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divimg alt=”" src=”http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.15.1/79449?ns=guardianpageName=Football%3A+Milner+backs+Delfouneso+to+rise+above+the+pressures+of+a+prodigych=Footballc3=The+Guardianc4=Aston+Villa+%28Football%29%2CPremier+League+%28Football%29%2CFootball%2CSportc5=Not+commercially+useful%2CPremier+Leaguec6=Stuart+Jamesc7=2008_12_06c8=1129902c9=articlec10=GUc11=Footballc12=Aston+Villac13=c14=h2=GU%2FFootball%2FAston+Villa” width=”1″ height=”1″ //divpJames Milner knows all about the challenges Nathan Delfouneso will face over the coming months. As someone who once held the title of being the Premier League’s youngest ever goalscorer, the Aston Villa midfielder is well qualified to talk about the expectation levels his 17-year-old team-mate will need to come to terms with after he marked his full debut in the Uefa Cup on Thursday with a superb volley that has propelled him into the picture for tomorrow’s meeting with Everton./ppMartin O’Neill stopped short of claiming that Delfouneso’s emergence could save him a fortune in the transfer market next month, but it is a measure of the teenager’s impact that he has a genuine chance of making his first Premier League appearance at Goodison Park. With John Carew injured and Marlon Harewood making little impression during the 2-1 defeat to MSK Zilina, Delfouneso represents another option in attack should O’Neill seek support for Gabriel Agbonlahor./pp”It was a fantastic finish from Nathan [against Zilina] and that was the plus side of the night,” said Milner who will return to the Villa starting line-up against Everton after he was rested until the second half on Thursday. “You are not going to get a better debut than that. He is definitely one for the future and, hopefully, he can kick on from there. He is a quality player. He has shown that in training and when he has come on.”/ppMilner acknowledged, however, that Delfouneso, who joined Villa at the age of eight and has long been regarded within the club as an exciting prospect for the future, will have to learn to live with the hype that accompanies being a teenage prodigy at a Premier League club. “It is tough,” added the England Under-21 international, recalling his time with Leeds United./pp”You see what happens when young players do well early on. They get thrust into the limelight and there can be a lot of pressure sometimes. [Wayne] Rooney came through at a similar time as me, and if he hadn’t have come through there might have been a bit more pressure on me. You need to make sure you deal with [the pressure] in the right way and have the right people around you - and he will have the players, the staff, his friends and family./pp”Nathan is a down-to-earth lad and I am sure he won’t let it get to his head. He is training with us 90% of the time and travels with us but he still does his jobs around the training ground, the boots and stuff like that, which is important, and shows he has got his head screwed on. He knows what it is all about.”/pdiv style=”float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;”ullia href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/astonvilla”Aston Villa/a/lilia href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/premierleague”Premier League/a/li/ul/diva href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk”guardian.co.uk/a copy; Guardian News Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our a href=”http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html”Terms Conditions/a | a href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds/1,,1309488,00.html”More Feeds/a
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Original post by Stuart James

