Man United thrashed West Bromwich, EPL roundup

Wayne Rooney continued his remarkable goalscoring run as Manchester United kept the pressure on Chelsea and Liverpool with a 4-0 victory over West Bromwich at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Dimitar Berbatov and Nani were also on the mark for United as Sir Alex Ferguson’s side came up with the perfect response to victories from leaders Chelsea and second placed Liverpool earlier in the day.
Rooney, so impressive in England’s World Cup victories over Kazakhstan
and Belarus last week, also had what appeared a perfectly valid first half strike ruled out by referee Mark Halsey.
But that hardly mattered when the United forward extended his extraordinary scoring sequence to eight goals in the last six games for club and country.
A golden period of three goals in 15 minutes started in the 56th minute when United broke out of defence, Berbatov sprung Rooney with a pass from the halfway line and the forward powered into Albion territory, easily sidestepping Ryan Donk, before beating the keeper with an unstoppable near post shot.
In the 69th minute, any lingering hope Albion had of rescuing a point from their visit disappeared when Ronaldo doubled the home team’s lead.
Again, the goal showcased United at their most devastating and lethal best, hitting Albion on the counter-attack with Darren Fletcher's short pass beinghelped into the path of Ronaldo by Rooney and the Portugal winger easily scored the goal.
Two minutes further on, and Berbatov netted a goal, nonchalantly turning in the ball at the far post after Jonas Olsson had failed to deal with Nani’s low cross. Nani completed the rout on the stroke of normal time, turning in Rooney’s far post cross after Ryan Giggs and Berbatov had launched another flowing attack.
On Sunday, Hull City gatecrashed the Premier League’s top four again with a 1-0 home defeat of West Ham United thanks to Michael Turner’s 51st minute goal.

EPL results for 18th, 19th, 20th October'08

Saturday 18th October

Chelsea 5 - 0 Middlesbrough
Arsenal 3 - 1 Everton
Liverpool 3 - 2 Wigan Athletic
Manchester United 4 -0 West Bromwich Albion
Aston Villa 0 - 0 Portsmouth
Bolton Wanderers 0 - 0 Blackburn Rovers
Fulham 0 - 0 Sunderland

Sunday 19th October

Hull City 1 - 0 West Ham United
Stoke City 2 - 1 Tottenham Hotspur

Monday 20th October

New Castle United 2 - 2 Manchester City

Torres double strike helps a thrilling comeback win for Liverpool against Man City in EPL

Liverpool 3 (Torres 55' 73', Kuyt 90') Man City 2(Ireland 18', Garrido 41')

Liverpool went through ecstasy and agony against Man City - celebrating a fabulous fightback but losing Martin Skrtel with a serious knee injury.

After being two goals down at City, Dirk Kuyt's last-gasp goal sealed their best comeback win since the Champions League Final in Istanbul.

But Skrtel (right) - hurt making a superb tackle to deny Ched Evans with the score at 2-2 - will be out for months with ligament damage.

Seconds after the defender was taken off on a stretcher, Kuyt stabbed in the winner.

City were flying when Stephen Ireland opened the scoring and Javier Garrido doubled the lead just before half-time.

But Fernando Torres pulled a goal back for the visitors and City then had Pablo Zabaleta sent off on 67 minutes for a stupid lunge at Xabi Alonso.

City were fuming when Skrtel got away with a kick to Jo's back which disrupted their plans by forcing him off. Gelson Fernandes came on to replace him.

Liverpool were soon level through Torres's second goal of the game and completed their turnaround when Kuyt struck in injury time.

Other matches in EPL:

