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liverpool remain top of the table after a 1-1 draw away to arsenal. the gunners, at home, weathered some early pressure from the reds, as gerrard and keane combined to test arsenal’s defenses. however it was van persie who broke the deadlock when arsenal settled in and started to get possession for themselves.

despite some good ball control, arsenal were struggling to deal with liverpool’s long ball passes.

just before half time, a long ball from agger that found keane up front, who smashed home the half volley.

liverpool and arsenal continued to trade shots after the break but neither side could make the most of their chances. liverpool started to dominate possession and arsenal were reduced to 10 men after their captain received a second yellow card. the reds went close with a few shots, agger and el zhar were unlucky not to score, liverpool were not able to claim all three points.

as it stands, liverpool remain top of the table with a two point break over chelsea. however the blues still have a game in hand, against everton tonight, in a match that they should win. it’s likely that chelsea will leapfrog liverpool into top position, by a single point.

liverpool now prepare to face bolton wanderers in the premier league’s traditional boxing day fixtures.

in other news, liverpool have drawn real madrid in the knockout stage of this year’s champion’s league. the reds finished top of their group and drew real madrid who finished second behind juventus. liverpool will be relishing the chance to play madrid, and it should be a cracking match.

liverpool have drawn yet another game they should have won. the reds hosted hull at anfield last night and it seemed from the outset that the home side would walk away easy winners. however, despite liverpool’s dominance, they were unable to put hull away and claim all three points.

hull, recent promotion winners, have enjoyed a great season and are currently in sixth position on the premier league table. the visitors didn’t look to be able to keep up with the anfield squad, however hull got a lucky break and scored early. their lead was doubled after a rare jamie carragher error resulting in an own goal.

liverpool poured forward, seeking much needed goals, after being shocked and suddenly 2-0 down. captain and liverpool hero steven gerrard came to the rescue with two goals. both goals were short range goals after gerrard found himself on the end of good build up play. the first goal came via a perfect kuyt cross. the second came when benayoun put the ball into gerrard’s path, leaving the captain with the simple job of driving the ball into the net.

the reds continued to dominate and missed a mulititude of chances, much to benitez’s chagrin. the spaniard said that if liverpool were still leading the league by new year, they’d be an 80% chance of winning the premiership. however that possibility took a slight dent after last night’s draw.

fortunately, in other games, manchester united and arsenal both drew their respective matches. as a result, arsenal have now dropped down to fifth position, behind aston villa. that’s a dangerous place for the gunners to be. if villa can hold onto fourth, then they’ll nick a champions league place from arsenal next season.

chelsea play their match tonight. a victory will give them a one point lead over liverpool.

the reds now look toward their crucial away game against arsenal. before that, liverpool will discover their next opponents in champions league, which is drawn on december 19th.

liverpool stay on top of the premier league, thanks to a solid win away to blackburn rovers last night. struggling blackburn did all they could to frustrate liverpool, and despite liverpool’s possession, blackburn managed to keep liverpool’s attacking threat neutralised.

in fact, it was blackburn who had the better of the first half chances, after a long drive was deflected off the post by a diving reina. at the other end, kuyt and benayoun missed chances but none were serious threats to blackburn’s back line.

liverpool looked to continue their run of goalless draws, as the half time whistle sounded, to the jeers of the traveling fans. however, after the break, the game got scrappy and both sides had trouble stringing moves together. alonso had a good shot denied, and gerrard’s thumping drive was parried into the path of benayoun, who was unable to put the ball into the net.

alonso wasn’t going to be denied twice. the spaniard got into the penalty box and when blackburn failed to clear, he side footed home an easy goal.  blackburn again missed a good chance before benayoun collected a great pass from kuyt. the israeli captain stepped over a tackle and fired a shot into the bottom corner.

stoppage time - gerrard shoots, scoring liverpool’s third goal

blackburn fought back with a late goal, but the game was put out of their reach when gerrard scored in stoppage time. the blackburn keeper was under enormous pressure from el zhar. the keeper’s clearance found reira who passed to gerrard, leaving liverpool’s captain with a simple task of shooting into an unguarded net.

the game was a good return to goals for liverpool, who have been suffering a goal drought with two goalless draws and torres injured. it was quite a different formation for liverpool. out of form keane was on the bench, while babel and benayoun (who’s unhappy with his lack of game time) both started.

