The Fifth Official

Few of us like Monday but The Fifth Official does, for it brings with it a chance for him to point the finger and laugh. Here he pulls out the pretty, the puzzling and the downright pig-ugly from a week brimming with potential victims.

Red vs. Red: Ten Best of the Premier League Era

One of the greatest rivalries in football will resume on Sunday when Liverpool welcome Manchester United to Anfield.

No game between these sides needs extra spice to make it special but the clash this weekend is also significant in the context of this season, as Sir Alex Ferguson's men look to recover from losing to Chelsea in midweek to get their title bid back on track.

Liverpool, meanwhile, will also be determined to bounce back from defeat to West Ham last Sunday and continue their upward curve under Kenny Dalglish.

Whichever group of supporters manages to secure North West bragging rights for the next few months, it promises to be the latest in a series of thrilling fixtures.

There have been so many classic encounters over the years that narrowing it down to the ten best of all time would be a mind-boggling exercise, so skysports.com is instead recalling some of the most memorable since the Premier League started.

Nasri: We had an argument but Thierry was cool - then I had a problem with Gallas

Samir Nasri has nothing to hide — not even the ‘dark side’ he says exists in all the people of Marseille. ‘Zidane, Cantona, me as well,’ he says with a hint of pride.

‘It is because of where we are from; because when you grow up on the street you have to defend yourself. You have to fight; show your character.’

Attack on fan was a 'dream' for supporters, admits Eric Cantona

"I think that may be it's like a dream for some people sometimes, to kick these kinds of people. So I did it for them. So they are happy," Cantona said. "It's a kind of freedom for them. So they speak about that because maybe they felt something special, physically. It's a great feeling but difficult."

The Joy of Six: Freaky Goals

From a gale-force own goal to Stan Collymore's divot diversion, half a dozen gloriously unorthodox goals.

England: Premier League Previews & Predictions

Manchester United's trip to Liverpool on Sunday takes centre stage but Arsenal can cut their lead at the summit to just a point with victory over Sunderland on Saturday. Manchester City will continue their pursuit of the top two with a home date against rock-bottom Wigan, while Tottenham can move above Chelsea and back into fourth if they overcome struggling Wolves. Birmingham must swiftly forget their Carling Cup success and return to the grit of a relegation scrap as they host Midlands rivals West Brom, while Aston Villa's line-up is sure to be scrutinised as they travel to Bolton. West Ham could scramble out of the bottom three if they can see off Stoke at Upton Park, Newcastle welcome a dejected Everton to St James' Park and Blackburn will be keen to arrest their slide down the table when they make the trip to Fulham.

Preview

Team News

Birmingham vs. West Brom: Paul Merson's Preview

Manchester City vs. Wigan Athletic: Preview

Liverpool vs. Manchester United: Preview

Lawro's Predictions

Spain: La Liga Weekend Preview & Eduardo Alvarez's Quiniela

Sevilla have the chance to further push their bid for a European berth this weekend when they take on Athletic Bilbao. Bilbao's own hopes of a top-six finish are suddenly in danger after a dramatic recent reversal of form. Atletico Madrid are in a similar situation to Sevilla as they welcome Villarreal to the Vicente Calderon on Saturday. On Sunday, second-placed Real Madrid make the potentially difficult trip to Racing Santander, who have been one of La Liga`s most improved sides over the last few weeks. At the top of the table, Barcelona will look to move a step closer to their third successive Primera Division title when they host Real Zaragoza, although they could be without coach Pep Guardiola on the bench for that game.

Preview

Eduardo Alvarez's Quiniela

Italy: Serie A Weekend Preview

Juventus believes they need to have a flawless game on Saturday if they want to upset Serie A leaders AC Milan.

The Bianconeri go into the encounter at Turin's Olympic Stadium having lost four of their last six league games.

Scudetto contenders Inter will be hoping Juve win as they look to cut the gap on their city rivals.

