Real Salt Lake after six goals in a single half

Rio Tinto Stadium in historic match scoring six goals in a single half made revolution on Home team dominates.
It was a historic night at Rio Tinto Stadium as Real Salt Lake notched six goals in the second half to beat a depleted New England Revolution side by a score of 6-0. That was only the 3rd time in league history that a team scored six goals in a half. In addition, the 29 shots by Real Salt Lake shattered the team record of 24.

New England came into the match missing key players such as Steve Ralston, Chris Albright and Taylor Twellman. Those are three all-star level players. The effect of missing those players showed early on in the match as RSL dominated possession right from the start of the match and never let up.
First Half

However, the storyline in the first half was one that was all too familiar for RSL as they dominated play and the shot totals but were unable to put one in the net. The half was particularly frustrating for forward Yura Movsisyan who managed to find the ball at his feet in and near the box often but couldn’t get one past the keeper.

Movsisyan’s best chance came in the 37th minute when midfielder Javier Morales sent a ball nicely over the top to him and he managed to get ahead of the defender. As he entered the area free on the right side of the box, he appeared to try to shoot from 15 yards out through the legs of the keeper who easily corralled the shot.

The Revs best chance of the half came a minute later when they got numbers forward on a counter attack and funneled the ball to midfielder Sainey Nyassi who took a blast from just inside the area, but the shot went right to keeper Nick Rimando who easily handled the shot.

The end of the half was ragged as both teams suffered some hard fouls. Just before the end of the half a scuffle ensued with several players from each side involved. Both Movsisyan and New England defender Jay Heaps received yellow card cautions as a result of the fracas. The yellow’s were in addition to three others handed out in the half.

Second Half

The second half started out in similar fashion with Real Salt Lake again dominating possession. In the first 10 minutes of the half, RSL created several chances but were not able to put one into the back of the net until the 54th minute when a corner kick by Morales was headed home nicely by Jamison Olave who easily drove the ball past reserve New England keeper Brad Knighton.

Just two minutes later another corner kick resulted in a spectacular goal by midfielder Clint Mathis. The corner kick was a low, driven ball to the back post where Mathis was completely unmarked. Mathis measured the ball as it came to him, and took a one-time blast with his left foot, redirecting the ball in mid-air to the upper left corner of the net away from a helpless Knighton.

The stellar play of Mathis continued as he played a wonderful diagonal ball to Movsisyan who was held just onside on the play. Movisyan easily slotted the ball to his left past Knighton for his first goal of the season.

RSL made several substitutions over the next seven minutes as Ned Grabavoy, Luis Escalada and Andy Williams came in for Morales, Mathis and Movsisyan. Those three players would all enter the score sheet in the final ten minutes of play.

The first goal after the changes came at the 81st minute as Grabavoy slid a ball forward to Escalada who crossed in front of him to the right side of the goal. Escalada’s first shot of the game resulted in his first goal in Major League Soccer as he placed the ball nicely just inside the far post.

Next came a nice ball from Williams who lived up to his reputation as “Bomma” with a free kick rocket from 25 yards that appeared to catch Knighton off guard as it soared right past him at the near post.

The final goal of the night was created by a long diagonal pass from Mathis who spotted forward Robbie Findley streaking down the left side. Findley outran the defender and found himself one-on-one with the keeper and calmly tapped it past him to the left.

New England came into this match undefeated in four matches. They remain at 8 points after 2 wins, 2 draws, and now 1 loss. The Revs face Houston next Sunday at home for only the second time this season.

Real Salt Lake improved to 9 points with 3 wins and 2 losses on the season. They play at Colorado next Saturday after a US Open Cup match at Seattle on Tuesday.

(News Form Goal.com)

Kaka's move to Man City is off, and that he wasn't their primary target in Italy in the first place...

The potentially record breaking transfer has been gathering steam.

The source is Anil Bhoyrul, of Arabianbusiness.com, who claims to have spoken to someone close to City’s mega-rich owners.

He insists that City were actually chasing a ‘B-list’ Serie A striker, who they will unveil within the next 48 hours.

The highly-rated midfielder is said to be far from keen on moving to Eastlands and wants to stay in Milan indefinitely, as quotes attributed to him have also indicated.

City have given up their frivolous pursuit, although other reports still suggest that an agreement is ‘close’.

Boss Mark Hughes is expected to clear up the mist today.

Carlo Ancelotti has his eyes set on international duty

The coach is unlikely to take charge at another club side as he has his eyes firmly set on international football.

“One day I would like to coach Italy,” Ancelotti told Calcio 2000 magazine.

“Maybe it’s because my career has taken a specific route; I coached Juve then Milan, so now it would be difficult to go and coach another team.

“At this point for me it would be the Italian national team.”

The Italian national side could be an option, but the coach has a ‘Plan B’ lined-up if he fails to land the Azzurri job.

“A national team experience would be good and I have also spoken about coaching an African team,” added the coach.

“There are plenty of great talents in Africa and it would be good to assemble many players in a squad in which the tactics are well defined.

“At the moment I would prefer to coach the Ivory Coast.”

Manchester United´s English forward Wayne Rooney celebrates scoring against Chelsea during their English Premier League football match at Old Trafford in Manchester. United won 3-0.

Manchester United decreased the gap between their arch rival Liverpoll, beating their new rival Chelsea.

The Red Devils moved to within five points of Premier League leaders Liverpool, with two games in hand.

Nemanja Vidic, Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov were the goal scorers for the Man. Utd.

Both the teams had their chances as the top team of BPL, Liverpool did not manage to capture win against the Stoke City.

Man Utd. were without their best defender Rio Ferdinand, who suffered a recurrence of his back. Jonny Evans was his replacement. Patrice Evra also returned from hin ban.

Chelsea’s John Terry returned from suspension.

The first half was almost going to be ended goalless, but Vidic broke the deadlock for the home team.

Luiz Felipe Scolari changed things at half-time, Deco who picked up a knock in the first time, rlaced by Anelka as the Blues went in search of the equaliser.

Yet Chelsea struggled to work Edwin Van der Sar in the United goal and the chances were few and far between for Scolari’s men.

Rooney made it 2-0 in the 63rd minute when the England striker sidefooted home from close range after Patrice Evra’s fine cross from the left evaded the Chelsea defence.

Berbatov set the seal on a comprehensive win three minutes from time with a near-post volley from a Cristiano Ronaldo free-kick.

English, European and world champions United go third in the table on goal difference from Aston Villa and left them just a point adrift of Chelsea.

The Blues remained second and four points off top spot but having, like Liverpool, now played 21 games.

Line Ups:

Man Utd: Van der Sar, Neville, Vidic, Evans, Evra (O’Shea, 66), Ronaldo, Fletcher, Giggs (Carrick, 80), Park, Berbatov, Rooney.

Chelsea: Cech, Bosingwa (Belletti, 63), Carvalho, Terry, Ashley Cole, Mikel, Joe Cole (Di Santo, 85), Lampard, Ballack, Deco (Anelka, 46), Drogba.

Goal Scorer:

3-0 Manchester United (Berbatov, 87)

2-0 Manchester United (Rooney, 62)

1-0 Manchester United (Vidic, 45)

Watch the Full Match Highlights & goals

Didier Drogba plays down Red Devils

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has stoked up tension ahead of his side’s clash with Manchester United by insisting that Sir Alex Ferguson’s men are not the ‘invincible’ side they were last term.

After ‘Pool boss Rafa Benitez’s extraordinary outburst on Friday, followed up by post-match comments in the wake of The Reds’ 0-0 draw away to Stoke City, the rivalry at the top of the table is reaching boiling point.

Speaking to The People, he said, “Manchester United are not playing any better than us – they are struggling to win games too.

“Old Trafford is never an easy place to go but I don’t see United as being so invincible as last season.”

