Pro Eleven Headline News
Pato and Vucinic trade goals as Roma holds Milan 
Pato scored two goals for AC Milan but Mirko Vucinic also notched a pair for Roma as the two sides played to a 2-2 draw at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday.
David Beckham made his Serie A debut for Milan and played 89 minutes as the club moved to within nine points of leaders Inter Milan with the result.
Vucinic scored the lone goal of the first half but Pato tallied two in a five- minute span early in the second half to put Milan in front. However, a diving header from Vucinic in the 72nd minute allowed the capital club to grab a point.
Milan's attack in the first half was limited to a number of crosses that the Roma defense dealt with easily. The Rossoneri failed to seriously test Doni in the Roma net, while Milan keeper Christian Abbiati had more to do.
The breakthrough came in the 22nd minute when John Arne Riise sent a left-wing cross skipping into the box that found Vucinic. He cut the ball away from a defender and fired inside the right post to put Roma up, 1-0.
Milan came to life in the second half, however, and the visitors were level four minutes after the restart.
Kaka coasted down the left wing and drove a low cross through the face of goal for Pato, who easily tapped it over the goal line despite a suspicion of offsides.
Just five minutes later, the young Brazilian added to his tally as he took the ball on the left wing and blew past a Roma defender to get into the box. He then lofted a perfect chip past the keeper and inside the far post.
However, Roma was not done and Matteo Brighi's deflected shot from inside the box caromed into the path of Vucinic, and he sent a diving header into the bottom corner of the net.
The hosts had a chance to break the deadlock in the 88th minute when Alberto Aquilani curled a rocket off the outside of the post from 25 yards, but Roma had to be content with a point, leaving them in 11th place.
Juventus closed to within four points of Inter Milan as a brilliant first-half free-kick from Alessandro Del Piero made the difference in a 1-0 Juve win over Siena, while Fiorentina suffered a stunning 2-1 loss at home to Lecce to fall out of the top five.
Cristian Maggio scored in the 80th minute to help Napoli move into a Champions League spot by beating Catania 1-0, Lazio got three goals from Goran Pandev to get past Reggina 3-2, Udinese and Sampdoria played to a 1-1 draw as the two sides traded second-half goals while Bologna and Chievo finished 1-1 and Palermo earned a 3-2 win over Atalanta on Edison Cavani's 81st-minute strike. Sports Network
Manchester United Increases Pressure on Liverpool With Victory 
Manchester United coach Alex Ferguson says his club can catch Liverpool and keep the Premier League title by beating the other teams at the top of the standings in the same way as yesterday’s 3-0 defeat of Chelsea.
Ferguson, who unsettled Liverpool coach Rafael Benitez into a rant about his influence over officials last week, got his first win this season over Arsenal, Aston Villa, Liverpool or Chelsea, the other contenders for the championship.
United tied the Blues 1-1 at Stamford Bridge in September and drew 0-0 at Villa in November, and lost on the road to Arsenal and Liverpool, teams that still need to visit Old Trafford.
“We’ve got all the main teams at home,” Ferguson told Sky Sports after the match at Old Trafford. “We’ve got to win these games - we’ve got the first win out of the way.”
Namanja Vidic headed the opener on the stroke of half-time and strikers Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov scored one each as United cut the gap between itself and second-place Chelsea to a point.
United has 41 points, five fewer than Liverpool, which has played two more games. United can leapfrog the Reds with wins over Wigan and Bolton later this week. Liverpool can regain top spot with a victory over cross-town rival Everton on Jan. 19.
Chelsea woe
The Blues failed to get a shot on target, even playing with three strikers for the final 10 minutes, in a match that coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said was crucial to the team’s chances of recapturing a title it last held in 2006.
Scolari, who won the World Cup as coach with Brazil, has seen his future come under speculation in the British media. His team has faltered against the backdrop of locker room unrest and financial restrictions in the transfer market.
“Now is the time for me and my players to think about our future: have we lost everything or are we men and do we improve? It’s only this way or the second way is death,” Scolari told reporters after last night’s game.
“We know, all the fans know and the press knows if we play like the second half we won’t arrive,” he added when asked about the club’s chances of winning the league this year.
Chelsea now has one victory in its last five Premier League games. In three days, the Blues travel to Southend for an F.A. Cup replay after the third-tier team held it to a 1-1 home draw on Jan. 3.
Mourinho
Among the spectators at Old Trafford was former Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho, whose Inter Milan team plays United in the second round of the Champions League next month.
For much of the opening period there was very little for the Portuguese coach to note as the play frequently got bogged down in midfield. Then with halftime looming, United upped the tempo. John Terry threw his body at efforts from Ji-Sung Park and Cristiano Ronaldo before the home team forced the corner from which it scored the opener.
Berbatov’s flick from a Ryan Giggs’s corner reached Vidic, who headed past Petr Cech at the far post. United exploited the space created by Chelsea’s search for an equalizer and after an hour it was 2-0 as Rooney connected with Patrice Evra’s cross from the left. Then, with three minutes left, Berbatov slotted Ronaldo’s free-kick past Cech.
