Tottenham Hotspurs on Saturday recorded a legendary win over their city rivals Chelsea to lift their first major trophy in more than eight years. The 2-1 victory at the new Wembley meant that boss Juande Ramos further added to his remarkable record of cup titles; collecting his fifth silver-ware in a row, after an impressive spell with Spanish side Sevilla.

It was the north Londoners who began the game with more intent when Irish striker Robbie Keane broke free with less than a minute on the clock to force a defensive intervention from Chelsea captain John Terry. They should have gone in front a few moments later when, first, Pascal Chimbonda’s header rattled the wrong side of the crossbar before, within sixty seconds, lethal forward Dimitir Berbatov headed wide after a perfect Keane cross.

The Blues only needed one or two half-chances to revitalize their performance. And it wasn’t too long before they broke Tottenham hearts when Didier Drogba dusted himself from a challenge by namesake Didier Zakora before finding the bottom left-hand corner of the goal. Former England first-choice goalkeeper Paul Robinson was left stranded, although, perhaps, he could have been better positioned.

The 39th minute Drogba strike did not deter a determined Spurs. Almost immediately from the re-start, Robbie Keane shot straight at Chelsea’s Czech goalkeeper Peter Cech before Berbatov uncharacteristically slipped at the final minute, failing to connect to yet another Keane teaser.

Chelsea’s eyes were glistening with the lustrous League Cup, which they so rudely snatched from their other city rivals Arsenal a year ago. It was only until deep in the second phase when an equalizer was sought by Spurs. One of Aaron Lennon’s increasingly desperate antics ended up in a Tottenham penalty after Wayne Bridge merely handled in the box. And monumental Berbatov made no mistake in slotting home his first ever League Cup goal with twenty minutes left to go.

An era thus began; one of unrelenting pressure from Spurs, led by Zakora in the middle, Lennon down wide and the brilliant Keane-Berbatov combination upfront. This led to the frequent stinging of Cech’s hands before the referee’s intervention with the final whistle.

And it looked like the constant bombardment of the Chelsea keeper did pay off after all, when, with just a few minutes played in extra-time, Cech punched a Jermaine Jenas free-kick straight into the destructive forehead of Jonathan Woodgate, who gave Spurs their deserving lead.

Woodgate, partnerd by fellow English-man Ledley King, then went on to defend resiliently against any Chelsea attack, making sure that the trophy goes to north London.

The defeat shatters Chelsea’s hopes of an illustrious quadruple; but still leaves them in contention of the other big three. The Tottenham board will be feeling very elated as thing seem to have shaken up at White Hart Lane after their appointment of the Spanish master tactician.

Arsenal fell under a curse from the Red Devils on Saturday evening after an enthralling performance by the hosts. A comprehensive 4-0 thumping at the hands of their fiercest rivals was enough to deter Arsenal spirits ahead of an equally crucial encounter against continental giants AC Milan later in the week.

What has been described as a ‘virtuoso’ performance by England wonder-kid Wayne Rooney proved to be a little too elusive for the gunners as the comeback-kid wreaked havoc in the visitor’s shaky defense. It was a sixteenth minute corner from the tunnel-end of Old Trafford that sparked everything. A well-positioned Rooney reacted quickest to a lose ball in the penalty area; and his header was too well-place for a hapless Jens Lehmann, even with two men on either post.

Perhaps the difference of the game was United’s new-found Portuguese inspiration Nani, who, without his fellow countryman Christiano Ronaldo, was given license to kill in midfield. And kill he did. A perfect ball on the 20th minute mark fell kindly for Scotland’s Darren Fletcher to further drop the jaws of the United fans, who were, at this point, quite literally in ‘dreamland’. But the dream turned into fantasy just seven minutes before half-time when no-nonsense centre-halt Michael Carrick fed a deserving Nani to slot home an incredible third.

At this point, it couldn’t get worse for Arsenal, surely.

But it did. Three minutes after the re-start, straight-from-the-Africa-Cup-of-Nation Emmanuel Eboue couldn’t hope for a more unpleasant welcome when he was shown red after a barbaric tackle on French left-back Patrice Evra.

Without Flamini, Rosicky, Adebayor, Clichy, Van Persie, Walcott, or even Denilson, Arsenal was looking rather shallow in terms of creativity. Danish Nicklas Bentener and Eduardo didn’t seem to blend, and Fabregas and Hleb in the middle just looked to be out of options. United were simply on top of their game. And perhaps it was the injection of youth that did the damage, with tenacious yet stylish Anderson filling in for Scholes, Park Ji Sung for Giggs, and Nani for Ronaldo. Arsenal was given a dose of their own medicine.

