37 Michael Bradley USA

We kick off part-two with the third American player to make the list, Michael Bradley. The Borussia Mönchengladbach midfielder was a shining performer in last year’s Confederations Cup competition, and at just 22 the son of the boss has already made over forty appearances for the States. Bradley is an all-round box-to-box midfielder. He’s got the presence and fitness to join in attack as well help out at the back, and it undoubtedly the first name on the teamsheet, not just because his dad makes it, but because Michael has developed into the US’ most important player. The debate is still open as to whether he’s more useful operating as a deep holding midfielder, but wherever you put him in the centre of the park he’ll impress.

36 Katlego Mphela South Africa

South Africa’s first name on the list is Mamelodi Sundowns forward Katlego Mphela. He might not be the biggest name in the South African line-up, but his goal of the tournament in last year’s Confederations Cup is reason enough to warrant such a high place in the list. After coming on as a sub Mphela turned around what was a very dull 3^rd place play-off against Spain with a goal, and then a 90^th minute cracker from a free-kick to take the game into extra-time.

35 Nilmar Brazil

Villarreal star Nilmar exploded on to the scene as an 18-year-old in 2003 and, after being hindered by injury problems over the subsequent few years, has re-emerged as one of the most exciting, efficient Brazilian forwards. Nilmar in knowen for his tantalising speed, elusive dribbles and assured finishing, but at twenty-five has yet to make a very big impact on a large stage. Nilmar spent four years in international exile before Dunga recalled him for the World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Bolivia. Nilmar has since put ten caps under his belt, and netted eight goals for his country, including the winner in a 1-0 friendly victory over England back in November.

34 Thierry Henry France

OK, so I’m sure you caught the hint in part one. Yes, the most controversial player that will line-up at the World Cup has got to be Thierry Henry. And for that, he makes it to a very respectable 34^th spot in our list of players to watch out for. There’s no need to explain what he did again, but apart from handling balls the ex-Arsenal hero has been known to do good things, like score amazing goals and display unbelievable examples of his dazzling ability. Henry has scored 51 goals for Les Bleus, in over 110 games. Tune in to see some Va Va Voom when the French kick-off their campaign against Uruguay on the 11^th.

33 Alexis Sánchez Chile

Known in Chile as “El Nino Maravilla” (the Wonder Boy), the 18-year-old Udinese forward is one of the hottest talents in the world at the moment, and one of Chile’s biggest assets ahead of the World Cup. The 21 year old has netted eight times for Chile thus far, in over twenty-five games. Chile have come on leaps and bounds in only the last two or three years, and have even been labelled as the most attractive South American team to watch at this year’s competition, even with Brazil and Argentina also taking part. This is testament to new guys like Sánchez, who is the pick of a very decent bunch.

32 Maicon Brazil

Inter Milan’s marauding Brazilian is probably the world’s best right back, keeping players like Daniel Alves on the bench at Brazil. He loves to get forward, and is a potent weapon to have in attack, as if Brazil didn’t have enough already in Kaka, Robinho, Luis Fabiano et al. Maicon has played over fifty times for Brazil. Adding to his solid defensive abilities that are clearly visible in his Inter team, Maicon has fantastic attacking capabilities where he roams forward making bursting runs into the box or wait on the edge to cross it in for the waiting attackers.

31 David Silva Spain

Valencia’s left winger David Silva is undoubtedly on Spain’s most prized talents, but has yet to make an impact on either stage to warrant a higher position on the list. David has been linked with Liverpool and Man Utd on more than one occasion, but has opted to stay put at Valencia where his sublime trickery and ability has helped overcome a difficult era at the Mestalla. Along with his namesake David Villa, he is the golden boy of the Valencians. Silva can play on either wing, or as a supporting striker, and has been capped thirty-three times for Spain. He’s been buoyed by injuries over the last few years, but should be in and amongst the action at the World Cup. Expect something big to come, and perhaps a move to England or a big European club afterwards.

30 Hugo Lloris France

The first goalkeeper to make the list is France’s number one Hugo Lloris. The Lyon ‘keeper is developing into one of the world’s best with his shot stopping ability and general impressiveness between the sticks. Before his €8.5million move from Nice, Lloris was recording clean sheets regularly and was even a top target of AC Milan who were keen for the youngster to replace Brazilian Dida as their number one. At Lyon Lloris made a debut clean sheetand did the same for Les Bleus. Hugo didn’t begin the World Cup qualification as France’s number one, but he soon took on the role and was applauded as the best player over the two-legged World Cup play-off against the Republic of Ireland.

29 Michael Essien Ghana

In 2005, Chelsea fought off stiff competition from Manchester United to pay £24.4 million for a Ghanaian central midfield with a fine reputation after some outstanding performances for Lyon – but few could have predicted just how crucial a player Essien would become for the Blues and Ghana. The captain of his country, Essien is well known around Europe and is regarded as one of the best central midfielders in the world today. His power, drive and relentless work-rate are some of strengths, running hard from box-to-box. Essien is a tough tackling player, not one to shy away from the dirty work in the centre, and he’s also equally as effective in attack. His strike against Barcelona in last season’s Champions League final is said to be one of the best left-footed strikes in history.

28 Diego Forlan Uruguay

Since his failure at Manchester Utd, Atletico Madrid striker Diego Forlan has gone on to be one of the most prolific strikers in the world. The Uruguayan scored over fifty goals in just over one hundred appearances for Villarreal, joint-winning the European Golden Boot with Thierry Henry [34]. Replacing Fernando Torres in Madrid, Atletico splashed out €21million for the striker where he has continued his fruitful goal-scoring bounty with sixty goals in just ninety-two appearances. When he plays, he usually scores, and he’ll no doubt be amongst the scoring this summer for his home nation.

27 Miloš Krasić Serbia

The Serbian midfielder has been recently placed on an international stage with CSKA’s successful run in this season’s Champions League, most notably scoring against Man Utd in the group stages. He is a target for a number of Premier League clubs, and the first impressions you get of the Serbian is of a remarkable similarity to Pavel Nedved. Bodily with his long blond hair he is evocative of the Czech midfield genius, but also in his style of play. He has speed, balance and a composure that constantly threatens opposition defences and would be a tremendous asset for any side in the Premier League, and is Serbia’s biggest attacking talent and is expected to impress on the grandest stage of them all.

