FA CUP RESULTS:
Manchester United 1-0 West Ham United
For Wayne Rooney it was a bittersweet night. Ultimately it was his goal that put Manchester United into a fourth-round tie against Fulham but he also put a second-half penalty into the Stretford End and it has become such a recurring theme that it would be no surprise now if Robin van Persie takes over from the spot.Sir Alex Ferguson, turning away in disgust, certainly made little attempt to conceal his annoyance at Rooney's fifth miss in his last nine attempts. Ferguson had already warned Rooney he needed to become more clinical and he repeated it more forcibly after his side had held off a disappointing West Ham side."We have to improve. The boy [Rickie] Lambert at Southampton, he's scored 33 out of 33. That's what penalty-taking is all about. There have been several great penalty-takers over the years. [Matt] Le Tissier got 47 out of 48. There's a player in Scotland who played for Rangers who got 57 in a row."His statistics were a little skewed – the player he meant, Johnny Hubbard, actually scored 65 out of 68 for Rangers from 1949 to 1959 – but everyone understood the point. Nani, Javier Hernández and Van Persie have also missed penalties this season whereas Rooney's career record for the club is nine misses out of 28. "Your penalty kicks are to take advantage of a hand ball or a foul and score a goal," Ferguson added. "We can't just say it's one of those things."The home side should be grateful that West Ham were not accomplished enough to make it anything more than a minor irritation. Just as Liverpool took too long to find any momentum in the league fixture here on Sunday, Sam Allardyce's team waited until the second half to offer even the briefest sense that they could cause an upset. Even then there were only sporadic moments when they threatened. As for Allardyce's complaints about the referee Phil Dowd's performance, the West Ham manager was not entirely convincing.His complaint was essentially alleging favouritism, angered that Dowd had awarded a penalty against Jordan Spence for handling Ryan Giggs's cross but not taken the same action after the ball had struck Rafael Da Silva's arm early in the second half. "The difference is that Jordan Spence plays for West Ham and Rafael plays for Manchester United. The incidents are the same. If you give one, you've got to give both, simple as that."Allardyce was sufficiently annoyed to risk an FA charge – the rules forbid any suggestion of refereeing bias – but his argument was undermined by the fact that Spence's handball came from a cross when there was distance between him and the opposition player, whereas Rafael's was at point-blank range. Allardyce, all things considered, might have been better off expressing his anger at his team's performance. It was terribly drab, with only a 15-minute spell in the second half when they looked as if they might recover from that moment, after nine minutes, when Rooney turned the ball in from close range.It was Rooney's ninth goal of the season, quite possibly the easiest and certainly the most poignant, Rooney celebrating by pointing to the skies in a dedication to his wife Coleen's younger sister, Rosie McLoughlin, who died on 5 January after a long illness.Anderson started the move with a wonderfully measured through-ball, dissecting the entire West Ham defence and leaving Hernández running clear on goal through the inside-left channel. Hernández took a touch to open up the shooting angle but had the presence of mind to realise that Rooney was sprinting through the middle. Once the ball was played across the six-yard area all Rooney had to do was make sure he applied a full touch.The response from West Ham was poor. Throughout the entire match they barely examined whether Anders Lindegaard, deputising for David de Gea, might be a touch rusty. Ferguson praised the way Phil Jones and Chris Smalling marshalled a young, experimental defence but Allardyce had played a weakened side and the truth was they made it fairly straightforward for their opponents.Perhaps with a touch more ambition it might have been different. United had three players – Rooney, Anderson and Nani returning from injury and a right-winger, Antonio Valencia, who has been off form for several weeks now. Their best player was Ryan Giggs, prompting Ferguson to say the 39-year-old could continue next season, but it was a night when the home side could get away with not playing at their maximum. They controlled the match while giving the impression they were a good two or three notches below their best.
