European Football

[Lupa]

Interesting about Spalletti's success with Zenit.

http://www.insidefutbol.com/2012/02/09/ ... nit/57870/

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German DFB Pokal Quarter Finals

Holstein Kiel 0-4 Borussia Dortmund
Hoffenheim 0-1 Greuther Furth
Hertha Berlin 0-2 Borussia Monchengladbach (AET)
Stuttgart 0-2 Bayern Munich

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FT: Siena 2-1 Napoli

Napoli dominated proceedings but somehow lost 2-1 at Siena in the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi final. Siena took the lead 3 minutes before the break. Daniele Mannini played the ball on for Reginaldo to lift the ball over Morgan De Sanctis and tap the ball home into the empty net. Mannini should have made it 2-0 10 minutes into the 2nd half but his shot from the edge of the box went over. Ezequiel Lavezzi was brought on just before the hour and nearly made an instant impact after good play with Camilo Zuniga and Lavezzi's shot went inches wide of the post. Midway through the half, a quick counter saw Andrea Rossi cross the ball for Gaetano D'Agostino to divert the ball past De Sanctis for 2-0. With 4 to go, Napoli were finally on the scoresheet after Emanuele Pesoli inadvertently diverted the ball past his own keeper, Simone Farelli.

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FT: Wolfsburg 3-2 Freiburg

Wolfsburg have moved upto 8th after victory over bottom club Freiburg in an entertaining affair. It took 5 minutes for the deadlock to be broken. A corner was not cleared by Freiburg which allowed Petr Jiracek to come in from the left and fire the ball home. However, Freiburg equalised 5 minutes later. It was route 1 and a Daniel Caligiuri shot was blocked by Diego Benaglio but Johannes Flum followed up to equalise. Wolfsburg retook the lead 3 minutes later. A cross from the right was diverted across goal by a Giovanni Sio backheel and Marcel Schafer slid the ball home at the far post. The goal was controversial because Sio seemed to be in an offside position. 7 minutes before the break, Freiburg were level again. A static Wolfsburg defence allowed a cross to get to Caligiuri who duly clipped the ball past Benaglio. The winning goal came on the hour mark when a Jiracek shot from 20 yards deflected off Fallou Diagne and looped into the goal.

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FT: Twente 2-3 Heracles Almelo

Twente failed to capitalise on the opportunity to go top of the Eredivisie after slumping to a home defeat against Heracles. Heracles took the lead 10 minutes before the break when Samuel Armenteros got beyond Peter Wisgerhof down the right and his cross was diverted home by Everton. With 15 to go, Luuk De Jong fired home a drive past Remco Pasveer to equalise. With 9 to go, Douglas was caught in possession by Darl Douglas who duly converted the ball into the net to put Heracles back in front. Then, 2 minutes later, miscommunication between Tim Cornelisse and Nikolay Mihaylov resulted in Everton stealing in to make it 3-1. In stoppage time, De Jong headed home a Douglas cross to put Twente to within one goal of Heracles but Heracles held out leaving Twente 3 points behind PSV and AZ.

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FT: Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Bayer Leverkusen

Borussia Dortmund were able to claim the 3 points and remain top of the table after a tight victory over Bayer Leverkusen. The result leaves Dortmund two points clear of Bayern who defeated Kaiserslautern earlier today. Leverkusen remain 6th. The winning goal came on the stroke of half time when Shinji Kagawa advanced into the box, cut onto his left and aimed towards the far bottom corner and despite Bernd Leno getting his foot to it, he could not stop it from going over the line.

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FT: Udinese 1-2 Milan

Milan came from behind to claim 3 crucial points away to Udinese. The win moves Milan to the top of the table 2 points clear of Juventus albeit Juve have two games in hand and Udinese are now 6 points off the pace in 4th. Udinese took the lead 20 minutes in when Antonio Di Natale palyed a 1-2 with Gelson Fernandes and Di Natale's shot took a deflection off Thiago Silva to beat Marco Amelia. Di Natale went close again 10 minutes before the break when Mauricio Isla set him up but his volley went wide of the post. Just past the hour, Di Natale played Pablo Armero through on goal but Armero took too long to shoot and Djamel Mesbah dispossessed Armero. That would prove costly as with 13 minutes to go, a quick counter from Milan saw a Stephan El Shaarawy shot not held by Samir Handanovic and Maxi Lopez followed up to equalise. With 5 to go, Lopez played the ball across for El Shaarawy to slide home the winning goal.

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FT: Rennes 1-0 Sochaux

Mevlut Erding scored against his former club as Rennes claimed the three points to stay within the European places while Sochaux remain rooted to the bottom. The winning goal came on 15 minutes when Erding headed home a Jonathan Pitroipa cross. 5 minutes into the 2nd half, Jires Kembo Ekoko went on a mazy run dazzling Steven Mouyokolo but his strike went narrowly over the bar. Just past the hour, Sloan Privat went close for Sochaux with a volley and in the closing stages, Charlie Davies saw his close range shot go narrowly over the bar. Rennes held on for the 3 points.

