Week 22: Premier League Tops and Flops

Sports - Football - Premier League - Picks of the Weekend

Saturday alone saw 27 goals! Only one team in the top half of the table pocketed three points on the day- that team being Sunderland. The Sunday double kick-off of the two Manchester clubs and their wins over their London rivals at the top of the table would be the all-too-obvious picks, but there was so much more:

Top game: It was a weekend of spectacular goals and comebacks: A superb strike by Danny Guthrie opened the score for Newcastle and gave them a false sence of security, comfort and confidence at Fulham. A soft penalty taken by Danny Murphy then gave Fulham the equaliser and put both former Liverpool players on the score sheet. Clint Dempsey's 13th goal of the season made it 2-1 and his 14th followed soon after with a cracking finish to make it 3-1 and him the highest American scorer in Premier League history. Bobby Zamora netted the second penalty to make it 4-1 which added together to four goals in 16 minutes! A good bit of skill by Hatem Ben Arfa tucking himself inside the defender made it 4-2. But Dempsey with a hat-trick made sure that at 5-2 it all stayed under Fulham's control! What a game of two halves and comeback kings!

Top team: Eventhough it ended up in defeat, Tottenham were more than just an opposition to league leaders Manchester City. They were strong competitors who looked set to be the first side to deny Robert Mancini's side a home win in the Premier League. It was a quite firm competition until it all kicked of in the second half with four goals in ten minutes. Gareth Bale's looked like he had grabbed Spurs a point when he met the ball first-time and curled it into the top corner, until Ledley King was penalised for pulling down Mario Balotelli and the Italian substitute stepped up to beat Brad Friedel. Spurs are now eight points behind the leaders in third place, but five points ahead of Chelsea in fourth, making the Champions League spot more and more their own.

Top player: Robbie Keane starred for the other comeback kings of the day, Aston Villa, with two gobsmacking goals! After making his debut for Wolves over 14 years ago, he returned to the Premier League on loan from Los Angeles Galaxy, beating his former side in spectacular fashion. The Irishman hasn't seen much action over the last month-and-a-bit, the more impressive his display way. Steve Morison and Frank Lampard had scored in every game for their respective teams so far this year, Norwich and Chelsea having won all three games before their goalless draw.

Top goal: Keane's 125th Premier League goal deserves to be put under this category not only for the statistic or for the comeback but also in what skilful fashion it was executed. Keane made defender Roger Johnson pay for a poor headed clearance by lashing his long-range strike in off the crossbar from 25 yards out.

Top news: FA Cup 4th round coming up, with Liverpool facing bitter rivals Manchester United at Anfield, in the last week of the January transfer window 2012.


Flop game: I knew before it kicked off, United against Arsenal could not compete against City's win over Tottenham in terms of entertainment and quality (and goals) and it didn't. Chelsea's goalless draw against Norwich was just an agonising watch. The chances that were created weren's even close. Norwich will be more than glad about the result, but Chelsea will have to worry whether they can keep hold of a Champions League spot if they continue like this.

Flop team: Liverpool showed some shocking defending! They were two goals down within 28 minutes, allowing man-of-the-match Chris Eagles to run free, all Red shirts around the box but leaving Mark Davies and Nigel Reo-Coker still free to score both goals. Craig Bellamy pulled one back, but it was again a case of false hope. Bolton sealed the win at 3-1 with a magnificent finish after David Wheater headed back Martin Petrov's corner for Gretar Steinsson to volley the ball into the bottom right-hand corner. It looked all too easy for Bolton, whilst the Reds drew a sorry, very sorry picture of themselves.

Flop player: Balotelli cannot stay out of the headlines and his stamp on Scott Parker was just so evil, it's ridiculous! Various reporters were discussing whether the striker knew where Parker's head was, whether it was just an unlucks accident... Please! Who would kick back like that if there wasn't anything or anyone there they were targeting?!
Another player under negative scrutiny, Fernando Torres was NOT on the scoreboard for Chelsea once again with chances galore, but no goal. The Spaniard has now gone 15 games without scoring, the last one against Genk in October, his worst run since he came to England when he joined Liverpool from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2007. No bien!

Flop goal: Stoke keeper Thomas Sorensen will not want to see either goal which gave West Brom a win and three points at the Britannia Stadium. West Brom hadn't beaten Stoke in 10 meetings in 30 years. When the ball swerved over Sorensen's left leg after he saw it too late and wrong-sided, it was clearly one of those video-collection-blooper moments which gave the visitors the lead. After Stoke had equalised and thought they would escape with a point, an injury-time free kick in by Graham Dorrans saw goalkeeper Sorensen helpless again and Stoke losing two goals and three points to West Brom. OUCH!

Flop news: Harry Redknapp's tax-dodging trial starts this coming week, see what comes out there... I wonder if his pet dog Rosie will be questioned in court, too...

My predictions - Actual results

Norwich 2:1 Chelsea - 0:0

Everton 1:1 Blackburn - 1:1

Fulham 1:2 Newcastle - 5:2

QPR 2:2 Wigan - 3:1

Stoke 1:0 West Brom - 1:2

Sunderland 2:1 Swansea - 2:0

Wolves 1:1 Aston Villa - 2:3

Bolton 2:3 Liverpool - 3:1

Man City 1:2 Tottenham - 3:2

Arsenal 2:2 Man Utd - 1:2

Week 21: Premier League Tops and Flops

Sports - Football - Premier League - Picks of the Weekend

Top game: Swansea's 3:2 Arsenal was a gem! It had everything! Robin van Persie opened the scoring with his 18th PL goal of the season, equalling his best season of his career 2010/11, 0:1. This record was followed by controversy with Swansea's penalty equaliser, 1:1. Then in the second half, the Swans' pressure payed off, Nathan Dyer's top class finish turned the game around, 2:1. But then the home side switched off, for just that one second and BOOM, they let one in, Theo Walcott free and in for the equaliser, 2:2. However, seconds later (45 seconds to be exact), Swansea took back the lead, 3:2! Great finish from a tight angle, Danny Graham kept composure and got it right in there. WOW!  Breathtaking stuff! What a game! Brilliant win for the Swans! Arsenal kept the pressure up late on but too little, too late, the hard earned and well deserved three points are Swansea's for keeps! WOW!

