EPL Super Sunday LIVE Commentary:

Hello and welcome to my EPL Super Sunday LIVE Commentary, with 2 EPL matches this Sunday for you.

But first, here is yesterday's evening result between Chelsea and Newcastle.

Chelsea 2 Newcastle 0 

Chelsea stayed at the top of the table after beating top 4 contenders Newcastle by 2 goals to nil.

Chelsea's new signings Cesar Azpilicueta and Victor Moses were both unveiled before the match at Stamford Bridge.

Defender Cesar Azpilicueta and winger Victor Moses hold up the Chelsea shirt at Stamford Bridge.

Eden Hazard scored his first Chelsea goal from the penalty spot in the 22nd minute, after Torres was fouled by £5million signing Vurnon Anita inside the box.

First Chelsea goal: Winger Eden Hazard scores a penalty for his new club against Newcastle.

Fernando Torres made it 2-0 in the 45th minute after link-up play with Hazard found him in space before hitting the ball from outside the box into the top corner.



Today's Matches:


Stoke City vs Arsenal - LIVE at 13:30pm
Manchester City vs Liverpool - LIVE at 15:30pm

Stoke vs Arsenal:

Team Line-ups:

Stoke:

Begovic, Wilkinson, Huth, Shawcross, Wilson, Pennant, Cameron, Whelan, Kightly, Walters, Crouch.

Subs: Sorensen, Shotton, Upson, Delap, Palacios, Jerome, Jones.

Arsenal:

Mannone, Mertesacker, Jenkinson, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Arteta, Cazorla, Diaby, Gervinho, Podolski, Cazorla.

Subs: Martinez, Djourou, Santos, Chamberlain, Coquelin, Ramsey, Walcott.


Reserve goalkeeper Vito Mannone starts his first Arsenal match for 3 years as Szczesny is out with a bruised rib.  
Walcott, Ramsey and Chamberlain are all on the subs bench.

Stoke City vs Arsenal - LIVE Commentary:

13:30:
The Stoke vs Arsenal match has begun at The Britannia.

1: Arsenal start with their Purple and Black kit against Stoke with red and white.

3: Stoke are trying to cause trouble with a long throw, but Arsenal clear the danger away.

4: Arsenal are trying to keep possession and pass well, but Stoke are closing them down well.

6: Crouch heads the ball towards striker Jonathan Walters inside the 6-yard box before he takes a shot towards goal and scores!

Ruled out: Stoke striker Jonathan Walters celebrates his goal against Arsenal, before realising that he was offside.

GOALLLL!

OFFSIDE 
He strayed offside

8: Podolski has a shot outside the 6 yard box, but defender Wilkinson blocks the ball for a corner after slipping on the floor. 

13: Arsenal pass well with nice build-up play inside the Stoke half but Giroud's cross is too powerful and hits the corner flag before going out of play for a Stoke goal-kick.

15: Podolski runs with the ball at his feet towards the box before getting bodychecked by Stoke defender Robert Huth from 20 yards out.
Free-kick to Arsenal and Huth gets a yellow card for the challenge. 

17: Santi Cazorla takes the free-kick low but the ball hits the Stoke defensive wall before Cazorla's rebound is wide of the goal.

18: 1st half possession:
Stoke - 31%, Arsenal - 69%

19: Arsenal pressing for an opening goal with Diaby and Gibbs linking up well before Gibbs' cross into the box just misses Gervinho.

20: Stoke try and go on the counter attack but Walters is tackled well by Arsenal left-back Kieran Gibbs.

25: Arsenal striker Lukas Podolski has a shot but it does not trouble the goalkeeper, and goes over the bar.

26: Midfielder Abou Diaby finds Olivier Giroud with a nice through ball, but Giroud's attempted pass to Gervinho on the wing is snuffed out.

27: Cazorla is a younger version of Xavi and Iniesta. 
He likes the ball at his feet, can pass well and is very creative.

28: Stoke counter with Walters finding new signing Michael Kightly who unleashes a shot from 25 yards out.... SAVED and HELD by goalkeeper Vito Mannone.

30: Cazorla is caught by defender Marc Wilson. Arsenal free-kick towards Cazorla who has a low shot towards goal, but it is wide of the goal again.

