Liverpool 2 Blackburn 1 ( English Premier League 24 October 2010 )

Blackburn's Michel Salgado blocks a pass from Liverpool's Joe Cole




Striker Fernando Torres ended his six-match goal drought with the winner against Blackburn to provide a much-needed boost at Anfield.

Goalkeeper Paul Robinson had kept the Reds at bay until Sotirios Kyrgiakos' 48th-minute header and although a Jamie Carragher own goal quickly levelled things up Torres struck only his second of the season soon after.

It ended a run of seven matches without a victory in all competitions and although it was still not enough to lift Liverpool out of the bottom three the result came as a welcome relief.

Torres, starved of service, has looked woefully out of form with his only goal coming in the 1-0 win over West Brom at the end of August.

However, if the Spain international could have chosen any team to play against it would have been Rovers, against whom he has now scored five times in their last four meetings.

And it can be no coincidence Liverpool's only two Barclays Premier League victories have been as a result of Torres applying the decisive finish.

It was the very least representatives of New England Sports Ventures, in the crowd after their £300million buy-out just over a week ago, will have wanted to see.

It may have been for their benefit that there was a guest appearance by Gerry Marsden to sing a live rendition of You'll Never Walk Alone.

The change in the pre-match routine appeared to have the desired effect on Liverpool but, although it was as positive a first half as they had put in under manager Roy Hodgson, it still failed to produce a goal.

That was in part due to Robinson, who was at his sharpest to deny the hosts on several occasions.

His best save came in only the eighth minute when Torres' ball around the corner to Maxi Rodriguez saw the Argentina international cross low for Joe Cole but his first-time shot was blocked by the goalkeeper and a stretching Raul Meireles drove the rebound wide.

Kyrgiakos's header from Steven Gerrard's corner was also kept out by Robinson, with the goalkeeper then diving to his left to deny Gerrard who had launched a quick counter-attack from a Rovers corner.

Blackburn were content to sit back but their task was made slightly more difficult when they lost defensive midfielder Steven Nzonzi to a hamstring injury.

The Red tide continued up to half-time with a Meireles piledriver pole-axing Michel Salgado and Lucas Leiva just failing to get his header on target from Kyrgiakos' flick-on of Gerrard's resulting corner.

After the interval Benjani Mwaruwari came on for Nikola Kalinic but the second half was only three minutes old when Liverpool finally took the lead.

Kyrgiakos had been a threat in the air all afternoon and when he rose to powerfully meet Gerrard's corner Martin Olsson could not keep the ball from going into the net.

Two minutes later it should have been 2-0 as Robinson only half-saved Rodriguez's header from Gerrard's quickly-taken corner and Kyrgiakos appeared to be fouled by Phil Jones in challenging for the rebound.

The ball dropped to Rodriguez but his effort was charged down.

Such has been Liverpool's luck this season that Rovers went straight down the other end and scored as Paul Konchesky's goalline clearance from El-Hadji Diouf's shot cannoned back off Carragher and into the net.

But a sign the Reds' fortunes were changing came in the 53rd minute when Torres ghosted in at the far post to side-foot home Cole's cross.

Cole was replaced by David Ngog with 11 minutes remaining but it was Blackburn who were the ones pushing for the next goal.

It was not entirely comfortable for Liverpool, who were restricted to the counter-attack with one Gerrard pass almost picking out Torres, but they found the resilience which had been missing for most of the season.

Hodgson had described the match as "must win". His side did that and, despite their lowly position, are just six points from fifth-placed Tottenham.

However, they are going to have to build on this by putting a run of good results together if their campaign is really going to turn a corner.

Hodgson, whose position has come under increased scrutiny in recent weeks, is not out of the woods yet.


Teams:


Liverpool Reina, Carragher, Kyrgiakos, Skrtel, Konchesky, Lucas, Meireles (Shelvey 89), Maxi, Gerrard, Cole (Ngog 78), Torres.


Subs Not Used: Jones, Jovanovic, Babel, Poulsen, Kelly.


Booked: Maxi, Meireles.


Goals: Kyrgiakos 48, Torres 53.


Blackburn Robinson, Salgado, Jones, Givet, Olsson, Emerton, Nzonzi (Grella 33), Pedersen, El-Hadji Diouf, Dunn (Hoilett 68), Kalinic (Mwaruwari 46).


Subs Not Used: Bunn, Morris, Chimbonda, Mame Diouf.


Booked: Givet, Olsson, Grella.


Goals: Carragher 50 og.


