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On Saturday, only five matches were played out of six scheduled in the English Premier League - the clash between "Portsmouth" and "Arsenal" was decided to be postponed due to poor weather conditions.
The central match of the round was the derby between two Liverpool city teams - "Liverpool," who unsuccessfully defended their UEFA Champions League title, hosted "Everton," who were experiencing a not very successful season. The hosts celebrated a 3-1 victory in a memorable match.
Even the dismissal of defender Steven Gerrard in the 18th minute for two rough fouls, resulting in yellow cards, did not stop "Liverpool" from clinching the victory. The hosts took the lead in the first half when Phil Neville scored an own goal.
At the start of the second half, Luis Garcia doubled the lead, and it seemed that the winner was practically decided, as "Everton" struggled to break through the strong "Liverpool" defense. However, unexpectedly in the 61st minute, "Everton" managed to score - Tim Cahill headed the ball into the net from a corner kick. "Everton" coach David Moyes, trying to strengthen the attack, brought on forward Andy van der Meyde, but regretted his decision shortly after - the Dutchman was sent off the field for a questionable elbow strike, leaving both teams with ten players.
After this blow, "Everton" never recovered, and the final point in the match was put by Harry Kewell, who scored a brilliant long-range goal, once again confirming that "Liverpool" had solved their attacking problems. In their last four games, Rafael Benitez's team scored a total of 18 goals.
In another match, the undisputed championship leader London's "Chelsea" easily defeated "Man City" 2-0 and secured their 25th victory of the season. Both goals for the winners were scored by the Ivorian striker Didier Drogba in the 30th and 33rd minutes, while the visitors finished the match with ten men - Sylvain Distin was sent off for a second yellow card at the end of the first half. However, Chelsea failed to increase their lead in the second half.
All of Saturday's results:
3 - 1
45` [1 - 0] P. Neville (own goal)
47` [2 - 0] L. Garcia
61` [2 - 1] T. Cahill
84` [3 - 1] H. Kewell
18` S.Gerrard sent off ("Liverpool")
73` A.v.d.Meyde sent off ("Everton")
2 - 0
30` [1 - 0] D. Drogba
33` [2 - 0] D. Drogba
45` S.Distin sent off ("Man City")
0 - 0
0 - 1
15` [0 - 1] S. Reid
1 - 2
45` [1 - 0] L. McCulloch
52` [1 - 1] M. Harewood
90` [1 - 2] N. Reo-Coker
