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Tuesday January 25, 2011

Liverpool Surges Under Dalglish

Wolves 0 Liverpool 3

Liverpool's revival under Kenny Dalglish is officially under way after he secured his first win since returning for his second spell as Reds manager in the 3-0 victory at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Having seen improvements on the pitch if not in results in his three previous matches in charge after taking over from Roy Hodgson the Scot finally got the victory he was craving.
Fernando Torres scored his eighth and ninth Premier League goals of the season either side of Raul Meireles capping a fine individual performance with a brilliantly-taken second-half volley.
It was only Liverpool's third away win in the league in 13 months and their first point outside Anfield since the 1-1 draw at Wigan Athletic on 10th November.
The result reinforces the belief among the current players given to them by the appointment of the club legend.
Such has been the 59-year-old's influence he is even starting to get performances out of players who have failed to live up to their potential, with Christian Poulsen and Meireles in particular displaying that in this match.
Meireles, playing in the attacking midfield role given to him by Dalglish in the absence of Steven Gerrard, serving the final game of a three-match suspension, has now scored in his last two matches and his form presents his manager with a conundrum for the midweek visit of Fulham when the captain will be available again.

Arsenal 3 Wigan Athletic 0

Robin van Persie smashed a hat-trick as Arsenal kept up their Premier League title challenge with a 3-0 win over 10-man Wigan Athletic at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners should have been out of sight by half-time, but had only van Persie's 21st-minute strike to show for their dominance as Latics keeper Ali Al Habsi made a string of fine saves.
The in-form Dutchman eventually fired in a second just before the hour, but then blasted a penalty over the bar after Gary Caldwell had been sent off for pulling back Cesc Fabregas.
However, van Persie duly completed his hat-trick with five minutes left to make it six in the last three matches.

Blackpool 1 Sunderland 2

Kieran Richardson rose to the challenge following Darren Bent's move to Aston Villa by scoring a brace for Sunderland and steering them to victory at Blackpool.
Richardson's first goals of the season could not have come at a better time for manager Steve Bruce as his attacking options were limited.
However, Bruce had to endure a nervous last few minutes with Charlie Adam pulling a goal back from the penalty spot in the 85th minute.
Richardson's goals put Sunderland in the driving seat in the first half but they were also grateful to goalkeeper Craig Gordon, who made three magnificent saves in that period.

Everton 2 West Ham United 2

Marouane Fellaini hit an injury-time equalizer as Everton twice came from behind to deny struggling West Ham United a much-needed win this afternoon.
The Hammers and their beleaguered manager Avram Grant seemed on course for victory at Goodison Park as Frederic Piquionne headed them in front for the second time six minutes from the end.
But Piquionne was sent off for celebrating with fans and the Hammers, who remain bottom of the Premier League, were denied as Fellaini struck.
The visitors had taken the lead after 27 minutes as the once goal-shy Jonathan Spector found the net for the fourth time in two months but Diniyar Bilyaletdinov came off the Everton bench to level.
The result was yet another blow for Grant, whose position has again been the subject of heavy speculation over the past week.
Yet for most of the match his team, with the returning Scott Parker driving them forward, acquitted themselves superbly.

Fulham 2 Stoke City 0

Fulham had the last laugh by completing a Premier League double over Stoke City to edge closer to safety.
Top scorer Clint Dempsey netted his eighth and ninth goals of the season as the Cottagers made it three wins in five to put daylight between themselves and the drop zone.
This was the third tempestuous affair between the sides this season and Potters captain Ryan Shawcross was sent off after bundling over Dempsey in the box.
The American, who had already given his side a half-time lead, stepped up to convert the resulting penalty and seal a comfortable victory.

Manchester United 5 Birmingham City 0

Dimitar Berbatov scored his third hat-trick of the season as Manchester United turned in a five-star performance to demolish Birmingham City.
The prolific Bulgarian now has 18 goals this season and yet another match ball to go alongside those he collected against Liverpool and Blackburn Rovers earlier in the campaign.
More importantly for Sir Alex Ferguson, his side tightened their grip on top spot, with Ryan Giggs and Nani also finding the net as the leaders extended their unbeaten run this season to 22 matches ahead of Tuesday's trip to Blackpool, the first of their matches in hand.
Berbatov for one will be looking forward to his first outing at Bloomfield Road, knowing just how much damage he is capable of inflicting.
It has been said so often United are way below their best this season that it is almost accepted truth.
Yet a three-goal first-half salvo gave lie to the theory as the visitors were pummelled from every angle.

Newcastle United 1 Tottenham Hotspur 1

Aaron Lennon broke Newcastle United's hearts at the death once again as Tottenham Hotspur fought back to snatch a draw at St James' Park.
Lennon struck a minute into injury time just when it looked as though Fabricio
Coloccini's 59th-minute strike had handed the Magpies all three points.
However, just as they had done last Sunday at Sunderland, Alan Pardew's men conceded in stoppage time to let two points slip from their grasp.
Spurs would argue that they deserved at least a point after dominating for long periods, but they left it desperately late to get their reward.
Leon Best and Luka Modric both hit the bar and the Magpies were indebted to goalkeeper Steve Harper for two fine saves.
Spurs had lost on each of their previous four visits to St James' Park, but the two clubs have enjoyed contrasting fortunes since their last encounter on Tyneside.

Aston Villa 1 Manchester City 0

Aston Villa striker Darren Bent showed why his £18m transfer fee could prove money well spent with the winner against title-chasing Manchester City at Villa Park.
The former Sunderland player, who joined Villa on Tuesday in a club-record deal, broke the deadlock with his first clear-cut opportunity after 18 minutes.
With their £59m strike force of Carlos Tevez and Edin Dzeko, the visitors dominated for long spells but struggled to find a way past Villa's rock-solid defence in which James Collins and former City centre-back Richard Dunne were outstanding.
And the result means City are now three points behind Premier League leaders Manchester United and have played two matches more.
Villa held on to register only their second win in 11 league matches and it lifted them further away from the bottom three.
It also gave them revenge for a 4-0 mauling at Eastlands last month.