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Soccer Sunday: Your Running Commentary

 MessiLeo (Reuters) RonaldoCrist (Getty Images)
 

Christmas is still a month a way, but it will feel like Christmas to soccer fans today as they get treated to a loaded schedule of top matches, including the highly-anticipated Barcelona-Real Madrid showdown.

Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka will will take part in their first editions of 'El Clasico', as will Barcelona's Zlatan Ibrahimovic. It remains unclear whether Ronaldo and Barca star Lionel Messi will start due to slight injuries, but both are expected to play some role in this La Liga battle.

Barca-Real is just one of several marquee match-ups, including the Merseyside Derby between Everton and Liverpool, and today's other featured match, between London powers Chelsea and Arsenal.

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):

SUNDAY'S SOCCER TV SCHEDULE

8:30am– Setanta USA- Everton vs. Liverpool

9am– FSC- Inter Milan vs. Fiorentina

9am– ESPN360.com- Cagliari vs. Juventus

11am– FSC/FSE- Arsenal vs. Chelsea

11:15am– Setanta USA- Kettering vs. Leeds United

1pm– GolTV/ESPN Deportes/ESPN360.com- Barcelona vs. Real Madrid

1pm– Telemuno- Toluca vs. San Luis

2:45pm– FSC/FSE/RAI- Catania vs. AC Milan

3pm– ESPN2/ESPN360.com- Atletico Madrid vs. Espanyol

3pm– Setanta USA- Olympique Lyon vs. Stade Rennes

4pm– GolTV- Corinthians vs. Flamengo (Delayed)

5pm– Azteca America- Morelia vs. Santos Laguna

6pm– Setanta USA- Everton vs. Liverpool (Delayed)

7pm– FSC- Wolves vs. Birmingham City

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Comments

  1. The ref in the Barca/Real game is doing a good job of keeping balance and not catering too much to the home fans; I’m betting that most of us would waver under the scrutiny of the Nou Camp’s appeals and jeers. The ref is being as fair and balanced as I think anyone can be in this situation. anovato is just plain annoying and wrong.

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  2. I don’t think comparing Chelsea and USMNT’s lack of possession is a valid comparison. Chelsea’s tactics are by choice. Chelsea is taking advantage of Arsenal’s weakness in front of both goals.

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  3. Wow. I just read all your comments and you’re now my least favorite person to have to read on here.

    As a neutral, I think that the ref is doing a GOOD job of not being affected by the crowd and their reactions, being fair to both teams. If you look at the stats actually, the ref has given MORE fouls and yellow cards to Real than Barca. So if you think about it, you’re wrong.

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  4. blind ref for both teams

    the linesmen have no clue what offsides is

    (SBI-Please bring more to the table than criticism of referees. Otherwise, please stop commenting.)

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  5. Yep. And Chelsea has the talent to play a “beautiful” style of play. The dissatisfaction with the US NT is comical considering the astounding leap in quality from 1990 (less than 20 years) and the fact that the US consistently overachieves.

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  6. well when we have a clinical striker like Drogba who bags the few chances he gets, or a backline like Chelsea’s, which isn’t risking giving up a goal even when they stay back and play defensively, then people may feel differently.

    i personally don’t hate Bradley’s approach, but the two situations are starkly different.

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  7. I’d like to point out something to USMNT fans who aren’t satisfied with the style of play Bob Bradley uses.

    Turn on the Chelsea – Arsenal game. Arsenal have all the chances so far in the second half, they’ve provided all the pressure, and Chelsea are content to sit back, soak it up, clear it upfield, and counter. So even world class sides like Chelsea (who are likely to win the EPL this season) know when to let the other team have the ball, because they know they have the players to handle it.

    I should also point out that teams like Arsenal, who are extremely technically gifted, don’t always win, even with the majority of the possession.

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  8. Even though I was rooting for Inter, I wish Gilardino had scored that because it was going to be goal of the year….of maybe any year.

    (I think the PK was a fair one, calls in the game balanced out). I would have been happy for Fiorentina had taken a point though…I like that squad too.

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  9. Blues are just too good this year. For all Arsenal’s possession, they didn’t have a clear cut chance in the first half. They barely had a 1/2 chance. I’ll chuckle when the report will be that the “scoreline flattered Chelsea” or “Chelsea didn’t play well but…” which seems to be standard code for Chelsea wins again.

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  10. Arsenal with possession but poor in both boxes. Anelka denied a good penalty claim. British announcer claims because foul was in box and not in center pitch referee wouldn’t call it. How sad if true.

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  11. Gilardino just pulled off one of the sickest moves I have ever seen. He controlled the ball on his chest in between two defenders, flicked over his and their heads and had a breakaway to goal that he shot off the post, while a defender was all over him. He should have gone day and taken a penalty, like the weak one just awarded to Inter.

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  12. Weird decision to disallow an Inter goal by Samuel. I can’t figure out what the call was since it looked like the defender and Samuel were mutually holding each other’s arm, etc. Strange. Then Fiorentina had a legit call for a penalty not awarded.

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  13. The quality in this Inter-Fiorentina game is amazing. Structured play, the true definition of technical football…not the players skill but their field awareness and positioning and movement. So different than EPL.

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