Pro Eleven Headline News
Macheda’s ‘Dream Goal’ Returns Manchester United to Top Spot 
Manchester United’s Federico Macheda scored in injury time on his debut to rescue a win that returned the Red Devils to top spot in English soccer’s Premier League.
The 17-year-old Italian shot past goalkeeper Brad Friedel at Old Trafford yesterday as United completed a 3-2 victory against Aston Villa.
“This is the day of my dreams, to have my debut and score a goal like that,” Macheda, who ran to his family to celebrate, told Sky Sports.
The goal from Macheda, included in United’s squad because Wayne Rooney was suspended and Dimitar Berbatov injured, lifted the defending champion to 68 points from 30 games. Liverpool is one point back and has played an extra match, while Chelsea has 64 points.
United, aiming for an 18th English championship to tie Liverpool’s record, entered the game in second spot after its rival secured a 1-0 win at Fulham two days ago.
United had lost its past two Premier League games, at home to Liverpool and away at Fulham. It was in danger of a third straight defeat when goals from John Carew and Gabriel Agbonlahor gave Villa a 2-1 advantage after 58 minutes.
Manager Alex Ferguson turned to the inexperienced Macheda and Danny Welbeck to change the game and was rewarded when Macheda turned and curled the ball into the corner of the net with seconds remaining.
‘Great Finisher’
“We’ve not seen much of him before, but he’s a great finisher and you would always want the ball to fall to him in the box,” United defender Gary Neville told Sky Sports.
United had taken a 14th-minute lead with the first of two strikes by Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portugal winger, who now has 20 goals this season, fired into the net when the home team was awarded an indirect free kick in the penalty area after Friedel picked up a back pass.
Villa, now without a win in six league games, responded with a deft header by Carew from a Gareth Barry cross after 30 minutes.
Martin O’Neill’s team was playing with confidence even after its recent run and scored again in the 58th minute, with Carew providing the assist for Agbonlahor.
Ronaldo tied the game with 10 minutes remaining and both sides continued to look for a winning goal. Welbeck forced Friedel into a save in the 88th minute, but the goalkeeper had no chance of stopping Macheda’s effort.
Fight for Title
Ferguson said his team still faces a fight for a third successive title and expects the Champions League quarterfinal between Liverpool and Chelsea to determine who will be the main challenger.
“A lot of people are screaming Liverpool and saying they are on the charge at the moment and there is no question, we accept the challenge,” Ferguson told Sky Sports. “But funnily enough, I think the winner of the Liverpool-Chelsea European tie will be our biggest threat.”
Chelsea remains in contention after securing a fifth win in six Premier League games this weekend to spoil Alan Shearer’s debut as Newcastle manager. Frank Lampard and Florent Malouda scored in a 2-0 victory. Liverpool needed an injury-time strike from Yossi Benayoun to beat Fulham.
In yesterday’s other game, Brazil striker Jo scored twice in a 4-0 win for Everton against Wigan. Marouane Fellaini and Leon Osman also got goals.
Everton still has a chance of securing a top-four finish to qualify for Europe’s elite Champions League. Arsenal holds fourth spot with 58 points, Villa has 52, with Everton one point further back. Sixth would give the Toffees a spot in the second- tier Europa League, as the UEFA Cup will be called from next season.
“I don’t think that result guarantees Europe for us just yet because there are still a lot of points to play for and there are other teams chasing,” Everton manager David Moyes told the club’s Web site. “But it has given us a stranglehold and it is for us to throw away.” Bloomberg
Late Own Goal Allows Inter To Beat Udinese
After Juventus’ shock 3-3 home draw against Chievo, Serie A leaders Inter looked to increase their advantage on top to nine points as they visited mid-table Udinese, a traditionally difficult opponent for the Nerazzurri.
Jose Mourinho’s outfit played in a 4-3-1-2 formation with Dejan Stankovic behind Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Mario Balotelli up front, while the hosts played with a 4-3-3 system with Simone Pepe, Fabio Quagliarella, and Antonio Floro Flores in attack.
First Half
The start of the match was slow-going, with the first shot on goal coming from Udinese, Gokhan Inler firing an effort from the edge of the area that was well grabbed by Julio Cesar in the 7th minute.
