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Sports - Football - Europa League - Liverpool 2:2 Young Boys
Liverpool have to wait until the final round of games to qualify for the last 32 in the Europa League after drawing 2-2 against the Young Boys at Anfield. A win would have seen them through one game to spare, but the draw means they will have to beat Udinese in the last group fixture to guarantee qualification.
Brendan Rodgers lined up a much changed side from the Reds' win against Wigan, Oussama Assaidi, Jonjo Shelvey and Joe Cole starting up front of a 4-3-3 formation with star man Luis Suarez and captain Steven Gerrard both left on the bench.
The visitors started the brighter and almost scored from kick-off as Gonzalo Zarate put a bicycle kick over the bar. But after seeing their defender Dusan Veskovac carried off with a hamstring injury and replaced by Juhani Ojala, it seemed to disrupt the Swiss side's flow, allowing the hosts to gain control of the match.
Jordan Henderson was denied by Marco Wolfli, a fine save by the Swiss skipper after the England midfielder was put clean through by his team mate Shelvey's cheeky back-heel pass. Suso also had a shot saved before Rodgers was forced to bring on the skipper Gerrard for the apparently injured Andre Wisdom, just half an hour into the game.
Just seconds/two minutes later, Liverpool took the lead thanks to a fine buildup exchange of passes by Cole and Suso. The former Chelsea midfielder took the perfect return from his team mate which allowed him to cross for Shelvey to head in from three yards.
Cole and the Reds were buzzing and in total control after that and it was not until after the break the Young Boys made a comeback. Cole had another chance from Suso's through-ball but Wolfli smothered his shot and the visitors raced down the other end to equalise thanks to a superb left-footed strike across Pepe Reina by Raul Bobadilla.
With the game now delicately poised, Suarez replaced Suso on the hour-mark breathing some new life into the Reds. The hosts took control and pinned the opposition back and a breakthrough seemed inevitable when Suarez and Gerrard exchanged some passes, a nice one-two, the latter picking out Cole's run. The number ten took the ball with his back to the goal, spun around before stabbing it beyond Wolfli into the back of the net and celebrating in total ecstasy.
The Reds thought they had the points in the bag after that but with time running out Elsad Zverotic levelled the score for the visitors by blasting home the ball from the edge of the box, meaning Liverpool's Europa League fate now rests on the outcome of their trip to Udinese in a fortnight's time.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers:
"It is a little frustrating. It is disappointing that with three or four minutes to go we didn't control the game better.
"It would have been a good win for us against a good team. But we still control our destiny. It just makes it a wee bit harder than we would have liked.
"It's a competition we want to qualify in. We had a good chance tonight but we didn't close it out."
Reina into the history book:
Pepe Reina made his 81st European appearance for Liverpool on Thursday. That saw the Spanish international pass Ray Clemence's club record for a goalkeeper.
*The images taken from the BBC and Sky Sports website's match reports respectively
Liverpool 2-2 Young Boys
Liverpool Goals: 1: 32:35 min Jonjo Shelvey (33), 2: 71:38 min Joe Cole (10).
Young Boys Goals: 1: 51:21 min Raul Marcello Bobabilla (9), 2: 87:48 min Elsad Zverotic (13).
Liverpool Lineup: 25 Reina; 19 Downing, 23 Carragher, 37 Skrtel, 47 Wisdom (8 Gerrard - 31.min); 14 Henderson, 4 Sahin (booked 78.min), 30 Suso (7 Suarez - 60.min); 11 Assaidi, 33 Shelvey, 10 Cole (31 Sterling - 75.min). 4-3-3
Subs not used: 1 Jones, 3 Jose Enrique, 16 Coates, 24 Allen.
Young Boys Lineup: 1 Wolfli; 33 Lecjaks, 22 Veskovac (3 Ojala - 23. min), 4 Nef, 23 Sutter; 8 Farnerud, 13 Zverotic (booked 89.min); 29 Nuzzolo (20 Frey - 77.min), 14 Schneuwly (7 Vitkieviez - 82.min), 19 Zarate; 9 Bobadilla. 4-2-3-1.
Subs not used: 18 Mvogo, 2 Gonzalez, 10 Constanzo, 30 Doubai.
