Category Archives: SPORTS

Brendan Rodgers has hailed Jordan Henderson after the Liverpool midfielder’s goal sealed a second successive Barclays Premier League victory on Tuesday.

Henderson slotted in the third in the Reds’ 3-1 win at Leicester City and led them to a 1-0 success at home to Stoke City in their previous BPL encounter, with first-choice captain Steven Gerrard on the bench.

Rodgers’ side are in eighth after recovering from three defeats in a row and face Henderson’s former club Sunderland at Anfield on Saturday.

“Jordan is a very important player for us,” Rodgers said. “Everyone has seen in the last season and a half, how much his stature has grown in the team. It’s interesting how he plays off the side role that we’ve given him around the corners of midfield. His ability to run and get beyond gives him and the team a chance to get goals.

“His game is growing all the time. He’s a fantastic lad and it was a great honour for him to lead the team out against Stoke.”

‘Difficult place to go”

Arsene Wenger has urged Arsenal to continue the progress they have made.

Arsenal secured their third consecutive victory in all competitions when Alexis Sanchez’s ninth Barclays Premier League goal earned a 1-0 triumph over Southampton on Wednesday.

Arsenal now look to secure a first win at the Britannia Stadium since February 2010, and Wenger is grateful his side can head into two-week spell of four matches knowing they have qualified for the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League with a trip to Galatasaray next Tuesday.

“It is a very important period but one thing is for sure: we are not under huge pressure for game number six in the Champions League,” Wenger told arsenal.com. “At least we are not under massive pressure there so let’s focus on our next game at Stoke. It is a difficult place for us to go but let’s show there that we have improved and we can deal with it.”

Neil Warnock wants a repeat of Crystal Palace‘s display at Swansea City when they face Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane on Saturday. Palace came from behind to secure a 1-1 draw at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday, but followed that up with a defeat at home to Aston Villa and are one point above the relegation zone in 15th.

Spurs lost 3-0 at Chelsea on Wednesday after beating Everton three days earlier and Warnock knows Palace will have to raise their game against Mauricio Pochettino’s men.

“They played ever so well against Everton in the last home match and 20 minutes [at Chelsea],” he said. “I don’t think 3-0 was a true reflection.

“Every game is difficult in this league and when you go to one of the top-half sides expectations are far greater with all the home teams, but we have to compete and try and give them a good game like we did at Swansea.”

Harry Redknapp believes Queens Park Rangers can draw on their fine home form this season as they face fellow promoted club Burnley at Loftus Road.

Both clubs are in the relegation zone but just six points separate the bottom nine teams, and QPR’s 11 points this season have all come at Loftus Road.

“There’s not much in it,” Redknapp said. “You look at the teams, Burnley are very much the same team [as last season], [manager] Sean [Dyche] did an amazing job with them.

“I’ve been impressed with him, he’s done a smashing job. They’ve got goals in the team with [Danny] Ings, but we’re at home and we’re very good at home.”

‘Defining month’

Steve Bruce is determined to begin a “defining month” for Hull City in style when West Bromwich Albion visit the KC Stadium. Hull ended a run of four successive defeats with a 1-1 draw at Everton on Wednesday, a result that kept the Tigers out of the bottom three on goal difference. They are a place and a point behind West Brom and Bruce is keen for his players to build on that performance at Goodison Park.

“That performance [against Everton] was a bit more like what I’ve been used to seeing over the last two-and-a-half years,” Bruce told hullcitytigers.com. “I hope that gives everybody a lift. We’ve got a huge month coming up now. For me, this is the defining month of the season.”

You can follow all the Barclays Premier League action as it unfolds in our Carlsberg Live Match Centre at live.premierleague.com.

Saturday’s 3pm kick-offs

Hull City v West Bromwich Albion

Liverpool v Sunderland 

Queens Park Rangers v Burnley 

Stoke City v Arsenal 

Tottenham Hotspur v Crystal Palace 

spource: premierleague.com

Central Coast Mariners’ Joshua Rose and Melbourne Victory’s Besart Berisha fight for possession of the ball during their round nine A-League match at North Sydney Oval in Sydney on Friday. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

  A ruthless Melbourne Victory have underlined their A-League premiership credentials with a 3-0 win over the struggling Central Coast Mariners at North Sydney Oval.

