Wednesday's EPL Transfer News plus Capital One Cup 2nd Round Results:

Hello and welcome to my LATEST EPL blog post.

Without further introduction, here was last night's Capital One Cup 2nd Round Results (for EPL teams)

The Capital One Cup started for 12 EPL teams yesterday.

Capital One Cup 2nd Round Results:

Aston Villa 3 Tranmere Rovers 0

Midfielder Fabian Delph, Defender Chris Herd and Striker Darren Bent all scored for Aston Villa all scored for Aston Villa as they cruised to a 3-0 win against Tranmere to move into the 3rd Round of the Capital One Cup. 

Important: Aston Villa forward Fabian Delph scores against Tranmere after 38 minutes.

 
Norwich City 2 Scunthorpe United 1

Norwich are safely through to the 3rd Round of the Capital One Cup after just beating Scunthorpe United by 2 goals to 1. 

Simon Lappin scored his first goal in 5 years after 32 minutes, and Wes Hoolahan scored from the penalty spot in the 56th minute.

Nottingham Forest 1 Wigan Athletic 4

Wigan continued 'life after Victor Moses', after comfortably beating Championship side Nottingham Forest by 4 goals to 1 away from home.
Mauro Boselli, Jordi Gomez, Maynor Figueroa and Calum McManaman were all on the scoresheet for Wigan.

QPR 3 Walsall 0

Winger Shaun Wright-Phillips scored his first goal for QPR in the 29th minute, while striker Bobby Zamora (66th minute) and new full-back Jose Bosingwa ended the match in the 84th minute for Rangers, as they moved into the 3rd Round of the Capital One Cup. 

About time: SWP scores his first goal for QPR, 363 days after moving from Manchester City on transfer deadline day.

First goal of the season: Striker Bobby Zamora doubles QPR's lead with a nice chip into the net.

Stoke City 3 Swindon Town 4 AET

Striker James Collins scored a hat-trick for Swindon as they gave Stoke a shock, and the first of the tournament, by sending EPL SIDE Stoke out of the COCup. 

Sorensen spills: Stoke goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen's error by dropping the ball leads to Swindon scoring.

 
Strikers Kenwyne Jones, Jonathan Walters and Peter Crouch all scored for Stoke to try and save their blushes but Collins ended the match in the 120th minute.

Swindon shock: The Swindon players celebrate their epic 4-3 win against EPL club Stoke after extra time.

Stevenage 1 Southampton 4

Southampton beat Stevenage with no problems, beating them by 4 goals to 1, with 4 different scorers.


Sheffield Wednesday 1 Fulham 0 

Just look at the scoreline, and you will realise that something is wrong here right?
WRONG...
Sheffield Wednesday from League 1 BEAT Fulham 1-0.

Thanks to a penalty from Gary Madine in the 50th minute, Fulham are out of the Capital One Cup....

Imagine that: Gary Madine scores from the penalty spot to give Sheffield Wednesday the lead against Fulham.

3rd Round, here we come: Madine celebrates his goal with his team-mates.

Swansea City 3 Barnsley 1

Striker Luke Moore scored twice, and Danny Graham was also on the scoresheet for Swansea as they beat Barnsley 3-1 at The Liberty Stadium which secured their place in the 4rd Round of the Capital One Cup. 

Luke Moore celebrates with his team-mates after scroing twice in the second half to win the match for Swansea.

Sunderland 2 Morecambe 0

Sunderland's £10million new signing Adam Johnson played for his new club against Morecambe.

£10million winger: Sunderland's new signing Adam Johnson tussles with a Morecambe defender to win the ball.

A double from midifelder James McClean (1 goal each half) gave Sunderland a 2-0 win at home.

West Ham United 2 Crewe 0

Nicky Maynard and Modibo Maiga were both on the scoresheet for West Ham, as they beat League 1 side Crewe 2-0.

Reading 3 Peterborough 2
Former Fulham striker Pavel Pogrebnyak scored again for Reading, as they beat Peterborogh 3-2 to progress to the next round of the Capital One Cup.

Yeovil 2 West Bromwich Albion 4

The LATEST EPL Transfers and News:

Luka Modric transfer saga: 

FINALLY, the transfer saga is OVER:

Real Madrid have confirmed the £32million pound signing of Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Luka Modric.