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FT: Borussia Monchengladbach 3-0 Schalke

Borussia Monchengladbach crushed Schalke and in the process leapfrogging the Royal Blues into 3rd. Gladbach are now 3 and 1 points behind Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich. Schalke meanwhile are 5 points off the top. It took 2 minutes for the deadlock to be broken when Marco Reus got beyond Benedikt Howedes and his strike was just beyond Lars Unnerstall. Mike Hanke made it 2-0 on 15 minutes after excellent team play involving Hanke, Filip Daems and Juan Arango. Arango made it 3-0 on the half hour with a well drilled freekick from 25 yards to wrap up the win in the first half.

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FT: Osasuna 3-2 Barcelona

Barcelona's title hopes are in tatters after slumping to defeat against Osasuna at a cold Reyno de Navarra. If Real Madrid beat Levante on Sunday, Real will be 10 points clear. Osasuna took the lead 5 minutes in when some neat passing play resulted in Dejan Lekic rolling the ball into the net. 5 minutes later, Lionel Messi saw a shot palmed over but midway through the half, Osasuna found themselves 2-0 up when an Alvaro Cejudo cross was diverted home by Lekic. 5 minutes later, Messi saw a shot blocked by Andres Fernandez. 5 minutes into the 2nd half, an Isaac Cuenca cross was diverted into goal by Alexis Sanchez for 2-1. 5 minutes later, Raul Garcia stealed in at the near post to put Osasuna 3-1 up. With 17 minutes to go, Cristian Tello cut inside Nino and blasted the ball past Fernandez to put Barca back to within 1 goal of Osasuna. Francisco Punal went close for Osasuna with 12 minutes to go but his effort rebounded back off the post and with a minute to go, Sanchez saw his shot blocked by Fernandez and Osasuna resisted the late pressure from Barca to hold on for the 3 points.

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FT: NAC Breda 0-2 Ajax

Ajax earned a deserved victory at NAC Breda to mve back into the Europa League places but they still remain 8 points behind leaders AZ Alkmaar. Dmitry Bulykin should have opened the scoring midway through the half but he failed to get a touch to the ball on the goal line. However, Bulykin were not to be denied midway through the 2nd half. Bulykin dispossessed Romano Koenders, rounded Jelle ten Rouwelaar and slotted the ball into the net. Nicolas Lodeiro wrapped up the win when he sprinted from the halfway line into the box and squeezed the ball under ten Rouwelaar.

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FT: Real Betis 2-1 Athletic Bilbao

Real Betis deservedly scored an injury time winner against Copa del Rey finalists. The result moves Betis upto 12th. Betis took the lead 10 minutes in when the ball fortuitously fell to Ruben Castro to wonderfully curl the ball first time past Gorka Iraizoz. Midway through the half, Javi Martinez headed home a Markel Susaeta corner. Midway through the 2nd half, Javi Martinez was shown a harsh second yellow when there seemed to be minimal contact with Jonathan Pereira. With six minutes to go, Benat nearly saw his deflected effort sneak in but Iraizoz managed to divert the ball away. In injury time, a Benat corner was only cleared as far as to the edge of the box where Nelson fired the ball beyond Iraizoz.

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FT: Inter 0-1 Novara

Novara came away with a shock win at the San Siro as Inter's poor form continues. The first half saw few chances with the notable chance coming from Andrea Caracciolo whose effort was blocked by Julio Cesar. 5 minutes into the 2nd half, Diego Milito was put through by Esteban Cambiasso but Milito's shot was straight at Samir Ujkani. Novara took the lead 5 minutes later. A quick break saw Caracciolo take the ball down, cut inside and curled a wonderful shot into the far corner past Julio Cesar. With 15 to go, a teasing Marco Rigoni cross had to be palmed away by Julio Cesar before Caracciolo could get a touch on it. Novara were reduced to 10 men with 10 minutes to go when Ivan Radovanovic was shown a second yellow for time wasting and in the resulting 10 minutes, Wesley Sneijder was close to equalising but his effort was against the crossbar and Novara held on for the crucial 3 points in their battle against relegation.

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FT: Augsburg 0-0 Nuremberg

The Bavarian derby ended in a draw which helps neither of the two teams in their battle to avoid relegation. The point leaves Augsburg still in the bottom 3 while the point for Nuremberg moves them 4 points clear of the drop zone. The game saw very few chances. 10 minutes in, Tobias Werner went close with a drive for Augsburg. With 8 minutes to go, Timmy Chandler nearly won it for Nuremberg but his shot was excellently saved by Simon Jentzsch as the game petered out to a draw.

