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liverpool continue their fa cup run after a 2-0 win over preston north end. the reds played a mostly full strength squad, taking no risks in their third round clash.

reira opened the scoring with a solid drive after 25 minutes. reira, after a shaky start to life at anfield, has become a solid performer, chipping in with numerous goals. liverpool’s second goal came just before full time, scored by fernando torres. torres is returning from injury and subbed on for keane in the 78th minute.

liverpool now await the draw for their fourth round opponents, and look ahead to next saturday’s game against stoke city.

liverpool handed newcastle a 5-1 thumping last night when the reds traveled to st james park last night. liverpool were in fine form, despite having neither torres or keane on the pitch, and proceeded to dismantle newcastle’s defense from the opening kickoff.

liverpool dominated the magpies and gave them very little ball or opportunities to attack. the reds pushed forward and liverpool’s defensive line was playing very high. it was only thanks to the efforts by newcastle keeper shay given that the score line wasn’t more embarassing for the toons.

it didn’t take long for the floodgates to open. steven gerrard angled a shot off the post and into the net after the 30th minute. moments later veteran sami hyypia doubled liverpool’s lead. hyypia’s powerful header found the net after a great corner kick by gerrard.

liverpool had more chances but were unable to capitalise. the half time whistle was a welcome relief for newcastle’s ailing defenses.

gerrard’s shot beats the keeper, finding the net after deflecting off the inside of the post

hyypia’s powerful header gave liverpool a two goal lead

a close range punt by babel found the net, thanks to some terrible defense

stevie g gets his brace, chipping the keeper, for liverpool’s fourth goal

alonso cooly slotted home a penalty

after the break, newcastle showed an improved performance, earning a few corners, and were able to make the most of it by scoring a soft goal. newcastle were back in the game, only one goal down, but liverpool immediately retaliated with an easy goal thanks to some terrible defense. newcastle were unable to clear the ball, leaving babel to punt home from close range.

the third goal broke newcastle’s resiliance and gerrard took full advantage. a fantastic pass by lucas found gerrard up front. the liverpool skipper held off the defender and chipped the ball over the onrushing keeper. liverpool then finished off with a penalty. babel made a good run but was brought down in the box. alonso did the honours from the spot.

the result has shown what liverpool is capable of when they’re in form. playing with kuyt as the lone striker (keane was benched and torres is still recovering) the reds completely demolished newcastle. liverpool go three points clear at the top of the table, after fulham held chelsea to a draw.

the anfield squad will be feeling full of confidence as they return to merseyside to take a much needed break. benitez, watching from the stands, praised liverpool’s performance without two of their big gun strikers.

liverpool now prepare for their fa cup match against preston north end, followed by stoke, everton and wigan. the reds should be able to make the most of an easy january run, including the all important home game derby against everton, before facing chelsea on february 1st.

if liverpool are still leading the league after the chelsea match, there’s a good chance that they can hang on to take the title.

liverpool maintain their slender lead over the premier league, thanks to a great display against bolton wanderers in last night’s traditional boxing day clash.  the reds began well, controling the ball and dominating possession. bolton had very few opportunities to threaten, as liverpool pushed forward in search of the opening goal.

they only had to wait 20 minutes before the deadlock was broken. bolton had conceded a succession of corners and their defence had begun to show cracks. from a great steven gerrard corner, reira angled a deflection into the near post, beating the bolton keeper.

liverpool finished the half with 70% possession and a one goal lead. then, after the break, the reds continued their good form and dominated the match, denying bolton any opportunities to attack.

in the 53rd minute, under fire striker robbie keane went on a rampage, scoring two goals in five minutes.  the first goal came after a great gerrard cross. keane’s first touch controlled the ball and his second touch was smashed into the net. keane struck again after a move started by reina, who threw a long ball to alonso. the spaniard found benayoun who crossed to keane. the irish striker again smashed the ball home, to the rousing cheers of the anfield faithful.

keane celebrated his return to form, having scored three goals in two games, and also silenced his critics - who have accused keane of being a failure since his move to anfield. the reds were riding high and were full of confidence. agger, gerrard and even carragher were taking shots at goal. carragher’s powerful left footed drive flashed across goal.

liverpool retain their lead by a single point after rivals chelsea also won their match. manchester united won, and are 7 points behind but with two games in hand. if united win both of their extra games, there will be a single point separating the top three teams … creating a very tight race for the title.

liverpool now look to sunday’s lunch time game against newcastle united. the reds will be hoping that torres will be able to return from injury and take his place in the side. liverpool need to continue their winning form and ensure they remain in the hunt for the title.

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’s young stars have given the reds a thumping 3-1 victory over psv eindhoven in the netherlands overnight. although a dead rubber, since liverpool have already qualified, the anfield squad headed into the game hopeful of finishing on top of the group, ensuring an easier draw during the knockout stages.

liverpool did it in style, thanks to a commanding performance by their young gun players.

the reds looked unsettled in the first half, with few passes finding their mark. psv too made a poor start, but were rewarded with the first goal after mascherano failed to clear the ball. babel equalised in first half injury time with a downward header into the bottom left corner. although not a powerful header, the shot was deflected at an angle that was awkward and almost impossible for psv’s keeper to save.

liverpool were a much better side in the second half and came out looking for more goals. they almost got immediate results when babel chose to shoot instead of pass to an unmarked keane. reira though was the one to break the deadlock. surging into psv’s half, the winger released a cracking left footer from 20 yards out, taking the keeper completely by surprise with its pace, and finding the back of the net.

ngog, another of liverpool’s up and coming stars, also got into the goals after a good run by keane down the right wing found ngog, who outran his marker and shot at a difficult angle past the keeper toward the far post. liverpool might have scored a fourth after keane again provided a good ball to lucas who missed a very good chance.

the win puts the reds on top of their group, after marseille held athletico madrid to a goalless draw. that means liverpool will have the luxury of facing a second place team in the knockout draw. currently, liverpool could face inter milan or sporting lisbon. however four more games will be played tonight. the most dangerous group for liverpool is group H, featuring juventus and real madrid. both sides have qualified, but now it’s just a race to see which side will finish on top.

liverpool now return to anfield as they prepare to face hull and continue their race to stay on top of the premier league.

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.

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.

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 terrible 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.