Leonardo's men host Genoa looking to make it four wins in a row.

Napoli, who are one point behind Inter, will be boosted by a strong home record as they look to bounce back immediately from the disappointment at the San Siro.

Walter Mazzarri's men are unbeaten at the San Paolo Stadium since October 25, with eight wins from nine games.

They host relegation-threatened Brescia on Sunday.

Preview

Sid Lowe: No redemption for Manuel Pellegrini on a grim return to the Bernabéu

Two men can't fight if one does not want to – and the man with the bloodshot eye and the melancholic gaze didn't Instead, there was a quick, silent shake of the hand, a wordless greeting, and the white flag was raised. No resistance, and no mercy. Last night Real Madrid tore Málaga apart, battering them 7-0. But Málaga's manager did not care; or said he did not. Cunning or cowardice, that was the question.

Manchester City defender Kolo Toure fails drugs test

BBC sports news correspondent Dan Roan told BBC Radio 5 live: "A specified substance, according to Wada, is one more susceptible to a credible, non-doping explanation because of its general availability in medicines.

"It could be some kind of stimulant or dietary aid and that would tally with what I was told on Thursday night by sources close to Toure - who insists it was not deliberately performance enhancing or recreational.

"Given that Toure is a devout Muslim and is also teetotal and the fact he is regarded as a model professional and one of the quiet men of the Premier League, it seems to add up."

What Next For Kolo?

Arsene Wenger:

"He wants to control his weight a little bit because that's where he has some problems and he took the product off his wife," said the Arsenal boss.

"Never trust your wife! That is how he was caught."

Argentine ref issues 36 red cards in one match

An Argentine fifth-division match between Claypole and Victoriano Arenas turned into an awful day at work for the match official as play devolved into fights and gangs of people chasing after each other that resulted in 36 red cards.

Gabriele Marcotti: Porto cruising under Villas Boas

There's a team in Europe that is still in the hunt to win every competition this season. A club which is dominating its league, ahead of its perennial archrival, which itself is having, statistically at least, a great season. Its numbers, across all competitions, are frighteningly good: Played 40, Won 33, Drawn 4, Lost 3.

Another column extolling the virtues of Barcelona?

Japanese Influx to Europe Grows

Narita Airport has seen its fair share of soccer players pass through the arrival and departure halls over the years. It welcomed Japan back from a successful World Cup last summer and the Asian Cup trophy in January. In the past months, it has also seen a growing number of Japanese stars heading to Europe and Germany in particular.

Dominic Raynor: Off The Ball

Off The Ball never rests in its mission to scratch around the underbelly of professional football to find the most bizarre, humorous and inexplicable stories.

This week, Birmingham City's Craig Gardner thanks his lucky pants, Sao Paulo fans swim in the aisles of the club's Morumbi Stadium, an English club launches the most expensive season ticket in the world and Jose Mourinho takes aim at Real Madrid predecessor Manuel Pellegrini.

Where do Everton and David Moyes go from here?

The Goodison Park club's manager is suffering from the same syndrome as Arsène Wenger at Arsenal, an inability to maintain the high standards of his early days.

Celebrity hotel bans defender Smalling hours after United defeat to Chelsea

Manchester United defender Chris Smalling has been banned from the May Fair Hotel in London after hosting a wild all-night party with a group of allegedly drunken girls - just hours after Tuesday's defeat to Chelsea.

The 21-year old conceded a penalty which led to Frank Lampard's late winner at Stamford Bridge.

But hours later he checked into a £2,000-a-night suite at the hotel popular with celebrities such as Lady GaGa and Paris Hilton, and partied until 4.30am.

Premier League Title Race: This is how it will finish (probably)

The Independent's Football Correspondent Sam Wallace looks at the issues facing the title contenders and predicts how they will affect the run-in.

Tom Adams: Rewind to 1991

Two decades at the top makes Ryan Giggs a freak of the modern game. Even when casting back through the English game's history, there are none whose careers have lasted so long at such a high level. Sir Stanley Matthews may have been playing at 50 but was not a stranger to the Second Division.

