Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard celebrates after scoring with a terrific volley during their English Premier League football match against Manchester City at The Etihad Stadium in Manchester on Sunday.(Photo: REUTERS)

Liverpool did traditional rival Manchester United a huge favor in the Premier League on Sunday, holding Manchester City to a 2-2 draw to leave the stuttering champions nine points behind their neighbors in the title race.

Sergio Aguero’s 79th-minute equalizer earned City a scarcely deserved point that will be of little comfort to manager Roberto Mancini, whose team has now dropped four points in six days and is struggling to keep pace with United’s relentless form.

“Seven or nine points doesn’t change (anything), I think we can recover it,” Mancini said.

Tottenham beat West Bromwich Albion 1-0 in the other game thanks to another superb goal from star winger Gareth Bale, and is now just a point behind third-place Chelsea.

The game turned on the sending-off of West Brom defender Goran Popov in the 48th minute for spitting in the direction of Spurs right back Kyle Walker, with Bale scoring 19 minutes later.

“I’m absolutely disgusted with Goran’s behavior,” West Brom manager Steve Clarke said. “There’s no excuse for that. There’s no place for it in life, never mind on a football pitch.”

Liverpool stayed seventh — nine points behind Spurs and six adrift of local fifth-place Everton, which occupies the league’s sole Europa League spot — and is still awaiting a victory over a team in the top half of the table this season.

But after a draw at Arsenal on Wednesday and another point at City, Liverpool is gathering momentum ahead of some easier games in the run-in.

“We have come to the home of the champions and dominated,” Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said, “(but) we know we can be better.”

City produced one of its poorest performances at home this season and couldn’t cope with the pace and movement of Liverpool forwards Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez.

Sturridge — a recent signing from Chelsea — stood out, canceling out Edin Dzeko’s 23rd-minute opener with a fiercely struck equalizer six minutes later and causing havoc with the home defense.

“I feel like I am maturing a bit, getting a bit fitter,” said Sturridge, who nevertheless finished the match with strapping around his left thigh.

Steven Gerrard rifled home a dipping volley in the 73rd to leave City on the brink of only its second home loss this season, but Aguero came to the rescue by running onto Gareth Barry’s cross, rounding goalkeeper Pepe Reina and finding the net from an acute angle.

“In the last month we played well in all the games but we were so nervous in this game and I don’t know why,” said Mancini, who was missing injured captain Vincent Kompany and key midfielder Yaya Toure.

Popov’s straight red card was set to provide the major talking point at the Hawthorns before Bale took center stage, drifting inside and smashing home a swerving shot from outside the area for his 11th goal of the campaign.

It was the second superb goal he has scored this week, after his solo strike in a 1-1 draw at Norwich on Wednesday when he ran 60 yards before finding the net.

“I am enjoying my football at the moment, and when I am doing that, I usually play well,” Bale said.

Tottenham is now within reach of Chelsea, which lost 3-2 at Newcastle on Saturday.

Source: Irrawaddy.org

Good post!

Perhaps B.J. will close this thread pronto .............

Thanks for keeping us all up to date!

Perhaps B.J. will close this thread pronto .............

Nah ken. I'll let you all have your fun. I remember last year all of the "wheels on the bus have fallen off" jokes. It came back to bite. At least we can keep all the gloating in here. Easier to find later

Perhaps B.J. will close this thread pronto .............

Nah ken. I'll let you all have your fun. I remember last year all of the "wheels on the bus have fallen off" jokes. It came back to bite. At least we can keep all the gloating in here. Easier to find later

At least now we know News editor is a red!

I hope he posts more in here

I hope he posts more in here

Are you sure its not you in disguise??

Mods, not being funny, but if every day the News editor is reporting whats on the back page of the Bangkok Post, this Football Forum is going to get a bit cluttered!!

Thats what we have individual team pages for.

Maybe its someone trying to justify a position he has just been given!!

