As if the game needed any more drama, Saturday was to be the first game back for Luis Suarez, the Liverpool player who was suspended for 8 games after being found guilty of racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra the last time the two teams met.  Unfortunately, much of the pre-game talk was about Suarez and Evra, and Suarez fanned the flames when he refused to shake Evra’s hand in the pre-game lineup.

Despite the focus on the non-soccer aspects of the game, the on-field play was the real story of the day, as both teams played well and created a few chances in the first half.  Both teams were clearly up for the game, but kept their enthusiasm in check and there were none of the late or dangerous tackles that sometimes mar these types of games.  Neither team was able to convert any of their chances in the first 45 minutes, and the half ended at 0-0.

Sir Alex Ferguson again proved why he is one of the greatest coaches in the world, inspiring his team at halftime to shift up another gear in the second half.  Manchester United hit quickly in the beginning of the half, with Wayne Rooney grabbing two goals in the span of four minutes to stun Liverpool’s players, coaches, and fans.  The goals truly deflated Liverpool’s efforts, as United easily controlled the remainder of the half.  There was some excitement near the end, when Luis Suarez scored from a set play to bring Liverpool within one goal of United, but in the end the Red Devils held on for the 2-1 victory.

The three points put Manchester United in first place ahead of their closest geographical rivals, Manchester City.  Their stay on the top was short-lived, however, as City leapfrogged them after winning 1-0 at Aston Villa on Sunday.

But in the end, he chose to keep his family in Los Angeles and continue the work of promoting and expanding soccer in the US.  Not only does the Beckham family enjoy living in southern California, Beckham also wanted to return to Galaxy training camp as defending champions, and work toward defending their title.  Beckham also hopes continuing to play with Galaxy will help him achieve his goal of playing on the Great Britain Olympic Team this summer.

The Royal Mint in England is producing commemorative 2012 Olympics coins that have a diagram of the offside rule on the back.  The 50 Pence coins have sparked a reaction among current and former referees, who say the coins display an outdated version of the offside rule.  The rule was amended in 1995 to include “passive offside”, where a player in an offside position isn’t penalized until he interferes with the play.

The Mint says the coins were meant to “provoke discussion”.  Whether the coins ultimately help clarify the rule or confuse it only time will tell, but with half a million already in circulation, plenty of people are sure to be talking about the offside rule.

Who knew getting change at the store could be so educational?

United started well, and went ahead 1-0 on a Wayne Rooney header from an Antonio Valencia cross.  Shortly after, the game had a defining moment:  Vincent Kompany lunged at Nani and appeared to win the ball, but the referee saw it as a two-footed tackle and issued a straight red card to the City defender.  Manchester City players, management, and fans will feel that Kompany should have been allowed to stay on the field, but the referee saw it differently and City had to play the remainder of the game with 10 men.

United looked like they would put the game away in the first half as they scored two more goals.  Danny Welbeck made it 2-0 with a spectacular volley before Rooney put United up 3-0 when he finished his own rebound after his penalty kick was saved.  At that point it looked like United would exact revenge for the 6-1 loss to City earlier this season, but it turned out to be a much closer game than Sir Alex Ferguson and his players had hoped.

City came out of the gates strong in the second half, and Aleksandar Kolarov curled in a free kick in the opening 5 minutes to give them some hope.  Things got more nervous for United when the newly un-retired Paul Scholes gave the ball away and Sergio Aguero turned in James Milner’s cross to make the score 3-2.

There were more chances for both sides, but United held on for the win, and now advance to the FA Cup 4th Round where they will face Liverpool.

A moment to forget for Adam Bogdan.

On Wednesday Tim Howard became only the fourth goalkeeper in Premier League history to score a goal (10 points if you can name the other three without Googling).  Howard’s thundering clearance bounced over a stunned Adam Bogdan in the Bolton Wanderers goal.  The goal made Howard the first goalkeeper in Premier League History to score a goal from inside his own penalty area (the other three were scored from corner kicks in the opponents’ area).

The goal also means Howard is now tied for third on Everton’s scoring charts for this year, which is a rather sad commentary on their offensive power.  Indeed, they did go on to lose Wedensday’s game, as Bolton came back to win 2-1.

Next time Everton needs a goal, maybe they should consider dropping the ball back to Tim!

Thierry Henry to Arsenal.

Arsene Wenger has hinted that he wants to bring the Frenchman back to London on loan.  This move wouldn’t be unprecedented, with David Beckham and Landon Donovan both enjoying loan periods in Europe during recent MLS off-seasons.  Wenger is looking for someone to support Robin van Persie, who has almost single-handedly run Arsenal’s attack this season.  But what does this mean for the New York Red Bulls?  Could this be Henry’s way of getting his foot in the door for a potential permanent move back to Europe?

Gary Cahill to Arsenal or Chelsea.

