The Reds fall against the Blues at Anfield

Sports - Football - Premier League - Liverpool 0:2 Chelsea

Liverpool blew the Premier League title race wide open again, after frustratingly falling to their first defeat of the calendar year, 0-2 against Chelsea at Anfield.

Jose Mourinho's men took advantage of two errors at the end of each half, giveaways which saw them leave Merseyside with two goals and three points.

Despite missing keeper Petr Cech and defender John Terry due to injury and midfielder Ramires banned, the Blues kept a strong back line, slowing Brendan Rodgers' men down, keeping them frustrated by holding them back, no matter how much possession or pressure the Reds held against their visitors.

So, when non-other than veteran skipper Steven Gerrard slipped and gave away the ball to Demba Ba, the striker made no mistake and beat Red keeper Simon Mignolet one-on-one, cool as you want, seconds before the break, it was just what Mourinho ordered, taking the lead against the run of play.

The hosts kept pressing after the break, Joe Allen seeing his smacker of a shot saved by stand-in keeper Mark Schwarzer just before the hour-mark.

But no matter how much and how hard the Reds pushed, the London side kept solid.

In one of the few blue attacks, Andre Schurrle was denied by a nice Mignolet stop.

LFC huffed and puffed, but never crossed the line, metaphorically and literally speaking.

With seconds to go, Chelsea took advantage of another giveaway, this time by Daniel Sturridge, non-other than former Red Fernando Torres and Willian breaking forward, the latter slotting in the prior's return-ball comfortably from close range, to double the score and hammer the nail into the Ref coffin.

The Reds, without suspended Jordan Henderson and ineligible Victor Moses, despite dominating in all areas and stat tables, fell to their first league defeat of the calendar year, and the first since the Blues beat them at Stamford Bridge after Christmas.

Chelsea meanwhile, completed the double over Liverpool, ending their 11-game winning streak, and closing the gap to the top of the table to two points, with two games to go.

Both sides will hope City will slip up, too... The race is heating up hotter than hot...

Liverpool 0-2 Chelsea

Chelsea Goals: 1.: 47:32min Demba Ba (19), 2.: 93:00 Willian (22).

Liverpool Team: 22 Mignolet; 38 Flanagan (9 Aspas 81'), 17 Sakho, 37 Skrtel, 2 Johnson; 24 Allen, 8 Gerrard, 21 Lucas (15 Sturridge 58'); 10 Coutinho, 7 Suarez, 31 Sterling. 4-3-3

Subs not used: 1 Jones, 4 Toure, 5 Agger, 6 Luis Alberto.

Chelsea Team: 23 Schwarzer; 3 Cole (booked 93'), 33 Kalas, 2 Ivanovic, 28 Azpilicueta; 21 Matic, 12 Mikel; 14 Schurrle (23 Cahill 77'), 8 Lampard (booked 42'), 15 Salah (booked 21') (22 Willian 60'); 19 Ba (9 Torres 84') (booked 93'). 4-2-3-1

Subs not used: 16 van Ginkel, 27 Ake, 40 Hilario, 47 Baker.

1st & 2nd half Match Stats: Liverpool-Chelsea

Attempts: 8-6 & 18-5

On target: 0-2 & 8-2

Offsides: 1-0 & 0-0

Corners: 6-3 & 8-0

Free kicks: 4-6 & 3-3

Possession: 69%-31% & 73%-27%

Opta Match Stats: Liverpool-Chelsea

(Attack)

Attempts: 26-11

On target: 8-4
Blocked: 7-4

From outside the box: 21-6

From inside the box: 5-5

Shot accuracy: 42.1%-57.1%

(General Play)

Possession: 73%-27%
Duals won: 47.9%-52.1%

Aerials won: 37.8%-62.2%

Interceptions: 5-14

Offsides: 1-0

Corners: 14-3

(Distribution)

Total passes: 624-226

Long passes: 9.6%-20.8%

Passing accuracy: 85.9%-67.7%

Pass.Acc.Opp.Half: 76.8%-62.3%

Total Crosses: 39-6

Successful: 17.9%-16.7%

(Defence & Discipline)

Tackles: 23-19

Won: 69.6%-68.4%

Clearances: 22-54

Fowls conceded: 9-7

Yellow cards: 0-4

Red cards: 0-0

Referee: Martin Atinkson

Attendance: 44,726

Man of the match: Demba Ba

Week 6: Premier League Tops & Flops

Sports - Football - Premier League - Picks of the Weekend

OMG!

