US International defender, Carlos Bocanegra scored his first goal for Saint-Etienne on Sunday in French Ligue 1 action.

Via Soccernet:
A late equaliser from Fernando helped Bordeaux secure a point against St Etienne at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.

The hosts had looked set to take the spoils after two goals in three minutes from Albin Ebondo and Carlos Bocanegra had put them 2-1 up in the second half.

But Les Girondins, who had taken the lead through Fahid Ben Khalfallah, levelled with just two minutes to play as Fernando nodded home.

Bordeaux would have climbed to fifth place with a win, but this stalemate leaves both clubs firmly ensconced in mid-table.

The home side had the first meaningful chance after 22 minutes but Dimitri Payet could only fire straight at Cedric Carrasso, before a close-range Bocanegra header was also kept out by the keeper.

And those missed chances proved costly as Bordeaux took the lead against the run of play on the half-hour.

Wendel whipped in a dangerous cross and Anthony Modeste’s cushioned header allowed Ben Khalfallah to volley home from close range.

Jerome Janot in the St Etienne goal denied the visitors a second four minutes later as he kept out an Alou Diarra effort before denying Ben Khalfallah as he bore down on goal.

Les Verts needed half-time to regain their composure and they took control of the contest upon the resumption.

Carrasso punched away a Bakary Sako effort and then denied Payet as the hosts pushed forward.

The equaliser finally came in the 67th minute, a long ball picked out Ebondo who raced past a static defence. His initial effort was blocked but the ball came back to him and he slotted home.

Two minutes later St Etienne had the lead. Payet delivered a threatening free-kick and the United States international rose to head home emphatically.

But they were denied three points as Janot failed to connect properly with a free-kick into the box and Fernando was on hand to nod in.

Ksuk | Myspace Video

Ksuk | Myspace Video

From The Associated Press

Arsenal went top of the Premier League on Saturday after beating Fulham 2-1 thanks to two stunning individual goals by Samir Nasri.

The France playmaker, enjoying his best run of form for the London club, scored a superb winner in the 75th minute to lift the Gunners to 32 points and above Manchester United, whose match at Blackpool was postponed because of a frozen pitch.

Chelsea, which started the day in second place, would have stayed ahead of Arsenal if it had beaten Everton at Stamford Bridge but only drew 1-1 and fell to third.

Nasri put the hosts ahead in the 14th by running onto Andrey Arshavin’s pass, dummying past two defenders and rifling a shot into the roof of the net.

Senegal striker Diomansy Kamara equalized for Fulham in the 30th but Nasri’s eighth of the campaign—and 11th of the season in all competitions—won it for Arsenal.

The midfielder has been given added responsibility this season because of the ongoing injury problems affecting Cesc Fabregas, Arsenal’s captain and most inspirational player.

But Nasri has come of age this season, his third at Emirates Stadium following a move from Marseille, and has been the club’s most impressive player in the first half of the campaign.

His opening goal was a perfect demonstration of how confident he is feeling.

He dropped his shoulder to fool Fulham center backs Aaron Hughes and Brede Hangeland before slamming a powerful shot past Mark Schwarzer, a goalkeeper Arsenal tried to sign last summer.

Arshavin, who assisted Nasri for the opener and was playing two days after being a key figure in helping Russia win the right to host the World Cup in 2018, had already had a shot saved by Schwarzer.

Striker Marouane Chamakh and defensive midfielder Alex Song also wasted chances for Arsenal, which conceded against the run of play when United States midfielder Clint Dempsey laid in Kamara to sidefoot home past Lukasz Fabianski.

In the run-up to that goal, Laurent Koscielny clashed heads with fellow center back Sebastien Squillaci and had to be carried off on a stretcher.

Morocco striker Chamakh headed straight at Schwarzer before the break but Fulham, whose poor run of results away from home shows no sign of ending, came back into the game in the second half.

Dickson Etuhu headed wide when free before Zoltan Gera’s header was cleared off the line in the 70th.

But Nasri brought Arsenal back into the game with an exquisite winner after the hosts had brought on substitutes Robin van Persie and Theo Walcott.

Van Persie squared the ball to Nasri, who showed sublime skills to go round Schwarzer, spin and shoot home from a tight angle to send Arsenal top.

The Associated Press
Jonathan Spector’s two-goal performance in West Ham’s 4-0 win over Manchester United has given his manager a problem.

Avram Grant says the American’s switch from defense to midfield for Wednesday’s victory in the quarterfinals of the League Cup was so successful that he now has to find a way to keep him in the lineup.

