Abel RKay

I’m not sure what was on Sir Alex Ferguson’s Christmas list, but if it was a seven-point lead in the Premier League standings, then that’s what he got! It didn’t exactly come as a gift though, as Manchester United had to work for it. Three times they came from behind against Newcastle, before grabbing the winner in stoppage time for a 4-3 victory Wednesday. Incredibly, United has now rescued 24 points this season coming back from losing positions. Take those points away, and the Red Devils would be in the bottom half of the table. Whatever it is that powers Manchester United’s resilience and never-say-die attitude, Manchester City could sure use some of it. City was sorely lacking that kind of drive and determination in its 1-0 Boxing Day loss away to Sunderland. That’s been one of the differences between the two Manchester powers this season: United finds the goals that it needs, while City struggles, especially away from home. City has the much better defence...

1. Manchester United vs. Newcastle: Score, Grades and Post-Match Reaction Manchester United fought back brilliantly at Old Trafford on Wednesday, coming back from three one-goal deficits to win 4-3 over Newcastle United. James Perch opened the scoring early in the fourth minute, putting Newcastle up 1-0 on a rebound shot. Twenty minutes later Manchester United's Jonathan Evans leveled the match at 1-1. A controversial own goal by Evans three minutes later put Newcastle up 2-1 heading into halftime. Patrice Evra would level the match at 2-2 in the 58th minute. Ten minutes later, Newcastle's Papiss Demba Cisse scored to give Newcastle the lead for the third time, 3-2. But Robin van Persie would level just three minutes later. Javier Hernandez played the hero for Manchester United in the waning moments, scoring in the 90th minute to break the deadlock and lift the home squad to a win and three big points. Before the match, BBC Sport tweeted the following s...

Via CNN -- Gunmen in northern Nigeria attacked a church's Christmas Eve services, killing six people and setting the building on fire, police said. A pastor was slain in the incident, police said. It was the latest strike against Christians in the region. More than 30 people died in a wave of Christmas Day attacks in the north last year, blamed on Boko Haram, a militant group that has targeted Christians and Muslims it considered insufficiently Islamist. "Suspected members of the group have bombed or opened fire on worshipers in at least 18 churches across eight northern and central states since 2010. In Maiduguri, the group also forced Christian men to convert to Islam on penalty of death," Human Rights Watch said in an October report. It is not immediately known if the group was behind the latest attack. The Christmas attack came as families whose kin died in last year's killings delivered graveside prayers for a peaceful holiday pe...

The Queen has used her Christmas broadcast to respond to the outpouring of affection and enthusiasm shown by the nation during her Diamond Jubilee celebrations.  Her Majesty described how she was left humbled by the huge crowds that turned out to mark her historic milestone. As her momentous year draws to a close, she said she was struck by the "strength of fellowship and friendship" shown by well-wishers, most memorably during the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant when more than a million people lined the banks of the river. Despite the cold conditions and persistent downpours, the crowds who witnessed the once-in-a-lifetime flotilla were "undaunted by the rain", she said in her address. The Olympic and Paralympic Games were another highlight of 2012 for the Queen. She paid tribute to the athletes, Olympic torch bearers and volunteer Games Makers for either inspiring the nation with their efforts or devoting themselve...

1. Fergie: RVP could have been killed Sir Alex Ferguson has claimed Swansea captain Ashley Williams could have killed Robin van Persie when he struck the ball at the Dutchman's head during the teams' 1-1 draw at the Liberty Stadium. Van Persie reacted angrily when Williams fired the ball at him from close range - apparently to make a clearance although the whistle had already gone for a foul in United's favour - leading referee Michael Oliver to show yellow cards to both players. Ferguson, though, told Sky Sports after the game that he believed Williams' actions had been "absolutely deliberate" and that they were extremely dangerous. "The whistle has gone, the game is stopped and he's done that right in front of the referee," the United boss said. "He could have really killed the lad. It's a disgraceful act. He should be banned for a long, long time." Football Association rules mean no retrospective action can ...

