Liverpool Continue to Stutter
November 10th, 2009
Tags: arsenal, burnley, chelsea, controversy, epl, hull, liverpool, manchester
It was another dismal day at Anfield as Liverpool threw away a lead and then had to fight back to claim a controversial draw against Birmingham. The Reds can count themselves extremely lucky not to add another loss to the campaign after David Ngog’s swan dive relit the diving debate. But regardless, it seems like Liverpool’s inaugural Barclays Premier League title will have to wait another season.
Credit to Birmingham, it was another impressive display in solid campaign thus far. They were unlucky not to get a point at Manchester United and had Arsenal nervous at the Emirates. But whilst they might have only got one point from the three matches, they’ve earned some respect.
Benitez finally found his first goal, while Jerome is proving some talent. However, the defence does need some work, especially after that first goal. But to get a draw at Anfield is a result one would think they would always take
However, it was Ngog’s theatrics to set up Gerrard’s equalizer was the big talking point post-game. If Eduardo’s dive in the Champions League was clear-cut, this was blatantly obvious. Ngog rounded Lee Carsley but fell to the ground as the defender slid in.
But Liverpool now sit eleven points behind Chelsea and are in genuine danger of missing the top four, much like Arsenal were at this stage last year.
In other news, the big game of the weekend was the Chelsea v Manchester United match blockbuster. Well it didn’t exactly live up to some of the other big games of the season, but after Chelsea were outplayed by United for most of the match, John Terry popped up for an invaluable goal.
The victory puts Chelsea in a great position as the clubs go into the international break with a five point gap separating them and closest rivals, Arsenal. The Gunners though do have a game in hand and have been in scintillating form since losing to the two Manchester side’s early in the season.
The Red and White’s smashed another four past Wolves on the weekend in a demanding performance. Wolves looked promising early, but once Arsenal got into their rhythm, the game was dead. First half own goals and a classic Arsenal goal through Fabregas seemed to seal things. Arshavin added a fourth until Wolves grabbed a consolation via Craddock.
Arsenal’s maturity is starting to become more evident after their contrasting previous seasons. The only thing opponents seem to be getting from the Gunners lately are consolation goals, and what will please the fans is that they have found the equation of how to kill of games after the 2-2 draw with West Ham a few weeks ago.
Arsenal and Chelsea’s good form sets up a blockbuster at the Emirates Stadium on 29th November.
Burnley, meanwhile, picked up their first away point of the season with a come from behind 3-3 draw with Manchester City. However, the Clarets would have fancied their first away win after jumping to a 2-0 lead. But in the space of fifteen minutes, between the 43rd and 58th, City went from 2-0 down, to 3-2 leaders. It seemed as if they’d come away with the points, but with four minutes left McDonald equalised to grab a point.
After a 3-0 loss to Arsenal last week, Tottenham bounced back to winnings ways against Sunderland in a 2-0 victory. Former White Heart Land strike Darren Bent returned to Spurs seeking to find his impressive goal scoring attributes he had already showcased this season. After Robbie Keane gave Spurs an early lead, Bent got his chance to take revenge on his old club with a penalty. It appeared to be a soft foul be Gomes, who got a yellow card for his efforts. But perhaps equalling the ledger, Gomes saved the striker’s attempt and sixteen minutes later Huddlestone secured victory with a solid strike.
Hull took some more weight of Phil Brown’s shoulders as Vennegoor of Hesselink produced a 90th-minute goal to give the Tigers a 2-1 victory over Stoke. Already missing Geovanni, the task became harder when Mathew Etherington gave Stoke the lead. However the Tigers rallied and after equalizing through Olofinjana, the sending off of usually reliable defender Faye turned the momentum. As time was running out, Bullard pulled the trigger from distance, but Sorensen was only able to parry into the path of Hesselink for an easy tap in.
Elsewhere, Villa thrashed Bolton; unlucky West Ham went down to Everton, Blackburn made light work of Portsmouth, whilst Fulham and Wigan shared the points.


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