Gone to Spain: Luka Modric poses while doing his medical in Spain.

Modric trains at his new club in Spain after completing a medical and agreeing personal terms with the club.

Family matters: Midfielder Luka Modric poses in-front of the camera with his son, wife and dad at his new club.

Tottenham Hotspur have started to replace Luka Modric, with Fulham midfielder Moussa Dembele having completed a move to Spurs for £15million.

Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov has been linked with a move to Fulham after Fiorentina has ruled out a move for him

He was scheduled to fly into Florence but Juventus stepped in when he was at the airport.

He wants to reportedly stay in England, and Fulham are ready to make a last-minute bid for him around £5million before the transfer deadline on Friday night.

Inter Milan goalkeeper Julio Cesar has confirmed that he has signed for QPR on a four-year contract deal. 

Welcome to QPR: Goalkeeper Julio Cesar will provide Robert Green competition in goal after 7 years at Inter

I will be back tomorrow, for some LIVE Europa League Play-off Coverage with EPL Transfer News and the Capital One Cup 3rd Round and UEFA Champions League Group Stage Draws.

(MORE TO FOLLOW SOON)

Start of the 2012-13 season - The Weekend's EPL Fixtures Preview:

The best league in the world begins again, for the 21st season tomorrow.

Hello and welcome to my EPL Fixture Preview Blog Post once again. This is the first time that I have done this in over 3 months, as the start of the new 2012-13 EPL season begins on tomorrow afternoon.

First, let me start with the latest EPL transfers and news:

Wigan Athletic have bolstered their attacking options by signing Arsenal's young forward Ryo Miyaichi on a season-long loan.

For the future: Ryo Miyaichi has joined Wigan on a season-long loan deal to give him more first-team experience.

Newcastle United have completed the signing of Ajax full-back Vurnon Anita for around £6.5million.

New boy on the block: Left-back Vurnon Anita has completed his transfer to Newcastle from Ajax.

He will give manager Alan Pardew more options in the attacking and defending sides of his team for the next few season to come.

Manchester City have been given some bad injury news:
Defender Micah Richards has been ruled out of action for up to 10 weeks with an ankle injury suffered at the London Olympics, playing for Team GB.

LATEST - in the Robin Van Persie transfer saga:

Arsenal captain Robin Van Persie has arrived in Manchester for his medical with Manchester United.

Welcome to United: Manager Sir Alex Ferguson unveiled Robin Van Persie at a press conference earlier today.

Press conference: RVP answers questions in his first conference as a United player.

Strong strikeforce: Robin Van Persie trains with new team-mate and fellow striker Wayne Rooney.

He has completed his medical and Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has said that he fully expects RVP to make his full debut in a United shirt on Monday, when they face Everton. 

Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has been fined £45,000 by The FA after a comment posted on Twitter.

Sunderland have confirmed the signing of former Manchester United striker Louis Saha.
He was released by Tottenham at the end of last season, and Sunderland's lack of attacking options made them show interest in the free agent.

Adventure: Striker Louis Saha has signed a one-year contract deal with Sunderland. This will be his 6th EPL club.

Fulham have fined midfielder Clint Dempsey after he refused to play for the club ever again. 
Manager Martin Jol has confirmed that he is able to leave the club as Liverpool and Arsenal are among the clubs wanting to sign him.

QPR have confirmed the signing of full-back Jose Bosingwa on a three-year-deal. 

Staying in London: Full-back Jose Bosingwa will stay in London after a four-year spell with Chelsea.

FACT: This is QPR's 8th signing of the transfer window.

He was released by Chelsea at the end of last season. 

Liverpool have confirmed the £3million signing of 24-year-old Morocco winger Oussama Assaidi.  

Looks promising: Liverpool have completed the £3million signing of winger Oussama Assaidi.

The green light: Assaidi is put through his medical at Melwood by the club doctor.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has admitted that defensive midfielder Alex Song could be on his way out of the club, and could be moving to Barcelona for £15million.

He has confirmed that defender Thomas Vermaelen will become the new captain after RVP's departure.