26 James Milner England

Currently in the season of his life, James Milner has gone from a good player to an amazing player in the space of a few months, so much so he is being tipped for a starting berth for England at the World Cup. Many would’ve laughed if you even asked the question a few years ago, but week-by-week Milner becoming a main component of an English World Cup team is becoming more realistic. Similar in style to perhaps Steven Gerrard, Milner gets down to his job be it on either wing, in the centre where he has been so effective, or even filling in at full-back. Milner has been very productive in terms of assists and goals this year for Aston Villa, and has stood out as one of the best performing English players in the Premier League. Will he start? He’ll play some part no doubt, but one thing’s for sure Milner has turned into one of England’s most talented assets. A must-watch.

Tune in soon for part three of this four part series, as we enter the top twenty-five of the list. Making an appearance is a Champions League winning captain, a South African midfielder who lives close-by, and another red hot Spanish talent.

A late strike from Samuel Eto’o gave the Italian side a 1-0 win on the night to go through 3-1 on aggregate as Blues striker Didier Drogba saw red for lashing out at Thiago Motta.

The game was a scrappy affair throughout yet remained captivating viewing.

The home side created the better chances in an entertaining first half with Michael Ballack firing just wide, while Thiago Motta had to clear a Nicolas Anelka effort off the line.

Chelsea also felt they should have had a penalty when Walter Samuel wrestled Didier Drogba to the ground in the area, but referee Wolfgang Stark waved away the protests.

Mourinho had stated his intent by deploying a very attacking side, including a front three of Eto’o, Diego Milito and Goran Pandev, and they finally got going in the second half.

Twice Chelsea full back Yuri Zhirkov made excellent covering tackles to deny both Eto’o and Pandev, while Motta headed over having been left unmarked from a corner.

Milito wasted a golden opportunity to put his team ahead when he dragged a left foot shot wide having been played through by Wesley Sneijder.

As the game entered its final stages, Inter finally made the breakthrough when a ball over the top from the excellent Sneijder was controlled by Eto’o and he finished low to Turnbull’s right.

The Inter fans behind the goal celebrated in jubilant fashion, though Mourinho was more reserved in his reaction.

With little or no hope of getting back into the tie, frustration began to sink in for the hosts with yellow cards for Alex and John Terry and a red for Didier Drogba.

The Ivorian tangled with Thiago Motta in the area before appearing to stamp on the Brazilian and his Champions League campaign ended shamefully for the second year running.

“We were the best team by far,” said Mourinho afterwards.

“Chelsea is a great team, we know that and my team came here knowing very well how they play. We knew if we did not control the game by having the ball we would have no chance.

“We had the ball and we created the best chances and we should have scored before the goal. When we did score, Chelsea were completely out of the game. I thought everything was superior, not just our tactics but our attitude on the pitch.”

]]> http://backpagefootball.com/columnists/reports/chelsea-0-1-inter-agg-1-3/feed/ 1 http://backpagefootball.com/info/general/bundesliga-round-26/ http://backpagefootball.com/info/general/bundesliga-round-26/#comments Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:01:18 +0000 Martyn Fisher http://backpagefootball.com/?p=3881 A menu for the curry-house I visited two nights back. A packet of chewing gum. Two £1 coins, and a 10p piece. Those items are the contents of my trouser-pockets. Far more interestingly, SC Freiburg’s former Northwich Victoria, Halifax Town and Chesterfield left-back Felix Bastians had Arjen Robben in his pocket on Saturday.

FC Bayern Munich may well have prevailed by a 2-1 scoreline, but boy were they made to work for it. Although my criticism of Robben seemingly contradicts his scoring of a brace, both strikes were from set-pieces: he was marginalised for long periods of this clash. Facing a side content to kick, press and/or sit, Bayern spent too much of the game passing aimlessly amongst the defence and the dropping midfield pairing of van Bommel and Pranjic.

As the frequently bobbing pair of Olic and Klose grew more frustrated by the lack of leather in the final third, they dropped deeper in search of the ball. Thus, any quick, incisive attempts at through-balls bobbled harmlessly to the Freiburg goalkeeper, Pouplin (strong, brave, and agile: might he be France’s no. 3 GK at the World Cup?). 2-8-0 vs 4-6-0 isn’t the stuff dream-games are made of.

Ably flanked by Jäger and Makiadi, Bastians kept Robben at bay and forced Bayern to try and find gaps elsewhere. But after initial iffy dealings with the livewires Müller and cocksure David Alaba (a 17-year-old Viennese whirl who needs no invitation to carry-hurtle upfield), Mujdža and Abdessadki soon had that side of the pitch under their jurisdiction. With Flum breaking waves and unfussily bridging, Idrissou peeling out right, and Alaba unable to fully interpret proceedings, Freiburg started to threaten.

Mujdža and Abdessadki showed canny carrying abilities, great movement, and passages of play fully in tandem. The former is a far better option at right-back than the cumbersome, overly-safe Williams. However, it was on the left flank that Freiburg began the play that got ‘em a goal. Müller had joined Robben on Bayern’s right to try and instigate something/anything, thus pulling the team over as a whole. Freiburg broke the move down, worked it up towards van Buyten & co., and took advantage of 4 Bayern defenders congregating on the right-hand side of the box to float it to the other corner where Abdessadki nodded it on for Makiadi to welly home. The Bayern defence were as back-and-for as a drill at circuit-training: “To me, to you”, as Paul and Barry Chuckle would no doubt depict the situation.

Human beanstalk Sami Tuomas Hyypiä wasn’t able to place Yugoslav Mladen Petrić in his pocket. Hamburger SV fan-love and pre-match focuses were on Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuud – who worked quite effectively when dropping deep to through-ball in to auxiliary right-sided-striker duo Jansen and Petric – and the potential for the pair’s renewal of Liverpool-Manchester United duels. Alas, nostalgic EPL fans remained uncatered for – the LCB and LFW rarely crossed paths. The Finn’s Bayer 04 Leverkusen side may have triumphed 4-2 against Hamburg, but question marks remain over the state of Jupp Heynckes’s rearguard. As bubbly and urgent a midfield pairing Vidal and Castro make, they leave huge gaps to exploit when both surge.

