Patrice Evra has told reporters of the pain that him and his United teammates are feeling following their 2-0 loss to rivals Liverpool. United were defeated by a Fernando Torres goal, and a late David N'gog goal added salt to United's wounds.

"Normally when United play we create at least five or six clear chances, but we only had the one when Valencia hit the crossbar.

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While Arsenal skipper Cesc Fabregas has clearly enjoyed his Spain side cruise to the World Cup 2010 finals with a perfect record (and no goals conceded at home), he has spoken to Arsenal.com to offer some backing to a couple of his teammates who won't be appearing in the showpiece event next summer.

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Patience is a virtue, and for two of the Premier League's best players, that patience has finally paid off. The crazy thing about it all? These two players are on the same team! And the lucky team is Sunderland.

It was just last season that Sunderland were in the heat of the relegation battle.

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With the first quarter of football almost over in most leagues around Europe, now is a good time to measure the current progress of some of the giant clubs on the continent. Actually, analyzing the success or failure of clubs in general won't be nearly as exciting as identifying a more specific object of analysis.

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The title to this article might suggest that I am providing some late coverage on Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner's recent car accident while driving to practice in his Aston Martin. In reality, though, this article is written in vehement defense of the player, who has certainly had more than his fair share of critics, to put it bluntly.

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Given the title of this article, I could be about to tell you about how the strike duo of Darren Bent and Kenwyne Jones will be leading Sunderland to new heights in the Premier League this season, but we will save that for a later date. I'd rather make a bold statement and talk about the bottom of the table at the moment.

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With yet another exciting Premier League weekend in the books it's time to review this weekend's winners and losers.

Winners Robbie Keane

Robbie Keane emerges from this weekend as the biggest winner. The Tottenham striker has had a relatively quiet start to the season, oftentimes playing second fiddle to the red hot Jermain Defoe.

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Antonio Cassano has reinvented himself. Not only has he changed his physical approach by losing weight, he has changed his mental approach too, becoming not only more mature, but also a leader. He is now someone who visits hospitals and gives signed shirts to sick children. He is now someone who can carry a team on his back, provide assists for his teammates, and entertain the crowd.

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While he was honored as Estonia's best player in the past half a century by the nation's football association, Mart Poom could not earn even remotely the same kind of respect on club level. Despite boasting a variety of Eastern European and English clubs on his resume during his early days as a player, the legendary former Estonia goalkeeper is best remembered for an extremely inactive spell as a back-up keeper at Arsenal F.

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Rewind back to 2003 and you'll see that Jonathan Woodgate had everything. From critical acclaim to a huge fan following, he had all the essentials required to go down in the Newcastle folklore as one of the very best defenders of all time. However, the only obstacle that could stop him injuries came into play very early into his career at St.

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When the Carling Cup Round 3 draw was first made, it was very difficult to imagine West Bromwich Albion providing much of a competition to Arsenal at The Emirates. Granted, Arsene Wenger uses the competition to provide some first-team action to his reserves, but even those teenagers usually prove to be a handful for the opponents.

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There is no denying that Liverpool F.C. is the form team in the Barclays Premier League at the moment. Rafa's Reds have defied all odds to overcome a frustrating start to the campaign and surprisingly, the Steven Gerrard - Fernando Torres pairing isn't exclusively responsible for leading the revival.

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The first defeat of the season is always the most tricky one to deal with. Perhaps that explains why some feel that the earlier it comes, the better. At the beginning of the 2007-08 season, a determined young Arsenal squad made a typically flying start to the campaign.

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There is absolutely no doubt that Fulham's gritty displays of late are deserving of their newfound reputation as the people's club in the Premier League. The masses can relate to their mid-sized squad and down-to-earth players while tourists from all over the world simply cannot resist the amazing atmosphere at the conveniently located Craven Cottage.

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Arsene Wenger's rapidly increasing dependence on youngsters within his squad reached new heights this midweek when he chose to start off the Champions League group stages with rookie Italian goalkeeper Vito Mannone between the sticks.

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With the commencement of the UEFA Champions League group stages this midweek, an important piece of news was relegated to the back of most reporting outlets. Perhaps another reason behind the lack of coverage for the story in question was the refusal, on part of most football lovers, to recollect any part of the uninspiring internationals break.

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PFA chief Gordon Taylor has urged football fans, pundits, and the FA to put a stop to the lynch mob mentality that is surrounding Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor. The targetman stirred up controversy over the weekend by first stamping on Robin van Persie's face before scoring a goal and sprinting the length of the pitch to celebrate in front of the angry Gunners fans.

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This weekend's headlines were stolen by Emmauel Adebayor even before a ball was kicked. Saturday morning, Adebayor finally lashed out at his former club Arsenal, moments before the Gunners kicked-off a challenging visit to the Eastlands.

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For Premier League fans around the world, the last couple of weeks have been almost too painful to endure as something very important seems to have disappeared out of our lives. But with yet another international period finally in the books, we can once again look forward to the return of our most beloved brand of football this weekend.

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Seldom has a talented football nation witnessed the kind of humiliation that the Czech Republic has suffered in the entire last year. In a World Cup qualification campaign where they were placed in perhaps the most competitive of groups alongside Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland, and Northern Ireland, perfection was almost always essential for the Czechs.

