Magic Ibrahimovic sinks England:

International Friendly: Sweden host England at their new stadium the 'Friends Arena'

Hello and welcome to my latest blog post, where England travelled to the 'Friends Arena' to play against Sweden on Wednesday night in an International Friendly.

This is probably one of the best international friendlies I have ever watched including England. 

Sweden 4 England 2

The major news for England was that they were going to start an inexperienced side with Tottenham Hotspur defender Steven Caulker, Chelsea defender Gary Cahill, Everton midfielder Leon Osman and Liverpool's 17-year-old winger Raheem Sterling all starting.

FACT: Osman and Caulker have both NEVER played for the England senior side. 

Sweden started the match against a weakened and inexperienced England side off well, with PSG striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic breaking the deadlock after only 20 minutes with a high tap-in past Manchester City goalkeper Joe Hart into the top corner of the net from 12 yards out.

England equalised 15 minutes later thanks to striker Danny Welbeck's nice finish from 6 yards out after a nice cross into the box by Manchester United winger Ashley Young.

Much needed equaliser: Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck scores for England to make it 1-1.

It's you again! Striker Welbeck celebrates his equaliser against Sweden which is his 4th goal for England.

An England free-kick was taken by Liverpool midfielder and captain Steven Gerrard on his 100th cap for his country, and the ball was whipped deep into the box for an England player to put his head onto.

The ball flew past all of the Sweden defenders in the box, before the ball fell to a diving Caulker who kneed the ball at the far post into the net to give The Three Lions a 2-1 lead, 5 minutes after trailing by 1 goal to nil.

Debut goal for England: Tottenham defender Steven Caulker scores on his debut against Sweden to make it 2-1.

Mobbed: Steven Caulker celebrates his debut goal with his team-mates to put England ahead.

At half-time, England were leading by 2 goals to 1, and feeling confident about their chances of beating Sweden.

Oh, they were wrong.....

In the second half, Sweden had a different tactic. Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

In the 77th minute, after a great ball over the top of the defence by Anders Svensson found Ibrahimovic who shrugged off a tackle by Cahill before blasting the ball with a powerful volley past Joe Hart to make it 2-2.

In the 80th minute, after some great play by England, Everton midfielder Leon Osman almost gave England the lead again with a well-struck shot towards goal which was saved well however by Andreas Isaksson.

In the 83rd minute, Sweden were awarded a free-kick from 30 yards out. Zlatan was eager to take it, and ran up before unleashing a low, hard, powerfull drive towards goal.

The strike was fast and Joe Hart saw it late, and his dive was too late to stop the Swede from scoring his hat-trick. Sweden had stolen the lead, and Ibrahimovic had scored 3 in a great performance for him.

Powerful, low drive: Ibrahimovic scores from 30 yards out to give Sweden the lead again in the 83rd minute.

But that was not it.... 

In the 90+1st minute, a clearance from a Swedish defender fell near the 18-yard box. Joe Hart came out to clear the ball, and because he was outside the box, headered the ball away with Ibrahimovic in hot pursuit for the ball. 

Ibrahimovic instantly turned around to chase the ball before connecting nicely with the ball towards goal with a clean strike.  

The ball floated over Joe Hart's head, and even though Ryan Shawcross tried to clear the ball off the line, it was too late for him to deny Ibrah his fourth of the game.

Acrobatic: Ibrahimovic scores an overhead bicycle kick to against England to score one of the best goals this century.

Great goal: Ibrahimovic celebrates his amazing effort past Joe Hart to sink England with the Swedish fans.

The final whistle blew a couple of minutes afterwards, with all the fans in the stadium still in shock after that lovely, wonder goal by their star man Ibrahimovic.   

Thank you for readig my blog, and I will speak to you all tomorrow where I will have coverage of the day's 8 EPL matches including;

Arsenal vs Tottenham Hotspur: LIVE at 12:45pm


Battle of North London. 8th vs 7th. Pride at stake.  

Neither team has been on top form over the last few weeks, and it can all change with a convincing win over their fiercest rivals tomorrow.