Although Hyypiä hovers deeper than his defensive colleagues, he just hasn’t got the pace to cope when the likes of Petric home down on him. One such instance occurred after CM Ruud collected a spell of – Hamburg favourite – melina. The pass to Elia was incisive; the winger matched it in terms of his own distribution, feeding in Petric between the former Liverpool stalwart and Kadlec. Luckily for the hosts, the latter used his acceleration to gently nudge Petric’s still-decent effort off-target. Bayer’s back-line shoddiness was encapsulated by both goals Bruno Labbadia’s men netted. The first saw René Adler and Hyypia challenge for a going-nowhere floater and conspire to drop it. Thus, classy midfield-magician Zé Roberto walked in on cue to treat an empty net to a bit of ball (as Castro and Vidal watched on lazily). Later, 3-1 up and cruising (sans a suspended Kroos: Barnetta ran the game from the left-hand side instead), they switched off at a free-kick and allowed Rozenhal a slide at the back-post to render the game competitive again.

It was an exciting game; one of those clichéd great-advert-for-the-league ties. Both sides used such crazily high defensive lines (plus the visitors played Guy Demel: the slow, lazy, ball-watching epitome of uselessness), but the game rarely bordered on the farcical. Hamburg soon tired after their midweek excursions against Anderlecht in the Europa League (the pacy pairing of Kanu and Legear certainly kept the defence on its collective toes that night; while van Niistelrooy looked fatigued after giving the Belgian’s poor Mazuch a run-round). Correspondingly, Frank Rost looks less reliable by the game. Positionally suspect; flaps; feeling needless pressure when clearing after dithering – ‘checks’ to all. 24-year-old Bavarian deputy Wolfgang Hesl has seen infrequent playing time in spite of being a one-club-man. Yet 36-year-old East German Rost left Schalke after being replaced in the side by a younger, more able deputy. Leverkusen, who’s own twenty-something GK fuses the spectacular with drawing the filthiest of supporters’ vernacular, are relieved to have Kießling back in goal-scoring form (a brace), and have added a more streetwise facet to their game. Watch as they crumble under feather-lite touches in and around the opposition’s box. You make your own luck, so they say. Compound that with inch-perfect Augusto and Barnetta delivery (plus the always impressive contributions of Schwaab), and you’d be a fool to dismiss Leverkusen as mere second or third favourites for this championship.

After their rhymthic 4-1 victory last weekend (doubles in the first and last quarters with a sole concession mid-game), Schalke 04 went with a less goal-heavy but equally patterned performance on Friday night. Facing off against a Stuttgart side who would’ve had one eye on a certain contintental competition trip days later, the Gelsenkirchen side even clambered to the top of the standings (albeit temporarily). The game ended with a 2-1 scoreline, all the net-ripplers concentrated within a ten-minute period not long after the interval. 1-0, 1-1, 2-1. Kuranyi scoring? Check (although Lehmann could have shown more energy to block the square. In contrast, Neuer oozed enthusiasm and awareness: all on a weekend that saw yet more Adler cock-up’s). Late Rafinha booking? Check. Felix Magath side making the wholly unpredictable look more possible by the week? Check.

As ever, the bottom of the table lovingly catered for followers of the Bundesliga. And to get there, one only has to negate a single mid-table bout of nothingness! Saying that, if Mainz 05 (1-0 victors over FC Köln – no spotlight for Podolski to bother shining in this week!) keep up these sneaky little wins, they may yet nab a European spot. They beat a lacklustre team reliant on constant Mondragón bail-outs (at times the match felt like it was he versus Filip Trojan) despite losing Bance to an early red-card: he flailed an elbow at Geromel who was giving the Burkinabe an overzealous tickle mid-hold.

Eintracht Frankfurt won’t be penetrating Deutschland’s borders next season, that’s for certain. They were atrocious against Hannover 96 who easily made it two wins out of two with a 2-1 victory here. This feisty affair saw kicks of the ball given extra oomph as 44 lungs were made to work overtime. Save of the weekend came from Florian Fromlowitz’s backside: the boy is somewhat unconventional in his manner at times, but there’s no doubting his obvious talent and aptitude for preventing goals others couldn’t. Naturally, Die Roten had their comedic moments – be it Hanke’s hilarious lack of composure in front of goal during added-time; what looked to be VII members of their XI defending a late bombardment (by at this point, 9-man Die Adler) whilst lying on the floor; or their lack of defending as Leverkusen reject Pirmin Schwegler provided a telling cross that still favoured the 3 DEFENDERS but somehow saw each delegate and Altintop casually poach. Yet as Pinto’s coooool finish to make the score 2-1 represented, Hannover 96 have the attacking personnel to climb out of a hole they conspired to leap in.

I said the same of 1. FC Nuremberg last week. And to paraphrase Maggie T: this laddie is not for turning! In one of Europe’s most action-packed games (it’d be the, but Catania-Inter was flamin’ epic!), the capital-city-tourists emulated Hannover in making it 6 points from a possible 6: and surely relegating Hertha Berlin in the process. Sadly, the game will be recalled for all the wrong reasons. Headlines at home and abroad chose to focus on the pitch invasion of a hundred or so Berlin Ultras. A near 60k crowd had been treated to an equally riotous end-to-end episodic encounter prior to that unsavoury ending, and it’s a shame analysis has been removed from this.

Gekas is so positionally aware, hungry and incisive at laying that with someone less profligate than Ramos alongside him, Friedhelm Funkel’s men may have had this game wrapped up within thirty minutes. Die Alte Dame did eventually take the lead thanks to the Greek marksman, but thereafter Schäfer persistently showed strong hands to keep the goal tally at uno. Bunjaku peeled off Arne Friedrich with alarming ease to nod in a corner kick and draw the scores level, as the revitalized Southern mob made use of the chance to sit in the hosts’ box (they’d look penetrative on the counter-attack mind: Tavares-instigated zig-zag movements culminating in decent crosses). Artur Wichniarek then missed an absolute sitter from two yards out – the Pole seemingly trying to move his body away from the ball. And then, with the game stretched even more so than it had been for the previous 80-plus minutes, İlkay Gündogan found himself in the clear to square for another Greek to wind up in the right place at the right time. EURO 2004 legend Angelos Charisteas won the game for in-form Nuremberg.

Borussia Mönchengladbach really couldn’t be arsed against VfL Wolfsburg and were justifiably tonked 4-0. The scoreline could have been worse had the deposed champions not played less than 48 hours earlier in a nippy Tatarstan: holding Russian champions Rubin Kazan to a respectable 1-1 draw. Wolfsburg looked a tad embarrassed at the ease with which they could work neat little triangles, although Marcel Meeuwis was his usual robust self and Tobias Levels sought to inject some degree of urgency down the right-hand stretch of paint. Pub team opponents or not, Edin Džeko’s ability was plain for all to see. His two goals propelled him to second-place in the golden-boot standings, and he put in another showing that erased any lingering doubts as to whether he is truly a class act. So confident and comfortable with both feet, the powerful Bosnian always finishes with bundles of composure, and has that rare knack of looking like he has a plan whenever (and wherever) he receives the ball.

