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The international break is over and football is back! Yes, I know that other kind of football is back as well, but that's not discussed around these parts. Instead, here's a rundown of the fun* things that happened before Saturday ended:
*some of these are in fact not so fun, no matter which team you support. Some are fun, or quite funny, from the viewpoint of non-supporters.
The day started off with Manchester United traveling to Everton. While Steven Pienaar managed the first goal at Goodison, by the 66th minute United were winning 3-1, thanks to goals from Darren Fletcher, Nemanja Vidic and Dimitar Berbatov. But Everton made a compelling argument for never doing away with added time, with goals from Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta providing the draw for Everton. And in a move reminiscent of the Seattle Sounders v Real Salt Lake, referee Martin Atkinson blew the whistle as Phil Jagielka headed toward goal, denying the last chance for Everton to finally find three points.
No surprises as Arsenal roll over Bolton, 4-1, to keep the Gunners in solid second place. Gary Cahill saw red in the 64th minute--pleasant news for Villa fans as it leaves him out of next Saturday's match. For more on the Arsenal win, visit The Short Fuse.
Equally unsurprising was Chelsea's win at West Ham, although the fact that the Hammers scored the first Premier League goal on Chelsea since mid-April is slightly astonishing, especially since it appeared as though Scott Parker had no idea his chipped shot would fall in the net. WAG has your Chelsea post-match recap.
A laugh about Manchester City managing to draw with Blackburn at Eastlands, despite dominating the match. Joe Hart is fallible after all.
Round of applause for Blackpool, who by beating Newcastle 2-0 took fourth in the table and finally ended the Magpies' unbeaten run at St. James Park.
After failing to beat Wigan at White Heart Lane last week, Spurs went to The Hawthorns hoping to find a win, but had to settle for a draw when West Brom equalized in the 41st minute. Oh, Spurs. Wigan, meanwhile, took a point at home to Sunderland.
Fulham finally got their win, against Wolves, but at what expense? Bobby Zamora was stretchered off not even thirty minutes into the match, after a Karl Henry tackle, and will be out for at least four months with a broken leg. While I'm not a Fulham supporter, such injuries are devastating. Sorry, Whites. Cottagers Confidential has more.
Some other funnies:
In the Championship, Preston North End were leading Burnley 3-1 into the 80th minute before Preston went down a man. Chris Iwelumo completed his hat-trick and Jay Rodriguez added the winner in the 90th.
Barcelona, the reigning Spanish champion, fell to Hercules 2-0 at Camp Nou. Hercules spent last season in the Segunda Division in Spain.
Roma, who were last season's runners up in Serie A, lost in a hilarious fashion to Cagliari. Roma played seventy minutes down a man, but still, 5-1? That's quite funny.
In more Serie A sillies, AC Milan lost 2-0 to Cesena, yet another club coming up from the second division to wreak havoc on the big guys--they also got a point from Roma last week.
Finally...
In news that will bring a smile to no one's face, Uruguayan defender Diego Rodriguez, of Nacional, died this morning of head injuries sustained from a car crash on Thursday night. All Uruguayan matches have been suspended. DEP.