Toure howler costs Liverpool at West Brom

Sports - Football - Premier League - West Brom 1:1 Liverpool

A Kolo Toure howler cost Liverpool two points as his giveaway handed Victor Anichebe the leveller for West Brom to earn them a point at the Hawthorns.

It was the first Premier League draw between the two, the last one a 0-0 in 1984, 18 league meetings since having always produced winners.

And Brendan Rodgers' men looked on course for a win after a flat half in subdued atmosphere, which saw Daniel Sturridge tap one in to put the visitors ahead.

The Reds were nowhere near their best but in command when the SAS produced a fine buildup, Philippe Coutinho putting Raheem Sterling in nicely, before the youngster ran and passed in to Luis Suarez, whose quality slot into the box left Sturridge with an easy finish for his 14th of the season.
The Baggies weren't helped when their defender Jonas Olsson had to come off injured with a hamstring and be replaced by Diego Lugano just before the break.

But Pepe Mel must have said something right during the break, because his side came out a different team, much more open, attacking and in command.

Gareth McAuley produced a brilliant save from Simon Mignolet with a strong header off a Chris Brunt corner before the skipper pulled a superb stop out of the Belgian keeper himself.

A frustrating half for the visitors was crowned by Toure's blunder, the Ivory Coast defender passing the ball back to substitute Anichebe, who made no mistake from 25 yards out, levelling the score with a right-footer across and in.

The game ended tense with end-to-end-stuff and scruffy tackles and clumsy play, unable to produce a breakthrough for either side.

The draw keeps Liverpool in fourth, but opens the gap to the top three further.

West Brom Goals: 1.: 66:25min Victor Anichebe (16).

Liverpool Goals: 1.: 23:56min Daniel Sturridge (15).

West Brom team: 1 Foster; 6 Ridgewell (booked 62nd min), 3 Olsson (14 Lugano- 41st min, booked 86th min), 23 McAuley, 28 Jones; 11 Brunt, 5 Yacob (booked 15th min), 21 Mulumbu (booked 82nd min), 22 Gera; 38 Berahino (16 Anichebe- 63rd min), 20 Vydra (17 Dorrans- 76th min). 4-4-2 Subs not used: 2 Reid, 10 Sinclair, 13 Myhill, 18 Amalfitano.

Liverpool team: 22 Mignolet; 20 Cissokho, 4 Toure, 37 Skrtel, 38 Flanagan (34 Kelly- 74th min); 14 Henderson, 8 Gerrard (booked 81st min), 10 Coutinho (24 Allen- 74th min); 15 Sturridge, 7 Suarez (booked 74th min), 31 Sterling. 4-3-3 Subs not used: 1 Jones, 6 Luis Alberto, 9 Aspas, 12 Moses, 33 Obe.

Match Stats: 1st & 2nd half: West Brom-Liverpool
Attempts: 4-5 & 8-5
On target: 0-1 & 4-2
Offsides: 0-1 & 0-1
Corners: 1-2 & 2-2
Free kicks: 5-7 & 8-5
Possession: 60%-40% (17th min), 48.3%-51.7% (HT) & 50%-50% (FT)
Pass Success Rate: 74%-80.82% (HT) & 75%-76% (FT)

Referee: Kevin Friend
Man of the match: Raheem Sterling & Zoltan Gera

Liverpool thrash Everton 4-0 in derby thriller

Sports - Football - Premier League - Liverpool 4:0 Everton

Liverpool enjoyed their biggest Merseyside derby win since 1982, thrashing their local rivals Everton 4-0 in an enthralling encounter at Anfield.

The hosts came out all guns blazing from kick-off, countering any chances or flow of play by the Toffees with breath-taking speed and lethal combinations.

Skipper Steven Gerrard opened the scoring in the 21st minute, heading in a Luis Suarez corner in to the left corner of the net, a fine goal after a fine start in his 28th derby.

Any resistance by the Toffees was killed off when Romelu Lukaku was forced off injured, to be replaced by Steven Naismith, after just 25 minutes, before a Daniel Sturridge double, two goals in two minutes, sealed the three-point deal for the Reds.

The England striker first clipped one in past Tim Howard after a perfect slide-through ball by Philippe Coutinho, followed by a high loft over the forward running American keeper to make it 3-0 after 35 minutes.

Roberto Martinez's men created some chances but struggled to cope with the Reds' front line, their speed and power especially on the counter, and saw three bookings for their frustration.

Suarez added to the visitors' misery five minutes after the break, netting Liverpool's fourth of the day and the Uruguayan's 23rd of the season for the club, after a fine counter.

And it could have been worse for the Toffees, when Howard brought down Raheem Sterling in the box to give Sturridge the chance for a hat-trick from the spot, which the 24-year-old blew cringingly over the bar.

The win keeps Brendan Rodgers' men on track for the top four, on 46 points, three ahead of Tottenham in fifth and four behind Chelsea in third.

Liverpool goals: 1.: 21st min Steven Gerrard (8), 2. & 3.: 33rd & 35th min Daniel Sturridge (15), 4.: 50th min Luis Suarez (7).

Liverpool team: 22 Mignolet; 20 Cissokho, 37 Skrtel, 4 Toure, 38 Flanagan (34 Kelly- 73rd min); 10 Coutinho (6 Luis Alberto- 79th min), 14 Henderson, 8 Gerrard, 31 Sterling; 15 Sturridge (12 Moses- 71st min), 7 Suarez. 4-4-2 Subs not used: 1 Jones, 9 Aspas, 33 Ibe, 44 Smith.

Everton team: 24 Howard; 3 Baines, 6 Jagielka, 32 Alcaraz, 26 Stones; 18 Barry (booked 48th min), 16 McCarthy; 22 Pienaar (booked 38th min) (21 Osman- HT), 20 Barkley (7 McGeady- 76th min), 11 Mirallas (booked 51st min); 17 Lukaku (14 Naismith- 25th min). 4-2-3-1 Subs not used: 1 Joel, 2 Hibbert, 19 Gueye, 29 Garbutt.

Match stats 1st & 2nd half: Liverpool-Everton Attempts: 11-5 & 6-5
On target: 8-1 & 1-3
Offsides: 1-0 & 0-0
Corners: 2-4 & 3-4
Free kicks: 7-4 & 5-6
Possession: 41.6%-58.4% & 39.4%-60.6%
Passing success rate: 80%-84.8% & 78%-84.85%

Referee: Martin Atkinson
Attendance: 44,450
Man of the match: Daniel Sturridge

Premier League Season So Far

Sports - Football - Premier League - Season So Far

And we have already reached the halfway point of the season!

So, here is a little overview of what we have enjoyed so far:

180 matches played

479 goals scored

First goal

Daniel Sturridge for Liverpool against Stoke City (17 August 2013)

Fastest goal after 12 seconds

Asmir Begovic for Stoke City against Southampton (2 November 2013)

Top scorer with 19 goals, including 2 hat-tricks

Luis Suarez (Liverpool)

Top keepers with 8 clean sheets

Tim Howard (Everton),

Jussi Jääskeläinen (West Ham),

Hugo Lloris (Tottenham) and

Wojciech Szczesny (Arsenal)

Biggest home win

Manchester City 7-0 Norwich (2 November 2013)

Biggest away win

Tottenham 0-5 Liverpool (15 December 2013)

Highest scoring

Manchester City 6-3 Arsenal (14 December 2013)

Longest winning run with 5 games

Arsenal

Longest unbeaten run with 10 games

Everton

Longest winless run with 8 games

Crystal Palace, Stoke City, Sunderland and West Brom

Longest losing run with 7 games

Crystal Palace

Most yellow cards with 43

Aston Villa

Most red cards with 5

Sunderland

Main offenders with 6 bookings

Mathieu Debuchy (Newcastle)

Youssuf Mulumbu (West Brom)

Jonas Olsson (West Brom)

Angel Rangel (Swansea)

Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)

Main offender with 2 red cards

Wes Brown (Sunderland)

Highest attendance with 75,350

Manchester United 3-1 West Ham (21 December 2013)

Lowest attendance with 19,242

Swansea 3-3 Stoke City (10 November 2013)

Total attendance 6,581,006

Average attendance 36,561

10 managerial changes

Everton David Moyes replaced by Roberto Martinez (5 June 2013)

Stoke City Tony Pulis replaced by Mark Hughes (30 May 2013)

Chelsea Rafael Benitez replaced by José Mourinho (3 June 2013)

Manchester United Sir Alex Ferguson replaced by David Moyes (1 July 2013)

Sunderland Paolo Di Canio replaced by Gus Poyet (8 October 2013)

Crystal Palace Ian Holloway replaced by Tony Pulis (23 November 2013)

Fulham Martin Jol replaced by René Meulensteen (1 December 2013)

West Brom Steve Clarke to be replaced

Tottenham André Villas-Boas replaced by Tim Sherwood (23 December 2013)

Cardiff City Malky Mackay to be replaced

Manager of the Month

August Brendan Rodgers (Liverpool)

September Arsène Wenger (Arsenal)

October Mauricio Pochettino (Southampton)

November Alan Pardew (Newcastle)

December to be announced

Player of the Month

August Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool)

September Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal)

October Sergio Agüero (Manchester City)

November Tim Krul (Newcastle)

December to be announced

Table comparison after 19 games

Current position to last season

1 Arsenal +9 points, up 4 places

2 Manchester City +2 points, same place

3 Chelsea +2 points, same place

4 Everton +4 points, up 1 place

5 Liverpool +11 points, up 5 places

6 Manchester United -12 points, down 5 places

7 Tottenham +1 point, down 3 places

8 Newcastle +13 points, up 7 places

9 Southampton +10 points, up 9 places

10 Hull City promoted from the Championship

11 Swansea -4 points, 2 places down

12 Stoke City -7 points, 4 places down

13 Aston Villa +2 points, 3 places up

14 Norwich -6 points, 3 places down

15 West Brom -15 points, 9 places down

16 Cardiff City promoted from the Championship

17 Crystal Palace promoted from the Championship

18 Fulham -5 points, 4 places down

19 West Ham -8 points, 7 places down

20 Sunderland -8 points, 7 places down

Main gainers

Newcastle +13 points, 7 places up

Main losers

West Brom -15 points, 9 places down

Arsenal beat Liverpool 2-0 to extend league lead

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

Arsenal extended their lead at the top of the Premier League table to five points after beating Liverpool comprehensively and impressively 2-0 at the Emirates.

The Gunners took the lead after 19 minutes thanks to Santiago Cazorla who recovered and reacted the quickest and superbly netting the rebound with a fine half-volley after his initial header had come off the post.

Aaron Ramsey doubled the score just before the hour mark with a stunning smacker of a strike from outside the box, his tenth goal of the season.

The Reds did have the ball in the back of the net halfway through the first half after Luis Suarez took a quick free kick, given against Bacary Sagna for his push on the Uruguayan, which found Daniel Sturridge who crossed for Jordan Henderson to tap it in - only for referee Martin Atkinson to pull play back and book the Arsenal defender.

Brendan Rodgers' changes in the second half did improve the visitors' play, possession and attack, but the league leaders stayed in control thanks to a solid and dominant midfield, rewarded and capped off by the outstanding strike from Ramsey.

Suarez hit the post late on and Sturridge saw Wojciech Szczesny's clearance bounce off him, but straight back into the goalkeeper's gloves. It was just not their day.

Arsene Wenger can be more than happy after seeing his side take the lead in nine of their last ten fixtures and record 25 of the last available 27 points, the best record in the Premier League.