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim were again beaten at home. For weeks now, I’ve had them marked down as mid-table makeweights. Yet if several of the bottom sides continue their fine runs of form, the village side might just be made to pay for deciding to end their season about 15 rounds too soon. Nevertheless, destiny is in their own hands: they face-off against 1. FC Nürnberg and SC Freiburg in their next two encounters, and have a particularly cushy run-in (not that a cushy position in the league did anything for ambitions and focus). SV Werder Bremen were this weekend’s victors over Dietmar Hopp’s plaything. A 1-0 win was secured despite arriving off the back of a pulsating and absorbing Europa League game in the Estadio Mestalla just 3 days previously. That mature performance in Spain was (eventually somewhat tainted by a Marin dive) shown to be non-anomalous as Thomas Schaaf’s side defended with great discipline. The visitors showed no ill-effects of just having had to cope with the pacy interchanges of Silva, Villa, Pablo and so on: if anything, it aided them in dealing with the gelled threats of Ibisevic and Maicosuel.

Potential weariness counted for diddly squat when it came to working their match-securing strike however. On halfway, Almeida, Pasanen and Jensen trudged and nudged the ball about with all the verve of preparing for a game against a snail select-eleven. Presumably the home team’s right-sided pairing of Boris Vukčević and Raitala were too busy offering tactical advice to said molluscs: little else explains the lethargy shown in letting Bremen amble so easily with the ball. The latter of the Bremen trio eventually floated over a slow-dropper for Pizarro to take after diagonally creeping over to the left-hand side of the box. Trapping the ball with the motion of kung-fu kicker, he stunned everyone in the ground/country/world by showing composure on the finish: a cheeky lob over the onrushing Hildebrand!! Madness. A few words of advice to Ralf Rangnick – give Compper some defence-positioning training this week, please!

Werder Bremen look likely to snare a place in next season’s Europa League. And all-but-surely joining them will be Borussia Dortmund. 4-1 winners on the weekend, but discredit where discredit is due – VfL Bochum were shambolic. Concha used a spell of melina to feed Barrios clean through on-goal; Yahia clearly thought himself above marking/doing anything bar ball-watching; Heerwagen made a real meal of coming to collect a free-kick as the ball trickled in to an empty net; And so much attention was paid to forming perfect banks that the hosts forgot to render them solid. Dortmund passed through the gaps to team-mates roaming in the aces of space left between constructions. Resultantly, the scoring was doubled fairly soon-ish in this quasi-derby clash (quasi in that it pales next to the big ‘un vs Schalke: nevertheless, the Westfalenstadion is a mere twenty-five minute drive from Bochum). Nuri Şahin, who’d already assisted the opener via a FK, was relishing and making full use of the space available. He teed in Kuba for a jinxy Giggs-vs-Arsenal-in-the-FA-Cup-semi-final run, and the Pole’s clever *blind* lay-off allowed the red-hot Zidan to nonchalantly stroke home.

Lucas Barrios, purveyor supreme of being in the right place at the right time to tap in, added two further goals to the away side’s tally. Evertonian Lewis Holtby showed his class to pull the scores nearer, albeit to no avail. Possessor of numerous effective play-changing tricks and accurate passing whatever the pressure level, the on-loan Schalke man showed great composure after a timed in-behind dart to bury under the onrushing goalkeeper. His future may be bright, but the Die Unabsteigbaren’s (an already redundant nickname that expired in the 90s) immediate future may not be as they get sucked in to the relegation zone. It’s Werder Bremen away next, so one images Heiko Herrlich will be praying Valencia take Die Grün-Weißen to extra time in the Europa League this Thursday.

1 Bayern Munich 56
2 Schalke 54
3 Bayer Leverkusen 53

4 Borussia Dortmund 45
5 Hamburg 43
6 Werder Bremen 42
7 Mainz 38
8 Wolfsburg 37
9 VfB Stuttgart 35
10 Eintracht Frankfurt 35
11 TSG Hoffenheim 32
12 Borussia M’gladbach 30
13 Cologne 27
14 VfL Bochum 27
15 Nuremberg 24
16 Hannover 23
17 SC Freiburg 20
18 Hertha Berlin 15

The acquisition of the flying winger raised eyebrows with many predicting nothing more than bench warming duties at City, but Johnson has made quite an impression in the first team so far.

The fee was rumoured to be in the region of £8.5 million as City were forced to spend big to fend off rumoured interest from Manchester United and Chelsea.

He made his debut as a substitute for Stephen Ireland in the game against Hull City at the beginning of February and picked up the Man of the Match award after his first start against Bolton Wanderers just three days later.

Born in Sunderland, Johnson opened his scoring account for City with a stunning late equaliser against his hometown club at the weekend having come off the bench with less than twenty minutes remaining.

“If there was one place I probably wouldn’t have wanted to score my first goal, it would probably have been here,” Johnson told the Daily Mail.

“But I am just thankful I have finally got off the mark because I am a Manchester City player now.”

Johnson started out as a schoolboy with Middlesbrough and made his debut in 2005 against Sporting Lisbon in a Uefa Cup tie aged just 17, but had to wait six months to get a run in the Premiership.

Loan spells at Leeds United and Watford followed before he returned to the Riverside.

He found it difficult to dislodge England international Stewart Downing from the left wing position and was often used on the right hand side to great effect.

When Downing left to join Aston Villa last summer, Johnson became an integral part of the Boro team and his performances had top flight clubs watching with interest.

Capped 19 times at under 21 international level, he is seen as one of the next generation of up and coming England internationals.

With the World Cup fast approaching there is very little chance of Johnson making Fabio Capello’s final 23-man squad, though he was in the 30-man party for the recent friendly with Egypt.

He is optimistic about his chances of being on the plane to South Africa however, and admits the thought of playing at a World Cup contributed ot his January move.

“It wasn’t a big factor but when I signed there were all sorts of little things in my head and I knew that playing in the Championship I wasn’t going to be seen as much,” he told The Times.

“I needed to be playing on television most weeks and get talked about. It would be unbelievable to go to South Africa but I’ve got to concentrate on trying to play as well as I did on my [City] debut.

“If I do, hopefully I’ll have a sniff of a call-up.”

Chelsea v Inter Milan (Agg 1:2)

Everybody knows Mourinho doesn’t lose at Stamford Bridge – Jose Mourinho

Following his dismissal in 2007, Jose Mourinho, never shy of referring to himself in the third person,  makes his long awaited return to the Bridge as an opposing manager tonight as he brings Inter Milan to within ninety minutes of a last eight spot in this years Champions League. Mourinho’s welcome at the ground he used call home will be warm, both from playing staff and fans alike. During his time there, the Portuguese manager brought in two league titles, one FA Cup, two League Cups and a Charity Shield whilst also making Chelsea essentially unbeatable on their home patch.

There is a lot of feeling that the self-proclaimed “Special One” still feels jilted by Chelsea and that his heart is still with the club. On his way to a press conference this morning Mourinho, in his own inimitable style of likeable arrogance and barefaced cheek, stopped by a cabinet where a staff member has repeatedly hidden a packet of custard creams for himself over the years. Rifling through the cupboard, he eventually pulled out the biscuits and began to eat them throughout the conference, stopping after answering each question to pop another in his mouth. Although surreal, the incident provided further proof if needed that no one  knows the workings of the club quite like he does, a fact that he also hinted toward later as he sneakily made reference to Chelsea’s meagre trophy haul since his departure.

Mourinho has been relatively successful at Inter, like his time at Stamford Bridge, he has made the San Siro a fortress and based his two Serie A titles upon their dominance on their home turf. Despite these two league titles however, Mourinho may well be forced to nervously look over his shoulder should his side see their lead overturned tonight. His predecessor at Inter, Roberto Mancini was sacked despite winning three titles in a row, domestic success it seems is far from enough to satisfy Massimo Moratti and a demanding Inter boardroom.

If Inter are to hold on to their advantage tonight, a big improvement from their recent form will be required. The Nerazzuri have won just once in six games and have watched their eigh point lead at the top of Serie A disintegrate to a single point. The club have also failed to win any of their last nine Champions League knockout games away from home meaning that progression tonight is far from guaranteed, especially since Chelsea have netted in each of their last twelve European home games.

Carlo Ancelotti has been thorough in neutralizing the hype Mourinho’s retun has resulted in, claiming it will have absolutely no effect on his players. Like his opposing manager tonight, Ancelotti fully understands the importance of European success for his club and more so the implications that failure to gain it will likely bring. His side will feel hard done by following the result from the first leg, but the Italian will be confident that his side showed enough about them that night to feel that they will be able to overcome their opponents tonight. The Blues need only to scoe once and keep a clean sheet in order to progress, ironically it was this very scoreline that became like a trademark to Mourinho’s time there.

As always, Didier Drogba will be a key man for Chelsea. The Ivorian was excellently bottled up by Lucio and Walter Samuel in the first leg, something that few defences have been able to manage but to do it all over again for another ninety minutes will be a tough ask. For Inter, Diego Milito, who opened the scoring three weeks ago, may well pose their biggest threat. Amazingly, the Argentinan has taken seven shots in this years competition, each of them finding the net.

Chelsea will remain without Petr Cech, who picked up a muscle injury in the first leg and third choice goalkeeper Ross Turnbull will continue in goal seeing as henrique Hilario has also been ruled out. Aside from that Chelsea have no fresh injury concerns.

Inter Milan face also face no new concerns  but will be without young striker Mario Balotelli having been left behind on “tactical grounds”. More than likely there is a story behind this, especially since the relationship between the striker and the club’s management and fans has been anything but rosey.

Sevilla v CSKA Moscow (Agg 1:1)

Regardless of the outcome of this tie, history is set to be made tonight as one of these two clubs will enter the quarter final stage of the Champions League for the first time in their history.

The sides could not be separated three weeks ago as a second half strike from CSKA midfielder Mark Gonzalez cancelled out Alvaro Negredo’s opener.

Sevilla hold the upper hand in the tie, having bagged an all important away goal and welcoming opponents who have only just kicked off their domestic season following the Russian winter to a ground where they have won all but one of their last seven European ties. They have also been boosted by the availability of star striker Luis Fabiano (pictured, right), who played last weekend’s game against Deportivo la Coruna in La Liga.

Despite the fact that CSKA have not kept a clean sheet in their last fifteen games in Europe, they may well take heart in the fact that they have never been beaten by Spanish opposition (two wins, two draws).

The win puts Braga level on points with Benfica, but ahead on goal difference, although the Lisbon side play their game in hand against Nacional today.

The sides have been neck and neck for most of the current campaign and are locked on 55 points as they come into the business end of the season.

Andres Madrid struck the only goal of the game after 16 minutes as Braga maintained their unbeaten home record this season.

If Braga can win the title it will be the first ever league honours in the club’s history. Their only other trophy of note was the 1966 Portuguese Cup, though they were one of the Intertoto Cup winners in 2008.

]]> http://backpagefootball.com/columnists/reports/photo-special-sporting-de-braga-1-0-rio-ave/feed/ 0 http://backpagefootball.com/columnists/matchday-diary-milan-mauling/ http://backpagefootball.com/columnists/matchday-diary-milan-mauling/#comments Sun, 14 Mar 2010 11:34:42 +0000 Ed Diggins http://backpagefootball.com/?p=3885 Wednesday morning and it’s AC Milan time, you just got to love these days. Today will be a long one. I leave the house about 11 in the morning and head for Rathmines to collect tickets for a friend who is already over there. The demand for this game is huge and for some reason, I have found myself in the situation where I will have to meet 12 different people today with tickets. Be it swaps for this game or bringing the season cards back for Sunday’s Fulham game, it is going to be a busy day too.

My travel companions are Eoin (I know it is getting boring now, but I have to repeat, we still have a 100% winning rate!) and Simon. We are flying via a 2.00pm flight to Birmingham from Dublin. The normally reliable Air Coach is running 40 minutes late, but we arrive in enough time to have one pint at the departure gate. I am relaxed about today, the 3-2 win in Milan should see us through, but you never know. Defeat would be a disaster, this is a position we should not and I think will not lose. The flight is full, with the majority of them heading to the game. My resident stalker Mr. Soft is on the flight along with four or five other lads that can be seen regularly on trips. Birmingham is starting to become more and more popular for games.

