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On Saturday, six matches of the 18th round of the English Premier League championship took place. "Liverpool" clinched another impressive victory, "Arsenal" managed to equalize in a match against "Portsmouth" after being down by two goals, "Newcastle" continued their successful streak by defeating "Watford", and "Blackburn", "Sheffield Utd", and "Bolton" secured wins away from home.
In the early matches of the day, one of the championship underdogs, "Charlton" club, faced "Liverpool" coached by Rafael Benitez. The visitors from Liverpool took the lead in the 2nd minute of the match when "Charlton" defender Djimi Traore committed a foul in the penalty area against "Reds" midfielder Jermaine Pennant, resulting in a penalty kick. Xabi Alonso calmly took the shot and put his team ahead.
After 20 minutes, the visitors could have doubled their lead when Craig Bellamy beat the home team's goalkeeper Thomas Myhre but defender Talal El-Karkhouri was there to clear the ball off the goal line. Later, Dirk Kuyt set up a chance for C. Bellamy, who lifted the ball towards the far post, and J. Pennant's shot was once again blocked by D. Traore.
"Charlton" had their chances as well - Hermann Hreidarsson missed an empty net after an Andy Reid pass. A little later, "Liverpool" forward D. Kuyt also missed a chance, testing T. Myhre's alertness with long-range shots, while X. Alonso and team captain Steven Gerrard also tried their luck with shots.
Approaching the end of the match, D. Kuyt scored after a chance created by C. Bellamy. However, in the 82nd minute, an active C. Bellamy scored himself by sending the ball into the "Charlton" goal without stopping, securing the victory for "Liverpool". Just two minutes later, S. Gerrard scored the third goal of the season in the English championship for his team.
After this resounding victory, "Liverpool" moved up to third place, while "Charlton" remained in 19th place.
At the "Emirates" Stadium in London, the neighbors in the league table, "Arsenal" and "Portsmouth," faced each other. The first danger in front of the "Pompey" goal came in the 2nd minute when Robin van Persie's header after an Emmanuel Eboue pass from the right was well saved by David James. A few minutes later, "Portsmouth" defender Glen Johnson attempted a shot from about 30 meters, but Jens Lehmann had no trouble dealing with it.
The game was mostly controlled by the "Gunners" team, but "Portsmouth" also tried to threaten the "Arsenal" defense from time to time. After a longer break, Ces Fabregas' shot was parried by D. James in the 23rd minute, and R. van Persie couldn't convert it for a second time. It seemed like the first half would end goalless, but in added time, a header by Noe Pamarot put the visitors ahead unexpectedly.
In the second half, just a minute into it, another goal fell into J. Lehmann's goal. M. Taylor, who scored a goal from almost the middle of the pitch in the previous round, this time delivered another impressive goal - a left-footed shot into the top corner.
However, "Arsenal" didn't plan to surrender, and a minute later, a shot by Alexandr Hleb was caught by D. James, and in the 57th minute, after a substitution, Togo national team striker Emmanuel Adebayor managed to reduce the deficit with a close-range shot.
The "Gunners," inspired by the goal, managed to equalize after a few minutes when Gilberto Silva sent the ball into the net from the edge of the penalty box. The home team did not stop pressing their opponents, and in the 69th minute, R. van Persie's shot was saved from close range by the "Portsmouth" defenders. At the end of the match, G. Speed and R. van Persie both had opportunities to score but failed to do so.
After these productive draws, "Arsenal" moved up one place to fifth, while "Portsmouth" climbed to sixth.
In another match of the 18th round, the rising "Newcastle" hosted league newcomers "Watford" at home. The first half seemed dull, with "Watford" players Darius Henderson and Jordan Stewart's shots being saved by "Magpies" goalkeeper Shay Given.
In the second half, the visitors started more aggressively, with Alhassan Bangura and Hameur Bouazza failing to capitalize on opportunities. However, the home team got the first goal of the match when Obafemi Martins, a Nigerian forward, headed the ball into the net after a pass from James Milner from the right wing. Despite "Watford" equalizing through H. Bouazza, O. Martins secured the victory for his team with his sixth goal in the season.
After this fourth win in the last five matches, "Newcastle" moved up to 12th place from 14th, while "Watford" remains the absolute bottom of the league.
At the "Madejski" Stadium, "Reading" and "Blackburn" teams faced each other. The home team took the lead when James Harper sent the ball into the net from outside the penalty area. However, "Blackburn" refused to give up, and after Benni McCarthy equalized, David Bentley secured the victory in the 84th minute with a superb long-range shot.
In the match between "Wigan" and "Sheffield United," the only goal of the game came just before half-time when the most prolific "Sheffield United" player, Rob Hulse, headed the ball into the near post after a pass from Stephen Quinn.
The victory for "Sheffield United," their third away win of the season, saw them move from 17th to 14th place, while "Wigan" remained in 11th.
In the evening matches, Birmingham's "Aston Villa" and "Bolton" faced each other. The match's outcome was decided in the 75th minute when "Aston Villa" defender Stilian Petrov fouled "Wanderers" forward Nicolas Anelka in the penalty area, leading to a penalty converted by veteran Gary Speed. With the win, "Bolton" maintained their 5th place, while "Aston Villa" dropped to 8th.
Saturday's English Premier League results:
"Charlton" 0 - 3 "Liverpool" 3‘ [0 - 1] Xabi Alonso (pen.) 82‘ [0 - 2] Craig Bellamy 88‘ [0 - 3] Steven Gerrard
"Arsenal" 2 - 2 "Portsmouth" 45+1‘ [0 - 1] Noe Pamarot 47‘ [0 - 2] Matthew Taylor 57‘ [1 - 2] Emmaneul Adebayor 60‘ [2 - 2] Gilberto Silva
"Newcastle" 2 - 1 "Watford" 49‘ [1 - 0] Obafemi Martins 57‘ [1 - 1] Hameur Bouazza 85‘ [2 - 1] Obafemi Martins
"Reading" 1 - 2 "Blackburn" 41‘ [1 - 0] James Harper 64‘ [1 - 1] Benni McCarthy 84‘ [2 - 1] David Bentley
"Wigan" 0 - 1 "Sheffield United" 45‘ [0 - 1] Rob Hulse
"Aston Villa" 0 - 1 "Bolton" 75‘ [0 - 1] Gary Speed (pen.)
Top scorers: 1-2. Didier Drogba ("Chelsea") Nwankwo Kanu ("Portsmouth") - 9 goals each 3-4. Wayne Rooney ("Man Utd") Kevin Doyle ("Reading") Louis Saha ("Man Utd") - 8 goals each 5-6. Thiery Henry ("Arsenal") Obafemi Martins ("Newcastle") Henri Camara ("Wigan") - 6 goals each