Three goals in 11 minutes in the second-half sealed the points but the final scoreline was harsh on the Mariners, who were holding their own against Kevin Muscat’s side for an hour before being undone by three high quality goals.

Besart Berisha, opened the scoring in the 61st minute on Friday night, with Daniel Georgievski then adding the second with goal of the season contender.

Substitute Connor Pain scored a third to wrap up the win and preserve his side’s unbeaten record, leaving the second-placed Victory just one point behind leaders Perth Glory.

Muscat expressed concerns about the pitch before the game, but they proved to be unfounded as both sides played their part in a breathless opening 15 minutes on a slippery surface.

The visitors looked the more threatening early on with the outstanding Fahid Ben Khalfallah pulling the strings in midfield and the evergreen Archie Thompson and Berisha causing all sorts of problems with their movement in the box.

Berisha and Kosta Barborouses showed signs of intent with efforts that went over the bar, but the Mariners started to come into the game with the returning Matt Simon giving the hosts some presence in attack.

Hungarian midfielder Richard Vernes clipped the top of the net with a decent free-kick and Victory right-back Jason Geria rescued his side with a superb last-ditch tackle to take the ball off the toes of Nick Fitzgerald just inside the box.

The second period started at a far more sedate pace to the first before Berisha showed his striker’s instinct just after the hour mark to beat Liam Reddy with a low drive after being superbly teed up by Thompson.

Vernes had a golden opportunity to restore parity almost immediately when he latched onto a Anthony Caceres pass, but his first-time volley flashed just over the crossbar.

But the game was turned on its head by left-back Georgievski who dispossessed Nick Montgomery just outside the box then bent a magnificent effort into the top right-hand corner of Reddy’s net.

The strike knocked the stuffing out of Phil Moss’ side and Paine took advantage of some slack marking to give Reddy no chance from close range from a low Barborouses cross.

Caceres went close to grabbing a consolation in the final minute but his 25m thunderbolt hit the side-netting.

Muscat said the decision of Mariners owner Mike Charlesworth to move the game to North Sydney Oval had taken the game back two decades.

Muscat and opposing coach Phil Moss said both sides struggled to play through the middle of the pitch where the cricket wicket is usually situated and the Victory boss said the surroundings were not suitable for A-League matches.

“Throughout the week I only raised the issues because I was genuinely concerned,” Muscat said. “Football has gone back 20 years tonight playing on a cricket pitch.

“But I will say the groundsman did a remarkable job getting it in the condition it was in.

“In this day and age the steps we have taken forward as a code … we have taken a backward step tonight.”

Mariners boss Moss admitted it was tough for his team to play away from their usual base at Central Coast Stadium but said it was Charlesworth’s right to switch games.

“Our home ground is Central Coast Stadium and we’re proud to be the Central Coast Mariners,” he said.

“It’s difficult to come and play somewhere else but our owner wants to enlarge the footprint of the club and tap into the 20 per cent membership down here. He’s got every right to do that, he’s put a lot of money into the club.

“We have to go out and play good football and win games.”

source: theguardian.com

Undinese recruit Panos Armenakas (center bottom) made the squad.

It follows two more defeats against Brazil and the USA, despite some positive play.

Four out of the eleven playing in the US friendlies were talented Greek Australians, with Panos Armenakas, Kosta Petratos, Peter Kekeris and Perry Fotakopoulos making an impact in the team’s last match.

The Joeys drastically improved from the 4-0 thrashing against Brazil earlier in the week, and were able to equalise after being one goal down thanks to some expert footwork by Peter Kekeris who set up the goal for Cameron Joice.

Sadly, with another goal by England, there wasn’t enough time to give the Aussies a chance to equalise again.

Despite the losses, coach Tony Vidmar should be happy with the team’s efforts. Losing to some of the worlds best isn’t such a bad thing, and is great preparation for next year’s FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Chile.

A faltering Olympiakos and a cruising PAOK is making for an exciting title race.

Panathinaikos scored a hard-fought win at Panetolikos on Thursday to close the gap from Super League leader PAOK to six points and to just one point from perennial rival Olympiakos.