33: Gervinho who passes to Arteta who gets tackled onto the floor with a lunging tackle by Whelan. Cazorla has a shot from 25 yards out which is higher than before, and it is swervin towards goal... PARRIED by goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.

34: Arsenal corner taken by Cazorla but nothing comes of it.

36: Stoke supporters are chanting: ' Same old Arsenal, always cheating'

37: Stoke try and worry Arsenal with a long throw, but goalkeeper Vito Mannone holds the ball in his arms.

38: Arsenal forward Gervinho wastes a chance down the wing, by losing the ball and letting it go out for a Stoke goal-kick instead of crossing the ball into the box.

45: The fourth official (AKA the best English referee Howard Webb) has signalled for 1 minute to be added on at the end of this first half.

Arsenal have a corner with Gervinho switching wings to give Wilkinson problems.

45+1: The referee blows the whistle to end the first half at The Britannia Stadium.

Arsenal have played well in the first half with Santi Cazorla, Abou Diaby and Mikel Arteta all passing and linking together up well.
If only wingers Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain come on and trouble Stoke's defence a bit than Giroud and Gervinho had been doing then Then Gunners should win the match.
Stoke will look for the one goal, possibly with Crouch or Walters and then 'park the bus' which will frustrate Arsenal.

14:31:

The second half has kicked off at The Britannia Stadium.

Stoke 0 Arsenal 0

There are no substitutions for either side as of yet.

46: Arsenal playing a patient passing build-up play style and it looks like Stoke will get frustrated with this.

51: Cameras show that Arsenal forward Theo Walcott is warming up on the touchline, ready to come on soon... 

53: A Stoke corner is cleared away by the Arsenal defence.

55: Crouch has given away an Arsenal free-kick after hitting Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker on his head while trying to balance and win the ball at the same time.

Two giants in Crouch and Mertesacker matching each other.

57: Gibbs is robbed by Stoke winger Jermaine Pennant, who he does not see behind him. Pennant and Gibbs tussle for the ball on the wing before Pennant falls down inside the penalty box.....
The referee walks away from the scene and says no penalty.

Pennant and the Stoke fans are screaming for a penalty, but repalys shwo that it was a 50-50 challenge and Gibbs did not foul himand there was not enough contact for a penalty.

59: Arsenal striker Lukas Podolski out-muscles a Stoke defender before crosing the ball into the box.... goalkeeper Asmir Begovic holds the ball comfortably. 

61: A Podolski cross tries to find Giroud, but the defender clears the ball out for a corner.

64: Wilkinson tackles Arsenal captain Thomas Vermaelen and is late..... Yellow card given to the Stoke man. 
Reckless challenge by Andy Wilkinson and he is lucky not to be sent off.

66: Stoke SUB:
Jermaine Pennant OFF
Cameron Jerome ON

72: Arsenal SUB:
Lukas Podolski OFF
Gervinho OFF
Theo Walcott ON
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain ON

Injection of pace for Arsenal with Walcott and AOC coming on with just over 15 minutes to go.

76: Stoke are pressing for a goal here now, with Crouch making deadly crosses into the box.

78: Stoke SUB:
Peter Crouch OFF
Ryan Shotton ON

79: Arsenal free-kick taken by goalkeeper Vito Mannone with Shotton moving into the right side of midfield for Stoke. 

80: If Stoke go on to win the match here, that would be cruel for Arsenal fans.
Meanwhile Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud is in a heap on the pitch after being kicked in the head by Stoke defender Robert Huth 

81: Stoke SUB:
Glenn Whelan OFF
Wilson Palacios ON

Arsenal SUB:
Santi Cazorla OFF
Aaron Ramsey ON

Arsenal's bright spark in this match comes off for Ramsey, who broke his leg here a copule of season ago after a challenge by Stoke defender Ryan Shawcross who just happens to be on the pitch for Stoke...

 

85: 
BREAKING NEWS:

Manchester City vs Liverpool:

Team Line-ups:

Liverpool: Reina, Kelly, Coates, Skretel, Johnson, Lucas, Gerrarad, Allen, Borini, Suarez, Sterling.

Subs: Jones, Enrique, Carragher, Henderson, Shelvey, Downing, Carroll.

Manchester City: Hart, Zabaleta, K Toure, Kompany, Kolarov, Nasri, Barry, De Jong, Milner, Y Toure, Tevez, Balotelli.