But captain Scott Parker should be recovered from a chest infection in time to play in Sunday’s Premier League match against Sunderland, so Grant may struggle to field both of them.

Still, Grant says, “I always look for problems like this with selection.”

Spector played his first game in English soccer for Manchester United in August 2004, but the Arlington Heights, Ill., native had never scored before Wednesday.

From The Associated Press

Mikel Arteta’s deflected goal earned Everton a point in an entertaining 2-2 draw at Sunderland in the Premier League.

Sunderland looked on its way to a second straight win to follow up last week’s shock victory over champion Chelsea when Danny Welbeck headed in his second goal of the night to make it 2-1.

But Arteta saved the day for his club with seven minutes remaining when he found space on the edge of the area and shot home via a big deflection off Sunderland defender Phil Bardsley.

Everton had taken a sixth-minute lead when Leighton Baines crossed for Tim Cahill to head home his seventh goal of the season. Sunderland equalized before half time when Welbeck slotted in Boudewijn Zenden’s low ball in from the right.

Everton could have won it in injury time, but substitute Jermaine Beckford shot wildly over the bar with only the goalkeeper to beat.

Defeat would have been harsh on Sunderland in a closely-fought contest which leaves the hosts still seventh in the standings, and just outside the European places.

“We started slowly against one of the better teams in the Premier League,” Sunderland manager Steve Bruce said. “That put us on the back foot but we responded and overall I have to say I would have taken a 2-2. We’re a little bit aggrieved we’ve conceded too late but I think a draw was a fair result.”

Everton edged further away from the relegation zone and up to 14th, with a home game against West Bromwich Albion up next.

“We’re pleased,” Everton manager David Moyes said. “It’s a hard place to come, especially after the result last week for Sunderland.”

Sunderland fans saw their side sweep past Chelsea last time out, but the reality check came quickly when Baines took advantage of some slack defending to cross for Cahill to head in.

The hosts had to make do without the injured Asamoah Gyan but were boosted by the return of striker Darren Bent and having responded well to the early setback, they deservedly equalized through Welbeck.

In a match which ebbed and flowed in entertaining fashion, Everton came closest to taking a first-half lead when Jordan Henderson cleared Cahill’s header off the line before Sylvain Distin scooped the ball over the bar with ‘keeper Craig Gordon on the ground.

Having withstood a spell of Sunderland pressure early in the second half, Everton began to take control and only the bravery of Michael Turner prevented the visitors from scoring.

Cahill beat Gordon to the ball and chipped toward goal only for the onrushing Turner to slide in and clear off the line, before colliding painfully with the post.

Turner was fit to carry on and saw real reward for his effort when on-loan Manchester United striker Welbeck, who scored his first goal for the club against Chelsea, leapt at the near post to send a looping header beyond Everton ‘keeper Tim Howard.

Replays showed Kieran Richardson was offside as he collected the ball before crossing for Welbeck, so Everton will feel the equalizer was no more than it deserved.

Everton manager David Moyes sent on strikers Yakubu and Beckford as the minutes ticked down, but in the end, his side drew level through a midfielder.

Arteta’s shot lacked power but the touch off Bardsley defeated Gordon in the Sunderland goal.

There was more drama to come, with Welbeck going close for Sunderland and Beckford appearing to panic with only Gordon to beat and powering a shot wastefully over the bar.

From the AP
U.S. midfielder Stuart Holden scored his first Bolton goal Saturday to clinch a 3-2 victory over Wolverhampton in the Premier League on Saturday, while compatriot Brad Friedel conceded twice in four minutes as Aston Villa threw away a two-goal lead for a 2-2 draw with Manchester United.

Bolton is turning out to be this season’s surprise, closing the gap on fourth-place Manchester City in the final Champions League qualification spot to three points with a third of the season gone.

Bolton went ahead at Wolves after just 45 seconds, with defender Richard Stearman heading into his own net.
Holden setup Johan Elmander for Bolton’s second in the 62nd minute, with the Sweden striker dribbling through four defenders before slotting into the bottom corner.

Holden, who joined Bolton in January from the Houston Dynamo, finally got his name on the scoresheet five minutes later, slotting Lee Chung-yong’s pass into the net.

“What a great feeling to get first goal and even better feeling for the win and 3 pts,” Holden tweeted after the match.

But it was a nervy end to the match, with Kevin Foley pulling one back for the home side two minutes after Holden’s strike and Stephen Fletcher finding time for a Wolves second.

