Unexpected failure of "Liverpool" in the English "Premier" League

2006-10-01 00:52 © EuroFootball.com

On Saturday, five matches of the 7th round of the English Premier League were played. The winning streak of "Liverpool", who had been performing better in matches, was ended this time by "Bolton" club, champions "Chelsea" lost two points in the match against "Aston Villa", "Arsenal" won after a tough fight against struggling "Charlton", "Everton" let victory slip away in the final minutes in the match against "Man City", and the first victory in this season's championship was achieved by the footballers of "Sheffield Utd".

The seventh round of the Premier League opened with a match in Bolton, where the local "Bolton" faced "Liverpool". The first danger came at the hosts' goal when Steven Gerrard lifted the ball to Dirk Kuyt with a penalty kick, but his header was well saved by "Bolton" goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen. After four minutes, John Arne Riise had a chance but his shot missed the target. In the 20th minute, Craig Bellamy broke through on the left and passed the ball into the penalty area, but it was poorly cleared by "Trotters" defender Tal Ben Haim and the ball bounced straight to Xabi Alonso, who immediately sent the ball into the net.

"Liverpool" attacked, but it was "Bolton" who scored - in the 30th minute, after veteran Gary Speed's well-executed penalty kick into the far corner of the net, "Reds" goalkeeper Pepe Reina had to retrieve the ball from his own net. At the end of the first half, S. Gerrard had a great chance to equalize, but his shot was saved by the reliable J. Jaaskelainen. With one minute left to play, after Kevin Davies' shot, the ball was cleared from the goal line by "Liverpool" defender Jamie Carragher.

At the start of the second half, the second goal of the match was scored. K. Davies lifted the ball into the penalty area from the right, bypassing his opponent Steve Finnan, former Real Madrid defender Ivan Campo jumped the highest and headed the ball that ricocheted off the crossbar into the goal.

After the missed goal, "Liverpool" could not find its game, and in the 64th minute, Nicolas Anelka had a great chance, but the ball was caught by P. Reina. Six minutes later, the visitors attacked dangerously when Luis Garcia passed the ball to his teammate J. A. Riise, but his shot went over the crossbar. In the 76th minute, J. Jaaskelainen saved "Bolton" twice, first deflecting L. Garcia's long shot and then failing to score the rebound by C. Bellamy.

With 10 minutes left to play, after a ball thrown out by C. Bellamy, P. Reina tried to lob N. Anelka, but the experienced Spaniard did his job impeccably. In the remaining time, the visitors from Liverpool failed to snatch even a point in this match, and this defeat pushed Rafa Benitez's proteges to the tenth position, while "Bolton" climbed to the second place in the table with 14 points.

The most intriguing match took place in London, where the defending champions "Chelsea" clashed with the Birmingham-based "Aston Villa". Just two minutes after the start, "Villa" conceded the first goal. After Frank Lampard's perfectly executed penalty kick into the penalty area, the ball found the head of John Terry, the home team's captain, who passed it to Didier Drogba, who scored from a few meters after a rough mistake by the opponents.

Four minutes later, F. Lampard took the ball from Liam Ridgewell and sent it next to the post. After eight minutes of the break, the visitors responded with an attack - Stilian Petrov, after "bathing" the two "Blues" defenders, struck very powerfully, but Petr Cech defended the goal superbly. In the 17th minute of the match, "Villa" captain Gareth Barry passed the ball to Juan Pablo Angel after a corner kick, but the latter's shot went over the crossbar. Just two minutes later, Thomas Sorensen was tested by "Chelsea", when Arjen Robben, who had tricked the "Villa" defender on the left, invaded the penalty area and passed the ball to F. Lampard, but his shot was saved by the "Aston Villa" goalkeeper.

In the 27th minute of the match, after a corner kick lifted by F. Lampard, Michael Essien headed dangerously, but T. Sorensen neutralized the danger without difficulty. Moments later, M. Essien tried his luck from a distance, but the ball went straight into T. Sorensen's hands. In the first half, the reigning "Chelsea" showed some weaknesses, and it cost them a goal.

In the 44th minute, after G. Barry's corner kick, the "Blues" defenders cleared it from the penalty area accesses, but the ball reached defender Steven Davis, who sent it to Gabriel Agbonlahor, who just had to "shoot" at the helpless P. Cech. In additional time after the substitution, Milan Baros appeared on the field and sent the ball to the center of the penalty area, but his shot was saved by "Chelsea" goalkeeper P. Cech.