One's to watch:

Tottenham:
Jermain Defoe, Jan Vertonghen, Gareth Bale, Kyle Walker, Sandro. 

Arsenal:
Thomas Vermaelen, Jack Wilshere, Lukas Podolski, Santi Cazorla, Theo Waclott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.  

Expect lots of goals, drama, controversy and cards.

FACT: Tottenham have only won twice away against Arsenal in the EPL. Once in 1993 and another in 2010. 

FACT: Arsenal have only won 2 out of their last 8 EPL matches. 

Stats:
 
168 matches played: 
Arsenal's wins: 70
Draws: 45
Tottenham's wins: 53

Football Recap over the last 6 days:

Hello and welcome to my LATEST blog post, with a recap of last Sunday's EPL results along with the UEFA Champions League Group Stage Matches.

I apologise for not posting for the past week, I have busy and have had a tight schedule with schoolwork etc.

Anyways, let me start off this blog post with last Sunday's double header;

Here was last Sunday's EPL results: 

QPR 1 Reading 1

This match was played at Loftus Road, as QPR hosted Reading in a mid-table clash.

Defender Kasper Gorkss scored in the 16th minute to break the deadlock for the away side with a powerful piledriver into the top corner of the net.

From a defender: Kasper Gorkss' piledriver hits the back of the net before Julio Cesar can see it.

That was special: Gorkss celebrates his great goal against QPR.

QPR striker Djibril Ciise equalised in the 66th minute with a tap-in at the far post after a cross from full-back Jose Bosingwa was whipped into the box, and Morrison's diving header was missed and fell to him.

Jubilant: QPR striker Djibril Cisse celebrates his equaliser in the 66th minute.

The match ended 1-1, with both sides taking one point. 

FACT: QPR still have not won a match this season.


Liverpool 1 Newcastle United 1

This match was played at Anfield, as Liverpool hosted a tough Newcastle side.

Newcastle started off the match slowly and were on the back foot despite holding strong in the defence.

In the 43rd minute, midfielder Yohan Cabaye gave the visitors a 1-0 lead against the run of play after a great run by winger Hatem Ben Arfa finding him outside the box. 

1-0: French midfielder Yohan Cabaye broke the deadlock for Newcastle just before half-time.

Team-mates Cisse and Ben Arfa celebrate Cabaye's second goal of the season.

In the second half, Liverpool were desperate for an equaliser and played higher up the pitch with Suarez and Sterling both causing Newcastle trouble down the wings.

Their hard work finally paid off in the 67th minute when Luis Suarez used a touch of magic and genius to take two touches past the Newcastle defence before taking the ball around Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul and a simple tap-in the net to equalise.

Touch of magic and class: Luis Suarez goes past Krul before tapping the ball cooly into the net.

Important equaliser: Suarez wheels away to celebrate making it 1-1 at Anfield.

Both teams pressed for a late winner, with Newcastle defender and captain Fabricio Coloccini getting sent off in the 84th minute, after a clumsy and dangerous hack at Suarez near the touchline.

Clumsy: Newcastle defender Fabricio Coloccini is sent off for a dangerous tackle on Suarez.

The match ended 1-1, with Liverpool the happier of the two sides having gone 1 goal down against a strong Newcastle squad.
Neither team could find a winner though.

West Brom 2 Southampton 0

This match was played at The Hawthorns, as West Brom hosted Southampton on Monday night.

Striker Peter Odemwingie scored a double (36th and 60th minute) for the home side to guarantee all three points.

UEFA Champions League Group Stage:

Tuesday:

FC Schalke 04 2 Arsenal 2

The Gunners were desperate to get revenge after losing 2-0 at The Emirates a fortnight ago thanks to Huntelaar and Afellay. 

They started the match off well in Germany, with winger Theo Walcott breaking the deadlock in the 18th minute after some poor defending was taken advantage of by the English forward.

Taking advantage: Theo Walcott breaks the deadlock in the 18th minute.

On-form: Walcott celebrates his 8th goal this season, after claims he wants to play as a striker.

Olivier Giroud made it 2-0, 8 minutes later to give The Gunners a comfortable cushion going into half-time.

