Week 21: Premier League Tops & Flops

Sports - Football - Premier League - Picks of the Week

WOW!

It was only the second time this season Liverpool have won two games on the trot with their 3-0 home win against Sunderland. Raheem Sterling got things going with a nice finish off Luis Suarez, lobbing the ball over Simon Mignolet with loads of time and space, 1-0. Suarez doubled the score after advantage was played well from the right, the Uruguayan with a diagonal shot in, 2-0. Steven Gerrard then picked up Suarez with a peach of a pass, the Red number seven finishing off with one touch, two touch, into the back of the Sunderland net, 3-0. Gerrard saw his shot deflected off Glen Johnson and well saved by Mignolet, it could have easily been four! Suarez and Joe Allen saw their shots blocked too and Stewart Downing had his goal disallowed for offside. Poor Allen, no first goal for him! It could and should have been a much worse thrashing for Sunderland. Suarez scored more goals this season already than all of last season! Gerrard was magnificent, Jordan Henderson also impressed with some great awareness and a brilliant game!
Newcastle had SO many chances, but Everton took theirs alright! Demba Ba was a very noticeable absentee at St James' Park. The home side took the lead though after Tim Krul's kick was headed in by Papiss Cisse after one bounce, looping the ball over Tim Howard, I'm sure David Moyes was furious! Leighton Baines was denied a couple of times by a stubborn Krul, but the Toons were the more rampant! James Perch saw his header come off the post before Steven Pienaar was denied by Krul. Baines then levelled the score 1-1 with a smacker, like a rocket, a blast from over 30 yards out! After Shola Ameobi saw his chip go wide, Nikica Jelavic set up Victor Anichebe to give Moyes' Men the lead, a crucial change for Everton to make it 1-2. Both goalkeepers were kept busy till the end. Gabriel Obertan's shot was brilliantly saved by Howard on his near post. It was a crunch of a match!

OMG!

It was a happy New Year for QPR indeed! You just never know what's around the corner! Rafael Benitez's first home defeat at Chelsea was a surprise-and-a-half! The Rangers definitely showed they learnt from Sunday's defeat against Liverpool! It was like their New Year's Revolution was complete when Shaun Wright-Phillips beat second-choice keeper Ross Turnbull from range, taking advantage of massive gap with a good finish off Adel Taarabt, 0-1 after all the Chelsea pressure and chances! Marko Marin was very lucky just to see yellow for his high kick! And Ryan Bertrand looked like a fool falling over his own feet! QPR kept out Chelsea and Frank Lampard had his record goal chalked off eventhough he looked nowhere near offside! It was just not Chelsea's day and it was Harry Redknapp who ended up a very happy man.

TOP!

It could have been a four/five goal thrash after all of Tottenham's dominance! But Reading held solid and worked Andre Villas-Boas' side hard! Gareth Bale was suspended. Pavel Pogrebnyak tested Spurs defence, hitting the bar after winning a free kick, then heading in the rebound to make it 0-1. It was the earliest goal Spurs have conceded this season. Defender Michael Dawson headed in a corner at the near post, to level the score bang, 1-1 after nine minutes! Mousa Dembele wide and Jermain Defoe saw their chances go wide! Sandro's shot from outside the box, was deflected and saved by Adam Federici. Aaron Lennon banged the ball in from right creating nice cross for Emmanuel Adebayor to head it in to take the lead, 2-1. Lennon had another shot deflected and Jermain Defoe saw one go wide. After a fine run by Pogrebnyak, the Russian forward saw his shot saved and the header off the rebound went just wide. Jimmy Kebe created a fine break going wide. The following corner was cleared eventually, but the Spurs third-choice keeper Hugo Lloris was in trouble there! The game ended 3-1 thanks to a deflected shot by Clint Dempsey saw the ball fly over the keeper and in. This win takes Tottenham up to third, so, so far so good for AVB!

FLOP!

Saints 1-1 draw against Arsenal felt like a League Two game! Both sides produced and showed chaotic play, no coordination or organisation, just misses, slips and bloopers. Artur Boruc had a very disappointing game with slippery gloves! The Polish KEEPER did not seem to know he has to KEEP the ball! He is the Saints' 6th keeper this season! Gaston Ramirez took advantage of Arsenal's defensive mess to open the scoring, 1-0, after they were unable to clear the ball! Arsenal then saw their free kick netted by Guly do Prado, an own goal to level the score 1-1. Saints have only taken two points in nine games, but this was a fair result for a shambles of a game in the end! Saints should have been given the second goal which was disallowed for offside and/or a fowl, both looked rather dodgy! The Gunners were very disappointing after last week's 11 goal thrash against Newcastle! But the Saints can be more than happy and chuffed with their performance, the result and point.

TOP & FLOP!

It was all Machester United at Wigan. After Patrice Evra saw his shot saved, Javier Hernandez netted the rebound, 0-1. Robin van Persie's right-foot curl doubled the score, 0-2. It was all too easy for the visitors. Arouane Kone had a goal disallowed offside, JUST, before Hernandez headed another chance over the bar. After Rafael was caught by Gary Caldwell, RVP took the resulting free kick and after a double-deflection, Hernandez banged the ball into the back of the net, 0-3. RVP put another chance just over the top of the bar. When Kone was brought down by Chris Smalling, it looked like he was the last man but referee Andrew Marriner only pulled a yellow and the free kick by Jordi Gomez ended up just wide. Danny Welbeck found RVP who added another gift of a goal thanks to a defensive mess, 0-4, the 19th goal for the Dutchman, netting one goal after the other, bagging one win after another for United, still seven points clear of City at the top. 
Swansea were on top early on at home against Aston Villa and took the lead thanks to Wayne Routledge's fine run and right-foot shot. Miguel Michu saw his shot come off the right post. After Pablo Hernandez's fine run and cross, Danny Graham's shot somehow ended up off target. Michu saw another chance comeoff the post again and Hernandez put one wide. Villa's equaliser came against the run of play, Christian Benteke with the through-ball to put Andreas Weimann in. Joe Bennett was caught out with with handball and it should have been a penalty, but nothing was given! Villa were finally pushing more, Weimann on the attack again. Villa were awarded a penalty for a tangle/fowl on Weimann by Nathan Dyer. It looked soft but those kind of fowls have been given in the past. Benteke netted the spot kick, 1-2. But only six minutes later, Graham smashed in the rebound after some ping pong in the box, a superb equaliser with the right foot, somehow found its way trough the crowded box. Poor defending cost Villa in the end, dropping two points and keeping them only one point away from the relegation zone.
  

HERO!

Sergio Aguero produced chance after chance, miss after miss, save after save for Manchester City against Stoke. In the end it was Pablo Zabaleta who opened the scoring with an easy tap-in after Asmir Begovic's short clearance, 1-0. Edin Dzeko put one chance high before the Bosnian saw Aguero's shot come out of Begovic's gloves and caught the Stoke defence napping to tap the ball in, too easy, 2-0, his tenth of the season, making him the top scorer for City. Jonathan Walters put Stoke's high before Steven Nzonzi fowled David Silva on the edge of the box. It was very much a scene of a drama queen by the Spaniard, but a penalty was given and the game ended 3-0 thanks to Aguero's spot kick. James Milner hit the post before Aguero had to go off injured with a hamstring. City will hope the injury won't keep the Argentine out for too long, because he has been the top performer for City in their chase against their local rivals United for the top spot. Stoke were stubborn and City had to be patient, but it was a comfortable win in the end.

ZERO!

Decisions went against Norwich but West Ham dominated the game. It was definitely not a good game for Mark Clattenburg! After a penalty was given against Norwich defender Ryan Bennett on Winston Reid, Mark Noble netted the spot kick for West Ham sending the keeper Mark Bunn the wrong way, 1-0. Robert Snodgrass saw his free kick come off the post before handball appeals by Norwich against Reid were completely ignored by Clattenburg. Bunn created a brilliant save against Jack Collison, a terrific reflex save from close range. Joey O'Brien doubled the score then though after a fine move by Noble. Norwich were not happy as their midfielder Alexander Tettey was off the pitch thanks to a head wound inflicted by Carlton Cole. The Weat Ham number nine missed a golden chance before Norwich had another penalty appeal after Harry Kane was brought down on the shoulder of James Tomkins, but Clattenburg gave nothing again. Ricardo Vaz Te headed one chance wide for the Hammers before Russell Martin pulled one back for the Canaries with a right-footer into the right corner to make it 1-2 after a patient buildup. All the controversial decisions aside, the Hammers deserved the win with all their dominance seeing them up to eleventh place in the table, three points behind Stoke in tenth.

HERO & ZERO!

Romelu Lukaku's top performance for West Brom was all to no avail in the end! The Belgian striker was on Fulham's case constantly. Dimitar Berbatov on the other hand wasted chance after chance, but created a fine one-two with Ashkan Dejagha to net the ball bang in the middle, 0-1. The leveller looked offside when Billy Jones crossed the ball from the right to Lukaku who found the bottom right-hand corner from close range, 1-1. Fulham just couldn't handle Lukaku and he hit the post shortly after the equaliser. West Brom were much better after the break, seeing chances saved, one hit the bar and another lastly blocked out. It was an onslaught, before Fulham came back out of nothing! Alexander Kacaniklic produced Fulham's second with a fine touch, turn and then pass under the goalkeeper Ben Foster with just over half an hour to go! Lukaku put another header wide before Berbatov missed one too, yet again! Eventhough he was on the scoreboard, I feel Berbatov's attitude keeps letting him down!

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

Week 14: Premier League Tops & Flops

Sports - Football - Premier League - Picks of the Week

WOW!

Tottenham came out all guns blazing at White Hart Lane, man of the match Gareth Bale turning from provider to scorer to own-goal scorer/conceder. The Welshman's runs against Liverpool were extraordinary, no one could keep up with him when he found Aaron Lennon in the box for an easy tap-in opener. And the midfielder's free-kick completely deceived Pepe Reina to make it 2-0. The Reds were awoken, finding and keeping the pressure up after a difficult start in an entertaining encounter, but Spurs' back line kept solid and earned them the win and deservedly so.

OMG!

The Swans certainly shocked West Brom scoring three goals inside 39 minutes! Man of the match Pablo Hernandez was a force on the left wing and set up the first two goals. In the ninth minute, Miguel Michu slotted home Pablo's low cross from the left and not even two minutes later Pablo's nice cross found Wayne Routledge and was turned in off Jonas Olsson to make it 2-0. And Routledge made it three for the Welsh club six minutes before the break after Nathan Dyer and Hernandez helped setting up Ben Davies for his left-wing cross across the face of the goal that Routledge fired home with ease. West Brom started the second half brighter but were unable to recover from the early onslaught. 

TOP!

It was all calamity for Ali Al Habsi again conceding two goals in three minutes at the DW Stadium. Mario Balotelli opened his Premier League account for the season for City seizing on Al Habsi's fumble following Gareth Barry's shot. But James Milner created an unstoppable smasher from outside the area, a top quality curler into the top corner of the net! It made all the difference and Wigan's fight was flawed! City ended up with the three points and still unbeaten, keeping United on their toes at the top of the table.

FLOP! 

Mark Clattenburg returned to work at Southampton in their 1-1 draw against Norwich. A dreadful goalkeeping error by Paulo Gazzaniga lead to the equaliser! The first goal by Rickie Lambert was scruffy too and it looked as though there was a handball in the buildup to it. This draw stretched the Canaraies' unbeaten run in the Premier League to seven matches, leaving them in 13th position on 16 points, level with Liverpool in 12th and four points ahead of the Saints and the relegation zone in 18th.

HERO!

It took Robin van Persie 31 seconds to break Kevin Nolan's Premier League record of 56 seconds, opening the score with a deflection off James Collins and winning the game for United against the Hammers. 
Theo Walcott took 52 seconds to whack it in for Arsenal against Everton and what a goal it was! Or maybe it was a lucky deflection as well, after it looked to have clipped Tony Hibbert on the way in leaving Tim Howard stranded. But a fine finish from Marouane Fellaini denied the Gunners a win yet again and the Toffees shared the spoils at Goodison Park.

ZERO!

Rafael Benitez and Fernando Torres were under fire again at Stamford Bridge, the fans making themselves and their discontent heard to Roman Abramovich after Chelsea's goalless home draw against Fulham. Dimitar Berbatov totally outshone his Spanish rival, producing great attacks and counter-attacks with his control and ability, something Rafa and Fernando (and Roman) are still searching for... I wonder how long the Russian's shopping list will be in January, in sales as well as purchases...

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

Guess what?! Once again, the auto-predictor has set all my predictions to 2-1, because I'm too useless to remember to log in and enter my own predictions!!!

Week 11: Premier League Tops & Flops

Sports - Football - Premier League - Picks of the Weekend

WOW!

It was a surprise to see Olivier Giroud not step up for Arsenal's spot kick which would have won his side the game and bagged himself a hat-trick against local rivals Fulham. OK, maybe I would not have picked this out if Mikel Arteta had hit the back of the net and converted the penalty, but, and that is a big but, as a football player, what is your main aim? Score and win, no?


OMG!

Aston Villa started so well and United were nowhere when the home side went 2-0 up in the second half. But that seemed to have caused some kind of switch on or turnaround for United and they turned the game on its head. Andreas Weimann scored either side of the interval to give the home side an unlikely lead, but half-time substitute Javier Hernandez scored twice and saw another shot turned into his own net by Ron Vlaar to keep United at the top of the Premier League.

TOP!

Dimitar Berbatov starred for Fulham against Arsenal at the Emirates! It was a feisty and juicy London derby, no disappointment. Six goals and plenty more talking points. After a bright start by the visitors it was the Gunners who took the lead thanks to Giroud and Lukas Podolksi doubled their score half way through the first half. But the Cottagers were never lacking in fight or threat and pulled one back on 29 thanks to Berbatov's header. And just before half time, the ground was muted when Berbatov moved freely onto the ball leading to Alex Kacaniklic who headed in the equaliser. The second half was just as entertaining and after some dreadful defending by Arteta, the Spaniard brought down Bryan Ruiz in the box and Berbatov gratefully converted the spot kick to give his side the lead. It did not last long though and minutes later Giroud equalised for the Gunners and as mentioned above, could have grabbed the winner late on, but it was not ment to be. It ended up 3-3 and was a smacker of a game!

FLOP!

Reading are still looking for their first Premier League win of the season and after their goalless draw with Norwich at the Madejski stadium, I cannot see where it will come from! Both sides struggled to create anything, the home side unable to convert set pieces and the visitors showing some fine creativity and craftsmanship in the buildup without any end product in the final third. It was a disappointment for the eye of the spectator and the record of both sides. Reading are hovering just over the relegation zone on nine points in 17th place, only goal difference serperating them from Villa in 18th. Norwich have a bit more breathing space on 14 points in 13th.

HERO!

It seems like I am writing the same thing week in and week out under this category! Luis Suarez and Edin Dzeko were the saviours for their sides once again. Like it or not, Liverpool would be nowhere/even worse off then where they are now (13th) and if he likes to be branded that or not, Dzeko is THE super-sub for City against Tottenham. Liverpool had loads of chances once again but could in the end be glad to leave Stamford Bridge with the point.

ZERO!

Once again, the referees' inconsistencies were very annoying and irritating this weekend! What one official interprets and penalises as a dive against the one side, another will give it as a fowl against the other. Same with hand balls, some give it as a fowl, some ignore it as inadvertent, unavoidable accident. Ok, they are only human and cannot see everything. Players cover players, blocking the view. And the game can build up such a speed a referee cannot keep up. But what about the linesmen?! Is that not what theyr are there for? To help the referee? Sometimes it seems like they just don't have the guts to make the right decision with all the players on their case. And other times it seems like they just want to make a point against (a) certain player(s) eventhough they are not sure or know they are not in the right! I beg for video officials to be introduced to cut this crap out! So the referees can finallz see what they miss out and the players can finally be put on the spot for their idiotic acts and drama scenes!

*All images are taken from the Sky Sports website's match reports apart from Mark Schwarzer's picture, taken from the BBC website's match report

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

Week 4: Premier League Tops & Flops

Sports - Football - Premier League - Picks of the Weekend

OMG!



Finally, over two decades late, the liars have come out and the Hillsborough victims have been recognised! Football and fans held together, it was great to see every team's thoughts and condolences - forget about a couple of chanting idiots! Football together forever! YNWA! Please show Rio and Anton Ferdinand, John Terry and Ashley Cole what it's all about and maybe they'll wake up, appreciate life and the game, forget their little stupid issues and handbags, grow up and shake hands!!! See what Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra will do next weekend! Please walk on with your head held high and don't slip over old stones that should have been thrown away and resolved ages ago!

WOW!

Arsenal crises? Where? They absolutely swept away newly promoted Southampton who had impressed with their display against United the previous week! The Gunners' buildup impressed, the goals were from formal to gobsmacking and there could have been more! After beating Liverpool at Anfield and this comfortable home win, Arsenal will feel more than confident heading to the champions' City ground next week.

TOP!

Tottenham, United and Arsenal all impressed with their performances. Whilst Spurs climbed up into the top half of the table thanks to a comfortable win at Reading, easing pressure on manager Andre Villas-Boas, the latter two jumped up into the top three with two thrashes against Wigan and Soutampton respectively and ten goals between the two, heating up the title race by closing the gap to league leaders Chelsea who only drew at QPR.

FLOP!

Southampton and Liverpool are till waiting for their first win. Brendan Rodgers' men were condemned to their worst league start in over a centurs after having to settle for just a point at the Stadium of Light which takes their total to two points out of four games so far. It was a much better display for the Reds than against the Gunners last week, but once again, they will rue the missed chances and with United next on the list, they will have to learn to convert, FAST!

HERO!

Suarez saved a point for Liverpool after gleefully smashing in Titus Bramble's deflection off Raheem Sterling's cross from the right. Dimitar Berbatov impressed for Fulham. The Bulgarian striker worked hard for his new team and proved his quality with a couple of goals for the Cottagers, the opener being a curling beauty into the top corner.

ZERO!

Red cards, bookings, penalties underlined inconsistencies by the officials once again this week, Suarez' yellow and Danny Welbeck's penalty being just one example! Both players have and are adding to their reputation of drama queens, but referees should be professional enough to take on and decide about every situation individually by what happens right in front of them rather then going by their thoughts and prejudices!

My Predictions => Actual Results:
Norwich 0-0 West Ham => 0-0
Arsenal 6-1 Southampton => 6-1
Aston Villa 2-0 Swansea => 2-0
Fulham 3-0 West Brom => 3-0
Man United 4-0 Wigan => 4-0
QPR 0-0 Chelsea => 0-0
Stoke 1-1 Man City => 1-1
Sunderland 1-1 Liverpool => 1-1
Reading 1-3 Tottenham => 1-3
Everton 2-2 Newcastle => 2-2

No, I'm not that good in predictions! Just forgot to put in my scores this week! Ups, typical! ;-P

King Kenny's big return = defeat against Fergie

Sports - Football - FA Cup 3rd round - Man Utd 1:0 Liverpool

Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish had no happy return after seeing his side concede a penalty within half a minute, fall behind within two minutes and then go down to ten men with skipper Steven Gerrard seeing red just past the half-hour mark, all adding up and leading to a 1-0 defeat against their bitter rivals and league leaders Manchester United to kick them out of the FA Cup in the third round leaving the Europa League as the only possibility for silverware this season.

It was King Kenny's first game as caretaker manager, replacing booman Roy Hodgson just a couple of days ago after his 6-month short stint, just over 20 years after his successful reign as Reds manager which included three league titles, two FA Cups and a 4-0 demolition of United which nearly cost Sir Alex Ferguson his job.

So, hopes were not high but better. But a couple of decades on, the men, the teams and the match drew a very different picture.

Dimitar Berbatov went down in the box late after the slightest of semi-tackle-touches by Daniel Agger with hardly half a minute on the clock. Ryan Giggs took the spot kick nice, strong and confident, into the right corner, shaving past a diving Pepe Reina, United could not have wished for a better start.

Liverpool took a bit to come to terms with the early setback but made some fine one-twos, creating some good interplay, Fernando Torres, Maxi Rodriguez and Gerrard coming close whilst United hardly showed up at the other end.

But then it all went from bad to worse for Liverpool: Stevie G. slid in with both feet on Michael Carrick and was given a straight red by World Cup final referee Howard Webb, after a little delay with all the players surrounding him in protest.

In contrast to the penalty, the replays confirmed and made this decision much more clear cut, the skipper had to go.

Down by a goal and a man, Liverpool seemed to get a grip whilst United took more of a step back or the foot off the gas rather than going forward and putting pressure on and taking advantage of the extra man, although they nearly doubled the advantage just before the break when Jonny Evans headed Giggs' corner off the post.

Liverpool showed some fine team work in the second half, Fabio Aurelio pulling a great save out of Tomasz Kuszczak diving and keeping out the strong free kick shot from the top right corner.

Reina didn't have much to do after the penalty, apart from a couple of crazy minutes in the second half when he brilliantly kept out shots by Rafael, Berbatov and Patrice Evra in quick succession.

Liverpool fought on well after that but never got close enough, not quite there. But they can take some encouragement from the second half performance, as at half time many would have predicted a reverse of the last time Dalglish faced and nearly smashed and crashed Ferguson 4-0.

It didn't come to that and now the Reds have to be strong as ever, with their skipper suspended for the next three games including none other than the Merseyside derby - see what Kenny boy can do... Come back from retirement and make a return on the pitch just as he has off it???

Man Utd: Kuszczak; Evra, Ferdinand, Rafael Da Silva, Evans (Smalling 84); Giggs, Carrick, Nani, Fletcher (booked 9, Anderson 62, booked 64); Berbatov, Hernandez (Owen 75).
Subs not used: Lindegaard, Fabio Da Silva, Gibson, Obertan.

Liverpool: Reina; Agger, Aurelio, Kelly, Skrtel; Raul Meireles (Shelvey 60), Gerrard (sent off 32), Maxi (Babel 60), Lucas; Torres (Ngog 77), Kuyt.
Subs not used: Gulacsi, Kyrgiakos, Wilson, Poulsen.

BBC stats:
Man Utd-Liverpool
Attempts: 16-13
On target: 10-5
Corners: 11-3
Free kicks: 7-11
Possession: 42%-58%


Sky Sports stats:
Man Utd-Liverpool
Attempts: 17-12
On target: 9-4
Offsides: 4-2
Corners: 11-3
Free kicks: 7-10
Possession: 62%-38%
Passing Success: 84.1%-72.5%
Tackles/Success: 21/76.2%-32/71.9%
Territorial Advantage: 39.9%-60.1

Referee: Howard Webb
Man of the match: Dimitar Berbatov

Berbatov hat-trick spoils Liverpool comeback

Sports - Football - Premier League - Man Utd 3:2 Liverpool

What a show - a show of two very different halves! Liverpool started frail and clumsy as always against a strong and pacey United side and just when it looked like they were going to make a comeback and take the sting out of United's surge, their Bulgarian striker upset the Scousers' plans with a hat-trick, the first United player in 64 years to do so against Liverpool.

The Red Devils took the lead in the 42nd minute after a comfortable half against a below-par Liverpool side, Dimitar Berbatov heading a corner in, Fernando Torres covering the striker on the wrong side and looking like a very bad and sad marker behind him. Paul Konchesky seemed to have handled the ball before it crossed the line, in an apparent attempt to save it, but nobody noticed or cared as the ball passed and the goal stood anyway.

Torres showed a weak display again, falling and moaning, not knowing what to do with the ball the few times it came his way, again looking like he wanted to be everywhere else but on the football pitch, a too familiar sight this season.

The second half United continued to dominate, Nani's explosive shot from the right edge of the box hitting the right post. Berbatov doubled the lead on 59 with a brilliant overhead shot off a Darren Fletcher cross from the right which looked impossible but went in off the crossbar past a motionless Pepe Reina, definite candidate for goal of the season.

Roy Hodgson made his first change, bringing on David Ngog for an inconspicuous Maxi Rodriguez and changing the formation to two up front. Only seconds later, Jonny Evans conceded a penalty with a needless tackle on Torres, Fletcher pointlessly ranting on about the decision to referee Howard Webb and had to be ushered away.

Skipper Steven Gerrard netted the spot kick comfortably sending Edwin van der Sar the wrong way. This finally got Liverpool's hopes and determination up and going, leading to some feisty action and attacks and a bulk of crunches, tackles and bookings. The game picked up in pace and atmosphere.

John O'Shea was lucky not be sent off when he was the last man to bring down Torres just outside the box. Booked and a free kick conceded, it was between him and Fletcher whom Gerrard squeezed the ball, curling it past them and into the back of the net and making the impossible possible - could Liverpool grab a win?

At 2-2 the chances for a perfect comeback looked much better than only ten minutes before the free kick at 2-0. It was United who looked all over the place, as if they were impersonating the Liverpool side of the first half.

Changes were made to save at least the one point for the Scousers, but Berbatov thought and made sure otherwise heading O'Shea's cross over Jamie Carragher, past Reina into the back of the net six minutes from time.

It is still zero points in the end for Liverpool, their worst start to a season in 18 years, down to 16th in the league, the situation looks everything else but rosey, but at least they showed some determination and will to fight back and win it, which has been missing of them most of the season so far.

Meanwhile Sir Alex Ferguson will be relieved that his side didn't throw away the points again like against Everton last week, his side up and comfortable in third, three points ahead of Tottenham and one behind Chelsea at the top (before their game in hand against Blackpool).

Man Utd: Van der Sar; O'Shea (booked 69), Vidic, Evans (booked 63), Evra; Nani (Gibson 88), Fletcher, Scholes (booked 68), Giggs (Macheda 82); Berbatov (goals 41:23, 58:36 & 83:36) (Anderson 88), Rooney (booked 57). 4-4-2
Subs not used: Kuszczak, Brown, Owen, Smalling.

Liverpool team: Reina; Johnson, Carragher, Skrtel, Konchesky (Agger 82); Maxi (Ngog 62, booked 66), Poulsen, Meireles (Jovanovic 79), Cole; Gerrard (goals 63:38 pen & 69:50), Torres. 4-5-1 (to 4-4-2 with Ngog)
Subs not used: Jones, Babel, Kyrgiakos, Lucas.

1st half stats
Man Utd-Liverpool
Attempts: 7-2
On target: 1-0
Offsides: 2-1
Corners: 5-1
Free kicks: 3-9

2nd half stats
Man Utd-Liverpool
Attempts: 5-5
On target: 4-2
Offsides: 0-1
Corners: 0-0
Free kicks: 6-7

Sky Stats
Man Utd-Liverpool
Possession: 47%-53% (38); 49.5%-50.5%
Passing Success: 84.4%-83.2%
Tackles/Success: 14/71.4%-19/73.7%
Action Areas: Man Utd 8%-54%-38% Liverpool (10)
Territorial Advantage: 59.8%-40.2%

Referee: Howard Webb
Man of the match: Dimitar Berbatov

Final Picks of the Weekend and Season

Sports - Football - Premier League - Final Picks of the Season

So, I haven't blogged in a while and we have already reached the end of the season. A lot has happened over the last month-or-two, so these are my overall picks of the last weeks and season:

Hero: Roy Hodgson and Harry Redknapp are the obvious picks for their achievements at Fulham and Tottenham, reaching the Europa League final and Champions League place respectively.

However, I think Gianfranco Zola should be recognised and lauded just as much for keeping West Ham up under extraordinarily difficult and chaotic circumstances. Most importantly, he kept a good relationship with the players all the way through and to kept them going. The more surprised I was to find out he has been sacked this morning!

Zero: Dirk Kuyt and Dimitar Berbatov have certainly annoyed me most this season! Being over-over-over-paid for their moaning, diving, whining and being bad losers. Rafael Benitez has also to take a real close look at himself. With Rick Parry's departure from Liverpool he was able to clear and reorganise the back room to his will and choice and look what it has brought him. You can always lay the blame to the ownership fiasco, but that does not hold and directly influence everything what is going on on the pitch - it is the players and the coaches, who are all overlooked and coached by the manager.

Champs: As mentioned above, Fulham and Tottenham have to be lauded for their over-achievements. So too Chelsea for their fourth title, first since the departure of the "Great One". But the sides that have surprised me most are Arsenal and Birmingham. I thought the Gunners were going to be the first to drop out of the top four and the Blues I saw battling relegation - how wrong was I! Arsenal will not be happy with their slip late-on in the season, but it came to no surprise looking at the lack of depth and back-up options in their squad - something they will have to look into and change if they do not want yet another repeat of their slip and fall.

Birmingham will be dreaming of a European spot next season, see what/who they will do/change/buy/sell to see that happen, especially interesting and intriguing as they could not be happier with the display, performances and results of their current squad.

Has-Beens: Liverpool were not even a shadow of the side they were last season whilst Portsmouth and West Ham fought on through the storm, holding their heads up high - the prior failing to avoid the drop whilst the latter was able to withstand all the counterweight.

I know Liverpool the Reds have had their problems and turmoil with their owners, the board, their debts, etc., but as a club of such prestige, history, success, large fan base, global reputation et al, it was sad to see the ship sink so low with hardly any fight or uproar.

You Beauty: So many goals! So many thrashes! Chelsea broke all record books with their 108 goals, achieving that last but not least with their 8-0 destruction of Wigan. Not to forget the 7-goal thrashings of Sunderland, Stoke and Aston Villa, also by the champions; Manchester City putting 5 and 6 past Birmingham and Burnley respectively; Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham also enjoying their 5, 6 and/or 7 goal thriller-wins. There were so many goal-feasts this season and juicy and action-packed encounters, it is impossible for me just pin it down to one or two!

Ouch! Referees, own goals and divers - this season these three top my lists of outrage, cringes, complaints and criticism. In this day and age where the cameras and advanced technology pick everything and everyone in the finest detail in the matter of seconds, I cannot believe that they cannot be used to assist and support the officials, prevent very unfair and costly errors and stop the cheaters and whiners.

And finally, to see where my picks have come from, here is a comparison table of the last to seasons. It obviously does not include Birmingham, Wolves or Burnley as they were not part of the Premier League last season. Birmingham have certainly exceeded all expectations ending up ninth, whilst Wolves avoided relegation quite comfortably in the end, 8 points clear in 15th place, and Portsmouth, well, they faced an impossible job to stay up, with or without the 9-point-deduction, they had a too high mountain to climb to avoid the drop.

So, the table shows all 17 teams that were in the Premier League in both seasons, comparing how they fared in the 38 games of both seasons. The + and - numbers indicate how many games they won, drew and lost and how many goals they scored and conceded more or less, and finally how many points they gained or lost consequently. It just shows how bad the season has been for Liverpool...

