Chelsea bested by Napoli in Italy
Soccer Betting Lines
02/21/2012 - Naples, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chelsea's Champions League aspirations took a major hit on Tuesday as it suffered a 3-1 loss to Napoli in the first leg at the Stadio San Paolo.
The Blues opened the scoring through Juan Mata in the 27th minute but proceeded to surrender three unanswered goals as the visitors were picked were picked apart by Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi.
Chelsea took the lead after a mistake in the center of defense helped Mata get through on goal.
Daniel Sturridge played a centering pass at the top of the box and Napoli captain Paolo Cannavaro botched the clearance, letting the Spanish youngster collect possession before slipping a shot past Morgan De Sanctis.
Napoli responded before the halftime break to the tune of two goals as the lethal combination of Lavezzi and Cavani helped the home side get in front.
Lavezzi leveled the score in the 38th minute as the Argentine collected a pass from Cavani just outside the box. Lavezzi was given the freedom to advance the ball slightly before he curled a brilliant, uncontested effort past Petr Cech's far post.
Cavani then assumed the role of scorer just before the break as the Uruguayan met a cross at the back post and clipped the ball past Cech for his fifth goal of the Champions League season.
The duo connected for Napoli's third goal of the night in the 65th minute. Cavani tracked down a long ball and slipped by David Luiz. The Uruguayan attracted Cech out of position and played a square ball to Lavezzi, who calmly slotted the ball into the empty net for his second of the match.
Napoli will take a two-goal aggregate lead back to Stamford Bridge for the second leg on March 14. Chelsea's away goal gives the club a glimmer of hope to advance, but it will need at least a 2-0 win to advance to the quarterfinals.
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The seco
Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence
Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.
Work left to do:
Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.
Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.
DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...
West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.
Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.
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