"Man Utd" and "Chelsea" distance themselves from pursuers

2006-11-18 22:24 © EuroFootball.com

On Saturday, eight matches of the 13th round of the English Premier League were played, after which, after a tough battle, newly-promoted Sheffield Utd defeated Man Utd away from the pursuers and West Ham defeated Chelsea by a minimal result. After a longer break, Man City celebrated victory, Arsenal failed to defeat Newcastle, Portsmouth managed to snatch a victory at the end of the match against Watford, and Liverpool's unsuccessful streak continues away.

In the early matches of the day, struggling Man City faced mid-table Fulham. The hosts started the match more actively and achieved their goal in the 12th minute when, after a pass from Georgios Samaras, new signing from Italy Bernardo Corradi, scored his first goal wearing the Man City shirt.

Halfway through the first half, the hosts doubled their advantage when in the 32nd minute, Fulham defender Carlos Bocanegra illegally stopped veteran Claudio Reyna, but the referee did not award a penalty. The attack continued for Man City players, and team captain Joey Barton lifted the ball into the penalty area to find B.Corradi's head, who scored his second goal in the match.

Just before the end of the first half, Man City began to rout their opponents when in the 45th minute, Tunisian defender Hatem Trabelsi's long pass led J.Barton to the goal, and he scored the team's third goal in these matches.

In the second half, Fulham's head coach made changes, and instead of the American duo of striker Brian McBride and defender C.Bocanegra, Collins John and Heidar Helguson entered the field. This striker duo worked perfectly in the 62nd minute, when H. Helguson passed the ball to his partner C.John, who managed to reduce the score.

As the match was approaching the end, B.Corradi, who received a good pass from Man City defender Micah Richards, failed to score a hat-trick. After this victory, Stuart Pearce's team rose from 14th to 12th place, while Fulham dropped one place to 11th.

In other matches, in the new Emirates Stadium, Arsenal hosted Newcastle. The Gunners immediately took action at the start of the match, and in the 1st minute, after a pass from Emmanuel Eboue from the right flank, Julio Baptista scored with a header.

The most dangerous opportunity in the match was created by Arsenal players in the 22nd minute when F.Fabregas played alongside A.Hleb and took a shot near the top corner. However, once again the Golden Football Rule came into play: "You don't score - they score against you." In the 30th minute, Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins headed the ball to teammate Kieron Dyer, and he deceived the home team's defender E.Eboue with a precise shot into the bottom corner.

Arsenal did not falter after conceding the first goal, and they exerted even more pressure on Newcastle players. In the 35th minute, a powerful shot by Robin van Persie followed, but the ball went straight into the hands of Newcastle goalkeeper Shay Given. A bit later, a shot from Holland flew over the goal. In the 41st minute, F.Fabregas crossed the ball into the penalty area, but Emmanuel Adebayor's header was slightly off target.

In the second half, an injured R.van Persie was replaced by Arsenal's attacking leader Thierry Henry. After just a minute of play, Newcastle once again had to be saved by S.Given, who deflected E.Adebayor's shot from just a few meters away. After eight minutes, K.Dyer, who returned to the Sharks' squad after an injury, had a second chance, but he missed the target against A.Hleb in the left corner.

In the 57th minute, T.Henry's shot from the side towards the far corner was saved by S.Given. A few moments later, F.Fabregas failed to score from about 5 meters away. But the home team's pressure paid off in the 70th minute, when T.Henry scored a rare beauty of a penalty shot - the Frenchman's shot hit the crossbar, bounced down, and into the goal. Later, Arsenal, seeing they still had a chance to win, completely dominated their Newcastle visitors.

In the 82nd minute, F.Fabregas's shot hit one of the Newcastle defenders and almost went in. After that, following a pass to the goal by E.Adebayor, T.Henry took a shot, but the ball hit the post after a ricochet. In the 84th minute, T.Henry's tricky long shot was saved by S.Given yet again, and towards the end of the match, chances to snatch the victory were not utilized by A.Adebayor and F.Fabregas. After these drawn matches, Arsenal ranks 4th, while Newcastle is in 16th place.

In other matches, newly-promoted Sheffield Utd faced league leaders Man Utd. Quite unexpectedly, the home team managed to stand out in this match. In the 13th minute, after a pass from Derek Geary, Northern Ireland international and former Man Utd winger Keith Gillespie scored with a header from just a few meters away against Edwin van der Sar.