Top team: All hard work and endeaver came to nothing for Tottenham, but it was a terrific point for Wolves, who worked their socks off! After all the title talk over the last couple of days, Spurs' stumble came as no surprise, the pressure's on. At Manchester United, everything seemed to be back to normal, three goals, three points, taking them level with City before they scraped out a win at Wigan to restore their three-point lead at the top.

Top player: After Thierry Henry for Arsenal in the Carling cup, Paul Scholes scored in his comeback match for Manchester United, Antonio Valencia and Wayne Rooney in the buildup, past Danny Welbeck, the old man was not going to miss that one! Wigan's Ali Al Habsi was brilliant, he made some breathtaking instinctive saves, denying Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero more than once and sparing his side from a thrash against City. Shame they could not make more of it, they had their fair share of chances, too.

Top goal: Blackburn striker David Hoilett pulled a great save from Fulham goalkeeper David Stockdale. Sub Mauro Formica was on side and swiped the ball in, sweet goal, sweet game, sweet result, sweet points for Blackburn and Steve Kean, especially after going down to ten men so early on! Extraordinary performance which took them out of the relegation zone for the first time since September.

Top news: After a week that saw the return of the legends with Henry and Scholes, Robbie Kean has joined that list after signing for Aston Villa on loan from Loas Angeles Galaxy. Although he is definitely not the same rank as the other two who have returned to their teams of heart and history, unlike Kean with Tottenham, I am curious to see what impact he will make at Villa, if any...

Flop game: Liverpool are not getting beaten but can't get a win at Anfield either! This weekend saw another goalless draw against Stoke, seeing plenty of chances going to waste. Everyone seemed to have an off day missing everything, including referee Howard Webb! It doesn't hide the fact though that Liverpool have only won four of their last 11 home matches, that means 14 points dropped and lost, which would have seen them one point ahead of United in second place! Instead Kenny Dalglish's boys are stuck in seventh, left scratching their heads.


Flop team: Martin O'Neill was on his knees. Chelsea's defence looked in shambles at times, Sunderland missing the loads of chances. Similar to Wigan's draw against City, it was the underdogs against the rich and glamourous, with the prior frustrating the latter and looking like they could pull off a shock and nick a point (or three). But it was not to be, for Sunderland at least, but they (Wigan especially) can hold their heads up high, if they show the same stubbornness and determination against fellow strugglers and teams lower down the table, they should be able to survive in the Premier League.

Flop player: Having Aygbeni Yakubu sent off so early on in the match was cruel for Blackburn. He saw an instant red for his high tackle on Danny Murphy. Everyone was gob-smacked, but it was knee-high, studds showing, red all day long in my book! It was just stupid. But it seemed to pull the team together. Not that he or any player should feel encouraged to repeat such foolishness, but Steve Kean can be proud that his guys didn't let themselves be dragged down by such act and feel sorry for themselves. They got a grip and a win with it!

Flop goal: It was a spectacular take by Fernando Torres which came off the bar, off Frank Lampard and in. Great technique by the Spaniard but Lampard's on the scoresheet, not him. Tough luck. Wolves' goal came from a corner that shouldn't have been given and Emmanuel Adebayor's goal was wrongly ruled out for offside, so Tottenham have good reasons not to be happy with the result. No discrediting Wolves' hard work and effort though.

Flop news: Blackburn captain Christopher Samba missed his side's 3-1 win against Fulham as he was having tests in hospital for severe stomach cramps. Then the story broke, he handed in a transfer request saying "the side is not improving at all". Did he miss this weekend's action? Didn't they show football in hospital? Did they hit him in the head?

My predictions - Actual results

Aston Villa 0:2 Everton - 1:1

Blackburn 1:1 Fulham - 3:1

Chelsea 1:2 Sunderland - 1:0

Liverpool 3:0 Stoke - 0:0

Man Utd 2:0 Bolton - 3:0

Tottenham 3:0 Wolves - 1:1

West Brom 2:2 Norwich - 1:2

Newcastle 1:0 QPR - 1:0

Swansea 1:2 Arsenal - 3:2

Wigan 1:1 Man City - 0:1

Week 16-20: Premier League Tops and Flops

Sports - Football - Premier League - Picks of the last 5

It has been a mad few weeks indeed. Not only have Christmas and New Year kept everyone on their toes and (hopefully) jolly, but the football grounds and pitches have certainly not gathered much dust. Quite the opposite. They have seen everything! From shocks and horrors, to delight and despair, to complete and utter ecstasy and/or ugliness. Well, to make up for my gap in blogging, here are the key facts and stats and my picks of the last five match weeks = 50 games from the 17th December 2011 to 4th January 2012, before the international break:

Top Facts:

- 125 goals scored = average of 2.5 goals per game.

- 136 bookings made = avergage of 2.72 yellow cards per game.

- 7 red cards shown = average of 0.14 sendings off per game or one player sent off every 7.143 games.

- 16 different score lines on the board, top 5 of those were 1:1 (11 times), 1:2 (8 times) and 1:0 (6 times), 0:2 (5 times) and 0:0 (4 times).