divimg alt=”" src=”http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.15.1/85737?ns=guardianpageName=Football%3A+Hughes+almost+caught+out+by+weakened+PSGch=Footballc3=The+Guardianc4=Uefa+Cup%2CManchester+City+%28Football%29%2CParis+St+Germain+%28Football+club%29%2CFootball%2CSportc5=Not+commercially+useful%2CChampions+League%2CPremier+Leaguec6=Andy+Hunterc7=2008_12_03c8=1128461c9=articlec10=GUc11=Footballc12=Uefa+Cupc13=c14=h2=GU%2FFootball%2FUefa+Cup” width=”1″ height=”1″ //divpParis Saint German made it to Eastlands with just 55 minutes to spare last night as their team coach was held up in a gridlocked Manchester city centre. What lay in store for them at Manchester City was hardly the worth the hassle, as Mark Hughes’ side showed how much scope for improvement they have in the January transfer window without their leading lights of Robinho and Shaun Wright-Phillips. /ppSunday’s defeat to Manchester United showed how limited their resources are beyond the targeted Wright-Phillips and the injury-restricted Brazilian and this Uefa Cup tie confirmed it. A promising start faded into a desperate struggle for parity against the French club, who should have inflicted a second successive home defeat on Hughes’ men. /ppCity may have qualified for the knock-out stage with a 100% record from their opening two games but there was no evidence of complacency against a Paris St Germain team languishing bottom of their group and deliberately weakened by former Glasgow Rangers coach Paul Le Guen as he concentrates his resources on the league. Hughes gave the night off to only Robinho and Shaun Wright-Phillips from his senior ranks in the quest for the victory that would guarantee City top spot and, theoretically, a more inviting draw in the last 32. They should have been on their way after their first attack./ppElano, back in the starting line-up with a point to prove, was a major influence on the home side’s early superiority, sending Daniel Sturridge clear of the French defence with a perfectly weighted pass in the fourth minute. The same could not be said of the highly rated young striker’s first touch, which was too heavy and made life simple for Mickael Landreau as he closed in on goal, although the PSG keeper produced a fine stop to prevent Elano capitalising on the rebound./ppFor all of City’s pressure, that was as close as the home side came before the interval with Darius Vassell and Pablo Zabaleta both unable to convert half-chances from the angle and Jo directing an awkward header straight down the middle of Landreau’s goal./ppAt the opposite end former Chelsea striker Mateja Kezman was fortunate not to have been dismissed following a series of reckless indiscretions. The watching Sale and French rugby union international Sebastien Chabal may have appreciated the Serbian’s performance but City certainly did not. Having escaped with a warning for an elbow on Richard Dunne, hardly the brightest idea, Kezman produced a dangerous lunge on Joe Hart as the City goalkeeper cleared an under-hit back-pass from Sturridge and was finally cautioned for wrestling Ben Haim to the floor. After all that Kezman produced PSG’s one genuine threat of the opening period, following an incisive break by his strike-partner Peguy Luyindula, but his low shot was blocked by a fine interception from Ben Haim./ppKezman went close again at the start of the second half when he escaped Stephen Ireland’s challenge but shot into the side-netting and PSG, in desperate need of victory after collecting just one point from their first two matches, should have taken the lead in the 63rd minute. The opportunity was a carbon-copy of Sturridge’s early chance, with substitute Sylvain Armand dissecting the City defence and Luyindula racing clear only to be denied by Hart’s legs as the keeper raced from his line to make the block. /ppLuyindula was a quick, intelligent menace for PSG and almost orchestrated a breakthrough for substitute Guillaume Hoarau with a low cross that the French centre-forward tapped wide. It was a poor miss but, with an injury to Elano disrupting City’s rhythm, the visitors continued to dominate and Luyindula sliced another clear opening over. /ppDespite expressing sympathy for Jo’s struggle to adapt to life in England and his recent inactivity, Hughes hooked the ineffective Brazilian off after only 65 minutes. The manager’s action was far more revealing than his words. The change did not alter the flow of the tie or, fortunately for City, prompt an improvement from PSG in front of goal. Three times the visitors failed to connect with inviting crosses in the final stage. City can count themselves fortunate to have escaped./pdiv style=”float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;”ullia href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/uefa”Uefa Cup/a/lilia href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/manchestercity”Manchester City/a/lilia href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/parisstgermain”Paris St Germain/a/li/ul/diva href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk”guardian.co.uk/a copy; Guardian News Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our a href=”http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html”Terms Conditions/a | a href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds/1,,1309488,00.html”More Feeds/a
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Original post by Andy Hunter

