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Newcastle United Vs Manchester City: Ireland saves City from a humiliating loss

October 21st, 2008

A late goal from Stephen Ireland denied Newcastle United to score an elusive victory in the Barclays Premier League at St. James Park.

Magpies were reduced to 10 men as early as the 12th minute, when Habib Beye got sent off for recklessly challenging Robinho.

Although game looked in the hands of the Eastlands club, Joe Kinnear’s men showed great character, which was also visible in the game against Everton.

Even with 10 men, Newcastle remarkably made a comeback and could have won the game too, if Ireland wouldn’t have scored four minutes from time.

Brazilian International Robinho scored the opener in the 13th minute for City when referee Rob Styles gave a penalty and at the same time, sent off Beye for an irresponsible challenge in the box.

Shola Amoebi, who didn’t score for Newcastle since October 15, 2006, became the hero for the home side, as he came up with a much needed equalizer in the 43rd minute.

Newcastle was in the driver’s seat, once Manchester City Captain Richard Dunne sent a ball in his own net in the 63rd minute making it 2-1 much to the delight of the home fans.

However, Ireland’s goal in the end became a decisive factor in the end and saved Mark Hughes’ side from an embarrassing loss.

With this 2-2 draw, Joe Kinnear will be hoping that his side continues to perform well and get that elusive win, which has evaded them for a long time now.

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Liverpool Vs Manchester City: Reds make stunning comeback to win 3-2

October 6th, 2008

Liverpool maintained their winning run by coming from 2-0 down and beating Manchester City 3-2 on an eventful BPL Sunday.

It was Dirk Kuyt who scored his first Premier League goal since November, as Liverpool beat 10-man Manchester City in stoppage time.

The home side got a stunning two goal lead in the dramatic first half through Javier Garrido and Steven Ireland.

Liverpool almost scored in the fourth minute after Albert Riera got an excellent touch, but City goalkeeper Joe Hart was alert enough to turn the effort around the post.

In spite of many swift counterattacks launched by Liverpool, Shaun Wright-Philips showed some great defensive qualities to prevent the visitors from scoring a goal.

It was Ireland, who rifled an unstoppable shot into the corner and scored his third goal of the season for Manchester City in the 19th minute.

City was quick to extend their lead to 2 goals just before the first half (41st minute) when Garrido sent a superb free kick just over Reina for his first goal for the club.

It seemed all over for Liverpool when the second half began. However, Liverpool striker Fernando Torres had some other ideas.

He gave a marvellous slid in from a close range in the 55th minute reducing the deficit to 2-1. It was the Spanish striker again, who headed the equaliser in the 73rd minute from Gerrard’s corner.

Liverpool got the momentum and finally Dirk Kuyt scored the winning goal in injury time when he smashed the ball high into the City net.

Meanwhile, Chelsea continued their winning streak at Stamford Bridge after they beat Aston Villa 2-0. Bolton also scored a 3-1 away victory over West Ham United at Upton Park. Again, it was Jermain Defoe, who fired Portsmouth to clinch a 2-1 victory over Stoke City at Fratton Park.

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Posted in Liverpool, Manchester City

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Manchester City Vs Wigan Athletic: Debatable penalty wins it for Lactics

September 29th, 2008

Manchester City, club with a recent windfall that is expected to blast into the top four of the Premiership, today lost 2-1 to Wigan Athletic at JJB Stadium with one of the two goals being a controversial penalty.

In spite of fielding Kompany, Jo, Phillips and Robinho, City failed to impress against a side that was on the verge of relegation last season.

Wigan manager Steve Bruce made two changes in the squad that won against Ipswich 4-1 in the Carling Cup with Maynor Figueora and Mario Melchoit coming in for Kevin Kilbane and Paul Scharner.

Wigan’s Ecuadorian International Antonia Valencia provided the first breakthrough of the game in the 16th minute. He turned against Stephen Ireland and had a shot past City keeper Joe Hart from outside the box into the top right corner of the goal.

After Shawn Wright Philips had been fouled in the 21st minute by Figueora, the free kick resulted in the only City goal during the match. Vincent Kompany whipped the ball into the net from Blumer Elano’s free kick.

The controversial moment of the game came in the 34th minute when referee Steve Bennett gave a penalty to Wigan, after Javier Garrido deemed to have fouled Wilson Palacios. Amr Zaki came to the spot and sent Hart in the wrong way giving Wigan a 2-1 lead.

Given the debatable nature of the decision for minimal contact and excessive appealing by Robinho, the Brazilian earned his first booking in England.

The rest of the match went rather eventless and the score ended 2-1 much to the disappointment of Manchester City.

In another match, Portsmouth defeated Tottenham 2-0 at Fratton Park with Defoe and Crouch being Pompey scorers. Spurs with this loss has remained at the bottom of the table still to register a win in the season.

