Thursday, September 22, 2011

Man City advances in League Cup - ESPN

Press Pass Extra: Hargreaves leads City to Carling Cup win
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Owen Hargreaves marked his return to competitive soccer with a debut goal for Manchester City in a 2-0 win over defending champion Birmingham in the League Cup.

The England midfielder, who struggled through three injury-filled years before being released by City's neighbor Manchester United in the offseason, fired in City's opener from 25 yards in the third-round victory over the cup holders.

Hargreaves, who has had operations on both knees in recent years, managed to complete 57 minutes before being substituted. It was the Canadian-born player's longest appearance since completing United's match against Chelsea exactly three years ago.

"After so long out, I don't think it was easy for him before the game," City manager Roberto Mancini said. "But he worked well and scored a fantastic goal."

Hargreaves had managed just six minutes of playing time in the three years since that Chelsea match, and many thought his career was over at the age of 30 when his United contract ended.

But the former Bayern Munich midfielder posted videos on YouTube to prove his fitness, and was given a surprise contract across the Manchester divide at City.

Three weeks later, Hargreaves showed it was a gamble worth taking by Mancini.

It took him just 17 minutes to score against Birmingham, seizing on a loose ball as Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli had their route into the penalty area blocked and unleashing the ball from distance past goalkeeper Colin Doyle and into the top corner of the net.

Hargreaves was still on the pitch when Balotelli scored his first goal of the season to make it 2-0 in the 38th minute.

On a night of comebacks, Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard returned after six months in a 2-1 victory over Brighton.

Former City striker Craig Bellamy rewarded new club Liverpool for its decision to re-sign him on Aug. 31 by scoring in his first start since returning after four years.

Gerrard came on as a substitute for the last 15 minutes after a recurring groin injury kept him out since March.

Dirk Kuyt doubled Liverpool's lead in the 81st before Ashley Barnes pulled one back from the penalty spot after Jamie Carragher fouled Vicente Rodriguez.

Two of Wednesday's games were settled by penalties. Cardiff beat Leicester 7-6 on spot kicks after the second-tier clubs were even at 2-2 after extra time, while Chelsea beat Fulham 4-3 in the shootout after a 0-0 draw through 120 minutes.

Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas said it was a "superhuman effort" surviving with 10 men after Alex was sent off at the start of the second half.

The match ended in confusion as it was unclear whether the final penalty from Fulham's Bryan Ruiz crossed the line after bouncing down off the crossbar. Referee Chris Foy judged that it did not.

Everton also reached the fourth round by beating West Bromwich Albion 2-1 after extra time, and League Championship leader Southampton defeated Preston 2-1.

Spain

Cesc Fabregas scored for the fourth straight league game to salvage a 2-2 draw for Barcelona at Valencia as the defending champions avoided defeat on a night when top rival Real Madrid had a 0-0 draw at Racing Santander.

Lionel Messi continued his prolific partnership with the former Arsenal player by setting him up for the 77th-minute equalizer as the Catalans twice rallied from deficits.

While Barcelona salvaged a point, Madrid staggered to a lackluster result on the Cantabrian coast, marking the first time the Spanish powerhouse has played consecutive league games without a win since the arrival of coach Jose Mourinho.

Valencia remained the overnight leader with 10 points, one better than Malaga which beat Athletic Bilbao 1-0.

Italy

Defending champion AC Milan remained winless in Serie A following a 1-1 draw with Udinese, while 10-man Juventus drew 1-1 with Bologna to end its perfect start.

Antonio Di Natale took advantage of an error from Milan goalkeeper Christian Abbiati to give Udinese the lead in the 29th minute. Milan's 18-year-old forward Stephan El Shaarawy equalized in the 63rd after replacing Alexandre Pato, who came off after just 19 minutes with an apparent thigh injury.

Clarence Seedorf for Milan and Giampiero Pinzi for Udinese each hit the post at the San Siro.

In Turin, Mirko Vucinic took advantage of a quick free kick from Andrea Pirlo to put Juventus ahead in the 29th, but then picked up his second yellow card just before the break for a hard foul and Daniele Portanova equalized for Bologna in the 52nd.

Meanwhile, Genoa beat Catania 3-0 to take over the top spot, with Napoli losing 1-0 at Chievo Verona, where American midfielder Michael Bradley made his first start for the hosts. He is the son of former U.S. coach Bob Bradley.

Scotland

Defending champion Rangers was ousted from Scotland's League Cup by second-tier club Falkirk, while Glasgow rival Celtic advanced by beating Ross County.

Mark Miller scored a stoppage-time winner as Falkirk booked its place in the fourth round with a 3-2 victory. Farid El Allagui had scored twice for Falkirk before Dorin Goian and Nikica Jelavic both scored for the Rangers.

American midfielder Alejandro Bedoya made his Rangers debut, joining U.S. captain Carlos Bocanegra in the starting lineup. Bedoya was signed from Sweden's Orebro last month.

Celtic recovered from its weekend Scottish Premier League loss to Rangers by beating second-tier Ross County 2-0.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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