Rafa Benitez finally got some good news as Steven Gerrard's hat-trick helped Liverpool cruise into the FA Cup fourth round with a 5-0 win against crisis-ridden League One outfit Luton on Tuesday.
Benitez's position looks increasingly untenable after Liverpool's US owners admitted they held talks with Jurgen Klinsmann over the manager's job late last year.
But the Spaniard at least avoided an embarrassing third-round replay defeat thanks to Gerrard's treble and goals from Ryan Babel and Sami Hyypia at Anfield.
PHOTO: AP
Liverpool's stars ran riot in the second half and advanced to a tie against Conference South club Havant and Waterlooville or League One Swansea in the next round.
Luton had out-played and out-fought Liverpool for long periods when they drew 1-1 at Kenilworth Road. Benitez's side, captained by Jamie Carragher on his 500th appearance, didn't take them for granted this time.
The breakthrough arrived in first half stoppage time when Fernando Torres fed Babel and the Dutch winger's low shot arrowed home.
Gerrard scored from close range in the 52nd minute before Hyypia glanced in a header five minutes later.
A 64th minute strike from Gerrard made it four and the England midfielder completed his first hat-trick for over two years in the 72nd minute.
Benitez refused to be drawn on his future, saying: "I wasn't thinking much about it. We were really thinking about this game because we knew it was important to progress in the FA Cup. I'm really pleased because we won 5-0 and played a good game," added the implacable Spaniard.
Robbie Keane's 99th goal for Tottenham gave his side a 1-0 win at Reading.
Keane struck in the first half at the Madejski Stadium to earn Juande Ramos' men a trip to Manchester United.
Dimitar Berbatov was sidelined with flu as Ramos made five changes but Keane made sure the Bulgaria striker wasn't missed.
Spurs had the better of it from the moment Keane pounced from close range in the 15th minute. Younes Kaboul had driven Jermaine Jenas's corner against the crossbar and Keane was perfectly placed to slot home.
Managerless Bury stunned Norwich as the League Two side beat their Championship opponents 2-1 at Gigg Lane.
Bury sacked Chris Casper and director of soccer Keith Alexander on Monday and the decision appeared to work wonders.
Championship leaders West Bromwich held their nerve in a penalty shoot-out against Charlton to set up a fourth-round clash at Peterborough.
Tony Mowbray's team blew a two-goal lead as they were held 2-2 after extra-time at the Hawthorns, but Charlton missed two of their five spot-kicks in the shoot out and Albion won 4-3.
Millwall, 2004 FA Cup finalists, will travel to Coventry after beating League One rivals Walsall 2-1 at the New Den.
Kenny Jackett's side went ahead in the 15th minute when Ben May drove home from the edge of the area. Gary Alexander put Millwall in control when he scored four minutes into the second half.
Alex Nicholls pulled one back for the visitors in the 61st minute but it failed to stop Walsall suffering their first defeat in 19 matches.
Sheffield Wednesday's clash against Premiership tailenders Derby was postponed owing to a waterlogged pitch at Hillsborough.
Derby's fellow Premiership strugglers Fulham's trip to Bristol Rovers and Barnet's tie against Swindon suffered the same fate.
England soccer coach Fabio Capello is being investigated for tax fraud by prosecutors in the northern Italian city of Turin, a legal source said yesterday.
The source said the investigation had been going on for around a year and involved whether Capello should have been paying Italian taxes on money, earned from sponsors, which the coach was holding in Luxembourg.
Investigators have been looking at documents from the time Capello was coach of AS Roma between 1999 and 2004 and Juventus between 2004 and 2006.
The English FA issued a statement saying: "We have spoken to Fabio and his advisors about the newspaper reports in Italy. They have explained the facts. They have also given their assurances that Fabio's tax payments are in order. The FA has no further comment to make."
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping