Ferguson maintains that he had decided on his retirement back in December, citing family reasons as the main reason for his decision. Rumours started last week of his imminent departure and this was duly confirmed by Ferguson and the club ahead of Sunday’s game. An already busy week at Old Trafford was given further impetus by speculation that Wayne Rooney had asked for a transfer and confirmation that Paul Scholes was finally to retire from the game.

Ferguson opted not to play Rooney and it was his replacement Javier Hernandez who put the hosts in front in the first half following a poor clearance from a Van Persie free-kick. There was no hiding the satisfaction from Ferguson as he punched the air to celebrate his side going ahead. Thoughts that Swansea were here only to make up the numbers were banished when the welsh side struck back early in the second half. Once again it was poor defending that presented the opportunity and Michu, a player linked with a transfer to Manchester United earlier in the season, who gratefully accepted the gift.

With Swansea back on level terms, United were forced to up the pace in an effort to send Ferguson out on a victory in his last home game in charge. Anderson came close to putting United back in front with a 20-yard drive that fizzed wide of the post. Anderson had been introduced to replace the leg-weary Scholes who was duly given a standing ovation as he left the Old Trafford pitch for the last time in a red shirt. The 38-year-old has been a mainstay of the Ferguson era and it was fitting that he should bow out on the same day as his long-term manager.

The crowd got behind their side for the closing minutes and, as has always been typical of Ferguson’s side, a winner came with only minutes remaining. Injury time has been dubbed “Fergie time” due to the Scots frequent and animated gesturing over the years to gain extra minutes, often the time in which United go on to grab a vital winning goal. The winner came from the unlikely source of Rio Ferdinand, his first for the club since 2008. It was a very fitting end to the 27 years of Ferguson’s reign at United.

The game was followed the presentation of the Premiership trophy, an especially coveted prize after being denied with virtually the last kick of the season in 2011/12 by rivals Manchester City. Ferguson will be replaced next season by Everton’s David Moyes, a fellow Scot out of a very similar mould to Sir Alex. He is leaving Goodison Park after 11 years in charge and has been given a six-year contract at Old Trafford.

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The ease with which Bayern swept aside Barcelona has shocked the football world and anyone clinging to the hope of a miraculous fight back last night knew their fate simply before kick-off. The name of Lionel Messi was missing from the Barcelona starting line-up, effectively removing what slim hopes that the home side had of reaching the final. The performance of the home side was a bitter disappointment and lacked the passion and pride that most observers were expecting to see. The tie may have been all but decided but it is surprising that a team regarded as the best in the world cannot summons the fight to salvage a bit of pride. Bayern were once again better in all departments and goals from Robben, Pique (own goal) and Mueller allowed them to embarrass Barca in front o their own fans.

Of course, a great team does not become second rate overnight and Barcelona are still a considerable force in club football. However, victory for Borussia Dortmund over Real Madrid in the other semi-final suggests that the balance of power has now shifted from Spain to the Bundesliga. A team that has just thrashed Barcelona 7-0 over two legs would normally be expected to start strong favourites for the final but they will not have it easy against familiar foes. Unlike Barcelona, Madrid made a spirited attempt to reverse a 4-1 first leg deficit and two late goals had Dortmund firmly on the back foot. Jose Mourinho’s side laid siege to the Dortmund goal and could even have stolen the tie if a late penalty appeal had been upheld.

However, it would have been an injustice to Dortmund if they had not reached the final after putting on such a dominant display in the first leg. It will be Dortmund’s second appearance in the Champions League final following their 1997 victory and the match will have added spice as they clash with their main domestic rivals. Robert Lewandowski scored all four goals in the first leg and his market value has soared. It is going to be fascinating to see if Dortmund can withstand the financial muscle of their rivals in the summer transfer market but the focus is now on the Wembley final.

Midway through the second half there was little indication that Madrid could mount a serious challenge with the visitors looking much the more likely to break the deadlock. Lewandowski hit the crossbar and Diego Lopez made a great save from Gundogan to avoid going behind on the night. The breakthrough came just six minutes from time when Benzema coolly slotted home after Ozil had set him up. That spurned a hectic blitz from the home side with Ramos pulling another back with only two minutes remaining. The Bernabeu roared their side on for one final effort but Dortmund held on to book their place in the final on May 25^th

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If Napoli fail to beat Pescara next weekend, Juventus can seal the title with victory over Torino in Sunday’s derby clash. Inter Milan moved up to fifth place in Serie A after an 81^st minute winner from Tommaso Rocchi gave them a vital 1-0 victory over Parma at the San Siro. The win eases the pressure on Coach Andrea Stramaccioni, for the moment at least, and ended a run of three straight defeats.

Rossoneri head coach Massimiliano Allegri decided to select an attacking line-up in response to Napoli’s 3-2 win over Cagliari, a victory that opened up a seven-point gap between Napoli and AC Milan. The attacking policy nearly paid off immediately when Robinho, one of three forwards in his starting line-up, narrowly missed the target.

Andrea Pirlo also went close in the eighth minute when his free-kick took a wicked deflection off Massimo Ambrosini in the wall. Milan keeper Christian Abbiati showed great reflexes to direct the ball behind for a corner. Abbiati was forced to retire from the game and was replaced between the sticks by Marco Amelia. Gianluigi Buffon was not tested in the Juve goal until the 24^th minute when Milan’s top scorer Stephan El Shaarawy provided the first real attacking threat. Pirlo again caused havoc from a deflected free-kick before the interval but could not break the deadlock.