The Greens scored their first win at Panetolikos in almost four decades thanks to an 81st-minute header by Croatian striker Mladen Petric from a Nano corner kick, for the game’s only goal. This was the fourth straight league win for Panathinaikos, climbing to third place.

While content with the 1-0 win, Panathinaikos has bigger fish to fry when it comes up against fourth placed Asteras Tripolis on Monday. Asteras is just two points shy of Panathinaikos in fourth place after defeating bottom team Niki Volou 2-0 away courtesy of goals by Tasos Bakasetas and Pablo Mazza.

The week’s catch up matches also provided a huge indication that Olympiakos’ reign might soon be over, as current league leaders PAOK upset the odds.

The Thessaloniki team defeated Olympiakos 2-1 in Piraeus on Wednesday to open a five-point lead at the top of the ladder and pose as a genuine challenger for the title for the first time in the last three decades.

The last time PAOK won the league was in 1984-85, and since then the Thessaloniki club has gone through tough times. But the resilience of PAOK and the uncharacteristic faltering of the Reds so far (this was their second defeat in 11 league games) may point to an exiting league race for the first time in years.

PAOK has another chance this weekend to boost its lead when it takes on Xanthi, a team that hasn’t been able to sustain much consistency. While it was able to force Kalloni’s second loss this season with a 2-1 score, its win- loss-win-loss hoodoo might be continued up against the league’s best.

Olympiakos will take on PAS Giannina on Sunday, hoping to dust itself off after its PAOK defeat. PAS Giannina is in much worse condition after an embarrassing 0-4 loss at home to 14th placed Levadiakos.

Levadiakos take on OFI, after the Iraklio team secured bragging rights with its 1-0 win over crosstown rival Ergotelis at home. A spot kick by Carlos Milhazes seven minutes into time added on gave OFI three vital points in front of the eyes of the Italian candidate investors that its coach, Gennaro Gattuso, brought over to Crete.

Source: Kathimerini

Western Sydney Wanderers Mark Bridge shows his disappointment after their 1-0 l loss to the Brisbane Roar. Photo: AAP/Dean Lewins.

Wounded but resilient, Western Sydney Wanderers coach Tony Popovic says he isn’t nervous about the club’s finals prospects.

The club is still winless after eight matches in their A-League season despite being crowned Asian champions recently.

They took on an equally flat-lining club, Brisbane Roar, on Wednesday and failed to nab three points.

The Roar made use of a small mistake in tough conditions to clinch the 1-0 win, something Popovic admits has been the Wanderers’ undoing in the new season.

“At the moment we’re getting punished for every mistake. One mistake tonight and they got a goal for it,” he said.

“We’re going through a patch with that. That’s not to say we’re not playing well enough to win but we’re not winning games.”

It’s not much consolation for fans, who rightfully expected some results considering the team’s performance in the last two years.

It’s been a frustrating time, but keeping morale up high is one of Popovic’s main goals.

“Are we happy with the results? No, certainly not, but I can’t lie to them and say ‘you’re playing crap and losing games’,” he says.

“We’re playing well and we have to keep that belief and go to Adelaide. If we can perform again we have to believe we can get that win.”

Playing again today, the Wanderers will enter their match against Adelaide United buoyed by the knowledge their opponents tasted defeat for the first time last week.

Fierce rivals Melbourne Victory fought hard to earn their 3-2 win, but showed that the two are still about as equally matched as you can get this season.

Currently unbeaten in 13 matches at home, United have the advantage as it will welcome the Wanderers.

In a round five rematch, Brisbane Roar will be taking on Melbourne City, but not much has changed from a month ago.

Roar is still struggling with consistency, but has a new coach to motivate the team, and Melbourne City is neither here nor there after a strong start to the season.

New Roar interim coach Frans Thijssen is growing in confidence after his first win with the team this week, but admits there’s “a lot to improve on”.

Melbourne City were thrashed by Wellington Phoenix on the weekend, letting a whopping five goals through.

A penalty shot by David Williams was the only time City entered the scoreboard, but shows that the club has some major work to do to really make a run for finals.

They are currently sitting on one win in eight and the worst defensive record in the A-League.