Arsenal 1-0 Swansea
It seemed crazy for Arsène Wenger to keep playing Jack Wilshere, the kid who spent 17 months out injured, the boy who has not stopped chasing and coaxing and creating since he stepped back on to the pitch in October. Rest Wilshere? Who has started nine games in a row? No chance. He has become the heartbeat of Arsenal – the conductor, the driving force, the de facto leader.Having pushed his team on against Swansea City with a compelling blend of energy and imagination, he capped his performance with an emphatic matchwinner four minutes from the end to earn Arsenal a fourth-round tie at Brighton and Hove Albion. "I'll never hit one like that again in my life," he said, after striking the decisive goal past Michel Vorm.It was fitting that Wilshere defined the result because he had demonstrated a relish to take charge that stood out a mile. His commitment, his involvement, over recent weeks had convinced Wenger to position him in the role he flourished in throughout the youth teams, with the No10 on his back. He was positioned in the advanced playmaker role and, as he grew into the game, it was something Swansea could not handle. "He was outstanding," observed Wenger. "He played in a different position tonight, a bit higher up. It suits him well." His true position? "I think he is a complete midfielder," Wenger said, a little cautiously.In fairness to Michael Laudrup's team, who have been so enterprising this season, with six changes to give a few of their key performers a breather it was difficult to sustain their composure as a full-strength Arsenal began to crank up the pressure.The first half had been even. Swansea were as much of a threat as Arsenal and came close to taking the lead when Kyle Bartley ghosted in to rattle the bar. The temperature was raised in the second half, however, as Swansea suddenly found themselves on the ropes, trying to resist a red and white swarm. Arsenal forced 26 attempts on goal.They found an interesting balance to their game. With Francis Coquelin and Abou Diaby forming a more robust midfield base, and Olivier Giroud a handful up front even if he blundered in front of goal, Wilshere, with the pace of Theo Walcott and the guile of Santi Cazorla either side of him, pulled the strings with great dynamism.Swansea's defending was astounding at times, with last-ditch clearances that had Wenger wondering how it was possible for the game to be goalless for so long. Laudrup described his players' efforts as "heroic". Leon Britton and Danny Graham did as much as any authentic defender to clear the decks, Dwight Tiendalli stepped in with an astonishing double interception, and Vorm flung out arms and legs to keep Swansea in it. It was engrossing. The only respite came from Ki Sung-yueng's drive but Wojciech Szczesny kept his wits about him to tip aside the danger. There was some anxiety when Laudrup introduced Michu but this time the Spaniard was unable to make an impact.Wilshere would deal the devastating blow. After a neat exchange with Giroud the ball sat invitingly. With a swipe of his left foot he powered it past Vorm to send Arsenal into the next round.It was pertinent to hear Laudrup, who has substantial personal experience of the world of the young prodigy, try to temper his praise of Wilshere with caution. "I think sometimes people are a little too fast, too quick with the big words," he said, urging people to give him time and space to develop into a better player, and arguing it is too early to use the term "world-class".On matters closer to home Laudrup had no complaints. "In general when you play a game and the opponent, like here in one half, are better than you, they deserve to win," he assessed, before adding that the challenges are coming thick and fast. "We just have to continue. We have a trip back, arrive back at 2am and on Saturday we play Stoke at home. Then we play Wednesday in that game that the whole of Swansea is thinking about, which is the second game of the League Cup semi-final [against Chelsea]."For Arsenal Wenger suggested that it was more than just the FA Cup at stake. The strength of his cup teams indicates he is feeling the pressure to deliver trophies but the Arsenal manager claimed the urge to respond to a sobering defeat against Manchester City was just as important. He needed his strongest possible team and his strongest player.