Att: 43,328

Napoli 0 Liverpool 0 ( Europa League Group K Matchday 3 ) 21 October 2010

Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson's gamble in leaving at home a handful of his senior players - including Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard - paid off in some respect as his side claimed a well-earned Europa League 0-0 draw against Napoli in the Stadio San Paolo.

Many tipped the hopelessly out-of-form Reds for defeat after bringing a weakened side to Naples, but they withstood long spells of pressure to leave with a point.

The closest they came to conceding was in first-half added time when Paul Konchesky cleared Marek Hamsik's shot off the line in the nick of time, while Ryan Babel could have snatched victory with 20 minutes to go but shot too close to goalkeeper Morgan de Sanctis.

Hodgson had admitted in his pre-match press conference that the Barclays Premier League had to take priority because of their woeful start to the season, with just one win in eight games leaving them 19th in the table, and that was why he had rested Torres, Gerrard, Raul Meireles and Lucas Leiva.

He said if they lost in Naples he would expect to receive criticism. He avoided the former but it is unlikely the latter will dissipate any time soon as even a win over Blackburn on Sunday will probably not end the growing murmurings of discontent within Anfield.

At least this performance, unlike the Merseyside derby defeat last weekend, showed some grit and determination and keeps Liverpool on course for progress to the knockout phase as they have taken five points from their three group matches so far, and still have home games against Utrecht and Napoli.

It is a competition which has so far been much kinder to Hodgson but, unfortunately for him, if he cannot turn around the team's domestic form, no number of good performances in Europe are going to ease the pressure on him.

Getting to the latter stages of the Europa League but still being stuck in the lower reaches of the Premier League is unlikely to carry much weight with new owners New England Sports Ventures, who expect to see more from their £300million investment.

After the previous night's attacks on fans and some limited patches of trouble prior to kick-off, the atmosphere inside the stadium was equally as daunting for the players as the streets of Naples had been for supporters.

However, the visitors did a good job of negating all that early fervour with a disciplined, solid start and the whistles which greeted any spell of Liverpool possession were deafening.

Ezequiel Lavezzi's corner saw Cristian Maggio divert the ball goalwards only for Edinson Cavani to head it away as he tried to get a decisive touch.

Napoli were starting to take control but Lavezzi's long-range strike flew well over Jose Reina's crossbar.

In the 33rd minute Jonjo Shelvey combined with Jay Spearing but the shot with his weaker left foot was straight at goalkeeper De Sanctis.

He was obviously not short of confidence as he tried to lob De Sanctis from the halfway line but hardly extended the goalkeeper let alone tested him.

But they had a lucky escape in first-half stoppage time with a controversial incident which will again bring up the issue of goal-line technology.

Maggio's corner fell to Cavani who beat Jamie Carragher and fired in a low cross which Hamsik diverted goalwards and it was unclear whether the ball had crossed the line before Konchesky cleared.

Carragher was replaced for the second half by Sotirios Kyrgiakos as Napoli seized the initiative again.

Cavani wasted a good chance before Michele Pazienza was booked for a wild lunge which caught Spearing in the face as he stooped to head the ball and, after initial concerns about the midfielder, he was able to continue after treatment.

Napoli continued to press but Babel should have snatched the lead with the best chance of the night when he was played through by Jovanovic in acres of space on the left of the penalty area.

The Holland international opted to shoot right-footed across De Sanctis but placed his effort too close to the goalkeeper, who saved with his feet.

Ngog also went close when he turned in the area only for his shot to be charged down by Salvatore Aronica.


Napoli De Sanctis, Campagnaro, Cannavaro, Aronica, Maggio (Zuniga 75), Pazienza, Gargano (Yebda 83), Dossena, Hamsik (Sosa 85), Lavezzi, Cavani.


Subs Not Used: Iezzo, Grava, Dumitru, Cribari.


Booked: Pazienza.


Liverpool Reina, Kelly, Carragher (Kyrgiakos 46), Skrtel, Konchesky (Aurelio 65), Jovanovic, Poulsen, Spearing, Babel (Cole 77), Shelvey, Ngog.


Subs Not Used: Jones, Maxi, Wilson, Eccleston.


Booked: Skrtel.


Att: 55,489

Everton 2 Liverpool 0 ( English Premier League 17 October 2010 )

Everton's Phil jagielka battling for the ball with Liverpool's Steven Gerrard


Liverpool's new owners were left with no doubt about the size of the task ahead as Everton emerged victorious from the 214th Merseyside derby.

John Henry, head of New England Sports Ventures, was at Goodison Park to witness first-hand a fiery encounter which Everton dominated for long periods and deservedly won.