Steve Davis: Concerns linger after MLS tinkers with postseason format

If only the rest of us could gain an inner peace regarding the MLS playoffs as New York Red Bulls coach Hans Backe has.

The latest round of fussing and debating over the postseason structure commenced last week when the league announced a belated, revised format for 2011. This one was a double whammy. Not only were some of the unpopular elements retained, but the postseason for the 18-team league also was expanded to 10 clubs.

England: Wednesday's FA Cup Reports

Manchester City
3 - 0
Aston Villa

Richard Jolly at Eastlands
Daniel Taylor at Eastlands






Arsenal 5 - 0 Leyton Orient
Kevin McCarra at the Emirates Stadium
Jeremy Wilson at the Emirates Stadium
David Hytner at the Emirates Stadium

Brian Moore: Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson typical of a game that fails to respect officials

The pulsating Premier League game at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday showed much of the best and worst of football.

Scottish FA and police condemn controversial Celtic and Rangers replay

Strathclyde police said Wednesday's arrests were for a variety of sectarian, racial and breach of the peace offences. Police had warned they would crack down on drink-fuelled violence linked to the match after trouble flared in the wake of the last Old Firm game.

Raphael Honigstein: Differing mindsets have Germany, Italy going in opposite directions

Villarreal beat Napoli 2-1 in the Europa League Round of 32 a week ago, and though it was hardly a match that gripped the whole of Europe, the result will reverberate around the continent for many years to come. With Napoli's loss, Italy slipped to fourth place in UEFA's league coefficient ranking and will be able to send only three teams to the Champions League in 2012-13. The Bundesliga, now third in the rankings behind England's Premier League and Spain's La Liga, will pick up Serie A's vacated spot, meaning Germany can once again send four clubs to Europe's premier competition after having to make do with three since 2002-03.

English Premier League: Who will beat the drop and who's heading down?

Hands up, at the start of the campaign who really thought Blackpool would be four points outside the bottom three with 10 games to go?

In fact, who thought any of the promoted sides would be clear of the bottom three?

It’s been a totally unpredictable season in the Premier League which has seen a relegation battle have more twists than even Chubby Checker could handle.

But as we enter the time of season which Sir Alex Ferguson would call ‘squeaky bum time’, Sportsmail is willing to put its head on the block and give its verdict on the winners and losers in the battle to beat relegation.

Owl kicked by Luis Moreno dies

An injured owl that was kicked off the field by a player during a match between Colombian soccer clubs has died from shock.

Veterinarian Camilo Tapia said the owl went into shock Tuesday after it was taken in for treatment two days earlier.

England: Wednesday's FA Cup Previews

Arsenal vs. Leyton Orient
Preview I
Preview II
Dominic Raynor's Preview



Manchester City vs. Aston Villa
Preview I
Preview II

Martin Tyler's Column

Every week he will be here to offer you statistical gems to make your day, impress your mates and, on occasion, to settle the odd bet.

Sky Sports' voice of football and his back-up team of experts are here to answer your questions and queries on all things statistical and historical from the beautiful game.

Sid Lowe: Navarro's shameful play-acting widely condemned by peers

It was the night of the Academy Awards and the red carpet was rolled out, ready. Everyone was waiting, there was little over an hour to go and the excitement built. "That was the performance of his life. I'm sure they'll give him an Oscar tonight."

But this was no film critic praising Colin Firth. This was Fernando Llorente talking about David Navarro -- a footballer from Athletic Bilbao talking about a footballer from Valencia. Only Navarro is also, it turns out, a heck of an actor. And on Sunday night, he played his role to perfection, a role he had been practicing for years, one that's second nature to him -- the role of sinister, malevolent bad guy.

