Pro Eleven Headline News
Rivals write off Liverpool challenge at their peril, says Benítez
Rafael Benítez has told Chelsea and Manchester United it would be foolish to dismiss Liverpool's championship credentials despite a recent dip in form at Anfield and the latest injury setback to befall Fernando Torres.
Liverpool could move three points clear of Chelsea at the top of the Premier League tonight with victory over West Ham United, who may have eased the pressure on their new manager Gianfranco Zola with three points at Sunderland last week but have lost on their past seven visits to Anfield. Liverpool's lofty position, along with victories over United and Chelsea, appears to have provoked little alarm inside Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge, publicly at least, with both camps assessing the title race as a customary two-way contest between Manchester and west London.
Chelsea's midfielder Michael Ballack was the latest to patronise Liverpool's prospects last week, claiming the Anfield mindset was more suited to the Champions League, while Sir Alex Ferguson heralded the Merseysiders' win at Stamford Bridge in October as merely a shot in the arm for United's hopes of a third successive title. Despite subdued displays against Fulham and in defeating Marseille in the Champions League, however, Benítez believes his team are well equipped to sustain their challenge this season.
"After two games without playing well, people are starting to say that we are looking a little bit nervous, but we are still close to the top of the table," the Liverpool manager said. "We have qualified for the next round of the Champions League, we are in a fantastic position in the league and we are playing really well. If you have some experience, you know that, if you want to be a contender, you have to think only about the next game. So it doesn't matter what they [Chelsea and United] say and it doesn't matter what people may think. I am not worried by what they say. It depends on the players and the team. We are at the top of the table and we know that, if we beat West Ham, we will be there at the top of the table for another week."
Liverpool will be without Torres tonight as the Spaniard recovers from his third hamstring injury of the season, and having coped without their record signing previously Benítez insists the loss should not hinder his team. The Liverpool manager added: "We have enough people up-front with Kuyt, Ngog, Keane and Babel. Gerrard is also scoring goals, so we can manage. Torres is an important player for us, so it will be different, but we have to think about solutions." -Guardian
Palermo rolls to 3-1 win over AC Milan
Fabrizio Miccoli, Edison Cavani and Fabio Simplicio each scored in the second half to help Palermo shock AC Milan, 3-1 on Sunday at Renzo Barbera in the Italian Serie A.
Miccoli opened the scoring five minutes after half with his seventh goal of the season, Cavani doubled the lead in the 59th with his fifth goal and Simplicio clinched the match in the 80th with his second of the season.
Palermo won for just the sixth time this season and trails first-place Inter by 13 points. AC Milan, which got its lone goal from Ronaldinho on a penalty kick in the 83rd minute, slipped six points behind Inter.
Miccoli's goal was placed into the bottom right corner to open the outburst and Cavani and Simplicio followed with headers past Milan goalie Christian Abbiati.
Inter Milan got goals from Ivan Cordoba and Sulley Muntar in a 2-1 victory over Napoli that helped it open its lead atop the league. Napoli sits fourth, nine points off the pace.
In Sunday's other matches, Francesco Totti scored to lead Roma over Fiorentina 1-0, Chievo used an 87th-minute own goal to edge Udinese 1-0, Valdes and Sergio Floccari scored in Atalanta's 2-0 win over Lazio, Cagliari edged Sampdoria 1-0, Siena nipped Torino 1-0 and Genoa tied Bologna 1-1. TSN
Van Persie double stuns Chelsea
It was not so long ago that Stamford Bridge was regarded as the kind of stadium where all away teams – famous or humble – came to lie down and die. But yesterday it was the Arsenal players who took their leave bare-chested and belligerent, tossing their shirts into the crowd and generally swaggering about the place as if they owned it, which, for one afternoon, you could say that they did.
Their victory was something of a miracle, thanks in no small part to a bizarre decision by the referee Mike Dean to allow Robin van Persie's first goal to stand despite it being offside. But let us lay that aside for a moment and draw an early-season conclusion: Big Phil is not doing very well in the big games. Luiz Felipe Scolari can complain about the referee as much as he likes – and he certainly did his best on that score yesterday – but the record against his three big rivals does not make happy reading
Under Scolari this season, Chelsea have lost at home to two of their three big rivals – Liverpool and now Arsenal – and they managed only a draw against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge. At times like this it is easy to forget that Scolari's team are still top of the Premier League – until tonight at least – but this season the terms of engagement are different. Fortune changes in an instant. Form is temporary. And amid all this chaos Chelsea find themselves in a period of difficulty that we still hesitate to call a crisis.
That indomitable 86-game unbeaten league run at home feels like a distant memory when they toss games away like this. Chelsea were in control, ahead through Johan Djourou's first-half own goal, when they lost their grip in a three-minute period on the hour during which Van Persie scored twice.
This irresponsible crashing from triumph to disaster is what we expect of Arsène Wenger's side, not the shock troops of Scolari's squad who, in two title-winning seasons with Jose Mourinho, dropped only 12 points at home.
As for Wenger's side, it is impossible now to gauge whether to take them seriously: they succumb to Stoke, Hull and Fulham but bring on Chelsea and United and the story is different. Even William Gallas threw his shirt into the away fans at the end of the game and did not have it tossed back into his face.