Goals from Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta did the damage either side of half-time as the hosts outplayed and outfought their near-neighbours.

The defeat left Liverpool stuck in 19th place in the Barclays Premier League, with only a solitary victory over West Brom in eight games.

And their worst start to a season since 1953/54 - when they were relegated - undoubtedly got worse with defeat against a team who were only a place above them before the start of play.

One thing is certain and that is the new American owners, who invested heavily in the Boston Red Sox when they acquired the baseball team in 2001 prior to two World Series wins, will have to come up with funds for manager Roy Hodgson to strengthen in January.

All the focus, as it had been for the preceding week, will be on Liverpool's failure but Everton were worthy winners, ending a run of three successive derby defeats.

The opening 45 minutes were in keeping with most Merseyside derbies, with the first late tackle coming after just 11 seconds and several more proliferating the half.

Maxi Rodriguez and Raul Meireles earned themselves yellow cards while Cahill was booked for Everton as World Cup final referee Howard Webb tried to exercise restraint.

The actual football action was very limited with Arteta hitting a 20-yard free-kick into the wall and Everton centre-backs Phil Jagielka and Sylvain Distin both having half-chances with shots from inside the box.

Prior to Everton's opening goal it was the visitors who had come closest to scoring with their first attack - although it took them 23 minutes to create one.

Joe Cole's left-wing cross picked out the fit-again Fernando Torres at the near-post and his flicked header forced Tim Howard to tip over his crossbar.

Meireles had a 25-yard piledriver blocked by a wall of blue shirts from a half-cleared corner but that was the most Liverpool threatened.

It was just after their all-too-brief best spell of the first half that Liverpool went behind.

A slack piece of defending by Lucas Leiva and Paul Konchesky in the 34th minute allowed Seamus Coleman to run to the byline and cross for Cahill to hook home at the near post.

It immediately sparked chants of 'going down' from the home fans.

Diniyar Bilyaletdinov replaced Leon Osman for the second half, which was only four minutes old when Everton went 2-0 up.

Sotirios Kyrgiakos' headed clearance only reached the edge of the penalty area where Arteta was lurking to smash home a brilliant swerving volley.

Hodgson had spoken in the build-up of his hope of seeing his side not have to chase a game - which had cost them in previous matches - but now they had a mountain to climb.

Meireles' 30-yard shot failed to cause Howard any difficulty while Torres' effort from inside the area landed in the top tier of the Gwladys Street stand.

Joe Cole's inability to control a pass from Reina, allowing the ball to run out of play, summed up Liverpool's performance.

Everton continued to create the chances and Jagielka fired over from a corner in the last 15 minutes before substitute Jermain Beckford had claims for a penalty turned down after falling under a challenge from Martin Skrtel.

By contrast, Gerrard was woefully off target when teed up by substitute Ryan Babel on the edge of the penalty area while Torres shot straight at Howard when he should worked the goalkeeper more.

Beckford had chance to finish in style in added time but drilled his shot over.

This derby was billed as the most significant in three decades, considering the clubs' league positions.

Seasons do not succeed or fail on such occasions but it will prove a useful point of reference for Liverpool's new owners.


Teams


Everton Howard, Neville, Jagielka, Distin, Baines, Coleman, Heitinga (Hibbert 72), Arteta (Beckford 74), Osman (Bilyaletdinov 46), Cahill, Yakubu.


Subs Not Used: Mucha, Gueye, Mustafi, Baxter.


Booked: Cahill, Beckford.


Goals: Cahill 34, Arteta 50.


Liverpool Reina, Carragher, Skrtel, Kyrgiakos, Konchesky, Gerrard, Lucas (Ngog 71), Meireles, Cole (Babel 79), Maxi (Jovanovic 84), Torres.


Subs Not Used: Jones, Aurelio, Spearing, Kelly.


Booked: Maxi, Meireles, Torres.


Att: 39,673

rindu kat arwah akak =(

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mesti best kan kalau ade kakak...
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alhamdulillah...akak dah ade di syurga sekarang...
tunggu abang,adik,mama n abah sekali kt sana ye.....
insyaAllah kita sama2 duduk dalam syurga =)

saya rindu arwah akak =(
moga Allah SWT cucuri rahmat arwah akak.....al-Fatihah~~

warkah buat awak~~~~

awak....
terima kasih sebab dah sedarkan saya....
erti persahabatan...erti sayang....
akhirnya awak bagi juga jawapan awak.....
saya terima keputusan awak dengan hati terbuka....
maafkan diri ini yang mungkin dah banyak buat awak susah hati....
maafkan saya atas segala ape yang saya buat salah pada awak....

awak...
awak pernah buat saya berjanji pada awak....
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insyaAllah...saya akan cuba pegang janji saya tu....
walaupun kadang-kala hati saya rase susah nak laksanakan janji saya tu....
saya mohon kepada-Nya agar diberi kekuatan....
agar janji itu dapat saya penuhi...

awak....
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terima kasih atas segalanya....