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Last week's biggest headline was the announcement that Chelsea have been handed a transfer ban. The Blues are accused of illegally tapping up former Lens youngster Gael Kakuta, and the ruling has sparked controversy all around the world of football. Manchester United appear to be the next club on the chopping block as French club Le Havre are accusing the Premiership champions of tapping up 16 year old Paul Pogba.

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Some moments are never meant to be forgotten. The entire world of football witnessed one such shocking moment a little less than two years ago in London. On a rainy evening at Wembley, hosts England were expected to advance to the finals of Euro 2008 with just a draw needed against visiting Croatia.

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.With less than a year to go before the 2010 World cup is dictating diaries and breaking up marriages, everyone is desperate to get their hands on a ticket to South Africa. So what better way to kick off a nostalgic look back at the Premier League's past then to look at some of the [...] Click to continue reading...

Another week of Premiership action is now in the books, and Thursday means one thing: it's time for the Thursday Throwdown from A to Z. Here we go...

AÂ is for Anelka. Chelsea fans should be counting their lucky stars that both Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba are in spectacular form.

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A great majority of the football world has grown used to laughing off Arsene Wenger's dramatic remarks over major incidents in recent years. This is precisely why the Arsenal manager was largely ignored when he labeled the accusations over Gunners striker Eduardo's recent "dive" against Celtic as a "witch-hunt".

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Officiating in modern day football has already received its fair share of flak. Of course, whenever a certain team is at the receiving end of harsh refereeing decisions, its passionate fans jump at the opportunity to hit back at the match officials with great force. In this article, however, I will not go ahead with the oft-repeated idea of accusing the referees of lacking the ability to call big games without the heavily proposed use of technology.

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Another week is past, and you know what that means: yet another A to Z breakdown of this week in Premier League action. Here we go...

A is for Abou Diaby. The underrated Arsenal midfielder grabbed a brace on Saturday as he led Arsenal to yet another early season romp.

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Are you a fan of Frank Lampard? Don't worry, if you choose not to answer in the affirmative, you surely have some company. While I have written several articles here at Premiership Talk to demonstrate my support for Frank Lampard, this article is not about my support.

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Jermain Defoe yesterday scored his fourth goal of the season to help Tottenham move back to the top of the Premier League table. Harry Redknapp's men came through a tricky London derby with West Ham to maintain their 100% record this season and I think it's fair to say now that Tottenham will be challenging for a Champions League spot come the end of May.

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Stability. Composure. Quality. These are just a few adjectives that England's defense certainly doesn't deserve based on the Three Lions' 2-2 draw against Holland in their most recent international fixture. However, only the aforementioned adjectives can do justice to one defender that England's system failed to recognize.

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This coming season promises to be the most exciting in years. Of course, every coming season promises to be the most exciting in years. This is one of the many truisms of English Football. Last season we gaped open mouthed as Manchester City clumsily wooed Global Franchise Entities with the promise of dreams and Ferrero Rocher.

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The pre-season is in full flow and the build up to the new season is getting more exciting by the day. Therefore, let's take pre-season preparation as a variable to preview this upcoming season in football rather than discussing the oft-repeated, boring variable known as the transfer market.

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Those who saw last night's World Football Challenge clash between Internazionale and Chelsea must have noticed a solid performance from a rapidly emerging star wearing the blue shirt. Branislav Ivanovic, who played fullback for 65 minutes of Chelsea's dominant 2-0 victory over the reigning Italian champions seemed to be the player who was more eager than anyone else to cement his reputation during the high-profile friendly at the Rose Bowl.

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Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Carlos Tevez, and Emmanuel Adebayor! Such is the caliber of each of these players that their involvement in this summer's transfer market has left no spotlight for the lesser-known talent. Such is the nature of the market right now that none of the European giants can be bothered with a move for the hidden gems.

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So, after months of speculation, it seems that Emmanuel Adebayor's departure from Arsenal is inevitable. With Manchester City's spending spree the talk of the town at the moment, the asking price of £25 million, which was once astronomical for clubs like AC Milan, seems to be pocket change for the Eastlanders.

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There have been many occasions in recent years where the genius of Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has been brought into question. After all, the trophy cabinet has been empty for four years and everyone, from skipper Cesc Fabregas to that little child in the upper tier at the Emirates, is becoming increasingly restless with the club's underachievements.

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If there is one team that is secretly thriving in a summer of high-profile transfers, it is Birmingham City. As mentioned by my fellow Premiership Talk writer, Brian Lofrumento, the newly promoted outfit is reportedly pursuing former Arsenal captain Patrick Viera, which is in addition to a handful of other acquisitions made recently.

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On the 20th of June 2006 in Cologne, Germany, I was sat high behind the goal in the RheinEnergieStadion (then called simply 'The FIFA World Cup Stadium') when in the fourth minute, a figure crumpled to the ground. It was hard to see who it was from my unique vantage point, but the man sitting to my left immediately turned round and said 'any money it's Owen'.

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Despite a composed 1-0 win for the LA Galaxy at home to the New England Revolution this weekend, soccer fans around the world (or at least in the US) are still in shock over the rift between two Galaxy stars who missed this weekend's game. While superstar David Beckham is yet to return to the Galaxy this season, his estranged teammate Landon Donovan was rested following a busy period representing his country.

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Hands up if you were cheering on the USA against Brazil in the Confederations Cup Final...... I was too. It would have been great to see an upset and despite Brazil getting themselves the win in the end it was still a great show from the USA to end Spain's record equalling run without a [...] Click to continue reading...