Quagliarella rescues late point for Juve

A Champions League debut double from Oscar was only enough for a share of the spoils, as a late Fabio Quagliarella goal rescued a point for Juventus.

Quagliarella with his first Champions League goal

Two goals in as many minutes from Oscar, the second a spectacular long range effort, appeared to set the holders on their way to a comfortable home win; however Arturo Vidal scored just before half-time to half the deficit, and after dominating the second half, the Old Lady got their just-rewards as substitute Quagliarella beat the offside trap to silence Stamford Bridge.

A draw was the least Juventus deserved having dominated both the possession and chance count, as Chelsea let a two goal lead slip for the first in the Champions League since 2004.

The early chances fell the way of the Italians, as both Claudio Marchisio and Mirko Vucinic spurned one on one attempts with Petr Cech.

Out of the blue Chelsea took a strangle-hold on the game with two Oscar strikes!

The first was fortunate as his effort would've been a routine save for Gianluigi Buffon, only for Juve defender Leonardo Bonnuci to divert the effort over the dive of the Italian number one!

The second however needed no deflection, as the Brazilian let fly from 25 yards spectacularly into the top corner, giving Buffon no chance in the Juventus goal.

Oscar celebrating his wonder strike

Going in with a two goal lead would have probably secured the game for Chelsea; however out of nothing Vidal scored from the edge of the penalty area, with a precise effort arrowed into the corner.

Second half substitute Juan Mata had a good chance to seal the victory for Chelsea; however he couldn't beat Buffon at his near post.

And the holders were left to rue his miss as Quagliarella beat John Terry's poor attempt at playing him offside, and beat Cech through his legs to complete the comeback. In the end Chelsea were fortunate to escape with a share of the spoils as Quagliarella clipped the bar with a curling effort.

Matri's volley extends Juve's long unbeaten run

Second half substitute Alessandro Matri rescued a point for Juventus in the top of the table Serie A clash with AC Milan.

Milan were left to feel aggrieved as a Sully Muntari header, with the Rossoneri leading 1-0, was wrongly not given, despite the ball being a good couple of yards over the line.

Antonio Nocerino, via a huge deflection, had opened the scoring early on, and despite Milan's first half dominance, Juve improved in the second half and probably deserved to draw level, which they did through a Matri volley. A late red card for Arturo Vidal, meant Juve had to hold off some Milan pressure, which they did, to ensure the Serie A title race stayed in the 'Old Ladys' hands.

Juventus started the game well, with Stephan Lichtsteiner twice getting into dangerous positions down the Juve right, without really threatening Christian Abbiati in the Milan goal.

Muntari did brilliantly to win the ball back from Giorgio Chellini, and the Ghanaian international found Urby Emanuelson whose shot was deflected wide for a corner.

The resulting corner came to nothing; however Leonardo Bonucci gifted Milan the ball with a poor pass across his own box and Robinho found Nocerino whose long range shot hit the hapless Bonucci, with the deflection giving Buffon no chance.

The games real talking point occurred in the 26th minute when Muntari's header was incorrectly adjudged not to have crossed the line, therefore preventing Milan from opening up a deserved two goal lead. Buffon did brilliantly to save the initial Thiago Silva header; however Muntari beat his marker to the rebound as his header crossed the line, despite Buffon's best efforts only for neither the referee or the linesman to see the clear goal.

Milan's injustice only spurred the Italian champions on and Mark Van Bommel, Silva and Robinho missed good chances to extend their lead.

Juve's best chance in the first half came and went as Vidal smashed wide when well placed on the edge of the Milan box.

Milan were comfortable in the first half, with Robinho, frequently dropping deep, in particular shinning in a different looking Milan, who despite the lack of several first team players, were in control of the match.

The second half was brought about with a flurry of changes, Milan replaced Pato with Stephan El Shaarawy, whilst Antonio Conte subbed off Marcelo Estigarrbia and Marco Borriello with Simone Pepe and Mirko Vucinic respectively.

The second half began in tame fashion, with neither side threatening to score the games vital second goal.

Emanuelson picked the wrong choice when Milan countered with a three on three attack, as the Dutchman tried to find the sub El Shaarawy instead of the easier option in Robinho and Juve cleared.

Juventus missed a great chance to level as Chellini crosses into space as Fabio Quagliarella shoots straight at Abbiati from close range.

With time starting to run out, Conte's side started to control the game and the sub Matri thought he had brought his side level, only to look up and see the linesman's flag raised. Replays showed the call was a very tight one, with the striker possibly just the wrong side of the last defender.

Matri put his earlier disappointment behind him to volley home an equaliser with just eight minutes left. Chellini, up from the back, crossed well and Matri held off Silva to volley past Abbiati to stun the San Siro.

Vidal stupidly saw red late on for a cynical hack on Mark Van Bommel; however neither side threatened a winner as the game finished 1-1 to extend Juve's unbeaten run to 24 Serie A matches.

