This was a great week from start to finish, with three of the best matches of the season happening mid-week. First up was the Arshavin takes Anfield show as the Leningrad midfielder went crazy for four goals against Liverpool on the road – and it still wasn’t good enough for three points as the clubs finished tied at 4-4. Meanwhile, in Spain, Real Madrid and Getafe kept trading punches and, just when it looked like Getafe would pull off an upset, a botched penalty kick and a bolt of lightning by the name of Higuain scored the winning goal in a 3-2 Real Madrid victory. On the other side of the world, in an elimination match in the Copa Libertadores, it looked like Independiente Medellin had advanced when it scored in the 91st minute to pull even with Defensor Sporting, but a 94th minute goal by Diego De Souza, his second of the match, gave Defensor a 4-3 victory and allows the Uruguayan club to advance to the knockout stages of the South American championship tournament.
The weekend wasn’t quite as exciting, but there was some movement in the national tables over the past few days. After both Wolfsburg and Bayern Munich lost their Bundesliga matches, Hertha Berlin was able to move into second place in the top German league. Meanwhile, the final Champions League spot in Italy fell out of Genoa’s hands for the time being and into the hands of Fiorentina, who kicked a little Roma butt this weekend.
Coming up this week, of course, is the first leg matches of the semifinals in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup. Even bigger, at least in Mexico, is the final of the CONCACAF Champions League in which Cruz Azul will try to come back from its 0-2 home loss to Atlante. In South America, the group stage of the Copa Libertadores group stage concludes. In Africa, the CAF Champions League takes a week off in the middle of its first knockout stage.
Next weekend, there are two matches involving a pair of ranked clubs. The bigger one takes place in La Liga where Barcelona takes on Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. A victory for Real Madrid will move it to within a single point of the leaders. In the Eredivisie, AZ Alkmaar will take on FC Twente. A victory for AZ will mean absolutely nothing, since it has already won the Dutch championship.
The rest of the action is below. Enjoy!!!
World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – April 27, 2009
1. Manchester United (Eng) (1) – United has moved even closer to a Premiership championship after being the only club in the Big Four to win six months this week. After defeating Portsmouth 2-0, Manyoo came back from a 0-2 deficit to score five second half goals and beat Tottenham 5-2. This Week: On Wednesday, Manchester United will host Arsenal in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal. Domestically, Manchester United will take on Middlesbrough on Saturday.
2. Barcelona (Esp) (2) – Barca scored a very impressive 4-0 victory over Sevilla at midweek, but the good times came to an end over the weekend as Barcelona was held to a 2-2 draw by Valencia. This Week: The Camp Nou welcomes Chelsea on Tuesday for the first leg of its Champions League matchup with Barcelona. Domestically, Barcelona will hit the road for the match of the weekend in Europe against Real Madrid.
3. Chelsea (Eng) (3) – Chelsea failed to take advantage of Liverpool’s slipup against Arsenal and managed only a goalless draw against Everton, its FA Cup finals opponent. This weekend, Chelsea did manage to keep up with the rest of the Big Four by scoring a 1-0 victory over West Ham United. This Week: As noted above, Chelsea will head to Spain for the first leg of its matchup with Barcelona. In the Premiership, Chelsea will host Fulham on Saturday.
4. Arsenal (Eng) (4) – In what was the match of the season (so far), Arsenal opened a can of Whoop Arshavin on Liverpool at Anfield, and still couldn’t walk away with anything but a 4-4 draw. Over the weekend, Arsenal did defeat Middlesbrough 2-0 to move ‘Boro closer to relegation. This Week: Arsenal heads to Manchester to take on the Red Devils on Wednesday. Who am I picking? It’ll be in my posting on Tuesday. Domestically, Arsenal takes on Portsmouth on Saturday.
5. Inter Milan (Ita) (5) – At midweek, Internazionale managed a 1-0 victory over Sampdoria, but it wasn’t enough as Inter lost 1-3 in the aggregate and was eliminated from the Coppa Italia. Domestically, Inter lost 0-1 to Napoli, but still maintains a substantial lead over AC Milan in Serie A. This Week: Inter will need to win a few more matches in order to win the Scudetto and Inter will host Lazio this weekend to try to score one of those.