Everybody has to start somewhere obviously i reported the main news of the day to those that don't come into the forum much the headline says it all doesn't it?

Mods, not being funny, but if every day the News editor is reporting whats on the back page of the Bangkok Post, this Football Forum is going to get a bit cluttered!!

Thats what we have individual team pages for.

I agree, what's the point of suddenly posting this?

And they're not 9 points behind, right now it's basically 10 because of Man U's better GD.

His next headline will be "Bojangles gives up race!"

Mods, not being funny, but if every day the News editor is reporting whats on the back page of the Bangkok Post, this Football Forum is going to get a bit cluttered!!

Thats what we have individual team pages for.

I agree, what's the point of suddenly posting this?

And they're not 9 points behind, right now it's basically 10 because of Man U's better GD.

When we beat them by 2 at their place, it boils down to 6 points and we would have the better goal difference.

Thats the key match at O.T. As long as we win, its not over

Mods, not being funny, but if every day the News editor is reporting whats on the back page of the Bangkok Post, this Football Forum is going to get a bit cluttered!!

Thats what we have individual team pages for.

I agree, what's the point of suddenly posting this?

I have asked the question and await a reply.

Mods, not being funny, but if every day the News editor is reporting whats on the back page of the Bangkok Post, this Football Forum is going to get a bit cluttered!!

Thats what we have individual team pages for.

I agree, what's the point of suddenly posting this?

I have asked the question and await a reply.

Are you gonna send him on holiday mrboj?

Mods, not being funny, but if every day the News editor is reporting whats on the back page of the Bangkok Post, this Football Forum is going to get a bit cluttered!!

Thats what we have individual team pages for.

I agree, what's the point of suddenly posting this?

I have asked the question and await a reply.

Are you gonna send him on holiday mrboj?

I've never done it before, so don't know which button to press. I might end up deleting him

Every now and again a News article will appear which you may think should belong in an ongoing thread. This is purely for the weekly news letter that goes out and basically links to a story in the Football Forum. Members may then start to look at some other threads and hopefully join in. It would be difficult to send out a news letter with links to threads that have been ongoing for several years and are several hundred pages long.

So don't worry if a story breaks of "One Man Team United, Lose Their One Man In a Training Accident With a Loofer" and it is seperate to the Man United thread.

Oh yeah. Topic Closed

Edit:- You guys and gals can start news articles also if you want to, just remember no quotes or links to Bangkok Post.

How about..."Man U sell more shirts in Croydon than Manchester!" for the next headline?

I like the way this thread is turning !!

http://www.wsc.co.uk/wsc-daily/1003-January-2011/6491-why-cockney-reds-can-never-win

As this is a recruitment thread please keep it clean...we wouldn't want any old Manchester City JCL from Thailand upsetting the global sport of banchester city would we,anyway back on topic Jack is grasping at straws now when talking of a game at Old Trafford .....your form means you could actually be struggling for second! did you think of that outcome?

MrRed

As this is a recruitment thread please keep it clean...we wouldn't want any old Manchester City JCL from Thailand upsetting the global sport of banchester city would we,anyway back on topic Jack is grasping at straws now when talking of a game at Old Trafford .....your form means you could actually be struggling for second! did you think of that outcome?

MrRed

Why are they recruiting? Are a few of us heading to the gallows?

mrboj?

anyway back on topic

i gave up long ago on keeping anything on topic in this forum

As this is a recruitment thread please keep it clean...we wouldn't want any old Manchester City JCL from Thailand upsetting the global sport of banchester city would we,anyway back on topic Jack is grasping at straws now when talking of a game at Old Trafford .....your form means you could actually be struggling for second! did you think of that outcome?

MrRed

Why are they recruiting? Are a few of us heading to the gallows?

mrboj?

Non that I'm aware of smokes. Everyone's an Angel in the footy forum. Salt of the earth and all that.

Dropped 2 but should have dropped 3...