European round up

Spain
Barcelona lost for the first time this season, as Getafe stunned their illustrious rivals with a defensively strong performance in a 1-0 victory. Defeat for Barca, means they now trail Real Madrid by six points after Jose Mourinho's side won the Madrid derby 4-1.

A Valera header won the game for Getafe, as Barcelona without Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas and Carlos Puyol failed to break down their opponents.

Just hours before two Cristiano Ronaldo penalties helped Real extend their lead at the top of the table. Atletico had opened the scoring through Adrian just 15 minutes in; however their joy was short lived as Thibaut Courtois, the man on loan from Chelsea, was sent off in conceding a penalty.

Ronaldo levelled from the spot, and after that Real really made their extra man count, as further goals from Angel Di Maria, Gonzalo Higuain and a second penalty from Ronaldo. The second penalty award saw Atletico go down to nine men as Diego Godin was shown his marching orders for a second yellow card.

Inigo Martinez scored an incredible winner from his own half for Real Sociedad as they edged an incredible match 3-2 against Real Betis, whose poor run extended to nine games without a win.

Big spending Malaga take on the injury hit Villarreal tonight.

La Liga results
Mallorca 2 Racing Santander 1
Athletic Bilbao 0 Granada 1
Zaragoza 0 Sevilla 1
Levante 4 Sporting Gijon 0
Rayo Vallecano 1 Valencia 2
Espanyol 1 Osasuna 2



Germany
Bayern relinquished top spot of the Bundesliga as a second consecutive defeat saw the Munich giants slip to third. The Austrian Andreas Ivanschitz opened the scoring before Daniel Van Buyten scored his first of the game to level the game.

However Mainz were the better side, and two quick goals from Marco Caligiuri and Niko Bungert gave the relegation threatened side breathing space. A second Van Buyten goal wasn’t enough as Bayern’s poor form continued.

The surprise package Borussia Monchengladbach went top of the Bundesliga, all be it only for a short time, after a comprehensive 3-0 away victory against Koln on Friday. Last year’s champions Dortmund regained the spot on goal difference with a comfortable 2-0 home win against Schalke. Goals from Robert Lewandowski and Felipe Santana ensured they took full advantage of Bayern’s Sunday slip up.


Italy

Juventus extended their unbeaten start to eleven games with an impressive 1-0 away win at Lazio. Simone Pepe's 34th minute winner gave the Turin side their seven win of the season as victory saw them replace Udinese at the top of the table. Juventus face Napoli next in a re-arranged fixture as the game was postponed due to flooding recently, and the match will no doubt test Conte's side title credentials.

Flying in Europe, struggling at home, that’s the scenario Napoli are in currently. With just four wins in 11 games this league campaign, Walter Mazzarri's side are struggling, and were fortunate to leave the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia with a point, as Edison Cavani's late goal ensured the game finished 1-1. Atalanta have done brilliantly this year, and if they had started the season without a six point deduction, they would sit an impressive fifth place.

Elsewhere in Italy A.C Milan romped to a 4-0 win over Cheivo, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic scoring his 100th Serie A goal in the process. All four strikes came in a dominant first half. Thiago Silva, a double from Ibrahimovic and an Alexander Pato strike meant Milan went second for the first time this season. A.C's city rivals Inter Milan, won back-to-back league games for the first time this season as Luc Castaignos's 90th minute winner stole the points from Siena.

Serie A results

Udinese 2 Roma 0
Leece 0 Catania 1
Novara 2 Parma 1
Cagliari 1 Bologna 1
Cesena 2 Genoa 0
Palermo 2 Fiorentina 0

Serie A week one round up

The Italian Serie A season got off to a brilliant start with no less then 35 goals in the 10 games, including a home defeat for A.S. Roma and a late win for Palermo against Inter Milan.

Last week I predicted Roma to be AC Milan's closest rivals and I don't expect that to change despite their poor performance to go with the result against Cagliari. The team has brought in many new faces and with a new coach the team will take time to gel. The game itself saw Cagliari open the scoring mid way through the second half when Jose Angel's poor headed clearence hit Daniele Conti in the penalty box, giving Conti time to turn and smash the ball past Maarten Stekelenburg in the Roma goal.

Barely a minute later Angel's day turned for the worse when the Spaniard was sent off for serious foul play. The game went into injury time with Cagliari leading 1-0, and they doubled their lead in the third added minute through a solo goal from substitute Moestafa El Kabir, who beat Stekelenburg with a good finish. Daniele De Rossi finish from a saved free-kick saw Roma half their defeciet, however with the full time whistle straight after the goal, no undeserved hope was aroused.

Andrea Pirlo starred on his Juventus debut as the Old Lady easily overcame a poor Parma side. Full back Stephan Lichtsteiner opened the scoring on his league debut, after Pirlo's beautiful chipped past found the former Lazio man who finished well when one on one with the Parma keeper.

Alessandro Matri was guility of spurning many oppourtunites, however it didn't matter as Simone Pepe doubled Juve's lead with a drilled finished on the hour mark. Another debutant in Arturo Vidal, made it three with a half volley from outside the box. The former Leverkusen man started on the bench, but is expected to be a key player for Antonio Conti's new look Juventus side.