Fast forward and three hours later, following a smooth flight and a two hour train trip, we are in our normal pre match position. Outside the offies just beside the ground. Tickets have to be distributed and I am haunted, as everybody arrives at pretty much the same time. It all goes smoothly and is a massive weight off my mind. Time to relax now.

Colin, Emmett and Damian join us but the Old Bill are on a mission today and that is to hand out £50 fines to anybody caught drinking on the streets, which is thousands of people. This is the first time ever we have seen this and it is very very strange. First comes a warning, then a confiscation and then a fine. Colin hits A.S.B.O. level two and the Cavan man has his wife-beating Strongbow taken off him. He is not impressed, but the rest of us are luckier and save for a few dirty looks from the cops, we are left alone.

As we head to the ground, the must have and now well patented dirty bridge burger is consumed and it is all systems go. We are moved today to the East Stand, due to the advertising needs of UEFA. It is a load of s*ite and we would all love to be back in our normal Stretford end seats, but there is nothing we can do. The stewards are even worse than at our end, asking us to sit down every two minutes, citing the woman behind us not being able to see the match. United begin very well and Rooney has an effort just wide. Ronaldinho heads inches past the right hand post soon after. Close call. Milan grow in confidence and I am starting to get edgy.

Moments later, the tie is over. The much maligned Gary Neville sends in a glorious cross and Rooney nods in. Milan never raise a gallop after this. The rest of the half is fairly tame. I honestly cannot recall anything happening at either end. Two things are noticeable however, Park Ji Sung is having a cracking game through the middle and Gary Neville is also doing well, for once!

Within seconds of the restart it’s 2-0. Nani plays Rooney through after the Milan defence is sloppy and Rooney knocks home for his 30th of the season. Gary standing two seats away from me proceeds to somehow head butt me during the celebration, almost breaking my nose. I ensure that I am well away from him when Park knocks in number three a few minutes later, from Scholes crisp pass. It’s 6-2 on aggregate now and it is party time; David Beckham is warming up and is now getting more attention than the other 22 players on the pitch. The ‘Love United, Hate Glazer’ anthems are taking off big time also.

Between this and the Beckham love fest, the game becomes a sideshow. As he enters the fray, he gets an unbelievable reception, too good. I join in but I will not be singing his name, there are players in the red shirts that need supporting first, sentiment can wait for another time. How much of a farce the game becomes is shown by the fact that some United fans around us are urging him to shoot every time he gets the ball. They appear disappointed when he goes close, but fails to score. I cannot understand it, but as Fletcher makes it 4-0, those lads do not get their wish. News is filtering through that Madrid need two goals to go through and as we leave the ground, it is confirmed that they are out. Sweet, tops off a terrific night.

Tickets (all United season tickets are swipe cards and not paper tickets) are re-exchanged after the game and we sprint off into town to make the last air coach up to Liverpool airport. We get an offer at the stop of an eight seat cab for 80 euro and four Milan fans join us. We have good conversation on the way up and the Italian lads feel that United have the best team in Europe. High praise indeed. They are in a state of depression about the future of their club; you can see where they are coming from.

Tonight’s accommodation is being provided by the airport floor. It is about midnight as we settle into our beloved prayer room and while it is not exactly the Ritz, it will do the job for a few short hours. As the night progresses, the crowd in the tiny yet sacred room grows and come 4am, the place is full of Irish lads, all United fans. My sleep time is over as the chorus of snoring is unbearable. We head off to the departure lounge. Our flight is boarding soon anyway so all is not lost. A bunch of Irish lads make idiots of themselves by discussing Bob Geldof, Ethiopia and the like within earshot of half the airport. Flight boards on time and its homeward bound. We are all due in work, but we do not mind, it is easy to face a day’s work when it is a victory.

As I hit the LUAS home after the Air Coach, another successful trip is coming to an end. Next Sunday is the big one. After last year’s disaster, this one better go our way. Until then, L.U.H.G.

With an astonishing 89 days before South Africa and Mexico kick-off the 19th World Cup in Johannesburg on June 11th, BPF hand pick fifty players everyone will have to keep an eye out for in a four-part series. From some of the world’s top players, to some emerging talent, to some national favourites, these fifty players will be a must-watch bunch this summer.

50 Shinji Okazaki Japan

We kick-off the Top 50 with a virtually unknown striker in this side of the world, Shinji Okazaki. The 23-year-old plies his trade with J1 side Shimizu S-Pulse where he’s bagged twenty-nine goals in ninety games. But what makes the exciting young forward interesting is he was named the World’s Top Goal Scorer in 2009 by the IFFHS for his fifteen international goals throughout the calendar year, more than any other international player. Another interesting fact is Okazaki has never been on the losing side of a Japanese game in which he’s scored in, a record that runs ten games. That’s what makes Shinji the man to watch out for in the white of Japan this summer.

49 Leo Bertos New Zealand

Another unknown name makes the list, New Zealand midfielder Leo Bertos. It was his corner that set up the goal that would send New Zealand to the World Cup. Bertos is known for his dribbling and dazzling ball skills. This was shown in a game against Brazil game when he dribbled around two defenders to win a corner, before getting a tap on the back from a Brazilian opponent for his effort. The twenty-eight year old has had spells all over England, and currently plays down under with Wellington Phoenix. Thanks to his stunning skill on the ball, Leo is the man to watch out for when the All Whites kick-off their campaign against Slovakia on the 15^th of June.

48 Zoran Tošić Serbia

The twenty-two year old might not yet be established in the Manchester Utd squad, but he is firmly in Serbia’s plans after their qualification for the competition ahead of France and Austria in Group 7. The exciting left winger is currently on loan at German side Köln, where he’s played five games since joining up in January. Tošić has notched four goals for the Serbs thus far, including a double against World Cup hosts South Africa last August.

47 Carlos Vela Mexico

Arsenal’s Mexican sensation has been banging in the goals regularly since topping the 2005 FIFA U’17 World Cup with five goals. Arsenal fans have only seen Vela’s ability on occasion, but at twenty-one he is held in high esteem by Arsene Wenger and the players at the Emirates. In the Gold Cup final, Vela was brought on at half time with the score deadlocked at 0–0 against the USA. Vela’s inclusion immediately impacted the game, as Mexico ended up 5-0 winners with Vela providing the pass to Giovani Dos Santos for the first penalty, creating the second goal, scoring the third and assisting the fourth.