The substitute keeper was at fault when he fouled Kwadwo Asamoah in the 57th minute to present Juventus with a penalty. Vidal stroked the ball high into the net to send the home crowd wild with delight. To their credit, Milan tried to respond and efforts from Sulley Muntari and Riccardo Montolivo produced good saves from Buffon. Milan introduced Bojan Krkic and played four strikers in a desperate late effort to force and equaliser but Juventus refused to be broken down and secured a vital win. They can now claim their 29th domestic title, possibly as early as next weekend.

Napoli kept their slim title hopes alive through a late goal from substitute Lorenzo Insigne in a thrilling 3-2 victory over Cagliari. Marco Sau pulled them level at 2-2 with 20 minutes remaining but they knew that they needed all three points to keep the pressure on Juventus. They piled forward in the final ten minutes and their efforts seemed destined to fail when Hamsik missed a golden opportunity in the 79th minute. But they were rescued when Insigne, on in place of Blerim Dzemaili, sent the San Paolo into ecstasy when firing past Agazzi four minutes into stoppage time.

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Basle have been under-rated in European competition before and beat Manchester United and Bayern Munich in the Champions League last season. Valentin Stocker put the visitors 1-0 up before Fabian Frei nodded home from a corner to silence the home supporters. Spurs rallied with goals by Emmanuel Adebayor and Gylfi Sigurdsson but the away goals give the Swiss a clear advantage going into the deciding leg. Tottenham know that they must win or score at least twice if they are to reach the semi-finals.

Last season, Tottenham suffered heartache after their Champions League hopes were snatched away by Chelsea’s dramatic penalty shoot-out victory in Munich. A 2-2 draw at home to Everton did little to ease their concerns in the Premiership as Chelsea and Arsenal both won. The absence of Bale at a key time of the season will put pressure on Spurs to show that they can cope without their talisman winger. Defender William Gallas had a torrid time in the first leg and will miss the return game through injury, as will Aaron Lennon and Jermain Defoe. Younes Kaboul returned from injury last week to play in an under-21 match but remains doubtful for Thursday. The 27-year-old has not played since aggravating a knee injury following the opening match of the season at Newcastle.

Away from the pitch, there has been mounting speculation linking Villas-Boas with a move away from White Hart Lane this summer. His reputation was tarnished by his short spell at London rivals Chelsea but he has impressed in leading Tottenham to a likely top five finish. Spurs fans were shocked by the departure of Harry Redknapp last summer and were originally sceptical about Villas-Boas but he has now won them over. He will need to galvanise his side to produce a much better performance than last week if they are to reach the semi-finals and a possible showdown with former club Chelsea.

Basle are 6-4 favourites in the football betting to win on Thursday with Tottenham at 7-4 and the draw priced at 5-2. Marco Streller is 13-2 to open the scoring with Emmanuel Adebayor at 7-1 and Clint Dempsey at 8-1. Basle are 4-6 to progress to the semi-finals with Tottenham at 5-4.

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Wigan are accustomed to the relegation struggle and Manager Roberto Martinez has engineered some end of season escapes that Houdini would have been proud of. They have already earned themselves a place in the FA Cup semi-finals and victory on Sunday would be another cause to celebrate. Most pundits now see Reading and QPR as doomed to relegation with Wigan involved in a fight against Sunderland and Aston Villa for survival. Newcastle and Stoke are by no means safe either.

Recent meetings between the sides offer few clues about a likely winner on Sunday with Wigan having won one, drawn one and lost one of their three meetings with QPR. More worrying for Redknapp is that his side has only once in their last seven home league games. By contrast, The Latics are unbeaten in their last three away games and travel to London full of confidence. Defence has also been a major problem for Rangers who have leaked 14 goals in their last six matches. The statistics do seem to indicate the prospect of goals with at least one goal having been scored in all of Wigan’s league matches this season.

Although QPR had chances in both matches, they came away from vital games against Aston Villa and Fulham with nothing to show for their endeavours. It is understood that Redknapp will be asked to stay on even if Rangers drop back to the Championship and the 66-year-old welcomes the prospect. For the time being his focus is totally on trying to win every match so that the Londoners can retain their Premiership status.

Martinez is under far less pressure at Wigan and knows that a draw would be a good result for his side. Striker Callum McManaman is fit to be included in the squad and midfielder Fraser Fyvie is the only new addition to the club’s injured list. QPR will be without Shaun Wright-Phillips for the rest of the season after the winger’s recent ankle surgery.

The latest sports betting odds make Wigan 11-10 favourites to take all three points this weekend and put Rangers on the brink of relegation. QPR are 7-5 to grab a vital win with the draw priced at 5-2. QPR have lost their last two matches by three goals to two but you can still get 40-1 about the same result today. Loic Remy is favourite to open the scoring at 11-2 with Aroune Kone at 7-1 and Franco Di Santo at the same price.

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A 2-0 victory over FC Porto in their second leg last 16 tie was enough to give Málaga a 2-1 aggregate win. A lot of their success has come from a sound defence and they have kept a clean sheet in nine of their last 12 European home games. Malaga recorded home victories against FC Zenit St Petersburg (3-0) and AC Milan (1-0) during the group stage.

Dortmund visited Spain earlier in the competition and came within a minute of winning at Real Madrid before Mesut Ozil equalised at 2-2. They drew 1-1 when they visited Premiership Champions Manchester City and won 4-1 at Ajax. More worryingly for the Germans, their overall record in Spain is poor. They have only won once in nine European matches, a victory over Club Atlético de Madrid in the UEFA Champions League group stage back in 1996/97. A 3-0 victory against Shakhtar Donetsk gave them a 5-2 aggregate win and qualification for the last eight for the first time since losing in the semi-finals in 1997/98.