The best goal was saved till last however, as Pirlo once again showed he still has his incredible passing range with a beautiful lifted ball into Claudio Marchisio who superbly lifted the ball over Nicola Pavarini to make it four. A late Sebastian Giovinco penalty failed to dampen the magnitude of how one sided the encouter was.

Elsewhere in Italy, AC Milan drew 2-2 with Lazio on Friday night, with all four goals coming in an action packed first half. Miroslav Klose and Djibril Ciise stunned the hosts with an early goal apiece, both well taken finishes. AC Milan were fortunate they were still in the game before Antonio Cassano ensured Zlatan Ibrahimovic couldn't miss from a yard. Four minutes later, the creater of the first goal levelled the scored when Cassano headed home from a corner.

Palermo edged a classic against Inter Milan 4-3. Diego Milito had opened the scoring for Inter, before Fabrizo Miccoli levelled. The Argentine again gave Inter the lead, only for Abel Hernandez to draw Palermo level for a second time. With the game heading towards an entertaining draw, there was three goals in the last five minutes. The former Benfica man Miccoli doubled his account for the game as Palermo took the lead for the first time, before Pinilla put the game out of reach of the 2010 Champions. A late debut goal from Diego Forlan couldn't save Inter as they lost their first game of the 2011/12 season.

Udinese started life without the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Cristian Zapata and Gokan Inhler with a comfortable 2-0 away win against Leece, with captain and club hero Antonio Di Natale unsuprisingly amongst the scorers. Manchester City target Alessandro Cerci scored Fiorentina's second in their easy 2-0 home win against Bolonga.

Preview to Serie A and review of 1st La Liga week

Serie A

Champions AC Milan start the defence of their title tonight against a strong Lazio side. AC Milan had a strong transfer window bringing in the likes of Philpe Mexes, Taye Tawio and Alberto Aquliani aswell as completing permanent deals for Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Kevin Prince Boateng. Lazio brought in expierenced forward Miroslav Klose as well as  Djibril Cisse, and the duo are both expected to start tonight in a new look strikeforce having lost the former Birmingham City striker Mauro Zarate to Inter Milan.

The league's big spenders Juventus and Roma both start the new season with new managers and new optimism. Despite Italy only having three Champions League participants for the 2012/13 season, these two will be confident of challenging the likes of Napoli for the key third spot. Juve have brought in the likes of Mirko Vucinic, Eljero Elia, Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal in an attempt to force their way back into Europe's elite competition, however for me I don't think they will have enough about them to do so.

The other big spenders in Roma however have a better chance, with not just exicting additions but clever and needed ones. The obvious loss of Mexes and Vucinic to their rivals will be huge, but new manager Luis Enrique has brought in no less then 17 players, and if the team can gel quickly then I can see them challenging Inter Milan for a second place birth. Fernando Gago, Bojan Krkic, Miralem Pjanic, Simon Kjaer, Pablo Osvaldo, Erik Lamela and Gabriel Heinze were all added in an highly exiciting window for the Rome side.

Inter Milan for me this year will struggle to really live with AC Milan at the top of the league with the choice of manager a suprising one. Gian Piero Gasperini's failed at Genoa despite big name signings, and the move is in similar fashion to AC Milan's move for Massimiliano Allegri, which was an obvious success. The loss of Samuel Eto'o is a huge one with Diego Milito really struggling to find the form of the treble winning season. Giampaolo Pazzini and Mauro Zarate are very hit and miss players, and much pressure will be placed on new signing Diego Forlan to replace Eto'o's goals.

My top 7 prediction
1) AC Milan
2) Roma/Juventus
3) Inter Milan / Napoli
4) Napoli / Inter Milan
5) Juventus/Roma
6) Udinese
7) Lazio

La Liga

The La Liga kicked off a week before the recent international's and somewhat unsuprisingly the dominant duo of Real Madrid and Barcelona won 6-0 and 5-0 respectively and already take their position at the top of La Liga.

You don't have to be a football genius to realise that these two will top the table come June and their infatic start to the season only goes to show the dominance the duo have over the rest of the Spanish League.

Athletico Madrid began life with Sergio Aguero, Diego Forlan and David De Gea in uninspiring fashion with a 0-0 draw at home to Osasuna. The amount of transfers in and out of the club obviously have dictated their start and it will take them a while to gel properly, with Falcao and Arda Turan good additions to the club.

Malaga the huge spenders in La Liga started life with a 2-1 defeat away to Sevilla. Manuel Pellegrini's side were poor in the first half and Alvaro Negrando exposed Malaga's centre half uncertainty for the first goal before a lovely finish doubled their lead. Despite a good second half showing, they only had new signing Santi Cazorla's wonderful free kick to show for it. The club were scheduled to play Barcelona on the first week of the season, meaning they would've had a doubly as hard start, however with Granada and Real Mallorca up next, expect to see them improve in not only performance but points. Sevilla in comparison to their opponents have had a relatively quiet transfer window with Manu del Moral and Martin Caceras their two big deals.