- There have only been three games without any bookings, all three of them ending 1:1: Wigan v Chelsea (18.12), Bolton v Wolves and Norwich v Fulham (both 31/12). Faire play and result or coincidence?

Top 5 games: I like surprises, so the most shocking results no one would have predicted made it on this list for me (listed chronologically):

- Wigan's 1:1 v Chelsea and 0:0 v Liverpool: Having struggled in the bottom three since October, the Latics kicked off the Christmas period with two hard-fought and well-deserved draws against two top Premier League sides. Jordi Gomez's late equaliser denied Chelsea a win and Ali Al-Habsi penalty save against Charlie Adam and overall top performance denied Liverpool a win at the DW stadium. You would have thought these two results should have served to up Wigan's confidence and fight to get out of the relegation zone, but things went downhill from there. Shame.

- Man Utd 2:3 Blackburn: After winning eight of their last nine matches since their 6-1 thrashing home defeat against local rivals City and scoring 25 and conceding only 3 in the process, Sir Alex Ferguson could not have asked for a better 70th birthday present than welcoming bottom-of-the-table Blackburn to Old Trafford, expecting an easy win. In the end, under-fire Steve Kean could not have asked for a better New Year's present, because United's back line were terrible, the third goal killing off the home resistance and any chances of a comeback.

- Chelsea 1:3 Aston Villa: Both sides were going through a slump, the Blues having drawn the last three whilst Villa suffered defeats against Arsenal and Liverpool and could only save one point at Stoke. The visitors outplayed the hosts tactically and passionately, Villa just seemed to WANT the win and points that much more. Didier Drogba scored his 150th goal with a penalty whilst Fernando Torres rattled the crossbar, the goal still deluding him. Apart from that, Stephen Ireland and Villa worked hard and bossed the match, ironing out a hard earned, well deserved win.

- Sunderland 1:0 Man City: It was Martin O'Neill's fifth match as Sunderland manager and the total post-Steve-Bruce revamp continued. The game started slow but the second half produced some pulsating end-to-end stuff and ended with a breathless counter-attack. Nicklas Bendtner and Stephane Sessegnon were denied a goal either side of the break, with Edin Dzeko and Micah Richards both hitting the woodwork. But with the last kick of the game, Ji Dong-Won latched on to Sessegnon's pass well and rounded Joe Hart to win it. Late slump for City, brilliant stuff for the neutral eye.

- Newcastle 3:0 Man Utd: Even Fergie had to credit this one! This was arguably his side's worst performance, no discredit to the Toons' top performance though! The Red Devils' back line failed to cope with all the pressure, Rio Ferdinand and Phil Jones failing miserably against Demba Ba and Shola Ameobi. Yohan Cabaye's wonderful free kick put the sweet icing on the wonderful cake for Newcastle, who had not won in their previous 18 league meetings since a 4-3 success in September 2001, while the result emulated the 3-0 victory of February 2000.* The only other Premier League win for Newcastle over Manchester United, home or away, was the famous 5-0 in October 1996.* Phillipe Albert scored a memorable fifth in that game and he was on the gantry for Belgian TV on Wednesday night.*

Top 5 teams:

- Top scorers: Man Utd with 14 goals, although ten of them came from two games, both 5-0 thrashings at Fulham and against Wigan at home. Tottenham and Newcastle follow them on the top scorers' list with eight goals in the last five games, then City with seven.

- Top form: Tottenham are the only side who remained undefeated in the last five games (WDWDW = 11 points out of a possible 15). W13 D3 L3 - Tottenham have only once had a better league record after 19 games in the top flight - that was 1960-61 (W17 D1 L1).* In the last five games, formwise, Spurs are followed by: City (WWDLW) and Sunderland (LWDWW), who won 10 out of 15 points suffering only one defeat.

- Top defence: City also make the top defence, having only conceded one goal in all five games. That goal came from Sunderland in their home win against the top dogs. Man City have won their last 14 PL home games, their second best run in the top-flight after 16 in a row in 1921.* Tottenham have only conceded two goals. The Swans are the next best defenders with only three goals given away, their lack of attack though, with just four goals, leading them to only one win (DLDDW = 6 out of 15 points). The Welsh side have also committed fewer fouls than any other team in the Premier League.* Clean and robust but not productive.

- Top players: Arsenal's Robin van Persie still tops the Premier League score list with 17 goals but Toon Ba has impressed me most with his 15 goals in 15 League appearances. City's Sergio Aguero (14) and Blackburn's Ayegbeni Yakubu (12) are serving their sides well through some difficult times whilst the likes of Dzeko (10) and Mario Balotelli (8) who have shown plenty of quality in the past, have gone more quiet, behind the shadows a bit lately. The return of Thierry Henry has made me a very happy woman! And I know it was not in the Premier League, but his winning  return-goal against Leeds in the FA Cup third round could not have made a tastier appetiser for seeing him back in the Premier League! J'aime Thierry!

Top goal: There are sooooo many to choose from, so I'm going for the freakiest again: Everton's Tim Howard is the fourth goalkeeper in Premier League history to score a goal, after Peter Schmeichel, Brad Friedel and Paul Robinson. Howard scored from inside his own box when his kick bounced 30 yards from Bolton's goal and, with the help of the wind and weather, the ball flew over visiting keeper Adam Bogdan. It didn't help his side in the match as they still fell to a 2:1 home defeat against Bolton, but believe me, he could not have done more!

Top news: Plenty of action, drama, thrills, spills, shocks, horrors and controversy in the FA Cup third round and Carling Cup semi finals and the ins and outs of the January transfer window.

Flop games: No such thing in the Premier League! Not that it's worth or that I can recount anyway!

Flop teams:

- Flop scorers: Quite a few teams have been low scores with only four or five goals in the last five games. Here is the list, with only four goals: Wigan, QPR, Aston Villa and Swansea; and only five goals in the last five games: Bolton, West Brom, Everton, Arsenal (! - well, thank god Thierry's back, ey! ;-))

- Flop form: QPR (LLDLL) and Wolves (LDDDL) are the only two sides to have seen no wins over the last five games in the Christmas and New Year period. Worrying.

- Flop defence: Norwich and Blackburn have both failed to keep clean sheets in the opening 20 games of the season, equaling Bolton's record (2009-10 season).* Wigan have conceded the most in the last five games by far with 12 goals. Blackburn and QPR follow next on the worst defense list with nine goals conceded.

Flop players: Luis Suarez and Balotelli have without a doubt caught as much attention on the pitch as they have off it, filling the news with both good and bad headlines. Andy Carroll and Fernando Torres have definitely shared more misses than cheers with their fans and team mates. None of Carroll's last 26 headed shots in the Premier League have resulted in goals and he has had more headed shots off target (13) than any other player in the Premier League this season.* Torres has scored more Premier League goals for Liverpool in 2011 than he has for Chelsea (3) and had just 1 more shot on target in 2011 for Chelsea than for Liverpool (11) this calendar year.* Just like with Michael Owen, I knew, the day he left Liverpool, he waved goodbye to becoming a legend. 

Flop news: First sacking of the year is already out of the way with Neil Warnock sent packing by QPR after a bad run of eight Premier League games without a win. Former Wales/Blackburn/City/Fulham boss Mark Hughes has taken over... Good luck on that one, Mark!

*Thanks to Opta Sports for some interesting stats and facts. The rest I've all noted, scribbled and calculated myself with some peeking on the BBC and SkySports websites and match reports.

My predictions - Useless! - Actual results:

Week 16:

Blackburn 2:0 West Brom - 1:2

Everton 3:1 Norwich - 1:1

Fulham 2:1 Bolton - 2:0

Newcastle 3:1 Swansea - 0:0

Wolves 2:1 Stoke - 1:2

Wigan 0:4 Chelsea - 1:1

QPR 0:1 Man Utd - 0:2

Aston Villa 1:2 Liverpool - 0:2

Tottenham 3:0 Sunderland - 1:0

Man City 3:1 Arsenal - 1:0

Week 17:

Wolves 2:1 Norwich - 2:2

Blackburn 3:2 Bolton - 1:2

Aston Villa 2:3 Arsenal - 1:2

Man City 2:0 Stoke - 3:0

Newcastle 2:2 West Brom - 2:3

Everton 3:1 Swansea - 1:0

Fulham 2:2 Man Utd - 0:5

QPR 1:1 Sunderland - 2:3

Wigan 0:1 Liverpool - 0:0

Tottenham 2:1 Chelsea - 1:1

Week 18:

Chelsea 2:1 Fulham - 1:1

Bolton 3:2 Newcastle - 0:2

Liverpool 3:1 Blackburn - 1:1

Man Utd 4:1 Wigan - 5:0

Sunderland 2:2 Everton - 1:1

West Brom 1:3 Man City - 0:0

Stoke 3:2 Aston Villa - 0:0

Arsenal 2:0 Wolves - 1:1

Swansea 0:0 QPR - 1:1

Nowich 1:3 Tottenham - 0:2

Week 19:

Liverpool 3:0 Newcastle - 3:1

Man Utd 2:1 Blackburn - 2:3

Arsenal 2:1 QPR - 1:0

Bolton 2:1 Wolves - 1:1

Chelsea 2:1 Aston Villa - 1:3

Norwich 2:1 Fulham - 1:1

Stoke 2:1 Wigan - 2:2

Swansea 2:1 Tottenham - 1:1

West Brom 2:1 Everton - 0:1

Sunderland 2:1 Man City - 1:0

Week 20:

Aston Villa 2:1 Swansea - 0:2

Blackburn 2:1 Stoke - 1:2

QPR 2:1 Norwich - 1:2

Wolves 2:1 Chelsea - 1:2

Fulham 2:1 Arsenal - 2:1

Tottenham 2:0 West Brom - 1:0

Wigan 1:1 Sunderland - 1:4

Man City 3:2 Liverpool - 3:0

Everton 2:1 Bolton - 1:2

Newcastle 1:4 Man Utd - 3:0

In case you are wondering about the chain of 2:1 predictions I made, that was when I was at my parents' and forgot to predict, hence the auto-predictor put all predictions 2:1. Told ye USELESS! ;-P

Gerrard hits the spot at City

Sports - Football - Carling Cup - Semi-Final - 1st Leg

Man City 0:1 Liverpool

Liverpool take a one-goal advantage to the second leg at Anfield after beating Manchester City 1-0 in the first leg of the Carling Cup semi-final at the Etihad stadium.

It was a game of two halves with Liverpool displaying a much more confident, professional and productive performance, much in contrast to their absent-minded 3-0 defeat to City in the Premier League only eight days earlier, again without their controversial main man Luis Suarez.

City on the other hand offered a much more shakey, on-and-off performance, with four forced changes since their last meeting, Vincent Kompany sudpended and David Silva injured, whilst both Kolo ande Yaya Toure are out on international duty with the Ivory Coast at the African Cup of Nations.

Their back line was kept under pressure constantly early on by Liverpool and with Kompany missing, goalkeeper Joe Hart was kept busy and produced good saves against Andy Carroll, Steven Gerrard and Stewart Downing.