Manchester City's Sergio Aguero believes referees are treating foreign players differently to their home-grown counterparts and is aggrieved at their treatment. I understand where he is coming from after his side were denied two spot kicks during their 2-1 win at Fulham, referee Mark Halsey refusing shouts from Aguero's countrymen Carlos Tevez and Pablo Zabaleta. Liverpool's Luis Suarez is regularly in the spotlight as the referee's villain, this week again being denied a penalty against Norwich after Leon Barnett's challenge on the Uruguayan. But guess why they are treated differently? Because they are different! It is the overseas players who introduced this kind of drama into the well-known-to-be-more-physical English game. All this diving and whining has increased notably in the last 15-20 years, with the rise of foreign players on the transfer and team lists. So, what can they do to receive more credit from the officials? Quit the drama and play the game! Ok, the referee's should not be prejudice and be able to assess each situtation individually and seperately. But they are only human too! When they see those drama queens week in, week out, you cannot blame them for not believing every act they see! Again, just quit the drama and play the game and the officials will follow the rules!

WOW!

Andre Villas-Boas will have a big smile on his face after outsmarting the great Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford. It was a game of two halves though, Tottenham outplaying Manchester United and preying on their frailties in the first half, but then falling to bits in the second. The visitors went two goals ahead early on through Jan Vertonghen and Gareth Bale and were in total control until the restart when Wayne Rooney was introduced. Then came 139 seconds of madness, United pulling two back through Nani and Shinji Kagawa but Clint Dempsey netting one inbetween for the London side and holding onto the lead. The Red Devils laid siege onto the Tottenham goal, but Spurs held on for the win, making their future under the young Portuguese manager look so much brighter by the week. Both sides showed their strength and weaknesses, fight and leaks, making it an interesting encounter and result.

TOP!

Manchester City once again showed what champions are made of, turning a scoreline around and game on its head. Eventhough it was not their best performance, they got the three points from it, which is the main thing!

Liverpool finally got the goals they needed! Eventhough their back line was frail as ever, they finally were able to convert their chances, which they usually have in abundance, but just were not able to get onto the scoreboard. No problem this time.
And last but not least, Chelsea outplayed Arsenal, the Gunners gunned down by Roberto Di Matteo's new stylish Blues. After Roman Abramovich saw his side finally win the Champions League after watching them battle and scrap their way up, the Russian billionaire wants his side to win trophies in style and has given Di Matteo the freedom and tools to do so. So far so good, I have to say.

FLOP!

Arsenal were shambles! City did not look much better to be honest, but were able to turn things around. The biggest difference between the two is the strength and depth, the latter have double the number of players to fall back on whilst Arsenal try to hold on to the same old philosophy that has not won them much over the last years. I am not saying they should become big spenders, but there is an inbetween! They can at least try to fill the gaps and strengthen the weak spots, otherwise their youngsters will not have much of a platform to play on for much longer!

HERO!

Suarez' hat-trick showed his doubters that he can be a top striker. The Uruguayan striker also set up another goal, missed a sitter and was denied a penalty, as mentioned above. The scoreline could have been 2-10 at Carrow Road, but the main thing for Brendan Rodgers will be the win, the first three-pointer for the Reds. The sweeter it was though with five goals.

It took Edin Dzeko 40 seconds to put his name on the scoreboard and score the winner for Manchester City at Fulham. City were all over the place when Fulham took the lead early on thanks to Mladen Petric's penalty after Zabaleta was adjudged to have fouled John Arne Riise with the slightest of touches. Then something clicked and City pulled one back thanks to Aguero's tap in off David Silva's rebound. Then the Bosnian came on, robbed Brede Hangeland of the ball and rifled his effort past Mark Schwarzer, the best ingredients for a super-sub.
And Chelsea's Juan Mata was a pain in the neck and feet for Arsenal. The 24-year-old taunted the Gunners from start to finish, creating the first goal for Fernando Torres and scoring the second with the help of Laurent Koscielny's deflection. A match-winner-and-a-half. Or two.
 