6. Liverpool (Eng) (6) – I don’t know whether to comment on the offense that scored eight goals in two matches in a week or the defense that gave up eight goals in those two matches. The 4-4 draw with Arsenal was a match for the ages. This weekend, Liverpool defeated Hull City 3-1 to keep its faint hopes of a Premiership title alive. This Week: Having been eliminated from the Champions League and the FA Cup, Liverpool gets the following weekend off. And by that, I mean that it plays Newcastle United.
7. Sao Paolo (Bra) (7) – Sao Paolo defeated America de Cali 2-1 to finish off the group stage of the Copa Libertadores in first place in its group. This Week: No upcoming matches.
8. AC Milan (Ita) (8) – Its probably too late to catch Inter Milan, but AC Milan defeated Palermo 3-0 this week, thanks to a Kaka brace, to move three points closer to the Serie A lead and two points further ahead of Juventus. This Week: Next up for AC Milan will be a Serie A match against Catania on Sunday.
9. Real Madrid (Esp) (10) – With two victories, first a 3-2 semi-miraculous victory over Getafe in perhaps the best La Liga match of the season, and then a 4-2 victory over Sevilla, Real has moved within four points of Barcelona ahead of the matchup between the two Spanish powerhouses. This Week: Like I said – matchup between two Spanish powerhouses. That must mean that on Sunday (it doesn’t have to mean that it’s on Sunday), Real Madrid will host Barcelona at the Bernabeu.
10. Wolfsburg (Ger) (9) – Now in first place, Wolfsburg choked this weekend, for lack of a better term, losing 0-2 to Energie Cottbus. Wolfsburg did manage to stay in first place, however, after Bayern Munich failed to capitalize. This Week: The current surprise club of the Bundesliga will take on the first half’s surprise of the Bundesliga, TSG Hoffenheim, at home on Saturday.
11. Marseille (Fra) (11) – It had to come from behind to do it, but Marseille defeated Lille 2-1 to extend its lead in Ligue Un in its attempt to unseat Lyon as 226-consecutive-season-champions. This Week: Marseille will host Toulouse on Saturday.
12. Porto (Por) (12) – Porto fell 1-2 to Estrela Amadora in a Taca de Portugal match. In the one that was important, however, Porto defeated Vitoria Setubal 2-0 to maintain its Liga Sagres lead. This Week: On Sunday, Maritimo will host the Liga Sagres leaders.
13. Gremio (Bra) (13) – No current matches. This Week: Gremio will finish off its Copa Libertadores group stage duty hosting Boyaca Chico.
14. Juventus (Ita) (16) – I’m not sure how Juve moved up this week. Frankly, it wasn’t a good week. First, Juventus lost 1-2 to Lazio to be eliminated from from the Coppa Italia. Juve followed that up with a 2-2 draw against Reggina to move farther behind AC Milan for second place in Serie A. This Week: Juventus will host Lecce on Sunday in its next Serie A match.
15. AZ Alkmaar (Ned) (15) – For what it’s worth, AZ drew 1-1 in a 105-minute match against Ajax this week. That’s okay, it is still a club of Eredivisie champions. This Week: In one of the few inter-Top 25 matches this week, AZ will take on FC Twente on Sunday in a battle of the top two clubs in Holland.
16. Celtic (Sco) (18) – No current matches. This Week: Celtic returns to matches in a Scottish Premier League match against Aberdeen on Saturday.
17. Bordeaux (Fra) (17) – Bordeaux won the French League Cup championship this week with a 4-0 victory over Vannes. This Week: Bordeaux will make up its Ligue Un match on Wednesday against Stade Rennes. In its regularly-scheduled match, Bordeaux will host Sochaux on Sunday.
18. Bayern Munich (Ger) (14) – Bayern fell to third-place in the Bundesliga following a 0-1 loss to Schalke 04. This Week: On Saturday, Bayern will host Borussia Monchengladbach.
19. Velez Sarsfield (Arg) (23) – With a 4-2 victory over Colon, Velez Sarsfield remains on top of the Argentine Clausura. This Week: Next up for Velez Sarsfield is an away tie with Sam Martin on Sunday.
