Sanford's Soccer Net: Villa Park Pitch Invasion, Messi Sets Hat-Trick Record, Jozy Scores Goals, Manchester United vs. Arsenal

Monday, March 09, 2015

Villa Park Pitch Invasion, Messi Sets Hat-Trick Record, Jozy Scores Goals, Manchester United vs. Arsenal

Good times at Villa Park...

Holy Monday! We've got loads to get through today. So much happened over the weekend in England, the U.S., Spain, Italy, Germany, and...AND...we've got the minor matter of an F.A. Cup Quarterfinal clash between Manchester United and Arsenal (3:45 p.m. EDT on FOX Sports1) to address. Sadly, we're forced to begin in Birmingham, where Villa and West Brom fans lost the plot. Here's all the fallout from the madness at Villa Park:

Aston Villa 2 - 0 West Brom: Stuart James at Villa Park

Phil McNulty: Villa Park scenes throwback 'to dark ages'

James Riach: Pitch invasion a disgrace – but it doesn’t mark return to ‘dark ages’

West Bromwich threaten zero tolerance with fans bringing club into disrepute

Arrests and Pitch Invasions Mar Villa Win

More F.A. Cup? Yes, there will be more, in the form of replays. As for what happened over the weekend, there weren't that many goals. Here are your reports:

Liverpool 0 - 0 Blackburn: Jamie Jackson at Anfield

Liverpool 0 - 0 Blackburn: Three Quick Thoughts

Bradford City 0 - 0 Reading: Louise Taylor at Valley Parade

There was one Premier League game and it was Big Daddy Kane who once again led Spurs to victory, this time at QPR. Adam Williams was at Loftus Road and filed this report.

Over in Spain, Lionel Messi has now scored more hat-tricks than anyone else in the history of La Liga. His latest came amidst the rout of Rayo Vallecano. Sticking with Spain, there were some additional results of interest over the weekend. Atletico Madrid and Valencia drew, and (gasp!) Real Madrid lost to Athletic Bilbao! Here are Five Things We Learned in La Liga this weekend. Your table now looks like this, with Real Madrid facing Barcelona at Camp Nou on March 22:

Well, things got underway in the 'Ol U.S. of A., don't you know? Seattle and L.A. won. Jozy Altidore scored not one, but two (!) goals. Back in Sunderland they are shaking their fists, we're sure. Down in the Citrus Bowl, Orlando City and NYCFCFCNY drew. Here are Ten Reactions to MLS Opening Saturday and Five Things We Learned From Opening Weekend in Major League Soccer.

Back in Italy, Napoli and Inter Milan drew, as did Chievo and Napoli. Here's a Serie A Wrap for that ass. Today league-leaders Juve look to increase their gap when they host Sussudio in Turin, and Lazio host Fiorentina. More domani with Paolo.