Seeing red: Liverpool tops Everton
London, England (Sports Network) - Despite an early red card issued to Steven Gerrard, Liverpool still managed to push past Everton, 3-1, Saturday to to pressure Manchester United for the Premiership's second place.
Gerrard was dismissed in just the 18th minute after a foul, leaving Liverpool shorthanded. But thanks to goals from Luis Garcia and Harry Kewell, respectively, and an own goal from Phil Neville, Liverpool was able to earn the victory at Anfield.
For now, Liverpool can enjoy the win and the promotion in the standings. The club has been in a long and intense battle with Manchester United for the runner-up spot.
The win marks the club's 19th of the season, which puts it in a tie for wins with Manchester United.
Neville's own goal opened the scoring just before the end of the first half. Neville headed in Xabi Alonso's corner into the Everton net to give Liverpool its first lead of the match.
In the second half, Liverpool proved to be the clear favorites. Garcia doubled the home team's lead in the 47th minute with a lob that found the back of the net.
The 2-0 lead held until the 51st minute, when Tim Cahill headed in Everton's first goal to cut the deficit to one.
But Kewell would provide the quick answer, with a goal 13 minutes later to nearly seal the win.
Overall, it was a rough 90 minutes for both teams, as three players were dismissed throughout the duration of the match. Following Gerrard's first half dismissal, Everton's Andy van der Meyde was dismissed in the second half.
For Everton, the loss is the club's 14th of the season.
In other league play Saturday, first place Chelsea moved closer to the league title with a 2-0 win over Manchester City at Stamford Bridge.
Didier Drogba scored both goals for the double to give Chelsea its 25th Premiership win. The first place club now has 78 points for a 14 point lead over second place Liverpool.
Drogba scored his first in the 30th minute and second in the 33rd to give Chelsea the quick lead. The second goal, however, sparked controversy amongst the Manchester City players, who argued there had been a handball on the play.
Also on Saturday; Aston Villa and Fulham finished in a scoreless draw; Blackburn edged Sunderland, 1-0; and West Ham scored twice against Wigan for the 2-1 win.
The Arseanl-Portsmouth match was postponed due to excess water on the Fratton Park field.
Comments
The referee in the Liverpool v. Everton should be banned from the EPL..
The GAME is between the players.. The ref should be an invisible part of the game, like the corner flags or goal posts.
This guy, had more face time than most of the players.. it's not the first time either.
Jerks like that need to be SENT OFF, and never heard from (or seen) again!
Posted by: DooDaa | March 28, 2006 10:56 AM
Liverpool stinks anyway.
Posted by: soccerGod | March 28, 2006 11:36 AM
If my problem was a Death Star, this atrilce is a photon torpedo.
Posted by: Gwenelda | August 3, 2011 05:26 PM