liverpool have made a good start to their december campaign. the reds now look toward their midweek game against psv eindhoven. the game, although important for leading their champions league group, is actually a dead rubber for liverpool, who have already qualified. following that, liverpool prepare to face hull and arsenal, which will no doubt be liverpool’s toughest game in december.

liverpool regain their position at the top of the premier league after a frustrating 0-0 draw with west ham at anfield last night. chelsea fell to arsenal yesterday, clearing the way for liverpool to take top spot. all three points would have given liverpool a useful cushion, however the reds were denied their chance by their resilient visitors.

liverpool started well and dominated possession, controlling the midfield and putting good passes together. however it was former red craig bellamy who almost stunned the home team with a long range drive that was deflected off the post. liverpool’s best chance of the half came when west ham’s keeper brilliantly saved a shot by benayoun. twice more west ham were forced to save off their line, denying reira and hyypia the chance to score.

liverpool continued to apply pressure and were unlucky not to be awarded two penalties, after an apparent hand ball by a west ham defender. hyypia had two more opportunities, both headers missing their mark. kuyt and gerrard also being denied by west ham’s defense.

west ham pushed forward late in the second half, as liverpool began to tire, but were not able to put together any serious attacks.

despite the win, the anfield faithful showed their disappointment with a chorus of jeers at the final whistle. although liverpool now sit at the top of the table, it was clear that the home team’s performance was below expectations. liverpool are beginning to show a predictable pattern of not getting vital wins at home, to teams who are traveling to anfield looking for a draw.

rafa claimed that liverpool “deserved to win”. yet, there was very little evidence that liverpool deserved anything with their poor finishing.

having taken the lead, liverpool now need to focus on keeping it. the reds have a good run through december. liverpool will be away to blackburn rovers this coming weekend, followed by a midweek game against psv eindhoven in the champions league. liverpool will finish the year with games against hull, arsenal (away), bolton and newcastle. the match against arsenal at emirates stadium will be a tough game, but the rest are easily winable.

both liverpool and chelsea have blown their chances to take the outright lead over the premier league. liverpool hosted fulham and chelsea hosted newcastle. both home teams were favourites to win their respective matches, however they were frustrated by strong defending and poor finishing.

the reds started without playmakers gerrard (injured) and alonso (benched). torres started but is still getting back to match fitness after an injury.

liverpool didn’t make much of a start in the first half. the players looked tired from midweek international games. liverpool’s passing was sloppy and they allowed fulham too much time on the ball. the reds were forced to defend and gave the visitors a few chances to score.

at the other end keane rarely looked like troubling the defense, but torres made some good runs. however it was keane who had the best chance of the half, his shot heroically blocked by fulham’s aussie keeper mark schwarzer.

the second half was a better affair for the home team. liverpool started to get forward more and alonso’s introduction saw a marked improvement in liverpool’s passing. kuyt had a terrific shot which was also parried away by schwarzer.

the liverpool fans were howling for lucas levia to be substituted off. the young brazilian wasn’t having a good game and gave away too many balls in the midfield. however, he played the full match, with kuyt and riera coming off for babel and el zhar. a better substitution would have been to bring off levia for benayoun, who has been complaining about his lack of games for liverpool. tonight would have been a perfect chance to give him some decent time on the pitch.

as the game headed towards full time, liverpool’s intensity increased. however, the reds couldn’t break down fulham’s defense and find a goal that would give them all three points.

at stanford bridge, chelsea racked up 33 shots on goal to newcastle’s 2 shots. the blues pitched tents in newcastle’s half and spent the game taking pot shots at goal. considering the talent in chelsea’s squad, it’s a huge victory to newcastle to hold them out.

in other games, manchester city are proving their rise to power with a solid 3-0 victory over arsenal. the gunners are having a bad season (by their own standards) and wenger is under enormous pressure to get results … and poor old sheffield wednesday still can’t get a win, going down 0-1 to coventry. the owls have only won 1 of their last 7 matches. their next three games are against lowly ranked blackpool, norwich and southampton. here’s hoping sheffield wednesday find some form.

manchester united, with two games to play, now have a chance to cut back the gap between themselves and liverpool/cheslea.

the reds, meanwhile, turn their attention to the midweek game against marseille. a win or draw will guarantee progress to the champions league knockout stages. next sunday liveprool travel to west ham to begin their all important run through christmas.

update: manchester united also drew, missing a golden opportunity to catch the liverpool and chelsea.

