Liverpool Fail 1-0 At Chelsea

Sports - Football - Premier League - CHE 1:0 LIV

Chelsea kept the pressure on Liverpool and Tottenham, still in fifth place but able to break into the top four with a game in hand and depending on the results in the last game of the season, after beating the Reds 1-0 at Stamford Bridge last Sunday.

Jürgen Klopp’s men dominated much of the game but were unable to capitalise, unlike Olivier Giroud who headed in Victor Moses’ cross to give the Blues the lead against the run of play with just over half an hour gone.

Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mané created more but just not enough, Thibaut Courtois doing well denying the latter a couple of times. 

Antonio Rüdiger on the opposite end saw his header ruled out for offside before Marcos Alonso put another chance inches wide, the home side doing well keeping control after going ahead.

Manager Antonio Conte was happy his side kept the fight up and going with this win, Cesc Fàbregas and Eden Hazard forming a danger factor on a regular basis, seeing the first time LFC have failed to score in consecutive Premier League games since their German boss took over. 

The Reds, after knocking Manchester City out of the Champions League 5-1 on aggregate to qualify for the final in Kiev, keep dropping points with draws against West Brom and Stoke and this defeat.

It would be very disappointing for the Champions League finalists to fall further down, so nothing else than a win is expected against Brighton in the final PL fixture.

After going unbeaten against the “big six” in the first eight league away games (W4 D4), Klopp has watched his side lose the last four out of five (D1).

Liverpool have only lost more Premier League games against Manchester United (28) than against Chelsea (20). 

Chelsea Goal: Giroud 32’.

FT Stats: CHE 1-0 LIV

Possession: 32%-68%

Shots: 12-10

On target: 4-5

Corners: 3-1

Fouls: 12-9

Yellow cards: 3-2

Chelsea Team: 13 Courtois (booked), 28 Azpilicueta, 24 Cahill, 2 Rüdiger, 15 Moses (booked) (21 Zappacosta 89’), 4 Fàbregas (11 Pedro 90’+3’), 7 Kanté, 14 Bakayoko, 3 Alonso (booked), 10 Hazard (22 Willian 86’), 18 Giroud.

Subs not used: 1 Caballero, 8 Barkley, 27 Christensen, 33 Emerson.

Liverpool Team: 1 Karius, 2 Clyne (booked) (14 Henderson 59’), 6 Lovren, 4 van Dijk, 26 Robertson (29 Solanke 74’), 66 Alexander-Arnold, 5 Wijnaldum, 7 Milner (18 Moreno 89’), 11 Salah (booked), 9 Firmino, 19 Mané.

Subs not used: 17 Klavan, 22 Mignolet, 28 Ings, 58 Woodburn.

Referee: Anthony Taylor

Man of the match: Olivier Giroud

Ground: Stamford Bridge

Attendance: 41,314

Click here for my last LFC match report.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match report.

Liverpool Thrash Sorry Arsenal 4-0

Sports - Football - Premier League - LFC 4:0 AFC

Liverpool thrashed Arsenal 4-0 at Anfield, no competition, full stop.

The Reds were in total control from kick-off to the final whistle and could have scored more against the Gunners in the Super Sunday clash.

The first goal was great, a nice header from Roberto Firmino with 17 minutes gone, off a cross by Joe Gomez, who did well down the right.

The second was a superb counter attack, Sadio Mané finishing off nicely with a curled effort after a quick run on the left and Firmino picked him out spot-on.

Jürgen Klopp's men were dictating nearly everything and Arsène Wenger had to make changes after the break.

But neither Francis Coquelin nor Olivier Giroud or Alexandre Lacazette made any difference, the first brought on at the start of the second half, the other two just past the hour.

Shambolic stuff followed after the interval, just before the double-change was made by the visitors.

Hector Bellerin gave the ball away off an Arsenal corner for Mohamed Salah to pounce on it, with a clear run on goal, and slot it home to make it 3-0, a cool finish past Petr Cech.

No one was left back by the Gunners. And it didn't get any better, they just didn't wake up.

The Reds were left free to dance and prance all over them, sub Daniel Sturridge making it 4-0 with just under a quarter of an hour to go, heading the ball in with plenty of time and space.

Cech has conceded 30 goals against Liverpool, more than any other side in the Premier League.

It was 10-0 in shots on target. It was the first time since 2014 Arsenal didn't get any attempts towards the goal.

This no-show performance by Arsenal was even worse than the 5-1 thrashing I attended with my boyfriend (who is an Arsenal fan) back in February 2014.

Liverpool were just hungrier, more organised, sharper and quicker, pressing, squeezing and squashing anything and everything out of their opponents, not giving them any breathing space or chance whatsoever.

Klopp had raised eyebrows by letting out-of-favour number one Loris Karius start ahead of in-form-ish keeper Simon Mignolet for a clash that is not exactly known and remembered for its lack of goals. Quite the opposite.

But apart from the odd shaky reaction to pass backs and not the best kicks, the German stopper didn't get anything to deal with or worry about.

Arsenal were just embarrassing. They didn't offer or form any kind of counter, opposition, cover, defence, form or even will!

Wenger in? Wenger out? Definitely shaking all about!

Meanwhile, this very convincing win will take Liverpool into the international break and transfer deadline day very confident and comfortable up to second place in the league table, two points behind high-flying rivals Manchester United.

Liverpool Goals: Firmino 17', Mané 40', Salah 57', Sturridge 77'.

Liverpool Team: 1 Karius, 12 Gomez, (booked), 32 Matip, 6 Lovren (booked), 18 Moreno, 23 Can (16 Grujic 83'), 14 Henderson, 5 Wijnaldum, 11 Salah, 9 Firmino (7 Milner 80'), 19 Mané (15 Sturridge 73').
Subs not used: 52 Ward, 17 Klavan, 29 Solanke, 66 Alexander-Arnold.

Arsenal Team: 33 Cech, 16 Holding (booked), 6 Koscielny, 18 Monreal, 15 Oxlade-Chamberlain (9 Lacazette 62'), 8 Ramsey (34 Coquelin 46'), 29 Xhaka (booked), 24 Bellerin, 11 Özil (booked), 7 Sánchez (12 Giroud 62'), 23 Welbeck (booked).
Subs not used: 13 Ospina, 14 Walcott, 20 Mustafi, 31 Kolasinac.

Match Stats: LFC-AFC
Possession: 49%-51%
Shots: 18-8
On target: 10-0
Corners: 4-3
Fouls: 6-9
Yellow cards: 2-4

Referee: Craig Pawson
Man of the match: Sadio Mané
Ground: Anfield
Attendance: 53,206

Click here for my previous LFC match report.

All pictures, stats and facts are taken from the BBC match report, SFR & Twitter match coverage.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 1

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 1

In the first week of the Premier League action we saw:

31 goals - most by Arsenal & Man United = 4 each
257 shots - most by Southampton = 29!!!
80 on target - most by Arsenal = 10
126 corners - most by Palace = 12
217 fouls - most by Huddersfield & Man United = 19 each
33 yellow cards - most by Chelsea = 4
3 red cards - 2 for Chelsea (Cahill & Fábregas) & Shelvey for Newcastle
1 penalty - 1 scored (Roberto Firmino for Liverpool, see my match report for more details)

What a game! Wow! It certainly returned with a bang! Welcome back to the Premier League! Yeah! We saw 13 goals in the opening two games alone, Arsenal coming back 4-3 against Leicester and Liverpool dropping points 3-3 at Watford! But another game gets my vote: Champions Chelsea shattered down to nine men after two red cards and shocked 2-3 at home by Burnley on Saturday! MOTD was just cracking, goals and action galore! MOTD2 less so but hey, you can't have everything! ⚽👊😜👊⚽

What a team! Newly promoted Huddersfield had a dream start thrashing Crystal Palace 0-3 at Selhurst Park! It was a miserable first game for Frank de Boer, seeing Danish centre-back Mathias Jørgensen's header fly in off his own player Joel Ward before Steve Mounie's double condemned his side to an opening day defeat. David Wagner and his side were celebrated and very happy after their first success on their return to the top flight after an absence of 45 years. But the pundits were quickly distracted and already hailing and crowning the Red Devils as the champs-to-be after their 0-4 thrashing of West Ham on Sunday. It was United's 17th opening day win in the Premier League era, a record. The Hammers have suffered most defeats on the first day = 11. But hold your horses and calm down! It was only day one!

What a man! It was certainly the debutants' day! New Gunner Alexandre Lacazette and Blue striker Alvaro Morata, Red Mohamed Salah, and Red Devil Romelu Lukaku were all on the scoreboard, the last one twice. Super subs Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud made the difference for Arsenal on Friday night with two goals in two minutes, 83' and 85' respectively! And good old Wayne Rooney of course was back on the scoreboard for Everton after 13 years away. He had to! On the other hand, all the red cards = red faces! Shame on Gary Cahill and Cesc Fábregas for Chelsea and Jonjo Shelvey for Newcastle! Needless, unprofessional, you would have thought they know better and it's only day one!!!

What a goal! There were so many of them to choose from, I'll go for the earliest smacker = Lacazette's header after just 100 seconds for Arsenal. Sadio Mané's opener and leveller for Liverpool was a fantastic finish! And Jamie Vardy impressed with a confident and strong double. Eventhough they ended up losers at the Emirates, they resembled the classy, flashy, entertaining Foxes we so loved to watch in the season before last.

What the hell?! Do the officials remember and understand the offside rule?!?!?! Although teams seem to have forgotten how to defend set pieces, Arsenal and Liverpool especially! But come on! It's only day one and the referees are already doing their best/worst to drive everyone mad! Giving or denying or ignoring decisions that look clear to everyone else! See my match report for details... Argh!

My Predictions - Actual Results
Arsenal 2:1 Leicester - 4:3
Watford 2:1 Liverpool - 3:3 or my match report
Chelsea 3:1 Burnley - 2:3
Crystal Palace 1:1 Huddersfield - 0:3
Everton 4:2 Stoke City - 1:0
Southampton 3:1 Swansea - 0:0
West Brom 1:2 Bournemouth - 1:0
Brighton 1:2 Man City - 0:2
Newcastle 2:2 Tottenham - 0:2
Man United 2:1 West Ham - 4:0

Click here for my previous Premier League Picks blog.

All stats, facts and pictures were taken from live SFR match coverage, MOTD and the BBC match reports.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 20

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 20

The 20th week of the Premier League action saw:

240 shots - most by Liverpool = 21
29 goals - most by Bournemouth, Arsenal, Everton & West Brom = 3 each
192 fouls - most by Watford = 15
40 bookings - most by Man City = 5
3 red cards - Francis for Bournemouth, Fernandinho for Man City & Feghouli for West Ham
4 penalties - 4 scored (Wilson for Bournemouth, Baines for Everton & Defoe for Sunderland x 2!!!)

What a game! Tottenham's 2-0 win against league leaders Chelsea thanks to Dele Alli's double at White Hart Lane was, as Mauricio Pocchetino put it, massive! Massive for them, massive for everyone! The Blues' first defeat in over three months means three points dropped, and the game is still on in the title race. The season is not over as too many had already ticked it off. Antonio Conte's side is not perfect, stopped from recording their 14th consecutive win and making Premier League history. Spurs meanwhile are unbeaten at home this season, beware of the overlooked sneaking up.

What a team! It was the first time Arsenal came back from three goals down, Bournemouth the victims. Olivier Giroud was the hero once again with an injury-time winner after being involved in the other two goals, too, to make it 3-3 at Dean Court.The dramatic comeback was helped by Simon Francis being sent off for a challenge on Aaron Ramsey, Cherries boss Eddie Howe felt it was "harsh". Harsh but true, the Gunners' stubbornness payed off, hitting and hurting the home side hard.

What a man! Everton manager Ronald Koeman enjoyed a comfortable 3-0 win against his former side Southampton, thanks to Enner Valencia (73'), Leighton Baines (81' pen) and Romelu Lukaku (89), taking the latter's league tally to 54. Only Harry Kane (59) and Sergio Agüero (77) have scored more Premier League goals since the Belgian forward's debut in September 2013. Everton did leave it late, but it was worth it for them, leaving Saints down and dire in 10th after three consecutive defeats.

What a goal! New Swansea boss Paul Clement can be more than happy with his winning start moving his side off the bottom of the Premier League table. Spanish right back Àngel Rangel found the winner at Crystal Palace in the 88th minute, crucial and crushing for Sam Allardyce in his first home game with the Eagles, who are now hovering just one place and one point above the relegation zone. It was the first time ever the former England boss has lost his opening home Premier League match, having previously won four and drawn one.

What the hell?! Leicester, oh Leicester. 21 points from 20 Premier League games is the worst return by reigning league champions and there is nothing much else to report from their dull 0-0 draw at Middlesbrough. Meanwhile at the Stadium of Light, Jürgen Klopp was left shaking his head in disbelief (with a sarcastic smile on his face) after his side gave the lead away, twice, handing two spot kicks to non-other than Jermain Defoe. After beating Manchester City last week, Liverpool will be gutted to have dropped two points against the struggling Black Cats. The happier and more grateful and relieved David Moyes will be after two defeats in a row.

My Predictions - Actual Results
Middlesbrough 2:1 Leicester - 0:0
Everton 2:1 Southampton - 3:0
Man City 1:1 Burnley - 2:1
Sunderland 1:4 Liverpool - 2:2
West Brom 1:1 Hull City - 3:1
West Ham 1:2 Man United - 0:2
Bournemouth 1:3 Arsenal - 3:3
Crystal Palace 1:0 Swansea - 1:2
Stoke City 3:2 Watford - 2:0
Tottenham 3:3 Chelsea - 2:0

Click her for last week's Premier League Picks.

Pictures and stats taken from the BBC match report.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 19

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 19

The 19th week of the Premier League action saw:

270 shots - most by Man United = 32!
33 goals - most by Burnley, Chelsea & Spurs = 4 each
216 fouls - most by West Brom = 17
37 bookings - most by Leicester = 5
1 red card - van Dijk 2nd yellow for Saints
1 penalty - 1 scored (Barnes for Burnley)

Their boss José Mourinho was sad.

Usain Bolt was much happier with his side's win.

Whilst Jürgen Klopp doesn't care.

What a game! Stoke proved a tough test for league leaders Chelsea in the six-goal thriller at Stamford Bridge, five of which were scored in the second half. The Potters threw everything at the Blues, they were up for it, but a classy Diego Costa and Willian double proved too much for Mark Hughes' men. Antonio Conte's side stay six points clear at the top after their 13th consecutive league win, equalling Arsenal's record of most consecutive wins in a season consisting of 38 games from 2001-2. Can anything or anyone stop them?!

What a team! Manchester United rolled back the years, scoring two goals within seconds, turning the game on its head in the final minutes. Middlesbrough had taken a shock lead in the second half thanks to midfielder Grant Leadbitter (67') after the hosts had hit the post twice. But Aitor Karanka's men grew tired and the Red Devils pounced on that, Anthony Martial (85') and Paul Pogba (86') making the most of it and taking their unbeaten league run to ten games, winning all five in December, moving them to just one point behind Arsenal in fourth place.

What a man! Man of the match Harry Kane (27' & 33') and Dele Alli (41' & 46') sealed an easy 1-4 win for Tottenham at Watford with a double each. The England striker must love New Year's Day, matching Thierry Henry's record with his 59th goal in 100 Premier League games. After thrashing Southampton 1-4 last week as well, it was the first time since October 1960 Spurs scored four goals in two consecutive away games - the season they did the Double. Promising. Andre Gray more than deserves a shoutout too after being the first Burnley player to score a Premier League hat-trick, downing Sunderland 4-1 at Turf Moor.

What a goal! Olivier Giroud's elastic "scorpion" goal, looped in off Alexis Sánchez, that gave Arsenal the lead against Crystal Palace, was a beauty. The piece of magic resembled Henrikh Mkhitaryan's stunner from last week, with the main difference being, it was not offside! It was the Frenchman's second goal in as many games, keeping the Gunners in the title race with a shout, in third place, three points behind Liverpool in second, nine behind Chelsea at the top. Hal Robson Kanu's stunner as West Brom beat Saints 1-2 at St Mary's deserves a mention, too, in the Welshman's first Premier League start since May 2013.

What the hell?! Liverpool recorded just five shots in their win against Manchester City, man of the match Georginio Wijnaldum (8') on the scoreboard with the one and only goal. It was a rare defensive performance by the Reds, keeping back and even wasting time at the end. Very unlike Jürgen Klopp and his teams, but the German manager didn't care, the main thing was the clean sheet and three points. City meanwhile looked very laboured, the defeat taking them out of the top four, down to fifth, level on points with Spurs in fourth, Pep Guardiola not happy. Click here for my match report.

My Predictions - Actual Results
(Forgot to make predictions, hence, auto-allocation = 1:0)
Hull City 1:0 Everton - 2:2
Burnley 1:0 Sunderland - 4:1
Chelsea 1:0 Stoke City - 4:2
Leicester 1:0 West Ham - 1:0
Man United 1:0 Middlesbrough- 2:1
Southampton 1:0 West Brom - 1:2
Swansea 1:0 Bournemouth - 0:3
Liverpool 1:0 Man City - 1:0 or click here for my match report
Watford 1:0 Tottenham - 1:4
Arsenal 1:0 Crystal Palace - 2:0

Click here for last week's Premier League Picks.

Pictures taken from the BBC match reports. 

Week 24: Premier League Tops & Flops

Sports - Football - Premier League - Picks of the Week

WOW!

Southampton kept possession and pressure high against Manchester United, the stats were stunning! Even Sir Alex Ferguson knew his side were fortunate to escape with three points! That doesn't happen all too often at Old Trafford! Saints opened the scoring and made it 0-1 after just two minutes when Jay Rodriguez got the better of David De Gea after Michael Carrick's screwed-up pass back. Wayne Rooney equalised soon after off a nice loft in by Shinji Kagawa who hit woodwork minutes later. The former Evertonian then tapped in Patrice Evra's header off Robin van Persie's free kick to make it 2-1, United's 1600th Premier League goal. Both goalkeepers were kept busy till the end. De Gea spilled Rickie Lambert's free kick after Adam Lallana was fowled by Carrick, but the keeper reacted nice and quick after that to avoid the worst. Artur Boruc blocked a couple of chances aswell, including a great save off RVP, who also had a goal disallowed for offside. Rodriguez was blocked by Nemanja Vidic and De Gea got across to save Lambert's free kick to deny Saints a single point.

OMG!

The Emirates saw great chances for both sides and a great comeback by Arsenal. With the defensive shambles of the Gunners, it could have been 3 or 4-0 to Liverpool! But the visitors stayed too deep and eventually lost their lead. We certainly saw the best and worst by both. Luis Suarez scored the opener finishing the job after slips and mess ups all over the place by the Arsene Wenger's men. Suarez and Daniel Sturridge were both far and fast ahead. Pepe Reina had to produce a couple of splendid saves against Theo Walcott at the other end too. But sloppy play ended up costing Arsenal again. Daniel Agger's header off a corner was cleared off the line before Jordan Henderson saw his shot high, Wojciech Szczesny was very lucky as he was off his line. Henderson's next shot was half-blocked by sub Andre Santos before it ricochet in to make it 0-2. But it took the Gunners only three minutes to come back into the game, Olivier Giroud heading in Jack Wilshere's free kick, unmarked, 1-2 and Walcott smashing in the equaliser from the right. Late action included Giroud's booking for simulation, messing up a walk-in chance and Suarez pulling a last-minute save out of Szczesny, both sides ending up dropping two points rather than winning one!

TOP!

It was a huge win for Fulham against West Ham at Craven Cottage! Dimitar Berbatov was brilliant and could have had a hat-trick!!! Damien Duff's free kick was squeezed in by the the Czech striker with a fine header from a very tight angle, 1-0. The goal looked offside, even he himself looked over to the linesman! Kevin Nolan put the Hammers level from a quickly taken free kick, Fulham were caught napping, 1-1. Seconds later, Hugo Rodallega headed in Duff's cross beating three defenders, 2-1. Berbatov saw a couple of chances go wide before Andy Carroll pulled a block-save out of Mark Schwarzer. At the other end, Rodallega pulled save out of Jussi Jaaskelainen before Mladen Petric hit the post off the rebound and Joey O'Brien eventually saw it into the back of his own net, JUST over the line to make it 3-1 and three points to Fulham!

FLOP!

Norwich were much better than the side that flopped against Liverpool and Luton, whilst Tottenham disappointed until Andre Villas-Boas got his changes, notes and influence going. Wesley Hoolahan stroked the ball into an empty unguarded net after a fine one-two, one-touch build-up, to make it 1-0. Tottenham were nowhere. A handball appeal against Jan Vertonghen was not given. Norwich were on top before Spurs sub Lewis Holtby came on with a couple of notes for the team. The notes worked their magic, Gareth Bale equalising with a top-draw left-foot smacker after a fine run ten minutes from time. Gylfi Sigurdsson pulled brilliant last-minute save out of Mark Bunn, keeping one point for Norwich, dropping two for Spurs.

HERO!

With five late goals in last three games, 10 in 13, Adam Le Fondre has been stunning for Reading once again! He pulled the first goal back against Chelsea with a sweet finish off a beautiful ball in to make it 1-2 three minutes from time. Adam Federici produced a fine leap-save off Ramires before taking late free kick deep into injury time for Le Fondre to curl in the equaliser after a couple of headers across the box. Super sub, or what?! It seemed like same old, same old for Chelsea, dropping goals and points late on, just like against the Saints the other week. And the Blues made such a strong start when Juan Mata was in off Fernando Torres, 0-1, showing off some top-class one-touch football! Frank Lampard claimed the second, seeing his header deflect in off a corner to double the lead. Oscar missed some golden chances, it could have been 3 or 4-0! Interim boss Rafael Benitez will be left scratching his head and wondering...

ZERO!

Brilliant saves by both keepers denied both QPR and Manchester City to alter the scoreboard, the prior being the happier winning the point whilst the latter will see it as two crucial points dropped in the title race. This clash was very different to the other goalless draw of the week between Sunderland and Swansea, the Welsh visitors creating more, but the whole game not having much to write home about.

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