Malaga Coach Manuel Pellegrini is not concerned by the fact that his side is underdogs at this stage of the competition and has no doubt that they can provide the Germans with a stiff test. As well as reaching the last eight of the Champions League, Pellegrini’s side is in contention for a top-four finish in La Liga. Their achievements are more remarkable in view of UEFA’s decision to ban them from playing European football next season due to outstanding debts.

Mats Hummels and Sebastian Kehl are sidelined for Dortmund but Marcel Schmelzer and Jakob Blaszczykowski face fitness tests ahead of Wednesday night’s game. Schmelzer suffered a broken nose during the 2-1 win over Stuttgart last weekend but is hoping that he will be allowed to play with a facemask. Malaga’s only significant absentee is forward Eliseu who is out with a knee injury.

Tactics will be interesting for this 1st leg tie with the hosts desperate to avoid conceding the away goal. At the same time, Pellegrini’s side must still show enough attacking intent to try to take an advantage to Germany for the deciding leg. Borussia Dortmund is 5-4 favourites to win the 1st leg with Malaga at 5-2 and the draw at 12-5. A 1-1 draw is the most popular scoreline at 7-1 with a goalless draw priced at 10-1. Robert Lewandowski is the 9-2 favourite to open the scoring.

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Chelsea have been fast out of the blocks to secure the signature of Demba Ba for £7.5 million from Newcastle United and it remains to be seen whether or not they are prepared to dig deeper into their pockets before next summer. One player that they would dearly love to bring to Stamford Bridge is Atletico Madrid striker Falcao who demolished their defence with a hat-trick in the Super Cup Final. Chelsea have been linked with a £50 million bid for the Colombian but the deal is not thought likely to be completed until the summer. They could face stiff opposition, notably from Real Madrid, but Roman Abramovich is known to be a strong admirer of Falcao’s talents.

Any move for Falcao would raise question marks about the future of Fernando Torres who has not been entirely convincing in the loan striker role for the Blues since the departure of Didier Drogba in the summer. Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo has vehemently denied that any deal has been struck with either Real or Chelsea and a January move seems most unlikely.

If Chelsea are not able to lure Falcao, they may turn their attention to Shakhtar striker Willian who also proved a thorn in their side in their early departure from the Champions League this season. The problem with acquiring Willian is that Shakhtar are notoriously difficult to deal with and many believe they have been putting an unrealistic figure on their star striker. Chelsea are thought to have offered £20 million for the Brazilian with Shakhtar holding out for £25 million. Whether the Blues will return to the table is not yet clear and London rivals Tottenham are thought to be contemplating a January swoop for the player.

If Spurs coach Andre Villas-Boas is unsuccessful in pursuit of Willian, he may have better look with his fellow countryman Leandro Damiao. His value shot through the roof after his impressive performances for Brazil in the summer Olympics but his progress has been curtailed through injury. Nonetheless, he remains on Tottenham’s radar and they may take a chance on his fitness as he is only 23 years of age and could be a star of the future. Spurs, denied a Champions League spot only by Chelsea winning the tournament, will be keen to make a statement of intent to their London rivals as the chase for qualification intensifies.

One player that has long been linked with a move to the Premiership is Inter Milan playmaker Wesley Sneijder. The Holland skipper is currently on a £200,000 per week wage bill and there are reports that Inter are trying to offload him in the January window. QPR have apparently been approached but new manager Harry Redknapp has recently expressed his anger at the huge salaries paid to players at the club that have no fight for the relegation struggle facing the Londoners. Sneijder, a former world footballer of the year, was heavily linked with Manchester United in the past but there are no suggestions from Old Trafford that they need to bolster their squad this January. Clubs below the top five would struggle to meet his wage demands.

One player that is most definitely in demand is Sevilla striker Alvaro Negredo. Club president Jose Maria del Nido has confirmed that they have turned down a £14 million bid and that they will not part with the player “unless a spectacular proposition arrives”. Chelsea, Tottenham and Sunderland have all been linked with the player in recent weeks.

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Chelsea’s successful run of form through Christmas hit the buffers with a dismal display in midweek, losing 1-0 at home to bottom club Queen’s Park Rangers. Interim coach Rafael Benitez blamed the lack-lustre display on fatigue after a hectic winter schedule that included a fruitless trip to Japan for the World Club Cup. They have not had much time to reflect on Wednesday’s catastrophic defeat as they must now start their defence of the FA Cup against another struggling Premiership side in Southampton.

Saints fans will take heart from the fact that they have progressed from all four previous meetings with the Blues in this competition. Three of those matches went to a replay and, with Southampton having drawn their last three matches, there are good reasons for believing another draw could be on the cards on Saturday. The south coast side struggled with the demands of Premiership football at the beginning of the season but there were mitigating circumstances. They had by far the toughest run of fixtures of the three promoted clubs and it was inevitable that points would be hard to come by.

In recent weeks they have looked far more comfortable in the top flight, defeating Reading and holding their own against Stoke, Fulham and Arsenal. Their 1-1 draw with Arsenal was a measure of how much they have improved, having been thumped 6-1 in the reverse fixture in September. The Gunners were meeting them hot on the heels of their 7-3 mauling of Newcastle so it was a fine defensive display by the Saints to reduce the visitors to relying on an own-goal to escape with a point. Their skipper Adam Lallana will not be fit for the FA Cup clash but right-back Nathaniel Clyne should make the squad. Gaston Ramirez has been confirmed fit to play having recovered from a minor injury picked up during the Arsenal game.

Chelsea will be without Petr Cech on Saturday so Ross Turnbull continues in goal. They have completed the £7.5 million signing of striker Demba Ba from Newcastle this week and he could be straight into the action. Fernando Torres has been the only out-and-out striker employed by Chelsea this season and Benitez is keen to give him a rest. Ba scored 29 goals in 54 appearances for Newcastle and Blues fans will be hoping for big things from him in the second half of the season. The European champions surprised many observers in their failure to add a front-line striker to their summer signings and they have clearly missed the presence of Didier Drogba in attack.