Here are the top two Tweets that generated the most Retweets for the year, plus honorable mentions for a few other Tweets that caught attention around the world. FOUR MORE YEARS President Obama comments on his reelection Before he took the stage to affirm his election victory, President Obama marked his win via Twitter. Within hours, this Tweet simultaneously became the most retweeted of 2012 — and the most retweeted ever, sent by people in more than 200 countries around the world.      JUSTIN BIEBER   Justin Bieber says goodbye to a fan Suffering from a rare form of brain cancer, six-year-old Avalanna Routh was big Justin Bieber fan, and the pop star had grown close to her during her illness. When she passed away in September. Bieber paid tribute to her in a Tweet, and many, many Twitter Beliebers responded.      “29 gold, 17 silver, 19 ...

• Midfielder injured groin in last weekend's win at Newcastle • Doubt for Reading, Sunderland, Norwich and Stoke games Samir Nasri could miss the majority of the festive period for Manchester City following a groin injury suffered during Saturday's 3-1 win at Newcastle United. The midfielder is a major doubt for the weekend visit of Reading with the club fearful he could be out for longer as Roberto Mancini attempts to close the six-point gap to the Premier League leaders Manchester United. The Frenchman had been impressive for City in the first half against Newcastle before suffering the problem and being replaced after 37 minutes. After Reading, City travel to Sunderland and Norwich City, before finishing the holiday fixtures with the visit of Stoke City on 1 January.

When Manchester United splashed £22 million on Robin van Persie this summer, many raised their eyebrows and asked some very valid questions. Why risk that much on a 29-year-old striker whose ankle is less than trustworthy? Is a new striker the Red Devils' biggest need? Sir Alex Ferguson ignored the doubters and, clearly irked by losing the English Premier League title race on goal differential to Manchester City, opted to buy a shed-load more goals. Enter the Dutchman. Shape? Robin van Persie has already shown himself to be comfortable in almost every formation Sir Alex Ferguson can throw at him. Even when others felt less than comfortable with the midfield diamond experiment, RvP seemed very much at home with it. Of course, the reason for this is he plays his own relatively unique role no matter what the shape of the team is. Van Persie has a habit of dictating the attacking rhythm of his team. What Arsenal once thrived upon, Manchester United now the reap ...

Spanish football is reeling from the news that Tito Vilanova is likely to have to step down as a manager after suffering a relapse of a tumour he had removed last year. He is reportedly undergoing emergency surgery in a Barcelona hospital at the moment. Barcelona are currently undefeated in La Liga this season with 15 wins and one draw from 16 games are are 9 points clear of second placed Atletico Madrid. He only took over in the summer from Pep Guardiola, who is on sabbatical. Vilanova had previously been Guardiola's number two. Barcelona are currently weighing up their options as to a potential replacement. What do you think of the news? Who should Barcelona bring in?

It seems that the season of goodwill does not extend to Wesley Sneijder from his current employers, Inter Milan. The Dutch midfielder, who was the subject of much speculation in the last transfer window, has been dramatically sent home early from the Inter Milan training centre. He was joined by Coutinho. It seems that the patience of Inter`s owners has finally snapped with the Dutch master as he continues to reject the new contract offer. This has led to the inevitable conclusion that there will now be a bid from Manchester United for his services. This is especially so, as there has been a dramatic fading of the form of both Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes in the last couple of months. This has prompted Sir Alex Ferguson to rekindle thoughts of trying one last time to lure the Dutchman to Old Trafford. He will have the added benefit that he will cost a lot less as Milan will have to sell to avoid Sneijder leaving on a Bosman for free. It is also likely that due to Sne...

As Written by AFP PARIS — Brazil have slumped five places to an all-time low 18th in the latest FIFA World Cup rankings as they struggle to regroup under new manager Felipe Scolari. The 2002 World Cup-winning coach has been brought back to replace Mano Menezes in charge of a side badly in need of some fresh ideas before next June's Confederations Cup where Brazil have been drawn with Italy, Mexico and Japan. As World Cup hosts, the Brazilians have no qualifiers to play and have been involved in a series of friendly matches, the last of which ended in a 1-1 draw with Colombia in the United States. In continental terms, Brazil are ranked only fifth in South America behind Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador and Uruguay. World champions Spain stay top of the rankings followed by Germany and Argentina with Italy up one place to fourth and Colombia up three to fifth. FIFA world rankings 1. Spain 2. Germany 3. Argentina 4. Italy (+1 place) 5. Colombia (+3) 6. Engl...