After conceding the goal, the Red Devils did not falter and played their usual game. Excellent opportunities were missed by the English wonderkid Wayne Rooney, whose shot after a pass from Garry Neville was deflected by Sheffield Utd goalkeeper Paddy Kenny.

However, in the 30th minute, under Sir Alex Ferguson's guidance, the United's were able to equalize when the ball was passed from the right flank by G.Neville to W.Rooney, who scored his team's first goal. In the second half, after playing another 20 minutes, the Man Utd team managed to push forward when after a pass from Patrice Evra, W.Rooney scored his second goal in the match.

This was followed by missed opportunities by Cristiano Ronaldo. First, his shot from a sharp angle just a couple of meters away missed the goal. Then, after a pass from R.Giggs, the Portuguese star hit the crossbar of the Sheffield Utd goal, and the first to rush to the ball was P.Scholes, who sent the ball towards the goal, but in the last second, it was knocked out by defender Phil Jagielka. C.Ronaldo continued without success, as he was unable to send the ball into the net from close range after another R.Giggs pass.

After these important victories, Man Utd maintains the first place in the English Premier League, while Sheffield Utd footballers drop to 18th place.

In another match, the defending champions Chelsea played against West Ham at home. The match started more fiercely for the visitors, as West Ham keeper Lee Bowyer wasted several excellent opportunities. However, in the 22nd minute, Cameroon international and Chelsea full-back Geremi scored with a precise penalty shot from about 22 meters into the top corner of West Ham keeper Robert Green's goal.

Excellent opportunities were missed by Arjen Robben, who missed a shot towards the goal while slipping. A bit later, Matthew Etherington scored past the visitors' goalkeeper from a distance without stopping the ball.

In the second half, Chelsea's continued attacks resulted in a powerful long shot from Michael Essien, hitting the crossbar of the West Ham club's goal. The score could have been tied by West Ham defender Anton Ferdinand, but he missed the goal from a comfortable position.

As the match inched closer to the end, Didier Drogba scored a second goal for his team after receiving a pass from Joe Cole, but the sideline referee signaled an offside and disallowed the goal. After this victory, Chelsea remains three points behind the Man Utd team, while West Ham did not lose anything and occupies 16th place.

In another match, guns were drawn between Liverpool's Everton and Bolton teams. The guests created more chances in the match: former Real Madrid defender Ivan Campo hit the side of the goal twice, and his powerful penalty shot was saved by Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard. A bit later, the Israeli struck the crossbar.

But the hero of the match became Everton's midfielder Mikel Arteta, who in the 60th minute, after an individual run, scored with a precise shot from a distance of 22 meters, giving Bolton's goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen no chance.

In another match between league newcomers Reading and Charlton, it was a debut to forget for new Charlton manager Les Reed, as his team lost 2-0. In the 18th minute, after a header from Nicky Shorey, South Korean international Seol Ki-Hyeon scored past the visitors' goalkeeper Scot Carson.

At the end of the match, the most productive player of the team, Kevin Doyle, secured his team's victory when Steve Sidwell's penalty shot was saved by the goalkeeper, but the striker was the first to pounce and send it into Charlton's goal. After this victory, Reading rose from 11th to 8th place, while Charlton's team continues to languish at the bottom of the championship standings.

In another match, champions Portsmouth faced newcomers Watford. The hosts had to fight hard to snatch a crucial victory in the final minutes. However, in the first of these matches, the visitors managed to score first when Jay DeMerit redirected the ball into Portsmouth goalkeeper David James' goal after a pass from Ashley Young.

At the end of the first half, Nwankwo Kanu leveled the score with an eighth-minute goal. It seemed like Watford would take a valuable point from Fratton Park, but their dream was not meant to be.

In the 89th minute, J.Demerit fouled N.Kanu in the penalty area, and the referee awarded a penalty kick. Congo DR striker Tresor Lomana Lua-Lua stepped up to take the penalty, and he did not make a mistake at a crucial moment, beating Watford's goalkeeper Richard Lee. After this victory, Portsmouth regained the 3rd place, while Watford remains in 19th.

In the evening match between Middlesbrough and Liverpool, spectators did not see any goals. The match ended in a 0-0 draw. Liverpool secured a point and moved up to 9th place, while Middlesbrough did not move from 14th place.

Results of Saturday's English Premier League matches:

Top scorers: