Wee. Long hiatus over. I think.

Headlines.

SUNDERLAND SINK INTO DROPZONE
Sunderland 1 Cisse 11
Bolton Wanderers 4 Taylor 17, Cahill 21, Elmander 39, 55

FULHAM HOLD ON FOR POINT
Aston Villa 0
Fulham 0

TYNE-TEES DERBY ENDS GOALLESS
Middlesbrough 0
Newcastle United 0

TWO NEWCOMERS SHARE SPOILS
Stoke City 1 Fuller 73pen
Hull City 1 King 45

WIGAN'S LATE RESCUE ACT
Wigan Athletic 2 Camara 61, Boyce 87
West Bromwich Albion 1 Miller 47

10-MAN RED DEVILS CLAIM BRAGGING RIGHTS
Manchester City 0
Manchester United 1 Rooney 42, Ronaldo sent off 68

POMPEY SCRAPE VICTORY
Portsmouth 3 Crouch 49, Defoe 53, Davis 79
Blackburn Rovers 2 Derbyshire 62, Tugay 67

TOFFEES CLINCH NARROW WIN
Tottenham Hotspur 0
Everton 1 Pienaar 51

STAMFORD BRIDGE BREACHED AGAIN
Chelsea 1 Djourou 29og
Arsenal 2 van Persie 59, 62

LIVERPOOL STRUGGLE TO DRAW
Liverpool 0
West Ham United 0

Manchester Derby Review
MAN CITY 0-1 MAN UTD

Man City's Best Player-- Shaun Wright-Phillips
Didn't pose his usual attacking threat but was always at the right place at the right time. Made several crucial defensive tackles even though he is a winger and not a defender. Always kept running for the City cause and didn't deserve to be on the losing side.

Man Utd's Best Player-- Wayne Rooney
Not only did he bag the winning goal in the 151st competitive Manchester derby, he was also full of work ethic like Wright-Phillips, popping back to help out in defence and holding up the ball well to waste time to preserve United's lead, after Ronaldo had been sent off.

Man City's Zero-- Robinho
The big-name Brazilian signing had scored against Chelsea and Arsenal earlier on in the season but posed almost zero attacking threat to the United goal, apart from a couple of long-range free-kicks which went well wide. His possible influence in the game alongside Cristiano Ronaldo was highly anticipated but in the end both were disappointing.

Man Utd's Zero-- Cristiano Ronaldo
Made more attacking impact compare to Robinho, but got himself unnecessarily sent off (though admitted quite harshly) by the referee, first for a tackle which didn't deserve a yellow card, but warranted a yellow card for his reaction, sarcastically clapping the ref, and the second for deliberate handball after he claimed he heard a whistle. Put his team under unnecessary pressure, though they managed to hold on quite comfortably.

Best Moment: In stoppage-time and a last-gasp chance for City to maybe rescue a point, goalkeeper Joe Hart went up to the other end of the pitch for a City corner. After a goalmouth scramble, City captain Richard Dunne's shot was cleared off the line, then the ball broke to United. Joe Hart somehow managed to run back the distance of the pitch (no less than 80 yards) to keep out Rooney's superb effort from 45 yards. Guess who else ran the distance from one end to other to try and clear it off the line? Shaun Wright-Phillips.

Other Headlines
CRISTIANO RONALDO WINS BALLON D'OR (European Player of the Year)

Carling Cup Quarterfinals Round-up

Burnley 2
Arsenal 1

Stoke City 0
Derby County 1

Watford 1
Tottenham Hotspur 2

Manchester United 5
Blackburn Rovers 3

Teams in semifinal draw: Burnley (II), Derby (II), Spurs, Man Utd

Teams are in BPL unless indicated by Roman numerals

Next BPL Matchday (Predictions in brackets)
Fulham v Manchester City at Craven Cottage (1-1)
Blackburn Rovers v Liverpool at Ewood Park (1-2)
Arsenal v Wigan Athletic at Emirates Stadium (3-0)
Bolton Wanderers v Chelsea at Reebok Stadium (0-1)
Hull City v Middlesbrough at K.C. Stadium (2-1)
Newcastle United v Stoke City at St James Park (0-0)
Manchester United v Sunderland at Old Trafford (3-0)
West Bromwich Albion v Portsmouth at The Hawthorns (2-2)
Everton v Aston Villa at Goodison Park (1-0)
West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur at Upton Park (1-2)

Joel at 12/04/2008 05:36:00 PM :: link

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