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Tuesday Football
18 March 2008
by Jerrad Peters

Most compelling viewing
AS Roma 2-1 AC Milan

With Inter Milan idle until Sunday’s visit of Palermo, AS Roma entered Saturday’s match against AC Milan with an eye to trimming the Nerazzurri’s lead in Serie A to three points. It should have been incentive for an enterprising start to the proceedings. Instead, the Giallorossi came out flat. And, given that Milan had it all to play for, they might have done better than leaving it late to overturn the result.

That said, all that anyone will remember at the end of the season is that Roma beat Milan in mid-March to keep pace with Inter. And in dramatic fashion, no less. With 61-points, Roma remain six points adrift of the leaders with 11-matches to play. Logic suggests that they will have to win nine of those contests in order to catapult themselves to a first Scudetto since 2001. Still, at kickoff on Saturday, Roma looked nothing like a side which was locked in a title race.

Milan were the more adventurous of the two from the get-go. Their recent exit from the Champions’ League, however disappointing, will almost surely pay dividends in the league. With the pressure of European competition removed, the Rossoneri appeared composed, spontaneous, and energetic. Manager Carlo Ancelotti started with 18-year-old striker Alexandre Pato as the lone forward – supported by Kaka and Clarence Seedorf in attack. While Kaka is clearly lacking full match-fitness, Seedorf was superb. His marauding runs kept Christian Panucci occupied throughout the night. In fact, Milan only got into trouble when the Dutchman was replaced by Emerson in the 73rd-minute.

By that point, the visitors were 1-0 ahead through Kaka. Roma were beginning to show sparks of ingenuity; and the last thing Milan needed was the plodding Emerson in the middle of the park.

Roma struck just five minutes later. Ludovic Giuly, who had come on for David Pizzarro in the 62nd-minute, struck the equalizer before Mirko Vucinic turned the match on its head with the game-winner just three minutes later. It was the Montenegrin’s second winner of the season against Milan, and the sixth goal for his club.

With the loss, Milan fell four points back of Fiorentina for Italy’s fourth Champions’ League berth. Unlike La Viola, however, they will have only the league on which to concentrate between now and may. The Florence side have been tied to PSV Eindhoven in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Cup.

Notable results
Arsenal 1-1 Middlesbrough

The collapse is officially underway. Arsenal drew their fourth, successive Premier League match, Saturday, as Manchester United went atop the standings for the first time since January. With a game in hand and a superior goal-differential, the Red Devils have both statistics and momentum behind them. And, given that they will host Bolton Wanderers on Wednesday, it appears all but certain that United will be three points clear by the weekend. Shocking, when you consider that Arsenal were six points ahead just last month.

Their mediocre 1-1 draw at home to Middlesbrough in Saturday’s late kickoff was their last month in a nutshell. But for a 2-0 win over a pedestrian AC Milan team in the Champions’ League, Arsenal have been biting it hard for the better part of five weeks. And, as expected, the excuse-crews have been working overtime. Chief among them, the ultimate spin-doctor – Arsene Wenger.

Don’t be fooled. Arsenal’s come-from-behind draws against Boro and Aston Villa were not gutsy or courageous. This is not a side which exudes confidence or goes about its business with a never-say-die mentality. Quite the contrary. If the past month has revealed anything, it is that the skeptical pundits and prognosticators were spot-on when, at the outset of the season, they predicted that the Gunners would struggle for a place in the top-two. As it happens, if Chelsea win on Wednesday, Arsenal will be third when they visit Stamford Bridge at the weekend.

On the other side of the ball, Middlesbrough were fully worth the point at Emirates Stadium. Jeremie Aliadiere’s goal in the 25th-minute was not offside. And while Emmanuel Adebayor’s goal in the 4th-minute should have stood, he and his teammates looked disturbingly identical to the Arsenal teams of the past few seasons. Plenty of possession and passing – a complete lack of finishing.

Luck, however, works both ways; and Arsenal had enough with four minutes remaining to grab a late equalizer. As Mark Schwartzer and Andrew Taylor ran over one another on the goal-line, Kolo Toure headed into an open net. Spin it as you will; but only Derby and Newcastle have been poorer in their past four matches than Arsenal. No, Arsene. This is not a bunch of plucky invincibles. This is a football club in freefall.

Deportivo la Coruna 1-0 Real Madrid

But for Barcelona’s disappointing 2-2 draw away to Almeria on Sunday, the title race in Spain might have become exactly that. Instead, the weekend’s action settled very little in La Liga. Real Madrid, entering the 28th round of fixtures with an eight point lead over Barcelona, dropped a dud at Deportivo la Coruna while the Blaugranes battled to a disappointing 2-2 draw at Almeria.

Madrid’s loss, however, was hardly surprising. The Meringues have not won a league match at the Riazor in 17-years. And, given the dawdling pace of an uneventful first half, they played very much like a side in hostile territory.

Deportivo, conversely, merely bided their time until an opportunity presented itself. Their rivals, while hardly pressing forward, retained much of the possession; although the central midfield tandem of Sergio Gonzalez and Canadian international Julian De Guzman was particularly effective for the hosts.

Finally, the Hurculinos produced a breakthrough. Filipe, having whisked past two Madrid defenders, unloaded a powerful shot which was redirected by Pepe before bulging the back of the net. Despite the introductions of Robinho and Julio Baptista, Madrid rarely made life difficult for the Depor backline.

