Mario Misses, City Maul United, Geezer Wrong Again

Mario Balotelli bagged 26 in a row before missing his first ever penalty this weekend. Milan went down 2-1 to Napoli, with Rafa Benitez's team on a tear. They look the real deal and will really push Juventus this year. As I was reminded this weekend by an Inter fan, Serie A is very open this year. I think he just wanted to celebrate the face that Diego Milito is back and grabbed a brace in a 7-0 win, but there is some truth to the statement. Roma look good after winning the derby against Lazio, Inter are revolutionizing systems, playing 3-6-1, Juve look very strong, and Napoli may even be the favorites. And then there's AC Milan and Fiorentina - a very competitive league, although I think the only thing stopping Juve or Napoli winning the title will be their participation in the Champions League. A strong run for either will test the strength of their squads, but they should be able to handle the price of success.

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City gave United a proper schlapping in the Manchester derby, with Yaya Toure looking back to his best. Rooney worked hard for United, but they seem to have a lack of ideas right now. Yes, van Persie missing was huge, but surely Kagawa instead of Valencia or Welbeck would have created a few chances. Young is also much less effective without someone to cross for - and partly because Welbeck is a decent link player, but he's not a leader and doesn't really trouble defenders from crosses, or in behind.

Paulo Di Canio sacked? Surprise? Of course not. Just a surprise someone gave him a high profile job and loads of cash, then expected him to be a success after just 13 games. Strange decision all around. 

Great free-kicks by Rooney and Leighton Baines this weekend. Everton were by far the better team against West Ham, but it shows what a help a dead ball specialist is. And after I predicted a bunch of home wins, it was tough on Cardiff, but nice finish from Paulinho...Newcastle hard to work out again....Villa win, but Benteke could be out. Lots of subplots in teh Premier League, and I didn't even mention Arsenal, then Chelsea were top of the league, or that Liverpool are back to their unpredictable best!

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Also, Falcao and Ibra both scored in the 1-1 draw, with Monaco keeping their two point lead at the top of Ligue Un... Barca and ral both won (shock)... Bale is injured already (another shock)... Bayern and Dortmund are joint top of the Bundesliga again... and PSV spanked Ajax 4-0. 

Geezer's weekend review

Arsenal are back in the title race; Manchester City's foreigners don't have the bottle for a scrap; Crystal Palace could be the worst Premier League team in history.

Ok, so only one of those three statements is true. I'll let you pick the one you fancy.

Not the most exciting weekend of action, but it's still just the second weekend of the season. Nothing is decided in August - it's not like Spurs can win 1-0 every week with a dodgy penalty - and if it was the same every week, Newcastle, West Ham, Everton and West Brom fans would probably never watch another game in their lives.

We need some perspective this early in the year. Although I can already see tomorrow's back pages predicting Jose has David Moyes' number, or that the Scotsman has evoked the spirit of Fergie.

Oh, and a replay of Hull v Norwich is on later. Don't forget to record that one.

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PSG finally won a game, with Cavani scoring again, but Marseille remain top after winning their first 3 games of the season... Barcelona won 1-0 without Messi, with Neymar still being used as a sub. Real Madrid play Grenada today (without Gareth Bale as things stand)... Dortmund, Leverkeusen, Bayern Munich and Mainz 05 have all won their opening 3 games in the Bundesliga - maybe it's not the two horse race I predicted (but let's give it a few weeks). Serie A review to come...

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Clint Dempsey is still goalless since his return to the MLS, but Seattle won again, so no one will care about the other stats - oh wait, it's the US, stats are all that matter. The Red Bulls were upset by bottom of the table Chivas, but with 15 of the 19 teams still in contention for the playoff places, no result in the MLS is really a surprise.

Geezer's weekend review

 So, where to start?

The Premier League is back, Manchester United are going about their business despite David Moyes' complaints about the fixture list (he's sounding like old red nose Taggart already!).

Chelsea and the 'Understated One' did their job. Spurs followed suit, with straight forward wins for Liverpool and West Ham. A few surprise results for Fulham, Everton and Southampton, but I expect teams in the so-called 'middle league' (I am coining that phrase, even if it doesn't catch on) to all take points from each other all season - so nothing is really a surprise.

Arsenal are trying to sign everyone on Monday - a little late, but i think Arsene Wenger has finally realized that it's not 2004, he can't get Henry on loan again, and his team is distinctly average. Laughing at Arsenal is easy (and I hope we continue to do so), but I did respect how they did business and tried to build a team. Unfortunately for them, the game has become so rich that they have to dig deep and buy. They were very poor on Saturday, and despite the second penalty being a terrible decision, they weren't unlucky.

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What to say about La Liga that hasn't been said? Barcelona won 7-0, Messi was great, Neymar got an easy debut - but seriously, the Geezer could get 20+ as a striker in that team. Even Fernando Torres might get into double figures.

Real Madrid made hard work of Real Betis on Carlo Ancelotti's first game as coach. Isco looked a great signing, but he should be for almost $40 million.

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And amongst other things.... Falcao supposedly wants out despite Monaco winning their first two games. Ibra and Laurent Blanc are struggling so far, with PSG drawing their first two games (he's off to the Premier League, trust me!). There are 5 teams in the Bundesliga who have won their first two games - no prizes for guessing that Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund are two of them.

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But regardless of my negativity about everything being predictable, it was still a great weekend. far too many games were watched, NBC made a solid start in the US and my team won - so more than a few beverages were consumed, a rendition of 'We are top of the league' was sung and everyone in the Geezer household was happy - at least until next weekend!