Bolton is fifth in the standings, one place behind Man City, which was held to a 0-0 draw by Birmingham, and a spot ahead of Tottenham on goal difference.

Not a whole lot is being leaked out to the press, but word is US and AC Milan Defender Oguchi Onyewu got into a brawl with teammate Zlatan Ibrahimovic during Friday training.   As for comments,  AC Milan VP  only said that it was “Very Lively.”  No word on what started the altercation.  I think this would be a great opportunity for Dana White to set something up. A little UFC, Zlatan getting his face pounded in and me being extremely happy, it would be great!  I’m interested in seeing who/what started the fight, but in my mind I can certainly see Ibrahimovic instigating it, since he has a history of being a punk.  I have to give credit to Gooch though, he’s got some incredible brass on him for mixing it up with the Swede. Seeing how Ibra has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, I can’t see very many people wanting to mess with him.  So, Oguchi.. this is for you, U-S-A U-S-A!

Expats Marcus Hahnemann and Brad Friedel get a shout out in Saves of the Week.

Weekend Roundup

Goals of the Week
<a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/video/?vid=086649be-68c7-4f94-8142-41a31e0bad0b&#038;from=IV2_en-us_foxsports_videocentral_player" target="_new" title="PL: Goals of the Week">Video: PL: Goals of the Week</a>

Saves of the Week
<a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/video/?vid=a852d147-7d18-4858-9fb3-2e99e282d3e4&#038;from=IV2_en-us_foxsports_videocentral_player" target="_new" title="PL: Saves of the Week">Video: PL: Saves of the Week</a>

Pavel Pogrebnyak got the hat trick for VfB Stuttgart as they destroyed Borussia Monchengladbach 7-0. This was Stuttgart’s first win of the season… Unfortunately, they did against the squad Michael Bradley plays for.

After a great come back which saw them draw Manchester United 3-3 at Old Trafford, Everton lacked the same heart and fight against Newcastle. Hatem Ben Arfa got the only goal of the game (which was a long range missile) as the Magpies sealed their first shut out win of the season. The Toffees now sit 2nd to last in the relegation zone with only 2 points. Seems David Moyes needs more than just Landon Donovan, how much longer will Moyes be in charge?

Associated Press:
Tottenham staged a late fightback to beat Wolverhampton 3-1 and secure its first home win of the Premier League season on Saturday.

Rafael van der Vaart sparked the turnaround from the penalty spot in the 75th minute, canceling out Steven Fletcher’s goal on the stroke of halftime.

The Wolves defense crumbled as Roman Pavlyuchenko and Alan Hutton also beat American goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann in the closing minutes.

Spurs manager Harry Redknapp had been wary about his team experiencing a Champions League hangover four days after drawing with Werder Bremen, having lost to Wigan following their previous European fixture.

It took Spurs 24 minutes to force a save from Hahnemann, who denied Gareth Bale before Michael Mancienne and Stephen Ward threw themselves in front of Robbie Keane’s follow-up.

Hahnemann was called into action again six minutes later after the ball sat up perfectly for Van der Vaart to smash a volley, and then the keeper got his fingertips to Peter Crouch’s 33rd-minute header.

Crouch was winning almost everything in the air but it was his strike partner, Keane, who had the best headed chance of the half, which he directed wide from eight yards.

Wolves snatched the lead when the recalled Fletcher slammed in Kevin Foley’s low cross from close range.

Jermaine Jenas nearly weaved his way through the entire Wolves defense early in the second half, and Keane almost produced a spectacular equaliser, his scissors-kick from another Bale cross narrowly missing the target.

Spurs began to labor before Ward intervened with 15 minutes remaining, scything down Hutton just inside the penalty area. Van der Vaart sent Hahnemann the wrong way from the spot for his first Tottenham goal.

Redknapp sent on Aaron Lennon for Van der Vaart, and the substitution proved inspired as the winger helped set up Spurs’ second goal moments later. Lennon’s cross was partially cleared but played back into Huddlestone, whose shot was blocked straight to Pavyluchenko for the simplest of finishes.

Pavyluchenko ripped off his shirt and ran to the jubilant Spurs fans to celebrate, earning himself a booking, while Hahnemann was also cautioned for dissent.

Wolves sent on Marcus Bent for Mancienne but there was worse to come for the visitors in stoppage time, as a mix-up between Stearman and Hahnemann allowed Hutton to nip in and bundle the ball home.