Euro 2008 Round Up - Scotland and England Edge Ever Closer

Incredible. Unbelievable. Gobsmacking. Just a few words to describe Scotland's 3-1 victory over Ukraine on Saturday. And it was by no means a fluky result, the Scots dominated most of the match with great passing, good movement, strong desire and excellent finishing. The Ukrainians were made to look like a team that would have struggled to qualify for the World cup, never mind reach the Quarter Finals.

A packed Hampden Park was rocking and alight with pitch side fireworks even before the game kicked-off, and the early encouragement and atmosphere was quickly rewarded. McFadden's perfectly flighted ball met the head of Kenny Miller, who nodded in from close-range after just 8 minutes. Only 10 minutes later, Hampden was bouncing again when another McFadden free-kick found Lee McCulloch unmarked 18 yards out. And he curled a beautiful ball into the top corner.

If anyone was thinking that Ukraine were about to crumble, Shevchenko had other ideas. A mix-up in the defence allowed the striker to nip and and thunder the ball into to the roof of the net. The Eastern Europeans continued to press, and almost equalised when Andriy Voronin's long range shot squirmed just wide.

However, the Scots rallied, and were rewarded with another goal after 68 minutes. Alan Hutton's superb floated through ball found McFadden, who took the ball into the box before unleashing a drive past the helpless 'keeper. Ukraine had no response, and it is Scotland who continue into the last 2 games needing just 4 points to progress.

England completed a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Estonia at Wembley, even if they looked far from convincing. Shaun Wright-Phillips opened the scoring with a shot that nutmegged goalkeeper Mart Poom, and then Rooney scored his first competitive goal for England since Euro 2004. A terrific diving header from Estonian defender Rahn into his own net made it 3 after just half an hour. The Three Lions played out the rest of the game at a tame pace, much to the displeasure of an eerily silent Wembley crowd.

Republic of Ireland picked up a fine 0-0 draw at home to Germany, who become the 1st team to qualify for Euro 2008. Lehmann impressed in goal for the away side, as neither team looked likely to break the deadlock. Ireland now need a massive miracle to qualify.

Wales' slim chances of qualification were brought to an embarrassing stop in Cyprus. The away side took the lead through James Collins, but 3 defensive lapses from set pieces proved to be their demise. Yiannis Okkas scored 2 and Konstantinos Charalampidis the other to complete a 3-1 victory.

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Man Utd v Chelsea - the Talking Points

1. Did Mike Dean get his cards mixed up?
First things first. It should not have been a red card for Obi Mikel. Yes his studs were showing, but he got the ball and placed his foot in the ground before Evra. The Man Utd # 3 then did some crazy acrobatic front flip before writhing about on the floor, which led to Obi's red card. Another decision he got wrong was the yellow card for Joe Cole. A desperate lunge from behind that caught Cristiano Ronaldo's ankle surely meritted a sending off. Funny how these things even out.

Rooney rightly did not warrant a 2nd yellow for his 'shove' on whining Chasley Cole, and neither did Wes Brown following his tackle on Malouda (the Frenchman did his best impression of leaping salmon). It smacks of desperation that Chelsea were looking for such pathetic excuses regarding their poor performance.

2. Should Ben Haim even be playing for Chelsea?

Was at fault for the first goal after poor marking, nearly conceded a penalty against Rooney, before actually conceding a penalty against Saha.

Why Chelsea acquired his services in the first place is still beyond me. When at Bolton he was competent, but not world class. If Chelsea are going to be challenging for any silverware this season, they need to be looking further than mid-table defenders. His stray legs and eyes cost the Blues dear yesterday.

3. Was it a penalty?
Ben Haim touched Saha, who proceeded to do his best dying swan impression, thus resulting in a penalty. It was by no means a stone waller, but there was contact, and the striker wasn't about to let it go unnoticed.

4. How much trouble are Chelsea in?
Lots. They were unable to test Van der Sar once, and had Cech to thank for keeping the scoreline respectable. They lacked threat, cohesion or any sort of desire, something that will be hard to instill after the departure of the Special One. Chelsea better hope Lampard, Carvalho and Drogba are up to the task of carrying a sinking ship once they return from injury. A very ordinary performance from the 'Ordinary One'.

5. Guess what we saw...
Was that Dutch manager Marco van Basten sitting behind Abramovich during the game? Don't worry, we're professional enough to not read anything into that... honest.

6. Finally, some interesting MOTD pundits
At first, I was slightly sceptical about Marcel Desailly's punditry skills, but him and Hansen had a right old go at each other over the game. The Scot brought out his figures and claimed that Chelsea were not in title winning form. Marcel responded saying that it wasn't a full-strength side, and that it's a marathon, not a sprint. He then stared at Hansen like he was about to land an uppercut to the chin before ripping his head off. It was awesome.

Better than Alan 'yes, I agree with you Alan' Shearer, anyway.

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Rafa's Rotation leaves Reds Reeling

Rafael Benitez dropped stars such as Gerrard, Babel and Torres to the bench yesterday against Pompey, so they could be in top shape come their Champions League opener against Porto on Tuesday.

Unfortunately for Liverpool it backfired, with only a magnificent save from Pepe Reina keeping the score at 0-0.

Numerous fans will undoubtedly be frustrated by Benitez's policy to rest the big names against a side that boasts a terrific home record and no-nonsense physical style.

But he was still right to do so.

Why? Well let's take a look at the team he put out yesterday:

Reina, Finnan, Carragher, Agger, Arbeloa, Pennant, Sissoko, Alonso, Benayoun, Voronin, Crouch.

9 current or ex-internationalists, a defence that has kept most attacks at bay, a midfield mix of drive, speed, long-range passing, and technique, and up-front Voronin who has impressed thus far.

Liverpool created chances and dominated parts of the game, suggesting that it was more to do with absent clinical finishing, as opposed to a weakened team.

Rafa as a manager must also be looking to have his elite players fit and uninjured for the tricky away tie in Portugal.

As mentioned before, Pompey have some serious muscle throughout the squad; Distin, Campbell, Muntari, Utaka, etc. A full 90 minutes for the injured Gerrard or lightweight Torres? Perhaps not.

Benitez did not put out a team thinking, 'These guys are rubbish, but at least we'll beat Porto'. He was thinking, 'These guys are good enough to beat Portsmouth, and with my top players rested too it's a win-win situation'.

Due to their lack of spark in front of goal, the best he can now hope for is a 'draw-win' situation.

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