Archive for the ‘sport’ Category

the socceroos claimed all three points with a late victory over bahrain last night. the aussie team traveled to bahrain determined to continue their unbeaten run in the world cup qualifying group. despite missing a few big names, the socceroos were favourites to win the match.

both teams had chances to win the game, however thanks to good work by aussie keeper mark schwarzer, the hosts remained goalless. bresciano scored late in the game to secure the win.

australia remains on top of group b. japan is second after their win. in group a, south korea beat saudi arabia for the first time in nineteen years to go top of their group. the koreans were helped in their cause by iran who could only manage a draw against uae.

all national teams take a break until next february.

liverpool have continued their fine run with a solid 2-0 win over bolton wanderers at reebok stadium last night. the reds completely dominated the first half with fantastic passing. dirk kuyt opened the scoring for a liverpool with a superb header after 30 minutes. the lead should have been doubled when robbie keane missed an absolute sitter in front of goal. all he had to do was connect with the ball and it was in. bolton were also unlucky to be denied a goal in injury time. wanderers scored a header from a corner, but the goal was disallowed after the attackers were adjudged to have interfered with the keeper.

bolton looked much better after half time and took control of the opening minutes. the home side missed another good chance after reina was beaten, but the striker lost his footing and couldn’t direct the ball home. liverpool worked their way back into the game and gerrard became the second red player to miss a gilt-edged chance. torres’ cross fell into the path of gerrard who couldn’t make contact. again, the slightest touch would have been enough for the ball to find its mark.

however, gerrard made up for his miss with liverpool’s second goal. another torres cross fell into the path of the charging gerrard. he nodded it into the corner. lucas leiva, a late substitute, also missed a sitter when his header glanced outside the post.

liverpool were comfortable winners, despite a few scares. the reds had numerous chances, which i’m sure benitez will talk about in training this week. liverpool now look ahead to their game against fulham.

chelsea and manchester united both won their matches. arsenal were defeated by aston villa. that means liverpool and chelsea are tied for the lead, again, with manchester united 8 points behind. man united have a game in hand and could reduce that deficit to 5 points. arsenal are now 9 points behind.

in other news, rafael benitez was named manager of the month for the premier league in october. it is the fourth time he’s received the award.

liverpool exit the carling cup after being defeated by cup holders tottenham on wednesday. the reds came into the match having already lost to spurs in the premier league, the loss was their first of the season in all competitions. tottenham scored 3 first half goals, but liverpool scored twice to put themselves back in the game. liverpool’s goals came on either side of the break with reserve player damien plessis heading in the first and sami hyypia heading in the second after half time. however the spurs’ fourth goal put the game out of liverpool’s reach.

the reds will not be too disappointed about the loss. with the exception of torres and agger, the entire liverpool side was made up of reserve and bench players. tottenham, still trying to claw their way out of a teerrible start to the season, played a strong team.

having exited the carling cup, liverpool can now focus on maintaining their strong start in the league. liverpool travel to bolton this weekend and are at home to fulham next weekend. both games are ‘must win’ matches for the reds.

liverpool have returned to the top of the table after a clinical 3-0 win over visiting side west brom. robbie keane scored a brace, his first premier league goals for liverpool.

west bromwich albion traveled to anfield with a record of having never beaten the reds for 41 years, and it was clear from the outset that the visitors were going to be totally outclassed. however, to west brom’s credit, they didn’t park the bus in front of goal. the baggies came with a mind to do some attacking.

keane had an early shot and benayoun was also unlucky not to score in the opening minutes. former red keeper scott carson got his body in the way and blocked benayoun’s shot. a goal looked inevitable as liverpool pressed forward. gerrard pushed a clever ball through to keane who finished with a clean strike. minutes later keane got his brace, doubling liverpool’s lead, after he rounded the keeper and shot into an empty net.

the reds enjoyed a comfortable lead and went into the break without being threatened at all by west brom. however after the break liverpool seemed to be playing in second gear and the visitors tried to work their way back into the game. a chance by west brom went begging and that was all it took for liverpool to regain composure and retake control of the game.

keane came off to give torres a run. the spaniard has been out injured and is making his return. although he didn’t play much of a part in the game, but it was a valuable chance for the striker to regain match fitness.