ZERO!

Demba Ba's double levelled the score for Newcastle at Reading, so you would expect his name in the previous category. His first goal was heroic, firing home Cheik Tiote's pass. But his second goal, which earned the Toons a point, went in off his right arm! It was a Diego-Maradona/Thierry-Henry-style goal, all officials missed and everyone (from Tyneside in this case) tries to excuse as "you would not have done it differently". That does not make it better or a valid goal! See what the rule book says! FOOTball not HANDball!!! I cannot wait for video-referees to be introduced... Same old discussion... How many more decades and unjust incidents and goals have to pass and happen until we can use the technology we have to eradicate them?!

My Predictions => Actual Results
Arsenal 2-2 Chelsea => 1-2
Everton 2-0 Southampton => 3-1
Fulham 1-1 Man City => 1-2
Norwich 0-3 Liverpool => 2-5
Reading 1-2 Newcastle => 2-2
Stoke 1-1 Swansea => 2-0
Sunderland 1-1 Wigan => 1-0
Man United 4-1 Tottenham => 2-3
Aston Villa 1-2 West Brom => 1-1
QPR 0-1 West Ham => 1-2

Week 3: Premier League Tops & Flops

Sports - Football - Premier League - Picks of the Weekend 

This weekend ended a window/month/week/day of transfer madness and saw only nine Premier League games as Chelsea played Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup on Friday. But still, all these games had plenty to shout about with 28 goals, 243 shots, 88 corners, three penalties (two scored, one saved), 177 fouls, 24 bookings and two red cards! Here are my best and worst picks:

OMG!

What a goal to equalise for Newcastle!!! Centre-half Cieran Clark scored opener for Villa, what a comeback for his side after seeing red last weekend and serving his suspension in midweek. It looked too easy, no defender was anywhere near when Barry Bannan's cross from the left was headed in.

Hatem Ben Arfa then produced a sensational right-foot rocket, stunning smacker from outside the box to equalise for the Toons after Demba Ba went down, claiming fowl play. What a hit!
And United's comeback was a classic. But even for them it's a record, it was the first time since 1996 the Red Devils came back from two goals down after 85 minutes!

WOW!

The Saints were superb against United! They will have been gutted to find themselves pointless at the bottom of the table at the end of the day. The results have been harsh on the promoted side, their performances impressing and encouraging much in contrast to the scoreboard and results so far. I am sure things will turn for the better for Southampton and they will not have to worry about the drop if they continue this way and style of play.

TOP!

It was a contrasting weekend for the top three Chelsea, Swansea, West Brom - the league leaders and Champions League winners were shamed and thrashed by Atletico Mardid in the UEFA Super Cup.

Neil Taylor went off injured and Chico Flores was sent off for the Swans in their 2-2 draw against Sunderland. Steven Fletcher's double for the visitors was levelled thanks to the fighting Swans, Wayne Routledge with a smacker and Miguel Michu with a header. It was a point hard fought for.
Shane Long gave West Brom the lead off Peter Odemwingie 1-0 and Gareth McAuley made it 2-0 off a corner, fine times for The Baggies.

FLOP!

The two clubs from Merseyside will be very frustrated after this weekend, both going back home pointless and a lot to scratch their heads about! They will be glad to have the international break to be able to go back into the training room and put chalk and changes to the board.

HERO!

Robin van Persie - whoever had their doubts the Dutch striker would be able to fit in and produce at United, well, they can eat their words and throw their predictions out the window! A hat-trick later, who said anything after he missed the spot-kick??? Not me, no, never... :-P

Tottenham's Brad Friedel created a brilliant double save against Robert Snodgrass, earning his side a draw against Norwich. Breathtaking stuff!

ZERO!

