Liverpool Win Titanic Match Over Manchester City

 3-2 

Today's match between Liverpool and Manchester City has been on the radar for some time now with title implications on the line.  Playing at Anfield, there were no surprises in the starting line-ups with both clubs putting their best eleven out for this crucial match.  Suarez, Sturridge, and Sterling headed the Liverpool attack while David Silva, Nasri, and Dzeko lead Manchester City.

Liverpool got off to a great start and had all the momentum in the opening stages of the game.  A pair of goals in the first-half had them in good position, for a time, as City struggled to get into the match.  First Raheem Sterling made a run behind defender Kompany and Suarez played a through-ball to put him in-on-goal.  Keeper Joe Hart came off his line in an attempt to intervene, but ended up in no-mans-land allowing Sterling to work enough space and bury the shot (6').

Yaya Touré was then forced to come out soon after the first goal with an injury.  While taking a shot from range, Toure injured his groin and could not continue.  Javi Garcia replaced him less than twenty minutes into the match.

Liverpool added a second goal from a set-piece later in the half to extend the lead.  Captain Gerrard delivered a corner-kick into the box and Martin Skrtel was at the near-post to attack the cross.  With a glancing header, Skrtel was able to sent the ball to the opposite post and find the side netting (26').

Manchester City eventually got into the match and gained a lot of momentum coming out in the second-half.  James Milner came on in place of Jesús Navas and the visitors started to take control of the match.  Shortly after coming on, Milner setup the first goal for City by rolling the ball into the path of David Silva who turned the shot into the net (57').  Moments later David Silva created another goal for City to level the score.  He intended to play a ball across the face of goal, but the pass came off defenders Glen Johnson and Sktrel causing a fortunate own-goal (62').

To make matters worse for Liverpool, Daniel Sturridge was force out with an injury and Joe Allen came on in his place.  But the Reds found an opening thanks to a mistake by Kompany in his own box.  The City captain scuffed a clearance and Coutinho pounced on the loose ball, smashing the shot home for the winning goal (78').

This win is the biggest of the season for Liverpool who extend their lead in the league table.  Chelsea reamin in second-place and City in third, though Manchester have played two fewer matches.  With only four matches left to play, Liverpool control their own fate and will need another strong performance when they play Chelsea in two weeks time.

Liverpool Take First Place, Dominate Tottenham

 4-0 

Liverpool came into today's match with a chance to take the first-place position away from Chelsea.  Losing to Crystal Palace, Chelsea failed to get any points which left only a one point margin over Liverpool in second place.  Tottenham came into Anfield hoping to snap a two game losing streak against a surging Liverpool side.  However the Hotspurs had little to offer offensively and really struggled to slow down Liverpool's attack.

Liverpool took no time at all to get on the score sheet, exposing the weak Tottenham defense.  Raheem Sterling played Glen Johnson in behind the Tottenham back line and Johnson made a cross into the box.  Tottenham captain Younes Kaboul had a chance to clear the ball off the line, but he got it wrong and turned the ball into his own net off his heel (2').

The situation only got worse for the Hotspurs as starting centerback Vertongen had to come out with an injury.  Michael Dawson replaced him in defense and immediately put his team in trouble.  Attempting to make a backwards pass to Kaboul, Dawson failed to see Suarez lurking.  Suarez intercepted the pass and fired a left-footed shot to score a second goal for Liverpool (25').

The second-half was not any better for Tottenham who failed to offer any real offensive threat.  Instead Liverpool continued to dominate and added two more goals.  Fullback Jon Flanagan initiate a break and made a strong run forward before passing to Coutinho.  With loads of space, Coutinho was allowed to shoot and he beat the keeper from outside the box (55').

Jordan Henderson then added a final goal from a free-kick.  His shot was a low driven free-kick that skipped in front of Tottenham's goal.  Suarez was in position to get a flick on the ball, but he made a dummy on the ball and Henderson's shot ended up in the net (75').