in the pouring rain, arbeloa’s curling shot gave liverpool their 3rd goal

second before the full time whistle, arbeloa fired a left footed curling shot, giving liverpool their third unanswered goal.

liverpool retake control at the top of the premier league table. arsenal, who are under fire for their recent poor form beat manchester united. that gives the reds some breathing room via a six point buffer between 1st and 3rd. however chelsea are likely to take the number one position tonight when they face blackburn rovers.

liverpool should have a good run for november and up to christmas. the reds face spurs in the carling cup this week, followed by league games to bolton and fulham. liverpool then have a champions league game against marseille, before facing west ham and blackburn.

in past years, liverpool’s season has been completely destroyed by christmas. this year the reds look good enough to continue their good form and run of wins, maintaining pressure on their challenge for the league title.

liverpool have missed their opportunity to guarantee progress to the champions league knockout stage after a lacklustre draw with athletico madrid overnight. the reds were without star striker fernando torres who was unable to recover from his hamstring injury in time.

liverpool were not at their best and allowed the visitors too much space to move. however the reds did have chances and were denied two penalties after fouls by the same madrid player; the first time he dragged agger down, and the second he handled the ball in the box.

the reds were warned of madrid’s intentions to attack after the spanish team fired a threatening shot off target. liverpool’s defenses were undone before the break when a good passage of play opened up liverpool’s back four and allowed madrid the chance to score.

liverpool pushed forward more after the break but didn’t look to be in control of the game. the reprieve came when yet another penalty offense was committed, but this time awarded by the referee. gerrard slotted the shot home during injury time to secure a point for the reds.

liverpool will feel unlucky not to have taken all three points after two other penalty calls were denied, but the reds didn’t play well enough to earn the win. a draw is definitely justified. it was a night of upsets across europe as chelsea lost to as roma, inter milan and barcelona both drew against weaker teams, and bremen lost to panathanaikos.

in group d’s other match marseille beat eindhoven , which is good for liverpool. the reds now need only a single point from their last two games to ensure progress to the knockout stages. it’s likely that liverpool and athletico madrid will both progress.

rafa benitez’s men now look towards two premier league games, which the reds must win to maintain pressure on chelsea at the top of the table.

liverpool have relinquished their lead in the premiership and have lost their first game of the season during the reds’ trip to london to face tottenham last night.

liverpool started brightly with kuyt finding the net after just three minutes. liverpool looked positive and attacking. the reds seemed to have tottenham’s measure, with numerous shots on goal. spurs were lucky not to concede again with gerrard hitting the post and firing in threatening strikes. however, the home team were let off the hook after an uncharacteristic mistake by veteran jamie carragher. the defender headed the ball into liverpool’s own net, gifting tottenham the equaliser.

liverpool pushed for a winner, but were stunned by a late tap in by spurs, allowing them to steal victory.

the result was a disappointment for liverpool, who had started to show real resiliance. however, one loss isn’t the end of the world. liverpool is still tied on first with chelsea. while manchester will play themselves into contention, arsenal seem to be having difficulty finding any form and are unlikely to be a serious threat this year.

the reds can keep pressure on chelsea and force the londoners to continue winning games. both teams are playing well and it should be a good race if liverpool can remain consistent.

liverpool now look to their midweek clash against athletico madrid. the spanish team will visit anfield and the reds will have a good opportunity to take three more points, after madrid’s lucky away draw. following that is west brom in the league, spurs again in the carling cup, then bolton and fulham.

liverpool should be able to win all three premier league matches. a win against athletico will all but ensure liverpool’s progress to the knockout stages in champions league.

liverpool retain command of the premier league after a resolute 1-0 win over portsmouth last night. pompey traveled to anfield in the hope of stunning the new league leaders. however, liverpool were determined to control the game and despite portsmouth’s large midfield, the reds controlled the ball well.

liverpool had good chances to score, firstly through kuyt whose shot was palmed away by the pompey keeper. the ball rebounded off the post. leiva’s header flashed over the bar and benayoun was denied by desperate sliding defense. kuyt’s second attempt hit the side netting, a gerrard thunderbolt was parried away and arbeloa’s curling strike was fractions wide.

portsmouth seemed determined to restrict liverpool, much as liverpool had done to chelsea only days before, but the hard work was undone when a portsmouth player handled the ball in the box after a liverpool corner.