divimg alt=”" src=”http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.15.1/76810?ns=guardianpageName=Football%3A+Late+flurry+fails+to+mask+first+defeat+for+Trapattoni%27s+Irelandch=Footballc3=The+Guardianc4=Football%2CRepublic+of+Ireland+football+team%2CPoland+football+team%2CSportc5=Football+World+Cup%2CNot+commercially+usefulc6=David+Hytnerc7=2008_11_19c8=1120866c9=articlec10=GUc11=Footballc12=Republic+of+Irelandc13=c14=h2=GU%2FFootball%2FRepublic+of+Ireland” width=”1″ height=”1″ //divpGiovanni Trapattoni experienced defeat for the first time as the Republic of Ireland’s manager as his team were second best in too many departments to an attractive Poland./ppThe Italian tried to extract positives such as the lively full debut of the Hull City striker Caleb Folan but the result was written long before the full-time whistle. Ireland conceded early in both halves and they lacked the guile to outmanoeuvre their visitors for whom, on this evidence, positive times lie ahead./ppTrapattoni has made strides since his appointment earlier in the year, instilling resolve and organisation but the quality to affect games at the highest level was missing. The momentum that had been built ahead of crucial World Cup qualifying ties early next year was punctured slightly. /ppTrapattoni does not do friendlies. His only interest is the bottom line of results, and his starting line-up here featured no unenforced changes and as such was the strongest that he could have selected. There had been pleas beforehand for experimentation, the blooding of a few youngsters, yet Trapattoni’s vision is short-term and tunnelled. South Africa in 18 months’ time is his responsibility; the longer-term development of Irish players is further down on his list of priorities. /ppIreland have been criticised for their cagey approach under Trapattoni but the onus was on them to break down Leo Beenhakker’s physical and technically adept Poland team almost from the outset, after they gave away a goal that would give nightmares to any Italian coach. /ppFollowing the concession of a soft free-kick, Caleb Folan failed to stay with Marcin Lewandowski, John O’Shea reacted too slowly and the imposing midfielder rose to glance Lukasz Gargula’s delivery into the corner of the net. Croke Park erupted; the presence of so many of Ireland’s Polish community made this feel almost like a home game for their team. /ppIreland had their chances in the first half, the best ones falling to Damien Duff. Unfortunately, two of them demanded to be hit with his weaker right foot and his hesitancy was apparent, and on the third his composure deserted him after he had jinked inside onto his left foot. /ppThere was a patent lack of creativity in Ireland’s central midfield, which gave further ammunition to those who insist that Andy Reid ought to be in the team, or at the very least on the bench. Further forward, though, Folan was a central figure, catching the eye with his mobility, neat passing and turn of pace while Kevin Doyle, as ever, carried the fight. /ppPoland, for whom Jakub Blaszczykowski dazzled on the right wing, might have added to their lead before the interval but Lewandowski was wide with a free header from a corner and Pawel Brozek was denied by a saving tackle by Dunne, after the Manchester City defender had squandered possession in the first place./ppIt was Beenhakker and not Trapattoni who made changes at half-time and one of them had an immediate impact. Roger Guerreiro took a flick from Gargula seconds before his team-mate was cleaned out by Dunne. He sensed a chance and, from 20 yards, he buried his low drive. /ppPoland had been advertised by Trapattoni as “one of the stronger teams in Europe” and their ability on the ball coupled with their easy movement marked them out. Their other half-time substitute Robert Lewandowski should have made it 3-0 following a slick one-touch move./ppIt was difficult to envisage Poland throwing away the result that they had in their grasp and the match threatened to peter out as Trapattoni made sweeping changes. Ireland went close through two of their substitutes Alex Bruce and Shane Long while Folan continued to threaten. Hunt converted a soft penalty after Tomasz Jodlowiec was adjudged to have fouled Long and after Robert Lewandowski had made it 3-1, Keith Andrews reduced the arrears again for a pulsataing finale. Ultimately, though, Ireland came up short./pdiv style=”float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;”ullia href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/republicofireland”Republic of Ireland/a/lilia href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/poland”Poland/a/li/ul/divdiv class=”guRssAdvert”a href=”http://ads.guardian.co.uk/click.ng/richmedia=yessite=Footballcountry=nldspacedesc=rsssystem=rsstransactionID=1227136186826111923103134088″img src=”http://ads.guardian.co.uk/image.ng/richmedia=yessite=Footballcountry=nldspacedesc=rsssystem=rsstransactionID=1227136186826111923103134088″ border=”0″ //a/diva href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk”guardian.co.uk/a copy; Guardian News Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our a href=”http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html”Terms Conditions/a | a href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds/1,,1309488,00.html”More Feeds/a

