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On Sunday, the remaining five matches of the 9th round of the English Premier League were played. In the eternal battle between "Man Utd" and "Liverpool", today the "Red Devils" triumphed, the "West Ham" club, currently at the bottom, experienced another defeat, "Middlesbrough" defeated "Newcastle" with a minimum score, "Blackburn" had to admit the superiority of "Bolton", and "Arsenal" crushed the newcomer "Reading".
All the attention on Sunday midday was focused on the "Old Trafford" stadium in Manchester, where two eternal rivals met: "Man Utd" and "Liverpool". The match started evenly. Sometimes one team would try to attack, sometimes the other. But the attacks did not stop at very dangerous moments.
One of the first more dangerous moments happened in the 18th minute, when after Michael Carrick's lifted corner, the "Liverpool" defenders failed to clear the ball from their penalty area, and the ball ended up with Louis Saha, whose shot was saved by the "Red Devils" goalkeeper Pepe Reina. Just five minutes later, L. Saha had a great chance, but his header was caught by P. Reina.
In the 29th minute, the visitors responded with an attack. One of the most active participants in the first half, Mark Gonzalez of "Liverpool," on the left side dealt with Rio Ferdinand's defense and passed the ball into the penalty area, where the ball "found" Dirk Kuyt's head, but the latter's shot was not very strong, so it was an easy catch for goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar. The game calmed down a bit and the players focused mostly on the midfield.
The turning point of the match came in the 39th minute, when Wayne Rooney passed the ball to the left to Ryan Giggs, who passed it to Paul Scholes, playing his 500th match in "Red Devils" jersey, and although his shot was blocked by P. Reina, on the second attempt the player sent the ball into the empty net from close range.
After the scored goal, the "United" players did not stop attacking. In the 41st minute, L. Saha struck a powerful shot from distance towards the bottom corner of the goal, which was stopped by the Spanish legionary P. Reina with his fingertips. After four minutes, the "Liverpool" defender Xabi Alonso missed a great chance, when his shot passed very close to the near post. The first half ended with the scoreboard showing a 1-0 lead for "Man Utd".
The second half was again more active from the hosts. Just two minutes into the second half, L. Saha's shot towards the far bottom corner was slightly inaccurate. After that, both teams did not create particularly dangerous moments.
Only in the 60th minute did the "Liverpool" attack follow. After the team captain Steven Gerrard's pass, Luis Garcia's header did not pose any problems for E. van der Saar. But after six minutes, the game reached its culmination.
In the 66th minute, after Ryan Giggs' pass from the left side, the "Red Devils" defenders again unsuccessfully tried to clear the ball, it bounced straight to R. Ferdinand's feet, and he technically flicked the ball into the center of the penalty area with his left foot into the upper left corner of P. Reina's goal. After the goal, the home team created another attack - R. Giggs on the left side "outwitted" several "Red Devils" defenders, but his deceptive shot caused no trouble for P. Reina, as the ball went over the crossbar.
At the end of the match, the initiative shifted to the "Liverpool" players, and in the 85th minute, after Jermaine Pennant's ball into the penalty area, Steven Gerrard's header threatened dangerously. With the referee adding three minutes, nothing extraordinary happened, and the final whistle signaled the seventh victory for the "Man Utd" club in these championships and a return to the top of the tournament table. Meanwhile, "Liverpool" maintained the 11th position.
In other matches, "Reading" faced off against the "Arsenal". The fans who gathered did not have to wait long for a goal. Already in the 1st minute, their favorites were forced to pull the ball out of the net, when the "Reading" goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann was beaten by a cross from the right by Cesc Fabregas to the attacking leader Thierry Henry, and he sent the ball into the upper right corner of the goal with a shot, leaving no chances for the "Reading" goalkeeper.
Even after scoring a goal, the visitors did not stop attacking their opponents. In the 8th minute, another shot by T. Henry from about 16 meters went wide. Three minutes later, F. Fabregas again threatened M. Hahnemann's goal. In the 21st minute, the new "Gunners" defender William Gallas had a chance, but his powerful shot was somehow gathered by the "Reading" goalkeeper M. Hahnemann.
But in the 38th minute, "Arsenal" scored their second goal. Tomas Rosicky broke through on the left side and passed the ball to his teammate Alexander Hleb, and the Belarusian legionnaire, without waiting, struck the ball into the upper corner of the goal, beating M. Hahnemann for the second time in these matches.
In the second half, the visitors pressed against the opponents' goal and scored their third goal. In the 49th minute, R. van Persie sent the ball into the lower corner after A. Hleb's pass from 10 meters. After the missed goal, the visitors did not let up, and in the 52nd minute they could have softened the result when Kevin Doyle headed the ball after James Harper's lifted corner, but he missed the goal. A minute later, "Arsenal" attacked the "Reading" goal: T. Henry's long shot was saved by M. Hahnemann, and T. Rosicky shot over the bar.
As the game calmed down, the 69th minute brought a penalty for "Arsenal", with the help of French national team striker T. Henry. C. Fabregas penetrated the "Reading" penalty area, where he was unlawfully stopped by goalkeeper M. Hahnemann. The referee awarded a penalty kick, and T. Henry, standing at the spot, sent the ball into the lower corner of the goal, leaving no doubt who was stronger in this match.
T. Rosicky's shot was saved by the "Reading" goalkeeper, but a few seconds later the attack continued, and M. Hahnemann made a great save on a powerful shot by T. Henry. In the 90th minute, T. Henry's long shot missed the target. But that was enough for the "Gunners" team, who after this victory returned to the top four strongest teams in England, while "Reading" dropped from 8th to 9th position.
In other matches in London, the local "Tottenham" faced the crisis-stricken "West Ham" club. The hosts started the match more aggressively, with Jermain Defoe's shot saved by the "West Ham" debutant goalkeeper Robert Green. But the only goal of the match was scored at the end of the first half when Mido sent the ball into the net of S. Harper's "Hammers" after a corner lifted by Edgar Davids. " The match ended in a minimal victory for "Tottenham" club, which helped them move from 14th place to 13th, while "West Ham" remains at the bottom of the league table.
In other matches, "Blackburn" and "Bolton" faced off. The first dangerous chance was for the "Bolton" players, as El Hadji Diouf missed the "Blackburn" goalpost after Nicolas Anelka's pass. After five minutes, "Blackburn" defender Morten Gamst Pedersen pressed the "Bolton" goal, but his shot was saved by Jussi Jaaskelainen. In the 35th minute, the "Bolton" goal was threatened by "Blackburn" players, but Shabani Nonda and Kerimoglu Tugay's shots were inaccurate.
In the beginning of the second half, K. Tugay attacked again. In the 53rd minute, Benni McCarthy's shot from the side was again saved by J. Jaaskelainen. This time also confirmed the golden rule of football: "if you don't score, you get scored on". In the 62nd minute, veteran Ivan Campo sent the ball into the bottom corner of Brado Friedel's "Blackburn" goal after E.H. Diouf's lifted corner was the highest among all.
At the end of the match, two penalty kicks were awarded against "Bolton". In the 86th minute, Jason Roberts was fouled in the penalty area and the referee immediately awarded a penalty. The most effective "Blackburn" player B. McCarthy stood at the penalty spot, but the direction of his ball was guessed with a fantastic jump by goalkeeper J. Jaaskelainen from Iceland.
Two minutes later, the same J. Roberts was again fouled near the penalty area, and for the second time the referee gave the "Blackburn" team a chance to equalize the score. The injured player himself tried to take the penalty kick, but today the king in the goal was J. Jaaskelainen, who defended the second eleven-meter penalty as well.
However, in the 90th minute, "Bolton" captain Kevin Nolan received a second yellow card and was sent off the field. But that didn't stop the "Bolton" team from earning their sixth victory and maintaining the third position, while "Blackburn" also remained in 10th place.
In the final match, "Middlesbrough" and "Newcastle" teams met. In this match, a goal was scored just 5 minutes before the end, when after Stewart Downing's lifted corner, the ball was headed into the "Sharks" goalkeeper Steve Harper's goal by Aiyegbeni Yakubu. Thanks to this victory, the "Boro" team moved from 15th place to 12th, while "Newcastle," struggling to find their game, occupies 16th place.
Results of Sunday's English Premier League matches:
"Man Utd" 2 – 0 "Liverpool"
39‘ [1 – 0] Paul Scholes
66‘ [2 – 0] Rio Ferdinand
"Reading" 0 – 4 "Arsenal"
1‘ [0 – 1] Thierry Henry
38‘ [0 – 2] Alexander Hleb
49‘ [0 – 3] Robin van Persie
69‘ [0 – 4] Thierry Henry (11 m.)
"Tottenham" 1 – 0 "West Ham"
45‘ [1 – 0] Mido
"Blackburn" 0 – 1 "Bolton"
62‘ [0 – 1] Ivan Campo
86‘ Benni McCarthy ("Blackburn") missed a penalty
88‘ Jason Roberts ("Blackburn") missed a penalty
90‘ Kevin Nolan ("Bolton") sent off
"Middlesbrough" 1 – 0 "Newcastle"
85‘ [1 – 0] Aiyegbeni Yakubu
Top scorers:
1-2. Andrew Johnson ("Everton")
Nwankwo Kanu ("Portsmouth") – 6 goals each
3-4. Darren Bent ("Charlton")
Didier Drogba ("Chelsea")
Thierry Henry ("Arsenal")
Bobby Zamora ("West Ham") – 5 goals each
5-6. Tim Cahill ("Everton")
Frank Lampard ("Chelsea")
Benni McCarthy ("Blackburn")
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer ("Man Utd")
Aiyegbeni Yakubu ("Middlesbrough") – 4 goals each
