England lose 2-1 to Uruguay in 2014 Fifa World Cup

Luis Suarez grabbed a magnificent double to blow away the English dream of a good 2014 Brazil Fifa World Cup. He delayed a run into the box, deceiving to go from centre to his left and then checked his run to the right to direct a Cavani delivery across the body of Joe Hart. England failed to win the ball in midfield, allowed Uruguay passage through the centre and refrained from challenging the ball before it reached Cavani on the left. With the attention of four English players, the striker had time to control, look up and pick up the run of Suarez who had three men guarding him; Cahill, Baines and Hart.  

The man who recently underwent knee surgery needed just two touches to finish off a Steven Gerrard flick on in the second half. Muslera cleared a long ball and Captain Fantastic’s jumped did not elevate him enough to make the relevant contact with the ball. Suarez lurked behind and outpaced Cahill, looked up to see the position of the goalkeeper, got his eyes on the ball, adjusted his stride and concentrated on the technique of striking the ball with his arms wide for balance.  He hit the ball hard in the middle, as if to dissect it into two hemi-spheres. Hart tried to spread his body across the goal by advancing and narrowing the angle, but he could not even see the ball whistle past him.

Looking at the body of the whole match, Uruguay had a game plan to deny England’s youthful team any space to settle on the ball and the time to think. They pressed hard high on the pitch and reduced the space by moving quickly to press when the ball moved from one player to the next. They packed the midfield, doubled up in marking, and got as many men behind the ball as possible. They were in ‘take-no-prisoners’ mood and were lighting fast in transition and were always first on both the first and second balls.

England started the match hoping for a calculative affair. They were taken unawares as they got intimidated and denied any space to play. They became ‘uncomposed’ and gave away the ball quite easily. The defence panicked and threw themselves at the ball and in flew into tackles. The wingbacks found pockets on the right and more so on the left with Baines. The frustration over failure to construct any methodical attacks caused anxiety and desperation in preparation zone as the midfielders tended not to track down their men as well as the third man running.

The marking was very bad and many crosses found their way to the penalty box as the wide men arrived late from attacking duties. However, the wide man run forward proved useful as Glen Johnson supplied Wayne Rooney with a tap-in in between Suarez’s double. Cahill robbed the Liverpool striker of the ball and quickly passed to Steven G who played with Daniel Sturridge who turned well and fed the overlapping Johnson on the right. The right back took his man on, darted in and out into the penalty box and passed to Rooney who timed his run perfectly and finished with aplomb. Rooney had a good match, forcing a fantastic save from the keeper and hitting a post with header from a foot out.

England could not string passes together and had no rhythm at all as they could not cope with the pace and intimidation of the South Americans. Their attacking moves out of the midfield and the entries into the final third lacked urgency and pace. Besides being too slow in mounting attacks, they were guilty of taking too long to deliver crosses too, allowing Uruguay to regroup and take good defensive positions and shape. As a result, Uruguay had sufficient personnel to deal with any threats posed, particularly forcing early shots that went off target, were weak or went straight to Muslera.

It must be said that Rooney finally got a Fifa World Cup goal.       

Manchester U Beats Liverpool as Chelsea Continues Being Ruthless.

[caption id="attachment_2026" align="alignright" width="377" caption="Pic form Eurosport."][/caption]

 

Manchester United  pulled one from the bag to pocket 3 points against a better Liverpool side that was nonetheless shocking in their defending. The Reds shaky start was characterised by the static defence that seemed to be perplexed by crosses on countless occasions. Manchester won 3-2, Berbetov scoring all three for United.

Dimitri Berbetov was superb as evidenced by his excellent acrobatic goal that was donated by Pepe Reina, Liverpool goalkeeper. Berbetov proved to be a powerful and strong target man who United will need to chase the champions. The class of the Bulgarian was always a media concern when the expectations were misplaced on his goalscoring abilities. This eventually weighed on the man until he decided to stop caring and now he is proving the point.