The Blues are odds-on to win Saturday’s game with most sports betting firms. However, their poor midweek display and uncertainty over their starting line up casts a shadow of doubt of their prospects and the 3-1 about a draw may prove better value. Southampton are 9-2 to win the game with odds of 17-2 available about a 1-1 scoreline. If you fancy Demba Ba to score on his debut he is 11-10 to do so at any time during the match and 4-1 to open the scoring.

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The Zambian FA has claimed that Kabwe Warriors striker Godfrey Chitalu had scored an incredible 107 goals in 1972. This was immediately followed by claims that Brazilian star Zico scored 89 goals in 1979 while playing for Flamengo. Zico has officially been credited with 81 goals for his club side, seven on international duty for Brazil and one in a friendly between Argentina and a Rest of the World XI. When asked to clarify the situation, FIFA only succeeded in muddying the waters by stating that they do not keep domestic records and therefore “It’s not an official FIFA record”.

This confusion has sadly diverted the attention away from Messi’s incredible achievement in passing Müller’s 40-year-old record. Some have already argued that, with the greatest respect to the late Godfrey Chitalu, it is impossible to compare his goal scoring record with one set in the top leagues of the modern game. Chitalu played in at least four domestic competitions as well as appearing for the Zambian national side. He later became the national coach of Zambia but was killed in a plane crash in 1993.

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi is already a three-time winner of the Ballon d’Or and had been closing in on Müller’s record in recent weeks. Nobody suspected that the record may actually be disputed but it now seems that FIFA are distancing themselves from the debate, passing the buck to fans or statisticians. Fifa spokesman Alex Stone said: “We don’t have a database which details every football game played in every country from around the world since day one of their formation. It’s certainly nothing to do with bias – if we can confirm records from our tournaments we like doing that. It’s a record where someone in the media obviously collected statistics from somewhere and noticed Messi was about to pass that record.”

Whilst many will feel that Messi’s achievement cannot be compared to that of Chitalu, it will be interesting to see what happens if that claim behind Zico’s scoring record is ratified. Messi has already vowed to score as many as he can before the year is out so will be gunning for at least 90 goals. Barcelona have just two games remaining this year so it seems highly likely that he will pass Zico’s figure but Chitalu’s tally is well beyond reach.

Messi scored twice against Real Betis to move ahead of Muller’s record. Two further goals by the Barcelona number 10 in his side’s victory over Córdoba in the first leg of their Copa del Rey last-16 clash took his tally to 88. His first goal was a converted cross from David Villa in the eleventh minute and he struck again in the 74th minute after being sent clear on goal.

Whilst not wishing to detract from Messi’s achievement, a spokesperson for the Zambian FA expressed the view that it is more about recognising the achievement of Chitalu. They said: “Even as the world has been looking at Lionel Messi’s record, breaking Gerd Müller’s, the debate and discussion back here has been why Godfrey’s goals are not being recognised. The record holder in terms of goals per calendar year is actually an African. It’s actually Godfrey Chitalu.”

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A goal from Yoann Gouffran was enough to snatch a priceless victory for Bordeaux over title rivals Marseille that moves them up to second place in Ligue 1. They now trail leaders Lyon by just a single point with Marseille dropping a point further back into fourth place.

Marseille had the better of the early exchanges and could have gone ahead after 14 minutes when Morgan Amalfitano fired a speculative right-footed drive that bounced awkwardly in front of Bordeaux keeper Cedric Carrasso. He managed to get just enough on the ball to divert it wide of the post. Marseille were encouraged to push forward and Charles Kabore had a clear opportunity a few minutes later. Andre Ayew’s cross was nodded out by Benoit Tremlinas but fell nicely for Kabore. He showed good control but his shot narrowly missed the target to the relief of Carrasso.

The home side finally responded in the closing minutes of the opening period when Henri Saivet beat Marseille keeper Steve Mandanda from a corner only to see his header cleared off the line by Jeremy Morel. Marseille were once again in the ascendancy five minutes from the interval when Morel put Ayew through on goal only to be denied by a decent save from Carrasso. The sides went in all square at half-time but Marseille’s failure to capitalise on their early dominance came back to haunt them early in the second half when Bordeaux took the lead.

Eight minutes into the second period, Tremolinas crossed to the near post and Gouffran arrived ahead of his marker to slide the ball beyond Mandanda from close range. The goal was harsh on Marseille and they came out in search of an equaliser. Rod Fanni produced a decent cross on the hour but Ayew directed his header too close to Carrasso who took it comfortably. Marseille began to leave gaps as they continued to press and Gouffran could have added a second after being set up by Mariano. However, he went for a spectacular overhead kick and missed the ball completely.

Marseille’s hopes of rescuing a point were effectively ended when defender Lucas Mendes was sent off for a professional foul. Ludovic Obraniak was through on goal with Mendes bringing him down as the last man. A straight red card was produced and Marseille were consigned to defeat.

Bordeaux coach Francis Gillot felt his team were worthy winners and credited them for an improved second-half performance. He said: “I saw a team triumphant, who wanted to move forward. The players failed to do things as they should in the first period, but we were able to regroup half-time. The players really wanted to win this match. We felt that at half-time. And the second half of the match, I think we physically took over Marseille. I think the score was a fair reflection of the game.”