46 Lee Chung-Yong South Korea

Bolton’s South Korean midfielder has turned out to be a true gem since his arrival from FC Seoul last summer. At just twenty-one years of age, Lee has established himself as one of the most exciting young Premier League players with four goals in just twenty three appearances at the Reebok Stadium. His impressive displays with the South Koreans in the U-20 World Cup in 2007 against sides like Brazil and USA were rumoured to have caught attention from a number of Europe’s top sides, before Bolton managed to sweep in and pick him up. Chung-Yong was one of his nation’s most important players as they grasped World Cup qualification for a record seventh consecutive time.

45 Ki Sung-Yong South Korea

For South Koreans, when you have Lee Chung-Yong you must tag him with fellow young star Ki Sung-Yong.  The pair is affectionately known as “Double Dragon” in their home country after their meteoric rise together with FC Seoul and taking their football to Europe this past season. Ki plays with Celtic after a transfer was agreed last August, but due to the K-League season he only joined up this January where he’s already played eight games. Ki is known for technique and vision on the ball, and is particularly dangerous from set pieces. Both he and Lee Chung-Yong are a must watch at the World Cup in their group against the Netherlands, Denmark and Cameroon.

44 Charlie Davies USA

America’s exciting young striker has had a couple of setbacks in his career, none bigger than the car crash he was involved in last October. But the Sochaux forward is up there as one of the US’ biggest stars and is expected to return with a bang this summer. Davies set a number of high school and college records. Instead of drafting with an MLS team, Davies decided to fare his career in Europe where he now plays with French side Sochaux. Due to his crash, Charlie has only made six appearances where he’s scored twice, but has netted four international goals in seventeen for Team USA.

43 Tim Cahill Australia

Socceroos star Cahill came to prominence during Millwall’s FA Cup run of 2005 that saw them reach the final where they lost to Manchester United. He subsequently joined Everton for a bargain £1.5 million and has become something of a legend at Goodison Park. Averaging roughly a goal every four games, Cahill knows where the net is and has also banged in 19 goals in just 37 internationals for Australia.  The Sydney-born star is a renowned header of the ball and will looking to repeat his World Cup performance of 2006 where he bagged a brace against Japan in the group stages.

42 Lukas Podolski Germany

German striker Podolski is a strange one. His record at international level is superb (70 games, 37 goals), yet he couldn’t get in the Bayern Munich team on a regular basis and returned to his home town club of Köln last summer. He has hardly set the world alight there either, scoring just twice in twenty games, but he remains an integral part of the national side. He bagged three goals in the 2006 World Cup, and made the 23-man Squad of the Tournament for Euro 2008 after scoring another three goals in that competition.

41 Ashley Cole England

Will he be fit? That’s the burning question at the moment. Cole is arguably the best left back in the world, and with Wayne Bridge opting not to make himself available for World Cup selection, England are basically screwed if he fails to recover from injury in time. The next in line for the position, Leighton Baines and Stephen Warnock, don’t even come close to matching Cole’s all round ability and the team would be very much weakened without him. Rarely puts in a bad performance, is solid in defence, and contributes well in attack. If only he was so flawless off the field.

40 Eljero Elia Netherlands

Hamburg winger Eljero Elia exploded onto the view in his home nation at a very early age. Beginning in the Netherlands U19 team in 2005, Elia was also selected by Bert van Marwijk for the senior national Dutch team’s friendly encounter with England. Elia made his debut for Holland against Japan where his first match for Oranje went very well, with assists in the 3-0 victory. In just his second match, Elia scored the only goal in a win over Scotland. Elia is known for his pace and attacking skills, and plays mostly up front or out wide.

39 Jozy Altidore USA

The American forward burst onto the scene at last summer’s Confederations Cup and managed to net a goal against European Champions Spain. With his massive frame and powerful physique, you’ll be surprised to know the Hull City striker is just twenty-years-old, and has already made an astonishing twenty-eight appearance for the States. Altidore is on loan from Villareal, where he joined from New York Red Bulls with fifteen goals in the MLS. Along with Davies [44], Altidore is one of the United States’ brightest stars and is expected to impress in South Africa.

38 Ramires Brazil

The first Brazilian on the list, and certainly not the last is Benfica midfielder Ramires Santos do Nascimento. The exciting young midfielder was an ever present in last summer’s Confederations Cup, as well as having a huge part to play in Brazil’s path to World Cup qualification. Ramires’ has become an integral part of the Benfica midfield and has already become a fan favourite at the club, as well as being regarded as one of the top players in the Portuguese Liga. Ramires is expected to play a huge starting role for Brazil as they go in search of winning their sixth World Cup.

Tune in tomorrow for the second part of our series, as we introduce the first goalkeeper in the list, a marauding South American full-back and probably the most controversial player who will line out in South Africa. No prizes for guessing who it is!

Last weekend’s FA cup commitments meant that Chelsea had to sit back and watch as their position at the top was first matched and then overtaken. The current situation at the summit of the league promises for one of the most interesting title run-ins in years: Manchester United are the present holders of pole position, two points ahead of both Chelsea and Arsenal, although the Blues have a game in hand on both their rivals. This weekend sees the top three in action against teams where three points would be fully expected but with the nature of this season’s league, it is impossible to confidently forecast that all three will come through unscathed.

Chelsea are the first team of the three in action as they kick off at 3pm on Saturday against West Ham. Despite last weekend’s comfortable win against Stoke City in the FA Cup, the minds of a lot of Chelsea supporters will still be focusing on the 4-2 defeat to Manchester City two weeks ago and Carlo Ancelotti will be eager for his team to get back to winning ways in this game, especially since they face a tough showdown against Inter Milan in the Champions League this coming week. The Chelsea bosses mind may be looking somewhat forward to that game but he can ill-afford to rest any regulars given the level of competition there is at the top end of the Premier League. Last year’s corresponding fixture resulted in a 1-1 draw, a result that would be huge success for the Hammers this time round but a disaster for the boys from Knights Road.

Chelsea have already been dealt a massive blow in losing Petr Cech to injury two weeks ago, but to lose his replacement this week was particularly unfortunate. Portuguese stand in Hilario was a long way from inspiring confidence to the Chelsea team but now that third choice keeper Ross Turnbull, signed on a free transfer from Middlesbrough in the summer, is set to come in, it will be interesting to see how they cope. Added to Cech and Hilario on the treatment table are Ricardho carvalho, Michael Essien, Jose Bosingwa and Ashley Cole. For the Hammers, danny Gabbidon and Benni McCarthy are both fit to return if needed. Mark Noble, Herita Ilunga and Zavon Hines are still out.