Subs: Pantilimon, Lescott, Savic, Rodwell, Razak, Silva, Dzeko.

88: Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud has an ambitious shot as he sees goalkeeper Asmir Begovic off his line..
The ball goes over goalkeeper Begovic's head, but goes over the bar as well.
He could have passed the ball because he had a man free in space ahead of him who was onside, but he tried the spectacular at 0-0 with 88 minutes gone.
No comment.

90: Howard Webb signals for 3 minutes of stoppage time to be added on.

90+3: The referee has blown the whistle at the end of the match.

Stoke 0 Arsenal 0

Arsenal will feel hard done by because they could not finish their chances, despite having all of the possession and passing well.

Stoke will be the happier of the two teams, knowing that Arsenal pressed them throughout the match and could not even score.

My Man Of The Match:
Arsenal winger Santi Cazorla:

He was electric throughout the match, played well, passed well and created chances.
He will hope that he can start scoring soon.

Closed down: Arsenal winger Santi Cazorla is closed down well by Glenn Whelan and George Cameron.

Liverpool vs Manchester City - LIVE Commentary:

15:45:
17-year-old winger Raheem Sterling has been given a start for Liverpool ahead of Stewart Downing, while Manchester City winger David Silva starts from the bench along with striker Edin Dzeko. 

15:56:
Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard and Manchester City defender Vincent Kompany lead their respective clubs out.

4-2-3-1 formation for Liverpool with Sterling, Borini and Gerrard all behind Luis Suarez in attack.

3-5-2 formation for Manchester City with Kolarov and Milner the wing backs. Nasri is just behind Tevez and Baloteli.

16:00:

0: The referee, Andre Marriner has blown the whistle to start the match at Anfield.

0: Steven Gerrard takes a shot from 30 yards out, but it is wide of the goal.

2: Good atmosphere at Anfield, as Liverpool try and hold the ball up anmd pass well not giving City any possession.

3: Full-back Glen Johnson giving the Manchester City defence trouble earlier on with a darting run.

4: Liverpool SUB:
Lucas OFF (injury)
Jonjo Shelvey ON

Lucas is limping off the pitch, clutching his injury plagued knee and looks in pain. Does not look good for him, and it is sad that he is not able to continue.

5: 17-year-old Liverpool winger Raheem Sterling looks great, despite having only a few touches of the ball.
Looks fearless, and is running at the Manchester City defence with pace.

7: Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel outmuscles Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli for the ball and wins a throw-in for his team.

8: Balotelli looks for the foul after sticking tight to defender Martin Skrtel before getting tackled onto the floor. Free-kick to Manchester City from 30 yards out.

Manchester City full-back Kolarov takes the free-kick towards goal.... SAVE by Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina.

10: Sterling is certainly giving Manchester City something to think about down the wing, passes to Borini but Kolarov intercepts and clears the ball away from danger after putting the ball through Borini's legs skillfully and running past him.

17: Nice skill by Sterling on the wing, before crossing the ball into the box for striker Fabio Borini who hits the ball, but it is wide of the goal. Should have scored then...

19: Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez brings the ball around goalkeeper Pepe Reina before hitting the ball across goal... 
Defender Martin Kelly tries to clear with his head but he misses... The ball trickles towards goal...

HITS THE POST!
If only there was someone on the other side of the post City who have scored!

22: 
Match possession:
Liverpool - 39%, Manchester City - 61%

31: Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli has the ball at his feet, before working some space and unleashing a shot towards goal... OVER THE BAR!!
Waste of a shot, after he found space to take the shot.

33: Liverpool full-back Martin Kelly crosses the ball into the box, before the ball takes a deflection from Manchester City defender and captain Vincent Kompany over the bar.

34: Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard steps up to take the corner, and whips it into the box..... defender Martin Skrtel runs at the ball.... before unleashing a deadly header towards goal.... GOALLLLLL!!!!!!!

Unstoppable: Martin Skrtel beats Pablo Zabaleta and Kolarov in the air before unleashing a header past Joe Hart.

Deadlock broken: Martin Skrtel celebrates his bullet header against Manchester City in the 34th minute at Anfield.

Champions shocked: Manchester City players react to conceding against Liverpool in the first half at Anfield.

Skrtel breaks the deadlock for Liverpool at the Kop End.
1-0 ahead against the defending EPL Champions.

