A Manchester Derby in the English Premier League is never typical. You can’t count on anything or which team will come out on top. What you can bet your money on, however, is that it’s gonna be one hell of a ride. The derby that took place today between Manchester United and Manchester City did not disappoint in that regard.

Was it ugly? Hell yes it was. I mean, these two are the biggest rivals in the world. Everyone tunes in to a Manchester Derby.

It was intense. A brace from Wayne Rooney in the first half, and Manchester City roaring back to tie it up in the second, with goals from Yaya Toure in the 60th minute and Pablo Zabaleta with five minutes to spare in the game.

But it would be the final goal of the match that had me grinning the brightest – and no, not just because I’m a United fan and it was the goal that won the match. No, it was how the goal went in that made me smile.

United’s Rafael was fouled just outside the box about two minutes into stoppage time for the game, giving United a dying chance with a free kick. Of course, new man Robin Van Persie stepped up to take the shot. As the ball barreled toward goal, it nicked off City’s Samir Nasri before lodging in the back of the net.

And this is why I grinned, because the second player I dislike in the league is Nasri (behind Tevez, of course). So to see United’s winning goal get a little flick off of Nasri was definitely worth the agony of being tied 2-2 with City.

However, not all the drama in the match was game related, unfortunately. Most of it came right at the end thanks to some unruly fans and a few words between United boss Sir Alex Ferguson and City’s Tevez. It all started when United were celebrating Van Persie’s goal. As the  players celebrated, a fan threw an object on to the field, which hit MUFC defender Rio Ferdinand right above the eye and of course drew blood.

Then it was if the flood gates banged open. A fan rushed the pitch and City keeper Joe Hart had to restrain him so that security officers could remove the fan from the pitch.

Then the heated words between SAF and Tevez, which I’m sure were interesting. I would have actually loved to have heard what the gaffer said to his former player. That was about the time the ref decided he might want to end the match.

Overall, another incredibly intense derby took place today. I swear, this get more and more crazy with every meeting. I can’t wait to see what happens in the next one!

Check out all the goals from today’s match here, and even the moment when Ferdinand gets nicked. You can’t see the object, but you can definitely tell it was something that ticked him off!

http://youtu.be/IJd-5-xUMp4

Did you know that more Americans are watching top international soccer matches than ever before?  Yes, it WAS rhetorical and also not surprising to football fanatics like us, but it’s good for those less passionate or informed Americans to know – so spread the word!   Besides that remarkable data, today’s Daily Kick Around is chock-full of soccer news for your mid-week fix.  Headlines include Fabrice Muamba’s return to Reebok Stadium, a new head coach named for England and so much more.  Get over your Wednesday hump and read on for the exciting soccer news of the day.

English Premier League

A warm welcome back to Fabrice Muamba, who will attend his first Premier League event since his cardiac arrest occurred March 17.  The Bolton midfielder has made a remarkably quick recovery but is uncertain about his football career at this time.  We’ve missed you!

EPL Results

Liverpool 0 – 1 Fulham

Stoke City 1 – 1 Everton

Everton fans were hoping for a win last night, but a single point is still satisfying considering Liverpool lost to Fulham on the same night.  Everton is currently in seventh place, only three points above their Merseyside rivals with only two weeks left in the season.  Everton may well finish above the 18-time champions for the first time.  Dig it out to the end Toffees!

Today’s EPL Fixtures

Chelsea v New Castle United

Bolton v Tottenham

The Football Association made a surprising announcement today.  They named West Brom manager Gary Hodgeson as the new manager for England on a four-year contract.  Most people predicted Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp would get the job, but the FA insisted Hodgeson was their first choice.

This year, more US television viewers tuned in to the highest level of football than last year.  Both Champions League semi-final matches and Monday’s Manchester Derby averaged over a million viewers, up 29% from 2011.  American’s have been a bit slow to embrace the sport with the same passion as the rest of the world, but this is a good sign in the right direction.

Serie A

Last night’s win over Palermo puts Napoli firmly into the third place position in the Italian league and gives them the final Champions League berth.  Their 2-0 victory broke a four-way tie and gives them the opportunity to return to Europe’s top competition next season after a stellar performance this year.

La Liga Results

Getafe 1 – 1 Santander

Granada 2 – 1 Espanyol

Gijon 2 – 3 Villareal

Tonight’s La Liga Fixtures

Atletico v Sociedad

Barcelona v Malaga

Mallorca v Vallecana

Zaragoza v Levante

Sevilla v Betis

A Bilbao v Real Madrid

Valencia v Osasuna

It was just a couple of weeks ago that it seemed Manchester United had the EPL title wrapped up. Oh how quickly the tides have turned. Today was easily the biggest match of the season, the Manchester Derby. With Manchester City just three points behind United in the title race, a win today would bring them level.

And that’s exactly what they did.

The game winner came from Vincent Kompany in stoppage time right before the end of the first half. United had been holding City off well, but Kompany was left unmarked in the middle of the box. He buried the corner kick from David Silva, with a powerful header into the back of the net. 1-0 City right before the break.

The second half saw the Red Devils try desperately to find the equalizer, but they could not. The most exciting part of the match was a sideline shot of Sir Alex Ferguson and Roberto Mancini jabbering at each other, complete with chatter box hand gestures. Comical. I was waiting to see old Fergie swing one at Mancini, but it was all talk.