1) Tottenham:

+7 wins, -2 draws, -5 defeats; +22 goals, -4 conceded; +19 points

2) Man City: +3, +8, -11; +15, -5; +17

3) Blackburn: +3, 0, -3; +1, -5; +9

4) Sunderland: +2, +2, -4; +14, -2; +8

5) Chelsea: +2, -3, +1; +35, +8; +3

6) Arsenal: +3, -6, +3; +15, +4; +3

7) Aston Villa: 0, +2, -2; -2, -9; +2

8) Stoke City: -1, +5, -4; -4, -7; +2

9) Everton: -1, +1, 0; +5, +12; -2

10) Bolton: -1, +1, 0; +1, +14; -2

11) Man Utd: -1, -2, +3; +18, +4; -5

12) Hull City: -2, +1, +1; +6, +16; -5

13) Fulham: -2, -1, +3; 0, +12; -7

14) Wigan: -3, 0, +3; -3, +34; -9

15) West Ham: -6, +2, +4; +5, +21; -16

16) Portsmouth: -3, -4, +7; -4, +9; -22 (includes the 9-point deduction)

17) Liverpool: -7, -2, +9; -16, +8; -23

Total Goals scored: 1053 this season, 942 last season; +111

Premier League Tops and Flops

Sports - Football - Premier League - Picks of the weekend

Top game: Arsenal's demolition of Blackburn was harsh on the visitors, but the Gunners were sensational and ripped their guests to bits after it looked like an even match for the opening half-an-hour or so. Manchester United were lucky to get away with a point. Sunderland showed a competitively poised and solid display. They should have walked away from Old Trafford with three points in the bag. Instead, United made a great escape, unlucky for the Black Cats.

Top team: Ater everything they have been through the past weeks, Portsmouth would have had a bunch of excuses to hang their heads and give up, i.e. lose for the seventh time out of seven games and condemn the side to nearly certain relegation this early in the season already. But instead, they fought on and got their first points when it looked least likely. A nice surprise.

Top player: Didier Drogba saved Chelsea from a boring 0-0 draw against Liverpool. As scorer and provider, the Ivory Coast striker was the only shimmer of light in an otherwise dark, less spectacular match. How Chelsea will be able to win mediocre performances without him is the question.

Top goal: Dimitar Berbatov's high-flying cracker will have cheered himself and his side up after disappointing displays and admitting his failure as a star player. Bolton's second was a great team goal against Tottenham. Ricardo Gardner, Tamir Cohen and Sean Davis connected and interplayed well to take a 2-1 lead. Cohen's back-foot-flick was especially cheeky.

Top manager: Mick McCarthy conceded defeat, did not moan although decisions had gone against Wolves. If you want to be a competitor, you have to fight on and win against the odds and mistakes. But, unlike McCarthy, some managers never learn that, even after decades in the job... I am naming no names... Not yet, anyway...

Flop game: Chelsea 2-0 Liverpool - a such promisingly juicy encounter, with two top teams, turned out to be a letdown from a neutral perspective. There was not much action, ooooohs or aaaaahs, as both sides eliminated each other through solid defences. Not bad but just a shame

Flop team: Liverpool, United and Chelsea were all not up to their best and disappointed. Only one got away with a win thanks to their top striker, the Blues and Drogba. But there is not much between the sides. Arsenal looked the best out of the "Big Four" when it comes to their team display, coherence, confidence and the scoreboard. But, points count most, so, Chelsea will be just as happy.

Flop player: Didier Drogba has to quit as a drama queen otherwise it will keep on overshadowing his main role and talent as a striker. Kieran Richardson was just as stupid. He was daft to get sent off for flicking the ball away, after he was already on a yellow. Both should be grounded to think about their actions and the way they act in front of adults!

Flop goal: Anton Ferdinand's own goal could not have been more of a nightmare after his side led against the champions Manchester United and to make things worse, he equalised for his brother's team! OUCH!

Flop manager: Alex Ferguson once again - why can he not concede his team was outplayed and lucky to get away with a point! It happens rare enough! Instead, he tries to put the blame on somebody else, referee Alan Wiley in this case. Alex, Alex, Alex! You will never learn when your team has been toppled!

My Predictions - Actual Results

Bolton 1:2 Tottenham - 2:2

Burnley 1:0 Birmingham - 2:1

Hull City 1:2 Wigan - 2:1

Man Utd 3:1 Sunderland - 2:2

Wolves 3:0 Portsmouth - 0:1

Arsenal 4:0 Blackburn - 6:2

Chelsea 2:0 Liverpool - 2:0

Everton 2:1 Stoke - 1:1

West Ham 2:1 Fulham - 2:2

Aston Villa 2:2 Man City - 1:1