Liverpool is the only team in the top-four to come away with a win over the weekend and now claim the top spot in the league.  Chelsea's loss to Crystal Palace had disastrous consequences and now they sit two points behind Liverpool in first place.  Liverpool travel to West Ham next week and look to continue this fantastic run in the Premier League.

Liverpool Survive Late Sunderland Surge

 2-1 

A sluggish Sunderland side came into Anfield today to face Liverpool in Premier League play.  Few teams have been able to silence the potent Liverpool attack with Suarez and Sturridge at the forefront.  Today was no exception despite the best efforts from the visitors.

Sunderland came out with a defensive mindset starting three centerbacks to clog Liverpool's offensive flow.  Initially the tactic worked as Liverpool could only manage shots from outside the box.  However a foul by one centerback, Vergini, gave Liverpool a freekick on the edge of the penalty area.  Steven Gerrard stepped up to take the freekick and beat the keeper with the shot to score (37').

Shortly after half-time Liverpool added another goal.  Daniel Sturridge was given space inside the Sunderland box and his shot took a slight deflection (48').  That slight touch by defender Wes Brown was enough to put off keeper Mannone and Liverpool pulled further ahead.

Sunderland manager Gus Poyet then  made two positive changes bringing Adam Johnson and Ki Sung-Yueng.  Together the two substitutes linked up for a goal to narrow the gap.  Johnson delivered a corner-kick that the Liverpool defense allowed to bounce in front of their goal.  Ki was attacking the far-post and scored with a diving header (76').

Now with only a one goal lead Liverpool played more conservative and found themselves defending more frantically.  In the end Liverpool held on to the lead and came away with three points.

Liverpool are now just one point off Chelsea at the top of the table with seven matches left to play.  The  Reds have a tough schedule ahead of them with Tottenham, Manchester City, and Chelsea on the horizon.  Fortunately they are all home games which could help Liverpool in the title race.

Liverpool Crush Arsenal; Sturridge, Streling, Skrtel Score

 5-1 

Liverpool hosted Arsenal today for a wild Premier League match-up.  Arsenal came into the match at the top of the table with Liverpool eight points behind.  Playing at Anfield, Liverpool had a very danger attack and had the Gunners on their heels all day.

Liverpool could not have gotten off to a better start and scored in the first minute of the game.  An early set-piece allowed centerback Martin Skrtel to get forward.  Gerrard delivered the free-kick into the box and Skrtel was able to score with a volley off his shin (1').  The centerback scored again off a set-piece just minutes later.  This time from a corner-kick, Gerrard delivered the cross and Skrtel scored a well placed header floated to the back-post (10').

Liverpool then scored two more quick goals to stretch the lead.  Jordan Henderson tackled the ball off Özil in midfield and got the ball to Suarez pushing forward.  Suarez then played the ball across the face of goal for Raheem Sterling crashing the far-post.  Sterling finished with an easy tap-in to put Liverpool up three goals (17').

Daniel Sturridge scored the final goal of the first-half shortly after when Coutinho played him in-on-goal.  Coutinho's through-ball was weighted perfectly to allow Sturridge to split two defenders and beat the keeper with a first-touch finish (20').

Liverpool added one more goal in the second-half when Sterling scored his second of the match.  A long ball from the back by Cissokho put Sterling behind the Arsenal defense.  His first shot was stopped by keeper Szczesny, but the rebound came right back to him and Sterling finished with the extra chance (52').

After an hour of play, Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger made all three substitutions at once, likely to save some players for the midweek match against United coming up.  The five goal deficit was obviously too much to overcome, but Arsenal did manage to get one back.  Gerrard missed his tackle on Oxlade-Chamberlain in the box to give Arsenal a penalty.  Mikel Arteta scored from the spot for the last goal of the match (69').  Aside from winning the penalty, Oxlade-Chamberlain was essentially non-existant though.  Fellow winger Santi Cazorla was also not a factor today in one of Arsenal's worst performances all year.