Liverpool will mourn missed chances and missing players once again! And Pepe Reina slipped and flopped AGAIN! What's going on with the Spaniard! Brendan Rodgers will have been fuming at the end of deadline day, Andy Carroll out on loan and Liverpool unable to fork out the money to strengthen their attack. Stats speak for themselves... weekend analysis

Tottenham's Tom Huddlestone's sending off for his two-footed tackle on Norwich's Jonny Howson was very harsh as it did not look intentional or with any force. Unlike Chico's stupid kick into Louis Saha's head! Swansea can't have any complaints against that dismissal!

TRANSFER MADNESS!!!

Over £480 million were spent by all Premier League clubs counted together, Chelsea being top spenders with nearly £80 million whilst West Brom finish the list at the bottom after having only spent £3 million. Tottenham, Man City, Man United and Arsenal complete the top five, the Gunners having spent not even half of Chelsea's shopping total! Full table => Totaliser table

My Predictions => Actual Results:
West Ham 2-2 Fulham => 3-0
Swansea 2-0 Sunderland => 2-2
Tottenham 1-0 Norwich => 1-1
West Brom 1-0 Everton => 2-0
Wigan 1-1 Stoke => 2-2
Man City 3-1 QPR => 3-1
Liverpool 1-1 Arsenal => 0-2
Newcastle 2-0 Aston Villa => 1-1
Southampton 0-2 Man United => 2-3

Week 10: Premier League Tops and Flops

Sports - Football - Premier League - Picks of the Week

Top game: With 38 goals in total, all 10 games had their spoils of action and entertainment, but my vote goes to the big London derby between Chelsea and Arsenal. Stamford Bridge saw eight goals, five bookings, a lucky goalkeeper in Wojciech Szczesny and loads of missed chances including some good saves at both ends. It could have been 10 goals each!

Top team: Newcastle continued their high ride with their win at Stoke, taking them up to third, just one point behind Manchester United! They are definitely in the top four race with more than a shout, joining an impressive Tottenham (with a game in hand!), adamant Arsenal and persistent Liverpool. Chelsea have to watch out!

Top player: Robin van Persie pinned down his mark on the game and team with his hat-trick at Stamford Bridge, if it needed any further consolidation. It just shows what he is for Arsenal, that he IS Arsenal, the question is whether he will stay put or go and condemn his team to doom. With his second hat-trick of the season, Demba Ba needs a shout out too again, riding high like his side, the sky is the limit.

Top goal: Juan Mata's equaliser to make it 3-3 was breathtaking. The 25-yard swerver looked to grab Chelsea a point with only 10 minutes left on the clock, but van Persie and Arsenal had another idea. Both sides' first goals at Carrow Road were stunners. Junior Hoilett put Rovers ahead with a sweet 20-yard finish before Steve Morison's smashing strike drew Norwich level. And that just got the game started!

Top news: Plenty of Champions League action this week, the week which marks Sir Alex Fergusons 25th anniversary at Old Trafford!


Flop game: Both Chelsea's and Arsenal's defence had a nightmare of a day, the prior letting in five, the latter "only" three. The back line rarely got it right, leaving too big gaps, giving away too easy chances, hence the scoreline. As mentioned above it could have been 10-10 the way the defenders were going!

Flop team: Chelsea have to be careful they do not slip and end up too far away of grabbing a top four spot after two consecutive defeats. It is not just the fact they have lost two games in a row that is all too worrying, but the way and it what fashion they lost them. The were taken to pieces by Arsenal this week and crumbled to bits against QPR last week with two players seeing red! They will not want to see a repeat of either!

Flop player: As mentioned above, Szczesny was a lucky man not to see red for his tackle on Ashley Cole outside the box (as he confessed himself on twitter), but John Terry added to his shame after the whole racism debacle when he slipped and missed Florent Malouda's pass for van Persie to slot in his second and Arsenal fourth, condemning the Blues to another defeat.

Flop goal: As mentioned above, Terry's slip up was a cringer but the last-minute handball penalty given against Steven N'Zonzi was just outright cruel! The Blackburn defender was squeezed between two Norwich players and put his hands up to appeal for a free kick. He did not see the ball and could not help it bounce of his arm, HARSH penalty and harsh result on a Blackburn side that finally made manager Steve Kean more proud and able to hold his head up high with an impressive performance. Just the wrong result.