One key element of Chelsea’s season over the coming months will be the ability of Drogba to partner up with the league’s top-goalscorer, Nicola Anelka, who has netted 14 times already.

while many have predicted that Luiz Felipe Scolari will opt for a one-striker formation in the belief that both talismanic forwards would struggle in the same line-up, the Ivory Coast international believes they are compatible.

Rafael Benitez has continued his criticism of Sir Alex Ferguson

The Spaniard has now followed this up by stating that the United manager should stop talking about Liverpool.

Speaking to the club’s official website, he said, “If Mr Ferguson would stop talking about Liverpool maybe it would be good. He is clearly nervous about Liverpool.”

The Spaniard insisted he had received a lot of his support following his press conference on Friday.

“I can tell you that a lot of people have sent a lot of messages – not to me but to my staff and a lot of people at the club – to say, ‘At least one person has said something everybody wanted to say,’” he explained.

“Maybe because in 20 years nobody could say these things and maybe a lot of people were thinking the same but didn’t want to say.”

Yet despite his current stance towards Ferguson, the Liverpool boss revealed he has plenty of respect for Sir Alex.

He said, “I have a lot of respect for him. He is a great manager but he was talking too much about Liverpool, so clearly he has to stop.

“My concern now is to prepare the team for the next game against Everton and that’s it. I always say we take things one game at a time – that is my philosophy and my idea.”

Sparky and his Arab bosses must be patient in their pursuit of Barca's Ivorian star

But the latest reports suggest that the Blaugrana will not even entertain the thought of selling Toure until the summer, which leaves the Citizens in something of a pickle.

Marcos Senna and Lassana Diarra have both snubbed City, while the speculation surrounding Internazionale’s Argentine middle-man, Esteban Cambiasso, has died down in recent weeks

Russia

Zenit St Petersburge mbroiled in talks with Arsenal over Andrei Arshavin, about the deal should be done within 10 days.

There remains a major sticking point in negotiations, however. The Russians are demanding over €20 million, a fee which would seriously test Arsene Wenger’s low-budget philosophy – and perhaps empty the club’s tightly buttoned wallet.

The 27 older forward – who said not too long ago that he’d prefer to join Barcelona, Chelsea or Manchester United – seems confident that the move will go through.
“I hope the clubs can come to an agreement,” he added in The Daily Mail.
Arshavin has spent his entire career to date at Zenit.
He has played over 300 games with his hometown club, tallying 71 goals and 106 assists.

The Dutchman has shown an unlikely and sour attitude towards Beckham

“He is the typical player who creates plenty of problems and he doesn’t understand what we say to him.

“He doesn’t care on the team and he only thinks about himself. I won’t help him, he will destroy this club.”
For those who fear a split dressing room, do not despair, Seedorf, like on the pitch, was only pulling legs.

“Obviously I am joking. Beckham is a player who can integrate well here,” added the Dutchman.

The players are working hard in Dubai and they will play Hamburg in a friendly match on Tuesday.

Valencia may consider to sell their star players like Villa for their financial crisis

Spanish football Club Valencia may consider to sell some of their star players in this January Transfer Market due to their financial crisis.

Valencia is having some financial problem over a few years. The club admitted that they may have to consider selling their star players due to their poor state of finances, according to a report in the British broadsheet the Independent.

The club’s sporting vice-president, Fernando Gomez Colomer said, “Whatever offer comes in we will have to study it although the idea is not to have to sell David Villa or David Silva.”

But it is not that they will sell them in fair price. They are expecting some huge transfer fee for their stars like Villa and Silva.

Fernando Gomez continued: “It would have to be an exorbitant offer.”

This news will attract Man City boss Mark Hughes, who is given huge pocket-money for January Transfer Market. He has received a whopping one hundred million pounds.

The Spanish striker is continuously being tracked by Man City since their Abu Dhabi owners arrived in August.

Valencia club president Vicente Soriano admitted, “We will fight to give the club the economic stability that it needs. Right now that is the most important thing – more than any kind of sporting success.”