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

Arsenal Beat Blackburn 2-1

Arsenal and Blackburn have met 116 times in all competitions. Today’s match was not a test of talent as much as it was a battle of tactics. Meetings between Arsene Wenger and Sam Allardyce are regularly frustrating affairs as the Frenchman often struggles to beat his counterpart. While at Bolton, Allardyce utilized El-Hadj Diouf and Nicolas Anelka, to make trips to the Reebok Stadium a headache. In May Blackburn, with Allardyce at the helm, beat Arsenal 2-1.

The Gunners opened their account early when Theo Walcott finished a brilliant move. Walcott’s 20th minute strike, similar to his first goal against Blackpool, was Arsenal’s eighth in just three games. The impressive goals to games ratio could not hide their infamously porous defence that conceded goals in their last 10 league and cup away matches.

Blackburn responded with a 26th minute goal from M.B Diouf. Blackburn, devoid of perennial thorn Anelka, still put Arsenal to the test. The Gunners succumbed to El-Hadj Diouf’s speed on the width. The Senegal international breezed passed Koscielny and drew the ball back to the younger Diouf who obliged.

In the first half, Arsenal gave away more than the lead as Robin Van Persie came off with an ankle injury. The Holland international was replaced my Maroune Chamakh, a clear choice in Bendtner’s absence. The first half concluded with few fireworks and set the stage for an interesting second 45 minutes.

Andrei Arshavin clearly stated Arsenal’s intentions with his 50th minute goal off a Bacary Sagna cross. The Mad Russian’s strike settled the game and gave control to the men in red.

Blackburn rebuffed efforts from Walcott, Chamakh, and Arshavin. After falling behind again, Rovers could not eke out another goal. Sam Allardyce, as usual, had done his homework but Wenger’s side were clearly better on the day.

Man of the Match: Theo Walcott

Substitutions (In > Out):

Arsenal
Maroune Chamakh > Robin Van Persie (34)
Tomas Rosicky > Cesc Fabregas (68)
Wilshere > Arshavin (84)

Blackburn
David Dunne > Vincenzo Grella (56)
Martin Olsson > Nikola Klasnic (65)

Bookings:
Gael Givet (73)

Highlights:

Arjen Robben v Manchester United

Bayern Munich made an unexpected run in the 2009/2010 Uefa Champions League. Their game at Old Trafford was pivotal in their quest for European glory. In this clip, Arjen Robben, goal below, pulls the German side back in the 74th minute when Man U supporters thought the game was over. His fantastic strike ushered his team closer to the final. Enjoy!

Is Lebron James Going To Miami?

The recent buzz around Lebron James is an interesting study on public personas. On one hand, Lebron is nearly unrivaled in his athletic talent. The NBA has not seen individual talent on this level since Kobe Bryant chose to go pro back in 1996. Attuned onlookers could argue that, at 25, James shows more talent than Kobe. Dissenters can rightly state Kobe notched his first NBA championship before turning 21.

This truth begs an equally important question: Is anyone worth this much attention? Within 24 hours, Lebron James went from 0 to over 250,000 Twitter followers. Symbolically following no one, his bio is a three word moniker- "King of Akron." The explosive following is likely one for the record books but offers little information about tonight's big decision. Perhaps the one redeeming aspect is this media circus will generate funds for the Boys & Girls Club. One must wonder how much money will justify this case of an inflated ego.

The Today Show, ESPN, and nearly any media outlet with a hankering for ratings has weighed in on the hoopla surround his free agency. ESPN is airing a one hour special ominously entitled "The Decision" tonight at 9:00 PM. The broadcast will likely give a lengthy bio about Lebron's hometown roots, magnetic personality and interviews with pundits. The NBA star has promised to reveal his 'decision' within the first ten minutes.

With Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade already committed to the Miami Heat, the latest reports suggest he will follow. Pat Riley, Miami's coach, would have no problem with such an embarrassment of riches. He previously managed the Shaq and D-Wade combo that won the 2004 NBA championship.

Fanfare aside, Lebron is basketball's biggest marketing phenomenon since Michael Jordan. MJ is now retired, after several public attempts to return to the game he loved. Divorced from his wife, boyfriend to 30-year old model, and survivor of frivolous lawsuits, Jordan now occupies an interesting existence. Will the same happen to Lebron? The crazy-things-happening-to-me bug publicly caught Kobe, Shaq, as well as his Airness.

Only time will reveal Lebron's legacy. Tonight will be merely another chapter in a story that should continue on for at least a decade more. Maybe he can skirt around the pitfalls that ensnared the giants that preceded them.

Just Like Waving Flag: Mexico Beat France 2-0

Mexico proved the better side for 90 minutes as they comfortably beat France. The 2-0 victory emphatically announced the North America's intent in this topsy turvy tournament. With Spain caught unaware against Switzerland, Mexico has added yet another wrinkle to a curious plot.

The France traditionally have a slow start to the World Cup, but the loss puts Le Blues on the brink. Their fate is virtually out of their control as they need run up the scoreboard against South Africa and hope Mexico stifles the Uruguay attack.

El Tricolor pulled no punches as Giovani Dos Santos and Carlos Vela made relentless runs at the French defense until the ladder ended his participation due to injury. Dos Santos, on loan to Galatasaray from Tottenham, reminded world why Barcelona initially showed faith in his talent. The youngster tormented Eric Abidal, leaving the Frenchman flailing for a response.

Like the Battle of Waterloo, one could sense the French never really took Mexico seriously. After going down 2-0, Thierry Henry and Dribril Cisse were left on the bench. One could point to Franc Ribery or Jean Pierre Gignac but neither really gave their fans much to cheer about. After Cuauhtemoc Blanco scored an 80th minute penalty, it appeared France manager Raymond Domenech believed the match was a foregone conclusion.

At the final whistle two groups were left rejoicing- Mexico and Ireland. Seemingly joined only by the green in their flags and over their hearts, Mexico claimed a group-topping win while the Irish can rejoice in a French defeat. Tonight Irish eyes will be smiling as they silently claimed revenge for the infamous handball incident that kicked them out of World Cup qualification.

Goals:

Javier Hernandez (66th minute)

Cuauhtemoc Blanco (80th minute pen)

Lineups:

France: Hugo Lloris, Bacary Sagna, William Gallas, Eric Abidal, Patrice Evra, Sidney Govou (Mathieu Valbuena, 69), Abou Diaby, Jeremy Toulalan, Florent Malouda, Franck Ribery, Nicolas Anelka (Andre-Pierre Gignac, 46).

Mexico: Oscar Perez, Francisco Rodriguez, Carlos Salcido, Rafael Marquez, Ricardo Osorio, Gerardo Torrado, Guillermo Franco (Cuauhtemoc Blanco, 62), Carlos Vela (Pablo Barrera, 31), Hector Moreno, Efrain Juarez (Javier Hernandez, 55), Giovani Dos Santos.