Manchester United could draw Porto or Celtic in the Champions League on Thursday, but Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo could be their nightmare if the draw is not kind to them. Jose Mourinho’s side are 13 points behind Barcelona already, and they have little hope of defending their league title as a result, meaning they only really have the Champions League to play for. When Jose Mourinho was appointed at Real Madrid his main job was undoubtedly to win the Champions League for the club. That his side reasserted some measure of domestic dominance by winning the league title over Barcelona last season was a great success, but it is their first European glory since 2002 that the club were seeking when they brought in the Portuguese manager. It was also European glory that made Mourinho move to Spain, as he aims to become the first manager to win the Champions League with three different clubs. An uneasy alliance has been present between the club’s board and t...

* Dutchman scored 15th United goal in win over Sunderland • Martin O'Neill hails Van Persie's impact after 3-1 defeat As the manager who harnessed Henrik Larsson in his pomp when in charge of Celtic, Martin O'Neill knows the potency of a talisman. Sunderland's manager looks at Manchester United's Robin van Persie and sees a force with an impact similar to that of Lionel Messi for Barcelona. The Dutchman is flying in his debut United season, the go-to man who turns matches for Sir Alex Ferguson. "That's the nature of the game and you can boil it down to an awful lot of things," O'Neill said. "Would, for instance, Barcelona have the same effect if Lionel Messi didn't play? The number of goals he has scored is incredible [86 in 2012]. They are a very talented team, but without him, you don't know because Messi is their talisman." O'Neill, Celtic's most successful manager since Jock Stein, took the Glasgow cl...

America is failing to meet its basic obligation to keep its children safe, President Barack Obama has warned, as he told a nation mourning the Sandy Hook primary school massacre: "We can't tolerate this any more".  While refraining from promises of specific policy responses, Mr Obama used a speech in Connecticut to urge the US to make the killing of 27 people in Newtown on Friday the last in a string of mass shootings during his presidency. "These tragedies must end," he told an interfaith vigil. "And to end them we must change". As the president delivered his remarks to a secondary school hall filled with relatives and friends of the 20 young children and seven women who died, sobbing could be heard from the audience. Conceding that "no single law - no set of laws - can eliminate evil from the world", Mr Obama insisted that this none the less must "not be an excuse for inaction", asking: ...

Manchester City have made up big gaps on Manchester United before, and they produced one of their more convincing league performances of the season to let their rivals know they are not going to let go of the title easily. Newcastle were much improved too, but only briefly in the game. Since the home defeat to West Ham last month that gave Sam Allardyce so much inner satisfaction, the Magpies have lost six of their past seven league games, the only victory in a shocking run coming against 10-man Wigan. "Newcastle played very well," Roberto Mancini conceded. "You always get a tough game here and we know they are always capable of coming back. That's why I could not understand us missing all those chances in the first half." Alan Pardew was left with the hollow feeling that comes with playing well but earning nothing. "There were a lot of positives for us but zero points," the Newcastle manager said. "That's my big concern at...

United 3 Sunderland 1 Sunderland have not won at Old Trafford since the final day of the 1967/68 season and, despite creating chances in the second half, they never truly looked like ending that run as United’s first-half purpose and swagger – albeit lacking a ruthlessness in front of goal – ensured all three points for the Reds. Robin van Persie, Tom Cleverley and Wayne Rooney got United’s goals to maintain a six-point lead at the top of the Barclays Premier League, but the Reds will feel that more should have been made of some excellent goalscoring opportunities, while in the second half David De Gea was the busier of the two goalkeepers. Nevertheless, this remains a positive follow-up to last weekend’s win at Manchester City. United’s control and attacking intent in the first half was impressive to watch. Michael Carrick was supreme in a first 45 minutes in which he dictated the game’s tempo and orchestrated attacks as team-mates buzzed aro...