Pro Eleven Headline News

Torres double gives Liverpool title boost

Fernando Torres grabbed a late double as Liverpool revitalized their English title hopes with a 2-0 win against 10-man Chelsea at Anfield on Sunday.

Spanish international Torres struck in the 89th minute and sealed victory in injury time to move Liverpool to within two points of leaders Manchester United, who have played a game less.

Chelsea, who had Frank Lampard controversially sent off by referee Mike Riley on the hour mark, are five points adrift and rapidly falling off the pace.

Their players protested furiously to Riley on the final whistle, but did little in the game to indicate they will be serious contenders in the Premier League title race.

Lampard went for a challenge on Xabi Alonso, with television replays indicating he was unfortunate to be shown red in a messy incident.

Liverpool had slowly ratcheted up the pressure in the second half, but it took a classy finish by Torres to unlock Chelsea.

He arrowed a near-post header past Petr Cech after a fine cross from Fabio Aurelio.

Chelsea pushed forward desperately in search of an equalizer, but a mistake by Ashley Cole allowed Torres to slam home his second from close range.

Victory completed the double for Liverpool over Chelsea after ending the Blues' long unbeaten league home record earlier this season.

Rafa Benitez's men went into the game off the back of a poor run in January and with summer signing Robbie Keane left out of the squad altogether, prompting speculation of a move in the transfer window.

But Benitez appeared to rule this out in a post-match interview with a Sky Sports reporter who asked the Spaniard if Keane would still be at the club after the transfer window. "I think so," was the reply.

Chelsea coach Luiz Felipe Scolari bemoaned the red card for Lampard and said the club would be appealing the decision.

But he gave a frank assessment of the match. "Liverpool were better than us all of the game," he admitted.

In Sunday's other game, Newcastle drew 1-1 with Sunderland in a north-east derby between two sides battling relegation.

Shola Ameobi scored a second half equalizer from the penalty spot for Joe Kinnear's under-pressure Newcastle team.after Djibril Cisse had put Sunderland ahead. CNN


Struggling Torino earns draw at Inter

Relegation-battling Torino got an unexpected point on Sunday at the San Siro as the club earned a 1-1 draw with league- leaders Inter Milan.

Rolando Bianchi had the visitors ahead in the 47th minute but Inter responded through Nicolas Burdisso 11 minutes later.

Inter is now six points clear at the top after AC Milan took over second place with a 3-0 win over Lazio.

Goals from Pato, Massimo Ambrosini and Kaka gave the Rossoneri the win, and they move past third-place Juventus, which fell 3-2 to Cagliari on Saturday.

Inter carved out the lone quality scoring chance in a slow first half 10 minutes before the break when Esteban Cambiasso's corner kick was headed towards the right corner by Julio Cruz, only for Torino goalkeeper Matteo Sereni to make a good diving stop to keep the ball out.

After such a poor start offensively, Torino turned things around two minutes after the break to grab an unlikely lead.

Ignazio Abate carried the ball down the right wing and crossed to the center of the box for Bianchi, who turned a header towards goal that glanced off the fingertips of goalkeeper Julio Cesar and into the back of the net.

It was a stunning blow to the hosts, but they responded with a goal spell of pressure to level the match.

Ivan Cordoba's open header from six yards forced a good reaction stop from Sereni, and Inter had an obvious appeal for handball inside the area turned down when Abate struck the ball with his arm.

However, the equalizer arrived in the 58th minute from a corner kick when Burdisso outjumped the keeper at the top of the six-yard box to nod the ball home.

Maicon just missed putting Inter ahead in the 70th minute when his right- footed shot flashed inches past the far post, while Hernan Crespo got a touch on the ball seven yards from goal and sent his shot floating just over the crossbar with eight minutes to play.

Crespo had another good look at goal a few minutes later as Inter continued to heap pressure on the Torino defense.

Another corner kick resulted in a good chance as the Argentine redirected Luis Figo's cross towards goal and was only denied when Sereni tipped the ball onto the post, preserving a point for his team.

Genoa maintained its position in fourth place as Domenico Criscito scored in the 88th minute to give his team a 1-0 win over Palermo, Tiberio Guarente's first-half goal was enough to give Atalanta a 1-0 win over Catania while Sampdoria and Chievo traded second-half goals in a 1-1 contest.

Lecce moved four points clear of the drop zone with a 2-1 win against Siena and Roma was held to a 2-2 draw by last-place Reggina despite two goals from David Pizarro. Sports Network


Beckham 'Happy' To Be Included In UEFA Cup Squad

Milan were run-away winner at the Stadio Olimpico, securing a 3-0 win over struggling Lazio.

On-loan David Beckham was instrumental to the result once again, as he set up both Alexandre Pato and Massimo Ambrosini for the opening two goals of the match with fine crosses.

"The finish from Pato was better," explained the former Manchester United player on the program Controcampo. "That's my job, to put the ball in the right place. Although, the finish was better than the pass."

Coach Carlo Ancellotti has included Beckham in the squad list for the UEFA Cup, prompting speculation he could remain in Milan past his supposed return date to the LA Galaxy of March 9, but the English midfielder revealed no further details.

"I'm very happy. I'm enjoying myself here and I will be happy to play in the UEFA Cup," he said.

Meanwhile, the Rossoneri pulled within six points of Inter, leaping over Juventus to second place in the Serie A standings.

"There are other teams involved too," sugguested the 33-year-old. "Genoa won today in the last minute. People will always talk about the big three, but there are others involved."

The interview concluded with Beckham explaining what he has learned of the Italian language. "I've learned some words I can't say on televsion," he laughed. "I'm still learning, I'm trying." Goal


Messi double leaves Barca 12 points clear

Argentina star Lionel Messi came off the bench to score twice as nine-man Barcelona recovered to beat Racing Santander 2-1 and move 12 points clear of arch-rivals Real Madrid at the top of the Spanish Primera.

On a weekend of milestones in Spain, Messi's winning goal was Barca's 5,000 in the league, while Raul scored his 307th goal as Real beat Numancia 2-0 on Saturday night.

It draws Raul level with the great Alfredo di Stefano on the Real all-time scoring charts.

The win temporarily cut the gap on the runaway leaders to nine points and when Nikola Zigic put Racing in front from the penalty spot in the 56th minute an upset was on the cards.

But Messi, rested by Pep Guardiola, worked his magic after coming on, with an equalizer five minutes later.

His 81st minute winner sealed victory but the gloss was taken off the Barca win as Rafael Marquez,.earlier booked in the penalty incident, and Gerard Pique were sent off for fouls.

It was the ninth straight league win for the Catalan giants, who are unbeaten in 20 league games after defeat in their opener.

It leaves them on 56 points from 21 games with defending champions Real on 44 and Sevilla, who were playing their 21st round on Sunday night, on 38.

Barca beat Espanyol in midweek in the Spanish Cup to stay on course for the domestic double and are also in the last 16 of the Champions League.

In other matches on Sunday, Villarreal continued their poor run with a 3-0 defeat to Deportivo La Coruna while Atletico Madrid were beaten 2-1 at home by Valladolid. CNN