Benitez, whose club drew at Stoke two days ago, said Jan. 9 that Ferguson is “the only manager who will not be punished” for attacks on referees.
Ferguson dismissed Benitez comments, which also implied that United gets special treatment from the soccer authorities.
“I think you have got to cut through the venom of it and hopefully he will reflect and understand that what he is saying was absolutely ridiculous,” Ferguson said. “He is an angry man and I think he was disturbed for some reason or another -- that is all I’ve got to say about it.” Bloomberg
Messi rescues Barca against last-place Osasuna 
Lionel Messi scored the game-winning goal in the 85th minute, Samuel Eto'o added his La Liga-best 16th and Barcelona rallied for a 3-2 win over last-place Osasuna on Sunday.
Barcelona trailed 2-1 midway through the second half, but Xavi tied the game in the 80th and Messi completed the comeback with a shot from outside the box that swerved into the upper left.
Barca extended its La Liga unbeaten streak to 17 matches - including 15 wins - and leads second-place Real Madrid by 12 points. Real Madrid continued its move up the standings with a 3-0 win over Mallorca.
Barcelona was in control early against Osasuna and Messi nearly scored his 11th La Liga goal in the 11th minute, but after cutting away from a defender slipped a shot off the right post.
Eto'o finally put Barcelona on the scoreboard just before half, and Messi used his magic to set up the goal. The Argentine star took on numerous defenders on the left side, then slipped a pass through traffic to allow Eto'o to make one touch and then fire past Osasuna goalie Roberto.
Osasuna came out of the half a different side and Miguel Flano brought the fans at Estadio Reyno de Navarro to their feet in the 63rd. Javier Portillo drove a cross into the area, and Flano rose to headed the ball by Victor Valdes.
Osasuna nearly made Messi pay for a mistake in the 68th, taking the ball of his feet to spring a quick attack when he thought play would be stopped for injury. The home side caught Barca by surprise, but Juanfran's shot was knocked away from the bottom left corner by Valdes.
The bottom dwellers continued to control the match, though, and Walter Pandiani put Osasuna in front in the 73rd. Juanfran set Pandiani up with a cross, and he finished with a quick touch to beat Valdes inside the right post.
Barcelona returned to its season-long form soon after, and sensational defender Daniel Alves opened space on the right side before sliding a cross to Xavi, and he fired into the net just as he collided with an Osasuna player.
Messi added the winner five minutes later, making a run to the edge of the area before unleashing a swerving rocket that gave Roberto no chance.
Real Madrid extended its win streak to three, getting goals from Arjen Robben, Sergio Ramos and Raul, who was making his 500th appearance for the club, in the win over Mallorca.
In the other game involving a top-five club, Fernando Llorente scored his team- high sixth goal as Athletic Bilbao edged fifth-place Atletico Madrid 3-2.
Also Sunday, Eliseu scored in the 90th as Malaga edged nine-man Real Betis 2-1, Nicolas Pareja scored in the 90th as Espanyol rallied from two down for a 2-2 draw against Almeria, Sporting Gijon edged Valladolid 2-1, Numancia beat Getafe 2-0 and Racing tied Recreativo 1-1.
Sports Network
Manchester United target Karim Benzema as Carlos Tevez replacement
Tevez's future at Old Trafford has been hanging in the balance for much of the season, with contract talks continuing to stall, and it now seems that with Ferguson's attentions diverting towards the 21-year-old French international, the Argentine's days could be numbered.
Benzema made a lasting impression on Ferguson when the two clubs met in last season's Champions League, and he has not denied wanting to leave the French side.
According to the News of the World, Lyon's price tag of £40 million would total United's reported budget for the summer, but with Tevez's valuation standing at £32m, United would raise the bulk of the necessary cash by offloading the former West Ham striker.
Benzema, who is currently averaging a goal every other game, has attracted a large amount of interest from other European clubs this season, and Ferguson will face tough competition from Barcelona and Real Madrid.
The advantage United have is that the young Frenchman has expressly said he wants to play in the Premier League, and has apparently handed his club a transfer request.
United and Lyon have fallen out over Benzema in the past after Ferguson expressed an interest in signing him 12 months ago.
At the time, Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas accused the club of distracting his player and quashed any chance of negotiations when he said: "Give us £45 million and Cristiano Ronaldo and you can have him.”
United have so far baulked at paying the asking price for Tevez, who is nearing the end his a two-year loan deal.
Ferguson has not denied that interest is coming in for the 24-year-old, with Real Madrid said to be the front runners.
Excited by the prospect of a move to Spain, Tevez said: "Who wouldn't want to play for Real Madrid? Like Manchester, they are one of the best clubs in the world - and it would be a pleasure to play for them.
"(But) if I have to quit the club, I want to quit on good terms." Telegraph
