Premier League round-up: Chelsea move second as Liverpool and Arsenal held
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| Mido(pen) 83 | Yossi Benayoun 41 |
Liverpool dropped further points in their bid for a first Premier League title as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Wigan at JJB Stadium.
For the fourth successive match, Rafa Benítez's side failed to capitalise on their domination as they were held for the fifth time in seven league matches and now trail leaders Manchester United by two points.
Liverpool came close to taking an early lead when Fernando Torres' glancing header from a Steven Gerrard cross hit the inside of the post and across the goal to safety.
The home fans were screaming for a penalty when Martin Škrtel handled the ball with his arm, which looked accidental, but referee Phil Dowd was not interested.
The Reds promptly went straight down the other end and scored in the 41st minute as Javier Mascherano slid a ball through for Yossi Benayoun, who rounded Wigan keeper Mike Pollitt and drilled home his shot from virtually on the dead-ball line.
But with seven minutes to go, Wigan earned a penalty after Lucas crazily tripped Latics sub Jason Koumas in the penalty area. On-loan striker Mido stepped up to send Pepe Reina the wrong way from the spot.
It could have been much worse for the visitors as Wigan substitute Hugo Rodallega hit the bar with an injury-time free-kick.
Chelsea moved up to second place in the table after beating a stubborn but toothless Middlesbrough 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues almost opened the scoring on 13 minutes when a right-wing cross from José Bosingwa found Ashley Cole unmarked at the far post but his header was very much a defender’s effort as he put it into the side-netting and not between the posts.
Two minutes later, it was Michael Ballack who was came close as he curled a free-kick towards the corner only to see it skid on the wet surface and bounce off Ross Turnbull's chest.
Chelsea finally broke the deadlock after 58 minutes when David Wheater's clearance fell to Salomon Kalou who blasted home a volley from 10 yards.
The Ivorian made it 2-0 with his last act of the match as he rose unmarked to head home a corner from Frank Lampard after Middlesbrough goalkeeper Turnbull had completely missed the ball in the 80th minute.
Kalou, who again celebrated both of his goals with the handcuff gesture with both wrists crossed in front of him, was then substituted by Luiz Felipe Scolari.
Robin van Persie scored an injury-time equaliser to earn Arsenal a 1-1 draw against Everton at Goodison Park.
The hosts had emerged from a poor start to dominate the game, and were deservedly in the 61st minute when Leighton Baines crossed from the left and Tim Cahill rose powerfully to head beyond Manuel Almunia.
It was the Australian's 100th career goal as he has installed himself as Everton's top scorer this season since being moved into attack due to chronic injury problems in that department.
The Gunners responded with a strong van Persie header which provided Tim Howard with his first save of the night.
The Toffees looked like they had claimed all three points, but in the second minute of stoppage-time van Persie got on the end of a long ball from Abou Diaby and smashed a stunning volley past Howard.
In the end both these sides stretched unbeaten runs to nine matches - but Everton will wonder how they let victory slip from their grasp.
Elsewhere in Premier League on Wednesday:
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Technorati tags:World soccer Soccer news Football news Premier League Liverpool Chelsea Arsenal
For the fourth successive match, Rafa Benítez's side failed to capitalise on their domination as they were held for the fifth time in seven league matches and now trail leaders Manchester United by two points.
Liverpool came close to taking an early lead when Fernando Torres' glancing header from a Steven Gerrard cross hit the inside of the post and across the goal to safety.
The home fans were screaming for a penalty when Martin Škrtel handled the ball with his arm, which looked accidental, but referee Phil Dowd was not interested.
The Reds promptly went straight down the other end and scored in the 41st minute as Javier Mascherano slid a ball through for Yossi Benayoun, who rounded Wigan keeper Mike Pollitt and drilled home his shot from virtually on the dead-ball line.
But with seven minutes to go, Wigan earned a penalty after Lucas crazily tripped Latics sub Jason Koumas in the penalty area. On-loan striker Mido stepped up to send Pepe Reina the wrong way from the spot.
It could have been much worse for the visitors as Wigan substitute Hugo Rodallega hit the bar with an injury-time free-kick.
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| Chelsea forward Salomon Kalou heads the ball past Middlesbrough goalkeeper Ross Turnbull Photo: AP Photo/Alastair Grant |
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| Salomon Kalou 58 | ||||||||
| Salomon Kalou 80 |
Chelsea moved up to second place in the table after beating a stubborn but toothless Middlesbrough 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues almost opened the scoring on 13 minutes when a right-wing cross from José Bosingwa found Ashley Cole unmarked at the far post but his header was very much a defender’s effort as he put it into the side-netting and not between the posts.
Two minutes later, it was Michael Ballack who was came close as he curled a free-kick towards the corner only to see it skid on the wet surface and bounce off Ross Turnbull's chest.
Chelsea finally broke the deadlock after 58 minutes when David Wheater's clearance fell to Salomon Kalou who blasted home a volley from 10 yards.
The Ivorian made it 2-0 with his last act of the match as he rose unmarked to head home a corner from Frank Lampard after Middlesbrough goalkeeper Turnbull had completely missed the ball in the 80th minute.
Kalou, who again celebrated both of his goals with the handcuff gesture with both wrists crossed in front of him, was then substituted by Luiz Felipe Scolari.
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| Arsenal forward Robin van Persie waves to the travelling supporters after scoring the equaliser against Everton Photo: AFP/Paul Ellis |
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| Tim Cahill 61 | Robin van Persie 90 |
Robin van Persie scored an injury-time equaliser to earn Arsenal a 1-1 draw against Everton at Goodison Park.
The hosts had emerged from a poor start to dominate the game, and were deservedly in the 61st minute when Leighton Baines crossed from the left and Tim Cahill rose powerfully to head beyond Manuel Almunia.
It was the Australian's 100th career goal as he has installed himself as Everton's top scorer this season since being moved into attack due to chronic injury problems in that department.
The Gunners responded with a strong van Persie header which provided Tim Howard with his first save of the night.
The Toffees looked like they had claimed all three points, but in the second minute of stoppage-time van Persie got on the end of a long ball from Abou Diaby and smashed a stunning volley past Howard.
In the end both these sides stretched unbeaten runs to nine matches - but Everton will wonder how they let victory slip from their grasp.
Elsewhere in Premier League on Wednesday:
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Also see:
- Premier League round-up: Cahill denies Liverpool
- Premier League round-up: Dramatic wins for United and Chelsea
- Wenger: No deal over Arshavin's fee yet
- John Obi Mikel busted for drink driving
- Agger yet to receive new Liverpool deal
Technorati tags:World soccer Soccer news Football news Premier League Liverpool Chelsea Arsenal
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