Original post by David Hytner

divimg alt=”" src=”http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.15.1/28390?ns=guardianpageName=Football%3A+Terry+turns+a+howler+on+its+head+as+England+breach+fortress+Berlinch=Footballc3=The+Guardianc4=England+football+team%2CGermany+%28Football+team%29%2CFootball%2CSportc5=Football+World+Cup%2CNot+commercially+usefulc6=Kevin+McCarrac7=2008_11_19c8=1120859c9=articlec10=GUc11=Footballc12=Englandc13=c14=h2=GU%2FFootball%2FEngland” width=”1″ height=”1″ //divpThere is much here in which England deserve to revel, but the most gratifying aspect of all must be that they did not let Germany limit them to a galling draw. While a misunderstanding between the captain John Terry and the substitute goalkeeper Scott Carson allowed an equaliser, the visitors pulled out of any descent into self-pity. They clinched a fully merited win against feeble opponents./ppWith six minutes left, Terry more than atoned for any error. The captain climbed to head home a free-kick from the outstanding Stewart Downing. The team had been on the verge of re-establishing the lead before that, when Shaun Wright-Phillips hit a post from 20 yards. In one form or another, the whole side was predatory. /ppFew had supposed that Gabriel Agbonlahor’s debut here would come with a place in the starting line-up yet, as with previous surprises under Fabio Capello, the decision seemed logical. If a potential scorer had been ruled out when Theo Walcott dislocated a shoulder, why not draft in another quick player who has begun to finish more reliably in the past season or two?/ppEngland’s side showed that Capello deemed the opposition’s centre-back to be somewhat cumbersome. By pairing Agbonlahor with Jermain Defoe he had an alliance of elusive movers. There were signs of promise in the first minute, too. Defoe was offside when sent clear by his partner, but it looked as if they would be able to complement one another./ppA hospitable banner in the stadium read, “Thank you for inventing the beautiful game”. In England, where the awareness of the national team’s relative lack of success is ingrained, such a message merely makes supporters ask yet again why other countries have made so much more of that invention./ppInferiority and dejection, all the same, were not to be the prevailing characteristics of the 7,000 England fans present. Each team may have been far from full-strength, but it was the weakness of Germany that was glaring in the first-half. The opener that Joachim Louml;w’s side conceded was laughable. When Downing curled in a corner from the right, the goalkeeper Rene Adler missed the ball entirely. It then broke off Agbonlahor before Matthew Upson turned it home to record his first goal for England./ppSo incapable did Germany look that the visiting fans soon deemed it safe to chant, “Are you Scotland in disguise?” Capello’s side then had an air of easy confidence. From the balance in central midfield between Gareth Barry and Michael Carrick, to the speed and width of the attack, England seemed well-equipped./ppIn contrast, Germany were disjointed and when Jermaine Jones shovelled a pass straight out of play, the home crowd cannot have been wholly surprised. Their side came to life solely at set-pieces with Heiko Westermann, for instance, heading askew from Bastian Schweinsteiger’s free-kick in the 33rd minute. At that stage, England barely noticed Germany./ppThe surging confidence could be seen all over Capello’s line-up. Downing was uninhibited enough to cut in from the left for an effort that needed a competent save from Adler. This friendly held significance then, particularly for the Germany fans, who booed their players from the field at half-time./ppAs has so often been the case, however, the most potent threat to England in periods of domination was England themselves. In the space of a minute a ghastly miss from a chance that would effectively have ended the contest was followed by Germany’s equaliser. The blunder was Darren Bent’s. The replacement for Defoe was put through by Barry but after rounding the substitute goalkeeper Tim Wiese, he then put the ball wide of a post./ppIt was so outlandish that it left minds boggling. That, at least, may be England’s most viable excuse for what ensued. The ball was knocked forward by Germany and Terry tried to shield it in the hope that Carson, on for James, would gather it. Patrick Helmes capitalised on the complacency. Carson had not advanced fast enough and the striker, Miroslav Klose’s replacement, contrived to get a touch and roll the ball into an unattended net./ppUntil then it had been England who held the edge. Downing, revelling in the occasion, forced his way through a tackle by Schweinsteiger before putting a shot wide. The temptation was to conclude that Germany were having a particularly severe off-night, but that tends to ignore the fact that most opponents have toiled against Capello’s line-up of late./ppThere was much encouragement here, even if that slipped from the mind when Carson had to pull off a save from Marko Marin that would have put Germany on course for an outlandish win. /ppInstead it would be England who reached the deserved destination of success in Berlin, where Germany had not lost for 35 years./pdiv style=”float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;”ullia href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/england”England/a/lilia href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/germany”Germany/a/li/ul/divdiv class=”guRssAdvert”a href=”http://ads.guardian.co.uk/click.ng/richmedia=yessite=Footballcountry=nldspacedesc=rsssystem=rsstransactionID=1227136186841111923103134088″img src=”http://ads.guardian.co.uk/image.ng/richmedia=yessite=Footballcountry=nldspacedesc=rsssystem=rsstransactionID=1227136186841111923103134088″ border=”0″ //a/diva href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk”guardian.co.uk/a copy; Guardian News Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our a href=”http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html”Terms Conditions/a | a href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds/1,,1309488,00.html”More Feeds/a