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.

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 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 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.

liverpool retain their unbeaten win with a 3-2 victory over wigan at anfield last night. the reds kept themselves in the game after twice giving wigan the lead. kuyt was the hero with two goals including the late strike that sealed the win for liverpool.

liverpool played well but gave wigan too much room to move. a mistake from agger gave wigan the chance to open the scoring. however agger redeemed himself with a good run down the left wing, a dummy in the box and a short pass to kuyt who drilled home from close range. wigan again scored, through their striker zaki, before another left wing move put the reds in a good position. the cross this time found reira whose low drive found its way through the traffic and into the bottom right corner of the net. the goal was reira’s first for liverpool.

flying dutchman - kuyt’s aerial volley sealed the victory for liverpool

with the scores level, liverpool started to press and wigan put men behind the ball. wigan were educed to 10 men after a player picked up two yellow cards. wigan were being pushed back and not given room to move. pennant came on and his long cross from the right found kuyt whose flying volley bounced over the keeper and into the net.

the late goal was a lucky escape for liverpool. wigan played well and probably deserved at least a draw. benitez was satisfied with the result but criticised his team for not taking control of the game.

in what was a stunning and dramatic game, the reds’ visit to manchester city looked to be a thumping at the hands of the revamped city side. the new owners have poured cash into the club and signed some big name players, including real madrid’s robhino. city got off to a great start and liverpool looked out of sorts after their midweek champions league win. the home team put two goals past liverpool in the first half. the half time break came as a relief to the reds, who were being completely dominated on the pitch.

after half time, however, the anfield team were a different squad. passes were much sharper and they started to take possession away from man city. torres got himself into the game and scored two goals, bringing the teams level on 2-2. liverpool continued to push forward and torres was denied a 3rd goal from close range when he mistimed a shot that was virtually an open net.

a minute before full time skrtel was stretchered off with a knee injury and it looked as though the game would end in a draw. 6 minutes of injury time were awarded. immediately after play got underway, benayoun (coming on as a sub) made a great run down the left. he found space and passed back to torres in the box. torres’ shot was mistimed, but deflected off a city defender and into the path of kuyt. his shot passed the keeper, finding the back of the net.

liverpool wound down the clock and held off city’s last gasp attacks to claim all three points. the reds made a battling comeback to see of a strong manchester city side. benitez was duly satisfied with the result and at liverpool’s ability to battle their way back from 2 down to win 3-2.

the reds remain on top of the table, equal on points with chelsea (17) but behind on goal difference. all teams have played 7 games and we have a nice 3 point buffer on 3rd place hull (arsenal are in 4th on 13 points). chelsea’s goal difference is 11 to liverpool’s 6, which is going to be a bit of a concern when we play them in a few weeks. they’re scoring freely, but not conceding.

liverpool now have a week’s break to refresh and prepare for their match against wigan athletic.

as usual, transfer season is dramas and bitchiness all round. liverpool have been doing a good job at staying in the thick of it with their deals involving garreth barry and peter crouch. barry is in the shithouse with villa, after criticising the club and then being fined and banned from the premesis. villa will sell barry, but now it’s a mudslugging mess with the only thing left to decide is the value of the inform midfielder. xabi alonso will probably depart the club to make way for barry, with juventus seeming the most likely suitor. barry and alonso will probably fetch about the same price, with will suit benitez.

peter crouch seems likely to depart soon with portsmouth reluctantly ponying up 10 million for the striker. not a bad return on a man who lived on liverpool’s bench, for whom we paid 6 million. pompey don’t want to pay that much, but poo are holding out and look likely to get their asking price.

riise, as reported, as left for as roma.

on the aussie front, kewell’s inevitable departure has been made official as he heads to the far east, joining turkish champions galatasaray. personally, i was surprised that he took the offer from the turkish club, thinking that he might want to stay closer to england, however it might prove to be a good decision … and it also means that i might get a chance to see harry play. interestingly, galatasaray have also said they’re interested in lucas neill. which would give them 2 aussie players.