Only 11 minutes into the game, Stefan Savic brought down Daniel Agger in the box conceding a penalty with a high, risky tackle on the knee. Gerrard netted the spot kick, Hart guessing right but JUST missing the ball to give Liverpool a well deserved 1-0 lead.

The rest of the half, Liverpool kept dominating, City and Mario Balotelli especially getting more and more frustrated. The home side looked stronger after Samir Nasri came on, the midfield keeping and creating more of the ball.

But Liverpool kept the ball well, dominated possession and chances. They will have felt disappointed that they did not take a bigger lead into the break, having the edge over City.

The second half, City finally came out their shakey shell more, with Liverpool withdrawing more and more, keeping a solid back line.

The best chance came when Martin Kelly's bad backpass found Sergio Aguero in front of goal. But Pepe Reina did well, making himself big, spreading out, coming close and putting good pressure on Aguero, for his shot to go high.

That summarised the day for City, they got closer and closer in the second half, but still nowhere near scoring with Aguero and substitute Aleksandar Kolarov painting the most frustrated picture missing plenty of chances and wasting a lot late on.

Kenny Dalglish can be proud of the improved performance of his side, especially the back line, although Glen Johnson had a mixed display and was caught in controversy late on for his two-footed tackle on Joleon Lescott, although it looked like he did not catch him with both and got the ball. At the front, Carroll left a lot to wish for once again with a below-par performance.

Roberto Mancini was not happy, understandably so, although his half-time talk and changes did make a difference. We will see if he can and whether he will make THE difference in the second leg, because no one on the pitch in the first leg looked like they could. Advantage Liverpool.

Manchester City: Hart; Richards (c), Savic, Lescott, Clichy; Milner, De Jong (Kolarov 72), Barry, Adam Johnson (Dzeko 66), Balotelli (Nasri 39, booked 86); Aguero. 4-5-1
Subs not used: Pantilimon, Zabaletta, Hargreaves, Onuoha.

Liverpool: Reina; Kelly, Skrtel, Agger, Glen Johnson; Downing (José Enrique 60), Henderson, Gerrard, Spearing (Adam 23), Bellamy (Carragher 80, booked 86); Carroll. 4-5-1
Subs not used: Doni, Coates, Kuyt, Shelvey.

Referee: Lee Mason (Lancashire)
Man of the match: Steven Gerrard

Match stats:
Man City-Liverpool
1st & 2nd half
Attempts: 4-6 & 8-0
On target: 1-5 & 1-0
Offsides: 0-1 & 2-0
Corners: 1-1 & 3-0
Free kicks: 5-5 & 6-5
Posession: 50%-50% after 30min, 47%-53% 1st half; 65%-35% 2nd half up to 78.min, 58%-42% FT

Full Match Summary:

1st half:

• City k.o.
• 5. Carroll denied by Hart, Balotelli stopped by Skrtel on the other end.
• 10. Good save by Hart again, this G.'s shot sneaking in on the right. Downing flicks one in off corner, great save again by Heart.
• 11. Penalty! Agger down! Savic catches him on the knee, high, risky tackle. G. to take the spot-kick.
• 12:17 G. nets it to Hart's right, outstanding penalty, gk got the side right JUST missing it. 0-1.
• 14. Lpool continue storm forward, G.'s shot deflected, Hart catches it preventing corner.
• 16. Aguero's left footer from edge of the box goes high & wide. 1st attempt for home side.
• 22. Spearing down with hamstring, Adam comes on for him.
• 26. Ground's gone quiet, not sold out btw.
• 29. Poor giveaway by Carroll, glad to see Richards lose it. Adam brings down Balotelli has a tantrum after Adam tapped him on his head passing by. Fk to City.
• 30. Balotelli's fk blocked.
• 33. Fk from the right by Johnson, Kelly heads it away. Adam goes down dramatically for a fk.
• 35. Balotelli takes down Johnson, bad lunge, seems off his game, like the whole City side so far. Kelly cross from right into the box, Carroll getting in front of Savic but heads it wide.
• 38. Milner brought down by G., fk, eventually goes out wide.
• 39. Balotelli off, Nasri on. The controversial forward goes straight down the tunnel, looked off, maybe injured, definitely not on the ball!
• 41. City making a meal of getting the ball away, looks wet & slippery out there, not nice.
• 43. G. stops Aguero from left. Nasri shot cleared by Reina, the shot from the wide right bounced just in front if him, took a bit away from the shot, advantage for the Spanish gk.
• 44. City seeing more of the ball with the extra man in midfield.
• 45. Milner puts one high on the edge of the backs after Richards fine break & cross from the right, blew Glen Johnson away.
• 46. 3 minutes added on. Adam down. Looked like Savic got him.
• 48. City's 1st corner of the match off big deflection. Johnson good & strong in box, Skrtel bad outside, gives ball away, fk for City conceded by G. Johnson takes it, curls it high & wide, last kick of the game. HT: 0-1

City looked stronger after changes, midfield kept & created more of the ball. Apart from that, all Liverpool, kept the ball well, dominated possession & chances, they'll feel disappointed that they are not further ahead. So far, Reds have the edge, City look like they still have to get on the pitch & in the game.

