"Football, bloody hell!"
– A boring match. However, it was ‘intense’ enough to let us see some improvements in the home side and some flaws in the away team.
– The offensive midfielder issue: both Valencia and Sevilla had the same problem during the pre-season. They ran out of men who were able to play the Xabi Alonso or Pirlo role – you know, that one who links defenders with forwards, that guy who sets the team’s balance.
Emery found Ever Banega and he carried the ‘black bat’ on his shoulders. He did what he felt like in every single moment of the game.
On the other hand, Kanoute and Luis Fabiano looked like, as we say in Spain, two ‘lonely islands’ lost right there next to Alexis and Dealbert.
– There’s something which will never change: if Silva and Villa reach their highest level, Valencia can face Real Madrid and Barcelona and they can even win the title.
– I’d love to see English referees in La Liga.
– I’d love to see David Villa in the Premier League actually.
– Olympique Marseille 0-0 Girondins Bordeaux: if Laurent Blanc weren’t such a scaredy cat, Girondins would become champions again – but they won’t. If OM weren’t so unlucky and if they had someone to go with Mathieu Valbuena and accompany him in the battle, they would be favorites for Le Championnat – unfortunately, I saw Nasri on the bench in yesterday’s match against Manchester United.
So this is my prediction for the French Ligue 1: Olympique Lyonnais will finish on top again, after last year’s sabbatical. And Lisandro will be the top scorer, that’s for sure.
– Manchester United 2-1 Arsenal: Rooney dived! Let’s face it guys, he did. Please, Man U fans, just admit it this time.
– Roma 1-3 Juventus: Diego is an artist, not a footballer. You should watch his goals against the giallorossoneri. I like it when a single player can win a match on his own, much more when he plays a pair of top-notch actions which decide the outcome of an important game.
The bad thing? Yes, there’s one. If Juve keeps on getting good results by depending on Diego’s play, they will get into trouble and they will look similar to that Moggigate squad from 4 years ago. This means: 2nd in Serie A (1st if you bribe some referees, like they used to do) and getting knocked out in Champions League by March or April.
Today’s quote: “I don’t know how many goals we have to score in order to please everyone”, Manuel Pellegrini (Real Madrid’s coach).
Today’s news: Wenger’s fatalism and ‘Old Traffordish’ refereeing.
Today’s pictures: Usain Bolt doing his show for the Bernabéu cheering and amazed crowd.
Real Madrid 3-2 Deportivo
Zaragoza 1-0 Tenerife
Racing 1-4 Getafe
Málaga 3-0 Atlético
Mallorca 2-0 Xerez
Osasuna 1-1 Villarreal
Athletic 1-0 Espanyol
Valencia 2-0 Sevilla
Almería 0-0 Valladolid
Barcelona – Sporting (tomorrow, 9.00PM GMT)
Spanish La Liga 
Good to see Valencia win. I was actually going to back them in an accumulator but chickened out at the last minute.
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