20. Cruzeiro (Bra) (21) – Cruzeiro finished up the Copa Libertadores group stage in first place of its group following a 2-0 victory over Ecuador’s Deportivo Quito. Domestically, Cruzeiro defeated Atletico Mineiro 5-0 in the first (and only one that matters) leg of the championship of that league. At least, I’m guessing it’s the championship. I don’t know what’s going on in Brazil, exactly. This Week: Sunday will see the second leg of Cruzeiro’s matchup with Atletico Mineiro for whatever it is.
21. Fiorentina (Ita) (NR) – With a 4-1 victory over Roma, La Viola has overtaken Genoa for the final Serie A Champions League position. This Week: Coming up for Fiorentina hosts Torino on Sunday.
22. Sporting CP (Por) (BU) – Sporting CP defeated Estrela Amadora 2-1 to keep pace with Porto in the Liga Sagres. This Week: The next domestic league match for Sporting will be away against Academica de Coimbra.
23. Rangers (Sco) (25) – No domestic league action for Rangers, but the club did defeat St. Mirren 3-0 to move into the finals of the Scottish FA Cup. This Week: In a return to SPL action, Rangers will host Hearts on Sunday.
24. Valencia (Esp) (BU) – Though still in fourth place in the Primera Division, it was a good week for Valencia in which it defeated Real Betis 2-1 and played second-ranked Barcelona to a 2-2 draw. This Week: Valencia will actually head to Barcelona this week when it takes on Espanyol on Sunday.
25. Twente (Ned) (24) – FC Twente failed to take advantage of Ajax’s draw by managing only a 1-1 draw of its own in an Eredivisie match against SC Heerenveen. In KNVB Beker action, Twente defeated NAC Breda 3-1. This Week: The most fun time of the Eredivisie season continues this week when Twente hosts champion AZ Alkmaar.
Bubbling Under (alphabetically): Ajax (Ned), Hertha Berlin (Ger), Libertad (Par), Sevilla (Esp), VfB Stuttgart (Ger).
Next Five: Aston Villa (Eng), Benfica (Por), Everton (Eng), Genoa (Ita), Lyon (Fra).
Matches This Week Between WCR Top 25 Clubs:
28 April – (3) Chelsea at (2) Barcelona
29 April – (4) Arsenal at (1) Manchester United
3 May – (2) Barcelona at (9) Real Madrid
3 May – (15) AZ Alkmaar at (25) FC Twente
The weekend wasn’t quite as exciting, but there was some movement in the national tables over the past few days. After both Wolfsburg and Bayern Munich lost their Bundesliga matches, Hertha Berlin was able to move into second place in the top German league. Meanwhile, the final Champions League spot in Italy fell out of Genoa’s hands for the time being and into the hands of Fiorentina, who kicked a little Roma butt this weekend.
Coming up this week, of course, is the first leg matches of the semifinals in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup. Even bigger, at least in Mexico, is the final of the CONCACAF Champions League in which Cruz Azul will try to come back from its 0-2 home loss to Atlante. In South America, the group stage of the Copa Libertadores group stage concludes. In Africa, the CAF Champions League takes a week off in the middle of its first knockout stage.
Next weekend, there are two matches involving a pair of ranked clubs. The bigger one takes place in La Liga where Barcelona takes on Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. A victory for Real Madrid will move it to within a single point of the leaders. In the Eredivisie, AZ Alkmaar will take on FC Twente. A victory for AZ will mean absolutely nothing, since it has already won the Dutch championship.
The rest of the action is below. Enjoy!!!
World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – April 27, 2009
1. Manchester United (Eng) (1) – United has moved even closer to a Premiership championship after being the only club in the Big Four to win six months this week. After defeating Portsmouth 2-0, Manyoo came back from a 0-2 deficit to score five second half goals and beat Tottenham 5-2. This Week: On Wednesday, Manchester United will host Arsenal in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal. Domestically, Manchester United will take on Middlesbrough on Saturday.
