Samuel Galindo was again an unused substitute for Gimnastic de Tarragona, while Wellington Silva was also forced to watch on from the bench – his side lost 5-0 to Barcelona with Cesc Fabregas scoring twice for the Catalan side as they prepare the highly-anticipated El Classico next weekend. Sanchez Watt was not involved for Sheffield Wednesday while Lansbury remains injured for West Ham.
Carlos Vela: The Mexican scored for the second week running as his Real Sociedad side completed a late turnaround to win 3-2 at home to Malaga. Sociedad took an early lead when Martin Demichelis turned into his own net in the 10th minute, but Los Boquerones struck back with goals from Rondon and Fernandez and held onto their lead until the 89th minute. The ball was pinging around the Malaga penalty box and as they struggled to clear Vela controlled the ball on his head before brilliantly executing an overhead kick – something even his biggest supporters would have been surprised to see. Ifran then beat the slow Demichelis with ease and tucked past Caballero, earning Sociedad their second victory in a row and lifting them to thirteenth in the table.
credit to goal.com
Denilson: On a day when Brazilian football mourned one of its true greats, it is fitting that Socrates’ former side Corinthians won the Brazilian Championship, beating Vasco da Gama by two points on the final day of the season. Meanwhile, Denilson’s side Sao Paulo finished the season on a high with a 4-1 win at home to Santos. Luis Fabiano headed in the opener at the back post, before Cicero scored a beauty to double the home side’s lead. Another fantastic goal, this time from prodigious talent Lucas, made it 3-0 but Santos pulled one back through an Elano free kick in the second half. Denilson came close with a shot that went just over but it was Luis Fabiano who secured the win with his second, driving the ball under the Santos keeper.
Nicklas Bendtner: The Dane started for Sunderland as they looked to turn around their form under new manager Martin O’Neill. Whilst the Northern Irishman did not take charge of the Black Cats for today’s game there was an expectation that his team would improve, as most do in early weeks under a new manager. However it was Wolves who fared the better over the 90 minutes with two goals from Steven Fletcher enough to earn them three points. Sunderland took the lead through Richardson in the 52nd minute; Bendtner performed an excellent first-time backheel flick into the path of Sessegnon, who laid the ball on to the left-back to finish. That was Bendtner’s greatest impact in a game where once again his link-up play was better than his finishing, although he did have a shot parried by Hennessey in the second half. Former Gunner Seb Larsson dived to win a penalty, which he took, only for the Welsh keeper to save. Fletcher then struck twice, consigning Sunderland to another loss.
Pedro Botelho: The Brazilian played 90 minutes midweek in Rayo Vallecano’s unsurprising 4-0 loss to Barcelona. Alexis Sanchez scored twice while David Villa and Lionel Messi also netted. He then sat out the game as his side lost 3-1 away at Athletico Madrid; Gabi, Falcao and Salvio scored for the home side, although Gabi did score an own goal in the 90th minute to give the visitors some consolation. These losses see Rayo slip to eleventh in the league, just four points from the relegation zone.
Joel Campbell: The striker came on for the final fourteen minutes of Lorient’s 4-0 defeat away at Montpellier. Dernis, Giroud, Utaka and Cabella scored for the opposition as the Ligue 1 leaders hold onto their lead over second placed PSG. Campbell’s Lorient are 9th but with Lyon and Marseille as their next two fixtures, they may struggle to move up the table in the near future.
Kyle Bartley: The centre-back started for Rangers as they won 2-1 at home to Dunfermline. A 22nd minute own goal from the unfortunate Keddie gave Rangers the lead before Jelavic doubled it seven minutes later from the penalty spot after Sone Aluko was upended in the box. Dunfermline pulled one back just two minutes later; Joe Cardle capped a fantastic run by finishing past McGregor in The Gers’ goal. However that was to be the final goal as Rangers maintain their place at the top of the SPL. Bartley’s most notable moment came early in the second half when his shot was deflected just over the bar, but other than that it was a quiet game for the English defender.
James Shea: The Englishman started in goal for Dagenham and Redbridge as they drew 1-1 at home in the FA Cup against Walsall. His most noteworthy save came just before half time when he pushed over a Nicholls shot, but other than that he was not overly tested as his side dominated much of the game. The away side did open the scoring with fifteen minutes left when Gnakpa headed home a Sadler cross, but the Daggers equalised soon after through an excellent long-range strike from Nurse. The result means a replay will have to be played at the Bescot Stadium where the home side will surely be favourites.
Sao Paulo Highlights
Luke Freeman: The young striker started for Stevenage in their FA Cup tie against non-league Stourbridge, although Chuks Aneke who is also on loan in Hertfordshire was not involved. Freeman’s best chance came just before half time but his volley was acrobatically saved by Solly. As the fitness of the League One side began to show, Stevenage scored three goals in the last half hour through Beasley (2) and Shroot to earn themselves a 3rd round tie at Reading.