Another interesting stat/note: The Gunners are the only team to score in each of their league matches this season, the only other in the top four divisions is League One leaders Leyton Orient!

Liverpool meanwhile, will be relieved by Chelsea's 2-0 slip-up at Newcastle and draws for Southampton, Tottenham and Everton, which keeps them in third place.

Arsenal 2-0 Liverpool

Arsenal Goals; 1.: 18:32min Santiago Cazorla (19), 2.: 58:36min Aaron Ramsey (16).

Arsenal Team: 1 Szczesny: 28 Gibbs (5 Vermaelen -78.), 6 Koscielny, 4 Mertesacker, 3 Sagna (booked 26.); 8 Arteta, 16 Ramsey ; 19 Cazorla (25 Jenkinson - 84., booked 90.), 11 Özil, 7 Rosicky (17 Monreal - 72.); 12 Giroud. 4-2-3-1
Subs not used: 21 Fabianski, 23 Bendtner, 37 Akpom, 45 Haydon.

Liverpool Team: 22 Mignolet; 17 Sakho, 37 Skrtel, 4 Toure; 21 Lucas; 20 Cissokho (booked 28.) (10 Coutinho - 45.), 14 Henderson, 8 Gerrard, 38 Flanagan (12 Moses - 68.); 7 Suarez, 15 Sturridge. 3-1-4-2
Subs not used: 1 Jones, 5 Agger, 24 Allen, 31 Sterling, 34 Kelly.

Opta Match Stats: Arsenal-Liverpool

(Attack)
Shots: 12-12
On target: 7-4
Blocked: 1-2
From outside the box: 3-4
From inside the box: 9-8
Shot accuracy: 63.6%-40%

(General Play)
Possession: 54.3%-45.7%
Duels won: 52.1%-47.9%
Aerial duels won: 45.5%-54.5%
Interceptions: 13-17
Offsides: 1-4
Corners: 3-5

(Distribution)
Total passes: 612-511
Long passes: 6%-7.4%
Passing accuracy: 85%-84.5%
Passing accuracy opp. half: 79.9%-76.6%
Total crosses: 14-21
Successful crosses: 7.1%-28.6%

(Defence & Discipline)
Tackles: 31-28
Tackles won: 83.9%-78.6%
Clearances: 17-26
Fouls conceded: 11-7
Yellow cards: 2-1
Red cards: 0-0

Referee: Martin Atkinson
Attendance: 60,042
Man of the match: Aaron Ramsey

10-man Newcastle hold Liverpool to a 2-2 draw

Sports - Football - Premier League - Newcastle 2:2 Liverpool

Ten-man Newcastle fought out a point against Liverpool after the Reds came back twice form a goal down at St James' Park.

Yohan Cabaye opened the scoring for the hosts with a fine dipping shot from 30 yards past Simon Mignolet.

It was end-to-end stuff with both sides coming close before last man Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa saw red for bringing down Luis Suarez.

Red skipper Steven Gerrard netted the resulting penalty confidently, recording his 100th league goal.

Brendan Rodgers' men looked to take advantage of their extra man, right-back Glen Johnson pulling a scrambling save out of Tim Krul.

However, sub defender Paul Dummett - who was brought of after the sending off - restored the Magpies' lead with a far-post shot off Cabaye's free kick.

The visitors were shocked and shaken and piled on the pressure, Suarez seeing a shot parried by Krul before being cleared.

But the Reds finally broke Alan Pardew's men's stubborn defence when Suarez broke through and crossed for Daniel Sturridge to head in the leveller from close range.

Liverpool continued to press and dominate, Suarez clipping the bar before seeing his injury-time free-kick saved - but they failed to force a winner as Newcastle were relieved by the final whistle.

Newcastle 2-2 Liverpool

Newcastle Goals: 1.: 23.min Yohan Cabaye (4), 2.: 56.min Paul Dummett (36.).

Liverpool: 1.: 42.min Steven Gerrard (8) penalty, 2.: 72.min Daniel Sturridge (15).