2. Barcelona (Esp) (2) – Barca scored a very impressive 4-0 victory over Sevilla at midweek, but the good times came to an end over the weekend as Barcelona was held to a 2-2 draw by Valencia. This Week: The Camp Nou welcomes Chelsea on Tuesday for the first leg of its Champions League matchup with Barcelona. Domestically, Barcelona will hit the road for the match of the weekend in Europe against Real Madrid.
3. Chelsea (Eng) (3) – Chelsea failed to take advantage of Liverpool’s slipup against Arsenal and managed only a goalless draw against Everton, its FA Cup finals opponent. This weekend, Chelsea did manage to keep up with the rest of the Big Four by scoring a 1-0 victory over West Ham United. This Week: As noted above, Chelsea will head to Spain for the first leg of its matchup with Barcelona. In the Premiership, Chelsea will host Fulham on Saturday.
4. Arsenal (Eng) (4) – In what was the match of the season (so far), Arsenal opened a can of Whoop Arshavin on Liverpool at Anfield, and still couldn’t walk away with anything but a 4-4 draw. Over the weekend, Arsenal did defeat Middlesbrough 2-0 to move ‘Boro closer to relegation. This Week: Arsenal heads to Manchester to take on the Red Devils on Wednesday. Who am I picking? It’ll be in my posting on Tuesday. Domestically, Arsenal takes on Portsmouth on Saturday.
5. Inter Milan (Ita) (5) – At midweek, Internazionale managed a 1-0 victory over Sampdoria, but it wasn’t enough as Inter lost 1-3 in the aggregate and was eliminated from the Coppa Italia. Domestically, Inter lost 0-1 to Napoli, but still maintains a substantial lead over AC Milan in Serie A. This Week: Inter will need to win a few more matches in order to win the Scudetto and Inter will host Lazio this weekend to try to score one of those.
6. Liverpool (Eng) (6) – I don’t know whether to comment on the offense that scored eight goals in two matches in a week or the defense that gave up eight goals in those two matches. The 4-4 draw with Arsenal was a match for the ages. This weekend, Liverpool defeated Hull City 3-1 to keep its faint hopes of a Premiership title alive. This Week: Having been eliminated from the Champions League and the FA Cup, Liverpool gets the following weekend off. And by that, I mean that it plays Newcastle United.
7. Sao Paolo (Bra) (7) – Sao Paolo defeated America de Cali 2-1 to finish off the group stage of the Copa Libertadores in first place in its group. This Week: No upcoming matches.
8. AC Milan (Ita) (8) – Its probably too late to catch Inter Milan, but AC Milan defeated Palermo 3-0 this week, thanks to a Kaka brace, to move three points closer to the Serie A lead and two points further ahead of Juventus. This Week: Next up for AC Milan will be a Serie A match against Catania on Sunday.
9. Real Madrid (Esp) (10) – With two victories, first a 3-2 semi-miraculous victory over Getafe in perhaps the best La Liga match of the season, and then a 4-2 victory over Sevilla, Real has moved within four points of Barcelona ahead of the matchup between the two Spanish powerhouses. This Week: Like I said – matchup between two Spanish powerhouses. That must mean that on Sunday (it doesn’t have to mean that it’s on Sunday), Real Madrid will host Barcelona at the Bernabeu.
10. Wolfsburg (Ger) (9) – Now in first place, Wolfsburg choked this weekend, for lack of a better term, losing 0-2 to Energie Cottbus. Wolfsburg did manage to stay in first place, however, after Bayern Munich failed to capitalize. This Week: The current surprise club of the Bundesliga will take on the first half’s surprise of the Bundesliga, TSG Hoffenheim, at home on Saturday.
11. Marseille (Fra) (11) – It had to come from behind to do it, but Marseille defeated Lille 2-1 to extend its lead in Ligue Un in its attempt to unseat Lyon as 226-consecutive-season-champions. This Week: Marseille will host Toulouse on Saturday.
12. Porto (Por) (12) – Porto fell 1-2 to Estrela Amadora in a Taca de Portugal match. In the one that was important, however, Porto defeated Vitoria Setubal 2-0 to maintain its Liga Sagres lead. This Week: On Sunday, Maritimo will host the Liga Sagres leaders.
13. Gremio (Bra) (13) – No current matches. This Week: Gremio will finish off its Copa Libertadores group stage duty hosting Boyaca Chico.
14. Juventus (Ita) (16) – I’m not sure how Juve moved up this week. Frankly, it wasn’t a good week. First, Juventus lost 1-2 to Lazio to be eliminated from from the Coppa Italia. Juve followed that up with a 2-2 draw against Reggina to move farther behind AC Milan for second place in Serie A. This Week: Juventus will host Lecce on Sunday in its next Serie A match.
15. AZ Alkmaar (Ned) (15) – For what it’s worth, AZ drew 1-1 in a 105-minute match against Ajax this week. That’s okay, it is still a club of Eredivisie champions. This Week: In one of the few inter-Top 25 matches this week, AZ will take on FC Twente on Sunday in a battle of the top two clubs in Holland.
16. Celtic (Sco) (18) – No current matches. This Week: Celtic returns to matches in a Scottish Premier League match against Aberdeen on Saturday.
17. Bordeaux (Fra) (17) – Bordeaux won the French League Cup championship this week with a 4-0 victory over Vannes. This Week: Bordeaux will make up its Ligue Un match on Wednesday against Stade Rennes. In its regularly-scheduled match, Bordeaux will host Sochaux on Sunday.
18. Bayern Munich (Ger) (14) – Bayern fell to third-place in the Bundesliga following a 0-1 loss to Schalke 04. This Week: On Saturday, Bayern will host Borussia Monchengladbach.
19. Velez Sarsfield (Arg) (23) – With a 4-2 victory over Colon, Velez Sarsfield remains on top of the Argentine Clausura. This Week: Next up for Velez Sarsfield is an away tie with Sam Martin on Sunday.
20. Cruzeiro (Bra) (21) – Cruzeiro finished up the Copa Libertadores group stage in first place of its group following a 2-0 victory over Ecuador’s Deportivo Quito. Domestically, Cruzeiro defeated Atletico Mineiro 5-0 in the first (and only one that matters) leg of the championship of that league. At least, I’m guessing it’s the championship. I don’t know what’s going on in Brazil, exactly. This Week: Sunday will see the second leg of Cruzeiro’s matchup with Atletico Mineiro for whatever it is.
21. Fiorentina (Ita) (NR) – With a 4-1 victory over Roma, La Viola has overtaken Genoa for the final Serie A Champions League position. This Week: Coming up for Fiorentina hosts Torino on Sunday.
22. Sporting CP (Por) (BU) – Sporting CP defeated Estrela Amadora 2-1 to keep pace with Porto in the Liga Sagres. This Week: The next domestic league match for Sporting will be away against Academica de Coimbra.
23. Rangers (Sco) (25) – No domestic league action for Rangers, but the club did defeat St. Mirren 3-0 to move into the finals of the Scottish FA Cup. This Week: In a return to SPL action, Rangers will host Hearts on Sunday.
24. Valencia (Esp) (BU) – Though still in fourth place in the Primera Division, it was a good week for Valencia in which it defeated Real Betis 2-1 and played second-ranked Barcelona to a 2-2 draw. This Week: Valencia will actually head to Barcelona this week when it takes on Espanyol on Sunday.
25. Twente (Ned) (24) – FC Twente failed to take advantage of Ajax’s draw by managing only a 1-1 draw of its own in an Eredivisie match against SC Heerenveen. In KNVB Beker action, Twente defeated NAC Breda 3-1. This Week: The most fun time of the Eredivisie season continues this week when Twente hosts champion AZ Alkmaar.
Bubbling Under (alphabetically): Ajax (Ned), Hertha Berlin (Ger), Libertad (Par), Sevilla (Esp), VfB Stuttgart (Ger).
Next Five: Aston Villa (Eng), Benfica (Por), Everton (Eng), Genoa (Ita), Lyon (Fra).
Matches This Week Between WCR Top 25 Clubs:
28 April – (3) Chelsea at (2) Barcelona
29 April – (4) Arsenal at (1) Manchester United
3 May – (2) Barcelona at (9) Real Madrid
3 May – (15) AZ Alkmaar at (25) FC Twente
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