David Navarro Video

Roma could pave the way for foreign owners in Italy

The coming week could have profound significance for Italian football with Roma expected to start formal talks which could result in them becoming the first major Italian club to end up in foreign hands. Roma might not be the first top-flight Italian club to have foreign owners but they will be by far the biggest, having resided in Serie A for all but one of the 78 years of their existence and having been the champions on three occasions, most recently in 2001.

England: Tuesday's Premier League Reports & Analyses

Chelsea
2 - 1
Manchester United

Henry Winter at Stamford Bridge
Kevin McCarra at Stamford Bridge
Phil McNulty at Stamford Bridge



Richard Williams: Chelsea ride their luck
Dale Johnson: Arsenal winners of Bridge battle
Paul Hayward: United up for the fight

Fergie fury at the ref

Player Ratings

England: Tuesday's FA Cup Fifth Round Report

Everton 0 - 1 Reading
Andy Hunter at Goodison Park



Season over for Fellaini

CONCACAF Pushes For Extra Berth

CONCACAF secretary general Chuck Blazer is pushing for an extra World Cup slot for his confederation as FIFA's executive committee meets to decide the make up of the Brazil 2014 tournament.

England: Tuesday's Premier League Previews

Who:
Chelsea
vs.
Manchester United

Where:
Stamford Bridge, London

When: 2:45pm EST

U.S. TV: FSC



Preview I
Preview II
Preview III

Paul Merson's Preview

Kevin McCarra: Chelsea will be galvanized

No Love Lost

Sid Lowe in Spain

A positive young manager, a bond between players and fans, and an improving team could save Levante from the drop.

Unity may well be salvation for little Levante, La Liga's Expendables.

Raphael Honigstein in Germany

The 3-1 win in Munich was so definitive that Bayern officials and players were queuing up to congratulate the champions-elect.

Borussia Dortmund brilliance ends any lingering Bayern title hopes.

Jonathan Wilson in Eastern Europe

Saturday evening's match between Levski and CSKA provided an horrendous reminder of English crowd trouble in the 1970s.

Never been in a riot? Get yourself out to a Sofia derby.

Paolo Bandini in Italy

Napoli's expectations were sky high heading to San Siro – but a 3-0 loss suggests it could be a Milan-Inter duel for the Scudetto.

Napoli fire a blank as gunslinging Milan stay in charge at the top.

Americans Abroad

Edu rocking for Rangers, no time for Michael Bradley at Villa, no time for Beasley at Hannover, Mike Grella goes out on loan from Leeds and much more!!

England: Monday's Premier League Reports

Stoke City
1 - 1
West Bromwich Albion

Stuart James at the Britannia Stadium

Henry Winter at the Britannia Stadium

Henry Winter: Ashley Cole and Wayne Rooney incidents a reminder of FA's weak stance on English elite

Welcome to England, land of elbows and shotguns. Welcome to Stamford Bridge tonight when Wayne Rooney’s Manchester United collide with Ashley Cole’s Chelsea to restage the Glorious 12th. The shouts will be of “duck” and “shoot”.

Ryan Giggs: My 20 years with Manchester United's first team

The first game: 2 March 1991. You look at the photos now and so much has changed. Old Trafford, back then, was an unsophisticated place, desperately in need of investment, much in line with a city struggling from the effects of post-industrialisation. "Madchester" might have been booming but Manchester was far from the metropolis of stylish apartment blocks, Calatrava bridges and glass condominium towers we see now.

Ryan Giggs was 17, wearing a shirt that seemed slightly too large for his skinny frame. Manchester United 0 Everton 2. The team were on a run of seven league games without a win, almost a quarter of a century since their last title. It was an inauspicious debut. "The thing that sticks out is Dave Watson coming through the back of me," Giggs says. "It was 'welcome to the big boys' league'. I had a big cut on my knee for ages after that." Otherwise, he cannot remember too much apart from Ferguson shouting at everyone in the dressing room.

Roberto Gotta in Italy

The scene had been set almost perfectly, which is not something you can ordinarily say about Italian football. This was a big Monday night match - itself, a break from tradition - at the most imposing ground in the country, which was a full house for the first time in weeks, sparing us the depressingly familiar sight of sparsely populated stands. And the top two sides in the country, Milan and Napoli, although Inter had sneaked into second place 24 hours earlier by virtue of their win at Sampdoria.

Phil Ball in Spain

The Europa League has so far managed to keep a low profile in my house, the reason being that Thursday, like Monday, seems the wrong day for football. I can't quite rationalise or justify that feeling, but it's there nevertheless. Besides, when it comes on the heels of a glut of Champions League stuff, it seems like lesser fare by default, stuck onto the fag-end of the week's viewing as if it were of minor importance - to watch if you have nothing else pressing to do.

Panamanian player discovers that kicking an owl is no hoot

A Panamanian player, Luís Moreno, has caused an uproar and faces severe punishment after kicking an owl which was lying on the pitch during a Colombian championship match at the weekend. Video footage showed that the bird was first struck by the ball near the Pereira penalty area during the match at Atlético Junior, prompting the referee to stop play.

Good Day!

Birmingham City captured their first major trophy since 1963 yesterday by defeating Arsenal 2-1 at Wembley. Although massive underdogs, the Blues showed more heart and desire than the Gunners and came away deserved winners. And although six years without a trophy is hardly a drought for the vast majority of clubs, Arsene Wenger will receive deserved criticism for another display from his side that outlined yet again the frailties that continue to plague Arsenal.

Meanwhile, in the Premier League, Wigan eventually capitulated to Manchester United, West Ham rolled over Liverpool and Mark Hughes returned to Eastlands and his Fulham side earned a draw with Manchester City. The two dropped points put the nail in any title hopes for City. Once again, the media is having a field day with a handshake incident. Sparky's undies got all bunched up because Mancini didn't look him in the eye upon the clasping of the hands. Really? Who the fuck cares? The whole post-match handshake thing is great but not worthy of any debate or discussion. If a manager want to shake hands then fine. If not, then fine. Fist bump? Great. Whatever.

Ashley Cole brought some sort of pellet gun to Chelsea's training complex and shot an innocent bystander. You can't make it up with Cashley -- he's in a league by himself. Also, Louis Saha wrecked his Ferrari.

In Spain, Lionel Messi scored his 1,425th goal of the campaign as Barcelona extended their lead at the top of La Liga. Since Real Madrid couldn't score one goal (Karim Benzema anyone?) at Deportivo La Coruña that title looks to be settled before March. Also settled is the Bundesliga where Dortmund went to Bayern Munich and came away 3-1 winners, their first win in Munich since 1991. It leaves them 13 points ahead of their nearest challengers.

There's a big match in Italy this afternoon as Napoli head to San Siro to face AC Milan. A win for Napoli would put them on level terms with Milan at the top of Serie A. You can catch that one at 2:45pm EST on FSC.

The Fifth Official's usual Monday column, Wayne Rooney's elbow and a tribute to Dean Richards -- who passed away at the age of 36 -- round out today's big stories.

Onward!!

Monday Night Football

England:
Stoke vs. West Brom


Italy:
AC Milan vs. Napoli

Kevin McCarra: Ashley Cole's airgun stunt is a symptom of the disorder at Chelsea

It was not the sort of rejuvenation Chelsea need. Instead of regaining his youth, Ashley Cole merely behaved like an adolescent. In fact the description is an unwarranted slur on countless teenagers who know better than to point an airgun at someone and pull the trigger. The defender backed a hunch that it was not loaded.

Louis Saha 'narrowly avoids serious injury after car crash'

Louis Saha, the Everton striker, has narrowly avoided serious injury after his Ferrari sports car crashed on a busy country road on Sunday, police sources said.



Louis with his pre-accident 458 Italia...

