The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| Bold Spurs leave Manchester United 11 points adrift Posted: 01 Jan 2014 02:55 PM PST Christian Eriksen doubled Spurs's lead, after Adebayor had claimed his fourth goal in five games under new manager Tim Sherwood, before Danny Welbeck replied in vain for United. Adebayor was stretchered off in the 70th minute, but not even that injury could take the shine off a Spurs performance that left United in seventh place and trailing leaders Arsenal by 11 points. Tottenham were required to weather a bright and breezy opening from their hosts, but by the time Adebayor struck his 34th-minute opener, the London club were good value for their lead. The goal came following a blistering counter-attack as Kyle Walker broke up a United foray and Spurs exploited space on United's left. Eriksen picked out Adebayor with a superb cross that the Togo international met, outjumping Chris Smalling in the process, to place an accurate header beyond the dive of David de Gea. Adebayor, revelling under the new White Hart Lane management, almost had a hand in a second goal minutes later as he won the ball in midfield and found Aaron Lennon, whose cross was put wide by a sliding Roberto Soldado. A two-goal advantage would not have flattered Tottenham, with Lennon squandering arguably the best chance of all as he raced onto Soldado's 14th-minute pass, only to be denied by De Gea. It was a stark contrast to the opening exchanges, when Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris appeared fortunate to escape after seeming to handle the ball outside his box as he thwarted a United attack. Welbeck was then denied by the Frenchman and Lloris enjoyed a slice of luck when he saved Smalling's fierce shot with the inside of his thigh before the rebound squirmed over the byline for a corner. But for all their early possession and swift attacking play, United failed to really test Lloris in the opening hour. Wayne Rooney's frustration earned him a 41st-minute booking for a petulant tug at Mousa Dembele, while Welbeck dived in an unsuccessful attempt to earn a penalty after Vlad Chiriches made the slightest contact with him. Appreciating the dire situation, United manager David Moyes made a bold double substitution on the hour, bringing on forwards Shinji Kagawa and Javier Hernandez for midfielder Michael Carrick and full-back Smalling. The move saw Antonio Valencia switch to right-back and it back-fired when he responded slowly as Spurs made it 2-0 in the 66th minute. Again, it was a goal carved out of a counter-attack, with Soldado slipping the ball inside for Lennon, whose chipped pass across the area was met by Eriksen's stooping header as Valencia was found wanting. Fortunately for Moyes, however, it took less than a minute for Welbeck to respond as he chased Adnan Januzaj's perceptive pass between two defenders and finished confidently over the advancing Lloris. Januzaj led the charge for the equaliser, shooting just wide from 20 yards then slaloming in from the right before crossing to the near post, where Hernandez's back-heel was blocked by the goalkeeper. Lloris also showed a rush of blood in chasing out of his area to challenge Ashley Young, sparking United penalty appeals, although the goalkeeper made amends with superb stops in quick succession from Rooney and Nemanja Vidic. - AFP, January 2, 2014. |
| Last-gasp Bendtner, Walcott keep Arsenal top Posted: 01 Jan 2014 02:49 PM PST Arsenal looked to have run out of ideas as they were frustrated by Cardiff's blue wall of resistance before substitute Nicklas Bendtner struck in the 88th minute. Theo Walcott sealed the win in injury time to complete a gritty victory that suggests that this could yet be the year that Arsene Wenger's side end their nine-year trophy drought with the biggest prize in English football. The late goals enabled Arsenal to return to first place, after Manchester City had taken provisional control of the title race with a 3-2 success at Swansea City earlier in the day. Missing so many key players, it looked as though Cardiff would come away with a precious point before their crushing late heartbreak. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was in the stands as he edges closer to taking charge of Cardiff following Malky Mackay's sacking. The former Manchester United striker, now managing in his native Norway with Molde, would have been impressed with his potential new side in spells at the Emirates Stadium. Few would have given Cardiff a chance, given their current struggles at the wrong end of the table. Arsenal, on the other hand, would have considered this a home banker. Sitting at the top of the tree heading into 2014, this was a game they were expected to canter through. However, an unremarkable opening 45 minutes saw Arsenal fail to bring a save out of Cardiff goalkeeper David Marshall. Walcott came the closest when he volleyed Jack Wilshere's cross into the side-netting after 13 minutes. That besides, Arsenal looked a pale imitation of the side that had previously dismantled so many teams at the Emirates. The home side dominated territory and possession, but everything was done at such a slow tempo that Cardiff were able to pile bodies behind the ball. Santi Cazorla and Walcott lost their radars by shooting wide when well-placed and the midfielders were not the only Arsenal players to suffer a similar fate. Cardiff were defending resolutely, but they were fortunate to escape in the 25th minute when Wilshere fell under Gary Medel's clumsy challenge in the penalty area. There were few complaints from Arsenal when a penalty was not given, but replays suggested that the England midfielder, celebrating his 22nd birthday, had a strong case despite referee Jon Moss waving away his appeals. Cardiff's ploy was to frustrate, but a rare venture forward saw Jordon Mutch produce a jinking run and shot that was blocked by the legs of Arsenal's largely redundant goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny. Wenger would have spoken of the the need to quicken his side's passing during the half-time interval, although Cardiff had visibly grown in confidence. Wilshere did finally threaten in the 65th minute when he struck the outside of the post with an angled drive. It was the start of a concerted spell of pressure and Arsenal were coming ever closer to the breakthrough as they laid siege with wave after wave of attacks. Per Mertesacker headed wide before wasting another chance when he escaped his marker but could only nod against the post. Arsenal were becoming increasingly desperate, but with two minutes remaining they finally scored through Bendtner. Bacary Sagna's header from Nacho Monreal's cross finally brought a save out of Marshall, but the ball fell kindly for the Denmark striker to rifle into the roof of the net. It proved to be his final contribution as he limped off after turning his ankle in scoring, but the game was up for Cardiff and Arsenal were able to rest easy after Walcott skipped through to clip home in added time. - AFP, January 2, 2014. |
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