45: The fourth official has signalled for 1 minute of added time.
45+1: Sterling clips Balotelli along the wing, and City have a free-kick in a dangerous position now.

45+2: The City free-kick was wasted, and now it is half-time.

Liverpool lead 1-0 after a bullet header by Skrtel.
Carlos Tevez and co will feel disappointed that they are not in the lead, because Tevez hit the post, and the City defence will feel that if they had tightened up at the back for the corner, they would not be trailing.

Expect late drama in the second half, because Manchester City will not take a loss unless they fight till the death.  

17:00:

45: The second half has begun at Anfield. 
Liverpool lead by a goal to nil thanks to Martin Skrtel. 
No subsitutions from either side at the moment.

53: Liverpool midfielder Jonjo Shelvey is limping on the pitch after picking up a knock.

59: Cameras show that Manchester City's £15million signing Jack Rodwell is warming up and getting ready to come on soon.

61: Manchester City SUB:
Mario Balotelli OFF
Samir Nasri OFF
Edin Dzeko ON
Jack Rodwell ON 

64: Tevez crosses the ball into the box for Manchester City, before the ball ricochets off Liverpool defender Martin Kelly past goalkeeper Pepe Reina (who comes out of goal to try and punch the ball away), straight to Yaya Toure who shoots into an empty net.

Easy from there: Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure shoots from 6 yards out to score against Liverpool.

1-1, and Toure has equalised for City.

66: Liverpool SUB:
Martin Kelly OFF
Jose Enrique ON

66: Liverpool have a free-kick here from 30 yards out. Striker Luis Suarez steps up to take it before htting towards goal with a curling and swerving effort...

Suarez curls the ball past the Manchester City wall.... GOAL!!!!
What a free-kick by Suarez Liverpool have gone back into the lead now!

76: Manchester City SUB: 
James Milner OFF
David Silva ON


80: Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel is closed down well by the Manchester City defenders, so turns around and looks to pass to Reina....

The pass is weak but strong enough to find City striker Carlos Tevez lurking behind him who goes round Reina before tapping the ball into the empty net.

100th English goal: City striker Carlos Tevez takes advantage of a Skrtel mistake to equalise in the 80th minute.

Equaliser: Tevez takes off his shirt to reveal a message to the fans in a foreign language.

GOALLLLLLL!!!!

2-2 and Tevez has scored his 100th goal in English football.

82: Liverpool midfielder Jonjo Shelvey has a shot from 20 yards out, but the shot just rises over the top of the bar as it flies over.  

83: Liverpool SUB:
Fabio Borini OFF
Andy Carroll ON 

86: Manchester City break with Kolarov finding striker Edin Dzeko with a through ball into the box. He hits the ball... OVER!!
Dzeko should have hit the target there...

90: The fourth official has signalled for 4 minutes of stoppage time to be added on at Anfield in the tense match where both sides are looking for a late winner.

90+2: Liverpool right-back Glen Johnson has a shot comfortably saved and held by Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart.

90+3: Suarez passes the ball straight to Joe Allen who unleashes a shot from 25 yards out.... OVER THE BAR!!
The shot was not controlled and that will be the last attack of the match...

90+4: The referee has blown the whistle to end the match at Anfield.

FULL-TIME SCORE:

Liverpool 2 Manchester City 2 

This epic match was ended, with City the happier of the two sides. Despite failing to mark well at the corner, they at least won a point against Liverpool - who should have ended the match with all of their shooting chances and won comfortably in the end.

Liverpool will be disapointed with conceding two sloppy goals but thankful that they were not punished as badly as Southampton were last Sunday.

Guess who's back, with an EPL Transfer Update:

Hello and welcome to my first EPL Update in over a week.... Wow. It feels weird, but I MUST continue.


This will be a VERY long update, because a lot has happened over the last 10 days, including the official start of the London 2012 Olympics and some more EPL transfer activity, not to mention lots of football friendly action at the men's Olympic toournament has started.


So, without further ado, let me begin:

Chelsea have confirmed the £25million signing of Sao Paulo midfielder Oscar.

Promising startlet: Brazillian International Oscar has joined Chelsea for £25million.

American club New York Red Bulls have announced the signing of Everton midfielder Tim Cahill, subject to international clearance. 

