The European leagues resumed this weekend after a hectic quasi-end to World Cup qualifying. The Spanish league got a bit tighter at the top, while in ye olde England, Manchester United sneaked atop the Premiership as the other challengers lost some footing. Some serious footing.
In the Iberian Peninsula…
Barcelona faced the most daunting of fixture dilemmas – with Ibrahimovic and Henry injured, the visit to the Mestalla promised little. While the Azulgrana dominated possession, the quadruplets of center midfiedlers, Keyta, Toure, Iniesta, and Xavi failed to create any width whatsoever. The Valencia defense, ever so studious, played the slide rule pass and Barcelona resorted to thumping free kicks into walls. It was that kindof game. And it ended 0-0.
Meanwhile, all is not well at Madrid. Florentino Perez spent serious money 
on big name signings and I bought their jerseys! Yet Pellegrini refuses to play them every match. True, Ronaldo is injured, but not even Kaka got a start. Instead, Raul clinically finished two early crosses, Marcelo momentarily made you recall Roberto Carlos with a bombastic shot, and Gonazlo Higuain did what Gonzalo Higuain does – chipped the keeper after a nifty sliderule pass. Madrid won 4-2, but Perez is furious, Pellegrini´s job is in danger, and my Kaka jersey is collecting dust. Umpf.
In the British Isles…
This weekend was a war of attrition. And by “war of attrition,” I mean lots of boring and lowscoring games. Didier Drogba continued his molten lava form for Chelsea, proving that a ponytail may make you less of a man, but certainly not less of a prima donna footballer. Still, despite some darty Deco runs, the Blues far post offered an open invitation to all suiters. And two Villains rsvp´d to the tune of a 2-1 victory.
At the Emirates, Arsenal chiseled out a 2-1 victory over Birmingham. Robin Van Persie continued his curious habit of heading far post crosses backwards as opposed to on frame. Tomas Rosicky, the alleged target of said passes, scuffed both his shots. However, Alex Song played a ball to Van Persie´s feet, as opposed to his head, and the Dutchman instinctively cut inside and drilled his shot far post. If he could only get his head on straight. Arsenal won 2-1.
At Old Trafford, Dimitar Berbatov celebrated the birth of his first child by wasting a series of quality goalscoring chances. United´s opening goal came at the ends of Bolton, as defender Zat Knight inexpliably bumbled a simple clearance into his own goal. This of course set off an inquisition into the number of own goals conceded by visiting sides at Old Trafford, with the conclusion that any and every statistic must be surmised to depict United as cheats.
But no number can calculate the brilliance of Antonio Valencia´s first Red Devils goal, a neat give and go with Gary Neville to buffer a 2-0 lead. Well, perhaps the number one. However, United soon let the sails down too early, as Bolton grabbed a goal and Cahill came within inches of snatching a draw but…for… the return of everyone´s favorite Edwin Van der Saar. The Dutchman, who has been stealing cookies from the cookie jar since conception, stretched mightily to keep the powerful header out. And United won 2-1.
With Torres and Gerrard injured, Liverpool relied upon the physically 
imposing and laser quick Dirk Kuyt to lead the attack. And they predictably failed to score. However, Sunderland´s goal came in dubious circumstances – a fan tossed a beach ball onto the pitch, slightly deflecting Darren Bent´s shot. And the dubiosity? Not one Scouser demonstrated the playful character to toss the beach ball back into the stands. Shame on you! Liverpool lost the game 1-0, but also lost a lot of beach ball enthusiast´s respect.
“Arsenal won 2-1″
Hmm…. I thought it was 3-1.
Woopsie – my mind is still grappling with the fact that Arsenal scored so many goals without their Belgium defender netting a hat trick. Thanks for the factcheck.
I just hope it doesn’t derail Vermaelen’s bid for the golden boot.