The next threat also came from the home side, in the 9th minute, when former Inter full back Giovanni Pasquale made a good run on the left and played a long ball in for Floro Flores, who played it back to Pepe, whose shot was blocked by central defender Christian Chivu.
Inter started getting into the match by the quarter hour mark, and in the 22nd minute Sulley Muntari came close to giving the champions the lead. Ibrahimovic received the ball on the edge of the area and played it back to the Ghanaian midfielder, whose first-time shot from distance went just wide of the post.
Just after the half-hour mark, there was a controversial episode in Inter’s penalty area, as Quagliarella controlled the ball on a great pass by Asamoah Gyan and went for goal, only for Julio Cesar to parry the ball away from him. The home crowd claimed a penalty but from the replays it was unclear whether the goalkeeper touched the striker’s feet or if he just let himself fall.
This dubious episode gave the visitors a scare, and in the 38th minute there was another chance for Udinese, as Asamoah played another good ball to Inler, who made a run to the by-line before crossing the ball in, but it found no one.
Two minutes later Quagliarella tried to do everything himself, making a strong run down the middle before firing at goal, but he sent the ball wide of the target.
The first half finished on a 0-0 scoreline that reflected the way things went, although Udinese did slightly more to take the lead than Inter.
Second Half
No changes were made by either coach during half time. The second half began the same way the first half ended, with the home side attacking and Inter sitting back.
In the 51st minute, Pepe played a good long ball to Quagliarella, who found himself near the area but Ivan Cordoba made a good clearence on the Italian international.
Three minutes later, Inler received the ball from Quagliarella and tried a shot on goal from the edge of the area that went inches wide of the post, as the home side continued to push for an opening goal.
A tepid response came from the visitors in the 57th minute, when Ibrahimovic made a run on the right, and after some decent dribbles he fired a shot on goal, which was comfortably blocked by goalkeeper Emanuele Belardi.
Five minutes later, Quagliarella looked certain to score as he fired a volley from around the penalty spot, but Julio Cesar came to Inter’s rescue once again with a brilliant save with the tip of his finger.
Two minutes after that, Inter finally responded as Balotelli found Ibrahimovic on the right with a good pass, and the Swede played it in for the onrushing Stankovic, who managed to get a touch on the ball but he sent it just wide.
In the 76th minute, the Nerazzurri managed to take the lead virtually out of nothing, and with some good fortune. Ibrahimovic once again started the move, keeping the ball away from two defenders before playing it in for substitute Patrick Vieira, who tried to get it past Belardi but saw the ball bounce off the goalkeeper, and it then came off midfielder Mauricio Isla’s foot before rolling into the goal.
This opening goal loosened Inter up and four minutes later they threatened to score a second, as the impressive Maxwell was found on the left and played in a good low cross in the area, where Esteban Cambiasso was anticipated just in time.
In the first two minutes of a six-minute injury time period, both sides came close to scoring. In the 92nd minute, Ibrahimovic made a great run past three defenders, ignoring the unmarked Muntari, and fired a shot from the edge of the area that went just wide of the post.
Two minutes later, Asamoah nearly found a dramatic equaliser as he headed the ball on a cross from the right by Christian Obodo, but again it went narrowly wide.
In the end Isla’s own goal proved decisive, and allowed Inter to extend their lead on top of the table to nine points over Juventus. Meanwhile, Udinese are 14th with 36 points.
Teams
Udinese (4-3-3): Belardi; Isla, Zapata, Felipe, Pasquale; Inler (83’ Obodo), D’Agostino, Asamoah; Pepe, Quagliarella, Floro Flores. Coach: Marino.
Inter (4-3-1-2): Julio Cesar (71’ Toldo); Santon (67’ Vieira), Cordoba, Chivu, Maxwell; Zanetti, Cambiasso, Muntari; Stankovic; Ibrahimovic, Balotelli (67’ Figo). Coach: Mourinho.
Goals: 76’ Isla o.g. (U)
Booked: Quagliarella, Pepe (U); Maxwell, Vieira (I) Goal