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Manchester City’s Edin Dzeko was once again the saviour for his club in the English Premier League on the weekend. The Bosnian striker came of the substitutes bench once more to great effect for the Citizens, as their ten men fought their way back from a goal down to secure a precious away win at The Hawthorns against West Brom. Dzeko, who secured a move to Manchester back in January of 2011 for a fee of £27 million from Bundesliga side Wolfsburg has sometimes been the forgotten man since his move.

But has he finally found his station? Not only was that the sixth highest transfer fee in the Premier League, but it was also a Bosnian transfer record. That is the mark of the quality of the striker. It was with Wolfsburg that Dzeko really made a name for himself, carrying such an impressive strike rate. In the 2008/09 season, he netted a total of 36 goals in 42 games and followed that up with 29 goals from 48 matches the following season. Halfway through the 2010/11 season where he had already netted eleven times in 19 matches, being part of the deadly duo alongside Grafite at the German club, the deep-pocketed Manchester City came knocking.

Dzeko was brought in for his goals. He was a big, powerful, quick player with quality feet, but he didn’t deliver. It took a long time to settle in England with just six goals in 21 matches for his new club. Getting a full season under his belt in his second season, he had to battle with Carlos Tevez, Mario Balotelli and Sergio Aguero for starting roles for most of the season. While he tallied much better with 19 goals in 42 matches in the 2011/12 season, Dzeko’s role in the new season has moved into a new realm during the new season.

He is no longer apparently fighting for a starting role, and he seems to be benefiting from it. The position of Super Sub, he is making his own. Perhaps one of the most important goals of his club career at the close of the 2011/12 season. With Manchester City losing on the final day of the season at home to QPR, needing a win to claim their first ever Premier League title, Dzeko came on and netted a 92^nd minute equaliser. That paved the way for Sergio Aguero to net the dramatic winner five minutes into stoppage time, giving City their first title in 44 years.

Dzeko has continued his run of important late goals, with a prolific strike rate this season. He netted an away winner against Fulham just three minutes from time, and his double strike in a deadly ten minute spell against West Brom on the weekend, saw the Bosnian become an important piece of the City puzzle, even if it is more from the bench. But Dzeko also delivered in Europe, netting City’s opening goal of the Champions League campaign, when he stepped off the bench and almost immediately caught the Madrid back line napping, storming away on the break to give City the lead. While City couldn’t hold on to the lead, it was one of the strikes this season which defined his role.

But does his strike rate, which stands at six goals in nine matches this season, warrant more time on the pitch? Should he demand more starting roles, or will City boss Roberto Mancini keep him in the wings as the Super sSub. However, that feels like a temporary role, which can quickly heap pressure on a player when the important rescue goals no longer come.

For such a deadly finishes, with 143 career goals in 314 matches at club level and 26 in 49 matches for his country, it seems strange that he would be fighting for a starting place. Bosnian national coach Safet Susic wanted the striker to move from City in the off-season because he wasn’t getting enough first team football. How long can the status of super sub hold him at City? There would be plenty of interested parties willing to grab the 26 year old should he grow uncomfortable.

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Newcastle boss Alan Pardew rested some of his star players for the Europa Cup tie with Bordeaux on Thursday night and a 3-0 victory for the Magpies underlined the strength in depth in his squad this season. He is almost certain to recall defender Davide Santon, midfielders Jonas Gutierrez and Hatem Ben Arfa and striker Demba Ba for the United match. Goalkeeper Steve Harper will probably start, having taking over from Rob Elliot against Bordeaux when he suffered a groin injury. First choice keeper Tim Krul is still out with an elbow injury along with defenders Fabricio Coloccini (hamstring) and Steven Taylor (calf).

Manchester United will be looking to restore veteran Ryan Giggs and England’s Michael Carrick to the side having missed the midweek Champions League victory in Cluj. Paul Scholes could also return having been rested from the side that secured a nervy 2-1 away victory courtesy of two goals by former Arsenal captain Robin van Persie. Defender Jonny Evans could return but Antonio Valencia, Ashley Young, Chris Smalling, Nemanja Vidic and Phil Jones are still out through injury.

In this fixture last season, United were stunned by a 3-0 defeat at St James’ Park but they responded by winning eleven of their next twelve matches. They travel to Tyneside with the 3-2 home defeat by Tottenham fresh in their minds and they have not impressed everyone in their early season performances. They were certainly fortunate to escape with a victory at Southampton and were gifted a point by Liverpool by a late defensive error. United just got the better of a spirited Newcastle side by two goals to one in their recent Capital One Cup clash but neither teams was at full strength. Ferguson knows how important it is to bounce back with a win on Sunday and Newcastle is not the easiest place to go for three points. They finished in a highly creditable fifth place last season in the Premiership, narrowly missing out on a Champions League spot.

Ferguson will have been delighted with the way Rooney and Van Persie teamed up to provide both goals in midweek and he also has Javier Hernandez as an attacking option. He is unlikely to start with all three on Sunday with the midfield likely to be key to the result of this match. One player that Ferguson will be wary of is Newcastle striker Demba Ba who has scored every time he’s lined up against Manchester United.

The Magpies remain unbeaten at home this season and have not lost in their last three meetings against United. They will also want to put pressure on United’s defence after Spurs unlocked it three times at Old Trafford last week. Demba Ba came on as a substitute to score twice for Newcastle at Everton and has gone on to scored three goals in two subsequent starts. There may be some value in the 7-1 or better in the Premier League soccer odds. Newcastle may not be quite in the same form as they were last season but they can still force a draw in what is always a fiercely contested fixture.

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On Match Day One, Juventus travelled to Stamford Bridge where they recovered a two goal deficit to earn a point in a 2-2 draw. However, in that match, the Italians were the side which looked to have a little more control, a little more quality in their side than the reigning European Champions did. All that was wrong with the Juventus game was that they missed a couple of good early chances in the match to put themselves two nil up. Still, the Italians had enough in the tank to muster a response to the disappointment of falling two goals behind. So with their first European match in their new stadium, the Old Lady were expected to rack up a win to keep them on track for a comfortable qualification ride to the knock-out stage of the tournament.