Arsenal face into a late kick-off on Saturday evening as they travel to nineteenth place Hull City. There is no love lost between these sides or their respective managers with last season’s on-pitch fracas where Cesc Fabregas was accused of spitting at a Hull coach after walking on to the field at the end of the game (pictured left) despite being injured still strongly in the minds of many at both clubs. Both clubs were also fined for failing to control their players in the game at the Emirates held just before Christmas also. Fabregas is a major doubt to take part in this game however following the hamstring injury picked up last in last weekend’s win over Burnley.

Aside from their precarious position in the league, Hull had other problems this week as Jimmy Bullard and local boy Nicky Barmby squared up to each other during a “light” training session in midweek. Hull boss Phil Brown it is already water under the bridge and that there are no divisons in his squad but this was far from ideal preparation for a game against an Arsenal side in top form having humiliated Porto 5-0 on Tuesday night. Arsene Wenger will be fearing typical rough tactics that his side have come to expect when facing league strugglers and will be keen to put the game to bed early if at all possible. Like Chelsea, Arsenal have a host if injury concerns – as mentioned captain Cesc Fabregas looks set to miss out, as does William Gallas (calf) and Bakary Sagna (ankle). Centre-half Thomas Vermaelen faces a late fitness test. Long term absentees still include Robin van Persie, Aaron Ramsey and Johan Djorou. Alex Song is suspended. For Hull, Andy Dawson is welcomed back while Stephen Hunt is a doubt.

Manchester United are the last of the top three to go into action and may wel be looking to jump back from third place to top spot with a win against Fulham. United will have a score to settle after falling to a 3-0 loss against the Cottagers before Christmas. United were forced to play with Michael Carrick and darren Fletcher in defense that day, but will have almost a full squad to pick from this time around. Both clubs had differing fortunes in Europe this week, United battered AC Milan 4-0 while Fulham slumped to a 3-1 defeat in Turin against Juventus. Fulham have gone undefeated in their last five Premier League outings and despite their poor away record, will still represent a big challenge for the Red Devils.

United are set to replace Paul Scholes with Michael Carrick, who sat out the midweek game due to suspension. Ryan Giggs and Owen Hargreaves are both back in training but most likely will not feature quite yet. Fulham face a worry over midfielder Danny Murphy, so often the scourge of United in the Past. He will face a late fitness test on a groin injury while Clint Dempsey may come back after two months on the sidelines with a knee injury.

Equally as exciting as the race for top spot is the battle going on to take fourth. Liverpool’s slip-up against Wigan on Monday night was a big blow to their hopes, especially with rivals Manchester City, Aston Villa and Tottenham in such good form. Pool host bottom side Portsmouth on Monday night as they try to hang in with a shout. Spurs play Blackburn early on Saturday, while Man City must travel to the Stadium of Light to take on a Sunderland side fresh from their first win in fourteen attempts following a comprehensive win over Bolton in midweek. Aston Villa, who have played three games less than Liverpool, two less than City and one less than Spurs set about clearing their backlog with two games this week. The first sees them take on Stoke at the Brittania stadium followed by a tough trip to the DW Stadium to face Wigan in midweek. Interesting times.

There are two particularly interesting ties at the bottom this weekend as Bolton host Wigan and Wolves travel to Burnley. Following some decent results of late, Wigan and Bolton are able to breathe a little more comfortably than the rest of their fellow strugglers but nether side will be keen to see what effect a defeat in their clash will have on their subsequent league position. Wolves and Burnley sit either side of the elegation spots despite both being locked on 24 points. Wolves sit outside the relegation spots only by virtue of having a better goal difference although they have played a game more. A win for either side will be essential to their hopes of survival. Burnley hold the edge in this one given their strong home form and Wolves’ dismal run of results on their travels.

This week’s fixture list in full:

Saturday 13th March

12:45 Tottenham vs Blackburn

15:00 Birmingham vs Everton

15:00 Bolton vs Wigan

15:00 Burnley vs Wolverhampton

15:00 Chelsea vs West Ham

15:00 Stoke vs Aston Villa

17:30 Hull vs Arsenal

Sunday 14th March

13:30 Man Utd vs Fulham

16:00 Sunderland vs Man City

Monday 15th March 20:00

Liverpool vs Portsmouth

Tuesday 16th March

19:45 Wigan vs Aston Villa

Saturday 13th March
Barclays Premier League
12:45	Tottenham vs Blackburn
15:00	Birmingham vs Everton
15:00	Bolton vs Wigan
15:00	Burnley vs Wolverhampton
15:00	Chelsea vs West Ham
15:00	Stoke vs Aston Villa
17:30	Hull vs Arsenal
Sunday 14th March
Barclays Premier League
13:30	Man Utd vs Fulham
16:00	Sunderland vs Man City
Monday 15th March
Barclays Premier League
20:00	Liverpool vs Portsmouth
Tuesday 16th March
Barclays Premier League
19:45	Wigan vs Aston Villa

It feels weird not having to scrape a team together, and if anything it has been difficult to pick a team because there are too many players that could do a job.

Aston Villa’s double gameweek makes their players an obvious choice for inclusion, and we have replaced Wolves’ Jody Craddock with James Collins.

He joins fellow team mate Carlos Cuellar in the team, and while having two defenders from the same team is quite a risk, if they keep two clean sheets it will have been well worth it.

The only injury doubt at the moment is Cesc Fabregas and as a result the captaincy has been handed over to Manchester United’s in form striker Wayne Rooney.

He is one of three United players in the side alongside Darren Fletcher and Patrice Evra, and they could all score highly at home to Fulham.

The return of both Didier Drogba and Carlos Tevez after a week off is a massive boost and, along with Rooney, they make up an extremely potent forward line.

Joe Hart takes over from Thomas Sorensen in goal due to Birmingham City’s good home record and is joined by Roger Johnson in the side, though Lee Bowyer drops to the bench alongside Stoke’s Matthew Etherington and Portsmouth’s Jamie O’Hara.

Last week’s points haul of 38 points wasn’t too bad considering only eight players actually played.

Fabregas started so well as captain, scoring in the first half for Arsenal, but limped off shortly after.

Defenders Leighton Baines and Patrice Evra chipped in nicely, while Jamie O’Hara picked up an assist and two bonus points for Pompey.

The team currently sits in 39,667th position out of a total of 2,283,731 teams.

Team for Gameweek 30 -