Liverpool return from the dead
You can't buy class on the football pitch: it takes years of application before a team becomes more than the sum of its parts. Mark Hughes will be reflecting on this after Rafa Benitez's Liverpool staged a remarkable recovery to win 3-2 at Man City's Eastlands stadium after being 2-0 down at half time. "Some days in football are just golden," reports the Guardian. "For Liverpool, this was one of those rare occasions when everything came together and an admiring audience was left to wonder whether they might have the wit and gumption to sustain a genuine Premier League challenge rather than flit around the edges."
"The reaction we showed in the second half was fantastic. The character, the determination. The thing our players showed is that they always believe" Rafa Benitez raves about his red warriors
Chelsea slide into top gear
Aston Villa came to London and received a footballing lesson from Chelsea yesterday, who benevolently let the Villans return to Birmingham with just two goals past them. "The scoreline suggests respectability, but the actuality was different. This was as comprehensive as any victory by such a conventional margin could be. A 2-0 marmalising, a 2-0 whitewash, a 2-0 knockout and then some," reports the Times. "If Chelsea did not push on to record their biggest win under Luiz Felipe Scolari, it was only because so comprehensive was their superiority in the first half that the second was played as a glorified training exercise. Aston Villa’s only threat came as a result of an unusually hesitant display by John Terry at centre back, which may have been caused by a nagging back injury or anxiety at his latest defensive partner, the unconvincing Branislav Ivanovic."
Kinnear effect gets Toon going
The prospect of going into the dressing room at 2-0 down at half time to face their manager Joe Kinnear must have been too much for Newcastle's players, who conjured up a goal as their volcanic manager was making his way there. The subsequent equaliser in the second half may have owed something to the team talk, although Kinnear's joy at winning a point will be tempered by knowing all three were there for the taking against an Everton side still licking their wounds from going out of Europe in midweek. "Afterwards, Kinnear solemnly informed a television interviewer he was 'no longer interested' in talking to the press," reports the Daily Telegraph. "Yet five minutes later, he turned up to address the print media, claiming the remark had been 'a joke'."
Sheer Hull for Juande Ramos
Hull City must be seriously considering relocating to north London after back-to-back victories in the space of the week against the Tigers. The impact of the 1-0 home loss on Spurs boss Juande Ramos could be terminal though; "Seven games into his first full Barclays Premier League campaign and Ramos has not won once," the Daily Mail reports. "Not only is this a worse opening sequence than the one that go tMartin Jol sacked, it is worse than any Spurs manager since 1912, the year the Titanic went down. That sinking feeling is back. Tottenham are in crisis and the teams expected to occupy the places at the foot of the table are picking up points. Three more for Phil Brown’s Hull keeps them up where the air is rare."
Jo Pavey third in Great North Run
Jo Pavey almost became the first British runner since Paula Radcliffe in 2003 to win the world's largest half-marathon, the Great North Run, yesterday in Newcastle. "When she competed here last, in 2006, Pavey spent two hours needing medical treatment after almost not making it across the line," reports the Guardian. "This time, she led with 500 metres left and ended the race in third, losing out by two seconds as Gete Wami of Ethiopia won in 68 minutes and 51 seconds from Magdelane Mukunzi of Kenya in 68:52. Pavey's 68:53 was a personal best by 1:47 and it was enough to make her hungry for more."
"I learned a great deal today. I am still gaining experience in these long road races and this was a step in the right direction. The surges in the race were interesting" Interesting, Jo Pavey, and somewhat soul-destroying
Capello leaves out Owen again
Fabio Capello announced his squad yesterday for England's next two World Cup qualifiers, and the continuing absence of Michael Owen from the national set-up has led many observers to believe that the Newcastle striker's international career is over. "Michael Owen's future as an England player looked bleaker than ever last night after Fabio Capello excluded him from the squad for the World Cup qualifying matches against Kazakhstan and Belarus," writes Oliver Kay in the Times. "The forward has scored three goals in his past four appearances for Newcastle United, not to mention 40 in 89 matches for his country, but Capello has indicated that the 28-year-old's strike rate is 'not enough' to merit a recall." The full squad is: D James (Portsmouth), R Green (West Ham United), S Carson (West Bromwich Albion); W Brown (Manchester United), G Johnson (Portsmouth), J Terry (Chelsea), R Ferdinand (Manchester United), J Lescott (Everton), M Upson (West Ham United), A Cole (Chelsea), W Bridge (Chelsea); D Beckham (Los Angeles Galaxy), T Walcott (Arsenal), G Barry (Aston Villa), J Jenas (Tottenham Hotspur), F Lampard (Chelsea), S Gerrard (Liverpool), S Downing (Middlesbrough), S Wright-Phillips (Manchester City); E Heskey (Wigan Athletic), P Crouch (Portsmouth), W Rooney (Manchester United), J Defoe (Portsmouth).
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