LATEST - In the Luka Modric transfer saga:

Yesterday, as all of the Tottenham players returned from international duty, one notable absentee was Croatia midfielder Luka Modric.

He has missed yesterday's training session, to leave England and fly into Spain, where he will hold personal talks with Real after Tottenham accepting a £34million deal for him.


Southampton have had a club's record £11.8million bid for Bologna striker Gaston Ramirez accepted. 

They beat Liverpool and Tottenham to him.

Ramirez has confirmed to Italian media that the clubs have agreed everything and he will join, but he is yet to agree personal terms.

Newly promoted Southampton are sending a big message to the rest of the EPL by making big-money signings to highly boost their chances of staying in the EPL for years to come.

Big statement: Striker Gaston Ramirez impressed during the Football at London Olympics for Uruguay.

QPR midfielder Joey Barton is closed to joining French club Marseile on a season-long loan.

Marseille defender Stephane M'Bia would be moving to QPR.

Swansea winger Scott Sinclair has refused to sign a new contract deal with Swansea.

Interesting news: Swansea winger Scott Sinclair has refused to sign a new contract.

This news has attracted a lot of attention from Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal.

The Weekend's EPL Fixtures Preview:

Saturday (15:00 unless stated):

Arsenal vs Sunderland:

'One to watch': Arsenal vs Sunderland.

The first of four 'one to watch' football matches this weekend sees The Gunners face Sunderland at The Emirates.

One of the reasons why it is a 'one to watch' match because it will be very interesting to see how Arsenal will be able to cope without their talisman last season Robin Van Persie.

Arsenal:

New signings Santi Cazorla and Lukas Podolski are expected to start and lead the attack, meanwhile winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and defender Laurent Koscielny are both ruled out due to injuries.

Set to start: Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla is set to make his debut tomorrow against Sunderland.

Replacing RVP: German striker Lukas Podolski should start for Arsenal tomorrow.

As to are full-back Bacary Sagna (broken leg) and midfielder Jack Wilshere (ankle rehabilitation)

Sunderland:

Meanwhile, The Black Cats have new striker Louis Saha who should start instead of Stephane Sessegnon (injury - doubt).

Defenders Wes Brown (knee ligaments), Phil Bardsley (ankle) midfielder and David Vaughan (surgery) are all on the sidelines.


Arsenal should have too much quality for Sunderland to handle at The Emirates tomorrow, even without Robin Van Persie.
We will see.

Fulham vs Norwich City:

This match will be played at Craven Cottage, as Fulham host Norwich.

This will be an interesting match.

Fulham:

Fulham have been in the football headlines recently, notably wantaway midfielder Clint Dempsey who has been left out of the squad for tomorrow's match.

Winger Kerim Frei (pelvis), defenders Philippe Senderos (foot) and Zdenek Grygera (knee) are unavailable from Fulham's selection.

Norwich:

Norwich are hopeful that midfielders Wes Hoolahan (Achilles) and Anthony Pilkington (hamstring) will be in the squad tomorrow.

Summer signings Steven Whittaker (ankle) and Jacob Butterfield (knee) will miss out, but midfielder Robert Snodgrass and defender Michael Turner should feature. 

Fulham should edge out this match, simply because they have more quality than Norwich.
But stranger things have happened...

QPR vs Swansea City:

This match will be very interesting also, because Swansea were the surprise team of the season last season.

QPR:

QPR have signed a lot of players in this transfer window including Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-Sung, Blackburn winger Junior Holiett and West Ham goalkeeper Robert Green.

Injury news:

Midfielder Alejandro Faurlin is still lacking match sharpness following a long injury lay-off, and full-back Armand Traore (ankle) are definite absentees while striker Bobby Zamora and midfielder Samba Diakite (both knee) could also miss out.

Swansea:

Swansea will play against QPR tomorrow, with new signings including Michu, Chico Flores and Kyle Bartley all set to make their debuts for the club.

Manager Michael Laudrup is set to make a late decision over the availability of winger Scott Sinclair who has refused to sign a new contract and is poised to leave the club soon.

I'm off: Scott Sinclair will not know until tomorrow whether he will play against QPR.