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FT: Cologne 0-1 Hamburg

Hamburg left it late to claim the 3 points at the Rhein Energie Stadion against a negative Cologne side. The win moves Hamburg upto 10th leapfrogging Cologne and Hoffenheim in the process. The first half was dull with no notable chances. Just past the hour, Martin Lanig diverted a well worked freekick into the net for Cologne but the offside flag was correctly raised. With 15 to go, Mladen Petric played a 1-2 with Jose Paolo Guerrero but Petric's volley went well wide. With 2 minutes to go, the deadlock was broken when Petric played Guerrero through who beat the offside trap and lifted the ball over Michael Rensing from a tight angle despite Pedro Geromel's best attempts to clear the ball off the line.

German Bundesliga

Matchday 21 of 34

Friday 10 February

Wolfsburg 3-2 Freiburg

Saturday 11 February

Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Bayer Leverkusen
Bayern Munich 2-0 Kaiserslautern
Werder Bremen 1-1 Hoffenheim
Mainz 1-1 Hannover
Stuttgart 5-0 Hertha Berlin
Borussia Monchengladbach 3-0 Schalke

Sunday 12 February

Augsburg 0-0 Nuremberg
Cologne 0-1 Hamburg

Matchday 21 Roundup

Borussia Dortmund (46) remain top after their victory. Bayern Munich (44) are keeping the pressure on with victory over Kaiserslautern. Borussia Monchengladbach (43) leapfrogged Schalke (41) into 3rd after victory over the Royal Blues. Werder Bremen (33) remain 5th after their last gasp draw against Hoffenheim while Bayer Leverkusen (31) remain 6th after their defeat in Dortmund.

Freiburg (17) and Augsburg (18) remain in the relegation zone. Kaiserslautern (18) occupy the relegation playoff spot 2 points behind Hertha Berlin (20).

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FT: Villarreal 3-1 Granada

Villarreal were made to work but got the 3 points against Granada. Villarreal took the lead 16 minutes in when Cani fed the ball through for Marco Ruben to angle home a drive. 5 minutes into the 2nd half, Granada equalised when Inigo Lopez headed home a Carlos Martins corner. Villarreal retook the lead just past the hour when Javier Camunas played Borja Valero to drive the ball home. It was 3-1 with 17 minutes to go when a Joan Oriol cross was punched into his own net by goalkeeper Julio Cesar.

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FT: Toulouse 0-1 St Etienne

St Etienne secured the away win at Toulouse to move upto 7th leapfrogging Le Tefece in the process. The match saw very few chances. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang tested Ali Ahamada in the first half with a good strike and Aubameyang would pop up to score the winner with 19 minutes go when latched onto a long ball from Jeremy Clement, held off four defenders before finishing past Ahamada.

French Ligue 1

Matchday 23 of 38

Saturday 11 February

Auxerre 1-1 Lorient
Lyon 1-2 Caen
Montpellier 3-0 Ajaccio
Valenciennes 1-0 Nancy
Rennes 1-0 Sochaux
Brest 1-1 Dijon

Sunday 12 February

Lille 4-5 Bordeaux
Nice 0-0 Paris St Germain
Toulouse 0-1 St Etienne

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FT: Real Madrid 4-2 Levante

Real Madrid have moved 10 points clear at the top after comfortably beating Levante. Levante took an unlikely lead 5 minutes in. Francisco Farinos whipped in a freekick which Sergio Ramos inadvertently flicked on for Gustavo Cabral to head home. With 2 minutes to go in the opening period, Real Madrid were awarded a penalty when Vicente Iborra handled in the box resulting in a second yellow for him reducing Levante to 10 men and Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up to convert the penalty. 5 minutes into the 2nd half, Cristiano Ronaldo made it 2-1 when he headed home a Gonzalo Higuain cross. Just before the hour, Ronaldo duly completed his hat trick with a wonderful dipping 30 yard drive leaving Gustavo Munua with no chance. Just past the hour, Levante pulled to within a goal of Real when Arouna Kone headed home a Oscar Serrano cross. Midway through the half, Cristiano Ronaldo fed the ball in for Karim Benzema to cut inside and curl the ball beyond Munua for 4-2.

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FT: Siena 1-0 Roma

Siena have moved 5 points clear of the drop zone after a narrow victory against Roma. The first half saw few chances with the notable chance falling to Erik Lamela on 20 minutes with his volley from the edge of the box resulting in a diving save from Gianluca Pegolo. The only goal of the game came 5 minutes into the 2nd half when Simon Kjaer brought down Mattia Destro for a penalty which Emanuele Calaio converted.

Italian Serie A

Matchday 23 of 38

Thursday 9 February

Lazio 3-2 Cesena

Saturday 11 February

Udinese 1-2 Milan
Cagliari 2-1 Palermo

Sunday 12 February

Catania 4-0 Genoa
Atalanta 0-0 Lecce
Inter 0-1 Novara

Monday 13 February

Napoli 2-0 Chievo
Siena 1-0 Roma