Pepe was generally poor as he was flat-footed more than once and was deep rootedly planted when admiring the acrobats and flight of the Berbetov lob. It was the same story with the form of off-form Fernando Torres. I never had doubts about his scoring ability but I have always waited for him to prove he is not over-rated. This match did not help his cause in that regard as he toiled all day without producing much except for winning the penalty.  

The cool-headed Steven Gerrard did well to convert the penalty and free-kicks to give Liverpool hope to collect a point. The Red Devils were on over-drive as Nani crushed the crossbar in the first half. Wayne Rooney was anonymous, taking all the defenders' attention and leaving room for Berbetov to shine with a hat-trick.

Chelsea were ruthlessly rampant as usual, routing Blackpool with 4 first half goals coming from double scorer, Flourent Malouda as well as Salmon Kalou. Super Didier Drogba was in sublime form as he provided assists and unselfishly fed his wasteful teammates. He lost his touch from working in overdrive for 90 minutes as he wasted a few glorious chances he usually converts with his eyes closed.

Blackpool for their part, not conceding in the second half was a very notable achievement that they have to build on. They were a wasteful lot and had glorious chances they fluffed. At least they have something to build on.

Manchester City came to the party with Carlos Tevez turning on the music. An average dink over the goalkeeper was a superb opening goal of the class we know Tevez can be. Wigan were never going to match City who came from a good mid-week Europa win.

Arsenal were helpless yesterday huffing and puffing and finally surrendering the lead to Sunderland. Cesc Fabregas put the Gunners ahead with a very lucky goal. Ferdinand's attempted clearance hit Fabregas so hard and went over Ferdinand's head. flying over 40 yards lobbing over the goalkeeper. Darren Bent had the last word in the last-minute with an equaliser with the last kick of the match.

The match of the week, was, of course, Tottenham Hotspurs who overcame a stubborn Wolverhampton. Wolves were almost running away with the match with 15 minutes to go, when Spurs decide to put things to order. A three goal salvo was enough to silence Harry Redknapp's critics, at least for now. The doubting Thomases will find it hard to accept the ascendance of Spurs, which is very slow but very much alive. The nay-sayers already compare Spurs to the top four teams. They are not yet in that league, but they are surely on the right track.

Manchester U Beats Liverpool as Chelsea Continues Being Ruthless.

[caption id="attachment_2026" align="alignright" width="377" caption="Pic form Eurosport."][/caption]

 

Manchester United  pulled one from the bag to pocket 3 points against a better Liverpool side that was nonetheless shocking in their defending. The Reds shaky start was characterised by the static defence that seemed to be perplexed by crosses on countless occasions. Manchester won 3-2, Berbetov scoring all three for United.

Dimitri Berbetov was superb as evidenced by his excellent acrobatic goal that was donated by Pepe Reina, Liverpool goalkeeper. Berbetov proved to be a powerful and strong target man who United will need to chase the champions. The class of the Bulgarian was always a media concern when the expectations were misplaced on his goalscoring abilities. This eventually weighed on the man until he decided to stop caring and now he is proving the point.

Pepe was generally poor as he was flat-footed more than once and was deep rootedly planted when admiring the acrobats and flight of the Berbetov lob. It was the same story with the form of off-form Fernando Torres. I never had doubts about his scoring ability but I have always waited for him to prove he is not over-rated. This match did not help his cause in that regard as he toiled all day without producing much except for winning the penalty.  

The cool-headed Steven Gerrard did well to convert the penalty and free-kicks to give Liverpool hope to collect a point. The Red Devils were on over-drive as Nani crushed the crossbar in the first half. Wayne Rooney was anonymous, taking all the defenders' attention and leaving room for Berbetov to shine with a hat-trick.

Chelsea were ruthlessly rampant as usual, routing Blackpool with 4 first half goals coming from double scorer, Flourent Malouda as well as Salmon Kalou. Super Didier Drogba was in sublime form as he provided assists and unselfishly fed his wasteful teammates. He lost his touch from working in overdrive for 90 minutes as he wasted a few glorious chances he usually converts with his eyes closed.

Blackpool for their part, not conceding in the second half was a very notable achievement that they have to build on. They were a wasteful lot and had glorious chances they fluffed. At least they have something to build on.

Manchester City came to the party with Carlos Tevez turning on the music. An average dink over the goalkeeper was a superb opening goal of the class we know Tevez can be. Wigan were never going to match City who came from a good mid-week Europa win.

Arsenal were helpless yesterday huffing and puffing and finally surrendering the lead to Sunderland. Cesc Fabregas put the Gunners ahead with a very lucky goal. Ferdinand's attempted clearance hit Fabregas so hard and went over Ferdinand's head. flying over 40 yards lobbing over the goalkeeper. Darren Bent had the last word in the last-minute with an equaliser with the last kick of the match.

The match of the week, was, of course, Tottenham Hotspurs who overcame a stubborn Wolverhampton. Wolves were almost running away with the match with 15 minutes to go, when Spurs decide to put things to order. A three goal salvo was enough to silence Harry Redknapp's critics, at least for now. The doubting Thomases will find it hard to accept the ascendance of Spurs, which is very slow but very much alive. The nay-sayers already compare Spurs to the top four teams. They are not yet in that league, but they are surely on the right track.

Manchester U Beats Liverpool as Chelsea Continues Being Ruthless.

[caption id="attachment_2026" align="alignright" width="377" caption="Pic form Eurosport."][/caption]

 

Manchester United  pulled one from the bag to pocket 3 points against a better Liverpool side that was nonetheless shocking in their defending. The Reds shaky start was characterised by the static defence that seemed to be perplexed by crosses on countless occasions. Manchester won 3-2, Berbetov scoring all three for United.

Dimitri Berbetov was superb as evidenced by his excellent acrobatic goal that was donated by Pepe Reina, Liverpool goalkeeper. Berbetov proved to be a powerful and strong target man who United will need to chase the champions. The class of the Bulgarian was always a media concern when the expectations were misplaced on his goalscoring abilities. This eventually weighed on the man until he decided to stop caring and now he is proving the point.

Pepe was generally poor as he was flat-footed more than once and was deep rootedly planted when admiring the acrobats and flight of the Berbetov lob. It was the same story with the form of off-form Fernando Torres. I never had doubts about his scoring ability but I have always waited for him to prove he is not over-rated. This match did not help his cause in that regard as he toiled all day without producing much except for winning the penalty.  

The cool-headed Steven Gerrard did well to convert the penalty and free-kicks to give Liverpool hope to collect a point. The Red Devils were on over-drive as Nani crushed the crossbar in the first half. Wayne Rooney was anonymous, taking all the defenders' attention and leaving room for Berbetov to shine with a hat-trick.

Chelsea were ruthlessly rampant as usual, routing Blackpool with 4 first half goals coming from double scorer, Flourent Malouda as well as Salmon Kalou. Super Didier Drogba was in sublime form as he provided assists and unselfishly fed his wasteful teammates. He lost his touch from working in overdrive for 90 minutes as he wasted a few glorious chances he usually converts with his eyes closed.

Blackpool for their part, not conceding in the second half was a very notable achievement that they have to build on. They were a wasteful lot and had glorious chances they fluffed. At least they have something to build on.

Manchester City came to the party with Carlos Tevez turning on the music. An average dink over the goalkeeper was a superb opening goal of the class we know Tevez can be. Wigan were never going to match City who came from a good mid-week Europa win.

Arsenal were helpless yesterday huffing and puffing and finally surrendering the lead to Sunderland. Cesc Fabregas put the Gunners ahead with a very lucky goal. Ferdinand's attempted clearance hit Fabregas so hard and went over Ferdinand's head. flying over 40 yards lobbing over the goalkeeper. Darren Bent had the last word in the last-minute with an equaliser with the last kick of the match.

The match of the week, was, of course, Tottenham Hotspurs who overcame a stubborn Wolverhampton. Wolves were almost running away with the match with 15 minutes to go, when Spurs decide to put things to order. A three goal salvo was enough to silence Harry Redknapp's critics, at least for now. The doubting Thomases will find it hard to accept the ascendance of Spurs, which is very slow but very much alive. The nay-sayers already compare Spurs to the top four teams. They are not yet in that league, but they are surely on the right track.

Manchester U Beats Liverpool as Chelsea Continues Being Ruthless.

[caption id="attachment_2026" align="alignright" width="377" caption="Pic form Eurosport."][/caption]

 

Manchester United  pulled one from the bag to pocket 3 points against a better Liverpool side that was nonetheless shocking in their defending. The Reds shaky start was characterised by the static defence that seemed to be perplexed by crosses on countless occasions. Manchester won 3-2, Berbetov scoring all three for United.

Dimitri Berbetov was superb as evidenced by his excellent acrobatic goal that was donated by Pepe Reina, Liverpool goalkeeper. Berbetov proved to be a powerful and strong target man who United will need to chase the champions. The class of the Bulgarian was always a media concern when the expectations were misplaced on his goalscoring abilities. This eventually weighed on the man until he decided to stop caring and now he is proving the point.

Pepe was generally poor as he was flat-footed more than once and was deep rootedly planted when admiring the acrobats and flight of the Berbetov lob. It was the same story with the form of off-form Fernando Torres. I never had doubts about his scoring ability but I have always waited for him to prove he is not over-rated. This match did not help his cause in that regard as he toiled all day without producing much except for winning the penalty.  

The cool-headed Steven Gerrard did well to convert the penalty and free-kicks to give Liverpool hope to collect a point. The Red Devils were on over-drive as Nani crushed the crossbar in the first half. Wayne Rooney was anonymous, taking all the defenders' attention and leaving room for Berbetov to shine with a hat-trick.

Chelsea were ruthlessly rampant as usual, routing Blackpool with 4 first half goals coming from double scorer, Flourent Malouda as well as Salmon Kalou. Super Didier Drogba was in sublime form as he provided assists and unselfishly fed his wasteful teammates. He lost his touch from working in overdrive for 90 minutes as he wasted a few glorious chances he usually converts with his eyes closed.

Blackpool for their part, not conceding in the second half was a very notable achievement that they have to build on. They were a wasteful lot and had glorious chances they fluffed. At least they have something to build on.

Manchester City came to the party with Carlos Tevez turning on the music. An average dink over the goalkeeper was a superb opening goal of the class we know Tevez can be. Wigan were never going to match City who came from a good mid-week Europa win.

Arsenal were helpless yesterday huffing and puffing and finally surrendering the lead to Sunderland. Cesc Fabregas put the Gunners ahead with a very lucky goal. Ferdinand's attempted clearance hit Fabregas so hard and went over Ferdinand's head. flying over 40 yards lobbing over the goalkeeper. Darren Bent had the last word in the last-minute with an equaliser with the last kick of the match.

The match of the week, was, of course, Tottenham Hotspurs who overcame a stubborn Wolverhampton. Wolves were almost running away with the match with 15 minutes to go, when Spurs decide to put things to order. A three goal salvo was enough to silence Harry Redknapp's critics, at least for now. The doubting Thomases will find it hard to accept the ascendance of Spurs, which is very slow but very much alive. The nay-sayers already compare Spurs to the top four teams. They are not yet in that league, but they are surely on the right track.

Liverpool Lose The Plot, For Now At Least.

Liverpool had no midfield functionality at all, drawing 0-0 with Birmingham City. They depended heavily on the well organised defence, Skrtel organising the troops well, for which Roy Hodgson will be grateful. From the anchor position, there was no plan to construct any meaningful attacks.

Glen Johnson was involved in some creativity going forward. Steven Gerrard lacked positive support from fellow linkmen and his passes found Fernando Torres already mobbed by Birmingham defenders. Torres toiled all day without much success, getting access once in a while to strike at goal and the goalie was on his toes to thwart him.

I should be fair to say Liverpool were undone by the poor officiating as they deserved 2 clear penalties in the first half, for a bad tackle from behind on Torres and a handball by a defender. Former Leeds striker, Lee Bowyer, played a solid defensive role to cancel any last-minute raids that Liverpool tried to launch.