The only injury problems for The Swans is that defender Garry Monk is set to miss the match with a back problem.

Swansea and QPR are both good teams, but QPR's summer spending spree should give them a slight edge over Swansea after the departure of Joe Allen and Gylfi Sigurdsson.

Reading vs Stoke:

This match will be played at the Madejski Stadium as newly promoted side Reading face a tough task against tough tacklers Stoke.

Reading:

Reading have decided to include Jem Karacan in their provisional squad for the match tomorrow against Stoke.

Karacan wants to return to first-team action after breaking his leg.

Reading however, will be without winger Jimmy Kebe hamstring and striker Jason Roberts who will be serving a two-match ban.

Stoke:

Stoke defender Robert Huth could play tomorrow, despite spending last week in hospital with viral meningitis.

Winger Jermaine Pennant and Huth will both be medically assessed before the match to see whether they are 100%.

Stoke should win this match, considering that they have a lot of experience in the EPL, but Reading could pull off an upset with a win at home or take a draw.

West Brom vs Liverpool:

This match will be played at The Hawthorns Stadium where West Brom host Liverpool, who are desperate to get back into the Champions League this season after a poor league campaign last season.

West Brom:

West Ham United vs Aston Villa:

Newcastle vs Tottenham Hotspur: LIVE at 17:30pm

Sunday:

Wigan Athletic vs Chelsea: LIVE at 13:30pm

Manchester City vs Southampton: LIVE at 16:00pm

Monday:

Everton vs Manchester United: LIVE at 20:00pm

Monday Night Football comes back with a bang, and the last of my featured matches this weekend (yes, I know Monday is not in the weekend).

Last season, this match was very exciting, dramatic and was a 4-4 thriller.

This season, it will be an interesting encounter because United's attack has been significantly strenghtened with the signings of Shinji Kagawa and Robin Van Persie.

International Friendly: England vs Italy - LIVE Commentary with EPL News and Transfers:

Hello and welcome to my Live Commentary on England's international friendly match with Italy in Switzerland.
With 3 days before the start of the new EPL season, England will have their only match before qualifications start for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

LIVE Commentary - England vs Italy, LIVE from 8pm:

The major news from this match for both teams is that Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli has been ruled out due to an eye problem.

England manager Roy Hodgson has admitted that he hopes Chelsea defender John Terry beats an FA charge and is able to continue playing for England.

Manchester City goalkeeper and England No.1 Joe Hart has been ruled out due to a back injury, while Arsenal wingers Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott are both injured.

John Ruddy and Jack Butland are both fighting it out to start for England tonight, with both goalkeepers wanting their first starts.

Jack Butland and John Ruddy both training to get ready for England's match tonight.

Young guns: England face a tough test against Italy tonight, and only 6 players who were at Euro 2012 will feature.

FACT: England have won 4 of their last 6 matches
FACT: Italy have lost their last 3 friendlies without scoring

England's next 6 matches:

Italy - TONIGHT
September 7th - Moldova (A)
September 11th - Ukraine (H)
October 12th - San Marino (H)
October 16th - Poland (A)
November 14th - Sweden (A)

 
13:30:

Let me tell you about the LATEST news in the EPL now:

Liverpool defender Daniel Agger who is wanted by Manchester City, has admitted that he would leave Liverpool for Barcelona.

Wanted: Agger is wanted by Manchester City, but has admitted that he would only leave for Barca.

He said this 'I am loyal to Liverpool but, there is one club who would make it very hard for me to stay at Anfield, Barcelona would be great because they are the best in the world'

Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner is wanted by Italian club AC Milan. 

Impressive: Nicklas Bendtner was impressive during the Euros for Denmark scoring 2 goals against Portugal.

The bidding war between Luka Modric and Real Madrid has begun, with a bid already been rejected.

Spain calling: Real Madrid are still desperate to sign Tottenham midfielder Luka Modric.

Tottenham want at least £35million for the midfielder, yet Real are sticking to £25million.

Everton have confirmed that Olympiakos midfielder Kevin Mirallas is close to finalising a £6million transfer deal. 

Good signing: Kevin Mirallas is on the way to Everton, as they beat Arsenal and Liverpool in the race to sign him.

