The Continued Struggles Of Chelsea, Liverpool: 11/28/10

Newcastle United 1-1 Chelsea

Andy Carroll scored five minutes into the match when Alex tried a backpass that snuck behind Petr Cech and couldn't have been gift-wrapped any better for the young striker. Salomon Kalou equalized at the end of the first half, but the Blues couldn't capitalize on their second half pressure for a winner. Instead of regaining the top spot, Chelsea remain in second, two points off of Man U's pace.
MatchStat) Shots: Newcastle 5, Chelsea 20

Tottenham 2-1 Liverpool

Where to begin with this match? All week, I contended that it was a matchup between Liverpool's terrible play on the road and Tottenham's terrible play in the match following a Champions League game. The Big Bear contended that it was simple: If Gareth Bale and Rafael Van der Vaart played, Tottenham would win. If not, they wouldn't. I suppose he was technically correct.

But only technically so, as Van der Vaart was forced to leave the game with an injury re-aggravation ten minutes in, and when a second injury-induced change came in the first half for Spurs, it looked like it might be Liverpool's day. Of course, I was sucked into belief in the Reds when Martin Skrtel scored in the first half, followed by a few sorely missed goal chances and a comical Spurs penalty miss, wherein Jermain Defoe shanked wide of the left post. However, the Liverpool side that was clearly better in the first half seemed to remain in the locker room, as Spurs shook off their first half malaise and, on a poorly defended run by Luka Modric, conspired to score via an own goal by Skrtel. While I then spent the next 20 minutes convincing myself that a point would be a decent result, Paul Konchesky let the uber-retarded haircut of Aaron Lennon in on Reina, and he made the Reds pay for their inability to finish. Spurs passed Bolton for fifth place with the win.
MatchStat) Fouls: Tottenham 6, Liverpool 18

Postscript WTF: Add to that loss Liverpool being drawn away to Manchester United in the FA Cup 3rd Round after the game. Awesome. /facepalm

Scottish Soccer Hooligan Weekly:

See the picture above, as both of the day's scheduled matches were postponed due to winter weather conditions.

Spanish Inquisition:

A lot of mid-to-low table teams were in play on Sunday. Eighth place Mallorca won 2-0 at home against Malaga to improve to sixth place. Fifth place Valencia beat Almeria 2-1 on a brace from Roberto Soldado to keep close to Villareal and Espanyol in the fight for the Champions League spots. BONUS: Tomorrow night I'll post a recap of the much hyped and anticipated El Clasico, between Barcelona and Real Madrid, scheduled for tomorrow at 3 PM Eastern.

Insert Cheap Italian Stereotype Here:

Internazionale beat Parma 5-2 to move up to fifth place. Second place Lazio battled to a 1-1 draw with Catania, narrowing their gap to AC Milan to three points. Fifth place Roma lost resoundingly at seventh place Palermo, 3-1, only getting a consolation goal from Francesco Totti in second half injury time.

Das Boot:

All four teams in action Sunday are relegation-threatened nearing the mid-point of the Bundesliga season. Thirteenth place Werder Bremen beat fourteenth place St. Pauli, 3-0, behind a hat trick (and subsequent red card) for Hugo Almeida. Seventeenth placed Cologne and twelfth place Wolfsburg played to a 1-1 draw.

Midweek Action:

Carling Cup quarterfinals! On Tuesday, Arsenal hosts Wigan, and Manchester United travels to West Ham United. Wednesday, Birmingham City hosts Aston Villa in a highly interesting Cup derby, and the only remaining non-Premier League side, Ipswich Town, host West Bromwich Albion.

In addition, there's Round 5 of the Europa League Group Stage! Feel the excitement! Wednesday offers Sporting Lisbon hosting Lille, Anderlecht visiting Zenit St. Petersburg, Stuttgart visiting Young Boys (to Arsene Wenger's utter jealousy...zing!), and PSV Eindhoven travelling to Sampdoria. Thursday's features are Dinamo Zagreb at Villareal, Sparta Prague at Palermo, Sevilla at Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool at Steaua Bucharest (The Battle For Group K!!).