At the final whistle, it was City with the1-0 win, picking up the three points they needed to draw level with United. Because of an advantage in goal differential, all City has to do is win the final two games of the season, and the title is theirs. The Red Devils must pray that City’s opponents give them a little help, or their hopes of a winning their 20th EPL title this season are over.

I gotta say, as I swallow my bitter pill, City were on it tonight and clearly the better team. But I can’t help but think – If Valenica and Welbeck had started, would we have seen a little different game? I guess we’ll never know…

Oh dear lord, soccer fans, it’s Derby Day in Manchester!!! Even if you aren’t a fan of the Blues and Red Devils, you have got to be itching for this game just as much as we are. Today, we’ve got the countdown to the big event, plus Arsenal’s newest signing and maybe, quite p

English Premier League

Is there any rivalry in EPL as big as Manchester United v. Manchester City? You never know what to expect, but you know it’s going to be big! Ryan Giggs is excited about, I’m excited about and I’m sure you are too! This game could shift everything in the league – and I’m not just being dramatic. A United win would clench the 20th league title championship for the Red Devils. A City win could very well put them at top and crush their cross–town rivals. What ever happens, don’t miss a minute of it! Kick off is at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN. You might want to call in sick this afternoon for this one!

Arsenal fans, rejoice!!! Lukas Podolski – the German sensation – has committed to joining the Gunners during the summer transfer season.

Podolski, who has 95 caps, said: “I’m so happy to be joining Arsenal and the Premier League. They are one of the top clubs in Europe with a huge history.

Congrats to Podoloski and Arsenal. Can’t wait to see what he brings to the team next year.

England National Team

The big news this weekend and today, behind the derby, was the news that West Brom told the FA they could interview manager Roy Hodgson for the job of England National Team manager.  Hodgson arrived in Wembley today for the interview and – as a friend put it – he looked as excited as a puppy being taken for a walk. If you are surprised by the choice, you’ll have something in common with Harry Redknapp, Tottenham manager, who kinda thought he was gonna get the call up. Oh well!

Major League Soccer

It was all about the late game winners this weekend in MLS. Just ask our own Alyssa Olszewski, who’s San Jose Earthquakes had a nice little stoppage time win.

Who doesn’t love the Goal of the Week vote? Week 8′s nominees are up! Go vote!!!

English Premier League

Getting excited for the Manchester Derby tomorrow? United’s Ryan Giggs sure is. It’s his 35th appearance in the series, and he says “it is games like this which give him the desire to keep on playing” and he’s confident that United will win:

“I’m sure they will be fancying themselves to win because they’re a good team and they’re at home.

“But obviously the scenarios are more in our favour than City. We’re Manchester United, we’re the champions and we’ll try and put out a statement that we deserve to win this league.”

Ian Darke, who will be calling the game for ESPN, says however that the only sure thing “is that it will be a dramatic and manic Monday.”

Major League Soccer

The New York Red Bulls got back on track with a 1-0 win over the New England Revolution yesterday, with the lone goal scored by none other than Thierry Henry. But RBNY didn’t leave the field celebrating. Henry injured his hamstring in just the 25th minute and will be out for the next 3-4 weeks.

Poor Toronto FC just can’t catch a break. They suffered their seventh straight defeat to start the season, allowing a stoppage-time goal to Real Salt Lake to fall 3-2.

And speaking of game winning stoppage time goals, San Jose pulled one off in the 93rd minute, off the head of Stephen Lenhart, to best the Union. After opening the season with a loss, San Jose hasn’t lost since.

 Serie A

Congratulations to Juventus, whose  4-0 win over Novara extended their unbeaten streak to 35. ESPN’s Paul Carr notes on Twitter that this is the first time a Serie A club has done so to start a season.

U.S. Women’s National Team

The road to gold for the USWNT will be a familiar one. The Olympic group draws were announced this week, and the U.S. has been seeded into Group G along with France, Columbia and Korea DPR. In the group stage of the 2011 Women’s World Cup, the U.S. faced Korea DPR and Columbia, winning 2-0 and 3-0, respectively. They faced France in the semifinals, advancing to the final with a 3-1 win.

The USA-France match on July 25 will be the marquee opening game for the women’s soccer competition at the Olympics. France qualified for the Olympics by virtue of its top-two finish among European teams at the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup but lost its last two games to the USA in the semifinal and to Sweden in the third-place match. The USA is 12-0-1 all-time against France, a team thought by many to be one of the best attacking sides at the Women’s World Cup.

Remember when Alex Morgan fans were clamoring for her to start, and Pia Sundhage claimed that her best role was off the bench late – that her style wouldn’t work for a full 90 minutes? That was only a few short months ago, and yet seems like it’s been ages. Morgan hassolidified her role in the starting eleven, scoring early, scoring late, pretty much doing it all. And when you look at her numbers, it’s apparent that Morgan’s success is not going to be short-lived. In Part I of a two part series for NBC Sports, Jenna Pel breaks down the stats behind Morgan’s international goals and how they were scored. In Part II, Pel compares Morgan’s 22 goals in 38 caps to other members of the current national team squad and the top five goal scorers in U.S. women’s soccer history. Using the word “impressive” to describe her career so far doesn’t do it justice.