It's official: Everton midfielder Tim Cahill has moved to New York Red Bulls for an undisclosed fee.

I'm here: Cahill talks the walk out into the Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.

Interesting or what?: Tim Cahill has not ruled out a move back to Everton (on-loan)

Cahill said this on the club website:
'I am very happy to start a new chapter of my career with the New York Red Bulls'
'As we have seen over the past few years, MLS has developed into a very competitive league with many talented players.' 
'I am impressed with what the Red Bulls are trying to accomplish in MLS and within American soccer and I am looking forward to this new challenge. I will do everything I can to help bring New York its first MLS Cup'





Does anyone remember the news article that I had last post about Lens winger Thorgan Hazard?


Well, he has signed for Chelsea now, and will link-up with his brother next season.

It's official: Winger Thorgan Hazard will join Chelsea next season.

He will slide into the U21 squad, and may be loaned out for some first-team experience..


Interesting transfer done deal here: 


QPR have signed Blackburn Rovers winger Junior Holiett after agreeing a four-year contract deal.

Back to the EPL: He will fit into the way QPR play football, and will be their star player next season.

He wants to play EPL football next season, so you cannot blame him for wanting to move from a relegated club Blackburn.
He will be their young gem, and could score a lot of goals next season.

The following video proves that he has a lots of potential in the future and his talent from this video:

EPL Transfer Rumours:

Fulham forward Clint Dempsey has dropped a big hint fore his future, after missing The Cottagers pre-season trip to Switzerland. He has been linked with a move to Liverpool as he looks to play CL football before the end of his career.

Not surpirsing: Clint Dempsey may NOT play for Fulham next season, as he tries to force his way into a CL club.

Newcastle have made a £4milllion bid for FC Twente defender Douglas Texeira.

FC Twente may accept the offer, considering the fact that he only has one year left on his contract and he can leave next season on a free transfer.

England bound, surely? Newcastle have made a £4million bid for FC Twente defender Douglas Texeira (right).

Liverpool have rejected a £13million bid from Manchester City for defender Daniel Agger, who are looking to bolster their defence.

Hard decision: Defender Daniel Agger could be on his way out of Liverpool, to move to City or Barcelona.

Chelsea are ready to sign Wigan winger Victor Moses for £7.5million now after having being rejected twice already. 

Sunderland are looking to replace Asamoah Gyan with a decent striker who can give them a mid-table finish next season. 

They have had a £12million bid rejected from Wolves for Steven Fletcher.

If I was Wolves, I would accept the bid, because for a Championship club £12million is a lot and they want to return to the PL next season. They should be able to replace him anyway.

Liverpool reportedly have made a £12.5million bid for Swansea midfielder Joe Allen.

Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay says that the club are still in the transfer market for a few more signings.

Tottenham are considering a £7million bid for Liverpool's 17-year-old winger Raheem Sterling. 

Wanted: 17-year-old Liverpool winger Raheem Sterling is wanted by Tottenham Hotspur.

There is just over 2 weeks left until the start of the EPL 2012-13 season begins. It would not be fitting to start the season without a montage of the last, so please watch this 4 minute video to remind you of why this is the best league in the world.  

Everton have completed the signing of Tottenham midfielder Steven Pienaar for £4.5million on a four-year contract deal.

Guess who's back again: Midfielder Steven Pienaar re-joins Everton for his 4th spell at the club.

He will be Everton's talisman along with Nikica Jelavic after the departures of Mikel Arteta and now Tim Cahill in recent seasons.

He joined Spurs 18 months ago, but was not given a chance to shine and only started 5 matches.  Everton signed him up on a season-long loan in January where he scored 4 important goals.  

EPL Poll:  

Goal of the EPL Season:    

A: Papiss Cisse vs Chelsea: B: Fraizer Campbell vs Norwich City C: Peter Crouch vs Stoke City D: Robin Van Persie vs  E: Stilyan Petrov vs Everton F: Hatem Ben Arfa vs Bolton       ALL THE GOALS ARE ON THE FOLLOWING VIDEO BELOW:

   

Friendlies and The Olympics: 

Arsenal 0 Manchester City 2, in Beijing - July 27th

Midfielder Yaya Toure and defender Pablo Zabaleta both scored for City as they beat Arsenal by 2 goals to nil. 

Promising start: Midfielder Yaya Toure slots the ball out of goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski's reach into the net.

