LIVERPOOL 1 - PORTSMOUTH 0

Liverpool needed a late Steven Gerrard penalty to get all three points against Tony Adams' stubborn Portsmouth side at Anfield.

 

Papa Bouba Diop's crazy handball 14 minutes from time enabled Reds skipper Gerrard to finally beat David James from the spot to give the unbeaten hosts an eighth win out of ten this season and maintain their three-point lead at the top of the Premier League.

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REDS MUST FACE THE PRESSURE

Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard has warned him team-mates they should not get carried away with the win over Chelsea. He believes that Chelsea are a fantastic side, who will come back, and Manchester United will be there or thereabouts.

 

He also pointed out that they have proved nothing yet as they sit on top of the Premier League with just a quarter of the season gone. Gerrard is wary of showing over confidence after the Merseysiders fell away badly following a good start last season. He further added, to win this league and become champions, they have to handle the pressure of being at the top.

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CHELSEA 0 - LIVERPOOL 1

Liverpool ended Chelsea's remarkable unbeaten run at Stamford Bridge with a 1-0 win on Sunday. Spanish schemer Xabi Alonso grabbed the only goal of the game as the Reds opened a 3 points lead in pursuit of the Premier League title.

 

After the start, the hosts dominate much of the early possession as Liverpool adopted a more cautious approach. However, Rafa Benitez's side quickly established a foothold and took the lead on 10 minutes when Alonso's drive was deflected past a helpless Petr Cech by Portuguese full-back Jose Bosingwa.

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RONALDO & TORRES FOR BALLON d'OR

Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard are among 11 Premier League players shortlisted for this year's Ballon d'Or. The trio are the only England players nominated for the award alongside the likes of Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo, the clear favourite and Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas.

 

The France Football magazine today revealed the condensed list of 30 contenders for their European golden ball award. Spain are represented by seven players after winning Euro 2008 in the summer - Torres and Fabregas being joined by Marcos Senna, Sergio Ramos, Iker Casillas, David Villa and Xavi.

 

Nominees
Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Nemanja Vidic, Edwin van der Sar (all Manchester United), Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, Michael Ballack (all Chelsea), Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres (both Liverpool), Cesc Fabregas, Emmanuel Adebayor (both Arsenal), Iker Casillas, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Rafael van der Vaart, Sergio Ramos, Pepe (all Real Madrid), Lionel Messi, Xavi, Samuel Eto'o (all Barcelona), Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid), David Villa (Valencia), Marcos Senna (Villarreal), Kaka (AC Milan), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter Milan), Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Franck Ribery, Luca Toni (both Bayern Munich), Andrei Arshavin (Zenit St Petersburg), Yuri Zhirkov (CSKA Moscow). Karim Benzema (Lyon)

ATHLETICO MADRID 1 - LIVERPOOL 1

Liverpool surrendered their 100 per cent start to this season's Champions League but remain on course for a place in the last 16 following a 1-1 draw at Atletico Madrid. Simao Sabrosa netted a late equaliser to earn Atletico Madrid a 1-1 draw.

 

Earlier, Liverpool took the lead on 14 minutes as striker Robbie Keane breached the Atletico defence to collect a Steven Gerrard pass and stylishly slot past Leo Franco. At the end, Simao's goal maintained his side's place at the top of Group D.

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LIVERPOOL 3 - WIGAN 2

Rafael Benitez will take his unbeaten side to Stamford Bridge next Sunday, admits he would prefer not to have to watch them mount the kind of late recovery that produced a 3-2 win over ten-man Wigan at Anfield. However, the Spaniard has paid tribute to the character of his Liverpool players after another second-half fightback kept them hot on the heels of Chelsea at the top of the Premier League.

Liverpool were twice behind to first-half goals from Egyptian striker Amr Zaki, his second an acrobatic volley into the Kop end. In the absence of the injured Fernando Torres, Dirk Kuyt joined Robbie Keane in attack and the Dutchman scored twice, including a late winner, to triple his league tally for the season. Another goal was scored by Alberto Riera. At the end, Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez saw his side maintain their unbeaten record this season, and stay in second place on goal difference from Chelsea.

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