Pro Eleven Headlines
Chelsea go top as Tottenham snap Liverpool's unbeaten start
Liverpool's unbeaten start in the English Premier League was ended after a 2-1 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur as Chelsea took the advantage to go top with an euphoric 5-0 win over Sunderland on Saturday.
Harry Redknapp's dream start to life at White Hart Lane continued as a 90th-minute winner from Roman Pavlyuchenko hauled Spurs off the foot of the table.
Liverpool were made to pay for a series of opportunities they spurned after an early lead as a Jamie Carragher own goal and Pavlyuchenko's strike in the final 20 minutes knocked them off the top spot.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez was reluctant to criticize his players after they fell to their first defeat of the season.
"We played really well and we were creating enough chances to win the game," he said.
"It could have been 4-0 and to lose the game is unbelievable. We were really unlucky not to win.
"We have to win the next game but the mentality of the players will be high again." he added.
Nicolas Anelka's hat-trick helped Chelsea to a comfortable Sunderland win, which lifted Luiz Felipe Scolari's side to the summit of the table on goal difference.
Manchester United moved up to third on 21 points, trailing Chelsea and Liverpool by five points, as they held off a brave challenge from sixth-placed Hull City who fought back from 4-1 down to be edged out 4-3 at Old Trafford.
Arsenal's title hopes were dealt with a major blow as they lost2-1 away to promoted Stoke City, had Robin van Persie sent off and picked up several injuries.
The Gunners' third defeat of the season left them fourth in the table and six points behind the leaders.
Ricardo Fuller and Seyi Olofinjana both scored for Stoke after long throw-ins by Rory Delap caused confusion for the visitors' defense.
Clichy's late effort pulled a goal back for consolation but Arsene Wenger could be without three other first-teamers, in addition to van Persie, in the coming weeks.
Walcott was stretchered off with a shoulder problem while Emmanuel Adebayor and Bacary Sagna also left the field with knocks.
"We conceded goals that Stoke are strong at. We lost many players and had a red card," said Wenger.
"We lacked sharpness. It was very difficult. You could see that Stoke, physically, were a bit stronger than us."
Dirk Kuyt put Liverpool in front after only three minutes but the Reds then squandered numerous chances to double their advantage, hitting the woodwork three times.
Spurs were given hopes when Carragher could only head David Bentley's corner under pressure from Ledley King in the 70th minute, and Pavlyuchenko tapped in from Bent's cross to hand Liverpool their first league loss of the season.
Spurs are heading into a revival under the new boss, having earned two wins and a 4-4 draw with Arsenal since Redknapp replaced the fired Juande Ramos six days ago.
"We rode our luck at times but the character was fantastic," Redknapp said.
Being asked about his input, he said: "There's a smile about the place and you need to be positive with them."
Elsewhere, Wigan snatched a last-gasp winner to beat Tony Adams' Portsmouth 2-1, while 10-man Blackburn grabbed a late leveller for a 1-1 draw at West Brom.
Everton won for the first time on home soil this season as Louis Saha's late effort was enough to overcome Fulham 1-0 and Mido was on target as Middles rough drew at home to West Ham 1-1.
Xavi double puts Barcelona top as Valencia lose
Xavi scored twice to lead Barcelona to the top of the Primera Liga on Saturday with a 4-1 win at Malaga as Valencia lost 4-2 at home to Racing Santander after a hat-trick from Mohamed Tchite.
Barcelona's victory, their seventh league win in a row, puts them on 22 points from nine matches, one ahead of Villarreal, who won 4-1 at Athletic Bilbao, on a rain-soaked night in Spain.
Valencia drop to third with 20 points, while Real Madrid, who visit Almeria on Sunday, are fourth on 19.
Spain midfielder Xavi stroked a sublime free kick into the top corner after six minutes to give Barca the lead before Duda curled in Malaga's equaliser from the edge of the area.
With the players slipping on the sodden pitch, a defensive error let in Lionel Messi to make it 2-1 after 19 minutes and Thierry Henry set up Xavi for his second just after the break.
Barca's fourth came after 83 minutes when Dani Alves struck a long-range free kick that catapulted in off defender Weligton, completing Barcelona's 11th win in a row in all competitions.
"It was pretty difficult because of the state of the pitch," defender Gerard Pique told Marca Radio.
"But that's no excuse, we have to be able to win anywhere and we showed we can do that."
AGUERO DOUBLE
Sergio Aguero celebrated his return after being rested with a first-half double as Atletico Madrid beat Real Mallorca 2-0 at the Vicente Calderon, their first league win in five matches.
Racing took a surprise early lead at a sodden Mestalla when Tchite slid in to poke Jonathan Pereira's pass into the net.
But Valencia soon equalised when winger Joaquin was chopped down and David Villa clipped home the penalty just before the half-hour to become the league's top scorer with 10 goals.
Tchite blasted a second from long range in off the post just after the break but Joaquin put the home side back on level terms midway through the half after a mistake by keeper Tono.
Tchite stole in to score with a header 10 minutes from time to wrap up his hat-trick and Valencia defender David Albelda sliced in an own goal shortly after to seal Racing's win.
In Bilbao, former Manchester United striker Giuseppe Rossi scored Villarreal's first goal after 24 minutes when he drove in a low, left-foot shot from the edge of the area.
The lead lasted four minutes before Joseba Etxebarria headed in from a tight angle. However, Robert Pires, Santi Cazorla and teenage striker Jozy Altidore netted second-half goals to make sure of the points for the visitors.
Napoli gun for Milan
Napoli love to attack and deservedly lie joint-top of Serie A but they will struggle to stay there when visiting AC Milan tomorrow. Their fluent style has won fans far from Naples and Wednesday’s 3-0 home win over struggling Reggina showed what Edy Reja’s side are all about.
Argentine close-season signing German Denis burst onto the scene with a hat-trick but in truth it was again the skill of compatriot Ezequiel Lavezzi and Slovakia’s Marek Hamsik which sealed victory.
The attacking pair are two of the most exciting young prospects in Serie A and ensured Napoli finished eighth last season, their first back in the top flight since 2001.
The club from Italy’s third biggest city went bankrupt in 2004 and it took the wealth of film producer Aurelio De Laurentiis to resurrect the name and drag them back up to the top flight from the Third Division.
Their two Serie A titles in 1987 and 1990 were inspired by Diego Maradona and thanks to Lavezzi and Denis, the Argentina connections remain strong.
They now stand joint top with Udinese on 20 points from nine games and Lavezzi is excited for the trip to Milan, who lie a point behind in third after Wednesday’s 2-1 win over Siena.
“We are improving well and this 3-0 is the perfect way to prepare for Milan, who are very strong opponents,” he told reporters. “It will be a difficult game but we will go to play like always.”
Reja was equally confident.
“They have an extraordinary attack but we have great forwards too. Everyone must fear Napoli,” he said.
However, his side’s chances of being clear at the top at the end of the weekend look remote.
A win at Milan would have to be combined with confident Udinese dropping points at home to Genoa tomorrow, while fourth-placed Inter Milan go to bottom side Reggina today.
The champions are two points behind the leaders after recording two goalless draws in a row, when coach Jose Mourinho’s tactics came under scrutiny, but another failure at Reggina is unlikely.
Improving Juventus will still have an extensive injury list for today’s home game with AS Roma, who are facing a dreadful run. Reuters