Phoenix have Nathan Burns to thank for their amazing win last week after he scored the club’s first hat-trick.

The Jets will be approaching the match with the main aim of disarming him of any chances if they are to get the one up.

source: Neos Kosmos

It’s the same old story, year after year, and it’s getting a bit tiresome. But the financial woe surrounding the Central Coast Mariners has once again reared its ugly head.

This time it’s been highlighted due to foundation coach Lawrie McKinna stepping down from his ambassador role after growing disenchanted with the direction of the club.

The current Gosford mayor didn’t explain his decision in length, but there was a poorly concealed swipe at the Mariners ownership in his departing statement.

“It has been well documented we used to have the best community model and hopefully we will continue to be the best community-minded club in the A-League,” he said.

His use of the past tense suggests that under the ownership of Mike Charlesworth, who became majority shareholder in March last year, the club have strayed from their original philosophy.

Sound familiar? Only recently we saw a club sack one of the best coaches in the league for straying from club philosophy, yet unfortunately there’s no chance of the Mariners’ ownership getting the same treatment from fans.

Much of the uproar has been down to Charlesworth looking to send matches into North Sydney in a bid to grow the club’s fan-base. On Friday night, the Mariners will play Melbourne Victory at North Sydney Oval, and another match will follow in February at Brookvale Oval.

It’s nothing new, the same strategy was introduced last season, and in all fairness it’s not a bad way to get on board fans that haven’t taken to Sydney FC.

But Charlesworth’s ambition to play four games in North Sydney for 2015-16 is going too far, and coupled with McKinna’s flight it has fans and media speculating that the Englishman may move to relocate the club in the future, which he has denied.

The whole affair of moving games to North Sydney is much ado about nothing at the moment. It’s a business-savvy plan that could reap financial benefits, but four games would mean Gosford only get about 10 home games a season. That’s not good enough.

Charlesworth is adamant that the current rental agreement with Gosford Council for Central Coast Stadium is unsustainable, and he’s been clear that the club need to attract 10,000 fans just to break even each match. McKinna has stated that it costs the Mariners just $7500 per game.

Charlesworth, when Gosford Council took over management of the stadium in February this year, declared that the Mariners wanted a better deal. A better deal than $7500 per game? You’re having a laugh.

Reportedly, though, only 3000 spectators are required at North Sydney Oval for the club to break even.

“How many games we play in Gosford or North Sydney in the future is down to some degree to the attitude of the councils,” Charlesworth said last year.

“We are largely driven by survival and have been for nine years now. And if one council wants us more than another then we take that into account.

“The fact is it is about a third of the price for us to play at North Sydney Oval as compared to Bluetongue [Central Coast Stadium].

“I don’t see us necessarily leaving Gosford, and I don’t want to see that and don’t expect that, but if North Sydney Council offers us a good deal then it’s tempting.”

So the increase in games heading to North Sydney could in fact be a thinly-veiled threat to Gosford Council. Lower the rent, or we’ll go elsewhere. Charlesworth has a right to try and save and make money where he can, but the problem is that Gosford Council are themselves fairly cash-strapped.

McKinna’s role as mayor makes the situation messy. He has a duty of care to the entire Gosford population to get the best deal possible for the community, but it’s also unlikely he’d be looking to rort his beloved Mariners.

Regardless, the main question is why the Mariners find themselves in such dire financial straits. And why, if they only need 10,000 spectators to break even, are they abandoning hope of obtaining that in Gosford?

First things first – finances. Under the tenure of Peter Turnbull and managing director Lyall Gorman, whose reputation has gone from strength to strength, the club posted a profit for 2007-08.

It was the first time in the club’s history, and they boasted an annual turnover of $7 million, indicating a profit of about $300,000.

Granted, that was with an average of more than 15,000 per game, but it was also without the $2.55 million TV money to cover the salary cap. Sponsors and corporate supporters accounted for $3 million, largely arriving in the shape of many small contributors.

It was the epitome of a well-run community club, and that’s what the Mariners were all about. It’s all what football is about. We want the big city clubs, but there’s also something beautiful about small community clubs. The Mariners were extremely active during McKinna’s reign, constantly getting out and interacting with local football clubs and schools.

