rule the pitch

Yup our favorite bad boy Mario Balotelli has a pet pig that he named "super pig". As much as I wish I was, I am not making it up! this comes from his very own twitter account!

This was a pretty evenly played match. If I had to give the edge to one team I would say that Real Madrid showed more desire as the game wore on but at the same time Barcelona wasted several quality opportunities to put this game away. So in the end a 1-1 score is fitting of a well played match.

Most impressive, as always was Andrés Iniesta. I know Messi scores the goals, but in my opinion there is no better player on the planet than Iniesta.  He really makes the whole Barcelona game plan work - without him I seriously doubt that Catalonians would be the dominant team they are, and I know Messi would not be capable of putting up the gaudy numbers he does. If you truly love the beautiful game, I urge you to take the time to really watch how this little man controls the middle of the field - NEVER losing possession of the ball. His ability to receive the ball facing his own goal and lose his man to turn the ball upfield towards the opponents goal is a thing of beauty. I could watch him all day. 

On the other side of the ball, I think Michael Essien kept Real Madrid in this game. On several occasions he was the last man between Barcelona and a goal and he was not a primary defender, he was playing midfield. He also seemed to be the only play to really bother Iniesta.

Who I could have done without? Pedro for Barcelona and Luka Modric for Real Madrid. Pedro just doesn't do it for me. There were to many times when Messi was attempting to dribble through 4 or 5 defenders with Pedro no where in sight? I don't understand why this man gets the nod over the likes of David Villa. Modric - he should still be playing for the Spurs, he just doesn't fit the Real Madrid system and I think he has ruined his career by forcing the transfer. I hope he can turn it around but right now he just looks lost.

the bleacher Report poses a pretty interesting question - read the article here -->

As of this moment the top of the table looks like this:

Chelsea

Manchester City

Everton

Manchester United

Tottenham

Looks like the usual suspects... WAIT - EVERTON??? WTF? Will they be able to stay there? If the start is any indication, this is going to be a fun season indeed!