2nd half:

• Lpool k.o. 2nd half.
• 46. Early corner for City, looking for a quick come back in the 2nd half, comes to nothing.
• 51. City keeping possession, containing the ball, trying to create chances but are kept out the box well & solid by Lpool. Adam does well taking ball to the corner & deflecting it out for a gk.
• 54. Aguero comes forward, kicks ball too far for Skrtel able to intervene & put the ball out for a corner. Reina catches corner, distribution leads on to Liverpool attack, the game speeding up, crowd waking up.
• 56. Kelly mistake, backpass taken by Aguero, his shot goes high, good pressure by Pepe. Lpool starting to show cracks. José Enrique is getting ready on the side line. Fb on, winger off, looked like Downing's nr will be up.
• 59. Barry drives one up from left, out for a corner. Richards leaping header blocked & stopped brilliantly by Reina.
• 60. Downing off, José Enrique on for Lpool.
• 65. Bellamy loses out ball to Barry, City on counter, 15 takes shot, looks like he slipped slightly, not a strong shot, easy save for Reina.
• 66. Adam Johnson off, Dzeko on for City.
• 68. Fine Clichy cross from left, no one in the box to take the chance. Aguero on next attack, great tackle by Glen Johnson on the edge of the box. Bellamy attach stopped by Richards, City counter deflected, end-to-end stuff here. Much more positive by City.
• 70. Nasri past Glen Johnson, but too high.
• 72. De Jong off, Kolarov on for City.
• 73. Kolarov puts free kick wide from right, nowhere near anyone. G. got instructions from King Kenny to move Kelly & Henderson forward, more attacking.
• 76. Kolarov cross from left, easy take for Reina.
• 77. Kolarov speculative again, takes shot from far left, high, nowhere near again. Was good forward attack run by Richards.
• 79. Barry loses out to Reina.
• 80. Bellamy off, Carragher on, Lpool going over-defensive, wanting to keep hold of the lead at the Etihad stadium.
• 82. Milner shot drags wide, no real pressure or power on it.
• 85. Adam cross from right blocked out for a corner by Agger. Kolarov wastes corner high & wide AGAIN!
• 86. Nasri on Carragher, little push-about by both side, Kolarov getting involved, first booking of the night goes to Nasri, second to Carragher, good refereeing.
• 88. Aguero shot blocked by Kelly. Through all their possession City looked less likely of scoring. YNWA echoes through the ground.
• 90. 3 minutes added on. Adam gives away a fk on the right. Aguero heads it JUST over the cross bar.
• 92. Henderson concedes fk, looks like he got the ball. Milner puts it in the box, Carroll heads it out, packed box, Johnson got ball off Lescott with both feet, similar to Kompany's s.o., got less of the player though. FT: 0-1

Liverpool take a one-goal advantage to the second leg at Anfield after a professional, productive performance, decisive in the end in comparison to City's shakey, on-and-off performance (off 1st half, more on it 2nd half, but still nowhere near).

Ten-man City ease past Liverpool

Sports - Football - Premier League - Man City 3:0 Liverpool

Manchester City comfortably kept their unbeaten run at home with a 3-0 beating of Liverpool at the Etihad stadium and recovered well from their shock defeat at Sunderland which was just around 48 hours ago.



Although, as always, there were questionable decisions by referee Andre Marriner, there is no doubt over who outplayed whom with Liverpool all huff and puff but no quality as BBC's Tom Rostance summarized the performance accordingly.

Each time when it looked like they were gaining in momentum, the Reds slipped up and lost it again. First Pepe Reina, of all people, let Sergio Aguero's shot drop under him for the opening goal, the Spaniard not happy understandably.

Then, when Liverpool had gained advantage in possession, territory and pressure again, Yaya Toure headed in a City corner, past Reina and the two defenders Jose Enrique and Charlie Adam, easily beating Glen Johnson by a couple of inches.



Gareth Barry's 450th Premier League appearance was nothing to shout about, apart from a couple of harsh decision which went against him. The England midfielder saw his first booking for bringing down Jay Spearing who looked like he made the most of the brush past just before half time.

Then in the second half, after Kenny Dalglish had rang in the changes bringing on Steven Gerrard and Craig Bellamy for below par Adam and Dirk Kuyt, Liverpool started to speed and heat up the match more.

A minute of madness followed just over halfway through the second half: Barry was sent off, booked the second time for a push on Daniel Agger. Harsh again, as it looked neither here nor there between the two, although he was warned off shortly before that after a tackle on Gerrard.


But instead of taking advantage of the referee's decision and the extra man, Liverpool's Enrique gave away the resulting free kick very cheaply for City to break out onto a counter attack and Yaya Toure to win a penalty after being brought down by Martin Skrtel. It looked like a very soft touch, another harsh decision by Marriner, but James Milner netted it cooly to the right, sending Reina the wrong way, to seal the match, result and three points, 3-0 to City.

Liverpool tried and tried, but never got very far, no matter how much possession and time they had on the ball. Andy Carrol was useless and nowhere to be seen apart from a couple of misses as always. Stewart Downing and Enrique produced the only sparks of hope with some fine breaks and crosses, as Bellamy did later, too.

But, whether it was because Luis Suarez was missing, after starting his eight-match ban for racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra, or because of the bad weather (it was absolutely pouring it down turning the football pitch into a water glide), Liverpool never looked like they were getting close.



And City did not have to make much of an effort to grab the win, it just looked too easy! Although man of the match Vincent Kompany's outstanding performance at the back needs to be noted. He kept the little Liverpool resistence there was at bay superbly and gave them no chance whatsoever of a comeback. They are now three points clear at the top ahead of local rivals United.

King Kenny hit the spot in response to Liverpool's performance: "If you want to be successful you have to be clinical, and that's what was missing tonight from ourselves. We worked hard and passed it well, but if you're not clinical you won't progress."

Man City: Hart; Richards, Kompany, Kolo Toure, Clichy; Yaya Toure (scored 32:30), Barry (booked 45. s.o. 73), Aguero (scored 9:53; Johnson 72), Silva (Lescott 76), Milner (scored penalty 74:13), Dzeko.
Subs not used: Pantiliman, Zabaleta, Kolarov, Savic, De Jong.