The final nail was carefully inserted in the coffin in the 74th minute when an amazing Nani managed to pull off a juicy cross at the end of a mazy run to find Darren Fletcher unmarked at the far post. His header was, again, perfect.

The result sends the Gunners crushing out of England’s most famous Cup, and United straight into the draw for the quarterfinal where they will be joined by other big-guns Chelsea. Meanwhile, last year’s Champion’s League finalists Liverpool were also very rudely booted-out by a very much second tier Barnsley FC.

Battle of Titans

Saturday, February 16th, marks a very important date in the calendar of English football. Two giants of the game, Manchester United and Arsenal, come face-to-face in an F.A Cup fixture that has, over the last several decades, proved to be simply, a classic.

The two teams meet each other for the 13th time in England’s most famous Cup title. Arsenal will be looking at building on their new-found success over their rivals this season, being unbeaten in the last three meetings. A 2-2 draw at the Emirates in the Premier League earlier this season meant that the bragging rights stay in North London coming into this game.


But Old Trafford is always a different proposition. Most staunch Red Devil’s will remember the mesmerizing goal by veteran Ryan Giggs at the Theatre of Dreams nine years ago in the same fixture. Old Trafford has never been Arsenal’s favorite playing field as memories of a 6-1 defeat close to a decade ago still linger in the minds of many of their fans.

Sir Alex Ferguson, who will be seeing off his 100th game on Saturday evening, will be hoping for an improved performance from his side after collecting only one point in two testing games. They will be banking on the mood of flamboyant winger Christiano Ronaldo, who seems to be holding the key to United’s fortunes this season. Up-front, they will require striker’s Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez, who have not been as potent as expected thus far, to put on their scoring boots if United are to frighten the current league leaders.

On the other side, Arsene Wenger will be rejoicing over the availability of rock-solid centre-back Kolo Toure and his fellow countryman Emmanuel Eboue, who come from a fruitless adventure at the Nations Cup in Ghana. Their presence will do a lot in filling the places of injured Gael Clichy and unavailable Bacary Sagna who have become superb on the flanks. The secret to a famous Arsenal win will lie in how well they manage to shut-down Christiano Ronaldo from the game. That means keeping a tight-lit on him on both wings, as he’s known to very cleverly swap positions with Ryan Giggs when need arises, as well as cutting off all delivery to him from, most likely, Paul Scholes. They will also need to keep up high levels of concentration against a very professional United midfield, while maintaining their famous creativity, orchestrated by Spanish sensation, Cesc Fabregas and the man with dancing feet, Alexander Hleb.

Generally, a very exciting game should be anticipated. Crunching tackles, quick-tempo counter attacks, and an electrifying atmosphere are always necessary ingredients for a beauty. Both teams boast prolific goal-scores, with United looking at Ronaldo to spare their blushes, while Arsenal rely on Togolese Emmanuel Adebayor to add to his already impressive tally.

Prediction
Manchester United 2-2 Arsenal

Star-studded Barcelona was frustrated by last year’s UEFA Cup winners Sevilla in an exciting match played at the Estadio Ramoa Sanchez Pizjuan on Saturday.

An impressive start by the home side ensured a competitive match-up, with Victor Valdes in the Barcelona goal being made to work early in the first half. A Daniel Alves free-kick forced the Barca goalkeeper into an early acrobatic save.

Returning from a disappointing show at the just-ended African Cup of Nations, striker Freddie Kanoute came close to putting the hosts ahead with a volley from close-range mid-way in the first chapter. But Sevilla’s relentless pressure paid off a few minutes later when a beautifully-worked move started with inspirational Alves finding a well-positioned Jesus Navas before falling graciously for teen-ager Capel who made no mistake in front of goal.

The Catalans came to life in the second half thanks to a judicious move by tactician Frank Raijkaard when he brought on former Player of the Year Ronaldinho. Having the Brazilian on the pitch was in itself enough to inspire the visitor’s midfield who, after a swift pass by Argentine sensation Lionel Messi, found the solution to their problem when celebrated Spain playmaker Xavi slotted past Andres Palop with only fourteen minutes left on the clock.

A late sending-off for Mali international Seydou Keita gave Barca a chance to increase their tally, but Raijkaards men failed to take advantage with so little left on the clock.

The draw means that Barcelona stay on second place after their fierce rivals Real Madrid trounced Valladolid 7-0.