EPL Champions City celebrate Yaya Toure's 45th minute goal to give them a 2-0 lead against Arsenal in China.

Arsenal's brick wall: Defensive midfielder Alex Song prevents Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez from scoring.

Do not be fooled by the scoreline though because:

Arsenal played better football throughout the match, and had all of their youngsters on. Much fitter than City and passed the ball better.

They look very promising for the next season.

Arsenal 2 Kitchee 2, Hong Kong - July 29th

Arsenal continued their pre-season preparations with a 2-2 draw in Hong Kong against Kitchee.

Midfielder Thomas Eisfeld who joined the club for £450,000 in January from Borussia Dortmund equalised with 12 minutes to go of the match.

Forward Theo Walcott who has been subject to transfer speculation also scored for The Gunners.

Make it seem easy: Theo Walcott cooly slots the ball into the net to give Arsenal a goal against Kitchee.

MLS All Stars 3 Chelsea 2, Pennslyvania(USA) - July 25th

Chelsea suffered their first pre-season defeat in their America tour against the MLS All Stars.

Happy faces: Chelsea defender John Terry shakes LA Galaxy midfielder David Beckham's hand before the match.

Defender John Terry and Midfielder Frank Lampard both scored for The Blues, but it was not enough for them to win the match. 

Thank you very much: Midfielder Frank Lampard has played over 560 matches for Chelsea.

Notable faces for the All Stars included Arsenal legend Thierry Henry and David Beckham.

Chelsea 0 AC Milan 1, Sun Life Stadium, Miami(USA) - July 28th

Midfielder Urby Emmanuelson scored the only goal of the match for AC Milan as they beat Chelsea 1-0.

Notable faces including Fernando Torres returned to the Chelsea side but were not able to prevent The Blues from losing against the Italian giants.  Manchester United 1 Shangai Shenhua 0, Shangai Stadium - July 25th  United continued to send a message to local rivals City that they would challenge to regain their EPL title next season. This time, £17million signing Shinji Kagawa stole all of the headlines against a Chinese club who snapped up both Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba from Chelsea over the past year.

Raring to go: Manchester United winger Shinji Kagawa scores his first goal for the club against Shangai Shenhua.

Golden Boy: Kagawa is mobbed by his team-mates after a great start to his United career.

EPL, Here I come: The Japanese winger could be United's secret weapon in the next few seasons.

He scored the only goal of the match, and fitted in well playing for United. Looks promising for the future, and could even dominate the EPL. Watch this space.

 

London 2012 Men's Football Olympics:

Team GB's Results:

Great Britain 1 Senegal 1 - July 26th at Old Trafford

Liverpool forward Craig Bellamy scored the only goal of the match for Team GB as they drew against African side Senegal.

19-year-old Pape Moussa Konate equalised for Senegal in the 81st minute to give them 1 point.

Great Britain 3 UAE 1 - July 29th at Wembley Stadium

Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge, Swansea winger Scott Sinclair and Manchester United midfielder Ryan Giggs were all of the scoresheet for Team GB as they cruised to a 3-1 win against United Arab Emirates.

Golden Oldie: Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs heads Team GB into the lead against UAE after 16 minutes.

 FACT: Ryan Giggs has become the oldest football player to score at the Olympics.

Deadlock broken: Ryan Giggs does the trademark fist pump as he celebrates his goal.

'Flying like a Swan': Swansea forward Scott Sinclair celebrates make it 2-1 to Team GB in the 73rd minute.

Recovered: Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge recovered from meningitis to score for Team GB with a delightful chip to make it 3-1.

Other Groups News:

Spain have been knocked out of the Men's Olympics Football Tournament after 2 losses against Honduras and Japan. 

Japan and Brazil and the first two teams to go through to the Quarter-Finals. 

Thank you for reading my EPL Blog.

Please spread the word to your family and friends (who like soccer/football!). 

I truly appreciate all the support from daily views and my followers. If you like what you are reading, then do nto forget to follow me for updates when I post.

I will speak to you all very soon for my next update.

Midweek EPL Action, including Monday's epic Manchester derby:

Midweek EPL Action:


But first,

Let me tell you all that West Brom manager Roy Hodgson has been appointed as the the new England manager.

New manager: Roy Hodgson being unveiled by The FA at Wembley earlier this afternoon.