Confidence booster: Giroud celebrates his 3rd goal for Arsenal since moving in the summer.

They were playing well, and had possession of the ball while passing well and quickly between players.

It could have been a rout, UNTIL striker Klaas Jan-Huntelaar pulled one back in the last minute of normal time in the first half. 

Taken to pieces: Huntelaar weaves a bit of  magic past two defenders before having a shot past Mannone to score. 

Hope: Wanted striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar celebrates his goal of the season to make it 2-1.

In the second half, Schalke were pressing for an equaliser, while Arsenal's passing was poor and their composure on the ball had dramatically changed from the first half.

Winger Jefferson Farfan completed the Schalke comeback in the 67th minute after running down the wing before tracking the ball back and hitting the ball across Mannone's goal into the far corner of the net.

Inevitable: Schalke winger Jefferson Farfan make it 2-2 with a low, hard strike past Mannone.

The match ended 2-2, despite Arsenal's late efforts to win all three points.

Manchester City 2 Ajax 2

Another EPL side that were looking for revenge in the Champions League were Manchester City, after being outplayed in Holland two weeks ago 3-1.

They did not help themselves in the first 20 minutes, with poor defending allowing striker Siem De Jong to score twice in the space of 7 minutes.

Heads I score: Ajax striker Siem De Jong takes advantage of poor defending to score at The Ethiad.

Riot: De Jong celebrates his second goal in 2 matches against Manchester City.

Tomorrow:

Recap of today's 7 EPL Matches which include Arsenal vs Fulham and Aston Villa vs Manchester United. 

EPL Super Saturday Results Analysis:

Hello and welcome to my LATEST EPL blog post.
This is part 1 of 3, in week 10 of this season's English Premier League. 
There are 7 matches played today, including Manchester United vs top-4 challengers Arsenal, and Everton vs Fulham.

Early Afternoon Match:

Manchester United 2 Arsenal 1:

This match was played at Old Trafford, as 3rd placed Manchester United hosted 6th placed Arsenal in an interesting clash.

The main story going into this match was that Robin van Persie would be playing against his old club Arsenal for the first time after moving to United for £24million in the summer transfer window.
Everyone was asking how he would fare, and the reception that he would get.

8 years: van Persie played for Arsenal from 2004 to 2012 and would play against his old club today.

Arsenal started the match off slowly, and paid the price after three minutes when defender and captain Thomas Vermaelen mis-kicked a clearance, and former Arsenal striker Robin van Persie broke the deadlock with a piledriver past Vito Mannone into the net. He showed respect and did not celebrate after scoring.

Piledriver: Manchester United striker Robin van Persie takes advantage of a mistake by Vermaelen to score.

We celebrate, you don't: United team-mates mob van Persie after scoring against Arsenal.

Respect: van Persie shows respect to his former club Arsenal by not celebrating his goal in the 3rd minute.

Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere got a yellow card in the 14th minute after a late challenge on Manchester United midfielder Tom Cleverley. 

Manchester United were then controversially given a penalty just before half-time when winger Ashley Young's cross into the box hit midfielder Santi Cazorla on his hand.

He and the rest of his Arsenal team-mates were angry at the decision as he felt that the ball would have hit his face, and the handball was unintentional.

Dispute: Arsenal defenders Sagna and Vermaelen both argue the case along with Cazorla after the penalty was given.

 
However justice was done, when striker Wayne Rooney had his penalty missed wide.

Justice served: Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has his penalty missed at the end of the first half.

After the half-time break, Arsenal failed to get out of their shell despite good passing and keeping possession.

Left-back Andre Santos was playing poorly, and was getting dominated on the wings by Valencia and Young every time. 

In the 67th minute, defender Patrice Evra doubled United's lead after a header from a corner found the back of the net. 

Towering header: Defender Patrice Evra doubles United's lead in the 67th minute to almost kill off Arsenal's chances of winning.

 

Important cushion: Evra celebrates his 2nd goal of the season with his team-mates to make it 2-0.

Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere got a second yellow card two minutes later after a late tackle on full-back Patrice Evra. 