Flop news: Whilst a police investigation has been launched against Terry in the racism row and the Tevez malarkey is bubbling on, Harry Redknapp has undergone heart surgery without making a drama of it! It puts things into perspective doesn't it? I hope it wakes up certain whiners and idiots to reality and what really counts.

My predictions - Actual results

Everton 1:1 Man Utd - 0:1

Chelsea 2:1 Arsenal - 3:5

Man City 4:0 Wolves - 3:1

Norwich 1:1 Blackburn - 3:3

Sunderland 1:1 Aston Villa - 2:2

Swansea 3:1 Bolton - 3:1

Wigan 0:0 Fulham - 0:2

West Brom 1:2 Liverpool - 0:2

Tottenham 5:1 QPR - 3:1

Stoke 2:0 Newcastle - 1:3

Week 6: Premier League Tops and Flops

Sports - Football - Premier League - Picks of the Week

Top team: Stoke did a brill job in their hard-fought draw against Manchester United, especially after the hammering they had received against Sunderland. Unlike in their win against Liverpool, they stayed on top, kept control and players in all areas, frustrating the hell out of their visitors, the stats showing and confirming their strength and competitiveness at home: Attempts 11:10, On target 5:4, Corners 8:8, Bookings 1-0, Possession 47%-53%. The question is whether they can keep this up week in, week out, home and away.

Top player: Obviously Robing van Persie needs a shout out in this category for scoring his 100th goal for Arsenal, only the 17th Gunner to do so and it was a cheeky one he coolly tucked in with the outside of his left boot, top notch. However, for scoring his first goal for his club and making a hat-trick out of it, my vote goes to Newcastle's Demba Ba. One beauty and a couple of headers and it could have been more, Ba showed he is top of the show right now, like the Magpies who are still unbeaten sitting comfortably in 4th place, two points ahead of Liverpool in 5th, only one behind Chelsea in 3rd. Nice.

Top goal: So many beauties to pick from: Fernando Torres' right-footed, on turn, first touch beauty; Nani's buildup and shot side-stepping Jonathan Woodgate to open the score for Manchester United at Stoke; but my vote goes to Ba again with his first goal for Newcastle, a fine drive, right-footed turn off Leon Best's cross from the left, smash-boom-bang, he went on to get a hat-trick in his side's 3-1 win against Blackburn. Sweet.


Top news: I loved Jeff Stelling's rant against the Southampton Chief Executive Nicola Cortese on Sky Sports News' Gillette Soccer Saturday, defending his colleague, friend and Southampton legend Matt Le Tissier and Lawrie McMenemy... Good on ye!

Flop game: The goalless draw between West Brom and Fulham was not much to shout about. Manchester City's win against Everton was not much of a competition either though. Apart from the goals, there was not much going on...


Flop player: Again, Torres went from top to flop, hero to zero within minutes! Last week he missed an open goal against Manchester United, this week he got himself sent off with a stupid two-footed tackle on Mark Gower minutes after he scored the opener for Chelsea against Swansea. 

Flop goal: Liverpool were lucky with the opener to take the lead against Wolves at Anfield. It was a fine cross from the left by Charlie Adam which looked to go wide before Roger Johnson's intervention, his header putting it into his own net. Ouch. Liverpool went on to dominate after that and won the game not comfortably but convincingly 2:1 which shows what a difference a goal/an error makes.

Flop news: Can Carlos Tevez still call himself a football player (payed around £250k per week!!!) after refusing to play football?!?!?! He's a joke! I think the suspension he has received is the least the club can do, with their hands tied on money and market matters, the question is, how can they punish him without punishing themselves with it? And for once in my life I agree with what Fifa said!!!

My predictions - Actual results

Man City 3:2 Everton - 2:0

Arsenal 3:1 Bolton - 3:0

Chelsea 3:0 Swansea - 4:1

Liverpool 2:1 Wolves - 2:1

Newcastle 1:2 Blackburn - 3:1

West Brom 2:1 Fulham - 0:0

Wigan 0:2 Tottenham - 1:2

Stoke 0:1 Man Utd - 1:1

QPR 0:0 Aston Villa - 1:1

Norwich 1:1 Sunderland - 2:1