It is sealed! Hodgson shakes FA chairman David Bernstein's hand after accepting the England job.

 


Good luck Roy! Prove the haters wrong!

Chelsea have completed the signing of Werder Bremen midfielder Marko Marin for £7-£8million on a four year contract deal. 

Marko Marin is the latest player to join the Chelsea revolution. The 23-year-old will join his new club in the Summer.

And unofficially*,

Arsenal have confirmed the signing of Koln striker Lukas Podolski for £10-£11million.

* I say that this is unofficial, as he has not been unveiled as of yet. 

Former Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur defender Sol Campbell has confirmed that he has retired from professional football at the age of 37, after two decades in the beautiful game. 

Olden days: Sol Campbell was captain for Tottenham Hotspur, and played with them from 1992-2001.

From one side of North London to the other: Sol Campbell playing for Arsenal in 2010.

Great times: Campbell lifts the FA Cup trophy with Portsmouth, back in 2008 after beating Cardiff in the final.

He made 73 international appearances for England and played at three different World Cups.
He has also in total played 644 matches in his career, scoring 29 goals.

Well done, and good luck in the future. Great defender and was rock solid at the back. 
Legend.


You can find this, (and more!) at my Transfer Window Blog every TW at:


http://epltransferwindowlive.blogspot.co.uk/   
(Which re-opens in mid-May)




Let's look at the epic title derby match from The Ethiad Stadium on Monday first:

Race for the title: Derby match between Manchester City vs Manchester United at The Ethiad.

Manchester City 1 Manchester United 0


This match was played at The Ethiad Stadium on 'Monday Night Football', as 1st placed United had the chance to go 6 points clear at the top of the table, against arch rivals City in 2nd place (which with a win would allow them to go back into 1st place).


This first 20 minutes, were all United, as they dominated possession and had more fire in their bellies. They looked like they wanted to win more than City to be honest. The atmosphere was electric and after half an hour, the City players nerves were finally calmed down.

Striker Sergio Aguero was the first player to give United goalkeeper David De Gea something to be scared of, with two good chances to go ahead which were both narrowly missed.


Just before half-time, City had a corner whipped into the box for defender Vincent Kompany who left man Chris Smalling before powerfully heading the ball far out of De Gea's reach to break the deadlock just before half-time.

Goal bound: De Gea is left helpless after Kompany's powerful header flies past him into the net.

Relief: City captain Vincent Kompany celebrates his goal against Manchester United at The Ethiad.

What a time to score for the home side, just before the break.

In the second half, United were desperate for the equaliser, and you could tell as they were starting to get a little bit frustrated when they did not get the ball.

The two managers were getting a bit angry aswell, with some entertaining action on the touchline.

You what? The two Manchester club managers had to be spilt up to avoid a fight on the touchline.

There were some notable celebrities in the crowd including Oasis singer Liam Gallagher, and famous retired Argentinan football player Diego Maradona (who was supporting his son-in-law Aguero). 

We can see you! Argentinan legend Diego Maradona is spotted watching the match high in the stands.

Tuesday's Action:
 
Liverpool 0 Fulham 1

This match was played at Anfield, as 8th placed Liverool hosted 9th placed Fulham in an interested mid-table battle between two decent clubs both wanting to play in Europe.
Defender Martin Skrtel gave his team the worst possible start, after his deflected from a Damien Duff cross went past goalkeeper Doni into his own net after only 5 minutes.

Oh dear: Martin Skrtel's deflection beat his own goalkeeper to put Fulham ahead at Anfield in the 5th minute.

Everton 1 Stoke City 1

This match was played at Goodison Park as in-form side Everton hosted a Stoke side who have only won 4 matches away from home this season.




Wednesday: 

Chelsea 0 Newcastle 2

This crunch, mouthwatering and interesting match was played at Stamford Bridge, as 6th placed Champions League finalists Chelsea hosted Champions League hopefuls Newcastle in a tense match which could effectively seal the fate of who plays in the CL next season.




Tottenham Hotspur 4 Bolton Wanderers 1

The main story surrounding this match broke on Tuesday night, as midfielder Fabrice Muamba confirmed that he would be watching the match at White Hart Lane, six weeks after collapsing on the pitch against Spurs in a FA Cup Quarter-final match.






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