He is expected to be at Everton on Thursday.

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard has called on Chelsea to open new contract talks with him, because he has one year left on his contract, and he has said that he wants to retire at Stamford Bridge. 

Manchester United are very close to signing Chilean youngster and striker Angelo Henriquez.

For the future: Chilean youngster Angelo Henriquez is on his way to Manchester United.

Peterborough striker Paul Taylor is wanted by two London clubs Fulham and QPR.


Arsenal have started official talks with rivals Manchester United over an improved bid for striker and captain Robin Van Persie.

BREAKING NEWS: Robin Van Persie has been left out of the Holland starting 11 against Belgium tonight.

Real Madrid midfielder Nuri Sahin is expected to choose between Arsenal and Liverpool by the end of this week to move to on a season-long loan. 

The Carling Cup will now be called the Capital One Cup from now on because of sponsorship deals.

Here is the Second Round Draw for the Capital One Cup (also known as the Carling Cup)

EPL Teams only:

Swansea City vs Barnsley
Yeovil vs West Brom
West Ham vs Crewe 
Reading vs Peterborough
Sheffield Wednesday vs Fulham
QPR vs Walsall
Stevenage vs Southampton
Nottingham Forest vs Wigan Athletic
Stoke City vs Swindon Town
Aston Villa vs Tranmere
Everton vs Leyton Orient
Sunderland vs Morecambe
Norwich vs Scunthorpe

Ties to be played week commencing August 27th.

BREAKING NEWS:

Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba has been told by doctors to retire from football.
That is sad news, because he was a very good player but his health is very important and his well-being is his number one priority.




19:45:

BREAKING NEWS:

Manchester United have confirmed the £24million signing of Arsenal striker Robin Van Persie subject to a medical and confirmation over personal terms.

Welcome to Old Trafford: Arsenal captain Robin Van Persie will join Manchester United on Thursday.

For a 29-year-old striker who is injury prone and on his last year on contract, £24million is not a bad deal.

Arsenal should now sign a solid defender and replace RVP with Llorente who is also on his last year on his contract. He has refused a contract extension also.

Team Line-ups:

England: Butland, Walker, Cahill, Jagielka, Baines, Carrick, Lampard, Johnson, Cleverley, Young, Carroll.

Birmingham City goalkeeper Jack Butland starts his first match for England tonight!

Subs: Ruddy, Lescott, Bertrand, Caulker, Milner, Livermore, Rodwell, Defoe.
 
Italy: Sirigu, Ogbonna, Abate, Balzaretti, Astori, El Shaarawy, Aquilani, De Rossi, Diamanti, Nocerino, Destro.

Mario Balotelli, Andrea Pirlo and Buffon are all out for Italy.
AC Milan young midfielder Stephan El Shaarawy starts for Italy. Exciting player he is.

Subs: Perin, De Sciglio, Peluso, Acerbi, Poli, Schelotto, Gastaldello, Gabbiadini, Verratti, Consigli.

20:00:

0: The referee has kicked off this match in Switzerland.
8: England corner by Frank Lampard, whipped into the box, but cleared away by the Italy defence.
9: Good ball by De Rossi over the top of the England defence to Destro who skips away from Cahill and Jagielka but Butland holds the ball comfortably.
10: Sloppy defensive play by Italy sees an England corner being conceded. Lampard takes the corner and finds Carroll who heads towards goal... OVER THE BAR!!
He should have done better with that, and if he had headered the ball downards, it would have at least been on target and given Siriugu something to worry about.

13: Italy are looking dangerous inside England's half.
Destro tried to find Aquillani from 12 yards out but the pass was poor.

14: Italy free-kick from 26 yards out, whipped into the box but the ball takes a deflection from the wall before Butland parries the ball away for a corner.

15: Italy corner, whipped into the box to Daniele De Rossi who is not marked well, he jumps up for the header before unleashing a header high towards goal... GOAL!!!!

Captain leading the way: Italy midfielder Daniele De Rossi heads the ball past Jack Butland from a corner.

Captain's celebrations: Midfielder Daniele De Rossi celebrates his headed goal against England.

Italy lead England by 1-0 with the captain De Rossi breaking the deadlock.

