A pair of first half goals from Fernando Torres consigned Chelsea to its second defeat of the season, while making it three wins on the trot for a resurgent Liverpool in Sunday’s English Premier League blockbuster.
Anfield has not been the fortress of old in recent times, but the home of Liverpool Football Club has never been the happiest of hunting grounds for Chelsea over the years, and so it proved on Sunday.
The Reds 2–0 victory over the league leaders will have restored some semblance of normality and self-respect to the Merseyside giants. The fact that out of form star striker Fernando Torres bagged both goals is an added bonus. Manager Roy Hodgson must have been thinking that Torres simply wasn’t interested since the departure of fellow Spaniard Rafa Benitez, so woeful had some of the No. 9’s performances been this season.
But this was vintage Torres. The game was only 11 minutes old when Dirk Kuyt took John Terry out of the equation with a cleverly chipped cross over the Chelsea skipper’s head. Torres took one touch and slotted the ball clinically past Petr Cech in the Chelsea goal. This did wonders, not only for the striker’s confidence, but also for the confidence of his teammates.
They more than held their own for the remainder of the first half and then on 44 minutes came the defining moment of the match. Torres gathered the ball near the left hand corner of the 18-yard box and curled a right-footed shot inside Cech’s left hand post. The sublime strike not only gave the goalkeeper no chance, but the swerve took it past defenders Branislav Ivanovic and Terry.
It was inevitable that Chelsea would throw everything at Liverpool in the second period, and they had their chances, but with Jamie Carragher restored to the center of the defense, the Reds kept a much better shape than of late, and held out for a memorable victory that propelled them up to ninth in the table.
Truth be told, everyone except the Toon army diehards would have put their house on a comfortable Arsenal win and only 11 minutes had gone by when a Cesc Fabregas free kick flew past Newcastle’s defensive wall and rattled the crossbar.
Arsenal was by no means at its irresistible best, but even so still created a few good chances. Newcastle, for their part, concentrated on frustrating their hosts and punting long balls directly into the penalty area whenever the opportunity presented itself.
They were rewarded for their hard work when, on the stroke of half time, England under-21 striker Andy Carroll put away a trade mark header—precisely what England boss Fabio Cappello, who was in attendance, had come to see.
Arsenal tried their hardest to make good in the second half with Theo Walcott hitting the post not long after the restart. As the game wore on Arsene Wenger brought on the fit again Robin Van Persie, Nicholas Bendtner, and Andrey Arshevin—not bad players to have sitting on your bench—but Newcastle refused to be overawed and withstood the pressure.
To top off a frustrating afternoon for the Gunners, Laurent Koscielny was given his marching orders near the end for a professional foul.
Anfield has not been the fortress of old in recent times, but the home of Liverpool Football Club has never been the happiest of hunting grounds for Chelsea over the years, and so it proved on Sunday.
The Reds 2–0 victory over the league leaders will have restored some semblance of normality and self-respect to the Merseyside giants. The fact that out of form star striker Fernando Torres bagged both goals is an added bonus. Manager Roy Hodgson must have been thinking that Torres simply wasn’t interested since the departure of fellow Spaniard Rafa Benitez, so woeful had some of the No. 9’s performances been this season.
But this was vintage Torres. The game was only 11 minutes old when Dirk Kuyt took John Terry out of the equation with a cleverly chipped cross over the Chelsea skipper’s head. Torres took one touch and slotted the ball clinically past Petr Cech in the Chelsea goal. This did wonders, not only for the striker’s confidence, but also for the confidence of his teammates.
They more than held their own for the remainder of the first half and then on 44 minutes came the defining moment of the match. Torres gathered the ball near the left hand corner of the 18-yard box and curled a right-footed shot inside Cech’s left hand post. The sublime strike not only gave the goalkeeper no chance, but the swerve took it past defenders Branislav Ivanovic and Terry.
It was inevitable that Chelsea would throw everything at Liverpool in the second period, and they had their chances, but with Jamie Carragher restored to the center of the defense, the Reds kept a much better shape than of late, and held out for a memorable victory that propelled them up to ninth in the table.
Newcastle Shocks Arsenal 1–0
Full of confidence after last weekend’s triumph in the north-east derby, Newcastle ran out onto the Emirates keen to avenge their 4–0 home loss to the Gunners in the Carling Cup the week before last.Truth be told, everyone except the Toon army diehards would have put their house on a comfortable Arsenal win and only 11 minutes had gone by when a Cesc Fabregas free kick flew past Newcastle’s defensive wall and rattled the crossbar.
Arsenal was by no means at its irresistible best, but even so still created a few good chances. Newcastle, for their part, concentrated on frustrating their hosts and punting long balls directly into the penalty area whenever the opportunity presented itself.
They were rewarded for their hard work when, on the stroke of half time, England under-21 striker Andy Carroll put away a trade mark header—precisely what England boss Fabio Cappello, who was in attendance, had come to see.
Arsenal tried their hardest to make good in the second half with Theo Walcott hitting the post not long after the restart. As the game wore on Arsene Wenger brought on the fit again Robin Van Persie, Nicholas Bendtner, and Andrey Arshevin—not bad players to have sitting on your bench—but Newcastle refused to be overawed and withstood the pressure.
To top off a frustrating afternoon for the Gunners, Laurent Koscielny was given his marching orders near the end for a professional foul.
Much Needed Win for Man City
Mario Balotelli’s first Premier League goals were enough to give Manchester City a much needed 2–0 win. Mancini’s men had lost their way somewhat in recent weeks so they will be hoping that this success on the road will mark a turning point. Unfortunately, the gloss was taken off Balotelli’s afternoon when he was red-carded after being cautioned twice in the span of five minutes.
The man advantage encouraged West Brom to press forward and try to rescue something from the game. Simon Cox hit the post with a fierce swerving drive and City lived dangerously for a while. Then, eight minutes from time the numbers were evened up as Youssuf Mulumbu was sent off for clattering Tevez to the ground unfairly. City saw out the rest of the match comfortably enough to take the three points.