Disappointing: Arsene Wenger looks on after Wilshere is sent off in only his second match back from injury.

Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla made it 2-1 in the 90+3rd minute with a fantastic strike past Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea, but The Gunners left it too late to salvage something at OT and left empty-handed.

Great strike: Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla scored a fantastic strike to make it 2-1.

United move up to 1st place with 24 points, while Arsenal fail to move up in the table, and stay in 6th place.

3pm kick-offs:

Fulham 2 Everton 2

This match was played at Craven Cottage as 9th placed Fulham hosted 5th placed Everton.

Fulham broke the deadlock in the 7th minute, after winger Bryan Ruiz's free-kick was saved and parried away by goalkeeper Tim Howard. 

Howard failed to keep the ball under control and ended up scoring an own goal.

Fulham forward Bryan Ruiz' free-kick ends up in the net, after Howard fails to control the ball.

1-0 to the home side: Ruiz celebrates the goal with team-mate Damien Duff.

Everton midfielder Marouane Fellaini equalised for the away side in the 55th minute to make it 1-1 after some great running down the wing by forward Kevin Mirallas before his through ball into the box was cooly slotted into the net.

Fellaini scored again in the 72nd minute after a lofted cross just outside the box found him, and he shrugged off a challenge from two Fulham defenders before hitting a low half-volley past goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer to give Everton the lead away from home.

Back in it: Everton midfielder Marouane Fellaini celebrates scoring the equaliser

With just over 15 minutes to go of the match, Fulham were determined to salvage the game especially after going 1-0 ahead.

This happened dramatically in the 90th minute when midfielder Steve Sidwell scored at the far post after Berbatov's volley span straight to him.

Late equaliser: Fulham midfielder Steve Sidwell celebrates his late goal against Everton.

The match finished 2-2, with Fulham the happier of the two sides.

Everton will feel hard done by after letting a lead slip in the dying minutes and will feel as though they could have won the match.

The Toffees need to stop DRAWING matches and win them because if they want a Europa League spot at the end of the season, this is an important place to pick up maximum points.


Norwich City 1 Stoke City 0

This match was played at Carrow Road as Norwich hosted Stoke in a bottom-of-the-table clash.

Defender Bradley Johnson scored the only goal of the game in the 44th minute of the match.

Important: Norwich defender Bradley Johnson celebrates scoring the only goal of the match.

Norwich are now in 14th place, while Stoke move down to 15th.


Sunderland 0 Aston Villa 1

This match was played at The Stadium of Light, as 16th placed Sunderland hosted 17th placed Aston Villa. 

Aston Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor added to his goal during midweek in the Capital One Cup to score the only goal of the match in the 57th minute.

Nicely done: Aston Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor scores his first goal in 29 matches.

The two sides stay where they are in the table, with Aston Villa winning their second match of the season.

Swansea City 1 Chelsea 1

This match was played at The Liberty Stadium in Wales as tough side Swansea hosted 2nd placed Chelsea who looked to go back to the top of the table with a win away from home, after losing to Manchester United last Sunday (who are currently first)

Both sides started the match off slowly, with Chelsea breaking the deadlock with young winger Victor Moses scoring in the 61st minute after defender Gary Cahill's strike deflected off him into the net.

Victor Moses celebrates his first goal for Chelsea against Swansea after a £10million move from Wigan.

Swansea winger Pablo Hernandez equalised for the home side in the 88th minute to make it 1-1, and give The Swans a well-deserved point at home.

Well-deserved: Swansea winger Pablo Hernandez points to the sky after scoring against Chelsea.

This result ensured that Manchester United move into 1st place until at least next week, with Chelsea dropping more points in the early stages of the title race.


Tottenham Hotspur 0 Wigan Athletic 1

This match was played at White Hart Lane, as 4th placed Tottenham hosted 17th placed Wigan in a predicted mis-match.

Wigan midfielder Ben Watson scored the only goal of the match in the 56th minute, after a Wigan corner was parried out by Brad Friedel.

The ball came out to Watson, who hit the ball towards goal. Friedel tried to prevent the ball from going into the net by pushing it, but it was already in.