There was not even a promising midfield job of quality. Rather, Birmingham retained better possession and with intermittent build ups that goalkeeper Pepe Reina did well to shut out. The biggest beneficiary of the match was Ben Forster who got free cross training session from The Reds. As for Liverpool, it is hard to say where their goals will come from.

What do Liverpool need to be a top four team again? (Pic by eurosport)

Liverpool Lose The Plot, For Now At Least.

Liverpool had no midfield functionality at all, drawing 0-0 with Birmingham City. They depended heavily on the well organised defence, Skrtel organising the troops well, for which Roy Hodgson will be grateful. From the anchor position, there was no plan to construct any meaningful attacks.

Glen Johnson was involved in some creativity going forward. Steven Gerrard lacked positive support from fellow linkmen and his passes found Fernando Torres already mobbed by Birmingham defenders. Torres toiled all day without much success, getting access once in a while to strike at goal and the goalie was on his toes to thwart him.

I should be fair to say Liverpool were undone by the poor officiating as they deserved 2 clear penalties in the first half, for a bad tackle from behind on Torres and a handball by a defender. Former Leeds striker, Lee Bowyer, played a solid defensive role to cancel any last-minute raids that Liverpool tried to launch.

There was not even a promising midfield job of quality. Rather, Birmingham retained better possession and with intermittent build ups that goalkeeper Pepe Reina did well to shut out. The biggest beneficiary of the match was Ben Forster who got free cross training session from The Reds. As for Liverpool, it is hard to say where their goals will come from.

What do Liverpool need to be a top four team again? (Pic by eurosport)

Liverpool Lose The Plot, For Now At Least.

Liverpool had no midfield functionality at all, drawing 0-0 with Birmingham City. They depended heavily on the well organised defence, Skrtel organising the troops well, for which Roy Hodgson will be grateful. From the anchor position, there was no plan to construct any meaningful attacks.

Glen Johnson was involved in some creativity going forward. Steven Gerrard lacked positive support from fellow linkmen and his passes found Fernando Torres already mobbed by Birmingham defenders. Torres toiled all day without much success, getting access once in a while to strike at goal and the goalie was on his toes to thwart him.

I should be fair to say Liverpool were undone by the poor officiating as they deserved 2 clear penalties in the first half, for a bad tackle from behind on Torres and a handball by a defender. Former Leeds striker, Lee Bowyer, played a solid defensive role to cancel any last-minute raids that Liverpool tried to launch.

There was not even a promising midfield job of quality. Rather, Birmingham retained better possession and with intermittent build ups that goalkeeper Pepe Reina did well to shut out. The biggest beneficiary of the match was Ben Forster who got free cross training session from The Reds. As for Liverpool, it is hard to say where their goals will come from.

What do Liverpool need to be a top four team again? (Pic by eurosport)

Liverpool Lose The Plot, For Now At Least.

Liverpool had no midfield functionality at all, drawing 0-0 with Birmingham City. They depended heavily on the well organised defence, Skrtel organising the troops well, for which Roy Hodgson will be grateful. From the anchor position, there was no plan to construct any meaningful attacks.

Glen Johnson was involved in some creativity going forward. Steven Gerrard lacked positive support from fellow linkmen and his passes found Fernando Torres already mobbed by Birmingham defenders. Torres toiled all day without much success, getting access once in a while to strike at goal and the goalie was on his toes to thwart him.

I should be fair to say Liverpool were undone by the poor officiating as they deserved 2 clear penalties in the first half, for a bad tackle from behind on Torres and a handball by a defender. Former Leeds striker, Lee Bowyer, played a solid defensive role to cancel any last-minute raids that Liverpool tried to launch.

There was not even a promising midfield job of quality. Rather, Birmingham retained better possession and with intermittent build ups that goalkeeper Pepe Reina did well to shut out. The biggest beneficiary of the match was Ben Forster who got free cross training session from The Reds. As for Liverpool, it is hard to say where their goals will come from.

What do Liverpool need to be a top four team again? (Pic by eurosport)