poo have done a little bit of spending. defender philipp degan comes to anfield on a free transfer. the 25 year old swiss player was with borussia dortmund. the reds have also bought andrea dosenna, an italian left back who will replace riise. benitez has also got his eye on yet another keeper, brazilian dieg cavalieri.

it appears that liverpool were interested in tottenham’s robbie keane, but that rumour seems to have gone cold … which is a shame, cause he’s a good player with a proven record in the premier league.

finally, the two biggest players to be discussed this transfer season, christiano ronaldo and ronaldhino, are still in the air about who they’ll represent next season. ronaldo is desperate to join real madrid, while chelsea and manchester city have been left cold by ronaldhino’s courtship by ac milan. it would have been great to see ronaldhino play in england, but definitely not against liverpool. ronaldo, too, i hope goes to madrid … it’s heartbreaking to watch him tear up the premier league every week.

liverpool end their season with a comfortable 2-0 victory away to tottenham. the reds scored 2 second half goals, the first by vororin from close range and the second a solo effort by torres. vororin scored a much needed goal, since his season at liverpool has not been much of a success … on the other hand, torres’ goal was his 33rd in all competitions and 24th in the premier league.

manchester united have won this year’s premier league. on the last day they needed to win to stay ahead of chelsea. united easily beat wigan 2-0 and chelsea drew 1-1 against bolton. there was plenty of excitement as reading looked like avoiding the drop with a 4-0 thrashing of hapless derby. however fulham clawed their way to victory to rescue themselves and stay in the top flight. birmingham, despite a convincing win, also drop. everton beat newcastle to claim the uefa cup spot.

however, game of the day went to middlesbrough, who absolutely smashed manchester city 8-1. it must be hard for city fans to watch their arch rivals win the league on the same day they get hammered by a team 16 points behind them. the fans must also be wondering whether it’s still worth trying to save manager errikson from being sacked. it was nothing short of a shocking turn out by city.

that brings the season to a close and liverpool now look to summer transfers to rebuild their team and make yet another charge at the league title. since benitez came to anfield, every year has begun with hope that this year will be ‘the one’. the past season has been liverpool’s best run, having lead the league in the early weeks, but a poor run of draws over christmas saw the reds drop down to 5th place, behind everton … we spent the rest of the season trying to fight back into contention.

there’s always next season … and maybe, this time, it will be the one.

liverpool played their last home game of the season, defeating manchester city 1-0. the reds paid tribute to their great fans, who in turn gave ovations to liverpool’s players … including huge applause for benitez.

the game itself was an unspectacular affair and was overshadowed by liverpool’s defeat by chelsea. the manchester city fans didn’t seem too interested in the game either, they spent the entire match chanting to save the job of their beleaguered manager. as usual, liverpool squandered numerous chancs … but torres sealed the deal with a second half goal, his 32nd strike for the season in all.

liverpool travel to london for their last game of the season, away to tottenham hotspurs.

liverpool fought back against a resilient birmingham during their english premier league fixture last night.

the reds dominated early, but birmingham - fighting relegation - were hungry for the ball and chased down liverpool with every touch. birmingham’s efforts were rewarded with a scrappy goal after liverpool’s defense failed to clear. birmingham fans were extatic when they doubled their lead after a controversial free kick. one birmingham player intentionally stood offside to block reina’s view of the ball. as a result, reina didn’t see the swinging free kick until it was too late.

the teams went into half time with liverpool definitely looking the worst team on the pitch. but after the break, liverpool started putting passes together. pennant, easily player of the match, was carving birmingham up along his favoured right wing. after a good cross, liverpool found space in the box. crouch turned and struck the ball sweetly, putting liverpool’s first goal on the scoreboard. benayoun then leveled the scores after his deflected shot wrongfooted the keeper.

liverpool made nine changes to the game, keeping in mind their upcoming match against chelsea. crouch and vororin started up front and the reds lacked leadership in the middle of the park. they had no real play makers. however the quality of depth at liverpool was enough to see them secure a point.

liverpool only need one point from their final 2 games to ensure 4th place. if everton lose or draw one of their 3 remaining games, 4th is handed to liverpool.

the reds now look towards tuesday night’s decider at stamford bridge … the winner goes to moscow to challenge for europe’s ultimate prize - the european champions league trophy.