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Posted in Manchester City, Premier League

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Hughes: Robinho is quickly proving his worth

September 23rd, 2008

After yesterday’s 6-0 thrashing of Portsmouth in a packed City of Manchester stadium, Manchester City manager Mark Hughes has put faith in his team, and has specially praised Robinho for his performance. He said that Brazilian has been rather quick in proving his worth.

Robinho joined the Eastlands side on the same day, when the club was taken over by the the Abu Dhabi United Group. It was also the deadline day of the summer transfer window.

Robinho, along with Stephen Ireland, was one of the motivations during the six goal triumph over Pompey. His good team work and two goals from three matches have earned him good love and respect from City faithful.

According to Hughes, Robinho is not only technically an outstanding player, but he has got a great work ethic and an understanding of the game.

Hughes insists that the Brazilian has got the right mix of skill and application required at the highest level.

In the meantime, City’s new chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has inspired new hope by saying that the club still has a lot of hidden potential, which will surface in the coming time.

Al Mubarak insisted that the United Group is working for the long term development of the club.

The new manager also highlighted the role played by some of the players including Vincent Kompany, Stephen Ireland and Robinho.

A new on-the-field partnership between Ireland and Robinho is increasingly becoming the headache of rival defenders, even though the two are unable to communicate in the same language!

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Posted in Manchester City, Premier League

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Manchester City Vs Portsmouth: Scintillating display leads to 6-0 win for City

September 22nd, 2008

The match between Manchester City and Portsmouth at City of Manchester Stadium ended in a perfect goal fest for the Eastlands club and a humiliation for Pompey.

The big point of the 6-0 win was that all the six goals came from six different City players, which included two from substitutes.

Portsmouth Manager, Harry Redknapp, started with a seemingly strange 3-5-2 formation and the three man defense had the toughest time of all the players in the two teams.

Pompey Goalie David James also had a disastrous game against his former club and must have been relieved beyond anything at the final whistle.

He made two fantastic saves early in the game, but that was just not enough as City pressed harder and harder to end the deadlock.

The scoring spree started early in the thirteenth minute, when Brazilian forward Jo side footed James and rounded an easy ball into the empty net.

Richard Dunne scored in the 20th minute as a corner was deflected by James, which made the score at half time read 2-0.

In the second half, Robinho netted in the 57th minute and strikes from former Chelsea man Shawn Wright Philips (68’) and subs Chad Evans (78’) and Fernandes Gelson (83’) contributed to the City’s impressive show in front of their home fans.

In another match, Juande Ramos’ Tottenham Hotspurs were held to a goal less draw at White Hart Lane by Wigan Athletic. Thus, Spurs continued their disappointing run in the Premier League. They only have two points from five completed games.

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Posted in Manchester City, Portsmouth

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Manchester City Vs Chelsea: City goes down 1-3 to Chelsea

September 14th, 2008

Manchester City today went down 1-3 to Chelsea at City of Manchester Stadium with new record signing, Brazilian Robinho, scoring the only goal for City.

While Robinho scored a well deserved goal from a free kick, the match basically looked like a club playing against their own reserves.

Luiz Felipe Scolari’s side literally showed the Eastlands Club what a big four club is, and made them realize that they are still a side under reconstruction.

Robinho went on from the beginning of the game to prove why he was the center of the transfer season, along with other City players. He was rewarded with a 20 yard free kick that he took when Jo was fouled by Ricardo Carvalho.

This lead seemed to have blown Chelsea away, but they equalized just after three minutes, when a corner by Frank Lampard met a number of deflections before meeting Carvalho, who struck an unstoppable shot beyond goalie Joe Hart.

After this, both teams got chances, but a goal was to come only in the second half, when Frank Lampard ran past Richard Dunne before putting the ball in the bottom corner.

Then, in the 69th minute, again Carvalho made a great tackle, and Anelka scored the third goal effectively, sealing the match for the blues.

The only thing that went bad for Chelsea, except the three minute period when they were behind, was the first straight red card of John Terry’s career, which rules him out of the game against Manchester United next Sunday.

Meanwhile, Roy Keane’s Sunderland secured a point against Wigan at JJB Stadium. Another important game of the day saw Arsenal thrash Blackburn Rovers 4-0 at Ewood Park.

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Posted in Chelsea FC, Manchester City

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Cech: We will be proving a point to Robinho

September 12th, 2008

Chelsea will be looking forward to prove a point to the new draftee of Manchester City, Robinho, when they will be traveling to Eastlands for their away game.

24-year-old Brazilian Star was a target for the London Club throughout the transfer season. However, he opted for a shock switch to unpredictable City outfit, which is currently backed by Abu Dhabi United’s billions.

It will be a clash of the two leading spenders of the Barclays Premier League on Saturday afternoon kickoff.

Petr Cech said that the side was ready to show Robinho what he has missed out on by declining Stamford Bridge’s sides offer for the Eastlands Club.

