Fernando Torres kept Liverpool’s dream of a first English league title in 19 years alive with a stoppage-time winner at Portsmouth, but Chelsea look dead and buried after yet another stumble.
Rafael Benitez’s side twice came from a goal down at Fratton Park before Torres, left on the bench until 15 minutes from time, met Yossi Benayoun’s cutback with a bullet header to seal a 3-2 win that lifted the Reds a point clear of Manchester United at the top of the table.
The champions have played two games less but the resilience displayed by Liverpool on Saturday suggests the title battle is far from over.
PHOTO: AP
“We showed character, determination to the end and desire,” said a relieved Benitez, who had gambled on starting first-team regulars Torres, Dirk Kuyt and Xavi Alonso on the bench on a day when he was missing injured captain Steven Gerrard. “We are in a good position and we are confident we can stay there. If we are near the top in the final month of the season, we can fight for the title.”
Chelsea, though, appear to be out of the reckoning after a goalless draw at home to Hull left Luiz Felipe Scolari’s side languishing in fourth place.
The Stamford Bridge stalemate meant the Blues have won just two of their last six matches in the league and enabled Aston Villa, 2-0 winners at Blackburn, to leapfrog them into third place.
If United won at West Ham yesterday, Chelsea would find themselves eight points adrift of the leaders having played a game more and the jeers of their own fans spoke volumes about the club’s decline.
Chelsea have now dropped 16 points at home this season and Scolari was conspicuous by his absence from the post-match inquest, leaving assistant Ray Wilkins to defend the man who guided Brazil to World Cup glory in 2002.
“People do pay a lot of money to watch football and if they want to boo then by all means come and boo,” Wilkins said. “But to say someone does not know what he is doing when he has achieved what he has in the game, is out of order.”
Brazilian striker Jo had a dream debut for Everton, who followed up their FA Cup win over Liverpool in midweek with a convincing 3-0 win over Bolton.
After winning the penalty that enabled Mikel Arteta to put his new club ahead five minutes before the break, Jo opened his Everton account four minutes after the break and then added a last-minute penalty of his own.
In one match since he signed on loan from Manchester City, the Brazilian has already scored twice as many goals as he managed in six months at City.
An equally impressive debut by Shay Given helped City pull a little further clear of trouble with a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough.
Boro enjoyed the better of the chances but were frustrated by a string of fine saves from the former Newcastle goalkeeper before Craig Bellamy sealed the points for City with a 51st-minute strike.
Newcastle handed ailing manager Joe Kinnear the perfect tonic with a 3-2 win at bottom side West Brom, their first victory in seven league matches.
Marc-Antoine Fortune canceled out Damien Duff’s second-minute opener, but the Magpies reclaimed the lead through Danish winger Peter Lovenkrands and Steven Taylor’s strike left them firmly in control at the break.
Fortune struck again in the 73rd minute to ensure a tense finale but Newcastle held out.
Wigan’s meeting with Fulham ended in a dour goalless stalemate while Sunderland took a big step towards survival with a 2-0 win over 10-man Stoke City.
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
‘SOURCE OF PRIDE’: Newspapers rushed out special editions and the government sent their congratulations as Shohei Ohtani became the first player to enter the 50-50 club Japan reacted with incredulity and pride yesterday after Shohei Ohtani became the first player in Major League Baseball to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. The Los Angeles Dodgers star from Japan made history with a seventh-inning homer in a 20-4 victory over the Marlins in Miami. “We would like to congratulate him from the bottom of our heart,” top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo. “We sincerely hope Mr Ohtani, who has already accomplished feat after feat and carved out a new era, will thrive further,” he added. The landmark achievement dominated Japanese morning news
Roger Federer on Wednesday said that staying involved with tennis in retirement helped him avoid feeling “like an alien” ahead of this week’s Laver Cup in Berlin. Federer, who helped create the tournament, retired at the Laver Cup in London two years ago and has since stayed involved with the competition as an ambassador. “I’m happy I went back right away to some tournaments,” the 43-year-old told reporters. “I feel I ripped the Band-Aid off quite quickly and when I walk around the tennis sites I still feel I belong there,” he said. “I don’t feel like an alien, which is a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or