Tottenham 0-1 Hull City

Blackburn 0-2 Manchester United

West Brom 1-0 Fulham

Wigan 0-1 Middlesbrough

Everton 2-2 New Castle

West Ham 1-3 Bolton

Chelsea 2-0 Aston Villa

Portsmouth 2-1 Stoke City

Sunderland 1-1 Arsenal

Manchester United claimed Champions League Title in Mascow

Moscow: Goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar was Manchester United's hero as Sir Alex Ferguson's side claimed the club's third European Cup with a penalty shoot-out win over Chelsea on a night of almost unbearable drama in Moscow. As many had predicted, the competition's first all-English final ended in penalties and ultimately it was van der Sar's full-length save from Nicolas Anelka that ensured United won the shoot-out 6-5 after the match had ended 1-1 after extra-time. The triumph ensured ensured a season that has seen United mark the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster ended with both the Premier League and Champions League trophies back at Old Trafford. Chelsea had their chance to claim the trophy for the first time after Cristiano Ronaldo had had his effort saved by Petr Cech. But captain John Terry pushed his spot-kick - Chelsea's fifth - wide of the target. It was hard on the London club, who could justifiably claim to have come closest to winning the match in the two hours that preceded the dramatic finale. It was also debatable whether Terry would have taken a penalty had Didier Drogba not been sent off shortly before the end of extra-time for tapping Nemanja Vidic on the face as several players on either side squared up to each other. United's early domination had yielded a deserved opener in the form of Ronaldo's 26th-minute header, the Portuguese winger's 42nd goal of an extraordinary season. But after failing to take the chances that followed, Ferguson's men were pegged back by Frank Lampard's equaliser on the stroke of half-time. Chelsea went on to dominate after the break and almost claimed a winner when Drogba's 25-yard shot came back off the post with van der Sar beaten. Chelsea struck the woodwork again in the opening period of extra-time, Lampard's cute shot on the turn bouncing off the bar with United's goalkeeper once more struggling. Substitute Ryan Giggs then had a glorious chance to mark his record-breaking 759th appearance for United in style but the veteran winger never really connected with Patrice Evra's cutback and Terry was able to head the ball to safety. With the exception of Park Ji-Sung's exclusion from United's match-day squad, there were no surprises in the personnel on display, although Ferguson did tweak United's usual shape. Owen Hargreaves was deployed on the right side of midfield with Ronaldo in the left-sided role that Park had been tipped to fill. With Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez alongside each other in attack, Ferguson also departed from the lone-striker policy. Michael Essien's relative inexperience at right-back may have influenced United's thinking and it was the Ghanaian's poor positioning that enabled United to take the lead.

Chelsea Escape defeat At Anfield in Champions League's 1st leg SF

Liverpool 1(Dirk Kuyt 43) Chelsea 1(Riise own goal 90+4)

Chelsea escaped from Liverpool with a 1-1 draw after the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Tuesday, rescued by an injury time own goal from substitute John Arne Riise. Dirk Kuyt had given Liverpool the lead after 43 minutes when he fired between goalkeeper Petr Cech’s legs and with almost five minutes of injury time played, it looked as though Liverpool would take a deserved lead to Stamford Bridge for next week’s second leg. However with Austrian referee Ko Plautz looking at his watch, Chelsea stitute Salomon Kalou lofted one last h ball into the Liverpool penalty area. ise, who had replaced the injured Fa Aurelio after 62 minutes, stooped t and head the ball clear, but instead ed it past helpless goalkeeper Pepe Reina and into the roof of his own net. It gave Chelsea a share of the spoils they hardly deserved as Liverpool dominated for long periods but were denied by some outstanding saves from Cech. With time almost up, it looked as though the seventh meeting between the teams in the Champions League in the last four seasons was about to end in a 1-0 scoreline for the fourth time. Instead, this match became the first to produce two goals and leave the tie on a knife-edge with Chelsea the slight favourites to advance to the final in Moscow on May 21. Although Chelsea started the brighter, they failed to create any real scoring chances. Their best opportunity in the opening exchanges came after only three minutes when Didier Drogba saw his free-kick deflected to safety by the wall. The breakthrough eventually came two minutes before half-time after a sustained period of Liverpool pressure. The move began with a quickly taken free-kick by Xabi Alonso who found Kuyt. His cross was headed clear by John Terry to Lampard who was dispossessed by Kuyt. The ball ran to Alonso who found Javier Mascherano, and his miscued shot beat Claude Makelele’s atted head er, allowing Kuyt to fire ugh C ech’s legs to put Liverpool ahead. It was the third time he had scored in knockout rounds after goals against Milan and Arsenal and looked to have done enough to win the match. Cech then denied Torres with another fine stop at his near post and Chelsea took full advantage.

Man Utd manage to Draw with Tevez's late equalizer

London: Carlos Tevez equalised two minutes from the end for Manchester United to draw 1-1 at Blackburn and stay three points ahead of Chelsea in the Premier League title race. Roque Santa Cruz put Blackburn ahead in the 21st minute at Ewood Park and Rovers threatened to throw the title race wide open. After Rovers goalkeeper Brad Friedel had made a series of top quality saves, Tevez leveled in the 88th minute when he headed home a flick-on from Paul Scholes. United now have 81 points and Chelsea 78 with the two teams meeting at Stamford Bridge next Saturday. United have a far superior goal difference of 54 against Chelsea’s 36. Chelsea were idle after beating Everton 1-0 Thursday. Blackburn unsettled United’s defence and was rewarded with Santa Cruz’s 20th goal of the season. Both Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic missed the ball as Morten Gamst Pedersen’s throw in found its way to Santa Cruz’s feet. Nani released Wayne Rooney in the 86th only for Friedel to divert the shot wide. After Friedel produced another save to deny John O’Shea’s header,Tevez nodded home at the far post to level after Scholes flicked on Nani’s corner. In Saturday’s other games, fourth place Liverpool won 2-0 at Fulham to push the cottagers closer to relegation.

Chelsea's chances of EPL championship shrink as they drew with Wigan

London: Chelsea’s hopes of winning the Premier League took a huge dent at Stamford Bridge on Monday when an injury time goal from Emile Heskey gave the visitors a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge against wigan. His strike cancelled out a 55th minute goal from Michael Essien that had given Chelsea the lead. Manchester United have 80 points, Chelsea have 75, Arsenal with in third place on 71 points after losing at United on Sunday. They still looked all set to close the gap on United to three points thanks to Essien’s strike. However, they were punished for not taking their chances when Heskey latched on to a cross from Jason Koumas and lashed the ball past Petr Cech from close range.

Manchester United nail down Arsenal in EPL

Manchester United defeat Arsenal 2-1 and move six points clear of second-place Chelsea in English soccer's Premier League. Liverpool beat Blackburn 3-1. Cristiano Ronaldo scored a penalty kick and Owen Hargreaves struck a free kick past goalkeeper Jens Lehmann after Emmanuel Adebayor put Arsenal ahead in the 48th minute at Old Trafford. United, now unbeaten in eight league matches, has 80 points from 34 matches, with Chelsea on 74 points from 33 of 38 games. Arsenal remains on 71 points, with Liverpool five points further back. Liverpool striker Fernando Torres scored the 30th goal of his debut season at the club to help the Reds in their attempts to secure the last qualifying spot for next season's Champions League. City rival Everton is five points back in fifth spot. Steven Gerrard and Andriy Voronin also got goals, with Roque Santa Cruz replying for Blackburn in injury time. Gerrard got the opening goal after 60 minutes. Torres headed into the net from a Gerrard cross after 82 minutes, with his replacement Voronin finishing from close range in the last minute.

Liverpool and Chelsea reach Champions League SF

Liverpool 4(Hyypia 30, Torres 69, Gerrard 85(pen), Babel 92) Arsenal 2(Diaby 13, Adebayor 84)

Liverpool beat Arsenal 4-2 in a classic Champions League battle at Anfield on Tuesday to clinch their quarter-final tie 5-3 on aggregate and reach the semi-finals. Arsenal, took the lead through Abou Diaby after 13 minutes. Liverpool fought back with a header from Sami Hyypia on the half hour and a stunning shot on the turn from Fernando Torres in the 69th minute to take a 2-1 lead on the night and 3-2 on aggregate. A breakaway by substitute Theo Walcott which saw him skate past four Liverpool players six minutes from time set up Emmanuel Adebayor to make the score 2-2 — 3-3 on aggregate and Arsenal ahead on away goals. Liverpool got a lifeline a minute later when Arsenal defender Kolo Toure tugged Babel’s arm to concede a penalty and Gerrard, who had not had the best of games, scored to put Liverpool 3-2 ahead. Babel sealed the win with his stoppage time goal to finally ease the tension at Anfield which was almost unbearable throughout an absorbing, enthralling encounter.

Chelsea 2(Ballack 4, Lampard 87) Fenerbahce 0

London: Michael Ballack put Chelsea on course for another Champions League semi-final collision with Liverpool as his goal set up a 2-0 win over Fenerbahce in Tuesday’s quarter-final, second leg. Ballack’s first half header was followed by a late Frank Lampard strike at Stamford Bridge to send Avram Grant’s side through 3-2 on aggregate.

Arsenal drew with Liverpool and Chelsea stunned by Fenerbahce into the Champions League 1st Leg QF

ARSENAL 1(Adebayor 23) LIVERPOOL 1(Dirk Kuyt 26)

London: Arsenal and Liverpool drew 1-1 in an end-to-end Champions League quarter-final first leg match at the Emirates Stadium. Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor headed Arsenal in front after 23 minutes when he rose unchallenged to power the ball past keeper Pepe Reina from close range. Arsenal’s joy was shortlived, however, as Liverpool equalised in the 26th minute when captain Steven Gerrard surged past three defenders wide on the left and crossed for Dutch striker Dirk Kuyt to slide home. Wednesday’s match was the first of three between the teams inside seven days. The game had all the power, speed and high tempo play typical of the Premier League and while Arsenal created the better chances, Liverpool defended superbly. Their only slip was to leave Adebayor free to score his 24th goal of the season and his second in successive games in the Champions League. Robin van Persie had a great chance to put Arsenal ahead after 20 minutes when he found himself in space and onside after escaping his markers after collecting a 50-metre pass from Mathieu Flamini. Somehow though, with only Reina to beat, he sent a left-foot volley high over the bar. Two minutes later he forced Reina into a low dive to his left to force a corner—from which Arsenal scored. Van Persie’s cross found the unmarked Adebayor and the tall striker rose unchallenged to powerfully head home. Gerrard, who had an outstanding game, provided a quick response with the cross for Kuyt who nipped in between Philippe Senderos and Gael Clichy to equalise. Arsenal appeared to have legitimate claims for a penalty denied when Kuyt seemed to pull back Aleksandr Hleb’s left shoulder inside the box. Dutch referee Pieter Vink, who did not need to use cards throughout the game, waved play on. Liverpool were fortunate twice in the space of five minutes midway through the second half. Defender Martin Skrtel cleared an Emmanuel Eboue shot off the line and a shot from Cesc Fabregas hit Arsenal team mate Nicklas Bendtner standing on the Liverpool goal-line.

TEAMS:

Arsenal: 24-Manuel Almunia; 5-Kolo Toure, 10-William Gallas, 6-Philippe Senderos, 22-Gael Clichy; 27-Emmanuel Eboue (26-Nicklas Bendtner 67), 16-Mathieu Flamini, 4-Cesc Fabregas, 13-Aleksandr Hleb; 11-Robin van Persie (32-Theo Walcott 46), 25-Emmanuel Adebayor.

Liverpool: 25-Pepe Reina; 23-Jamie Carragher, 37-Martin Skrtel, 4-Sami Hyypia, 12-Fabio Aurelio; 8-Steven Gerrard, 20-Javier Mascherano, 14-Xabi Alonso (21-Lucas Leiva 76); 19-Ryan Babel (11-Yossi Benayoun 58), 18-Dirk Kuyt; 9-Fernando, Torres (10-Andriy Voronin 86).

FENERBAHCE 2(Kazim-Kazim 65, Deivid 81) CHELSEA 1(Deivid 13 own goal)

Istanbul:Fenerbahce midfielder Deivid went from zero to hero as his side came from behind to beat Chelsea 2-1 in Wednesday's Champions League quarterfinal, first leg. Deivid had looked like the villain of the peace when he gifted Chelsea the lead with an early own goal at the Sukru Saracoglu stadium. But the Turkish champions snatched an equaliser through Colin Kazim-Kazim midway through the second half and Deivid made amends for his earlier blunder with a breathtaking winner nine minutes from full-time. As the club's volatile fans crammed into the stadium hours before kick-off, it was easy to see why they were unbeaten in the last 11 home European matches. In such a seething cauldron of noise, Chelsea's stars made an assured start and scored with their first serious attack in the 13th minute. Frank Lampard cleverly dummied Ashley Cole's pass, allowing Florent Malouda to find space on the left side of the penalty area. He drove a low cross towards Didier Drogba and Deivid tried to clear but only succeeded in deflecting the ball past by wrong-footed keeper Volkan Demirel into his own net. Confidence now flowing, Michael Essien almost doubled Chelsea's lead moments later with a swerving 25-yard strike that skimmed the crossbar. Drogba's muscular presence unsettled Zico's team time and again. Michael Ballack had yards of space to produce a majestic defence-splitting pass to Drogba. The Ivorian striker was only denied a goal by Demirel's charge from his line. Kazim-Kazim was an unlikely saviour for Fenerbahce. He was called Kazim-Richards when he was bought by Brighton with a transfer fee donated by a fan but changed his name after moving to Turkey last year. Fenerbahce equalised as Grant's side were caught sleeping at the back in the 65th minute. Mehmet Aurelio's pass cut out Chelsea's centre-backs and Kazim-Kazim timed his run perfectly before lashing it past Cudicini.And there seemed little danger when Deivid took possession 30 yards out in the 81st minute. He quickly disproved that theory with a stunning strike that arrowed into the top corner.

TEAMS:

Fenerbahce: 1-Volkan Demirel; 19-Onder Turaci, 2-Lugano, 36-Edu, 6-Gokcek Vederson; 33-Claudio Maldonado, 15-Mehmet Aurelio, 25-Ugur Boral (8-Colin Kazim-Richards 54); 99-Deivid, 9-Mateja Kezman (23-Semih Senturk 72), 20-Alex

Chelsea: 23-Carlo Cudicini; 5-Michael Essien, 26-John Terry, 6-Ricardo Carvalho, 3-Ashley Cole; 13-Michael Ballack, 4-Claude Makelele, 8-Frank Lampard (12-John Obi Mikel 76); 15-Florent Malouda, 11-Didier Drogba, 10-Joe Cole (39-Nicolas Anelka 86).

Chelsea gets closer to Manchester Utd in English Premier League

Chelsea trimmed Manchester United’s lead at the top of the Premier League to five points on Sunday with a patchy 1-0 defeat of Middlesbrough. Liverpool, meanwhile, took control of the fight for fourth place with a 1-0 win over city rival Everton on Sunday. While Chelsea were in second place after a 1-0 win over visiting Middlesbrough, Liverpool moved five points clear of their neighbours through Fernando Torres’ 28th goal of the season. Ricardo Carvalho’s header inside the opening five minutes at Stamford Bridge gave Chelsea the perfect start but they were guilty of not killing the game as Shaun Wright-Phillips twice wasted good chances. Chelsea rode their luck after the break when Boro substitute Afonso Alves could have scored a hat-trick. The £12 million Brazilian signing was twice denied by the woodwork and also missed the target when unmarked in front of goal. Chelsea have 71 points from 32 games to United’s 76. Arsenal are in third place with 70 points. Boro remain 12th and still not safe from relegation. United show class against Villa Earlier on Saturday, Manchester United swept Aston Villa aside to move closer to retaining the trophy on a day when Arsenal had to produce an extraordinary fightback to prevent their fading title hopes from being extinguished. The Gunners battled back from two goals down with ten men to end a five-match winless run with a lastgasp 3-2 victory at Bolton. But that did not reduce the six-point gap between them and a United side whose 4-0 defeat of Villa was brilliantly orchestrated by Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese winger started proceedings with his 35th goal of the season — a cheeky backheel from ten yards out — before providing the decisive passes that allowed Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney (twice) to net United’s other goals.

Ronaldo stars as Man Utd wins

Cristiano Ronaldo was hailed as a footballing “genius” after the Portugal winger eclipsed George Best as the highest-scoring winger in Manchester United's history and helped edge the Red Devils closer to another English title. Ronaldo took his United scoring tally for the season to a remarkable 33 goals after hitting the net twice as Sir Alex Ferguson's side defeated Bolton 2-0 at Old Trafford on Wednesday. United, who entertain fourth-placed Liverpool on Sunday, are now clear favourites to retain the Premier League title after opening up a three-point advantage over second-placed Arsenal with eight games to play. Ronaldo went past Best's record of 32 goals in a single season—set in 1967-68—with two fabulous first-half strikes, an opportunist finish from 12 yards followed by a stunning 30-yard free-kick. Ferguson was glowing in his praise of Ronaldo, who he made captain for the night in the absence of Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney. “He didn't make a big issue of it,” said Ferguson when asked how Ronaldo reacted to being handed the captain's armband. “He looks comfortable with the responsibility that comes with the role. It was a marvellous second goal.” Ferguson had bemoaned his side's "charitable" finishing before this game yet he need not have worried. After seeing his side struggle to overcome doomed Derby County four days earlier and having been eliminated from the FA Cup the previous weekend, Ferguson had demanded his players rediscover their touch in front of goal. The message was heeded by Ronaldo as he notched his 23rd and 24th league goals of the campaign, but Ferguson insisted the title race remained open even though his side are in pole position. “The important thing was that we had the opportunity and the incentive to go three points clear of Arsenal, our nearest pursuers,” the Scot said. “It’s nip and tuck now. I think it's going to go to the wire. Chelsea will be key because they have got us and Arsenal at home. It's a lead, it's not a significant lead but it’s a lead nonetheless. With eight games to go the team who plays with the most consistency now will win it.” Ferguson made seven changes from the side who struggled to beat Derby and revealed that he had been looking at options ahead of Sunday's meeting with Liverpool. Gerard Pique came in for the injured Rio Ferdinand while Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs were all rested.

Chelsea squander chance in thriller: Chelsea, meanwhile, lost ground in the Premier League title race as Avram Grant's side blew the lead three times in a dramatic 4-4 draw at Tottenham. The Blues had only themselves to blame for failing to keep pace with leaders Manchester United after leading 3-1 and then 4-3 with five minutes to play in one of the games of the season at White Hart Lane. Didier Drogba opened the scoring early on only for Jonathan Woodgate to equalise. Michael Essien and Joe Cole put Chelsea in charge but Dimitar Berbatov and Tom Huddlestone levelled for Spurs. Cole's second goal looked to have won it but there was a sting in the tail when Robbie Keane equalised two minutes from time with a curling shot from 25 yards. Instead of sitting level with Arsenal and within touching distance of United, Grant's team are now five points off top-spot and two behind Arsenal, who they face on Sunday. This could be the night Chelsea regret most if they don't reclaim the title. Memories of their League Cup final defeat to Spurs were still raw for Chelsea but the chance to maintain their pursuit of the title was more important than settling old scores. The temperature of an already fiery clash rose when Ashley Cole caught Alan Hutton with a nasty lunge. The tackle drew an angry response from both benches, with Spurs demanding a red card, while Grant had to be restrained after trying to berate Hutton for exaggerating the foul.

Manchester United regain top slot as Arsenal stumble again

Champions Manchester United went back to the top of the Premier League on Saturday after they won 1-0 at Derby County and Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw by Middlesbrough at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal looked set for a rare home defeat until Kolo Toure’s header went in off defender Matthew Taylor and goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer four minutes from time. Former Arsenal forward Jeremie Aliadiere marked his return from a fourmatch ban by scoring against his old club after 25 minutes with a volley into the roof of Manuel Almunia’s net. It was Arsenal’s fourth successive draw in the league and allowed United to move above them on goal difference. United have 67 points from 29 matches, Arsenal have 67 from 30 while Chelsea kept the pressure on the top two with a 1-0 win at Sunderland. They have 64 points from 29 matches and face Arsenal at Stamford Bridge next weekend. Cristiano Ronaldo was United’s hero at Pride Park, scoring with just 14 minutes to go as Derby, bottom of the table with only one league win all season and beaten 6-1 at Chelsea on Wednesday, offered far tougher resistance than United expected. Chelsea maintained their title challenge with a narrow away victory of their own, winning at Sunderland with John Terry grabbing the only goal after 10 minutes, his first of the season. On Sunday, Everton lost ground in the race for a Champions League place as Brian McBride’s header gave struggling Fulham a crucial 1-0 win at Craven Cottage on Sunday. Everton left bemoaning a lacklustre display that could cost them a top four finish. After Liverpool’s win against Reading on Saturday, David Moyes’s team are now three points behind their fourthplaced Merseyside rivals following their first league defeat of 2008.