‘It was only in the morning that he showed his desires of joining Chelsea, before he chose another club. However, it’s his decision.’ said Cech.

‘We will be playing at our best to show the player that his decision might not be perfect after all.’

‘I know he is a good player. A talent meant for entertaining packed crowds of Premier League. However, I would be eager to see, how he copes this immense pressure to perform in front of his new home ground, City of Manchester Stadium.’

Meanwhile, Chelsea boss, Luiz Felipe Scolari, is happy that Joe Cole was not seriously injured after getting stitches in the head during England’s 4-1 thrashing of Croatia on Wednesday.

With Essien unavailable for best part of the season with a ruptured cruciate ligament, Scolari will be hoping for no more injuries during the coming weeks of the Premier League.

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Hughes: SWP might steal the show on Saturday

September 9th, 2008

Manchester City Boss, Mark Hughes, feels that the City of Manchester Stadium will see its roof coming off, when one of their favorite son will reappear after a gap of 3 years.

Although an important encounter against title favorites Chelsea might see the first appearance of $57.8 million Brazilian Robinho, still Shaun Wright-Phillips might be the one, who steals the show in the end.

According to Hughes, former Chelsea player, who made an excellent comeback to the Eastlands Club by scoring two away goals against Sunderland at the Stadium of Lights, might be the reason for capacity on the day.

Speaking in a press conference, he said ‘Two away goals in the first game for Shaun was something. Still, playing in front of the home audience is another experience. It can work for or against you.’

‘I am pretty satisfied with the proceedings of the transfer seasons and all the changes that took place in the club. But, getting back Shaun’s services has pleased me the most.’

‘After a disastrous loss in the first game against West Ham United, it was Shaun only, who changed the fortune of the club with two goals in his very first appearance.’

Hughes feels that most City fans will be expecting the little champion to display his magic again.

For Chelsea game and the impact of Robinho, City Boss confirmed ‘The talent of the young Brazilian is not hidden. Now, with him & Shaun working together (if both of them eventually make the final eleven, as Robinho is doubtful for the game), the London Club might have a very tough proposition in their hand.’

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Posted in Manchester City, Premier League

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Deco ‘surprised’ by Robinho’s City move

September 8th, 2008

Chelsea playmaker Deco has today stated that he was indeed taken in for a big surprise, as Real Madrid star Robinho made a move to Mark Hughes managed Manchester City that has recently got new owners, Abu Dhabi headed by Dr. Sulaiman Al Fahim.

Deco has expressed his doubts regarding the amount of European football the 24-year old could get to play representing a side which, just 6 years ago, was playing in the English second division.

The Brazil born Portuguese midfielder, who scored two goals in Chelsea’s first three matches this season has reportedly said that leaving Real Madrid to join Chelsea was one thing and joining City is something that is not expected from a player in his right senses!

Robinho’s move has, just like Manchester City’s high profile take over by the Gulf Company, raised many eyebrows.

He has even attracted criticism from the former Brazil legend and one of all time football greats, Pele, who reportedly said that all Robinho needs is some sound advice.

It is presently being told that the present City owners had tried buying Arsenal before coming over to Manchester.

However, negotiations came off to nothing as they were being made to pay for the shares in premium for the expected 24% share.

On being asked, Dr. Al Fahim has told that including his meeting with one of Arsenal’s biggest shareholders, he also tried talking with the owners of Liverpool and Newcastle, but to no avail.

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Posted in Football Transfer Market, Manchester City

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Fabregas: I’m in no mood of committing suicide

September 6th, 2008

Cesc Fabregas, Arsenal midfield star, became the third player in this week to reject the offer from Manchester City with an ultimate snub.

Manchester City stirred the football world this week by netting in one of the most popular figures, Robinho, from Real Madrid.

Following the transfer of the Brazilian Star, Abu Dhabi United Group, which took over the Eastlands Club earlier in the week, has reportedly set up a list that includes the name of the players, who are their future targets.

The list includes the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Fernando Torres, Kaka, Ruud Van Nistlerooy and Gianluigi Buffon.

Van Nistlerooy and Buffon already rejected the offer before Fabregas and showed no interest of joining Manchester City.

Experts feel that it is the current state of the side, which has led to these stars rejecting their offer. City has mostly been unable to end up in the top four teams of the League necessary to qualify for the Champions League.

Fabregas has even commented, ‘It is going to be suicidal for me, if I decide to join City at the age of 21. I do not count it as a sensible decision.’

Although most of the players have given up their comments on the desires of the Abu Dhabi Group, still it’s too early to predict anything.

Who knows, the arrival of Abu Dhabi Group along with Robinho can write a revival story for the club. If Manchester City does end up with a spot in the Champions League at the end of this season, these very players might think otherwise.

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Posted in Football Transfer Market, Manchester City

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