SportsEngland: Football/soccer: Premier League prepares for Battle of the Title Teams

Machester United and Machester City football teams are heading closer to a colossal match, for the soccer championship in England's Premier League.  (I still don't get the jurisdictional base of the Premier League in contrast to the Champions League ... ugh, more research).

— Sportikos, refWrite Backpage sports newspotter, analyst, columnist

A previous game between the rivals (Wall Street Journal, April30,2k12)

Associated Press (Jan13,2k13)

Manchester's 'title-chasing rivals' 
win up for a colossal match ...

LONDON -- Manchester United's seven-point lead over neighbour Manchester City stayed intact after the title-chasing rivals downed two of the Premier League's fallen giants in contrasting ways on Sunday.

While United ended up scraping to a nervy 2-1 win at home to Liverpool, City sauntered to a 2-0 victory at Arsenal after playing against 10 men for most of the match.

Laurent Koscielny's ninth-minute red card for wrestling Edin Dzeko to the ground inside the area proved decisive, with Dzeko missing the resulting penalty but later adding to the superb opener by James Milner. The only negative for City after its first league win at Arsenal in 38 years was the red card awarded to Vincent Kompany for a two-footed tackle, which will deprive the team of its captain for three games.

Robin van Persie set United on the way to victory over its greatest rival at Old Trafford with his league-high 17th goal of the campaign. Nemanja Vidic unwittingly made it 2-0 but United had to resort to some desperate defending to preserve the lead after substitute Daniel Sturridge's goal on his league debut for Liverpool.

"It was a big game, everyone felt that during the week, and this is a great result," said Van Persie, whose arrival from Arsenal in August is proving to be a big factor in the title battle.

Many pundits were dubbing this weekend a pivotal moment in the title race but the status quo remains with 16 matches still to play. Chelsea, a 4-0 winner at Stoke on Saturday, can keep its slim hopes of catching the Manchester clubs alive by beating Southampton on Wednesday in their game in hand to reduce the gap to United to 11 points.

Playing in the day's early kickoff, United had piled the pressure on City by holding off a valiant fightback from Liverpool after getting itself into a position to coast home at Old Trafford.

"The name of the game is winning," United manager Alex Ferguson said. "There are moments where you have to defend. Today was one of them."

Van Persie's well-taken finish -- his ninth goal in his last nine games -- in the 19th minute came from one of a host of first-half chances created against a slovenly Liverpool team that gave the ball away with alarming regularity early on.

When Vidic made it 2-0 in the 54th by glancing in Patrice Evra's downward header, United relaxed and Liverpool started to threaten. Sturridge, who transformed Liverpool following his arrival at the start of the second half, reduced the deficit from close range within three minutes but missed the best of the chances to equalize late on.

"I am very proud of the fight of the team in the second half having gone 2-0 down," said Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers, whose side stayed in eighth place. "Teams who come here often crumble but I thought by the end we deserved something to be honest."

Arsenal and Liverpool used to be regular challengers for the title but their main target nowadays is qualification for the Champions League.

Even that might be beyond Arsenal this season, with the loss to City leaving Arsene Wenger's side six points adrift of fourth-place Tottenham in sixth.

From the moment Koscielny was dismissed for hauling Dzeko to the ground, the hosts were always up against it.

"We started too timidly with not enough authority ... and we paid for it," Wenger said. "Playing 80 minutes with 10 men against 11 is difficult."

City ensured there would be no coming back for Arsenal by scoring twice in a 12-minute span midway through the first half. Milner drove in the 21st-minute opening goal from Carlos Tevez's cute pass and then supplied the cross that Dzeko ended up tapping in after Tevez's flick-on was saved.

"Them going down to 10 men helped (but) before the sending-off, we looked the most dangerous side anyway," Milner said. "It was important we did not give them a sniff."

With City having come from eight points behind with six games left to win the title last season, the current seven-point gap doesn't concern manager Roberto Mancini.

"United is a strong team -- at this moment, they are playing very well," he said, "but this season is long and it's important we are still there."

Mancini said City will be appealing against Kompany's sending-off, given in the 75th minute when he left the ground and lunged studs-first at Jack Wilshere.

"It's absolutely not a red card. He anticipated the opponent," Mancini said. "He (Kompany) is disappointed. He said, 'I did nothing."'

Sports: England: Premier League has busy weekend where "goals rained down"

Am I getting this right?  Gareth MacAuley shinned the ball into his own goal ... Mark Bunn "inadvertantly deflected .. a shot into his own net" ... a Carlos Cuellar own goal drew Spurs level ... to the opposing team, was that too an inadvertancy?  What does "own goal" quite mean, lads?