The Bolton defender has been rumored to be headed to London, to either Arsenal or Chelsea, for a while now.  Will he finally make the move this January?  Chelsea in particular has looked in need of some support in the center-back area, and we all know Roman Abramovich isn’t afraid of spending money.

Carlos Tevez to anywhere but Manchester.

The Carlos Tevez saga was one of the big stories of 2011.  All parties concerned would like a quick resolution this January.  Tevez would enjoy seeing the field again, Roberto Mancini and Manchester City would love to be rid of Tevez’s issues, and another team would like to benefit from his skills on the soccer field.  But where will Tevez end up?  Milan?  Madrid?  Which team has the financial strength and the coaching personality to take a chance on him?

Jefferson Farfan to Atletico Madrid.

Farfan might not be as famous a name as some of the other players mentioned in this post, but the Peruvian is highly rumored to be on the move.  He has had success in two top European leagues, first in the Netherlands with PSV, and now in Germany with Shalke 04.  Atletico Madrid could be looking to bring in Farfan to supplement their attack, and since Farfan is nearing the end of his contract with Shalke, a January move may benefit both clubs.

David Beckham to Paris-Saint-Germain.

Beckham ended his five-year contract with MLS in the perfect way: By leading the LA Galaxy to the MLS Cup championship.  Now he’s looking for a new challenge, and chances are good his custom Predators will running on French grass in the near future.  But will he uproot his family and move them to Paris?  If he is willing to go, and can agree to contract terms, he could be making his debut for the ambitious Parisian team within a couple of weeks.

Barcelona’s quality has been well-documented over the last few seasons as the Catalans have won pretty much everything in sight.  Their momentum has carried into this season, and their recent victory over Real Madrid has put them in first place La Liga.  Barcelona boasts a roster of incredible talent, but their main man is undoubtedly Lionel Messi.  Yes, he has a fantastic supporting cast, but he has shown time and time again why he is the most dangerous player in the world.   With all of the individual and team awards Messi has won in his career, it’s easy to forget that he is just 24 years old.  He will be looking to add a second Club World Cup title to his impressive list of accomplishments.

Barcelona overcame Al-Sadd 4-0 on Wednesday in the semi-finals, but it wasn’t all good news for the Spaniards.  David Villa faces some time on the sideline after breaking his leg during the game.

Barcelona’s opponents on Sunday will be South American champion Santos FC.  Santos is no stranger to success, and is perhaps most famous for being Pele’s former team.  Santos currently has two of Brazil‘s most promising young players in Neymar and Paulo Henrique Ganso.  Both Ganso and Neymar are well-known for their attacking play, and they have the YouTube highlight reels to prove it.  Both players have been highly linked with transfers to big European teams, with Real Madrid and AC Milan being mentioned as possible destinations.  But so far Santos has been able to hold onto its prized assets, and will be hoping that their young guns can overcome the Barca winning machine.

Will Sunday be another feather in Messi’s cap, or will it be the springboard that launches Neymar’s European adventure?  Messi and Barcelona are the favorites of course, but don’t count Neymar’s Santos out…they just might surprise the European Champions.

Luckily for England fans and soccer in general, UEFA did just that and ruled in the Manchester United striker’s favor as his thee match ban was reduced to two games. The reduction in punishment means Rooney will be available for selection when England faces host nation Ukraine in their final group stage match in Donetsk. While the third match of the ban has been temporarily lifted, it will be re-imposed if Rooney is guilty of violent conduct any time in the next four years. The amended punishment also includes Rooney spending a day to support a UEFA project.

While originally ruled an “assault” which carries an automatic three match ban, it is believed that Rooney’s team of lawyers used Andrei Arshavin’s two match ban for a nearly identical offence in 2008 as basis for reducing the classification of the red card.

After we got a peek at what looks to be the new 2012 US Men’s Home Jersey from yesterday, the guys over at FootballShirtCulture.com have now posted these images of the new Holland Away Jersey that will be worn at EURO 2012. As we can see from the pictures, the jersey will be black with orange panel on the right chest, coming down from the right shoulder. Similar to the on-field 2012 Manchester United jersey, this latest Holland jersey features bonded seems and a flip up reverse colored sleeve cuff.

Stay tuned here for more information and images when the jersey is officially launched by Nike.

With all the excitement around recent launches for EURO 2012 products including the adidas Tango 12 match ball, US soccer fans may be feeling a little left out with their team not participating in the all European competition. While the yanks won’t be in Poland and Ukraine this summer playing against Europe’s best, they will be qualifying for Brazil 2014 in what looks to be a very patriotic new home jersey from Nike.

FootballShirtCulture.com has posted what looks to be leaked pictures of the new USA Home Jersey 2012/2013 to be worn by Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey and the guys. This latest USA home jersey is a departure from the sash design and makes the move to a bold red/white hoop design resembling the American fla.