BBC Match Stats: Liverpool-Young Boys
Attempts: 17-14
On target: 12-8
Corners: 14-5
Free kicks: 13-9
Possession: 57%-43%
Referee: Alon Yefet (Israel)
Man of the Match: Joe Cole
Sports - Football - Premier League - Picks of the Weekend
WOW!
The contrast was gobsmacking and mind-boggling between the two Manchester sides. City were top-class sweeping aside Aston Villa, whilst United flopped to a shock defeat at Norwich, with two hat-trick candidates in Sergio Aguero and Carlos Tevez for the prior whilst the latter were held back at Carrow Road and obviously missed Wayne Rooney.
It was a surpirse to see Roberto Mancini's side use alternate penalty takers, especially with a hat-trick on the line. It is maybe a good tactic to keep the goalkeeper guessing, on his toes and/or confused. But I would have thought a striker on a hat-trick would have his objections against not being the penalty taker. It was good team play in the end though.
And Anthony Pilkington's brilliant header was a smacker for Norwich and a deserved winner against Sir Alex Ferguson's men. The former United trainee pulled ahead of Chris Smalling before looping a header over Anders Lindegaard on
the hour mark. Comeback kings United are used to going behind and still bag the three points later on, but this time it was not to be and the Red Devils fell to their third defeat of the season and into second place, one point behind league leaders City.
OMG!
The weekend was packed full of surprises and sides chuffed to finally be back on the winners list with Arsenal, Reading and Southampton, plus Norwich, Swansea and West Brom! I would love to see what the odds were for these results!
Reading got their first win of the season with a great comeback from being a goal down and deserving the three points for their stubbornness and commitment.
Steve Clarke has done a great job at West Brom and they should have now shut up all their doubters with their convincing win against Chelsea. Their formation worked a treat with striker Peter Odemwingie nodding in the winner to continue his side's impressive run and shoot them up into the fourth Champions League qualification spot.
Swansea impressed in a 2-1 triumph at St James' Park which took them to tenth and above Newcastle in the Premier League table. Man-of-the-match Miguel Michu was a constant threat with a clever interplay and display and he was rewarded when he provided the opening goal with a fine header. The Swans then made sure victory was theirs with their
second goal coming from a fast break,
that presented Danny Graham with a chance to shoot at goal. Tim Krul
pulled off a brilliant save but Jonathan de Guzman netted the
rebound.
TOP!
Southampton's performance was impressive and mouthwatering. Nigel Adkins knew his men would do a good job and not sit back and so they did. After the Saints went ahead, a lot of sides would have sat back kept the back line strong to keep the lead. But that did not happen in this fixture. The visitors kept themselves forward, on attack and pressure up on the home side. It was a delight to see and watch and a fully deserved win and three points for the promoted side. If they keep up this work ethic, I don't think they will struggle to stay up.
And I have to give Fulham a mention after they kept fighting on, even after going down to ten, then nine men! Defender Brede Hangeland's sending off was harsh and substitute's Mladen Petric late injury after he had scored the equaliser did not help. But in the end Sunderland's stubbornness prevailed and the visitors ended up two goals to the good. It will be a hard lesson and feel harsh for Martin Jol's men, but the spirit is there.
FLOP!
QPR and Mark Hughes have to be really worried! Hughes' men lacked confidence, desire and a plan in their defeat against Southampton and were left still looking for their first win of the season stuck at the bottom of the table with just four points from 12 games and five points from safety. Much in contrast to Fulham mentioned above, there is a difference between a hard fought defeat and being outplayed and not showing or giving much for it.
HERO!
Liverpool finally found the winning way thanks to a certain Mister Suarez once again! The Uruguayan starred with two goals against Wigan and provided one for man-of-the-match Jose Enrique, his first for the club. This took Suarez's tally for the season to 13 goals for Liverpool and bagged his side only their second home win of the season in the Premier League to lift them up to 11th spot in the table.
ZERO!
Emmanuel Adebayor went from hero to zero within minutes at the Emirates. The Togolese striker scored against his former employers, giving Tottenham a well deserved lead as they had started the game well on top. But minutes later, he threw the game out of the window for Spurs letting emotions get the better of him when he saw red for his lunge on Santi Cazorla. They still played and fought on, the scoreline was harsh on them. But hopefully the lesson was learned by Adebayor! His stupidity let the Gunners back into the game and they made the most of it, netting five goals and bagging three points on their local rivals.
