Liverpool rallied for a 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough in the Premier League on Saturday, after missing a handful of chances and conceding Boro's first away goal in more than 13 hours.
Geremi broke Middlesbrough's goal drought in the 37th minute with an impressive free kick, curling the ball into the top left hand corner of the net, giving Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek little chance.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Reds midfielder John Arne Riise leveled in the 73rd minute. He collected a deflection from teammate El Hadji Diouf after Michael Owen had dodged through several Boro defenders in the box.
Owen, Sami Hyypia and Dietmar Hamman all had chances to score for Liverpool. Dudek then had to save twice in the final 10 minutes in a goalmouth scramble to deny Boro its first win at Anfield since 1976.
"I can't believe we didn't get more than a point. That is the way our luck seems to have been going," Liverpool assistant manager Phil Thompson said.
"It would have been an absolute travesty if we hadn't got something out of the game. We were playing against another Premiership team and we have absolutely dominated. We have not been able to put it in the back of the net but it is not for a want of trying."
Also Saturday, the return of West Ham midfielder Lee Bowyer to former club Leeds ended in a 1-0 defeat. Seth Johnson scored in the 20th minute for Leeds from a Gary Kelly cross -- his first goal for Leeds since arriving at the club 16 months ago.
West Ham had Freddie Kanoute sent off in the 70th minute for violent conduct.
Bowyer, who joined West Ham on Jan. 8, was jeered throughout by the crowd as he made his return to Elland Road where he spent 6 1/2 years as a player.
Liverpool was dumped out of the FA Cup midweek in a 2-0 loss to first division Crystal Palace. Boro had lost five of its last six games in all competitions.
Geremi's goal ended a 13 hour, 9 minute away-goal drought for midtable Middlesbrough dating back to September.
"The most important thing was the performance, showing character and attitude," Middlesbrough manager Steve McClaren said. "Once we conceded the equalizer it was a test for our players and we came through it."
Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier missed the match after being diagnosed with gastroenteritis, leaving Thompson to take charge.
Tottenham moved two places up to seventh with its 4-1 win over Sunderland with goals from Gustavo Poyet, Gary Doherty, Simon Davies and Teddy Sheringham, who scored his 300th goal in English soccer.
"That was a great moment for Teddy," Spurs manager Glenn Hoddle said. "It is a fantastic milestone for him to score 300 goals from his first at Millwall to now -- it is a wonderful achievement."
Chelsea ended its three game away losing streak to deny Birmingham its first win of the year. Chelsea won with goals from Gianfranco Zola, Eidur Gudjohnsen and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and a fine performance from 'keeper Carlo Cudicini.
"The first goal was always going to be very important and Birmingham put us under pressure in the first half," Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri said.
"But after we had got the second goal it was very difficult for them. We retained possession of the ball very well and became more relaxed."
Yesterday, Manchester United played Manchester City and Newcastle played Arsenal.
Italian Serie A
Italian champions Juventus kept up the pressure on AC Milan and Inter Milan at the top of Serie A with a 1-0 win over Empoli in Turin on Saturday.
Before the match Juve coach Marcello Lippi said he feared the absence of striker Alessandro Del Piero, who has a thigh injury, could result in a slip-up like their 1-1 draw with Atalanta last week.
Their nerves were steadied, however, in the seventh minute when the referee awarded them a penalty after Empoli's Brazilian defender Cribari handled the ball in the area. Juve striker David Trezeguet converted from the spot.
The visitors were reduced to defending for long periods of the first half, but in the 24th minute a swift counter-attack forced Juventus keeper Gianluigi Buffon to stifle the ball in front of striker Tommaso Rocchi.
The win means Juve join the two Milan-based teams at the top of Serie A on 42 points, though both Inter and AC, at home to Reggina and away to Perugia respectively on Sunday, have a game in hand.
French First Division
A brilliant overhead kick by the Ivory Coast's Ibrahima Bakayoko helped Olympique Marseille to a 2-0 win at AC Ajaccio on Saturday as the Mediterranean team moved to the top of the French first division.
Marseille wrapped up the win with a second-half penalty converted by Lamine Sakho and moved onto 48 points, two clear of Monaco, who were held to a goalless draw at Stade Rennes.
Bakayoko's finishing has been criticized after he had scored just six goals this season. But his seventh, in the 35th minute of a one-sided game, was a masterpiece.
Defender Johnny Ecker crossed for captain Frank Leboeuf, who deflected the ball into Ajaccio's box with a little nod of the head. A cunning bicycle kick from Bakayoko sent the ball into the far corner of Stephane Trevisan's net.
"It was a nice goal. It's always great for a striker to score goals like this," he said.
Marseille could not have dreamt of a more perfect script as rivals Monaco, who had won their last three, failed to score at Rennes, though they stretched their unbeaten run to 11 games.
Nice stayed in contention at the top of the standings after moving up to third with a brave 2-2 draw against Sochaux despite having key defender Jose Cobos sent off just before the break.
Spanish First Division
Zinedine Zidane, making his 50th league appearance for Real Madrid, netted his team's third goal Saturday in a 4-1 come-from-behind victory over Real Betis in the 21st round of the Spanish league.
Star players Raul Gonzalez, Luis Figo and Ronaldo also scored to give the European champion its first win in four league games after Betis midfielder Fernando Fernandez scored to give his team a 1-0 lead.
Madrid, in second place, trails league leader Real Sociedad by one. Sociedad hosted Espanyol yesterday.
At the top of the table, Sociedad has 43 points, with Madrid on 42. Valencia is next with 38 points, while Deportivo de La Coruna is fourth with 35 and Betis stays fifth with 33, three ahead of Celta de Vigo.
Madrid's victory extended its undefeated league run to 15 matches. It has not been beaten at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in the league since November 2000.
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