* True friendship doesn't mean they were inseparable....it means they were separated but nothing changes =)

Liverpool 1 Blackpool 2 ( English Premier League 3 October 2010 ).......

Blackpool's captain Charlie Adam smashed home the penalty against Liverpool keeper Jose Reina....






Liverpool will head into the international break in the bottom three after going down to a shock 2-1 defeat at home to Blackpool on Sunday afternoon.

The Reds struggled to cope with a vibrant start from the visitors who stunned the Kop by storming into a two-goal interval lead courtesy of a Charlie Adam penalty and smart finish from Luke Varney.

Sotirios Kyrgiakos did pull a goal back for the home side with a thumping 53rd minute header but, despite laying siege to the Tangerines defence in a frantic finale, they could not find the finish to salvage a point.

The result means Roy Hodgson's side have now stretched their winless run to five matches and leaves them languishing in the relegation places for the first time since 1984.

Prior to kick-off the visit of Ian Holloway's men had given fans hope of heading into the two-week break with a much-needed win and the boss had responded by making two positive changes to the team that drew in Utrecht.

In came the rested Steven Gerrard for Lucas Leiva, while Kyrgiakos was also restored to the starting XI as Jamie Carragher switched to left-back in place of Martin Kelly.

The visitors had promised to attack Liverpool from the off in the build-up to the game and they were true to their word, giving the hosts a huge scare inside 60 seconds.

Martin Skrtel fouled DJ Campbell on the edge of the penalty area, providing Adam with the chance to thump a 20 yard free-kick towards goal that Pepe Reina was forced to beat away on the stretch.

Liverpool responded and Joe Cole came within a whisker of turning Fernando Torres's right-wing cross in at the far post.

In his pre-match press conference Holloway had stated his desire to see both sets of supporters entertained and if the opening five minutes were anything to go by, those inside Anfield were not going to be starved of goalmouth action.

The visitors' no fear policy was refreshing to watch and they continued to cause problems down the flanks with Gary Taylor-Fletcher looking particularly menacing.

It was proving to be a difficult start for the home side and their cause wasn't helped when Torres was replaced by David Ngog on 10 minutes after the Spaniard pulled up with a groin injury.

The loss of the No. 9 was greeted by cheers from the visiting support who were almost celebrating again moments later when a flowing Blackpool move ended with Campbell crashing wide at the far post following a superb ball into the area by Neal Eardley.

The hosts were dominating possession but were clearly lacking confidence and their plight was made worse on the half hour mark when Glen Johnson brought Varney crashing to the floor inside the penalty area.

The referee pointed to the spot and up stepped Adam who fired a low shot through into the corner via the hand of Reina.

It had been an opening period to forget for the Reds and the latter stages of the first 45 didn't get much better, with Kuyt's tame header from Raul Meireles's right-wing cross and a low shot from Cole the best they could muster in reply.

In fact, Blackpool looked more than comfortable protecting their lead and in first-half injury-time they broke forward and stunned the Kop with a second.

Taylor-Fletcher showed superb composure to delay his pass before picking out the perfectly timed run of Varney who squeezed a low shot in at the near post.

Not since Istanbul has an inspirational half-time team-talk been needed to help restore such flagging belief and there were signs one may have been delivered as Liverpool pushed forward from the restart.

The renewed urgency in the hosts' play was clear for all to see and Ngog should have reduced the arrears immediately but he contrived to glance a free header wide from eight yards out.

With Blackpool on the defensive there was a sense inside Anfield that a Reds goal was very much in the offing and on 53 minutes they got their lifeline.

A quick-thinking free-kick from Gerrard resulted in a cross being delivered high into the area, where Kyrgiakos rose brilliantly to bullet a header into the net.

Cue wave after wave of Liverpool attack with Meireles twice going close to levelling before Cole broke clear just prior to the hour mark.

The former Chelsea man took the ball beautifully in his stride and clipped a delightful effort over the advancing Matthew Gilks, only to see it drop inches wide of the far post.

The visitors were beginning to buckle under the pressure but almost restored their two-goal cushion against the run of play on 68 minutes when Varney surged on to a loose ball, saw off the challenge of Kyrgiakos and played a pass across the face of goal that Campbell couldn't stretch enough to turn home.

