Arsenal on top after draw with Liverpool

Arsenal regained first place in the Premier League thanks to a Cesc Fabregas equalizer in an entertaining 1-1 draw with Liverpool at Anfield. The Gunners trailed to Steven Gerrard’s seventh-minute free kick but the inspirational Fabregas stole in with 10 minutes remaining to give the visitors a deserved share of the points.

Arsenal have 26 points from 10 matches while champions Manchester United, 4-1 winners at home to Middlesbrough on Saturday, also have 26 from 11 but have scored fewer goals.

Liverpool are sixth with 20 points from 10.

Liverpool and Arsenal, both undefeated in the league this season, served up a treat in the weekend’s outstanding fixture which was seen as a major test of Arsenal’s credentials.

The home side, looking to hit back from a damaging 2-1 Champions League defeat by Besiktas on Wednesday, made a stirring start with Gerrard forcing a fine early save from goalkeeper Manuel Almunia.

A minute later, they went ahead when Gerrard’s fierce free kick from the edge of the area flew through a hole in the Arsenal wall into the bottom left corner.

Gerrard stung Almunia’s fingers with another shot soon after but Arsenal, seeking a 13th consecutive victory in all competitions, hogged possession for the rest of the half with their fluent passing game forcing Liverpool deep.

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez sent Crouch for the injured Fernando Torres after the break and the giant striker forced a great save from Almunia and then missed narrowly with another chance.

Fabregas wasted a glorious chance to equalize after 53 minutes when Emmanuel Eboue’s low shot hit the base of the post and rebounded to him but he fired wide with the goal gaping.

He made amends with 10 minutes remaining however, running on to Alexandr Hleb’s astute pass before toe-poking a shot pass Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina yesterday.

Fabregas then hit the post with a curling effort and William Gallas went close as Arsenal went for the victory in a breathless finish.

Kroos sees Bayern home

Teenager Toni Kroos scored in injury time to give Bayern Munich a 3-2 win over Red Star Belgrade on the opening night of the UEFA Cup group stage.
Kroos, a 17-yr-old midfielder, scored with a freekick after Miroslav Klose had twice equalised for Bayern Munich.
Bayern is one of the favorites to win the UEFA Cup, which it claimed in 1996. But after that trophy, the four-time European Champion played in the European Champions League for ten straight seasons and only dropped into Europe's No 2 competition beacuse it finished fourth in the German league last season.
Red star led in the 16th minute with a low shot from Ognjen Koroman, and Nenad Milijas put the Serbian side ahead 2-1 in the 74th minute with a long -range half volley. Klose equalised in the 84th with a header and also scored in the 20th from a rebound.
Red star defender Milos Bajalica was red-carded in injury time and Kroos scored from the resulting freekick.
Bayern, playing without Martin Demichelis, Franck Ribery, Luca Toni and Daniel van Buyten, had difficulty controlling the game on the slippery and difficult field at the Red Star Stadium.

Didier Drogba Shows His Class

Didier Drogba let his actions speak louder than words as he fired Chelsea to a 2-0 win at Middlebrough.
Drogba dropped a bombshell this week by revealing he is determined to leave the London club because the squad's morale had been shattered by Jose's Mourinho's departure.
But Chelsea manager Avram Grant kept faith with the Ivory Coast striker at the Riverside Stadium and got the perfect response, with Drogba laying the foundations for the team's third successive win yesterday.
It took drogba just eight minutes to show Chelsea what they would be missing if he did leave. He collected Frank Lampard's pass and drove a perfectly placed shot past Mark Schwarzer for the third goal of the season.

Aggressive Kuyt Strikes Again

Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt's stoppage time penalty snatched a dramatic 2-1 win over nine man Everton in the 206th Merseyside derby.
Kuyt had already scored from the spot once at Goodison Park to cancel out Sami Hyppia's first half own goal and he held his nerve again to get Rafa Benitez's team back on track.

Man U back in second spot

Wayne Rooney scored twice as Manchester United stormed back into second place with a 4-1 win at nine=man Aston Villa.
Gabriel Agbonlahor had given Villa a 12th minute when he added in Ashley Young's cross. But Zat Knight gifted United an equalizer soon after when he let Nani's low cross run through to Rooney who tapped in.
Then Rooney notched his fourth united goal in three games with fine low strike before Craig Gardner turned Rio Ferdinand's header into his own net just before half time.

Aston Villa Successful Run Countinues

Aston Villa beat West Ham 1-0 in Saturday’s other match, though a Craig Gardner free kick in the 24^th minute. It was villa’s fourth successive home win.

Manchester United hit top spot

Champions Manchester United went top of the premier League for the first time this season when they scored four times in the second half to crush Wigan Athletic 4-0 at Old Trafford on Saturday. Two goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and one each from Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney secured United’s sixth successive league win without conceding a goal and took them above Arsenal into first place.