16: To be honest, it was poor defending because no-one was marking their man tightly enough.

18: Good build-up play by Italy with El Shaarawy looking dangerous down the wing before delivering a 35-yard pass.
The through ball went straight to striker Destro inside the box, but he was not able to head the ball powerfully enough to really trouble Butland who comfortably holds the ball.

20: Slow, patient build-up play by England as they look to equalise before Johnson is tackled by two defenders and Italy clear.

21: Good vision by Frank Lampard to find Adam Johnson with a ball just outside the box.
Johnson weaves past a defender quickly before having a shot from 18 yards but Siriugu holds the ball comfortably.

23: Ashley Young wins an England corner before Italy clear again.
England need to test the goalkeeper more than they are doing, and need to keep possession of the ball by passing more accurately.

25: Italy corner is whipped into the box, but goalkeeper Jack Butland takes the ball into his arms comfortably before clearing the danger.

26: England go on the counter with Adam Johnson sidestepping a defender before finding Kyle Walker with a good pass.
Defender Angelo Ogbonna tackles on the edge of the box, and England have a free corner.

27: Corner taken into the box, with defender Phil Jagielka making a run before making a diving header towards goal... GOAL!!

Diving header: Everton defender Phil Jagielka scores his 1st goal for England with a diving header to equalise.

Everton defender Phil Jagielka has equalised for England here on 27 minutes!



28: Italy 1 England 1, and now the match is getting more interesting.

Other scores include:
Sweden 0 Brazil 1
Denmark 1 Slovakia 0
Argentina 0 Germany 0
France 0 Uruguay 0
Croatia 1 Switzerland 2

FACT: This is Phil Jagielka's first goal for England.

30: England midfielder Frank Lampard had a long shot from 22 yards out parried away by the goalkeeper. Close, on target and was troubling Siriugu.

36: England are trying to hold the ball now, with quick precise passes to try and tire out the Italy defence.

39: Italy are trying to press England again with a swerving ball by Diamanti into the box. 
Goalkeeper Jack Butland had to come out of his goal and clear the ball away from his goal using his feet.

41: The England band are trying to motivate the squad with loud cheers and the national anthem being sung loudly in the crowd.

43: Nice 1-2 passing play by Italy, with full-back Ignizio Abate unleashing a shot from the wing across goal. Close shot, but not accurate enough to hit the target and worry Butland.

45: The referee blows the whistle to indicate the end of the first half with no added time.


England have played well, considering the fact that most of the team are the second crop of players and almost all of the players are inexperienced and young (for the future players) 
Italy have shown their class at times during the first half, and believe it or not, apart from De Rossi, Abate and Aquilani (maybe Nocerino), this is their second side (excluding El Shaarawy who has a lot of potential).
The match has been interesting so far, but England have not troubled Italy's goal at all apart from the goal and Lampard's long shot effort.


Two headed goals, in 45 minutes.

Join me for the second half in 15 minutes.

International Friendly Score Centre:

Norway 2 Greece 3 FT

Two goals from Fulham players John Arne Riise and Brede Hangeland were not enough for Norway to beat Greece as they lost 3-2.

Sweden 0 Brazil 3 FT

The strength of Brazil has been too much for Sweden tonight as they cruised to a 3-0 victory.
London Olympics top goal scorer Leandro Damiao scored again for Brazil in the 32nd minute.
Two goals in two minutes by AC Milan striker Alexandre Pato (84th and 86th) sealed the win for Brazil.

Germany 0 Argentina 2 - LIVE

Barcelona striker Lionel Messi has missed a penalty for Argentina, but so far his side are leading against Euro 2012 semi-finalists Germany.
Real Madrid defensive midfielder Sami Khedira has scored an own goal on the stroke of half-time, before Messi made up for the penalty miss with a goal in the 52nd minute with a goal. Second half underway there.

Croatia 2 Switzerland 3 - LIVE


Former Arsenal striker Eduardo has scored twice already, but his side are still behind against Switzerland.


21:00:


England have made a couple of changes here:


Jack Butland OFF
Andy Carroll OFF

John Ruddy ON
Jermain Defoe ON


Butland has done well in goal tonight, and has his first cap in-tact so a change so that he can stay fit for Birmingham.
Liverpool striker Andy Carroll has also come off for Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe, and you know that Defoe commands the 6-yard box.