FACT: Ben Watson is the first Englishman to score for Wigan this calendar year. 

Capital One Cup 4th Round Results Part 2, plus 5th Round Draw:

Hello and welcome to part 2 of my Capital One Cup 4th Round Results along with the 5th Round Draw of the Last 8 teams left.

Wednesday's Cup Matches:

Chelsea 5 Manchester United 4

The Blues got their much wanted revenge after losing on Sunday to their EPL title rivals United by 3 goals to 2.

This match was dramatic throughout, with Manchester United and Chelsea both playing inexperienced squads as they both have important matches on Saturday.

Norwich City 2 Tottenham Hotspur 1

Norwich gave top-4 challengers Tottenham a shock in the 4th round of the Capital One Cup. 

An own goal from defender Jan Vertonghen and defender Simeon Jackson set them on their way into the quarter-finals after winger Gareth Bale broke the deadlock in the 66thn minute.

Midfielder Clint Dempsey failed to equalise for the away side in the last minute from the penalty spot.

Liverpool 1 Swansea City 3 

Swansea moved into the 5th Round of the Capital One Cup after a comfortable 3-1 win over Liverpool. 

Defender Chico Flores broke the deadlock after 34 minutes, before winger Nathan Dyer made it 2-0 in the 72nd minute.

Liverpool striker Luis Suarez made it 2-1 in the 77th minute afterr coming on as a substitute, but midfielder Jonathan De Guzman made it 3-1 and ended The Reds' hopes of winning in the 90th minute.

5th Round Draw: 

Swansea City vs Middlesbrough

Norwich City vs Aston Villa  

Bradford City vs Arsenal

Leeds United vs Chelsea

Ties to be played on the 12th and 13th of December. 

5 EPL teams still in the Capital One Cup, with Arsenal, Chelsea and Swansea are all expected to win with easy ties.

Aston Villa vs Norwich is an evenly matched tie, but Villa are slight favourites to progress to the semi-finals..

I apologise for this blog post coming out late,had to starfiles had been wiped out, and I had to start all over again.

Thank you for reading my EPL Blog, and the Saturday Results Analysis will be out soon.

Capital One Cup 4th Round Results Part 1:

This year's Capital One Cup is at the latter stages - in the 4th Round. The winners of the matches progress through to the Quarter-Finals.

Hello and welcome to my LATEST blog post installment of this year's Capital One Cup.
Today and tomorrow we take a break from the English Premier League to continue with the 4th Round Matches of this year's Capital One Cup.
 

Yesterday's Results:

Reading 5 Arsenal 7 AET

A truly fascinating and exciting match at The Madjeski Stadium, as EPL sides Reading and Arsenal did battle.

Arsenal fielded a weak, younger, inexperienced squad and it was clearly evident after only 37 MINUTES as they were down by 4 goals to NIL.   

1-0 to The Royals: Striker Jason Roberts wheels away to celebrate his goal past Damian Martinez.

Stunner: Jason Roberts celebrates his opener at The Madjeski Stadium after 12 minutes.

Shock: Reading midfielder Leigertwood gives them a comfortable 3-0 lead over Arsenal - after only 20 MINUTES.

A thrashing: Reading defender Noel Hunt heads his side into a 4-0 lead at home against Arsenal after 37 minutes.

Delicate chip: Arsenal winger Theo Walcott gives his side faint hope just before half-time to make the score 4-1.

Back in it: Arsenal striker and substitute Olivier Giroud scores for The Gunners to make it 4-2 in the 64th minute.

Rather late than never: Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny scores at the right end to make it 4-3 in the 89th minute after scoring an own goal.

In-front: Arsenal striker Marouane Chamakh hits a great strike to make it 5-4 during extra time.

Not for long: Reading striker Pavel Pogrebnyak celebrates his headed goal against Arsenal to make it 5-5 in extra time.

Leeds United 3 Southampton 0

Sunderland 0 Middlesbrough 1

Swindon Town 2 Aston Villa 3

Wigan 0 Bradford City 0 AET (2-4 on pens) 

  

(MORE TO FOLLOW SOON)