AC Milan v S.S. Lazio Match Report

Roman Club S.S. Lazio hosted AC Milan in a clash with several story lines flowing through the fixture. A resurgent Zlatan Ibrahimovic started for the visitors, Lazio's stadium formerly hosted events during the 1960 summer Olympics, and AC Milan new boy Robinho graced the field. It was a game of two halves with the first proving to be more pedestrian than the second.

After a slow start, the second half was full of flair. In the 66th minute, Ibrahimovic opened the scoring as the Lazio defence were beaten by the Swede's speed. He beat a desperate tackle from the keeper and poked the ball in from 12 yards out. Following a pair of goals in the Champions League Milan supporters will be encouraged seeing his third goal in three matches.

Lazio were not to be outdone. Hernanes sped passed Thiago Silva and Nesta to cross a perfect ball to a streaking Floccari. The 81st minute goal threatened to turn the game on its head as the Romans searched for a second goal.

In the 88th minute, Zambrotta delivered a powerful shot that struck the underside of the bar and bounced out. Moments later, Lazio responded in kind with a Floccari effort that beat Abbiati but trickled just wide.

Robinho's late introduction did not provide the desired impetus as Milan settled for a 1-1 draw. Lazio deserved the resulted. Still, the Rossoneri will have to sort out how they let the game slip away.

Have your say: Is this result the first crack in AC Milan's armor?

Goals:

Ibrahimovic 66'

Floccari 81'

Starting XI

AC Milan

Abbiati, Thiago Silva, Nesta, Zambrotta, Abate, Gattuso, Pirlo, Seedorf, Boateng, Ronaldinho,

Ibrahimovic

S.S. Lazio

Maslera, Dias, Biava, Radu, Ledesma, Brocchi, Floccari, Hernanes, Foggia, Cavanda, Mauri

Substitutions (In/Out):

AC Milan:

Flamini/ Gattuso 69'

Antonini/Abate 83'

Robinho/Sedorf 87'

S.S. Lazio:

Rocchi/Foggia 74'

Zarate/Mauri 79'

Lichtsteiner/ Cavanda 87'

Arsenal vs Braga Match Report

Arsenal opened the Champions League campaign against Portuguese side Braga at the Emirates. The Gunners took full advantage of their fans' enthusiasm as they riled up the crowd with an 9th minute penalty kick following a reckless foul on Marouane Chamakh. The men in red followed up with an a great move to double their lead.

Jack Wilshere played a brilliant match setting up the third Arsenal goal with a delightful back heel to Marouane Chamakh. The 18-year old showed a swagger that the Gunners embodied on the weekend's 2-1 win against Bolton. The youngster combined with Cesc Fabregas to great effect. Like Kaka and Seedorf, he was the fulcrum of the midfield.

Braga threatened to get back into the game with their striker, Mattheus, kept Koscielny and Squillaci alert. The side, off a 3-2 loss against Porto FC, clearly struggled against Arsenal's deft passing. When Hugo Viana was subbed for Mossoro in the 54th minute, the Portugeuse appeared to put up the shutters.

After halftime, Arshavin turned from scorer to provider. The Arsenal midfielder chipped a nice ball captain Cesc Fabregas who obliged with a spot on header. With Vela's 63rd minute introduction, Arsenal did not slow down as the Mexico international grabbed a goal that is sure to boost his confidence. Following the Arsenal hat trick, Andrei Arshavin sought his second inclusion on the score sheet but settled for an assist to Vela. The younger Arsenal striker later doubled his tally on 85 minutes.

The Emirates faithful were in full voice tonight. More importantly, Arsenal looked the part. If the Gunners can consistently replicate their delicious form, there is no telling how far they will go.

Players to watch against Sunderland: Samir Nasri and Laurent Koscielny

Have your say: Has Wenger finally gotten it right?

Starting XI:

Arsenal

Almunia, Sagna, Koscielny, Squillaci, Clichy, Nasri, Song, Fabregas, Wilshere, Arshavin, Chamakh

Braga

Felipe, Miguel Garcia, Moises, Rodriguez, Silvio, Vandinho, Aguiar, Hugo Viana, Alan, Matheus, Paulo Cesar

Goals:

Fabregas 9' (Pen)

Arshavin 30'

Chamakh 36'

Fabregas 53'

Substitution (In/Out):

55'

Mossoro/Miguel Hugo Viana

60'

Lima/Mattheus

63'

Vela/Chamakh

Denilson/Alex Song

70'

Emmanuel Eboue/ Andrei Arshavin

Hashtags For Soccer (Football) News On Twitter

During the last three months, I have regularly spread soccer gossip and news throughout the Twittersphere. Twitter is a great source for breaking news as information is pushed out quickly. The soccer community focuses primarily on disseminating updates, but there a few Twitter pundits that will engage you in the familiar debate about the Big Four or the Bottom Three.

I enjoy sharing soccer news more than the next person and noticed there isn't really a cohesive hashtag procedure among soccer news tweets. Last December, an astute observer noted the same obstacle in a Bigsoccer.com post about MLS Teams. There is a fledgling list of MLS-specific hashtags to keep up with MLS team news. In June, another blogger gave World Cup teams a go.

My axe to grind is far more basic. Anyone in the world should be able to find soccer news, in the English language, using a predictable and predetermined set of hashtags. This simple formula guides my tagging guidelines: sport (#soccer) + league (#EPL) + Associated Club(s) (#Arsenal #Fulham) + Broad Word (usually #news, #Wenger). I currently use the hashtags below but welcome additional feedback about preferred hashtags:

Leagues

• English Premier League = #EPL
• Scottish Premier League = #SPL
• French League = #Ligue1
• German League = #Bundesliga
• Italian League = #SerieA

Clubs:

• Arsenal Football Club = #Arsenal
• Manchester Football Club = #ManU, #MUFC
• Chelsea Football Club = #Chelsea, #CFC
• Liverpool Football Club = #LFC
• Aston Villa Football Club = #AVFC, #Villa
• Fulham Football Club = #Fulham, #Cottagers
• Tottenham Hotspur Football Club = #Tottenham
• Manchester City Football Club = #MCFC
• Blackpool Football Club = #BFC
• Birmingham Football Club = #Birmingham
• Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club = #Wolverhampton
• Sunderland Football Club = #Sunderland
• Bolton Football Club = #Bolton
• Newcastle Football Club = #NUFC
• Everton Football Club = #Everton, #Toffees, #EFC
• Blackburn Rovers Football Club = #BRFC
• West Bromwich Albion Football Club = #WBA, Baggies
• Wigan Athletic Football Club = #Wigan
• Stoke City Football Club = #Stoke
• West Ham United Football Club = #Westham

Unless a team was recently relegated from the English Premier League, I seldom tweet about the Coca-Cola Championship. Again, I welcome comments about how the aforementioned hashtags could be more accurate or suggestions based on tags you currently use.

Cheers,

@bellsworld