England in jeopardy As John Terry Misses Euro Qualifiers

The next coming days could well be the most outlining moment in Steve McClaren’s career as the national coach of the England football unit. England might have retrieved somewhat in the otherwise shaking Euro 2008 qualifiers last month when they won two matches against Israel and Russia at Wembley but Saturday’s match with Estonia and the mega clash against Russia in Moscow on Wednesday will bring to conclusion England's chances in the qualification campaign.

But the non-existence of England captain and legend defender John Terry from the Estonia game could well prove to be the crucial factor. The Chelsea captain was found uncomfortable during a training session on Wednesday and has been ruled out of Saturday’s crucial game with a knee injury. Terry is also likely to stay on the bench when England travel to Moscow to play Russia in decisive Group E clash

Sheva misses, Chelsea in jinx for the Cup finale

Only a couple of days result in a dreadful nightmare for the Blues (versus Arsenal that ended in a draw) that witnessed the double Premiership Champions lose the title to Manchester United, failing to seize the title for the third time in a row – here comes another massive blow for Mourinho and his co mates.



Chelsea renowned striker Andriy Shevchenko will be subjected to a hernia operation today and is likely to miss the FA Cup final. The surgery was scheduled to take place at the end of the season but due to reoccurring pain – Chelsea’s medical department and staff has rescheduled it.

He may have certain advantage with the Portuguese boss at Stamford Bridge but when it comes to the skill on field and the talent to convert for the cause - the multi million-dollar – Ukrainian power packed house is a true phenomenon in soccer. However, Chelsea is sure to cry at its fate now.

Majority think that Sheva has had a disappointing debut campaign in English football – as the Ukrainian international has struggled to find the correct rhythm and passion that the striker had shown in Serie A. Certainly, it isn’t the new instance of the sort – English football league is the most challenging and demanding league in world football today and perhaps that’s what has kept it at the peak when it comes to the major European titles and this is the reason that majority struggle to find the effective pace early in England.

The injury had kept Andriy Shevchenko isolated from the squad for the last two matches that the Blues played – and unluckily, for them both coasting on important junctures (one the finals place in the Champions League and the other is the Premiership title).

His non-existence in the last decisive game of the season for Chelsea at the newly originated Wembley Stadium is surely a big blow for the chelsea club and the loss means Blues will rely a huge amount on its Sheva’s strike partner Didier Drogba in the FA Cup final.

UEFA to examine Dida catastrophe

It’s not that unfamiller to recognize fans running onto the football pitch to get at opposition players. Indeed, incidents such as fans charging on to physically assault the payers have become quite common in Argentina and even Italy in current years. Horrifying as the entire phenomenon may seem, it’s an almost unnecessary part of the football culture.

But it’s strictly forbidden by FIFA rules, whether for bad or for good, that a player paybacks whenever such incidents occur. A footballer is said to maintain the decency, decorum and sportsmanship spirit during a football match.

In this context AC Milan goalkeeper Dida’s shameful and truly bizarre act to follow the Glasgow Celtic fan who hit him during the side’s UEFA Champions League clash last week is against the law. It was his flair towards the fan and then the dramatic collapse that has forced UEFA to initiate an investigation into the fiasco and even a charge has been leveled both at Dida and AC Milan.

What happened on Wednesday evening at Celtic Park would go down into the annals of football history as an occurrence worthy of being selected for an Oscar. Immediate to the eventual winning goal for Celtic scored by Scott McDonald deep into injury time, a Celtic fan rushed onto the pitch and hit Dida. The Milan goalkeeper then gave chase but after moments later fell onto the football feild like parchment. Then a sustitute was sent for him.

The Celtic fan has since been forbidden for life although the Scottish club’s website refused to recognize the culprit. Dida’s role in the incident has been higly ridiculed by the football fans and this time UEFA has decided to open disciplinary hearing against the 34-year old Brazilian international.

Milan manager Carlo Ancelotti has defended his player and has asked for mercy. He says that Dida’s past record is clean and the one-off reckless act on Wednesday should be forgiven. Dida was also at the receiving side of a firecracker during Milan’s Champions League, quarter-final match against Inter Milan at the San Siro stadium in 2005.

UEFA’s investigation is on the creteria of Article 5 of its disciplinary rules and regulations. The step interpreted by UEFA, probe into the whole incident, is admirable, but it is likely that both Milan and Dida would be pardoned off with a rebuke and a few thousand dollars fine.

Steven Gerrard To Sign Fresh Liverpool Contract

Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard said that he in short time of span is going to sign a new contract with the club, which would stretch out his current contract to another four years.

The 26-year-old England international has another two years to go on his contemporary contract but the club wanted to bind him in with an extension and Gerrard said he is ready. Gerrard’s keenness is quite understandable because the club is offering him a massive wage of £120,000!

Gerrard said

You know, I’m ready to sign anytime, as soon as the contract is put in front of me I’ll sign it.

The England midfielder had another astounding season for the club, leading Liverpool to their second Champions League final in three years.

Naturally, Liverpool’s fresh owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett are cheerful with Gerrard’s decision and they are hoping that Gerrard would help Liverpool initiate a strong campaign for the Premiership title.