With 34-points, Deportivo are 13th in La Liga – equal in points to both Osasuna and Mallorca but trailing through goal-differential.

Real Betis 1-2 Atletic Bilbao (abandoned)

For the second time in as many seasons, Real Betis have prompted the abandonment of a match. In a Copa del Rey contest against Sevilla in 2007, Rojiblancos manager Juande Ramos was knocked unconscious when a projectile struck him in the head. The incident resulted in a three-match ban for supporters at Betis’ Estadio Manuel Ruiz de Lopera.

They can expect an even harsher penalty this time around. Just after David Lopez had put visiting Bilbao ahead in the 65th-minute, visiting
goalkeeper Armando Ribeiro was struck by a bottle. With a gash under his left eye, he was stretchered from the pitch and the match was called off. Referee Carlos Clos Gomez awarded a 2-1 decision to Bilbao.

A Betis supporter, seen leaving the ground in police custody, was bailed, Monday, for 3000-euros. The Spanish Football Federation will meet on Tuesday regarding disciplinary action to be taken against the Seville club.

Energie Cottbus 2-0 Bayern Munich

Energie Cottbus pulled themselves from the relegation quagmire at the weekend – and kept things close atop the Bundesliga at the same time. By virtue of a surprising 2-0 win over leaders Bayern Munich, Die Lausitzer vaulted to 15th-place in the standings. Bayern, conversely, missed an opportunity to stretch their lead to eight points. With none of Hamburg, Bayer Leverkusen, Werder Bremen, or Schalke 04 seemingly capable of putting a run together and overtaking the top spot, Bayern would have done well to extend their advantage.

As it happened, they had an extremely difficult afternoon in every sense of the word. Cottbus went to the trouble of fouling their visitors on 23-occasions – six of which resulted in cautions. And while Bayern were credited with over 60% possession, much of it was expended around the perimeter. Goalkeeper Gerhard Tremmel had very little to do.

When Bayern relinquished the ball, the hosts were lethal on the counter. Branko Jelic scored on two such occasions – just the second and third goals for the 30-year-old on the season. And when Franck Ribery missed a penalty just shy of the half-hour, the script was as good as written.

Around the league, Hamburg, Schalke, and Bayer Leverkusen made ground on Bayern. Werder Bremen, in the runners-up position for much of the season, dropped a 1-0 decision against Wolfsburg and fell to fourth.

Key contributors
Kader Keita

After a productive spell at Lille, Kader Keita fell flat on his face at Olympique Lyonnais. It didn’t help that the reigning six-time Ligue 1 champions had dolled out a club-record 18M-euros for his services. “Popito,” as he was affectionaly known in Cote d’Ivoire, failed to score a single goal for his new team before Christmas.

In fact, his first tally came just last week against Bordeaux. Up against the second-best club in the country, he scored a 90th-minute goal in a tight, 4-2 affair which sent Lyon six points clear atop the table.

As an encore, he fired a brace against Monaco on Saturday. And with Bordeaux earning an identical 3-0 scoreline against Strasbourg, the 26-year-old ensured that Lyon retained its advantage in the standings.

Carlos Henrique

Bordeaux are getting goals from everywhere at the moment. And while the likes of Wendel, Marouane Chamakh, and David Bellion have earned the majority of the plaudits, Carlos Henrique produced some magic of his own on Sunday.

The Brazilian defender struck a brace against Strasbourg – ensuring that Lyon’s day-old nine point lead was reduced to a more manageable six. The six-foot-two, 24-year-old has now scored six goals this season and has been one of the better defenders in France since moving from Flamengo in 2005.

Luis Fabiano

At 27-years of age, Luis Fabiano is the classic late-bloomer. Nevertheless, his recent success should hardly come as a surprise. This is a player, don’t forget, who notched 118-goals in 160-appearances for Sao Paulo before moving to Porto in 2004. He was a bust in Portugal, however, and joined Sevilla after just a single, disappointing season with the reigning European champions.

In the three years since, he has doubled his scoring total twice. After tallying seven goals in 2005-2006, he scored 15 last season. A year on, he has already produced 32-goals in just 35-appearances. And with a brace against Valencia at the weekend, he boosted his league total to 22 in 21-matches. That he is Brazil’s in-form striker speaks volumes. And alongside the likes of Karim Benzema and Fernando Torres, he is in an elite group of the very best forwards in Europe.

Man of the weekend
Luis Suarez

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar may be the present face of Dutch football; but here’s betting that his haul of 30-goals would be substantially less without the help of Luis Suarez. The 21-year-old Uruguayan has been a revelation in his first season at Ajax. And, given his creativity and a potency which has produced 14-goals of his own in 2007-2008, he may not be long in Amsterdam.

Suarez is the type of forward who makes his attacking partner excel. Think Emile Heskey for Michael Owen – only with substantially more skill, pace, and overall ability. His hat-trick against Willem II Tilburg was case-in-point. After Huntelaar’s 29th-minute equalizer had canceled Frank Demouge’s opener, Suarez put the hosts in front just seconds ahead of the break. He struck again after six minutes in the second half and completed the brace in the 88th-minute.

Ajax have now scored 16-goals in their past four outings. With 56-points from 28-matches, they have blown the title race wide open – pulling to within four points of leaders PSV Eindhoven. Willem II, by comparison, are second from bottom with 24-points – three points adrift of De Graafschap and safety.