Newcastle Team: 1 Krul; 26 Debuchy (booked 86.), 13 Yanga-Mbiwa (sent off 40.), 6 Williamson, 3 Santon; 4 Cabaye (8 Anita - 78.), 24 Tiote; 11 Gouffran (booked 68.), 7 Sissoko (36 Dummett - 45.), 14 Remy; 10 Ben Arfa (28 Ameobi - 78.). 4-2-3-1
Subs not used: 9 Cisse, 21 Elliot, 23 Ameobi, 25 Obertan.

Liverpool Team: 22 Mignolet; 4 Toure (booked 71.), 37 Skrtel, 17 Sakho (6 Luis Alberto - 63.); 2 Johnson (31 Sterling - 83.), 14 Henderson, 8 Gerrard (booked 47.), 20 Cissokho; 12 Moses; 15 Sturridge (booked 84.), 7 Suarez. 3-4-1-2
Subs not used: 1 Jones, 5 agger, 24 Allen, 34 Kelly, 38 Flanagan.

Opta Match Stats: Newcastle-Liverpool

(Attack)
Shots: 14-23 
On target: 4-7
Blocked: 3-2
From outside the box: 12-10
From inside the box: 2-13
Shot accuracy: 36.4%-33.3%

(General Play)
Possession: 37.7%-62.3%
Duels won: 45%-55%
Aerial duels won: 44.1%-55.9%
Interceptions: 16-11
Offsides: 0-2
Corners: 3-13

(Distribution)
Total passes: 328-556
Long passes: 12.8%-7.4%
Passing accuracy: 76.2%-87.4%
Passing accuracy opp. half: 61.5%-79.4%
Total crosses: 14-31
Successful crosses: 14.3%-32.3% 

(Defence & Discipline)
Tackles: 21-15
Tackles won: 85.7-80%
Clearances: 38-31
Fouls conceded: 8-10
Yellow cards: 2-3 
Red cards: 1-0

Referee: Andre Marriner
Man of the match: Steven Gerrard
Attendance: 51,703

Week 7: Premier League Action Summary

Sports - Football - Premier League - Action Summary - Week 7

The seventh week of action saw 10 games, 26 goals, 1 own goal, 12 in the first half, 14 in the second half, 0 in injury time; 196 attempts, 89 on target and 105 corners; 195 fouls, 36 bookings, 0 red cards, 1 penalty scored, 1 penalty missed.

Most scored: At the Etihad (4), by Manchester City (3), and at Anfield (4), by Liverpool (3). Top creators: Newcastle at the Cardiff City Stadium (15 shots, 10 on target).

Main offenders: At the Etihad (25 fouls, 9 bookings, 1 penalty), Manchester City (15 fouls, 5 bookings).

Click here to read more: The action summary of all ten matches of the seventh week of the Premier League 2013-14 season: http://thefootballgene.com/2013/10/premier-league-action-summary-match-week-7/

Stats & Facts Sources: BBC website & MOTD

Week 6: Premier League Action Summary

Sports - Football - Premier League - Action Summary - Week 6 

The sixth week of action saw 10 games, 29 goals, 11 in the first half, 18 in the second half, 2 in injury time; 196 attempts, 89 on target and 117 corners; 228 fouls, 36 bookings, 1 red card, 1 penalty scored. 

Most scored: At Villa Park (5), Aston Villa (3). 

Top creators: At the Stadium of Light (27 shots, 11 on target, 18 corners); Cardiff City at Craven Cottage (17 shots, 5 on target). 

Main offenders: Tottenham (5 bookings, 14 fouls) and Chelsea (1 booking, 1 sending off, 15 fouls) at White Hart Lane. 

Click here to read more: The action summary of all ten matches of the sixth week of the Premier League 2013-14 season: 
http://thefootballgene.com/2013/10/premier-league-action-summary-match-week-6/

Stats & Facts Sources: BBC website & MOTD