— Sportikos, refWrite Backpage sports newspotter, analyst, columnist

Have a good look at a preview that can serve as a backgrounder to Sunday's action here
.
Hurriyet, Istanbul (Dec30,2k12)

Goals galore for City, Arsenal as United win again

LONDON - Agence France-Presse via Huuriyet, Istanbul

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Arsenal's Olivier Giroud (L) heads and scores his first goal past Newcastle United goalkeeper Tim Krul (R) during their English Premier League soccer match at The Emirates stadium in London December 29, 2012. REUTERS photo

Goals rained down on the Premier League on Saturday, with Arsenal beating Newcastle United 7-3 and champions Manchester City edging Norwich City 4-3 to keep pace with leaders Manchester United.
 
Manchester City's win prevented Manchester United from extending their seven-point lead at the summit, after they overcame West Bromwich Albion 2-0 to take their MU tally for the season to 50 goals.
 
United manager Alex Ferguson was the focus of pre-match attention at Old Trafford for an outspoken attack on Newcastle United coach Alan Pardew, but his side got down to business quickly and went ahead inside nine minutes.
 
The scorer wore a blue and white shirt, however, with West Brom defender Gareth McAuley inadvertently shinning the ball into his own goal after Ashley Young drove a low cross across the face of goal.
 
The hosts were not able to breathe easily until substitute Robin van Persie curled a glorious shot into the top-left corner in the last minute, before unveiling a T-shirt that paid tribute to a personal friend who recently died.
 
"We're in a good position," Ferguson told the BBC.
 
"We're halfway there. We've a game on Tuesday away from home at Wigan and we've got a few players to freshen it up. We'll look forward to the next game and try and win it." City lost Samir Nasri to a first-half red card at Norwich but edged an open-ended encounter thanks in no small part to Edin Dzeko, who scored twice and might have had a hat-trick.
 
The Bosnian, who has had to become accustomed to a role on the substitutes' bench this season, struck twice inside the opening four minutes to put City in control at Carrow Road.
 
But Norwich hit back through a deflected Anthony Pilkington free-kick, and the visitors were then dealt a blow when Nasri was sent off for aiming a head-butt at Sebastien Bassong.
 
Sergio Aguero's deft, lobbed finish made it 3-1, but City were indebted to an own goal by Norwich goalkeeper Mark Bunn, who inadvertently deflected Dzeko's shot into his own net, after Russell Martin had twice hit back for the hosts.
 
"I don't know why (Nasri was sent off) as the linesman was there and I don't know what he saw," said City manager Roberto Mancini, whose side lost 1-0 at Sunderland on Wednesday.
 
"We saw the video -- both players touch heads. With 10 men it was difficult. The guys played very well." A day bursting with goals -- 35 in total -- concluded in an extraordinary game at the Emirates Stadium in which Theo Walcott claimed a hat-trick as Arsenal overcame Newcastle 7-3 to climb to fifth.
 
Arsenal took the lead three times, through Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Lukas Podolski, only for Newcastle to hit back each time through Demba Ba, Sylvain Marveaux and Ba again.
 
Arsene Wenger's men finally killed the game off in the latter stages, with Walcott completing his treble and substitute Olivier Giroud claiming a quick-fire brace.
 
"I've been saying for the past few weeks that I want to play up front and I am showing the manager what I can do," said Walcott.
 
Wenger paid tribute to Walcott.
 
"He has done very well, it typifies what I think he can do. He can play through the middle, he will only get stronger," said the Arsenal manager.
 
Tottenham had earlier overturned a half-time deficit to win 2-1 at Sunderland and provisionally move into third place.
 
John O'Shea scored against the run of play to put the hosts ahead at a rain-sodden Stadium of Light, but a Carlos Cuellar own goal drew Spurs level before Aaron Lennon completed the comeback with a composed 51st-minute strike.
 
Andre Villas-Boas' side have taken 19 points from a possible 24 and are now a point above third-place Chelsea, who have two games in hand and visit Everton on Sunday.
 
Elsewhere, Aston Villa's recent miseries continued as they sank 3-0 at home to Wigan Athletic.
 
Goals from Ivan Ramis, Emmerson Boyce and Arouna Kone put paid to Paul Lambert's young team, who have now shipped 15 goals in three games after losing 8-0 to Chelsea and 4-0 to Tottenham Hotspur.
 
Villa would have slipped into the relegation zone had third-bottom Southampton not been denied victory in a 3-3 draw at Stoke City by a sensational 25-yard strike from Cameron Jerome.
 
Southampton had led 3-1, and played against 10 men following the 71st-minute dismissal of Steven N'Zonzi, but second-bottom Reading did a better job of defending a lead in a 1-0 home win over West Ham United.
 
Fulham's dismal form continued, meanwhile, as they lost 2-1 at home to Swansea City.

December/30/2012