But the last published figures had the Mariners running at a $1 million deficit in the 2012-13 year, when they had that magic average of 10,000 and were still without the substantial TV funding.

So why hasn’t that original community model been sustainable? Surely if they were engaging with the community as much as they were in earlier years, sponsorship could be found and attendances would rise.

SD Eibar, La Liga’s smallest club, hail from a town of just 27,000 and have an average attendance of less than 5000. Amazingly, they sit mid-table in Spain’s top division, with a total wage bill of about $4 million and a turnover of less than $4.5 million.

Don’t tell me they can survive and run at a profit, which they had been doing in Spain’s second division, while the Mariners cannot. Eibar’s stadium is also owned by local council.

There is nothing wrong with expanding a supporter base, Charlesworth is targeting a region that hasn’t yet nailed its allegiance to any club. Again, it’s business-savvy.

But the Gosford community have shown they can average between 10,000 and 15,000, so why the partial abandonment of its loyal fans? Why not, instead, encourage the North Sydneysiders to travel to Gosford for matches? It makes more sense to build on already solid foundations, rather than start afresh in a new environment.

That can easily be done with two matches per season, there’s no reason for four.

At the current rate, Charlesworth would be better off renaming the club the Northern Mariners and admitting that the club wants to cover both regions.

He’s the owner, and unfortunately that’s the reality of modern football. But it’s not fair on the loyal fans in Gosford, who are being alienated, and the FFA should be attempting to halt the process.

Having the Mariners impede on Sydney territory is not desirable to anyone. With a third Sydney team mooted for the southern region, would that not effectively mean three and a half Sydney teams? Not good.

The Mariners should never stray too far away from Gosford, the Central Coast offers too much to Australian football.

Where would our national side be without the Mariners? Mat Ryan, Mile Jedinak, Alex Wilkinson and Trent Sainsbury are all first team players. Tommy Rogic, when fit, and Oliver Bozanic can be included as squad players, not to mention Bernie Ibini and the emerging Musti Amini.

They’ve made the finals seven out of nine seasons, every time in the top four, not just the six. They’ve been premiers twice, champions once and grand finalists another three times. No one can deny how impressive that is.

Engaging with the Gosford community is the best way to save the Mariners and turn them into a sustainable venture, and it’s the best way to keep the club’s loyal fans onside. Crowds were at 10,000 just two seasons ago, and about 9600 last season. At the current average of 7600, that’s not an unattainable gap to get back to 10,000. It just requires widespread engagement.

The way this is going, something’s got to give. Hopefully that’s Charlesworth and his ploy to encroach into Sydney territory. The only problem is, are the FFA prepared to back the Mariners if he jumps ship? You’d bloody hope so.

source: theroar.com.au

Kenny Lowe’s men came from behind to take all three points and cement their status as front-runners, making a statement of intent to the other would-be title challengers

Perth Glory have added further weight to their A-League title credentials with a stunning come-from-behind 2-1 win over Sydney FC at Allianz Stadium on Thursday night.

In a match that sprung to life after the break, Glory went behind to a controversial penalty converted by their former striker Shane Smeltz 12 minutes into the second half.

But a header by Rostyn Griffiths seven minutes from the end drew the visitor’s level before they were awarded a dubious penalty of their own, which was coolly converted by Andy Keogh.

The defeat was Sydney’s first of the season while Glory pull away at the top of the ladder after one of the better away wins in their history.

WHAT THEY SAID

“The boys have dug deep tonight, I think everyone was on their last legs. The boys are buzzing off that, we’ve worked so hard for it. The Clubs done well, everyone’s done well in the off-season to recruit the players we’ve got and now we’re top of the table.” – Glory midfielder Rostyn Griffiths.

“Very tough (to take), we sort of went close there but we probably should have held on with the way we were playing. I think we were going in search for that second one and we were probably a bit naive in trying to push too much.” – Sydney FC skipper Alex Brosque.

GOALS

1-0 Smeltz (57’) – A flowing Sydney attack ended with Smeltz firing in a shot from the edge of the box which crashed into the arm of Djulbic, with referee Alan Milliner controversially awarding a penalty. Smeltz took on the responsibility against his former club, chipping it down the middle to easily put it past a diving Danny Vukovic.