My Predictions => Actual Results
Arsenal 2-1 Tottenham => 5-2
Liverpool 2-1 Wigan => 3-0
Man City 2-1 Aston Villa => 5-0
Newcastle 2-1 Swansea => 1-2
QPR 2-1 Southampton => 1-3
Reading 2-1 Everton => 2-1
West Brom 2-1 Chelsea => 2-1
Norwich 2-1 Man United => 1-0
Fulham 2-1 Sunderland => 1-3
West Ham 2-1 Stoke => 1-1
In case you noticed and wondered, I once again
forgot to put through my predictions, hence, all games were set to 2-1
automatically...
*All images taken from the BBC website's match reports
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
Sports - Football - Premier League - Picks of the Weekend
WOW!
Everton dropped two goals and points late on at Fulham, David Moyes ruing missed chances and giveaways. However, I think he can be more than chuffed when he looks at the table, the Toffees sitting in fourth and Champions League qualification whilst the red side of Merseyside stay stuck in 12th. Ok, it is their fourth draw in a row, so, the local rivals are both struggling to find their winning ways. However, as long as they keep creating and dominating the way they do, I don't think there is too much to worry about (yet). They just need to learn to kill a game off. Yeh, I don't think that is the first time and they are the only sides that have heard that!
OMG!
Spurs fell hard to defeat against Wigan. They have enjoyed their fair share of success on the road under Andre Villas-Boas, including at Old Trafford in September, but at home they have looked second best, chasing the game and relying too much on counter attacks. Wigan exceeded on that and well done to Roberto Martinez's men for doing so!
TOP!
Swansea fought hard to draw against Chelsea. The Mark Clattenburg allegations made by the Blues were hanging over them like a dark cloud, which did not help them. But no discrediting the Swans. Miguel Michu and Pablo Hernandez were the top performers for the Welsh side and Michael Laudrup can be more than proud. After inheriting Brendan Rodgers' squad, the pressure was all-on the new manager. I don't think there is any doubt about the improvement Laudrup has made and the quality he has added to the side. Good on him.
FLOP!
The Gunners saw Jack Wilshere sent off whilst Sir Alex Ferguson's men were lucky to keep all eleven on the pitch. Arsene Wenger was on the referee's case straight away accusing Patrice Evra of conning an "unbelievably naive" Mike Dean and also claimed RVP should have been sent off for a reckless challenge on Bacary Sagna in the second half. The Frenchman has a case with both arguments, however, it cannot cover up his side's shambolic performance and poor defending (Andre Santos and Thomas Vermaelen especially). It was only thanks to United's wastefulness in front of goal that the game did not end up like last season's epic 8-2 thrashing inflicted upon Arsenal.
HERO!
Luis Suarez was the saviour once again for Liverpool after hitting the equaliser against Newcastle. It was a fantastic goal indeed, the control the Uruguayan displayed followed by some exquisite touches concluding a sublime goal which spared his side another defeat. The more interesting it was then to hear Rodgers in the post-match press conference saying that will soon change. Is he hinting about the January transfer window? Rumour has it, Theo Walcott is one of the names at the top of the Reds manager's most wanted list. And if Wenger keeps denying his forward a place in the team, I think it would come as no surprise for him to leave and that would not be bad news at all for Liverpool fans.
ZERO!
Only 158 seconds into the game, RVP scored against his former side in United's controversial win against Arsenal and then gave away his shirt to Santos at half time. To make things worse, he then, tellingly, did not take the Arsenal left back's jersey in return. First of all, since when do players swap shirts before full time?! And secondly, the Dutchman is not allowed to forget what the Gunners and Wenger (should) mean to him as it is the London club that established him as a top striker and made him what he is. He should respect that and show his respect rather than disowning them and living in denial.
*All images taken from the Sky Sports website's match reports
My Predictions => Actual Results:
Man United 2-1 Arsenal => 2-1
Fulham 2-1 Everton => 2-2
Norwich 2-1 Stoke => 1-0
Sunderland 2-1 Aston Villa => 0-1
Swansea 2-1 Chelsea => 1-1
Tottenham 2-1 Wigan => 0-1
West Ham 2-1 Man City => 0-0
QPR 2-1 Reading => 1-1
Liverpool 2-1 Newcastle => 1-1
West Brom 2-1 Southampton => 2-0
In case you noticed and wondered, I once again forgot to put through my predictions, hence, all games were set to 2-1 automatically...