However, despite the excuses about them being tired, the fact of the matter is that Juventus were outplayed by the visitors. Juve went unbeaten throughout the entire Serie A season to win the Scudetto and have opened this season with five wins and a draw from six matches. Before the arrival on a free transfer of Andrea Pirlo, Juventus were nothing more than a top seven side in Italy, but his influence guided them to the title and a return to the Champions League. But their main man failed to really stamp his authority on Match Day One against Chelsea and the Ukrainians were able to stifle him out of the game in Turin.

It was a showing of great tactical awareness by Shakhtar coach Mircea Lucescu and he admitted after the game that he knew how Juventus would play and he countered it brilliantly. Shakhtar simply kept the ball away from the home side, deliberately tiring out the Italians in making them chase the ball around the pitch. As well as snuffing out the threat from the deep lying Andrea Pirlo, Shakhtar did a fantastic job of keeping the ball away from the Juventus front players.

Shakhtar had taken a deserved lead in the game midway through the first half. They couldn’t hold it for long though as a great strike from centre half Bonucci equalised just three minutes later. That was the first really meaningful attack raised by the Italians in the game, such was the control and dominance exerted by the Ukrainians who were much brighter over the ninety minutes. Shakhtar ended up taking 58% of possession in the game and while they didn’t get as many shots in on target as the Old Lady, they never really looked threatened at the back, their tactical awareness really earning them a point. Truthfully though they deserved the win more in the Juventus Stadium than the hosts did.

It wasn’t a case of Juventus being tired, it was a case of Shakhtar tiring them out. With Chelsea putting on a late surge to beat Danish side Nordsjaelland 4-0 in Copenhagen in the other group E match, this was lost ground for the Italians, who trail both Chelsea and Shakhtar by two points in the standings. Match Day Three will see Donetsk host Premier League leaders Chelsea, while Juventus head to Denmark.

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Belarusian side BATE Borisov claimed the massive scalp of Bayern Munich on Match Day Two, earning themselves plaudits for their biggest ever night in Europe. The Belarusian champions went out in front of their partisan home support and patiently defied all the odds that were stacked against them, to beat last year’s losing finalists. Make no mistake about it, this was a major giant killing act. Bayern Munich had opened this season with nine straight wins in all competitions, topping the Bundesliga as well, having scored 19 and conceded just two in their six league matches.

With Bayern winning their opening match of Group F in this year’s Champions League against Spanish side Valencia as well, their toughest opponents in the group, the scene was set for them to just go and grab a routine victory over the Belarusian side. The home side though clearly had not read the script because they capitalised on a major error by Bayern Munich, to punish the Germans. On the thirteenth minute mark, Bayern’s Tony Kroos missed an open goal and had that been converted, the match would probably have turned out totally different.

But following Kroos’ howler after rounding the keeper and shooting against the post, BATE took the lead halfway through the first half of the match with a strike from Aleksandr Pavlov. The goal did come against the run of play but the goal stunned the Germans. Despite a quick volley of action right after the goal from Bayern, they really never made in-roads into the Belarusian champions and the visitors went in at half time 1-0 down. Normally in situations like this you would still back the experienced side to come through, but BATE created the better chances early in the second half, waiting for their chances on the counter, as Bayern pushed forward.

The second goal of the game was always going to be important, and it was BATE who doubled their advantage on the 78 minute mark. BATE had gradually been retreating deeper and deeper towards their own penalty area as the match wore on, but caught Bayern out in a quick counter attack to go two goals up. Despite a late strike from Franck Ribery for the Germans, there was more cheer to come for the home fans as they grabbed a third three minutes from time to seal the deal. Again Bayern were guilty of being caught cold at the back by pressing forward so much.

The stats tell a different tale of the game than the result does. Bayern had 62% of possession in the game and have more shots on target then the hosts, and outnumbered BATE in corner kicks by a tally of 14-1. But the stealth, resilience and lucky breaks which BATE received on the night, helped shove them towards a dramatic and memorable night. The words of the BATE coach simply summed up the immense performance that he had just seen his side perform. Lost for words, coach Viktor Goncharenko could only say “simply fantastic.”

Bate now sit on top of Group F with two wins from two, with Valencia and Bayern Munich behind them on three points each. Can the Belarusian’s remain there and prevent one of the big guns from the round of sixteen? It will be a trip to Spain next for Goncharenko’s men for Match Day Three and keen eyes will be on how far the Belarusian’s team spirit can take them.

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Zenit are making their third Champions League appearance having progressed to the last sixteen last season. They were edged out 4-3 on aggregate by Benfica. Zenit have only managed to win of their seven away games in the Champions League and have been beaten on their last three European games against Spanish opposition but are the new big spenders in European football and have been putting together an all-star line up for the top European club competition.

Malaga’s Spanish international Nacho Monreal recently denied rumours that he was seeking a move and has committed his future to the club. The 26-year-old left-back has been linked with several top European sides but the club’s Champions League qualification has given him every incentive to stay where he is. Malaga are unbeaten start in the Primera Division this season and gained an emphatic 3-1 win over Levante last weekend with goals by Javier Saviola, Joaquin and Francisco Portillo. Saviola was a recent signing for the Andalusians having joined them from Benfica just before the summer transfer window closed. Levante did manage to draw level with their only shot on target in the first period but Malaga were much the better side. They moved 2-1 ahead when Saviola cut the defence open to send Joaquin through on goal and he made no mistake. Malaga coach Manuel Pellegrini felt his side were well in control and took the calculated risk of substituting both goalscorers to rest them for this Champions League clash. Portillo’s late volley was no more than Malaga deserved for a dominant display and Zenit will be facing a daunting task on Tuesday.