1-1 Griffiths (83’) – The Sky Blues switched off at a free-kick, Nebojsa Marinkovic’s pin-point delivery finding the head of an unmarked Griffiths who headed it past a stranded Vedran Janjetovic from just six yards out.

1-2 Keogh (87’) – Left-back Scott Jamieson made a marauding run into the box, going down after a clumsy challenge by substitute Chris Naumoff. Keogh sent his spot-kick down the middle, the ball finding its way home despite Janjetovic getting a boot to it.

KEY MOMENT

Sydney had done a decent job of keeping Marinkovic quiet but the Serbian showed his class and importance to Glory with a brilliant free-kick to help Griffiths draw the visitors level. It was a big turning point with Perth going on to snatch all three points via Keogh’s penalty a few minutes later.

OPTA DATA KEY STATS

Sydney missed the chance to equal their best-ever run of form of nine games unbeaten, which last happened almost eight years ago. While Glory have produced arguably their best win of the campaign to remain on top, they have managed to keep just one clean sheet now in their last 21 matches.

HIGHLIGHTS REEL

A lightning counter-attack from the Sky Blues saw Bernie Ibini race clear down the right wing. The winger cleverly cut the ball across goal to Terry Antonis who looked certain to slot it home from just 12 yards out but Vukovic pulled off an incredible one-handed save to push it wide and keep the score at 1-0 to the home side.

COACH KILLER

Perth had dominated the hosts for most of the contest but fell behind to something very much out of their control. There was nothing Djulbic could do when Smeltz’s shot crashed into his arm from just a couple of yards away, but it was enough for referee Milliner to point to the spot, much to the disgust of Glory’s players and their boss Kenny Lowe.

BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD

Injury to Sasa Ognenovski and the suspension of Sebastian Ryall meant Matthew Jurman partnered Nikola Petkovic in the heart of Sydney’s defence. The pair are both left-footed and with Jurman forced to play on the right-hand side of the duo, he found it hard to play out from the back at times. The Glory exploited that and pressed hard whenever Jurman had the ball and won plenty of possession in the Sky Blues’ half. Terry Antonis also played ‘No.10’ but struggled to have the same impact he has had playing in a deeper position for much of the campaign.

THE FINAL WORD

Sydney FC have the luxury of a nine-day break before their next game which is a huge clash away to rivals Melbourne Victory. Glory host Newcastle Jets next Friday but will also have one eye on the Westfield FFA Cup final against Adelaide United just a few days later.

TEAMS

Sydney FC: Janjetovic, Bojic, Jurman (Carle 88’), Petkovic, Gersbach, Antonis, Dimitrijevic, Ibini, Grant (Naumoff 73’), Brosque, Smeltz

Perth Glory: Vukovic, Risdon, Djulbic, Thwaite, Jamieson, Griffiths, Garcia (Zadkovich 74’), Nichols, Marinkovic, De Silva (Harold 66’), Keogh (Maclaren 90+2’)

Scorers: Smeltz 57’, Griffiths 83’, Keogh 87’

Red cards: none

Yellow cards: Djulbic 56’, Nichols 66’

Conditions: 25C, Dry

Attendance: 11,280 @ Allianz Stadium

source: goal.com

Πηγή:in.gr

Απολαυστικές ήταν οι δύο πρώτες της βαθμολογίας της Premier League, στη 14η αγωνιστική. Η Τσέλσι νίκησε άνετα 3-0 την Τότεναμ στο λονδρέζικο ντέρμπι και παραμένει έξι βαθμούς μπροστά από τη Μάντσεστερ Σίτι η οποία πέρασε εντυπωσιακά από το «Στάδιο του Φωτός» επικρατώντας 4-1 της Σάντερλαντ.

Δύο γκολ πέτυχε ο Κουν Αγουέρο που έφτασε τα 14 σε ισάριθμες αναμετρήσεις και οδηγεί την κούρσα των σκόρερ.

Σε άλλο πολύ σημαντικό ματς, η Αρσεναλ νίκησε 1-0 τη Σαουθάμπτον στο «Εμιρεϊτς», με τον Αλέξις Σάντσες να «λυτρώνει» τους γηπεδούχους στο 89΄.

