Record Win for Liverpool

English giants Liverpool registered a record win in he Champions League group stage, thrashing sorry Besiktas 8-0 in their clash at Anfield.
“The Reds” showed no stage fright whatsoever in a must-win match as led by a hat-trick by Yossi Benayoun, they trod all over a side they lost to a fortnight ago and kept themselves in with a fighting chance of making it to the knockout stage.
While Benayoun took the scoring honors of the night’s Champions League action, the seemingly ageless 34-yr old Italian forward Filippo Inzaghi went level with Gerd “Das Bomber” Muller in the history of the European cup scoring charts as his double in the 3-0 away win for AC Milan over Ukrainian outfit Shakthar Donetsk liftem him to 62 goals.

Arsenal Stay Unbeaten

Willam Gallas scored a injury-time equalizer for Arsenal to draw 2-2 with Manchester United and stay unbeaten in the English Premier League.

Gallas’ shot crossed the line before it was pushed out by Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin ven der Sar, with the linesman awarding the goal.

“The referee interrupted the game and I thought he had given a free kick against us because the wall was in,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored in the 83^rd minute to give Manchester United 2-1 lead, Gallas had scored an own goal in first-half injury time before Arsenal leveled through Cesc Fabregas in the 48^th.

Arsenal stay on top on goals scored with 27 points – the same as United – but the Gunners have played one game less.

Chelsea, Arsenal in League Cup quarters

Frank Lampard scored his third goal in injury time to give defending champion Chelsea a 4-3 victory over Leicester in the League Cup Wednesday, while Arsenal also moved into the quarter finals of England’s second-tier cup competition with a 3-0 win at Sheffield United.
Chelsea trailed twice against Leicester, but Andriy Shevchenko and Lampard both scored in the last three minutes for the victory.

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.