The immediate impact made by Saviola has delighted the Malaga supporters. Having scored one and made two on his debut, the former Barcelona player is obviously in fine form. The Argentine was greatly moved by the tremendous ovation he received from the home fans and he hopes to repay their support in the Champions League. With three victories and a draw, Malaga trail only Barcelona in La Liga and must go into Tuesday’s game full of confidence.

By contrast, Zenit slumped to a 2-0 defeat against Terek Grozny last week following defensive errors. It was Zenit’s second home defeated in three game following their surprising loss to Rubin Kazan last month. Zenit signed star players during the summer transfer window but have yet to successfully integrate them into the team. They headline signing was Brazil striker Hulk who had been strongly linked with a move to European Champions Chelsea before joining Zenit for around £32m. His signing was backed up by that of midfielder Axel Witsel from Benfica for a similar fee. Zenit are backed by Russian energy giant Gazprom, and their squad also includes Portuguese stars Bruno Alves and Danny.

With the group also involving AC Milan and Anderlecht, Zenit are going to have to get themselves organised quickly if they are to make progress in the Champions League. The bookmakers see the game as evenly poised and odds of 6-4 against Malaga could look like great value if they continue their impressive league form. They could be catching Zenit at a good time and will be hoping to make the most of home advantage to get a good start in the group.

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Arsenal

That win followed up an excellent 2-0 win at Liverpool and their summer signings seem to be fitting in well. The Frenchman believes that Montpelier will provide a stiff test for his team in their opening fixture, especially with the added excitement of their Champions League debut. He has warned his players to remain focussed and not be distracted by the passionate atmosphere in the stadium. Arsenal’s experience in the Champions League is expected to tell over the course of the game. Wenger also has the utmost respect for the German side Schalke and knows from bitter experience that the Greek side Olympiacos are capable of beating any side on their day. He admits that they may have underestimated them in the past and paid the penalty but there will be no repeat this season.

Arsenal fans will have gone into the new season with some trepidation following the sale of their skipper Robin van Persie to Premier League rivals Manchester United. The surprise exit of Alex Song also set alarm bells ringing but Wenger had brought in new talent through the summer. Santi Cazorla and Lukas Podolski have already created a big impression but former Montpelier striker Oliver Giroud is still finding his feet. The France international has not scored for the Gunners since his high profile transfer and was demoted to the substitutes bench for Saturday’s game. Wenger believes that he is struggling a little with the pressure and is possibly trying a little too hard. It will be interesting to see whether or not he is given a starting place against his old club.

There are no such worries over the Spanish midfield star Cazorla who is already receiving rave reviews for the way he is settled into the Arsenal side. Podolski has also made an immediate impact at Arsenal, scoring at Anfield and following up with a superb 25-yard free-kick against Southampton. There had been fears that the Gunners would struggle for goals after they were held to goalless draws in their opening two fixtures. Van Persie scored 30 Premier League goals last season and is a tough act to follow but the mood is now one of growing confidence in the Arsenal camp.

Arsenal’s Group B opponents Montpelier have made a poor start to their season and a 3-1 defeat at newly promoted Reims left them languishing in 16th place in Ligue 1. Last year’s title glory was by far the greatest achievement in the club’s history, achieved on a modest budget against big-spending rivals Paris Saint-Germain. Their start player is 22-year old Moroccan international Younes Belhanda who scored 13 goals last season when partnered with Giroud. Their Captain is 23-year old French international Yapou Manga-Mbwia who plays with an old head on young shoulders. He has been widely tipped for an extended stay in the national team after his impressive season for the newly-crowned champions. Former Portsmouth striker John Utaka looked promising in pre-season and will be expected to make up the shortfall in goals after the departure of Giroud.

With Montpelier having made such a rocky start to their season, it is not surprising that Arsenal are solid favourites with the bookmakers at 5-4. Their demolition of Southampton at the weekend should have set them up for a strong European campaign and it would be a surprise if they do not come away with maximum points from this game.

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When it comes to goals this man is no stranger to scoring them so the name Thierry Henry shouldn’t ring a bell when its mentioned along the lines with the word goal. He has done it in the past for Arsenal, Barcelona and now New York Red Bulls but this might go down as one of the finest if not the best we’ve seen from him so far.

Though we may never know for sure if he meant it or not, the fact still remain its a fantastic strike and i’m sure the fans wouldn’t care too much about that either. See for yourself  below.

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Argentina will have got some idea of the hostile reception awaiting them for this World Cup qualifier at the Estadio Nacional in Lima when their team bus came under attack on Monday. They had gone into this game confident of victory with Lionel Messi in rampant form but found themselves happy to escape with a draw after a determined Peru side pushed them all the way.

The draw was enough for Argentina to maintain their lead in the nine-nation group ahead of Colombia and Ecuador but there are now only three points separating the top six teams with everything still to play for. An equaliser from Gonzalo Higuain spared Argentina’s blushes after Messi had endured a torrid time. He had clearly been selected for special attention by Peru and knew that he was in for a rough night after a series of early fouls.

The match started in dramatic fashion as Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero saved Claudio Pizarro’s penalty in the 3rd minute. It was Peru who took the lead through defender Carlos Zambrano in the 22nd minute when he chipped in from a cross by Luis Adincula. Higuain levelled the match after 37 minutes when he converted an inch-perfect pass from Ezequiel Lavezzi. Peru almost reclaimed the lead when Luis Ramirez hit the post in the second half. Argentina midfielder Fernando Gago was taken on a stretcher with a head injury and chances fell to both sides late in the game. Peru’s Pizarro and Argentina’s Higuain and Marcos Rojo could have stolen the points in the closing minutes.