At the other end the Reds continued to huff and puff but Gilks produced a miraculous point-blank stop from Kyrgiakos deep into injury-time to secure a famous victory for the Seasiders.

Utrecht 0 Liverpool 0 ( Europa League Group Stage Matchday 2 ) 30 September 2010....

Liverpool claimed a goalless draw in Utrecht on Thursday evening to remain top of Europa League Group K.
Both sides spurned a host of chances in front of a capacity 25,000 spectators, though memories of a goalline clearance from Raul Meireles and some typical interventions from Pepe Reina may have left Utrecht feeling unlucky not to end the night with a win.
The Reds now have four points from two games ahead of their double header with Napoli.
Roy Hodgson named a near full-strength side for the encounter as he looked to maintain his 100 per cent record in European competition with Liverpool.
Of all his senior stars, only Steven Gerrard was granted a rest, meaning Fernando Torres, Joe Cole and Meireles were all asked to take to the field in an arena where Celtic suffered the ignominy of a 4-0 defeat in August.
While Liverpool enjoyed the early possession, it was the hosts who created the first goalscoring opportunity after capitalising on a loose pass from Christian Poulsen to Lucas. The ball dropped to Ricky van Wolfswinkel, whose finish wasn't worthy of a man with 13 goals in 13 games this term.
Minutes later Edouard Duplan drove wide after being inadvertently teed up by the otherwise excellent Joe Cole, while at the other end the visitors threatened when Glen Johnson got round the back before launching a cross just beyond the clever run of Torres.
Liverpool's first shot on target came on 10 minutes courtesy of Meireles, who failed to make Michel Armond Vorm dive with his 20-yard smack.
Lucas and Cole both hit the hoardings with speculative efforts but there was a scare for the Reds when Jacob Mulenga found himself in a straight race with stand-in left-back Martin Kelly. Thankfully for Liverpool, his shot was tame.
Back on the front foot, Liverpool might have taken the lead when a Johnson cross was met by the head of Meireles on 23 minutes. The Portugal international failed to get enough power behind his nod and in the end it was easy for Vorm.
Instead it was Ton du Chatinier's charges who found the net first midway through the half only for Jan Wuytens's cool volley to be disallowed following a push by Mulenga.
Utrecht looked a match for their prestigious guests and again caused problems for the Liverpool backline when Tim Cornelisse's low cross was fumbled by Reina, who just about recovered in time to block Duplan's follow up.
Torres tried to rouse the men in black with a long-range strike which curled far more than Vorm anticipated before bouncing narrowly wide. There would be further frustration for the Spaniard as the half drew to a close, with Utrecht looking the more likely to muster a breakthrough.
A sloppy pass from Lucas almost left his side in trouble on 35 minutes as Duplan shaped to shoot on the edge of the box. The Brazilian midfielder made up the yards but his attempt to regain possession landed him in the referee's book.
The best two chances of the opening period fell within a minute of one another when Kuyt laboured in possession inside his own box. Dries Mertens robbed the ball and forced a brave save from Reina, who made vocal his frustration after the incident.
From the resulting corner Cornelisse somehow directed a free header wide, and it was clear Hodgson would require some sharp words at the interval if Liverpool were to avoid a first defeat to Dutch opposition since 1966, when a Johan Cruyff-inspired Ajax thumped Bill Shankly's team 5-1.
Liverpool needed just eight minutes to open up their opponents' defence following the restart when another centre from Johnson was laid back to Torres, whose half-volley flew high into the stand occupied by the travelling supporters.
But Utrecht were not content to soak up any pressure and again might have scored had Reina not intervened to stop van Wolfswinkel getting a foot on Mulenga's dangerous cross.
Seconds later Meireles headed off the line after Silberbauer's seemingly decisive touch within a goalmouth scramble.
Liverpool attempted to counter with a brilliant lofted ball down field from Reina. Kuyt collected and squared to Torres, who for once was outsmarted by the goalkeeper in a one on one.
It was end to end stuff. One minute Alje Schut was sidefooting over when it appeared easier to score, the next Martin Skrtel was heading against the crossbar - though the latter would have been chalked off for offside.
Most of the chances were deriving from opposition errors, though Silberbauer almost made something from nothing with a sensational blast which thundered marginally over on 72 minutes.
Substitute Maxi Rodriguez responded in kind with an overhead kick from Kuyt's cross which floated harmlessly into the crowd.
The last serious chance fell to Utrecht after a mistake from Kelly, whose blushes were spared when Mulenga smashed wide.