The hosts started the second half actively. Breaking through on the right, Geremi passed the ball to D. Drogba, but his shot was not strong enough, and this time S. Carson had no trouble. In the 53rd minute, A. Robben struck from a very acute angle on the left, and the ball passed over the crossbar of the far goal.

In the last twenty minutes of the match, "Chelsea" controlled the game. Shaun Wright-Phillips, who appeared after the substitution, received a pass from F. Lampard, outsmarted a defender, and with a powerful shot rattled the "Villa" goalpost. In the 71st minute, the same S.W. Phillips had another chance to score, but he failed to hit the empty goal. Two minutes later, Andriy Shevchenko also spoke up: his long-range shot missed next to the goalpost.

Three minutes later, the "Chelsea" goal was threatened by the same A. Shevchenko, but his low shot aimed at the far goalpost was fantastically saved by the Danish legionnaire. However, with two minutes left until the end of the match, the chance was missed by J.P. Angel, who, after receiving a pass from M. Baros, failed to direct the ball towards P. Cech's goal. With the referee adding four minutes, "Chelsea" attacked more and more, and in the last minute, after F. Lampard's corner kick, Salomon Kalou headed wide.

Another match took place in London as well, where local "Charlton" hosted "Arsenal". Danger arose in the 16th minute of the match when Thierry Henry lifted the ball to young Cesc Fabregas, but his shot went over the goal. In the 21st minute, the first goal of the match was scored, by the "Charlton" team. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink passed the ball to Darren Bent, and after a long break, he scored his fourth championship goal by sending the ball into the crossbar, which went into Jens Lehmann's net. In the 32nd minute, Alexander Hleb lifted the ball perfectly into the penalty area, and Dutchman Robin van Persie headed the ball into the net.

In the second half, the goal for the spectators did not have to wait long. Emmanuel Eboue lifted the ball, and R. van Persie sent it into the top corner of Scott Carson's goal with a superb shot. In the 58th minute, T. Henry had a chance to score, but his shot was saved by S. Carson. Ten minutes later, the hosts responded with an attack when J.F. Hasselbaink's shot from the ground was saved by J. Lehmann.

In the 72nd minute, after D. Bent's shot, the ball hit William Gallas' hand, but the referee's whistle remained silent this time. Three minutes later, J.F. Hasselbaink tested J. Lehmann's alertness again. A minute later, the guests attacked: T. Henry's long shot just missed very close to the crossbar. In the 80th minute, C. Fabregas' header into the far corner was slightly off target. It was the last dangerous attack of this match, and this victory for "Arsenal" helped them rise to the 7th place, while the tragically-seeming "Charlton" dropped to the bottom of the table.

In other matches, "Everton" and "Man City" clubs faced each other. In the second half, the hosts, who were leading, had to settle for a draw. The first goal of the match was scored by the most productive player of "Everton" and the Premier League, Andrew Johnson, when he sent the ball into the net at the end of the first half. With the seconds ticking in the match, an equalizing goal was scored by "Man City" defender Micah Richards.

In the late Saturday matches, the bottom-ranked "Sheffield Utd" club hosted "Middlesbrough" at home. The newcomers took the lead after a precise shot from Rob Hulse. At the beginning of the second half, "Middlesbrough" and Nigerian striker Yakubu equalized the score, and it was only in the added time of the referee that "Sheffield Utd" managed to win their first victory in these English championships: the winning goal was scored by the culprit of the previous round, Phil Jagielka, who sent the ball into his own net last round, but this time he hit where it counts and gave his team a very important victory.

Results of the Saturday matches in the English Premier League:

"Bolton" 2 - 0 "Liverpool"

30‘ [1 - 0] Garry Speed

51‘ [2 - 0] Ivan Campo

"Chelsea" 1 - 1 "Aston Villa"

2‘ [1 - 0] Dider Drogba

44‘ [1 - 1] Gabriel Agbonlahor

"Charlton" 1 - 2 "Arsenal"

21‘ [1 - 0] Darren Bent

32‘ [1 - 1] Robin van Persie

49‘[1 - 2] Robin van Persie

"Everton" 1 - 1 "Man City"