The former Arsenal captain was impressive, nonetheless, but no one in a red shirt was more competitive and as uncompromising as the match-winner Van Persie.
For periods, Wenger was consumed by rage, not towards the opposition or the referee, but his own team. There were even times when he seemed to be sulking in protest at another erratic, unpredictable performance from Arsenal, yet he was on his feet with clenched fists at the final whistle. But as a football man he will know his side found an unlikely escape yesterday against a Chelsea team who simply neglected to close this game out when they had the chance.
It is rare for Deco to play as poorly as he did yesterday and stranger still that a Chelsea manager should look around him for an attacking substitute and find a kid from the academy as his only option on the bench.
Miroslav Stoch looked like the mascot when he came on, the only card Scolari had to play as his team struggled to find their rhythm after Van Persie's second goal. In the meantime, Didier Drogba sat in the stands listening to his iPod, watching another fine mess in his absence.
It was not a result that looked on the cards when Wenger's side enraged their manager by sloppily conceding the first goal. A bad throw from Manuel Almunia to Samir Nasri was anticipated by Jose Bosingwa and possession was turned around quickly. The ball went from Jon Obi Mikel to Nicolas Anelka and back to Bosingwa whose cross to the near post was put into his own net by Djourou under pressure from Salomon Kalou.
Chelsea had easily the better of the first half. Their dominant player was Mikel who would later lose Emmanuel Adebayor at the free-kick that brought Arsenal's winner. Van Persie created the only half-decent Arsenal chance of the first half when his shot was saved by Petr Cech and fell just behind Gallas. The abuse from the Chelsea fans for their old boy was pretty unrelenting; ditto that from the Arsenal fans to Ashley Cole. The most repugnant of all, however, was the chant directed from Chelsea fans at Wenger.
There was an appalling dive from Denilson in the Chelsea area when he was being tracked by Ashley Cole, which the referee was wise to ignore, and it was difficult to see from where the revival would come. It came from referee Dean's oversight when Van Persie was played in by Denilson.
The striker was not just a knee or a shoulder offside; there was clear daylight between the Dutch striker and the last Chelsea defender. So much so that when Van Persie hit his shot past Cech, Denilson looked long and hard at the linesman before he decided it was worth joining the celebrations.
It was barely credible and Chelsea reacted badly. Rampaging forward, John Terry lost control of the ball and was booked for a two-footed lunge on Bacary Sagna. Then Arsenal scored for the second time in three minutes. Cesc Fabregas hit a free-kick from left to right that was headed down by Adebayor and, despite running away from goal and under pressure from Frank Lampard, Van Persie swivelled and hit his shot first time past Cech.
Chelsea failed to react. Deco's replacement by Stoch told the Portuguese midfielder all he needed to know about his own performance. Florent Malouda miscued dreadfully with a volley and there was a sense of foreboding about the place. It will be no consolation here that this result only serves to make this season's title race even more absorbing.
Goals: Djourou og (og30) 1-0; Van Persie (59) 1-1; Van Persie (62) 1-2. Independent
Rooney punishes City as Berbatov fires blanks
A goal in the last minute of the first half from Wayne Rooney saw Manchester City succumb to cross-town rivals United at their own manor in a match full of passion, drama, great football and cards of all colours.
The 150th derby pitting the two sides from Manchester, is an combustible fixture to put it mildly, made even more interesting by the fact that City manager Mark Hughes is a former United stalwart and is seen by many as a possible successor to Alex Ferguson once the Scot finally retires at United.
The match started in fifth gear from the first instant. High-speed aggressive football and flying tackles, and a boiling atmosphere on the ground. United and City were exchanging an attack after attack, both sides playing open football and looking to score a goal. After Brazilian full-back Rafael sent over a cracking cross from the right, Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov had the first chance of the match, producing a terrific header, but City goalkeeper Joe Hart somehow managed to tip the ball over the bar.
After collecting a thigh injury during international duty, and in total contrast to his lakclustre performance when in a Bulgarian shirt, Dimitar Berbatov was on fire against City and at times looked to be everywhere on the pitch. His touch was a delight, his passes always dangerous for unwary City defenders.
Stephen Ireland hit the outside of the post for Manchester City with their first real attempt after Edwin van der Sar flapped at a free-kick, but Micah Richards watched Ireland's shot drift wide. City should have been 1-0 up, but apparently Richards thought the ball was going in, when in fact it wasn't. He should have just tapped it, but no such luck for the hosts.
And just before full time, Rooney scored with the simplest of tap-ins to grab a century of league goals. In a display of shoddy defending from City, the ball was allowed to pinball throughout the penalty box, with Michael Carrick finally hitting it home and Rooney putting in the rebound from Joe Hart's save.
The second half started with resurgent and determined Man City, who looked eager to get back into the game. The noise level emanating from the stands might have helped, as did the sending off of Cristiano Ronaldo for two professional fouls.
But despite 15 minutes of non-stop pressure, during which a more quiet Berbatov was replaced by Ryan Giggs as the Bulgarian gradually lost himself on the turf, City could not grab a well-deserved point. With three points and a game in hand, United put pressure on league leaders Chelsea and Liverpool. Sofiaecho