Richard Bates - A Tribute to Dean Richards

Saturday saw the tragic passing of Dean Richards, the former Bradford City, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur centre back, who had been battling a long-term illness. Aged just 36, the news has come as a complete and utter shock to all those within the footballing community.

Rooney Escapes FA Action

The Football Association has confirmed no further action will be taken against Wayne Rooney following the Manchester United striker's elbow on James McCarthy at the weekend.

Alan Hansen: Rooney's elbow could have cost United the title

Sam Wallace: Rooney's moment of madness is indefensible – but referees are working with flawed system

Germany: Bundesliga Weekend Review

Bayern Munich's slim title hopes all but vanished as the defending champions lost 3-1 to leaders Borussia Dortmund. Two goals in the last eight minutes saved Werder Bremen while Stuttgart gave their survival hopes a much-needed lift. Kaiserslautern held on for a 1-1 draw at home to Hamburg to move out of the Bundesliga relegation zone. Christian Schulz's goal in the 89th minute gave Hannover a 1-0 at St Pauli and a club record 14th victory of the Bundesliga season to go third, a point behind Bayer.

Review

Italy: Serie A Weekend Review

Two goals in the final 20 minutes from Wesley Sneijder and Samuel Eto'o earned Inter Milan a 2-0 win at Sampdoria. The result leaves Inter just two points behind table-topping city rivals AC Milan, though they have played a game more. Palermo coach Delio Rossi insisted he will not resign despite his side suffering a humiliating 7-0 home defeat to Udinese. Substitute Abdelkader Ghezzal fired a late equaliser for rock-bottom Bari to deny Fiorentina a second away win of the season.

Review



Mihajlovic is not pleased...

Spain: La Liga Weekend Review

Barcelona extended their lead over Real Madrid as Jose Mourinho's men were held to a goalless draw at Deportivo La Coruna. Barca earlier won 3-0 away at Real Mallorca to move seven points clear at the top of the standings. Lionel Messi gave the Catalans, missing key quartet Xavi, Carles Puyol, Victor Valdes and Dani Alves through a mixture of injury and suspension, a first-half lead by heading in his 26th league goal of the season. And strikes from David Villa in the 57th minute and Pedro Rodriguez in the 66th sealed the win. Madrid, in contrast, could not break down stubborn Depor, Cristiano Ronaldo having a goal ruled out for offside and Karim Benzema miscuing from just a yard out at the death.

Review

England: Premier League Weekend Review, Reports & Analyses

Manchester United issued a statement of intent with an emphatic victory over Wigan, while there were other big wins for Wolves and Aston Villa in the Premier League this weekend. West Ham gave themselves hope of avoiding relegation following a 3-1 home success against Liverpool, Everton beat Sunderland and Manchester City were held by Fulham.

Review


West Ham 3 - 1 Liverpool
Dominic Fifield at Upton Park

Manchester City 1 - 1 Fulham
Daniel Taylor at Eastlands

Aston Villa 4 - 1 Blackburn
Ciaran Cronin at Villa Park

Five Things We Learned

England: Carling Cup Final Reports & Analyses

Arsenal 1 - 2 Birmingham City



Kevin McCarra at Wembley


Phil McNulty at Wembley


Richard Williams at Wembley


John Brewin at Wembley

Martin Rogers: Wenger failed to fill Arsenal's holes

Rob Kelly: Defeat outlines Arsenal's mental barrier

Player Ratings

The Fifth Official

Few of us like Monday but The Fifth Official does, for it brings with it a chance for him to point the finger and laugh. Here he pulls out the pretty, the puzzling and the downright pig-ugly from a week brimming with potential victims.

Ashley Cole 'shoots student'

Chelsea and England full-back Ashley Cole accidentally shot an intern at the club's training ground with a .22 calibre air rifle, according to a report. The News Of The World reported that Cole was "larking about" with the weapon, which he brought to the state of the art complex at Cobham complete with a muzzle and nightscope, when he discharged it from a distance of five feet.


Carlo under fire as shooting probed