TOP 100 SOCCER SITES
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| Tottenham 2-1 Aston Villa Rafael van der Vaart is the gift that keeps on giving. When the Tottenham chairman, Daniel Levy, bought the Dutchman from Real Madrid on the last day of the latest transfer window he described the new playmaker as a "present" for the manager Harry Redknapp – today at White Hart Lane more than 35,000 fans again united in gratitude. The ÂŁ8m bargain crowned another sparkling performance with the two goals that enabled Spurs to come from behind and prevail in a pulsating contest.Unlike their hosts, Villa had not been in Champions League action in mid-week and they initially looked fresher, forcing their hosts on to the back foot – which is not a comfortable position for Spurs' these days. Tottenham's continuing injury problems forced Redknapp to select yet another new partnership in the heart of his defence, SĂ©bastien Bassong and Tom Huddlestone forming the club's 10th central defensive duo of a campaign that is only 12 games old.Villa put the improvised pairing through a disorienting test, with Ashley Young, Marc Albrighton and Stewart Downing serving as tricky satellites unpredictably orbiting Emile Heskey. Heskey's power was they key ingredient in the opening goal on 16 minutes. The England rejector outmuscled Bassong on the right before stomping into the box and serving Marc Albrighton on a silver platter. The youngster duly tapped into the net from three yards.What Heskey did to Bassong, Nigel Reo-Coker and Stilian Petrov were regularly doing to Jermaine Jenas and Luka Modric in midfield, where Huddlestone's redeployment had left Spurs light. With Van der Vaart uncharacteristically subdued early on, Villa were looking comfortable – except for Heskey, who was unable to shake off the dead leg he suffered while creating the goal and had to be replaced by John Carew in the 35th minute. Downing offered the Norwegian an opportunity to mark his arrival in style but Carew blasted over from 20 yards.With half-time approaching Tottenham suddenly raised their game. Van der Vaart, inevitably, was instrumental in their fightback. First he stung Brad Friedel's hands with a shot from 25 yards, then he sent a curler fractionally over from the edge of the area before, in the third minute of stoppage time at the end of the half, the Dutchman made the breakthrough, heading into the net from close range after Peter Crouch nodded a Pavlyuchenko cross into his path.That was not enough to reassure Redknapp, who made a tactical switch at the break, replacing Pavlyuchenko with Aaron Lennon, who took up residence on the right to give Van der Vaart even more freedom to roam. Redknapp said: "That gave us a bit more balance, we had been a bit too open in the first half."The switch bore fruit. Tottenham took charge of a contest that was hurtling along at a delightful clip, and in the 75th minute came up with the winner. Lennon cut in from the right and chipped a cross towards Crouch, who headed across goal to Van der Vaart. The Dutchman outfoxed Richard Dunne with a deft feint, slamming the ball past Friedel from six yards."When the ball goes up to Crouchy, Rafa's always around there looking for it, he's got a real knack for scoring," Redknapp said."Van der Vaart was outstanding," acknowledged GĂ©rard Houllier, who also plenty to impress him in his own team. "I was pleased with the performance but disappointed with the result," he said. "Funnily enough that as the best of my three games in charge. We developed good entertaining football, building from the back without skipping stations. I think a draw would have been a fairer result, and that's good because, to be honest, Tottenham are a slightly superior team to us."Premier LeagueTottenham HotspurAston VillaPaul Doyleguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa: Live Follow live commentary of the Premier League game between Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa at White Hart Lane on Saturday Oct 2 2010. telegraph.co.uk |
Everton v Liverpool: live Follow live commentary as Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta earn Everton a 2-0 win in front of new Liverpool owner John W Henry. telegraph.co.uk |
PSG beat Toulose, move up to third Paris Saint-Germain won 2-0 away at Toulouse and moved up to third place in the French league on Saturday cbc.ca |
Wenger proud to have kept Fábregas • Manager questions why clubs must bow to player power• Captain is fit to play against Shakhtar DonetskThe theme of the day was unquestionably linked to star players reaching the ends of their tethers and wanting to move on but Arsène Wenger will pick his Arsenal team for the Champions League Group H tie against Shakhtar Donetsk at the Emirates Stadium tomorrow night buoyed by the knowledge that it need not always end in tears for the clubs.Wenger said that Cesc Fábregas, his captain, was "ready to play at full fitness" after recovering from the hamstring injury that has kept him on the sidelines for four and a half weeks. The manager will make the decision on whether to start him in the morning and he said "it will be whether I take a gamble or not, because Cesc has been out for a long time".Yet there is a certain comfort to the dilemma for Wenger. At various points over the summer, particularly at the very beginning before the World Cup finals in South Africa, it was unclear whether Fábregas would again wear the red of Arsenal. The midfielder had made it plain that his immediate future lay back in his native Catalonia with Barcelona and the Spanish champions were engaged in a concerted campaign to get him home.Wenger, though, refused to buckle and, in a blow against modern player power, he succeeded in retaining his talisman. Fábregas remains central to Arsenal's quest to win silverware for the first time since 2005.On the face of it Wayne Rooney's situation at Manchester United might appear to echo that of Fábregas. Rooney wants to leave, which is the doomsday scenario for United, and the club are keen to keep him. Certainly there are parallels in the behind-the-scenes machinations.Yet Wenger described Fábregas as a "special case" and that was before the key differences from the Rooney situation were considered. Fábregas did not have a bust-up with his manager; he says that Wenger remains like a "second father to him" while, in the summer, he had five years to go on his Arsenal contract. Rooney now has 18 months left on his deal at United and Wenger expressed his surprise that the club had allowed the contract to run down so far."Cesc was a special case because he is from Barcelona," Wenger said. "It doesn't mean he doesn't love Arsenal. He loves Arsenal. You know his influence on our team. He is our leader, our passer. He has a good level of assists and a good goalscoring record. How much you miss him, you never know but, ideally, you want him in the team."Wenger was also asked whether holding a player to his contract and making him stay was merely postponing the problem, rather than solving it. Barcelona are widely expected to move again for Fábregas at the end of this season."Yes," Wenger replied. "But I can return that question. Do you think you always have to give in? What do you do? It's part of being part of a club. We have people who only negotiate contracts at our club and I come in when it is needed."Wenger is expected to persist with Jack Wilshere in midfield in the wake of the furore over the 18-year-old's red card against Birmingham City on Saturday but one player who remains some way from the first team is Robin van Persie.The striker damaged ankle ligaments at Blackburn Rovers on 28 August and he is not expected to return until the middle of November, which could place him at the centre of a club-versus-country row. Holland have a friendly against Turkey on 17 November and their manager, Bert van Marwijk, says that he intends to play Van Persie."The Dutch coach has a good sense of humour," Wenger said. "There is no chance [of Van Persie playing]. It would be an absolute scandal if he played in a friendly and not any competition here. He would not be ready."The visit of the Ukrainian league leaders, Shakhtar, will feature the subplot of Eduardo da Silva's return to the Emirates. The Croatia striker, who lost his way at Arsenal after suffering a terrible leg injury against Birmingham in 2008, is assured of a warm reception. For Wenger, though, the victory is everything and it would bring with it a bonus."What is interesting is that with a win we could focus on the league better," said the Arsenal manager. "It gives us an opportunity to basically think we have qualified. We have a big part to play in the championship and, after Shakhtar, we have a very big game at Manchester City."ArsenalArsène WengerCesc FábregasShakhtar DonetskChampions LeagueDavid Hytnerguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |