United gets back on track with big second half
Soccer Betting Lines
12/23/2006 - Birmingham, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester United assured itself the top spot in the Premiership at the half-way point of the season with a 3-0 win over Aston Villa at Villa Park on Saturday.
After suffering a stunning 1-0 loss to West Ham last Sunday that saw the Red Devil's lead over Chelsea shrink to only two points, Sir Alex Ferguson's men rebounded with three second-half goals on Saturday to claim the maximum points.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice and Paul Scholes added a stunning volley to ensure that United remained on top.
The home side came out strong and nearly went ahead after 15 minutes. A free- kick from Gareth Barry was flicked on by Chris Sutton to Craig Gardner, who was making his first start of the season. Gardner's header skimmed the outside of the post and stayed out, but it served notice that United was in for a battle.
The visitors picked up their play over the rest of the half, but failed to capitalize on any of their chances.
After a scoreless first half, Ronaldo put United ahead 1-0 in the 59th minute. The Portuguese midfielder took control of the ball inside his own half and made a dashing run all the way to the edge of the Villa box. His first shot was blocked by Gary Cahill, but his second attempt was not to be denied as he fired inside the near-post to put his club ahead.
Five minutes later, the score line doubled on a brilliant strike from Scholes. Ryan Giggs' corner kick was headed clear of the box by Gavin McCann, but only made it as far as Scholes, who was set up 25-yards from goal. Scholes struck the ball first-time with a smashing volley that glanced off the underside of the cross bar and settled into the net for a two-goal edge.
With three points all but in the bank, Ronaldo added to his tally five minutes from time as he turned home Gary Neville's driven cross to account for the final tally.
The home side is now winless in its last seven league matches, and has dropped into the middle of the table after a promising start.
In other Premiership action on Saturday, Chelsea kept pace with United as Arjen Robben scored in the final minutes to give the Blues a 3-2 win over Wigan, Liverpool held its spot in third with a 2-0 win over last-place Watford and Arsenal stayed just a point behind the Reds as they thrashed Blackburn 6-2 at the Emirates Stadium. Nicolas Anelka scored twice to lead Bolton to a 2-0 win against Manchester City, Fulham and West Ham split the points in a 0-0 draw, Everton got a goal in each half to blank Reading 2-0 and Middlesbrough did the same to Charlton. Newcastle continued its push up the Premiership table with a 3-1 defeat of Tottenham and Portsmouth downed Sheffield United 3-1 at Fratton Park.
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Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With a 2-1 win over Atalanta on Saturday,
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The Flyer
Teams that should be in: Stanford
Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.
Should be in:
Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.
| Southeastern Conference odds | |
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.
Work left to do: Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney. Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson. Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable. Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile. |
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