Today's win could be the most important match all season for Liverpool who still have a chance at the league title.  If they can continue to score goals at the current rate, very few teams will be able to keep up.  Arsenal are starting to show signs of slowing down and will look to bounce back against Manchester United on Wednesday.  Liverpool travel to Fulham next as the battle at the top of the table heats up.

Questionable Penalty Helps Liverpool Avoid Defeat

 2-2 

Liverpool welcomed Daniel Sturridge back into the line-up with Aston Villa coming to Anfield.  The striker has been out for the last nine matches and got to start next to Suarez today in the attack.

Despite playing on the road, Aston Villa gained all the momentum early in the match and kept Liverpool on their heels for most of the first-half.  Gabriel Agbonlahor was especially a handfull and helped the visitors take a two goal lead.  First Agbonlahor beat defender Kolo Touré to get a cross into the box that was finished by Andreas Weimann sliding into the shot (25').  Then Agbonlahor provided the cross that Christian Benteke finished with a header (37').  Benteke was helped out by Liverpool keeper Mignolet who missed his punch to allowed a free header on an open net.

Liverpool managed to get one back in the first-half stoppage-time to narrow the gap before the break.  Suarez made a pass to Jordan Henderson who used a heel-flick to play Sturridge behind the Aston Villa defense.  Sturridge was left onside by captain Ron Vlaar and beat keeper Guzan for Liverpool's first goal of the match (45 +2').

After half-time Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers replaced Philippe Coutinho with Lucas to help protect the defense.  This allowed Gerrard to push forward and get more involved in the attack.  Liverpool played better in this system and equalized when Suarez earned a penalty.  Aston Villa keeper Guzan came off his line to stop Suarez dashing forward, but missed the ball in his attempt.  Suarez went down rather easily to get the call and Villa players and supporters were shouting for a simulation yellow card.  Regardless Gerrard scored from the spot to level the match (53').

The rest of the match was left wide open with neither side taking control.  In the end though neither side could produce a go-ahead goal and the match ended in a draw.  The result was kind of win-win for both clubs with Liverpool recovering from a two goal deficit, and Aston Villa getting a point on the road.  Unfortunately Arsenal and Man. City won matches today and pull further away from Liverpool in the Premier League table.

Suarez and Sturridge Lift Liverpool Over Stoke City

 3-5 

Stoke City hosted Liverpool in a Sunday afternoon Premier League match-up that turned into an exciting shootout.  Liverpool are beginning to get some players back from injuries, most notably Steven Gerrard in the starting eleven and Daniel Sturridge first off the bench today.  Stoke featured a few former Liverpool players with Peter Crouch at forward and Charlie Adam behind him in midfield.

Liverpool caught a rather lucky break in the early moments of the game to take the lead.  Defender Cissokho stepped into a shot from 25 yards out with a half-volley.  The shot was heading wide, but Stoke captain Ryan Shawcross was in the ball's path and sent it into his own net off the deflection (5').

Liverpool then extended their lead following some sloppy Stoke defending.  A long ball forward by Martin Skrtel could have been cleared by defender Marc Wilson, but he instead chose to head the ball back to his keeper.  The pass was short and Luis Suarez was lurking in the area.  Shawcross came over to clear, but he ended up just getting in the way of the keeper and Suarez got a free shot for the second goal (32').

Stoke were persistant and got a ton of crosses into the box both from play and set-pieces.  Late in the first-half that persistance paid off and Crouch got his team back in the match.  Winger Arnautović delivered the cross to Crouch who finished with a near-post header (39').  Then right before half-time Stoke equalized with a scorching shot from Charlie Adam.  Henderson gave it away for Liverpool and Adam had a free shot from the edge of the box that found the net (45').

Liverpool were not shaken by losing the lead and came out in the second-half will the same confidence they had in the first-half.  Raheem Sterling won a penalty for Liverpool when he made a break in the Stoke box.  Defender Wilson bumped him to draw the foul and Gerrard finished from the spot (51').  Now back in front, Liverpool decided to bring in Daniel Sturridge who has been out injured for some time.  Sturridge did very well in his return and in the time he was on the field he got an assist and a goal.

Sturridge setup Suarez when his run attracted two defenders leaving Suarez unmarked.  Sturridge picked Suarez out with a simple pass and the striker finished his second of the day (71').  Stoke hung around and scored one more goal to close the gap back down to one.  Jonathan Walters found space in front of goal and shook centerback Kolo Touré before beating the keeper (85').

Liverpool did not let Stoke get further back into the game and scored a final goal to ensure the win.  Sturridge got two chances to score and finished the second.  A cross from Suarez gave him a chance at the far-post, but keeper Butland denied Sturridge.  The block was kept in play though, and Sturridge finished the second chance effort (87').

With this win Liverpool move back into the top-four.  The last few matches were tough for the Red as they lost points to Chelsea and Manchester City.  With Gerrard and Sturridge back in the line-up, Liverpool are far more formidable and have a chance to climb further up the table.  Stoke travel to Crystal Palace for their next league match while Liverpool host Aston Villa.

Manchester City Leap Liverpool With Win

 2-1 

Manchester City hosted Liverpool today in a battle between top flight clubs.  Manchester City and Liverpool are fighting for position in the table, and look to unseat the league leading Arsenal.  Today would prove to be a tough defensive test with the league's two top scoring teams meeting at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester.

Liverpool scored first when Philippe Coutinho benefited from a run by Raheem Sterling.  Suarez played the through-ball for Sterling who managed to get a touch around keeper Joe Hart.  Sterling might have scored on his own, but Coutinho was in better position and came in late for the final touch that put Liverpool in front (24').

Manchester City were not down for long and scored the equalizer on a set-piece.  David Silva delivered the corner-kick that was won by Vincent Kompany at the near-post for a header finish (31').  Then on the verge of half-time Manchester City scored again to take the lead.  Jesús Navas setup Álvaro Negredo on a breakaway for the go-ahead goal.  Negredo's shot should have been saved by keeper Mignolet, but he was fooled by the flight of the ball and did not get a firm hand on the ball to turn it away.  Instead the ball ended up in the net for the deciding goal of the match (45 +1').

Liverpool worked several shots in the second-half, but none got past keeper Hart.  Victor Moses also entered the match in an attempt to add offense for Liverpool, but he never made any kind of impact.  The Reds fall to fourth place following today's loss, while City sit one point behind Arsenal in second-place.

Super Match For Suarez, Scores Four Against Norwich

 5-1 

Liverpool have been in a slight slump after the terrific start to the season.  Coming off a surprising loss to Hull City, Liverpool looked to bounce back today against Norwich City.  Liverpool had to play without Daniel Sturridge who is out injured, but Luis Suarez more than made up for the absence with a monster game for the Reds.

Suarez already had two hat-trick games against Norwich on record and his fortunes continued against the Canaries.  Suarez was the first to scored today finishing a spectacular half-volley from over forty yards.  The ball was knocked forward by Steven Gerrard and fell in front of Suarez.  Instead of trapping the ball and pushing further forward, Suarez took the long shot and put the perfect flight on the ball to beat keeper John Ruddy (15').

The second goal came durring a corner-kick that was delivered by Philippe Coutinho.  Gerrard was making a near-post run and Coutinho tried to put the ball on him, but Gerrard missed his attempt to flick the ball.  Suarez was waiting behind him though and scored the one-hopper for his second goal of the match (29').  Suarez completed the hat-trick before the end of the half with another brilliant finish.  The striker made a good run with the ball and separated himself from Leroy Fer with a tricky chip move before blasting the shot to again beat the Norwich keeper (35').

The second-half was not much better for the visitors as Liverpool continued to create shots and keep the Norwich defense on its heels.  Suarez was able to score one more goal with a perfectly struck free-kick to add to his special night (74').

Norwich did eventually get one on the board when Nathan Redmond picked out Bradley Johnson for a header finish (83').  Unfortunately for Norwich, Liverpool got one back when Suarez added an assist to his stats.  He found Sterling with a cross in front of goal for a clean finish and the last goal of the match (88').

Liverpool do not move up any in the table following this win as Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester City all won matches as well, but the confidence is certainly showing.  Liverpool host West Ham United over the weekend and look to keep momentum heading into the holidays.

Arsenal Stretch League Lead, Beat Liverpool

 2-0 

First place Arsenal hosted second place Liverpool today with the latter looking to take over the top spot.  Liverpool came into the match two points behind Arsenal with a chance to overtake the Gunner if they could come away with a win.  It was not to be for the Reds, however, as the league leaders proved they deserve to be in first.

Santi Cazorla got Arsenal started with a header that came off the post.  The rebound fell right for him though, to give him a second chance.  Liverpool keeper Mignolet laid out trying to stop the initial header and when the follow-up volley from Cazorla again came his way, he could do nothing from the ground to stop the goal (19').

Following the goal, Arsenal had all the momentum and put pressure on the Liverpool back three.  Liverpool were not completely out of it, but Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge were slow to really get into the match.  After half-time Liverpool abandoned the 3-5-2 for the more common 4-4-2, and brought Philippe Coutinho into the match, but the changes did not slow down Arsenal.

Aaron Ramsey scored a second goal for Arsenal with a well struck half-volley.  Using one touch to settle the ball, Ramsey set himself up for a clean shot outside the 18 yard box (59').  Coutinho and Suarez came alive late in the match, but could not create the spark to get Liverpool back in the game.  Instead Arsenal, for the most part, continued to control possession and forced keeper Mignolet to stay active.

With the win Arsenal extend their lead in first place.  Chelsea also lost today 2-0 against Newcastle giving Arsenal a solid five point buffer over the Blues and the Reds in the Premier League standings.  Next weekend Arsenal will travel to Manchester for a game against United while Liverpool host Fulham.

Sans-Suarez Liverpool Crush Struggling Newcastle

 0-6 

Striker Luis Suarez is done for the season with a ten game ban following the ridiculous biting incident last weekend.  Today at Newcastle, his absence was not an issue as Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho more than made up for the Uruguayan.

Liverpool jumped out to an early lead when the centerback Agger scored with a header.  A diagonal cross played him into space and he finished by getting his header just over the keeper caught off his line (3').  Liverpool scored another shortly after by stretching the Newcastle defense.  Coutinho played a long through-ball that put Sturridge behind the back line.  Sturridge had the opportunity to shoot, but with the keeper crashing in on him, Sturridge instead made the smart pass wide to Henderson who finished on the empty net (17').

Newcastle made two changes after half-time and for the first few minutes of the second-half, Newcastle looked like they would get back into the match.  But sloppy possession from substitute Ben Arfa let Coutinho tackle the ball off of him and make a run at the defense.  Timing his run well, Coutinho passed to Sturridge for the finish in front of goal (54').  Moments later Sturridge scored again when Henderson returned the favor from the first-half.  Captain Gerrard released Henderson into space and again keeper Elliot was beat coming off his line when the easy pass found Sturridge wide to finish on an empty net (60').

At this point the Newcastle supporters started filing out of the stadium as they had had enough, though Liverpool had not.  Forward Borini came on for Liverpool and scored right away.  Winger Downing managed to drive to the end-line and hit Borini with a cutting pass.  Borini used his first-touch to find just enough space to work the shot, finishing with a toe-poke (74').

The Newcastle players were getting fed up as well and a brash tackle by the right-back Debuchy earned him a red card.  On the ensuing free-kick Liverpool scored a sixth and final goal.  Henderson's free-kick was intended to be attacked with a header, but nobody could get a touch and the ball ended up in the back of the net (76').  Though Suarez is responsible for the majority of Liverpool's goals this season, Sturridge has proven to be a positive addition to the club.  He will have a bigger role in the last few games of the season, and hopefully he can continue to build a relationship with his teammate Coutinho.