Rooney: I want to score goals
MANCHESTER, England ● Wayne Rooney has admitted he is not comfortable playing in the deep lying role he was deployed in by Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United last season, insisting he still sees himself as a centre-forward. Rumours have persisted that Rooney was frustrated by the playmaker role he was being asked to fulfil [...]
Chelsea fail against West Ham
LONDON, England ● Rafael Benitez lamented Chelsea’s profligacy in front of goal after his side’s run of league games without a win was extended to seven following a 3-1 loss at West Ham United on Saturday. In a true game of two halves, Chelsea led through Juan Mata’s 13th-minute opener and looked comfortable until West [...]
Longest Premier League match ever
● RECORD – 103 – Manchester City vs Swansea City (1-0) lasted 103 minutes in total, making this the longest ever PL match. While 12 minutes were added on, almost 13 were played — for a total of 102 and 43 seconds that beat the previous longest in 2011 between Arsenal and Liverpool. ● Manchester City [...]
Supersub Xavi saves Barcelona
BARCELONA, Spain ● Substitute Xavi Hernandez scored a late goal to set Barcelona on their way to a 2-0 win over Granada which maintained their perfect start and sent them 11 points clear of bitter rivals Real Madrid. The Catalan side have now picked up a maximum 15 points from their opening five games. But [...]
Dortmund leave it late against Ajax
DORTMUND, Germany ● Borussia Dortmund not only kicked off their 2012-13 Champions League campaign with a 1-0 victory over Ajax Amsterdam but Jurgen Klopp’s young German side also took a big step forward in their development. Dortmund came into the Champions League last season as motivated German champs but bowed out with just four points [...]
Brace Fletcher but Swansea rescues point
SWANSEA, Wales ● Steven Fletcher scored a double on his Premier League debut for Sunderland but it was not enough to prevent 10-man Swansea from recovering twice to earn a merited point at the Liberty Stadium. Fletcher – a £12 million signing from Wolves – scored with two fine finishes on 41 minutes and deep [...]
Andy Carroll joins West Ham on loan
LONDON, England ● The 23-year-old England international was persuaded to move after Reds boss Brendan Rodgers made it clear the player was not part of his plans. “It’s great to be here at West Ham and all signed up,” said Carroll. “I want to be playing games and obviously hoping to score some goals. “I [...]
Hannover earn late draw against Schalke
HANNOVER, Germany ● Hannover substitute Adrian Nikci scored a late goal three minutes into his Bundesliga debut to earn his side a 2-2 draw with Schalke on Sunday. “I’m very happy to help the team,” the Swiss youth international said. “It was a good start.” Brazilian defender Felipe opened the scoring in the 43rd minute [...]
Union, RSL struggle to score
CHESTER, Pa. ● In the only regular-season meeting between the Philadelphia Union and Real Salt Lake, there weren’t many scoring chances – and there weren’t any goals. The Union (7-12-4), who have now tied their past two matches, have still never beaten Real Salt Lake (13-10-4), who snapped a three-game league losing skid [...]
