The Hindu : Sport / Football : Bummer for Liverpool

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Aug 31, 2004

Sport

Sport - Football

Bummer for Liverpool

LONDON, AUG. 30. Liverpool slumped to its first league defeat of the season on Sunday, surrendering a first-half goal at Bolton.

Kevin Davies scored in the 38th minute on a Henrik Pedersen cross, lifting Bolton into third place in the Premier League with nine points from four games. Arsenal and Chelsea lead with a maximum of 12 points each.

Liverpool suffered a blow early in the game when Davies backed into Sami Hyypia, injuring the Finnish defender and forcing him out of the game. There were reports his nose had been broken and he had difficulty with the vision in his right eye.

After an early attempt by Liverpool's Steven Gerrard went wide, Bolton took the lead on Davies' first goal of the season. He scored after Danish international Pedersen broke free of Gonzalez Josemi on the left and delivered a low cross.

"We're in third place and we can't ask for anything more than that," Davies said. "In the past two seasons we've struggled at the start but this time we've got off to a great start and there's the chance to take this forward."

In the 82nd, Liverpool midfielder Luis Garcia appeared to even the score, but the lifted pass from Spanish countryman Xabi Alonso was ruled offside.

On Saturday, Arsenal extended its record unbeaten run to 44 league matches with a 4-1 win at Norwich. Jose Antonio Reyes, Thierry Henry and Robert Pires each scored in the first half and Dennis Bergkamp added another as the Premier League champion captured its fourth straight win and retained the top spot.

Chelsea beat Southampton 2-1, but trailed the Gunners on goal difference in the standings. Alan Smith, meanwhile, scored a controversial late equaliser for Manchester United to draw 1-1 at Blackburn.

Ronaldo-Owen combo

In La Liga action from Spain, Ronaldo got Real Madrid off to a winning start on Sunday thanks to an accurate assist from new signing Michael Owen securing a 1-0 win over Mallorca.

Though Mallorca never lost heart and continued to surge forward for most of the match, Jose Antonio Camacho's first outing as Madrid coach was successful.

In a late match on Sunday FC Barcelona beat Racing de Santander 2-0 through a Ludovic Giuly tap-in and a controversial penalty by Samuel Eto'o.

Elsewhere it was Osasuna drew wtih Athletic de Bilbao 1-1; Zaragoza beat Getafe 3-1; Sevilla defeated Albacete 1-0 and Real Sociedad held Levante 1-1.

The powerhouse began slowly, with strikers Owen and Fernando Morientes on the bench and both its star central defenders Walter Samuel and Jonathan Woodgate injured and unable to play for the next three weeks.

In the 24th minute Madrid captain Raul Gonzalez jumped to challenge for a high ball and seemed to land awkwardly. He limped off almost immediately and Owen came on for his first game in a Madrid jersey.

The former Liverpool striker's first chance came 10 minutes later from a Luis Figo cross.

The Portuguese midfielder had caused the Mallorca defence problems on the right wing from the beginning. Owen's headed shot went just wide of the right post.

Madrid broke the deadlock in the 52nd minute when Owen centred an accurate ball from the right straight into the path of Ronaldo who improvised by chesting the ball into the net with deceptive ease.

David Beckham provided a perfect opportunity for Owen to increase the lead in the 60th minute with a trademark long pass, but the England striker fluffed his shot in the relatively long grass of the Mallorca field.

Santander's match against Barcelona attracted a large crowd eager to see how Frank Rijkaard's team would begin the season, although it was disappointing that Brazil star Ronaldinho could not play due to an ankle injury.

Swedish international striker Henrik Larsson came close in the 25th and 32nd minutes, but it was evident that Santander's Israel international goalkeeper Dudu Aguate was in excellent form, halting every chance in the first half.

French international Giuly finally beat the offside trap in the 68th minute and notched up the Catalan team's first goal.

Five minutes later Xavier `Xavi' Hernandez dived in the penalty area, fooled the referee and won an undeserved penalty for Barcelona which Cameroon international striker Eto'o coolly converted.

In another match Zaragoza made a stunning comeback after finding itself a goal down thanks to Jose Antonio's 17th minute strike for Getafe.

Brazil defender Alvaro Maior had an excellent night, finding the net in the 24th and 70th minutes, while his Brazil international teammate Savio Bartolini finished the job for Zaragoza in the 63rd.

This was Getafe's first ever match in the Primera Liga and a warning as to the level of competition it is likely to expect this season.

Levante, who last played in the Liga 40 years ago, was at least able to take a point from its match against Real Sociedad.

Bremen loses to Wolfsburg

In Bundesliga, Werder Bremen lost its perfect early-season record on Sunday when VfL Wolfsburg upset the defending champion 2-1, despite a late Bremen rally with a goal by German international Miroslav Klose.

Borussia Dortmund tied Hannover 96 1-1 in the day's other third-round game. Per Mertesacker scored in injury time to offset a 29th-minute goal by Dortmund's Czech international Tomas Rosicky.

The results:

EPL: Bolton 1 bt Liverpool 0; Arsenal 4 bt Norwich City 1; Aston Villa 4 bt Newcastle United 2; Chelsea 2 bt Southampton 1; Everton 2 bt West Bromwich Albion 1; Manchester City 4 bt Charlton 0; Middlesbrough 2 bt Crystal Palace 1; Tottenham Hotspur 1 bt Birmingham City 0; Blackburn Rovers 1 drew with Manchester United 1.

La Liga: Numancia 1 drew with Real Betis 1; Atletico Madrid 2 bt Malaga 0; Espanyol 1 bt Deportivo La Coruna 0; Real Madrid 1 bt Mallorca 0; Osasuna 1 drew with Athletic Bilbao 1; Zaragoza 3 bt Getafe 1; Sevilla 1 bt Albacete 0; Real Sociedad 1 drew with Levante 1; Barcelona 2 bt Racing Santander 0.

Bundesliga: Bayer Leverkusen 4 bt Bayern Munich 1; Hertha Berlin 1 drew with Mainz 05 1; Hamburger SV 4 bt FC Nuremberg 3; VfB Stuttgart 3 bt FC Kaiserslautern 2; SC Freiburg 1 drew with Borussia Meonchengladbach 1; VfL Bochum 2 bt Arminia Bielefeld 1; Hansa Rostock 2 bt Schalke 0; Borussia Dortmund 1 drew with Hannover 96 1; VfL Wolfsburg 2 bt Werder Bremen 1. — AP

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