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE RESULT:
Chelsea 2-2 Southampton
Chelsea had been braced for the death of the slow-burning dream. They had come to consider Pep Guardiola, now Bayern Munich-bound and the ideal choice as their next permanent manager, as being beyond them. Instead the shock waves came from the latest home failure against a Southampton side that had looked finished as they trailed to fine first-half goals from Demba Ba and Eden Hazard.Chelsea had won 87 of the 89 Premier League matches since 1992 in which they had been two goals to the good at the interval yet they surrendered here, as the Southampton manager, Nigel Adkins, made attacking changes and enjoyed almost implausible reward. After his first substitute, Rickie Lambert, had reduced the deficit, his team prolonged their recent encouraging sequence with a dramatic equaliser on the counter, which was smashed home in emphatic style by Jason Puncheon.Rafael Benítez had bemoaned how visiting teams had frustrated Chelsea at this stadium by sitting deep and packing numbers behind the ball. Yet this was a twist to his burgeoning frustration. The Southampton left-back Luke Shaw was deep inside his own half when he began the surging run that led to Puncheon's late goal.It was difficult to forgive the manner in which Chelsea caught a sucker punch when in control and the home crowd was in no mood to do so. They had responded badly to Benítez's decision to replace Frank Lampard with Fernando Torres in the 80th minute and, after the Spain striker, playing towards the right flank, had laboured and snatched at his one chance, the full-time whistle brought another round of boos, together with the reminder for Benítez that he is not wanted here.This was the night when Chelsea were supposed to put daylight behind them in third place but the lowest home league crowd of the season departed with further fuel for their grievances. Benítez has overseen only two Stamford Bridge wins in seven games in all competitions.Southampton created little but they were rewarded for their refusal to accept the seemingly inevitable and their determination to stick to their game plan, which involved only one up front, staying compact and not chasing the game when they trailed to leave themselves exposed. Adkins remarked that this had seen Aston Villa undone here by an 8-0 scoreline while he also had the experience of the 5-1 FA Cup defeat by Chelsea at St Mary's Stadium on the Saturday before last.Even so, it was remarkable that Chelsea were unhinged by Shaw's burst and Puncheon's spectacular left-footed blast because their comfort had been marked for long spells. Lambert's goal, two minutes after his introduction, had been a dreadful one to concede and it felt as though Chelsea had been lulled into false security. Nathaniel Clyne looked to have been slide-tackled by Hazard, only for the Chelsea winger weakly to allow him to wrest back possession, maraud further forward and cross. Lambert dropped off Gary Cahill, César Azpilicueta froze and the striker craned his neck to head firmly beyond Petr Cech.But Chelsea responded. Ba volleyed over from Juan Mata's dinked pass and Lampard sent a free-kick over the wall and wide. The next goal looked likelier to be Chelsea's, despite this being far from a vintage performance. And yet, when Puncheon took his touch to tee up the decisive moment and the crowd howled at full-time, Benítez found himself forced to lament his players' lack of know-how and game management, along with their lack of ruthlessness in front of goal.The outpouring upon the final whistle contrasted with the apathy at the outset, when there had been little to stir the senses in the cold. Chelsea, though, got the breakthrough they wanted midway through the first half and it seemed for a while to have fortified them.Benítez started with arguably his most exciting attacking midfielders but it was the selection of Ba in preference to Torres up front that appeared the vote-winner, given the boos that the latter had suffered here against Swansea City in the League Cup last Wednesday.Ba marked his Chelsea debut after his £7m arrival from Newcastle United with two goals in the FA Cup drubbing of Southampton and he offered another glimpse of his clinical nature. Lampard showed skill on the right and Azpilicueta crossed with zip. Oscar flung himself into an attempted header, with Jos Hooiveld in close attendance, and the ball spun up towards Ba. In a flash he had leapt into a right-footed volley and squeezed it past Artur Boruc into the corner.Chelsea finished the first half with panache. Twice Lampard went close and Hazard brought a reaction save out of Boruc before Chelsea took charge with another eye-catching strike. Southampton once again failed to clear and after Ramires's deflected shot had come back off a post Hazard guided home the rebound first time and left-footed. A home win looked assured. Chelsea's disbelief would be tangible.
