The Latest Football News and Opinions From 90 Minutes Online
Is anyone actually watching?
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Written by Darren Douglas
Anyone watching ‘outsiders’ CSKA Moscow entertain Aston Villa this week will hopefully have picked up on something: Villa are nothing special.
That they have climbed to third in the league is very impressive; Champions league qualification looks to be more than a possibility, too. However, when they play the biggest names in the continent it would appear they will not be able to cope.
According to the Italian sports newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, if David Beckham manages to get his much vaunted long-term transfer to Italian giants AC Milan there is every chance he will be pinging pinpoint crosses onto the forehead of a certain Samuel Eto’o.
The Italian paper claims that Eto'o’s agent has had a series of preliminary talks with the club about a move to Milan in the summer. Rumours which wouldn't hold so much weight were it not for Eto’o’s recent comments in the French magazine Sportweek.
Sunday’s Milan derby saw the confirmation of what we have known for the past four months: Inter will win Serie A at a canter. The chase for the fourth Champions League spot and the battle against relegation are now the only ports of call for the thrill seeking observer.
Having dominated proceedings, Juventus should have beaten Fiorentina, but could only manage a draw. So, following the 2-1 win over their city rivals, Inter now have a nine point lead at the top of the table.
The derby was a frenetic and engaging affair, largely thanks to a trio of Brazilians – and a certain buck-toothed one in particular.
Almeria do just fine with 9, and Real score 4 as top draw
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Written by Benjamin Cullen
Real Madrid, Almeria and Sevilla were the big winners in this week's round of fixtures. In fact, amazingly, they were the only teams inside the the top 16 to win at all!
Raul, with his 308th club goal, put Madrid one up at Sporting Gijon on Sunday, and in doing so edged past Di Stefano's long standing all-time scoring record. An achievement the Asturian fans met with chants of 'Raul retire now'. Unfortunately for them he obviously didn't feel like hanging his boots up quite there and then, instead going on to score Madrid's 4th in the 76th minute after cool finishes from Huntelaar and Marcelo (both assisted by Higauin) had put the game out of reach for Gijon.
Whilst most people, including the Champions League-centric media, are creaming themselves about the return of Europe's 'elite' competition next week, I'm far more excited about the return of the UEFA Cup over the next couple of days.
I'm sure the fact that I have a vested interest in it as an Aston Villa fan plays a large part in that, but by and large I find the UEFA cup a more interesting and unpredictable tournament. The CL will generally provide you with the same familiar faces from Western Europe's top leagues, whereas the UEFA cup knock out stage provides a far more diverse range of teams representing countries from all over the continent.
Now that the grind of the lame group stage phase is over, we have reached the exciting business end of the contest. Here is a preview and some predictions.