Classic Final

The 2008 AFCON reaches its climax on Sunday evening as two of Africa’s all-time heavyweights battle it out at the Ohene Djan Stadium in Accra. Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions get the perfect opportunity to revenge against their Egyptian counterparts who so embarrassingly disjointed them in the two teams’ opening Group C match.

Egypt come into the game from a phenomenal victory against clear tournament favorites Ivory Coast on Wednesday night. A 4-1 thumping of the 2006 runner’s up means that the Pharaohs stand a chance to increase their AFCON tally to a record six wins. After slaughtering a bull before their quarter-final match against Angola, it seems the gods have been smiling on them as everything they work on upfront seems to turn into goals. An emphatic win over Ivory Coast will definitely act as a morale booster in what should be a tightly contested match.

The Cameroonians will go into the game as underdogs, something of an advantage nowadays. A late red card for Reading defender Andre Baikey means that the four-time African champions will be without a key player in the final. Apart from that shake-up in defense, Cameroon should look to build from their previous performance as they seem to be getting better with every game. They saw off the hosts Ghana with a much disciplined performance after coach Otto Pfister had promised to “paralyze the Black Stars tactically”.

And that’s exactly what they will need to do if they are to salvage anything out of the game on Sunday. Egypt themselves are no slouches when it comes to tactical panel-beating. Their organization and professionalism were the key to unlocking the usually niggardly Ivorian defense. With playmaker Mohammad Abou Trika expected to start in the middle, the Lions will have to be on the guard. Arsenal centre-half Alexandre Song will have to be in top-form in order to come up with the answers to the Egyptian’s teasing questions.

Upfront, Barcelona’s lethal weapon Samuel Eto’o will have to step-up his game after having a less-than impressive tournament so far, by his standards. He will be relied upon to come up with something special, a moment or two of individual brilliance perhaps, if Cameroon is to penetrate the solid wall that is the Egyptian defense led by Al-Ahly rear guard Shady Muhammad.

Egypt will be looking at exploiting Cameroon’s notoriously slow and rigid defense, especially on the flanks. Wednesday’s two-goal hero Amr Zaki and Emad Motaeb will be relying on the services of Abou Trika in the middle and Hosny Abd-Rabou on the left hand side. Hamburger SV defender Timothee Atouba will be the main target, and if they fail to fire in the first half, then exciting striker Mohammad Zidan will be itching to come on from the bench.

Prediction
Egypt 3-1 Cameroon

Manchestrer United relinquished top-spot in the Barclay’s English Premier League following a nerve-wrecking encounter with Tottenham Hotspurs at White Hart Lane on Saturday. A last-second Tevez equalizer salvaged a point for the defending champions, much to the wreckage of Tottenham hearts.

The game seemed to pick up where the two teams left just a week earlier in the FA Cup where United managed to overcome the North Londoners. Spurs, with their new-found pace-based style of play, took the game to United early on, with Aaron Lennon wreaking havoc on the right and in-form Steed Malbranque doing the damage on the left. It was the England under-21 international who whipped in a terrific square-ball on the 20th minute mark after midfielder Jermaine Jenas had claimed to have been fouled in the penalty area. The cross came off goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar onto the feet of the lethal Dimitir Berbatov who had no choice but to slot into an empty net. Van der Sar was then booked for his remonstrance; the first of what would be a record seven yellow cards in one game for United this season.

Some impressive defending from the giant Tom Huddlestone put United further under pressure, with nothing going past the Spurs’ back-four. But it was on the break where the hosts took maximum advantage. The understanding between Berbatov and Keane proved to be deadly as one would continually manage to find very good opportunities for the other.

And it was the Irish captain who should have put the game beyond doubt early in the first half when he shot feebly from 18 yards with only the goalkeeper in front of him. That miss was going to be decisive. Tottenham were under pressure to take their chances from a crowd that replicated the atmosphere during the League Cup semi-final when the Spurs saw-off their city rivals Arsenal.

United found their form in the last ten minutes with the exciting Christiano Ronaldo proving to be a menace every time he had his feet on the ball. Nani for Giggs and Anderson for Scholes were substitutions designed to inflict a little bit of youth and creativity to try and get something out of the fixture. A wise decision from the master tactician Ferguson.

A last minute corner from the United’s right fell gratefully to an unmarked Carlos Tevez who made no mistake in squeezing the ball into the bottom-left hand corner from a tight angle to bring his Premier League tally to 11 goals.

The draw means that Manchester United fall one step to second spot after Arsenal comprehensively beat their Ciry rivals Manchester City at the City of Manchester Stadium. Tottenham will stay at the bottom half of the table with just 29 points from their 25 games, seven behind tenth placed West Ham United.