Original post by Kevin McCarra

divimg alt=”" src=”http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.15.1/87926?ns=guardianpageName=Football%3A+Campbell+pushes+his+way+into+Pearce%27s+planningch=Footballc3=The+Guardianc4=England+football+team%2CCzech+Republic+football+team%2CFootball%2CSportc5=Football+World+Cup%2CNot+commercially+usefulc6=Stuart+Jamesc7=2008_11_19c8=1120079c9=articlec10=GUc11=Footballc12=Englandc13=c14=h2=GU%2FFootball%2FEngland” width=”1″ height=”1″ //divpThe preparations for next summer’s European Championships started last night, according to Stuart Pearce, and this was a performance that suggested everything is going to plan. Having used the occasion as an opportunity to experiment, the England Under-21 manager had good reason to be satisfied with the result as an under-strength line-up overcame a combative Czech Republic side through goals from the in-form Fraizer Campbell and Aston Villa’s Craig Gardner./ppHow many of these players appear in Sweden in June remains to be seen but Pearce was able to take encouragement from the fact that he has such competition for places. No one was more impressive than Campbell, with the 21-year-old striker, who has scored three times in his last two games on loan at Tottenham Hotspur, registering his first international goal and generally making life as uncomfortable as possible for the Czech Republic./pp”I thought he played well,” said Pearce. “He’s quick, darts in behind and is a constant threat. If he carries on the way he is, Manchester United and Tottenham will have a player on their hands.” Pearce also singled out the contribution of the Wolverhampton Wanderers central defender Richard Stearman, the sole debutant in the England starting line-up on a night when an inexperienced side extended the manager’s run to one defeat in 22 matches./pp”It took us an hour to knock them off,” added Pearce, whose goalkeeper, Peterborough’s Joe Lewis, was taken off on a stretcher in the first half with his ankle heavily strapped. “We probably needed to show a touch more devilment and grab the game by the scruff of the neck early on. But we wanted to get a win, keep a clean sheet and for three or four players to come in and do well and I think I got that out of this performance.”/ppCampbell capitalised on Jan Halama’s weak header before lobbing Jakub Divis, Gardner’s 25-yard free-kick doubled England’s lead and a third should have followed two minutes later but Jamie O’Hara telegraphed his intentions with a weak penalty after Jakub Heidenreich bundled over Campbell. There should have been another England spot-kick within seconds after the same two players clashed but Campbell was harshly booked for diving./pdiv style=”float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;”ullia href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/england”England/a/lilia href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/czechrepublic”Czech Republic/a/li/ul/divdiv class=”guRssAdvert”a href=”http://ads.guardian.co.uk/click.ng/richmedia=yessite=Footballcountry=nldspacedesc=rsssystem=rsstransactionID=1227057980222111901285839760″img src=”http://ads.guardian.co.uk/image.ng/richmedia=yessite=Footballcountry=nldspacedesc=rsssystem=rsstransactionID=1227057980222111901285839760″ border=”0″ //a/diva href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk”guardian.co.uk/a copy; Guardian News Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our a href=”http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html”Terms Conditions/a | a href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds/1,,1309488,00.html”More Feeds/a

