A Weekend of Late Revolutions
It's Friday (still, barely, in some parts of the world) which means it's time to gaze out from between the bars of your cell window and plot your escape through the football matches ahead. The chase will be fierce, but the cover will be exquisite. I'm thinking of hiding in…
- The African Cup of Nations: Cameroon-Zambia and Egypt-Sudan should both be interesting (Cameroon are in trouble after being destroyed by Egypt in the first match; Egypt look like one of the best teams in the tournament and can prove it against Sudan) but my heart is with Senegal-Angola on Sunday afternoon. Group D is wide open at the moment and a win for Angola against a favored Senegal team will go a very long way toward ensuring a pass to the next round. (Sunday at 17:00 GMT; 12PM US Eastern time)
- The FA Cup: There are some fun fourth-round matchups—will a week with Kevin Keegan enable Newcastle to compete with Arsenal? Will Derby lose to the 22nd team in the Championship table? Can Havant and Waterlooville stop the world on its axis at Anfield?—but Manchester United-Tottenham is clearly the match of the weekend. Spurs are fresh from skipping through the high grass sprinking flowers on the grave of Arsenal, and Juande Ramos is good in the cups (have you heard?) All Man Utd have is a vastly more talented squad. Anyway, this one is just behind Tottenham v. the transfer window on the list of the most potentially exciting matches of the week to come. (Sunday at 14:00 GMT; 9AM US Eastern time)
- Real Madrid v. Villareal: Villareal have tied Barcelona and badly beaten Valencia in their last two games, which puts them at third in the table, with the chance of moving within two points of Barça if they manage to win at the Bernabéu. But Real Madrid (first in the table, obviously) haven't lost outside the Copa del Rey in a long, long, lonely, lonely time. (Sunday at 20:00 GMT, 3PM US Eastern time)
Which games are you looking forward to? I'd love to hear your reports on whatever you happen to watch, so as you skulk toward the state line, please consider the comments section a safe haven in a comfortable part of the swamp.
The TV Gods have never pissed me off more than by deciding Chelsea-Wigan is bigger than Liverpool-H&W. Absolutely disgraceful.
Not a classic week in Italy by any measure, but the bookies here all believe that Inter's away trip to Udinese on Sunday is the biggest hurdle they face in their quest for an undefeated season in Serie A.
And Roma - Palermo this evening should have more than the average number of goals.
Tom, I don't even think they can defend the decision by saying they're promoting the more competitive match. Chelsea-Wigan has no choice but to be what you already know it is. But H&W have about a 2% chance to catch onto some crazy current of destiny and do something you'd never forget.
It just seems tone-deaf on the part of the schedule-makers, like they don't really understand soccer and just went for this game when Wikipedia told them that Wigan played in the Premier League.
EDIT: Well, Yossi Benayoun has more or less put a stop to the "crazy current of destiny" talk with three goals in 15 minutes—but only after H&W took the lead in the 8th minute and then again in the 31st. Unbelievable.
I managed to find a stream of the game, tuning in when H&W went 2-1 up. Even if the dream was stomped on, the looks on the Liverpool players' faces at that moment was beyond priceless.
Well, at least Chelsea-Wigan is turning into a thriller. 1-0 to Chelsea in the 80th minute—who could have seen it coming?
Also worth noting that Derby not only lost to, but were crushed by, Preston North End. 1-4. At home. I don't know what's grimmer for Derby, the fact that it happened at all or the fact that it was so easy to predict.
Spurs up one at Old Trafford after Keane scored on a sweet little cross from Lennon. Lennon has been a step ahead of Evra throughout the match so far.
UPDATE: Ah, but it didn't last. 1-1 at halftime on Tevez's matter-of-fact equalizer. During what the announcer lyrically named "the last flickering embers of the half," the solitary figure of Jermaine Jenas bore down on goal for Spurs, but felt lonely, and kicked a melancholy shot that van der Sar was able to save.
UPDATE: Well, it was a nice try from Tottenham. 3-1 to Man Utd, after Jenas missed another sitter, Dawson was sent off for a handball that also resulted in a penalty for Ronaldo, and Ronaldo scored again at the end. Juande Ramos (have you heard?) is magic in the cups, but Man Utd are physics, and physics beats magic almost every time.
And a great win for Angola! This was one of those games that seem to clarify the essential characters of the teams involved. Senegal started out playing hard physical football and trying to push Angola around. Angola looked battered for most of the first half, but when they managed to get the equalizer, all the energy seemed to go out of Senegal, and by the end of the match, the Angola players were openly toying with their opponents and showing off their greater skill.
Now Angola are 3 points up in Group D and with a +2 goal differential. They can't lock up qualification today, but they're in a good position regardless of happens in the Tunisia-South Africa match today.
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