Premier League round-up: Liverpool finish 2008 at No 1
| Newcastle |
|  |
| 1 - 5 |  | | Liverpool |
|
| David Edgar 45 |
| Steven Gerrard 31
|
|
| Sami Hyypia 36
|
|
| Ryan Babel 50
|
|
| Steven Gerrard 66
|
|
| Xabi Alonso(pen) 76
|
Liverpool ended the year atop of the
Premier League after an emphatic 5-1 victory over
Newcastle at St James' Park.
Straight from the kick-off Liverpool dominated the match as the Toon were so outclassed it was embarrassing. Without the brilliance of Shay Given, it could have been 7-0 with just 20 minutes gone.
Reds captain Steven Gerrard finally broke the deadlock on 31 minutes when he swept the ball home in off the post following a lovely interchange of passes between Javier Mascherano and Yossi Benayoun.
Five minutes later it was two. Sami Hyypiä, who had already gone close twice, rose above Fabricio Coloccini to head home a Gerrard corner.
But the Magpies rallied as David Edgar beat Hyypiä to head home Danny Guthrie’s corner at the near post on the stroke of half time.
However, the hosts' gameplan was in disarray again within five minutes of the restart when a string of Toon defenders failed to clear Gerrard's corner, leaving Ryan Babel to poke in from two yards.
Geremi, who came in for the injured Nicky Butt, whacked the bar with a free-kick moments later, but the result was put beyond doubt with 24 minutes remaining when Gerrard latched onto Lucas' pass before clipping a delicated shot over Given.
But Liverpool were still not finished. Substitute Xabi Alonso made it five from the penalty spot after fellow newcomer David N'Gog had been tripped by Edgar with 76 minutes gone.
 |
Clint Dempsey celebrates a goal with Fulham team-mates
Photo credit: The Sun |
| Fulham |
|  |
| 2 - 2 |  | | Chelsea |
|
| Clint Dempsey 10 |
| Frank Lampard 50
|
| Clint Dempsey 90 |
| Frank Lampard 72
|
Chelsea dropped two more crucial points to fall three behind leaders Liverpool as they were held to a 2-2 draw against battling Fulham at Craven Cottage.
The Blues have now dropped six points in their last four matches and will slide to third place if Manchester United win their three matches in hand.
Fulham were in front against their West London neighbours after just 10 minutes when John Obi Mikel failed to deal with Simon Davies' free-kick as it bounced in the six-yard box and Clint Dempsey controlled the ball on his chest before flicking it past Petr Čech.
Five minutes into the second half, Chelsea were level as Frank Lampard pounced on a mix-up between Aaron Hughes and goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer.
The travelling Blues fans booed Luiz Felipe Scolari's decision to haul off Joe Cole with chants of you don’t know what you’re doing, but they were soon cheered as Lampard rifled a 32-yard free-kick through the Fulham wall before bouncing past Schwarzer.
But Fulham refused to give up and they salvaged their nine-match unbeaten run right at the death when Dempsey popped up to head inside the far post from Davies’ corner.
Elsewhere in Premier League on Sunday:
| Bolton |
|  |
| 0 - 1 |  | | Wigan |
|
| Everton |
|  |
| 3 - 0 |  |
| Sunderland |
|
| West Brom |
|  |
| 2 - 0 |  | | Tottenham |
|
| West Ham |
|  |
| 2 - 1 |  | | Stoke |
|
| Blackburn |
|  |
| 2 - 2 |  |
| Man City |
|
Did you like our post? If so, please subscribe to our RSS feed to receive more updates. You can also subscribe by Email and enjoy our latest posts sent directly to your inbox. Thank you for reading!
Related links:
Also see:
Technorati tags:World soccer Soccer news Football news Premier League Liverpool Chelsea