Sports - Football - Premier League - Picks of the Weekend
WOW!
Papiss Cisse's injury-time winner for Newcastle against West Brom was a lucky deflection he did not know much about. Arsenal and none other than Manchester United were also on the late winners list, in an all-too controversial manner! Liverpool should have been added to that list, but were denied so. More to that below... One thing this weekend confirmed once again and I always preach: never change the channel or leave the ground early!!!This weekend the last 15 minutes were the most decisive with nine goals falling alone in the final moments. The Madejski Stadium saw four goals in the last 14 minutes alone! Dimitar Berbatov thought he grabbed the points for Fulham when his expert finish made it 3-2 two minutes from time. But Reading substitute Hal Robson-Kanu had a different idea and bundled home the equaliser at the death to make sure the home side grabbed a point.
OMG!
The refereeing was absolutely horrendous this weekend! Arsenal's winning goal against QPR was offside! The assistant referee was looking right across the line and should have been able to see that Mikel Arteta was offside when Aaron Ramsey played the ball forward. Exactly the same happened at Stamford Bridge. The assistant should have seen that Manchester United's Javier Hernandez was in an offside position before he scored the winner. And Luis Suarez's disallowed last-minute goal which would have won his side the Merseyside derby game was also a poor decision by the officials as the Uruguayan was not standing in an offside position before he went for the ball. OK, referees are only human. However, like players are dropped when they are poor in form and teams lose points and drop down the table, I feel so should the referees! They get payed to make their decisions and they should get it more right than wrong otherwise like in any other job they should change their profession when they are just not good enough!
TOP!
Manchester City had to dig deep to beat Swansea after their midweek defeat against Ajax in the Champions League. A lot of people were making a lot of assumptions about City, that things weren't right in the camp, Roberto Mancini was not happy and players were not playing the system. But they proved the doubters wrong and kept their unbeaten record in the Premier League. As champions, you have to prove yourself week in and week out, and especially coming back after hitting a low. Three points in the bag, that is all that matters in the end!
FLOP!
Stoke and Sunderland produced a goalless draw whilst 10-man Aston Villa and Norwich separated with a goal and point each. Both games saw plenty of shouts and whistles, but I'm picking on both for the sides' poor performances and shambolic displays. Joe Bennett's sending off left Villa in complete turmoil, but the other sides don't have any such excuse, looking incredibly poor at times. None of the sides deserved to win, hence the results speak for themselves. But if they want to stay in the top league they will need to improve on every level from discipline and organisation to formation and coordination to drive and determination.
HERO!
Suarez's goal celebration was absolutely brilliant. Week in and week out we see, hear and read about clashes, confrontations and scandals. So, to be able to add some humour and mind games to the sport without leading to fights is nice and fun! After Everton manager David Moyes had highlighted the Uruguayans antiques and the fact he was diver, the striker showed guts and glory when he went and did a dive right in front of the Toffee's boss after scoring the opener. I think everyone was worried for a second about the reactions, but Moyes was able to see the funny side of it and Suarez did not milk it out too much and go over the top. It was a fun gesture and nice to see. Shame he was denied the late winner, but hey, always look on the bright side, ey?
ZERO!
Stephane Mbia's late sending off wrecked his side's strong resilience and performance and denied them a deserved point. Arsenal's win was everything else but convincing but gave Arsene Wenger a breather after a week which brought back-to-back defeats. Arteta's controversial late winner keeps QPR still looking for their first win at the bottom of the table. There was nothing controversial about the red card after Mbia's rash kick out at Thomas Vermaelen, but what followed and the result after the incident, saw all the hard work undone and will have left a sour taste for Mark Hughes and his men.
*All images taken from the Sky Sports website's match reports apart from the last one, Mark Hughes' picture taken from the BBC website's post-match interview report.
My Predictions => Actual Results
Aston Villa 2-0 Norwich => 1-1
Arsenal 4-1 QPR => 1-0
Reading 1-1 Fulham => 3-3
Stoke 1-1 Sunderland => 0-0
Wigan 1-1 West Ham => 2-1
Man City 3-0 Swansea => 1-0
Everton 0-2 Liverpool => 2-2
Newcastle 1-1 West Brom => 2-1
Southampton 1-3 Tottenham => 1-2
Chelsea 2-3 Man United => 2-3
Sports - Football - Premier League - Picks of the Weekend
This weekend saw ten matches, three derbies, 30 goals, three own goals, 152 shots on target, 118 attempts off the mark, 106 corners, 36 bookings, three red cards and a penalty. Chelsea had the most chances on target with 16, followed by Manchester City with 14. City and Newcastle were the dirtiest with four yellow cards and one red each. Arsenal enjoyed most possession and corners of all sides with 62% and ten respectively. But these are just the stats! The action and reactions tell and count so much more and there was plenty to talk about! Here are my picks of the weekend:
OMG!
It was a Super Sunday indeed with the Tyneside derby and QPR entertaining Everton, both encounters highly entertaining. Both games saw just two goals, but plenty of bookings and controversy including an own goal and sending off each! Newcastle took the lead after three minutes thanks to Yohan Cabaye but were down to ten men after 25 thanks to Cheik Tiote's reckless challenge on Steven Fletcher. The ten-man Toons fought on hard and it looked like they would hold onto to the three points until Demba Ba's own goal spared Sunderland from defeat and rescued them a point.
At Loftus Road, the home side took the lead after three minutes thanks to David Hoilett's fine run and deflected shot in past Tim Howard. Half an hour later, Sylvain Distin's header came off the back of goalkeeper Julio Cesar and into the net to make it 1-1. Steven Pienaar then saw his second yellow in the second half, much to David Moyes' grievance, giving QPR another boost to push and finally get their first home win of the season. But it was not ment to be and Mark Hughes' men were forced to settle for the point.
WOW!
The London derby between Chelsea and Tottenham was a cracker of a game! Eventhough Andre Villas-Boas' return to his former side did not turn out victorious, the young Portuguese manager can draw strength and confidence from his side's performance. Spurs were on top for long periods of the match, not bad at all to say they were missing five key players! The Blues will obviously be the happier after getting the winning result, especially in their first game without their skipper John Terry who served his first game of suspension after the racism row.
TOP!
Comebacks are what champions are made of and what both United and City are renowned for. And they did produce just that against Stoke and West Brom respectively. It looked like they were both going to slip up, but then Wayne Rooney, RVP and Edin Dzeko's finally turned up the heat and the game on its head!
Emmerson Boyce's back-foot flicker to pull one back for Wigan against Swansea to make it 2-1 was sublime and a little bit cheeky! Wigan were then denied a late equaliser after Arouna Kone was denied a goal harshly disallowed as offside. It was the first win in five for the Swans, the two goals in a couple minutes from Pablo Hernandez and Miguel Michu were enough to grab the win in the end. It just showed how quick a game can change within a couple of minutes!
FLOP!
Arsenal were dreadful!!! Norwich thoroughly deserved their first win of the season and the scoreline could have been so much more embarrassing for the Gunners! Grant Holt tapped in the winner off a rebound after Vito Mannone failed to deal with Canaries number 27 Alexander Tettey's shot from far but wasted a good opportunity after breaking clear following Thomas Vermaelen's slip and clipping the ball straight into the goalkeeper's gloves. Arsenal dominated possession and shots but that was it, they did not form much of a challenge to the home side and the closest they got to a goal was when John Ruddy nearly did the same as Mannone, but the giveaway was cleared this time. This game showes how far off the Gunners are shooting from a top four finish this season!
HERO!
If he likes it or not, Dzeko was the super-sub for City, his header and counter-attack finish turning the game around for the defending champions. It was a great comeback after everything looked against them. West Brom put up a fight-and-a-half, but in the end City were too fast and clinical for them.
Chelsea midfielder Juan Mata deserved a hat-trick for his display, he was just awesome! The Spaniard's double made it six goals in five games for him and he was also provider for Daniel Sturridge. The former Valencia man's speed, awareness and lethal touch beat Tottenham.
ZERO!