45: The referee has started the second half of this match. England 1 Italy 1.

48: Italy free-kick given after Defoe tackled Daniele De Rossi.


53: Italy on the counter with Aquilani finding El Shaarawy who chips the ball down the wing towards Diamanti who tries to weave past Tottenham full-back Kyle Walker but he is bodychecked.


54: Good pressure by the Italians.  
A cross was whipped into the box before striker Destro shot from 8 yards out towards goal by John Ruddy parried the ball away to safety.
The ball trickled through Chelsea defender Gary Cahill's legs and sometimes those can slide past the keeper into the net.

58: Italy SUB:
Alessandro Diamanti OFF
Stephan El Shaarawy OFF
Marco Verratti ON
Manolo Gabbiadini ON


61: England SUB:
Ashley Young OFF
Phil Jagielka OFF
Joleon Lescott ON
James Milner ON



62: Uh oh..... Chelsea defender Cary Cahill is down on the floor clutching his nose. He has recievied a knock after being hit by Destro with his arm across the face.

66: England corner taken into the box to Cahill who volleys the ball towards goal... GOAL!!! 
No goal, the whistle has been blown. 
Still 1-1, because Lescott was pushing and shoving with an Italy defender inside the box.

68: England SUB:
Frank Lampard OFF
Jake Livermore ON

Italy SUB:
Alberto Aquilani OFF
Andrea Poli ON


Debut for young Tottenham midfielder Jake Livermore.


72: England free-kick, whipped into the box by Manchester City midfielder James Milner.... 
The ball is high over the defenders and the England attackers, before the ball curls towards goal but the ball hits defender Peluso before goalkeeper Sirigu clears the ball off the line.

Close, and a good ball into the box by Milner.


77:  England SUB:
Leighton Baines OFF
Ryan Bertrand ON



79: England are on the counter attack with midfielder James Milner finding Defoe with a through ball. Defoe beats Abate with skill before unleashing a shot from the edge of the box towards goal... GOAL!!!!!

Wonder strike: Jermain Defoe scores a belter from the edge of the box against Italy to give England the lead.

What a goal by Defoe, and England gave taken the lead with 10 minutes to go here. 

82: All England need to do for the last 8-12 minutes is to KEEP THE BALL. 
Something they are having trouble with so far this year.

85: First yellow card of the match for Diego Fabbrini. 

Italy SUB:
Ignazio Abate OFF
Ezequiel Schelotto ON

89: James Milner with a run down the wing before passing the ball towards Defoe, but Ogbonna clears the ball out for a corner.

90: The fourth-offical has indicated that there will be three minutes of stoppage time to be added on here.

90+3: The referee has blown the whsitle to end this international friendly match.

FULL-TIME: England 2 Italy 1

A good win for England tonight.
An amazing strike from Jermain Defoe gave England the win against a tough Italian side who played well throughout but did not attack as much as they did in the first half, in the second and were sloppy at the back at times.

Promising young guns for England with Jack Butland, Tom Cleverley, Kyle Walker, Jake Livermore and Ryan Bertrand all playing well.

Stand-out of the match:
Jermain Defoe and James Milner

Despite lacklustre performances in Euro 2012 for Milner, he played well tonight, with good passes, crosses and looked dangerous throughout by giving Italy trouble.

Defoe scored an amazing winner for England and proved yet again why he is a 'Super Sub'.


I will speak to all of you on Friday when I do my first EPL Match Preview of the new 2012-13 season.

This are the matches this weekend:

Saturday:
(LIVE from 15:00pm unless stated)

Arsenal vs Sunderland
Fulham vs Norwich City
QPR vs Swansea City
Reading vs Stoke City
West Brom vs Liverpool
West Ham vs Aston Villa
Newcastle United vs Tottenham Hotspur - LIVE from 17:30pm 

Sunday:
Wigan Athletic vs Chelsea - LIVE from 13:30pm
Manchester City vs Southampton - LIVE from 16:00pm

Monday:
Everton vs Manchester United - LIVE from 20:00pm