Original post by Stuart James

The feelgood factor at Arsenal is not confined to their First XI. On what became a humiliating night for Wigan Athletic, Arsène Wenger rang the changes to the side that restored morale in the triumph over Manchester United last Saturday and watched his second string produce a performance laced with sumptuous class.

The Emirates crowd revelled in the midfield vision of Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere and the touch of Carlos Vela up front while they could also celebrate Jay Simpson’s first goals for the club. As Arsenal strolled to victory and the crowd performed the Mexican wave, it was tempting to wonder how this team might fare over a 38-game Premier League season. Steve Bruce had virtually his strongest Wigan team out and saw them swatted aside with contemptuous ease. Wenger has pledged to stick with these players all the way to a possible Wembley final. They are now two rounds away.

It was a measure of the respect that Bruce had for Arsenal’s starting line-up, which had an average age of 19, that he opted to play Daniel de Ridder in a five-man midfield. The two mascots were 13 years old and prompted one or two double takes during the warm-up. Did Arsenal have extra players on the pitch? The youngest starter was Wilshere at 16 and there were flashes from him on the right of midfield to suggest a player of rich promise. His quick feet were a delight while his upright style ensured that his head was always up for openings. Fabio Capello, seated in the stands, will have noted one for the future.

Arsenal tore into Wigan in a purple patch around the 15-minute mark that ought to have yielded the lead for them. Fran Merida sent Vela clean through and the Mexican, who had destroyed Sheffield United in the previous round with a hat-trick, looked odds-on to score. Chris Kirkland, though, saved as Vela attempted to round him. The danger did not pass and when Wilshere fed Simpson, the striker spun and rattled a shot against the crossbar.

Kirkland was called upon to make a clutch of first-half saves, most notably from Kieran Gibbs, who had marauded through from left-back. He also kept out Ramsey with a one-handed stop from a 25-yard free-kick and Vela from another curling effort. At the other end, Gibbs was not so eye-catching in his defensive duties and Wigan threatened on his flank. De Ridder forced Lukasz Fabianski into a good save and Jason Koumas drove over.

Arsenal got the goal that they deserved to go into the interval in the lead. Once again, Wilshere’s vision shone brightly, his through-ball encouraging Simpson to strain every sinew to get there ahead of the covering Mario Melchiot and the advancing Kirkland. He did, and his low first-time finish imbued his full debut with an indelible memory.

Arsenal had been dealt a blow when it was revealed that Tomas Rosicky had undergone further surgery. The midfielder has not played since January because of the tendon problem which was originally misdiagnosed. On last night’s evidence though, there is plenty of talent in the squad desperate for an opportunity.

Wigan have struggled of late - one win in six Premier League matches has left them fourth from bottom of the table - and it was imperative that they raised their game in the second half. Bruce’s introduction of the extra striker, Henri Camara, just before the hour felt overdue.

Arsenal, however, continued to probe with menace, nobody more so than Ramsey. He tricked forward and timed his pass to perfection for Gibbs who drew another save from Kirkland. It was then Ramsey who turned defence into attack for the second. From Fabianski’s punch, he sent Vela away down the left. Vela’s astute cutback was made to measure for Simpson.

Vela also got the goal that his work merited. Latching on to Johan Djourou’s pass, he shrugged off Titus Bramble before chipping exquisitely over Kirkland. This was chastening stuff for Bruce. And when Fabianski tipped Amr Zaki’s volley on to the underside of his crossbar and away, Bruce was denied even the merest consolation.

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Original post by David Hytner