Southampton's Jose Fonte punched West Ham's Andy Carroll into the back of the head and handled the ball whilst he was at it. What the hell was he thinking? That was a penalty-and-a-half! And the Portuguese defender was very lucky to stay on! With his act of foolishness the full-back saw all the pressure the Saints had built up to make a comeback undone and West Ham back in a comfortable lead! Idiot!
My Predictions => Actual Results
Tottenham 1-1 Chelsea => 2-4
Fulham 0-0 Aston Villa => 1-0
Liverpool 3-1 Reading => 1-0
Man United 3-0 Stoke => 4-2
Swansea 0-0 Wigan => 2-1
West Brom 0-3 Man City => 1-2
West Ham 2-1 Southampton => 4-1
Norwich 2-3 Arsenal => 1-0
Sunderland 1-1 Newcastle => 1-1
QPR 0-2 Everton => 1-1
Sports - Football - Premier League - Liverpool 0:0 Stoke
Liverpool were frustrated by a typically physical Stoke side after being held to a goalless draw at Anfield, a result which keeps both teams in the bottom half of the table.
The guests kept the home side busy having the best of the early exchanges in an eventful afternoon.
Former Red midfielder Charlie Adam pulled a solid save out of Pepe Reina after Nuri Sahin had been caught napping.
The Reds keeper was nearly caught out on a couple of occasions, once by a dipping effort from Michael Kightly, the Spaniard back-pedalling to tip the ball over the bar, and a couple of times when he mistimed back-passes trying too hard to stick to Brendan Rodgers' interplay, one-two, touch-and-go system.
But after that early threat, Rodgers' side looked the most likely team to break the deadlock.
Asmir Begovic turned away LFC skipper Steven Gerrard's long-range effort before the Stoke keeper was beaten by Daniel Agger but lucky to see then Dane's effort bounce just wide.
Glen Johnson twice went close, whilst Luis Suarez stole the show once again with his antiques. The Uruguayan bamboozled the Stoke defence with a mazy run before sending his shot wide.
The 25-year old also appeared to be stamped on by Robert Huth earlier on in the game, the German lucky to stay on the pitch, before he himself committed an embarrassing dive in the box, which he also escaped from uncautioned.
He, Martin Skrtel and Raheem Sterling were all denied by the woodwork as a typically dogged Stoke side held on for a valuable point.
Tony Pulis may slam Suarez for his drama performance and Rodgers may bemoan the missed chances and the officials' prejudice against his renowned forward, but both manager cannot deny the facts and problems they have to work on and improve on: Stoke's discipline and Liverpool's goal conversion rate (+ Suarez' balance).
Liverpool are still looking for their first league home win and bot hearing YNWA at full time, but seeing streams of fans pouring out the exits sound- and motionless gave me goosebumps.
Anfield is not the glorious fortress it used to be, yes, we know. But it is far from getting back to that, unless something (or someone) changes. QUICKLY!!!
Liverpool 0-0 Stoke
Liverpool: 25 Reina; 2 Johnson, 5 Agger, 37 Skrtel, 47 Wisdom; 24 Allen, 8 Gerrard; 31 Sterling, 4 Sahin (11 Assaidi - 79.), 30 Suso (10 Cole - 67.); 7 Suarez. 4-2-3-1
Subs not used: 1 Jones, 14 Henderson, 16 Coates, 23 Carragher, 29 Borini.
Stoke: 1 Begovic; 12 Wilson, 4 Huth (bkd 33.), 17 Showcross (bkd 79.), 2 Cameron; 16 Adam (bkd 73.) (13 Edu - 81.), 6 Whelab (18 Whitehead - 20., bkd 90.), 15 Nzonzi; 21 Kightly (25.) (26 Etherington - 63.), 19 Walters (bkd 77.); 25 Crouch. 4-3-2-1
Subs not used: 29 Sorensen, 9 Jones, 20 Upson, 33 Jerome.
Sky Stats: Liverpool-Stoke
Attempts: 13-5
On target: 2-2
Offsides: 0-2
Corners: 5-5
Free kicks: 18-9
1st half Possession: 60.3%-39.7%
2nd half Possession: 68.3%-31.7%
Possession: 63.5%-36.5%
Passes: 524-288
Passing Success: 81.1%-66%
Tackles: 13-25
Tackling Success: 92.3%-68%
Referee: Lee Mason
Man of the Match: Ryan Shawcross