Liverpool: Reina; Johnson (booked 56), Agger, Skrtel, Jose Enrique; Adam (Gerrard 57), Kuyt (Bellamy 57), Henderson, Spearing (Rodriguez 76), Downing, Carroll.
Subs not used: Doni, Carragher, Shelvey, Kelly.

1st & 2nd half stats: Man City-Liverpool
Attempts: 7:7 & 2:6
On target: 6:4 & 1:2
Offsides: 0:0 & 0:0
Corners: 5:2 & 0:4
Free kicks: 4:6 & 3:6
Possession:
BBC: 51%-49% & 50%-50%
Sky Sports: 45%-55% & 26.6%-73.4% (!!!)

Further Sky Sports stats: Man City-Liverpool
Passing Success: 77.3%-86.2%
Tackles/Success: 19/68.4%-17/82.4%
Territorial Advantage: 42.1%-57.9% (!!! again)
Action Areas: Man City 43%-44%-13% Liverpool (!!! last time)

Referee: Andre Marriner (West Midlands)
Man of the match: Vincent Kompany

Week 15: Premier League Tops and Flops

Sports - Football - Premier League - Picks of the Week:

Top game: Chelsea's home win against Manchester City was a pulsating match where both teams went at it and there could have been more red cards than just the one! It was a feisty clash where the home side's top quality, team work and spirit beat City's snorty arrogance. All games had plenty of goals, action and refereeing controversy once again, but Norwich's home win against Newcastle tops the lot! Six goals, five bookings, one red card - it was a cracking game and result, for Norwich anyway.

Top team: Even after their first defeat of the season, City are still 12 points better off than they were at this stage last season and remain top of the Premier League table, two points clear of local rivals United. It will take more than one defeat to sink that massive ship! The promoted teams Norwich and Swansea are flying high mid-table, in 10th and 11th spot, on 19 and 17 points, after enjoying impressive home wins against Newcastle and Fulham respectively.

Top player: Nani and Antonio Valencia impressed me most at Old Trafford. Their runs left everyone far behind, so too their top quality passes, crosses and shots. The Portuguese midfielder scored two whilst his Ecuadorian provided two, Nani's cheeky right-foot opener running past all defenders along the box setting the tone of the match. Maxi Rodriguez showed similar pace and resilience at Anfield but was not rewarded with his name on the scoresheet thanks to some brilliant saves by QPR's Czech goalkeeper Radek Cerny.

Top goal: The opening Chelsea goal by former Liverpool midfielder Raul Meireles was a smacker-and-a-half after a beautiful build up run clear and cross by once-again-impressive Daniel Sturridge. Of course Robin Van Persie's left-foot touch off Alex Song's wonderful diagonal pass and unstoppable shot and winning goal against Everton is impossible to overlook. The one goal Wolves got against United is also worth a note as Liverpool fan Steven Fletcher will never forget how wonderful he headed and curled the ball over everyone and into the back of the net.

Top news: I loved this little quote on BBC's Sportsday Live: Qatar's Al Sadd want Fifa to let them field a team of 16 players when they face European champions Barcelona in Thursday's Club World Cup semi-final in Japan. "I've got a plan," Al Sadd's Uruguayan coach Jorge Fossati joked. "If they agree to my request we are allowed 15 or 16 players on the field, I think we have a chance!" Nothing's impossible, right?

Flop game: Tottenham's defeat at Stoke was a strong win for them home side with a solid and resilient performance, especially by the back line, however, for Spurs it was a weak performance, by the referee especially. Yes, Chris Foy had a day to forget. I don't know how Emmanuel Adebayor's goal was offside and why Peter Crouch's handball in the build-up to Matthew Etherington's opener was conveniently overlooked, well, convenient for Stoke of course. In this day and age it is an impertinence that there is no back-up system, i.e. video ref to correct all this humbug!!!

Flop team: Bolton worried me sick this weekend! They gave Aston Villa no worries and a too easy win! There was no tracking, lack of defending which left Villa with too much time and space to push forward too freely and easily. Owen Coyle must have said something right at half time because they came out firing in the second half but it did not last long. The Wanderers are bottom of the league with only nine points, 14 points and 14 places worse off than at the same stage last season! Chris Kamara may not agree with me on his blog, but I am really worried for Bolton if they continue like this!

Flop player: There were three red cards this weekend, which could not have painted a bigger contrast: City's Gael Clichy painted a frustrated picture against the pace of Chelsea's Sturridge and saw a second yellow for tripping Ramires; Spurs' Younes Kaboul was harshly dismissed for a challenge on Stoke's Jonathan Walters by an imcompetent Foy who should not have stayed on the pitch himself; and last but not least Dan Gosling was Newcastle's main villain in their defeat with some miserable defending and fouling which lead to his sending off and his depleted side's defeat. How come the referees are not picked up, assessed and/or dropped according to their performances and consistency as the players and teams are?!

Flop goal: As mentioned above, this week there were a bunch of all-too-familiar cases of goals and penalties that should have or should not have been, but thanks to the mood swings and dazzling minds of the referees and their decisions, the goals, penalties and results stand as they are. I know, that gives us the spice to the food we eat, the words to the blogs, reports and articles we right, and the action and controversy to the matches and sport we follow and so thoroughly enjoy but damn! All action and entertainment would not be lost if all the lies, deceit and utter incompetence would be taken out of the game by modern technology! FULL STOP! I think this and could right this EVERY WEEK!!!!!!! The only one left jumping for joy this weekend, was new Sunderland manager Martin O'Neill after his side recorded only their third win of the season, his first match in charge, against Blackburn.

