WEDNESDAY, MAY 7, 2014 SPORTS Naive Liverpool’s title challenge founders in defence LONDON: Liverpool’s quest for a first goals this season but conceded 49. enough and its not acceptable,” he told astonishment at the turn of events: “I am match winning streak that propelled English league title since 1990 has Teams that concede that frequently do Sky Sports. “Liverpool are in top position lost for words, how do you sum that up? Liverpool to the top of the table just over foundered on naive football in two not win titles. for goals scored but they are in the bot- “Liverpool were in control at 3-0 but a month ago. matches where a less gung-ho approach Rodgers spoke after the Palace match tom half of the table for goals conceded. they didn’t kill it off and that’s down to But while the goals flowed at one end, might have produced four points instead about how his team should have “man- “If you are thinking about going for a the manager. They kept playing the same their porous defence had never stopped of one. The dramatic collapse from a 3-0 aged the game better” when they were title, doing it in a way that’s never been way and you can’t do that when you are conceding. They let in three goals at rele- lead with 11 minutes remaining to draw 3-0 ahead, but he must share the blame done scoring lots of goals but conceding having periods where you are not in con- gated Cardiff City in a 6-3 win, and also 3-3 at Crystal Palace on Monday came for not changing his tactics. that many, history shows you it can’t be trol of the game.” conceded three to Swansea City in a 4-3 eight days after Liverpool had dominat- Liverpool’s continued quest for goals done. “You cannot concede that many Liverpool, as they have been all sea- win. They conceded two to both Norwich ed possession against Chelsea at Anfield when they could have shut up shop was goals if you want to go and win the son, were impressive going forward as City and Fulham although they won both only to run out 2-0 losers. The squander- not irrational but an attempt to close the league.” they built what should have been an games 3-2. Rodgers was asked at ing of those precious points means they goal-difference gap with City that would impregnable lead that would keep their Selhurst Park on Monday why his team top the Premier League table with 81 decide the title if the rivals ended up PEGGED BACK title dream very much alive. defended so poorly as the end of the and one match to play, one ahead of with the same points tally. Rodgers might indeed have brought A header from Joe Allen put them 1-0 match approached. “It’s decision-making” Manchester City who have two games It started out as a plus-9 advantage on a defender instead of replacing striker up in the 18th minute before two goals he replied, “We could have done better remaining. for City, went down to plus-6, and then Daniel Sturridge with another attacking early in the second half from Sturridge on the first one. We had to make better Manager Brendan Rodgers was forced back to plus-9 as Liverpool imploded. player in Victor Moses when Liverpool and newly-crowned Footballer of the decisions in the game and that’s what to concede the title race was effectively Former Liverpool and England defender had been pegged back to 3-2. Year Luis Suarez, their 21st and 31st goals cost us. “Maybe we just got carried away over and, in his view, City would now be Jamie Carragher said Rodgers should “I think we had enough defensive of the campaign respectively. and we thought we could get more than crowned champions for the second time have shored up his sometimes fragile players on the field,” the Northern But they collapsed like a house of three goals. The important thing was to in three seasons. central defensive partnership once the Irishman said. “Hindsight is a great thing - cards as Palace hit back with three goals win and we didn’t do that.” As a result of In both games, Liverpool’s chase for lead was established. “He should proba- to have brought on Daniel Agger to in just over nine minutes, one from that decision-making, Liverpool’s long goals, allied to poor defending across the bly have gone with a back three because shore it up, yeah, but then they scored Damien Delaney and two from Dwight wait for a 19th English title will almost back, cost them dearly. They were not Mamadou Sakho and Martin Skrtl defi- again to make it 3-3.” Steve Claridge, Gayle, who hit the killer equaliser in the certainly extend to a quarter of century, isolated tactical lapses. The stats speak nitely need help because the record another former Premier League player 88th minute. That collapse and the while City will celebrate their fourth next for themselves. Liverpool have scored 99 shows their partnership is not good now a media pundit, could not hide his defeat to Chelsea came after an 11- weekend.—Reuters City primed to Guangzhou thrash Cerezo JEONJU: Defending champion Guangzhou equalized in the 30th, Elkeson scored twice finally seal Evergrande thrashed Cerezo Osaka 5-1 in a within four minutes to make it 3-1 before show of force to kick off the knockout halftime. China striker Gao made it 4-1 in rounds of the Asian Champions League the 78th and Muriqui finished off with six the deal in yesterday, while three-time winner Pohang minutes remaining with a goal from close Steelers had a 2-1 comeback win at K- range. In a South Korean derby featuring hectic season League rival Jeonbuk. two former Asian champions, Jeonbuk Marcello Lippi’s Evergrande lineup has opened the scoring with Lee Jae-sung’s LONDON: The most unpredictable Premier League title an enormous advantage ahead of the header in the 53rd minute but Son Jun-ho race for years could still offer up another twist or turn return match in China next week, with pro- equalized five minutes later. before it is decided on Sunday but in a season of gression to the quarterfinals almost certain Go Moo-yul’s strike in the 74th-minute shocks, none would be as monumental as table-top- after the lopsided result in Osaka. Elkeson gave the Steelers the narrow win and a psy- ping Liverpool going on to be crowned champions. and Muriqui each scored twice for the chological edge at home next week with a Liverpool may be the league leaders with just a Chinese Super League powerhouse and spot in the quarterfinals at stake. Pohang is home match against Newcastle to play but for once the Gao Lin added another, while Italy interna- aiming for its sixth quarterfinals appear- old clichÈ that “the table never lies” is wrong, as tional Alessandro Diamanti was instrumen- ance in the continental championship, and Manchester City are just a point adrift with two relative- tal in creating attack opportunities for a record fourth title. In second-round ly routine home fixtures remaining. Elkeson Evergrande. Muriqui ran onto a Diamanti matches in the western zone late yesterday, Even though City still need four points to guarantee pass to score the first goal in the 22nd Al Jazira takes on Al Ain and Al-Ittihad is a second title in three years, Liverpool manager minute and, after Ariajasuru Hasegawa against Al Shabab. —AP Brendan Rodgers conceded defeat in the race on Monday after his side blew a three-goal cushion with 11 minutes to play in a 3-3 draw at Crystal Palace. The lead at the top of the table has changed hands 24 times this season and it is likely to do so for the 25th TACK-Huawei XI jersey unveiled and final time on Wednesday when City meet Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium with the title now firmly in their grasp. At various times this season, if only for one for Desert Premier League in UAE day in Tottenham Hotspur’s case and two in Manchester United’s, City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool have also topped the table, with the top spot occupied by three different teams on some weekends. Champions United led for two days in the first week but David Moyes’s troubled reign soon unravelled and they dropped out of the race early to spend the season among the also-rans. Spurs had one day on top in September but fell off the pace and jettisoned coach Andre Villas-Boas. Arsenal had three months in pole position, but flattered to deceive and could not cope with a series of injuries to key players. Two points behind Liverpool and still mathematical- ly in the title race, Chelsea have dropped 15 points since the end of January, including defeats to Aston Villa, Sunderland and Crystal Palace to leave City firmly in control. FATAL BLOWS City were never completely out of contention but appeared to suffer near-fatal blows when they lost at home to Chelsea at the beginning of February and at Liverpool last month. However, the Premier League’s biggest spenders always had goals to spare and match- es in hand to revive their challenge as soon as their KUWAIT: rivals slipped. While Liverpool are currently top on 81 Teams Association for Cricket in Kuwait (TACK) and along with the Senior Marketing Executive, Faraz Rana.