Saturday, February 28, 2009
Haha. recovered from my fever liao. So fast. Maybe I got my fever from Yinn Jaye, also down with flu, cough and a fever. Lol. Tuesdy got one Maths Test. Haha. Don't plan to study. Lol. Liverpool lost to Boro, Chelsea won and Arsenal draw. Sianzzz... Here are the match reports.
Middlesbrough 2-0 Liverpool
Tuncay Sanli blasted a huge hole in Liverpool's Prem title challenge as Middlesbrough gave their survival hopes a boost.
The Turkey international struck for the second time in four days after Xabi Alonso's own goal had given the Teessiders an unlikely half-time lead.
It was Boro's first league victory and the Reds' first league defeat in 15 attempts, and was hugely significant to both clubs for starkly contrasting reasons.
The hosts last won at Aston Villa on November 9 and had not collected all three points at the Riverside Stadium since 11 days earlier, and Alonso's goal was their first in the league for 526 minutes.
However, Gareth Southgate's men were well worth a win which gives them genuine hope of escaping the drop, but leaves Liverpool's title hopes in shreds with leaders Manchester United seven points clear with a game in hand.
Liverpool arrived on Teesside with talk of manager Rafael Benitez's unsigned contract and the impending departure of chief executive Rick Parry dominating the headlines.
However, the only focus at the end of a week which brought the club a famous Champions League victory over Real Madrid at the Bernabeu Stadium was the league title which has eluded them since 1990.
Even after Boro's creditable performance in beating West Ham on Wednesday evening to book their place in the FA Cup quarter-finals, few in a crowd of 33,724 - the biggest of the season at the Riverside - were expecting a home win.
Indeed, for the opening half-hour, there seemed only one likely winner despite Gary O'Neil forcing a good reaction save from Jose Reina from Stewart Downing's 11th-minute cross.
Opposite number Brad Jones had already kept out close-range efforts from Nabil El Zhar and Dirk Kuyt as the visitors piled on the pressure, although even the craft of returning skipper Steven Gerrard, making his 300th start for the club, and Alonso could not break the Teessiders down on a consistent basis.
But when the opening goal finally arrived, it came at the other end, and ended an agonising wait for the home side.
Not since Afonso Alves' 45th-minute strike in the 1-1 derby draw with Sunderland on January 10 had Boro found the back of the net in a league game, and they needed a helping hand to end the drought.
Alonso instinctively stuck stuck out a leg as Downing's 31st-minute corner sped across the six-yard box, but only succeeded in diverting the ball past the helpless Reina.
The goal seemed to galvanise the home side, who might have extended their lead four minutes before the break when Downing robbed full-back Martin Skrtel and forced Reina into a good save.
However, Southgate's men returned expecting an onslaught and knowing there was a long way to go before they could even contemplate all three points.
Liverpool should really have been back on level terms within three minutes of the restart when Gerrard ghosted into the box and pulled the ball back invitingly for El Zhar.
However, the youngster hammered his shot high over the bar to let Boro off the hook.
Jeremie Aliadiere might have increased the visitors' woes three minutes later when he was picked out by O'Neil inside the box, but he was similarly inaccurate.
Benitez's side continued to dominate possession, but they were struggling to do anything meaningful with it as Boro's stubborn defence proved more than adequate to keep them at bay.
The game's second goal came with 63 minutes gone, and again it was the visitors who found themselves on the wrong end of it.
O'Neil slid the ball into the path of Aliadiere down the right and when he squared for Tuncay, the Turkey international guided his shot past Reina into the bottom corner to send the home crowd into raptures.
Jones saved from Gerrard and Kuyt failed to connect with his skipper's cross with the goal at his mercy as the game slipped further from Liverpool's grasp, and things might have been even worse with 18 minutes remaining.
Downing and Tuncay combined to open up the Reds once again and present Marlon King with a glorious opportunity, but Reina came to the rescue with a two-handed save.
In truth, the visitors never looked like pulling off a rescue mission as Boro coasted to a fine win.
Chelsea 2-1 Wigan
Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard kept the Blues' title hopes alive with a stoppage-time winner against Wigan.
John Terry had put Guus Hiddink's side in front in the 25th minute with a thunderous volley but Olivier Kapo looked to have killed of Chelsea's title hopes with an 82nd-minute equaliser.
But England midfielder Lampard headed a vital winner to put Chelsea into second place on goal difference above rivals Liverpool.
But Chelsea remain seven points behind leaders Manchester United, who have a game in hand on the Blues.
The contest began with a flurry of niggling challenges but referee Lee Probert refused to issue a yellow card until Chelsea defender Alex lunged at Paul Scharner in the ninth minute.
The niggling fouls continued to interrupt the football and Probert found himself having quiet words with Michael Ballack and Wigan's Michael Brown after the pair clashed off the ball.
Chelsea had goalkeeper Petr Cech to thank for keeping them on level terms in the 17th minute.
Mario Melchiot's ball was helped on by Amr Zaki to put Scharner clean through with just Cech to beat. However, the Wigan midfielder saw his low shot pushed around the post by the Czech Republic international.
Moments later Terry was booked for a foul on Zaki as Wigan continued to press for an opener.
Chelsea then survived a double scare when Ashley Cole cleared a Titus Bramble header off the line and Terry did likewise seconds later with a Charles N'Zogbia shot.
But Chelsea hit back and Chris Kirkland saved superbly to deny John Obi Mikel.
The Nigerian midfielder let fly with a 25-yard shot that Kirkland did well to tip over the crossbar.
But Chelsea went ahead against the run of play in the 25th minute. Emmerson Boyce partially cleared a cross by Lampard and captain Terry smashed home a volley on the edge of the penalty area to become the highest scoring defender in the club's history.
Lee Cattermole was lucky to escape with just a yellow card in the 28th minute when he left Mikel writhing on the ground with a reckless challenge.
Chelsea were now dominant for the first time in the game and Nicolas Anelka was just wide with a header from Lampard's 31st-minute corner.
Chelsea should have gone further ahead in the 35th minute but Lampard failed to finish when found superbly in the area by Salomon Kalou.
Lampard's shot was kept out by Kirkland and Michael Ballack was then deemed offside when his header from the rebound was cleared off the line by Bramble.
A shot from Didier Drogba was well-saved by Kirkland but when the ball rolled out to Terry, the Chelsea captain was too high with his shot.
In the 43rd minute Kapo brought down Drogba and Lampard tried his luck with the free-kick even though it was some 40 yards from Kirkland's goal.
However, the England midfielder managed to lift the ball over the defensive wall and get it to bounce awkwardly in front of the Wigan goalkeeper.
In the 47th minute, a long ball by Terry was handled by Bramble as Drogba looked to cash-in.
Bramble atoned for his error though minutes later when Lampard put Drogba in the clear.
The Ivorian striker's shot beat the advancing Kirkland but the retreating Bramble acrobatically cleared the goalbound effort.
Wigan were finding it hard to keep pace with Chelsea but they occasionally managed to threaten.
In the 61st minute Cattermole sent a low drive wide of the target from 20 yards but generally, they could not rekindle the form they displayed in the early stages of the game.
The biggest cheer of the second half arrived when Chelsea fans learned of Middlesbrough's second goal against Liverpool.
New caretaker boss Hiddink had complained that Chelsea tired in the second half of their Champions League win over Juventus and there were similar signs as Wigan began to find more space in midfield.
A quick break in the 68th minute ended with the visitors winning a free-kick 25 yards from goal.
But substitute Hugo Rodallega's effort was charged down by Chelsea's defensive wall.
In the 78th minute Wigan wasted a chance to equalise when a cross from Maynor Figueroa was headed over by Scharner. Seconds later Zaki sent a curling effort just wide as Chelsea faded badly.
The inevitable happened in the 82nd minute when Figueroa's cross was turned in by Kapo at the near post.
But with three minutes of injury time to be played, a long clearance was flicked on by Ballack and Lampard got ahead of Melchiot to loop a header over Kirkland for the winner.
Arsenal 0-0 Fulham
Misfiring Arsenal were booed off after they failed to find the net as their clash with Fulham ended goalless.
Robin van Persie was twice denied by Mark Schwarzer from close range in the first half, with the Fulham keeper also saving well from Abou Diaby and Andrei Arshavin.
Fulham, though, were anything but negative - and had come close to taking an early lead through Andrew Johnson.
The goalless run - a worst since 1994/95 - has proved costly for the Gunners, who are now in danger of losing out on fifth place to Everton.
With no dedicated strike partner for leading scorer van Persie in the side, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger pushed Samir Nasri into a more attacking role in front of the midfield.
It was Fulham, though, playing with two up front, who created the first opening when Johnson latched onto a chipped pass and dragged a shot from the edge of the area wide.
Midfielder Simon Davies then beat the Arsenal offside trap, but fired his shot over the crossbar from just inside the box.
Johnson should have put the visitors ahead when he was released by a knockdown from Bobby Zamora and a brilliant touch turned marker Kolo Toure inside out.
However, the former England striker then slipped the ball wide before Clint Dempsey had a shot blocked at the near post.
In the 10th minute, only a brilliant reaction save from Schwarzer stopped van Persie from putting Arsenal in front with a bullet header after Andrei Arshavin's weighted chip across the six-yard box.
Wenger could certainly not accuse Fulham of being negative, as they were soon back on the offensive, with Dempsey drilling a long-range effort wide.
At the other end, Arshavin fired an angled shot over after being played into the right side of the penalty box.
Fulham continued to knock the ball about crisply, much to the annoyance of the home crowd, still waiting for a Premier League goal to celebrate after more than three hours.
Zamora's low strike from the edge of the area was collected by Manuel Almunia at his near post.
Carlos Vela broke quickly down the left and fed Nasri in the centre, but the Frenchman dwelled too long on the ball, twisting and turning, before eventually being hustled out of possession.
Danny Murphy drilled his shot just over the angle of post and bar as Fulham again signalled their attacking threat.
After 35 minutes, a superb slide-rule pass from the impressive Arshavin released van Persie into the right side of the penalty area.
But Schwarzer was quick off his line to make the block, with the Arsenal striker then seeing his follow-up shot deflected behind.
Fulham were forced into a change for the start of the second half when full-back Chris Baird, who had earlier needed treatment for a what looked like an ankle injury, was replaced by Fredrik Stoor.
Arsenal moved Arshavin up front alongside van Persie, and started brightly.
However, once again delivery into the penalty area was poor.
Nasri nipped into the box on the left, but his shot was blocked behind by Brede Hangeland.
From the resulting corner, van Persie sent a header onto the roof of the net.
Bacary Sagna - whose wife gave birth to their first child yesterday - chipped the ball in from the right, and van Persie's glancing header hit the outside of the far post.
Fulham continued to look dangerous on the break and a deflected effort from Johnson looped onto the roof of the net.
Substitute Nicklas Bendtner latched onto a short backpass, and held the ball up on the goalline before crossing to the far post, where an angled drive from a tired Arshavin flew behind.
On 71 minutes, Schwarzer kept Abou Diaby's downward header off the line with his legs as Arsenal again came agonisingly close to breaking their goal drought.
Arshavin was put in on the left, but Schwarzer stood up well at the near post to tip his fierce drive behind.
Arsenal continued to press during four minutes of stoppage time, but were once again left frustrated sat the final whistle as the boos rang out around Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal fanatic,
Yee Hark
6:32 PM
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