Flop news: Sad news about Darren Fletcher as it looks like we've seen the last of him in the game. Wish him all the best in his recovery, eventhough he plays for United... ;-P

My predictions - Actual results:

Arsenal 3:1 Everton - 1:0

Bolton 1:1 Aston Villa - 1:2

Liverpool 3:1 QPR - 1:0

Man Utd 3:0 Wolves - 4:1

Norwich 1:2 Newcastle - 4:2

Swansea 0:0 Fulham - 2:0

West Brom 3:1 Wigan - 1:2

Sunderland 3:0 Blackburn - 2:1

Stoke 1:2 Tottenham - 2:1

Chelsea 2:5 Man City - 2:1

Week 14: Premier League Tops and Flops

Sports - Football - Premier League - Picks of the Week

Top game: Newcastle's 0-3 home defeat to Chelsea was a harsh result to a brilliant game. Both goalkeepers had plenty to do and coped more than well. Tim Krul's superb penalty save was just one of many in a competitve match. Petr Cech made some brill saves too, Newcastle hitting the post and bar. Liverpool's 1-0 defeat at Fulham was a cruel result too, both teams enjoying plenty of chances, but one mistake by Pepe Reina costing the Reds dearly in the end. Of all goalkeepers, you would not have bet on that one making such an error! Juicy thrillers to the neutral eye, cruel world of football to the fans of the losing sides.

Top team: Manchester City were all over Norwich on Saturday, the 5-1 result reflecting their dominance in the game and their five-point and 17-goal lead at the top of the Premier League to runners-up Manchester United proving their command of the league. With Chelsea and Arsenal next up on the fixture list in the Premier League and their crucial, final Champions League group match against Bayern Munich squeezed inbetween the two, the competitions are getting anything but easier.

Top player: Yakubu Aiyegbeni's four goals for Blackburn against Swansea brought his side only their second win of the season and relief to manager Steve Kean after all the pressure, stick and protests against him over the last couple of weeks. Celebrating his second goal with his manager, Yakubu became the first Blackburn player to score four goals in a Premier League match. Even the great Alan Shearer did not do that in his short reign at Rovers. With Sunderland, West Brom and Bolton lined up next on the fixture list, Kean can only hope Yakubu stays in such top-scoring form and get Blackburn sneaking up the table. 

 Top goal: Yakubu's opener at Ewood park was a smacker. The Nigerian striker thumped Gael Givet's pull-back into the top right-hand corner, a sweet finish that lifted the mood and the game for the home side. Heidar Herlguson's header which made it 1-0 to QPR was sweet too. The Icelandic veteran striker met and netted Joey Barton's clip-pass well to score his sixth goal of the season. It was cruel Rangers only got a point out of the match in the end, they were on top and Shaun Wright-Phillips had netted another one with a brilliant volley but was wrongly disallowed as offside. The cruel world of football yet again.

Top news: The final Champions League group fixtures are ahead of us this week which will tell us who will emerge victorious and/or who will qualify and make it through to the final stages.

Flop game: Manchester United's 1-0 win at Villa Park did not have many highlights to show for itself. The goal was an easy one, Villa kept going though, you have to give them that much, but it just showed the lack of force they have, hardly forming any competition against United.

Flop team: Tottenham's 3-0 home win against Bolton could have been a 15-0 thrashing, if it weren't for Jussi Jaaskelainen! Bolton showed poor defending in the game, the goalkeeper sparing them from an absolute beating. Gareth Bale snook one in before Gary Cahill got sent off for synical fowl on Scott Parker. After Bale, Jermain Defoe and Emmanuel Adebayor were denied by Jaaskelainen, Aaron Lennon made it 2-0, past three defenders who blocked the goalkeeper's view. Defoe then made it 3-0 with all space in the world together with William Gallas, no defender nearby. It is the first time in the Premier League Spurs have won six in the row, thanks to every goalkeepers nightmare, a useless defence as Bolton displayed!


Flop player: How David Luiz stayed on the pitch after hauling down Demba Ba, I don't know! Have to ask referee Mike Dean I guess. The Chelsea defender was the last man against the Newcastle forward and brought him down without touching the ball = red, no? Mr Dean seemed to have it in for Newcastle, with a lot of decision's going against the home side and the 3-0 result looking very harsh reflecting an a very competitve, entertaining, end-to-end-stuff game. But I think Andre Villas-Boas would be the last person to call himself lucky, much in contrast to Alan Pardew, I'm sure to say.

Flop goal: As mentioned above, Wright-Phillips netted a fine goal with a weet right-foot finish for QPR against West Brom but was ruled out as offside, which he was nowhere near of! In the end, that decision meant two dropped points. Clint Dempsey's goal for Fulham against Liverpool was a cruel one too. Former Red Danny Murphy's shot past Glen Johnson was spilled by Reina, unlike him, and Dempsey was there to make it 1-0 with 5 minutes to go. The cruel and crucial world of football - I know I'm repeating myself now!

Flop news: Fabio Capello and England are already making trouble and preparing excuses for Euro 2012 with their decision to stay based in Poland whilst their group matches will be in Ukraine... It's a joke! Even Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister agrees!!!

My predictions - Actual results

Newcastle 1:1 Chelsea - 0:3

Blackburn 0:0 Swansea - 4:2

Man City 4:1 Norwich - 5:1

QPR 2:1 West Brom - 1:1

Tottenham 2:1 Bolton - 3:0

Wigan 2:3 Arsenal - 0:4

Aston Villa 1:1 Man Utd - 0:1

Everton 1:0 Stoke - 0:1

Wolves 2:1 Sunderland - 2:1

Fulham 1:3 Liverpool - 1:0