Copa (Photo: REUTERS/Albert Gea)

In a battle of titans, Barcelona held on to defeat Real Madrid 4-3 on aggregate and eliminate the defending Champions from the Copa del Rey.

It was everything a clasico should be: a high-octane encounter of offensive brilliance and heart-stopping tension.

Liverpool win 3-2 on aggregate
Goals:
De Jong 31'
Gerrard 40' (pen)
Dzeko 67'
Bellamy 74'
*Shakes head* Football, man. Football.
So much for Liverpool holding what they had. This was no lock-down defensive effort. Liverpool played defense by attacking, and would have settled the tie far sooner if not for Joe Hart's continuing brilliance.

Messi scores another hat trick in victory over Malaga (Photo: Jorge Guerrero/AFP/Getty Images)

An inspired three-goal performance from Lionel Messi saw Barcelona defeat Malaga 4-1 at La Rosaleda, keeping the Catalans within striking distance of Real Madrid in the race for the La Liga title.

Lets get the rant out of the way. Lescott should have been sent off for intentionally elbowing Kaboul in the head, and Balotelli should have been sent off for intentionally stamping on Parker's head. Turns out that the "loveable rouge" Balotelli who buys petrol for people, signs signatures for kids at an impromptu visit to schools and so on and so on, is actually just a nasty little **** who would stamp on a fellow professionals head.

A predictably disappointing result will largely overshadow an effort from the Gunners that was valiant and respectable for most periods of the game. Ultimately, poor defending from Arsenal gifted the win to United after a closely fought battle in which the sides shared spells of domination.

The starting line-up for Arsenal had a couple of pleasant surprises.

Manchester United have kept the pressure on Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table after beating Arsenal
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Goals:
M Davies 4'
Reo-Coker 29'
Bellamy 36'
Steinsson 50'
So is this what FSG feared when appointing Dalglish? A manager that should be, hopefully, exempt from criticism, but there has been so much to criticize in tactics, personnel, and transfer dealings lately.

Abidal fires the winning blast to defeat Real Madrid (Photo: REUTERS/Susana Vera)

Barcelona mounted a second half comeback to defeat Real Madrid 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu, extracting a measure of vengeance for their defeat in last year's Copa del Rey Final at the hands of their eternal rivals.

Alexis goal secures win for FC Barcelona against Real Betis (Photo: Jasper Juinen/Getty Images)

Alexis Sanchez's last gasp goal saw Barcelona rally deep in the second half to defeat Real Betis 4-2 at the Camp Nou.

After a quick start, Barcelona were forced to watch Betis comeback from two goals down, nearly stealing the match and ending Barcelona's aspirations for a fourth consecutive La Liga title.

A family event at a nearby city took me out of town for the last couple of days and is the cause for the lateness of this post. It really was unavoidable but I don't want to trouble you with the details.

The result of the game, more so the manner in which the goals were conceded, was quite upsetting but after having a day to think it over I find there were a lot of talking points from the game.

A frustrating day at the lane saw a hemmed in Spurs drop two points and miss the chance to go joint top. Wolves came out with the intention of pressuring us all over the pitch and maintained it for 90 minutes. A point well deserved for them but very disappointing for us considering how well we dominated Everton Wednesday night.

Tried to replicate the formation from the 2-0 win against Stoke last season, starting with three center-backs for the first time this season. Didn't work. Tried sending Carroll on for final thirty minutes. Didn't work. Bellamy couldn't change matters either. Another disappointing, frustrating draw at Anfield.

Some lovely flowing football last night in a game which in all honesty, we completely dominated. I was a bit worried about not having Parker or Sandro as the steel in the midfield, but Livermore was outstanding. As were the two goals that got us the three points that take us level with United in second.

Goals:
Gerrard 13' (pen)
The same template we saw when Liverpool traveled to Stamford Bridge, and more than a hint of Benitez-era Champions League matches. Get the goal, kill the game. So, will one goal be enough in two weeks time?
If not for Joe Hart, Liverpool would have taken the lead even earlier.

In a way this was a fairy tale return for Thierry Henry. Wenger acknowledged as much in his post-match press conference when he said,

It was like a dream when he scored, it was the story you would tell a kid. It is not often like that in our game.

But one could as well say there was an air of predictability about the football and the result.

Goals:
Simpson 28'
Bellamy 30'
Gerrard 45' (pen)
Shelvey 68'
Carroll 89'
Downing 90+4'
It should be illegal to complain when Liverpool score five, including firsts for Shelvey and Downing and a cameo from Carroll off the bench, no matter the opposition or merits of overall performance.

Messi celebrates second goal against Osasuna in Copa del Rey (Photo: David Ramos/Getty Images)

Barcelona kicked off 2012 the way they finished 2011: with goals.

On the back of a 4-0 FIFA Club World Cup Championship victory over Santos and a 9-0 demolition of C.E. L'Hospitalet to wrap up a memorable 2011, Barcelona returned to action without missing a beat, defeating Osasuna 4-0 at the Camp Nou in their first match of the new year.

Manchester United's start to 2012 has gone from bad to worse following a 3-0 loss to Newcastle United at the
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Manchester United's start to 2012 has gone from bad to worse following a 3-0 loss to Newcastle United at the
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

If I had to sum up the first half in one word, it would be boring. If I had to sum up the second half in one hyphenated word it would be squeaky-bum. We looked flat in the first half an the attackers really weren't in the game, the second half, we nicked a cheeky goal from nowhere, looked like we would go on and get a few more, but instead spent the last 20 minutes with our backs to the wall.

Goals:
Agüero 10'
Yaya Toure 33'
Milner 75' (pen)
Mistakes punished by cruel, efficient competency combined with continued Liverpool impotence in front of goal. An added bonus of a referee error, a game-ending penalty given for Yaya Toure's dive, mere moments after fleeting good fortune when Barry saw red for two soft yellows.

Fulham 2-1 Arsenal

So, a pretty dismal start to the New Year, but perhaps a focus sharpener as this month's transfer window opens.

It was the ultimate clichéd game of two halves. Arsenal were pretty damn good in the first, creating loads of chances, passing neatly, very enjoyable to watch and well worth their advantage.

Goals:
Agger (og) 25'
Bellamy 29' 67'
Gerrard 78'
Another tepid, frustrating, harsh 1-1 at Anfield. Until Gerrard came on at the hour mark.
As usual, Liverpool were the better side from the start, but neither keeper had a save to make in the first half. More often than not, Liverpool's possession ended at the edge of the final third, mainly with shots from distance charged down by Newcastle defenders or crosses just too high/far for Carroll.

A match that we looked in control of for the entire 90 minutes. At half time with the match still at 0-0, it just looked like a matter of time before we opened the scoring. And on the 54th minute Gareth Bale steps up. Ade receives the ball in the box and tries to work himself some space for a shot, but instead opts for a pass to Bale who controls and puts the ball under the outstretched flailing hand of Ruddy.