Messi, the scorer of ten goals in his last six internationals, blamed a poor quality pitch for Argentina’s lifeless display. Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella preferred to concentrate on the positives and was happy to settle for the point. In contrast, Peru’s coach Sergio Markarian felt that his side deserved a victory that would have brought them back into contention in the group. As it is, they are left on seven points with a lot of catching up to do. They have not qualified for the World Cup finals since 1982.

The top four qualify for the 2014 finals and Argentina have 14 points, Colombia and Ecuador 13, Uruguay and Chile 12 and Venezuela 11. The fifth placed team will face a play off against an Asian nation.

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The U.S. leads Group A with four points from two matches in the Semi-final Round of Qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Jamaica has the same number of points but the U.S. lead on goal difference. There is no room for complacency in the American camp as they have not managed better than a draw in four previous qualifiers in Jamaica. Klinsmann originally named a 25-man squad but midfielder Joshua Gatt was forced to withdraw with a hamstring injury.

Klinsmann has set his team the target of maximum points from the two matches to set themselves firmly on the path to the World Cup finals. He elected not to call up a replacement for Gatt and is happy with the team he has at his disposal. Striker Clint Dempsey is something of a talisman for the U.S. and he completed a high profile move across London from Fulham to Tottenham last week. Klinsmann, hugely popular at White Hart Lane during his playing days, is delighted with the move for Dempsey and feels he will benefit from competing for a top four Premiership side. Spurs were only denied a place in the Champions League by Chelsea’s success in the competition but are looking to move forward under youthful new coach Andre Villas-Boas. Dempsey had been linked with a number of clubs including Liverpool and Aston Villa and it was a late swoop by Spurs that sealed his transfer.

Klinsmann was sympathetic towards Dempsey for the way he has dealt with the added media pressure in recent months and feels that he has a very important role to play for the U.S. He has not played since June but Klinsmann will not hesitate to introduce him against Jamaica if he is fit and in the right frame of mind. Klinsmann has had to juggle his goalkeepers a little with Sean Johnson covering for the first game in Jamaica before returning to the Chicago Fire and Nick Rimando stepping in for the second game. The improvement in the American game was highlighted by the national teams victories over Italy and Mexico this year and they now have that extra confidence that comes from beating the best.

The U.S. are rated around 6-5 favourites to win in Jamaica with the hosts priced at 3-1 and the draw 12-5. Clint Dempsey is 6-1 favourite to open the scoring in his first appearance since his £4million transfer to Tottenham.

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In La Coruna, Deportivo fans displayed banners blaming television for the ever-expanding fixture list and it was a similar story at Rayo Vallecano. The worst turnout was just 11,000 to see Zaragoza lose 1-0 at home to Valladolid. It is not just the early start to the season that is upsetting the fans. The kick off times have been set to fit in with the TV schedules with an incredible nine different time slots from Saturday to Monday night to provide almost constant action. Most staggering of all, the last time slot is 11pm on Monday and Zaragoza fans vented their anger by booing and waving banners. Not surprisingly, all three late kick-offs attracted poor attendances with only 11.000 at Mallorca v Espanyol and 14,000 watching Levante versus Atletico Madrid. The authorities need to think long and hard about the situation. Working families with young children cannot possibly justify attending football matches at these ridiculous kick-off times. If the sport continues to pander to television at the expense of the supporters, fans will continue to vote with their feet and the social fabric of football in Spain will be undermined.

On the pitch, it was Barcelona who made the early headlines. They stormed to a 5-1 win over Real Sociedad under new coach Tito Vilanova with David Villa scoring on his return from a broken leg suffered in December. Lionel Messi scored twice with goals by Puyol and Pedro signalling Barca’s intent for the new season. Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid could not respond and were held to a 1-1 draw by Valencia. The opening game is hardly likely to be significant in the overall scheme of things but it is definitely advantage Barcelona after day 1 of La Liga.

World Player of the Year Messi scored a league record 50 goals last season and settled any early season nerves with two strikes that helped them to a 3-1 lead inside 15 minutes at the Nou Camp. Pedro smashed home a fourth just before the interval and Villa’s goal put the icing on the cake for the home supporters in the closing stages. Spain’s all-time leading scorer with 51 goals, was forced to miss Spain’s Euro 2012 triumph and he was given a massive ovation when he replaced Pedro after 74 minutes. It was a very emotional return to action and sets him on his way to recovering a regular team and international starting place. With new signings Jordi Alba and Alex Song, and Villa back and scoring goals, things could hardly look brighter for new coach Tito Vilanova. Many felt that he may struggle to fill the shoes of Pep Guardiola after last season’s disappointing Champions League and La Liga results but Barcelona seem to have returned with a new hunger.

Real Madrid only dropped 14 points in their 38 matches last term on their way to recording a record tally of 100 league points. They will be desperate not to make any mistake when they travel to Getafe, beaten 2-1 at Sevilla last weekend. Barcelona go to Osasuna who were beaten 2-0 by Deportivo La Coruna in their opening fixture. Real Betis beat Athletic Bilbao 5-3 at San Mames in the best match of the opening round of fixtures, staging a remarkable recovery from 3-0 down with goals from Oscar De Marcos, Mikel San Jose (2), Alejandro Pozuelo and Jorge Molina. Levante drew 1-1 with Atletico Madrid, Celta de Vigo lost 1-0 at home to Malaga, Mallorca beat Espanyol 2-1 and Rayo Vallecano beat Granada 1-0.

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