Τα αποτελέσματα και οι σκόρερ στην 14η αγωνιστική:

Μπέρνλι – Νιούκαστλ 1-1
(34΄ Μπόιντ – 48΄ Σισέ)

Μάντσεστερ Γ. – Στόουκ 2-1
(21΄ Φελαϊνί, 59΄ Μάτα – 39΄ Νζοζί)

Λέστερ – Λίβερπουλ 1-3
(22΄αυτ. Μινιολέ – 26΄ Λαλάνα, 54΄ Τζέραρντ, 83΄ Χέντερσον)

Σουόνσι – ΚΠΡ 2-0
(78΄ Κι, 83΄ Ράουτλετζ)

Κρίσταλ Πάλας – Αστον Βίλα 0-1
(32΄ Μπεντέκε)

Γουέστ Μπρομ – Γουέστ Χαμ 1-2
(10΄ Ντόουσον – 35΄ Νόλαν, 45΄ Τόμκινς)

Αρσεναλ – Σαουθάμπτον 1-0
(89΄ Σάντσες)

Τσέλσι – Τότεναμ 3-0
(19΄ Αζάρ, 22΄ Ντρογκμπά, 73΄ Ρεμί)

Εβερτον – Χαλ 1-1
(34΄ Λουκάκου – 59΄ Αλούκο)

Σάντερλαντ – Μάντσεστερ Σίτι 1-4
(19΄ Γουϊκαμ – 21΄,71΄ Αγουέρο, 39΄ Γιόβετιτς, 55΄ Ζαμπαλέτα)

ΒΑΘΜΟΛΟΓΙΑ (σε 14 αγώνες)
Τσέλσι 36
Μάντσεστερ Σίτι 30
Σαουθάμπτον 26
Μάντσεστερ Γιουνάιτεντ 25
Γουεστ Χαμ 24
Άρσεναλ 23
Σουόνσι 22
Τότεναμ 20
Νιουκάστλ 20
Λίβερπουλ 20
Έβερτον 18
Άστον Βίλα 16
Στόουκ Σίτι 15
Σάντερλαντ 14
Γουέστ Μπρομ 13
Κρίσταλ Πάλας 13
Μπέρνλι 12
Χαλ 12
ΚΠΡ 11
Λέστερ 10

Πηγή: in.gr

PAOK beat Olympiakos 2-1 in Piraeus.

The last time PAOK won the league was in 1984-85, and since then the Thessaloniki club has gone through tough times. However on Wednesday it showed at the Karaiskakis Stadium that the time may have come for the team of coach Angelos Anastasiadis to rival Olympiakos for the league crown.

The league still has a long way to go, but the resilience of PAOK and the uncharacteristic faltering of the Reds so far, as this was their second defeat in 11 league games, may point to an exiting league race for the first time in years.

In front of 33,000 Olympiakos fans in Piraeus PAOK led on the 43rd minute as a wonderful counter attack by Facundo Pereyra picked Dimitris Salpingidis; he passed the ball on to Yiannis Skondras whose cross was not cleared by the Olympiakos defense to land on the feet of Stefanos Athanasiadis. The Greece striker opened the score with a tap-in, with the goal coming against the run of play.

Two minutes later David Fuster equalized for Olympiakos with a screamer from the edge of the box after a corner kick from the right, for a 1-1 score at half-time.

Five minutes into the second half PAOK restored its lead with a spectacular volley by Pereyra after a 40-yard through-ball by Ergus Kace. PAOK then held on to its advantage and even had a goal disallowed in injury time that television replays showed it should have stood.

In the day’s other games Xanthi forced Kalloni’s second loss this season with a 2-1 score, while Atromitos and Veria shared a goalless draw.

Levadiakos dismissed PAS Giannina 4-0 away, Kerkyra defeated struggling Panionios 1-0 at home, and Panthrakikos saw off visiting Platanias with the same score.

On Thursday Panathinaikos visits Panetolikos, Niki Volou hosts Asteras Tripolis and OFI meets Ergotelis at the Iraklio derby.

source: Neos Kosmos