COPA DEL REY RESULT:
Barcelona 2-2 Malaga
Lionel Messi was on target again but Barcelona had to settle for a 2-2 draw at home to 10-man Malaga in the first leg of their Copa del Rey quarter-final.Manuel Iturra capitalised on sloppy Barca defending to give the visitors a surprise lead after 25 minutes at the Nou Camp, before two goals in as many minutes saw the holders swiftly forge ahead.Messi, who picked up his fourth straight Ballon d'Or award earlier this month after netting a record 91 goals in 2012, equalised in the 28th minute thanks to an enterprising run down the right and a neat left-footed finish.Captain Carles Puyol notched a second goal less than 90 seconds later, somehow twisting his neck enough to direct a looping header past Carlos Kameni.However, Malaga refused to lie down and Ignacio Camacho's slick half-volley got them back on level terms a minute from time - despite having lost substitute Nacho Monreal to a 75th-minute red card for a shove in the back of Pedro Rodriguez.Also on Wednesday night, Real Zaragoza and Sevilla battled out a goalless draw at La Romareda to ensure there will be all to play for in next week's second leg at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.Real Madrid defeated Valencia 2-0 in the first leg of the first Copa quarterfinal at the Bernabeu last night, while Atletico Madrid and Real Betis kick off the fourth last-eight tie at the Vicente Calderon on Thursday.
LATEST NEWS:
Pep Guardiola will coach Bayern Munich next season and the one who led Barcelona to 14 titles over four seasons and turned the Spanish club into arguably the best team in the world, has agreed to become the coach of Bayern Munich starting next season.Bayern announced the three-year deal on Wednesday, after a meeting of the top management.Earlier in the day, Jupp Heynckes told Bayern he wanted to end his coaching career when his contract expires at the end of the season.Rumors of Guardiola coming to the German powerhouse have been swirling around local media for weeks and Bayern made it official just a day after Guardiola expressed his desire to manage in England at some point.Guardiola's arrival is a major coup for Bayern."You have to say, hat off," former Bayern star and president Franz Beckenbauer said."Matthias Sammer and Guardiola - I don't know where you can find a better partnership," Beckenbauer told Sky television, referring to Bayern's director of sport.Even Bayern's rivals were impressed."A great compliment to Bayern that they have landed this coup," said Hans-Joachim Watzke, the managing director of Borussia Dortmund.Guardiola's arrival will be good for the entire league, "because the whole world can see that they managed to bring such a coach to Germany," Watzke said.Guardiola, who turns 42 on Friday, stepped down at the end of last season and is on a one-year sabbatical.Under his guidance, Barcelona dominated Spanish and European competitions with its passing game and frequent scoring from standout Lionel Messi.Barcelona won the Champions League twice during Guardiola's tenure, in 2009 and 2011, and captured three Spanish championships and two cup titles.In his first season after being promoted from Barcelona's reserve side, Guardiola won an unprecedented treble, taking the Champions League, Spanish league and Copa del Rey."We are very pleased that we managed to win the football expert Pep Guardiola for Bayern Munich although he had been contacted and sought by many famous clubs," Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said. "Pep Guardiola is one of the most successful coaches in the world and we are certain that he can give a lot of luster not only to Bayern but also to German football."Guardiola, a former Barcelona midfielder who has never coached outside Barcelona, comes to the most scrutinized club in Germany. Bayern's top management is staffed by some of Germany's biggest past stars, with no small egos.Bayern is Germany's biggest club, with 21 Bundesliga titles and one championship before World War II.Bayern president Uli Hoeness said only a coach of Guardiola's caliber could be an adequate replacement for Heynckes, who will be 68 when he retires.Bayern lost the Champions League final last season to Chelsea and has failed to win a trophy in the past two seasons.But it has a large lead in the Bundesliga this season, which resumes this weekend. Bayern is nine points ahead of Bayer Leverkusen. Bayern also is in the knockout stage of the Champions League, with Arsenal its next opponent.In the German Cup, Bayern faces Borussia Dortmund in the quarterfinals. Dortmund has won the last two championships and took the double last season.Heynckes praised his own team in glowing terms last week."Bayern has never played such a modern, attractive and contemporary football in its history," Heynckes said.In Bayern, Guardiola will find Spanish compatriot Javi Martinez, whose transfer was worth €40 million ($53 million). The club's biggest stars are Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben, Manuel Neuer, Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mario Gomez.
