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Soccer Sunday: Your Running Commentary

David Silva of Manchester City takes on Wayne Rooney of Manchester United

By JUSTIN FERGUSON

Today will truly be a Super Sunday for soccer fans all over the world as some of Europe’s fiercest rivalries take center stage.

Manchester City and Manchester United will battle it out at Ethiad Stadium, the site of last season’s 3-2 road victory for the eventual league champions. New managers David Moyes and Manuel Pellegrini’s starts have been somewhat slow compared to their respective clubs’ high standards, but they both know a big win over the local rival could easily jump-start a push towards the top of the table.

Fans of Serie A will be treated to big rivalries in back-to-back weekends. After last week’s Derby d’Italia between Inter Milan and Juventus, local rivals AS Roma and Lazio square off at their shared home at the Stadio Olimpico. Roma are 3-0-0 to start the season, a streak they would love to keep going with their first win over their hated rivals since 2011.

In France, the massive clash between league-leading AS Monaco and defending champions Paris Saint-Germain will take place at the Parc des Princes. PSG have taken France and the rest of Europe by storm with their high-spending ways over the past few years, but now they have a new big money rival to compete with—Monaco, who have made their triumphant return to Ligue 1 after several blockbuster summer signings.

If you will be watching today’s action, please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action (Today’s TV schedule is after the jump):

8:30am – CNBC – Arsenal vs Stoke City

8:30am – NBC Sports Live Extra – Crystal Palace vs Swansea City

9am – beIN Sport en Español – Juventus vs Hellas Verona

9am – beIN Sport – Roma vs Lazio

11am – NBC Sports Live Extra – Cardiff City vs Tottenham Hotspur

11am – NBC Sports Network – Manchester City vs Manchester United

11am – beIN Sport – Olympique Lyonnais vs Nantes

11am – beIN Sport en Español – Celta de Vigo vs Villarreal

1pm – beIN Sport – Real Madrid vs Getafe

1pm – Univision Deportes – Toluca vs Querétaro

2:45pm – beIN Sport en Español – AC Milan vs Napoli

3pm – beIN Sport – Paris Saint-Germain vs AS Monaco

5pm – UniMás – New York Red Bulls vs FC Dallas

Comments

  1. And… DiCanio is gone. Confirmed on BBC and Sunderland site. Ellis Short has one quick trigger finger. Let’s hope the new guy likes Jozy.

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  2. Rumors swirling that Sunderland will sack Di Canio tomorrow. Di Matteo has been floated as a possible replacement. Hope the new boss likes Jozy’s game.

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  3. Fellaini has been one of United’s worst players. Even right there he just watched Yaya Toure make a run into the box and didn’t move an inch to pick him up. Smalling comes flying in from the other side to block the surefire goal.

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  4. Moyes first sub is… Tom Cleverley. And that is what people feared. No depth. No moves made.

    Cleverley is supposed to mark Jesus Navas? Probably about as well as I could mark Jesus Navas. Not well.

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      • Didn’t Fergie lose this same Derby match at home by a 6-1 score line? I think Man U has watched the unstableness around the league with coaches and should be patient with Moyes.

      • Agreed, coaches out there are struggling right now. I wonder how well Moyes handles players egos, Man Utd seems to have it in spades, and I don’t think he ever had to deal with a locker room with so many big name players. There has to be a learning curve for Moyes.

  5. Manchester United is being dominated. Dominated.

    Fellaini has been useless. Yaya Toure is playing like there isn’t an opposing midfield.

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    • Fellaini just runs, sometimes away from the ball At this point usain bolt would have more of an impact. Not a good reflection on Moyes.

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  6. Much respect to Aguero, he could have definitely got Rooney booked at least if he made something of being hit by that ball.

    And scores a brilliant goal a minute later

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    • That’s just it though. Why does Kun have to make something of Rooney intentionally blasting a deadball into him with quite some malice.

      I mean that was just ridiculous. Rooney should be in the locker room.

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    • Ya, watching it as well. Apparently outside the Ultas(or because of them) people just watch on TV.
      We just got a great example of why Gervinho is secretly heskey. Looked great until he actually had to shoot the ball at the goal. Totally wide.

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  7. This is ridiculous. The refs protect Wilshere like he’s some kind of superstar and he goes down at the drop of a hat at every remote shoulder contact. That play was clearly a textbook shoulder to shoulder and it cost Stoke a goal.

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    • Yeah, The Potters have looked to be the better side this half, and that little dive by Wilshere may have put the match out of reach.

      I’m impressed with the improvements Mark Hughes have made for Stoke City. Cameron is looking a lot more positive–attacking at the right times.

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      • Cameron has definitely showed some flashes of attacking skill in the last year, but he may be starting to put those flashes together more and become more consistent. We’ve seen him in the past with USA attempt to show off his skill on the ball and bring it upfield, beating a man here and there but also turning the ball over in awkward spots and not really threatening much except for the occasional deft ball over the top. He has gradually seemed to grow more self assured in picking his spots when and how to get forward and utilize his skills positively while still staying out of trouble.

  8. I’m an Arsenal supporter and this is my first time really seeing Cameron outside of the national team. Even before the goal, I was very impressed with his work at right back and the amount of ground he covers. The comments on this site often say that Stoke’s right back play does not translate to the national team. Can someone explain why? This dude is everywhere, Arsenal is controlling match, but not due to working Cameron’s flank. Are there questions about his crossing ability?

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    • The USA plays a traditional wide channel setup. We need our fullbacks overlapping our outside midfielders and pressing into the box to provide service. Cameron doesn’t cross well and he’s not quick enough to beat a defender to the outside either. He is good at collecting and distributing the ball in the build-up phase, which is why Stoke plays him at RB so he can link up the defense and midfield on the right side in their system, playing it forward, back, swinging around, and trying to work an open shot or a square ball in on goal. You typically won’t see Cameron, or any other Stoke fullback, with chalk on his boots running toward the endline. He fits his spot in their system.

      The irony is that this is more akin to what the USA actually does most of the time rather than what we hope/plan to do.

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      • Makes sense. Think he only got to the end line once or twice today. Cut in to midfield for goal. He blew by some dudes though.

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