steven gerrard was given the honours from the spot and duly converted the penalty.

liverpool retain their position on top of the league. chelsea and manchester united won their matches. chelsea remain just 3 points behind liverpool, keeping pressure on the reds to win. arsenal however drew with a rejuvinated tottenham.

liverpool travel to london to face tottenham on saturday. their recent managerial change and reversal in form suddenly make them a much more dangerous team. liverpool will have to keep up their tempo to ensure all three points. following that, the reds host athletico madrid in the champions league group match.

liverpool have defeated chelsea for the first time under rafal benitez. the result puts liverpool on top of the league, outright, with 23 points.

the reds have traveled to london with a record of never scoring against chelsea during rafa benitez’s reign as manager. rafa’s men started with a defensive setup, just a single striker in robbie keane. liverpool’s star striker torres is still injured. however chelsea too were missing drogba and ballack.

after a cagey start by both teams, chelsea started to press a little bit and liverpool found themselves playing deep. but 10 minutes into the game, liverpool got a break and alonso opened the scoring after a fluke deflection off a chelsea defender.

liverpool celebrate alonso’s lucky goal, their first against chelsea at stanford bridge

that put chelsea behind and they went on the attack. liverpool responded with good possession and shutting down chelsea plays. liverpool were looking a lot more attacking and confident than many would have guessed, considering their poor record against chelsea in the premier league.

both teams engaged in some good end to end football. reira and gerrard both came close, as did deco down the other end. reira and gerrard were also yellow carded for tackles. gerrard’s card was unlucky, considering he won the ball and liverpool would have been able to counter attack. as the half wore on chelsea started to dominate again. liverpool gave away too many balls and a lot of room on their left wing. chelsea had most of the possession and were unlucky not to score after gerrard was depossessed and deco fired a shot just outside the left post.

the second half opened at a lively pace. liverpool started well and a few whistles were in liverpool’s favour. chelsea picked up 4 yellow cards (plus one to mascherano for dissent) and alonso’s fantastic free kick hit the post. keane came off and was replaced by babel. for chelsea, deco and cole had very good chances to score.

despite chelsea’s urgency, clear chances didn’t materialise. liverpool’s defense was resilient and they made the most of every touch. the reds frustrated chelsea, especially in defense. but most importantly, the anfield team didn’t wait for chelsea to attack, liverpool also attacked, creating chances and keeping possession away from the home team.

liverpool won’t have much time for rest, hosting portsmouth midweek and then traveling to beliguered hotspurs next saturday. four days after that, liverpool also play host to athletico madrid.

adelaide united have become the first aussie team to reach an asian champions league final. the south australian team beat uzbekistan team bunyodkor 3:1 (aggregate) to reach the final, against japan’s gamba osaka.

adelaide won the first game against bunyodkor 3:0 and traveled to uzbekistan with a big lead. they lost the return match 1:0, but a two goal lead carried them through. the team returned to adelaide this morning to a rousing reception ahead of their a league game against perth glory.

the final will be held over two legs, the first in osaka and the second at hindmarsh stadium.

liverpool settle for a point after taking an early lead against athletico madrid in spain overnight.

the reds made a positive start when gerrard fed a great ball to keane, who broke through the defence to score. keane’s goal was somewhat controversial, after replays showed that he appeared to be offside. liverpool dominated the entire first half, giving athletico madrid little possession or chance to control the ball.

in the second half, benayoun was denied a goal when he was judged offside and athletico also missed a goal due to an offside ruling. both goals were clearly onside. but madrid looked the better team in the second half, a good strike by simao was kept out by reina and the post. however simao wasn’t to be denied. he scored a soft goal in the 83rd minute thanks to poor defending by the reds, giving simao plenty of room to shoot and score.

in the end benitez claimed that liverpool were unlucky not to win the game, but with keane’s doubtful goal and madrid’s dominance of the second half, a draw seems to be a fair result. the reds knew that athletico madrid would be most difficult team in the group. an away draw with a home game still to come is a satisfactory result for the anfield side.

on sunday liverpool travel to stamford bridge in what will be a showdown between the league’s only two undefeated teams. chelsea look the better side, and liverpool may struggle for strikers with torres still injured and keane limping off during the game against madrid.