AS Roma blew their chance to defeat Inter Milan giving up a goal in the 88th minute and it may have ended any chance they had at catching Inter in the Soccer Betting Serie A standings. Inter holds a nine-point lead on Roma with 13 rounds remaining, and the teams do not meet again this season. “It’s a draw that’s worth as much as a victory, for the way it came about,” Inter coach Roberto Mancini said.

Javier Zanetti scored in the 88th-minute to keep Inter undefeated this season.
“We’ve got a pretty good lead but we’ve got to keep going,” Zanetti said. “We still need to improve our form, because we’re not at our best.” Roma had taken the lead on a goal from Francesco Totti in the 38th minute. Inter had just missed earlier when Hernan Crespo hit one off the post. Inter was down to 10 men after losing Maxwell but Roma defender Philippe Mexes picked up his second yellow card that evened things up. Inter nearly scored in the 87th minute but Roma goalkeeper Alexander Doni made the save but he couldn’t stop Zanetti a minute later.

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“We certainly could have closed out the match before, because we created a lot of chances,” Roma coach Luciano Spalletti said. “But we needed to be careful because they had three strikers on and we couldn’t get out of balance.” Inter was without their two top strikers Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Julio Ricardo Cruz due to injury.

Read more on Football Betting Results: Inter Milan and AS Roma play to 1-1 Draw

Bayern Munich advanced to the semifinals of the Soccer Betting German Cup by beating second-division rival 1860 Munich 1-0 on Wednesday as they scored on a penalty in extra time. Bayern was already down to ten men when the penalty was called. The penalty was disputed and very controversial. Franck Ribery scored on the penalty and Bayern advanced. The replays showed that Bayern’s Miroslav Klose was brought down outside the penalty area.

It was not a pretty game but Bayern advanced. “They made life very difficult for us,” Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld said. Bayern had lost their top striker Luca Toni when he was sent off in the 84th minute with his second yellow card of the game. Benjamin Schwarz was sent off for Munich in the 111th minute. Bayern totally outplayed Munich and had the far better chances in the game. Tony Kroos shot high in the 36th minute and Mark van Bommel’s shot was stopped by Munich’s goalkeeper Philipp Tschauner. They also had a chance in extra time but Philipp Lahm was wide with his shot. It appeared the game was headed to a penalty shootout when Klose was brought down and the penalty called. Ribery easily put the ball in the net after a great fake. In the last couple of minutes Thorandt was sent off and Bayern finished with nine players.

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Other German Cup results had Wolfsburg winning in extra time as midfielder Marcelinho scored in to give Wolfsburg the 2-1 win over Hamburger SV. Grafite scored from a penalty kick in the 17th minute to put the home team ahead.

Read more on Football Betting Results: Bayern Munich Advances in German Cup

Tottenham shocked Chelsea to win the Soccer Betting Carling Cup (League Cup) 2-1 in extra time as defender Jonathan Woodgate scored the game winner. Didier Drogba had scored in the first half to give Chelsea the lead and it looked like it would hold up until a second-half penalty from Dimitar Berbatov tied the game. It didn’t take long in extra time before Woodgate scored and Tottenham won their first trophy in more than 10 years.

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Chelsea manager Avram Grant faced more scrutiny after leaving out Germany captain Michael Ballack and England midfielder Joe Cole. The win by Tottenham was not a fluke though as they dominated much of the match. They could have scored first but Pascal Chimbonda’s header hit the far post. Tottenham continued to dominate the early play and should have had the lead. Instead it was Chelsea that scored first after a couple of penalties. Drogba scored on a free kick as goalkeeper Paul Robinson was out of position.

That seemed to inspire Chelsea as they played better and took that 1-0 lead into the 69th minute. Chelsea’s Wayne Bridge was said to have handled the ball and a penalty was called. Striker Berbatov stepped up for Tottenham and connected to tie the game.

Read more on Soccer Betting Results: Tottenham Wins Carling Cup

A seemingly safe lead of nine points in the Spanish League has dwindled to five for Real Madrid. FC Barcelona is rolling over everyone and is looking like a serious threat. Madrid has 56 points in first place, Barcelona has 51 and sits in second with Villarreal at 43 points in third and Atletico Madrid with 41 points in fourth.

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Barcelona has not lost this year in 11 games including a 3-2 Champions League win at Celtic on Wednesday. Barcelona has some serious talent with Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry, Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto’o. The win against Celtic was impressive. “It was one of our best games of the year,” captain Carles Puyol said. “We’ve rediscovered the pressure in our play that we did well in other seasons, and you can see the difference.” Barcelona has the leading scorer in Europe in Lionel Messi. Henry and Ronaldinho are also looking good.

The pressure is starting to mount on Real Madrid. “A week ago, everyone was saying the league was ours,” Madrid defender Gabriel Heinze said. “I don’t care about Barcelona. I have a lot of work to do on my team, which is the only one I think about.” Madrid is coming off a loss to AS Rosma and they are dealing with injuries. They were missing Robinho and Wesley Sneijder upfront and Pepe on defense. Madrid has to play their rival, Getafe on Sunday.

Read more on Soccer Betting Tips: FC Barcelona Gaining on Real Madrid

Chelsea will defend their League Cup title as they host Tottenham on Sunday. Manager Avram Grant is trying to win his first title since taking over as manager in September. Chelsea is in the running to win four titles, the League Cup, the FA Cup, the Champions League and the Premier League. Sunday’s game against Tottenham is an excellent chance for Chelsea to win a title. They have owned Tottenham in the past, losing only two matches in the last 18 years. Grant rested captain John Terry in the Soccer Betting Champions League on Tuesday in the draw against Olympiakos and Frank Lampard played just a few minutes. “It will be a very difficult game, considering Tottenham are in good form and they are very excited to be in a final against Chelsea,” Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard said. “We have to make sure we’re on guard, as they have a lot of threats in their team going forward.”

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Chelsea is the favorite in the game at SBG Global. They are about a 2-1 favorite on the money line with a total of 2.5 under. Tottenham is trying to win their first trophy in over 10 years. History will not be on their side against Chelsea in the final. “We know Chelsea are a good team and probably go into the final as favorites because they are higher up in the league table than us,” Tottenham manager Juande Ramos said. “But anything can happen in football, and we need to play with the maximum level of concentration.”

Read more on Soccer Betting Tips: Chelsea vs Tottenham in League Cup Final

The second leg of UEFA Cup Round of 32 action gets underway on Thursday with Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid and Marseille looking to advance. Many of Europe’s top teams are trying to balance out resting players with important competitions looming or playing top players in the UEFA Cup and trying to advance.

Bayer Leverkusen drew 0-0 last week at Galatasaray and will look to win the second leg at home but will be without striker Dmitri Bulykin. Atletico must overcome a 1-0 deficit against Bolton and they will have to do it without winger Simao Sabrosa. Marseille is in good shape leading 3-0 but they will not have Benoit Cheyrou when they play the second leg at Spartak Moscow on Thursday.

The favorite to win the Soccer Betting UEFA Cup is Bayern Munich. They got a 2-2 draw against Aberdeen in the first leg and are heavily favored to win the return match. “If we got a result it would be historic,” Aberdeen manager Jimmy Calderwood said. “We have to win the game or get a high-scoring draw, but we can always dream.”

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