Translated material
Shooting without missing a beat
Nobody in England can beat the Gunners
In the 11th round of the English Premier League, each club of the Big Four showed their best side, and Arsenal and Liverpool did it against each other.The game at Anfield Road overshadowed all the matches of the tour with its charisma. The last thing every football player saw as he emerged from the tunnel onto the field was the Liverpool emblem hanging on the wall above the passage. All the Reds players invariably had a hand in this place. It probably gives me strength.
Inspired by the club's symbols and the forty thousand spectators, Liverpool started stronger. Benitez's scheme is only defensive at first glance: in the center of the field there are two football armored trains, Alonso and Mascherano. However, in front of them is a whole group of football players whose task is one thing - to score. Tireless and persistent Kuyt, efficient and efficient Voronin, lightning-fast and technical Torres. But, of course, Gerrard scores, simply because he is better than everyone else.
A free kick in front of the goal, Arsenal goalkeeper Almunia's wall crumbled under Steve's kick, and the ball spun into the net with terrible force. Arsenal is a young team, but there is not a second of confusion in its actions. Liverpool, of course, moved back a little, slowly but surely losing the initiative to the guests. Consciously or because of someone else's efforts - it is impossible to guess. However, the game did not come down to a siege or Arsenal's unsuccessful attempts to break through Liverpool's defensive concrete. Having failed to score in two moments, in the last of which defender Hyypää cleared the ball out of an empty net, Arsenal cooled down a little, and the end of the half passed with Liverpool's advantage.
At half-time, the Reds replaced the limping Torres with Crouch, and the game rushed to the final. Arsenal completely came to their senses and acted with the usual extravagance of a genius. The shot hits the post - the conquered goalkeeper Reina lies on the lawn, and Fabregas stands in front of the empty goal. With Spanish carelessness, he tried to solve the episode with a touch and shot wide of the goal. Wenger's team has not yet experienced defeat this season, and in the 74th minute. The Frenchman made a double substitution: Gilberto and forward Bendter appeared. Young striker Walcott had been on the field for a long time by then.
The Gunners took risks, and Crouch ran away a couple of times to meet Almunia, but the visiting goalkeeper did not even think about letting in. Anfield was as hot as it could be, and the hot emotions of the spectators almost melted the plastic seats. The teams acted incredibly quickly throughout the match, mostly using one to three touches for each play action. It was hard to believe that the most important thing in such a tense game would happen in the last ten minutes.
Shooting wide of an empty goal, but scoring with one touch at your disposal, reaching for the ball in the twine - this is the style of Arsenal and its leader Fabregas. 1:1 - and Cesc hugs a handful of London fans, who, thanks to a miraculous coincidence, ended up opposite Reina's goal. The always pragmatic Liverpool forgot and ran to recoup, but Gerrard was unlucky, and the guests repeated their favorite number through the attack. The shot hits the post, Reina lays down and Fabregas misses the empty goal. Arsenal didn't lose again. Liverpool proved that the gaming crisis is not so serious.
A day earlier, the other two representatives of the Big Four played less formidable opponents. The degree of their weakness surprised many, especially those specialists who foreshadowed the consolidation of results by bringing the average to the level of the best. Manchester United confidently beat Middlesbrough at home. I would like to note another goal from Rooney and a double from Carlos Tevez, which not only sealed the defeat of the opponent with a score of 4:1, but also made it clear: the powerful combination of two short forwards is reaching its designed capacity.
Chelsea upset Manchester City in London. The Citizens had previously conceded more than one goal in only one championship match, which allowed the team to climb to third place in the table. Chelsea, in turn, is slowly finding its old football, which is being painted with new colors by new head coach Abraham Grant. Having invited their neighbors to visit, the “blues” dealt with them in a particularly cruel style. Six unanswered goals were scored by all attacking players in every possible way. After the game, the English press, represented by the boldest newspaper The Sun, joked: “Even Shevchenko scored. We repeat: Shevchenko scored.”
Not only the Big Four clubs, but also Bolton and Tottenham, were notable on the tour. They were united by a common grief - the resignation of coaches. Bolton are confidently at the bottom of the table next to the very depressed Derby. Wanderers management stopped tolerating Sam Lee and appointed Gary Megson instead. In the first match with the new coach, we managed to score a point against Aston Villa. The Birmingham team is still shaking, but this is a different club, and it lives in the middle of the table.
In Tottenham the story is more tragic. Lee has been underperforming at Bolton since his appointment at the end of last season. Martin Jol led Spurs and did it quite successfully. However, fate seemed to laugh at the Dutchman at the beginning of the season. The crisis of the team is not the work of Jol alone, but when a club, at least according to the owners, is aspiring to get into the Champions League, after ten rounds finds itself in third place from the bottom, it is almost impossible for the coach to stay in his place. Spaniard Hunde Ramos, who moved to London from Sevilla, will lead the Spurs. The impressive changes in the reporting round did not help Tottenham. With the real middle peasant Blackburn, angry and squeezing every effort out of the opponent, we must play to the end. Having taken the lead early in the second half, Spurs squandered the advantage and, at the very end, the victory. Ramos has a lot of work ahead of him.
Results. English Championship. 11th round. Chelsea - Manchester City - 6:0, Birmingham - Wigan - 3:2, Manchester United - Middlesbrough - 4:1, Sunderland - " Fulham - 1:1, Reading - Newcastle - 2:1, Portsmouth - West Ham - 0:0, Bolton - Aston Villa - 1: 1, Derby County - Everton - 0:2, Tottenham - Blackburn - 1:2, Liverpool - Arsenal - 1:1.
English Championship. Premier League
| 1. Arsenal | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 22--7 | 26 |
| 2. Manchester United | 11 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 19--4 | 26 |
| 3. Manchester City | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 15--13 | 22 |
| 4. Chelsea | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 16--8 | 21 |
| 5. Blackburn | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 15--9 | 21 |
| 6. Liverpool | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 17--6 | 20 |
| 7. Portsmouth | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 19--12 | 19 |
| 8. Newcastle | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 17--13 | 17 |
| 9. Everton | 11 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 15--13 | 16 |
| 10. Aston Villa | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 14--14 | 15 |
| 11. West Ham | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 12--9 | 14 |
| 12. Reading | 11 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 14--23 | 13 |
| 13. Birmingham | 11 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 11--15 | 11 |
| 14. Fulham | 11 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 13--17 | 9 |
| 15. Sunderland | 11 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 12--20 | 9 |
| 16. Wigan | 11 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 10--17 | 8 |
| 17. Middlesbrough | 11 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 11--22 | 8 |
| 18. Tottenham | 11 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 18--23 | 7 |
| 19. Bolton | 11 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 10--17 | 6 |
| 20. Derby County | 11 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 5--24 | 6 |