Angel Martinez/Getty Images

Goals:
Pedro 11″, 40″
Henry 43″
Messi 87″ PK

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Vintage Arsenal Goal

4-1 is may have been the final result but judging from the opening 20 minutes of the game, it would be rather hard to envisaged that scoreline. Credit to Wolves and McCarthy for their game plan as they came out firing on all cylinders and chose to take the game to us rather than just contend to defend.

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It's early November and we're still another seventh months until the tournament starts but I must admit that the injuries to Rio Ferdinand and Steven Gerrard are beginning to worry me. According to Radio 5, Gerrard hasn't trained for two weeks and Ferdinand's overall fitness this season may have contributed to some of his indifferent performances when he has appeared for Manchester United.

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Despite the doom and gloom of the last few weeks - and amid the continued misplaced vitriol towards the owners - there are plenty of reasons for Liverpool fans to be positive at the moment.
As many people who visit this regularly will know, I take a critical, realist approach to LFC. Within that approach, I always try and be fair, and there is plenty of evidence for that on the site. Click to continue reading...

Figure 1:Â minutes between red cards for Fulham in league games since 08/09 and in Europa League games against AS Roma

Since the start of 08/09:

Fulham red cards in league games:Â 2
Fulham league games: 48
Minutes per red card in league games:Â 2,160

Fulham red cards in games against AS Roma: 3
Fulham games against AS Roma: 2
Minutes per red card in games against AS Roma:Â 60

Proof of underhandness.

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by CARL ELDRIDGEÂ Manuel Almunia has been told by Arsene Wenger that he will remain Arsenal's No 1 goalkeeper.

But the Daily Mail reports that while the Spaniard prepares to face Wolves today he may be interested in the rave review Wenger has given fellow Frenchman Hugo Lloris, the 22-year-old Lyon keeper who starred in the Champions League midweek frustration of Liverpool.

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After eleven league games it looks as if Chelsea and Manchester United will be the two sides battling for the title through the course of the season. Liverpool look to be all but out of it already, questions still remain as to whether Arsenal can maintain their form throughout the campaign and Man City have lost ground following a run of draws.

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Insert your own caption here
Let's get right to our favorite column of the week - the Premier League preview.
I. Manchester United @ Chelsea: The biggest match of the Premier League thus far this season sees Didier Drogba and Wayne Rooney go head-to-head in Sunday's meeting at the top of the table. Click to continue reading...

Despite the plethora of Champions League games available to me this week I flicked my sports channel over to the game in Milan to see whether the Milanistas could re-create their spectacular victory in the Bernabeu two weeks ago. And, despite their failure to upset the football betting odds and re-enact their Madrid heroics following 90 scrappy but passionate minutes, there were still signs that they have turned the corner.

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Champions League View: Bayern Munich and Liverpool FC could get 10 points and still not qualify.

An entertaining set of Champions League games threw up some unexpected results, great games and the odd ninja (but not a very effective one). Almost all of the big names have a chance to reach the knockout stages, even though the likes of Bayern and Liverpool have made it very, very difficult for themselves.

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Liverpool's chances of advancing to the UEFA Champions League knockout stage are on life support after the team's 1-1 draw at Olympique Lyon earlier today. With the point from the draw, Lyon become the first team in the group to advance. Likely to join them are Fiorentina, who sit second on nine points. Click to continue reading...

Time to kiss and make up!

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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur are 12 years behind the Gunners.
Despite making a strong start to the season, with Spurs winning their opening four league games, defeats to Manchester United (3-1), Chelsea (3-0) and Arsenal (3-0) have highlighted that the White Hart Lane side still have their work cut if they are to establish themselves at the top end of the Premier League table.

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With the swine flu doubt cleared up, Paris Saint Germain picked up their first win since the 30th August on Sunday, beating Sochaux 4-1.

After years of struggling the Paris side finally had a good season last year, finishing 6th and only missing out on a Champions League place due to their very poor form in the last league games, picking up only 4 points from a possible 15.

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Apoel Nicosia vs FC Porto

FC Porto will look to lock up second place in Group D with a win against Nicosia. The 2-1 victory a fortnight ago did not represent the game. Porto out-played the Romanian side for the better part of the game and Hulk should have had a hat-trick at least.

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A young Torres in the good old days before incessant groin problems
Liverpool's star striker Fernando Torres faces 2 months out as he could be in line for a hernia option if the situation with his problematic groin does not improve.
While Torres will travel to France with the rest of his teammates to face off against Lyon in a crucial Champions League clash on Wednesday, Rafa Benitez has confirmed that surgery is a very realistic possibility. Click to continue reading...

"Put the chequebook away we're just fine!"

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Mark Hughes has warned Manchester City fans against expecting many new arrivals in the January transfer window.

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This is something I saw at Kopblog, posted by a true fan who did a very good research. Â Maybe some of us might see what's it is like for Rafa and how brilliant he has been for us.
2004/05
£2m - Josemi: peanuts and was moved on in a swap for Kromkamp 18 months later
£1.5m - Antonio Nunez: part of the Michael Owen deal and filled a gap for a while. Click to continue reading...

Football fans are regularly accused of being 'fickle' but, as Pepe Reina proves with his latest comments, it seems that footballers also fall into that category!
September 12th - Liverpool had lost 2 of the first 4 league games. Clearly down in the dumps, Reina stated the following:
"We all want to win the league but right now it's not a realistic objective. Click to continue reading...

Watching Match of the Day this weekend – something I don't normally do these days – it was great not only to watch Chelsea coast to a four nil away win over Bolton but also to see Alans Shearer and Hansen giving Drogba the praise he deserves for recent good form.
I was therefore pretty surprised when, after being asked by host Gary Lineker who was the best striker in the league, Hansen said Torres and Shearer said Rooney.

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Watching Match of the Day this weekend – something I don't normally do these days – it was great not only to watch Chelsea coast to a four nil away win over Bolton but also to see Alans Shearer and Hansen giving Drogba the praise he deserves for recent good form.
I was therefore pretty surprised when, after being asked by host Gary Lineker who was the best striker in the league, Hansen said Torres and Shearer said Rooney.

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Are you still in a state of shock over another poor result ? Did anyone think we'd follow up the great result against Man Utd with a 3-1 loss to Fulham ? It's becoming increasingly difficult to defend LFC's run of poor results.
Sure there's some perfectly valid arguments like we've been hit by lots of injuries and some of our key players aren't fully fit. Click to continue reading...

Let's remind ourselves of the roller coaster ride that the fans of 1. FSV Mainz 05 have been on during the summer of 2009. In March this year, the Mainzer were forced to say goodbye to their influential midfielder Markus Feulner who had signed a pre-contract deal with Borussia Dortmund after impressive displays for the second tier side.

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Bill Shankly once said: "Aim for the sky and you'll reach the ceiling. Aim for the ceiling and you'll stay on the floor". Against Fulham on Saturday, Rafa Benitez didn't aim for the sky or the ceiling; he didn't even aim for the floor! With his cautious approach and maddeningly incomprehensible decisions, Benitez went against everything Liverpool FC stands for and committed the ultimate footballing sin: he gave up and conceded defeat. Click to continue reading...

Its got to be Liverpool's worst run in years.Five defeats in the League already, beaten twice in the Champion's League and we will be going out unless we win our last three group matches, plus out of the Carling Cup alreadyIt is Rafa Benitez's poorest spell in charge of Liverpool since he joined us five years ago. Click to continue reading...

Well wasn't that ugly?
For those of you who TIVO'd the Real Salt Lake vs. Columbus Crew last night, a warning:
STOP! For the love of God, don't try and watch this match. Don't even risk trying to erase it. I recommend that you yank the box out of the wall, go out back and burn it. Click to continue reading...

Reina
Degen Carragher Kyrgiakos Insua
Lucas Mascherano
Kuyt Voronin Benayoun
Torres
Goals:
Zamora 24'
Torres 42'
Nevland 72'
Dempsey 87'
Once again, you have to be kidding me. Another delicious mix of awful luck, costly mistakes, fluke goals, and questionable substitutions. Click to continue reading...

Has to be a quick one this weekend due to the imminent arrival of most of wife's family for lunch, then I'm straight off to a game in the Championship. Last weekend I managed to watch no football whatsoever due to a family gathering and a wedding ('Likely Lads' moment: I was the guest with the mobile phone looking at score updates from Liverpool/Man UÂ during the speeches), so I'm looking forward to this weekend, especially Ajax v Feyenoord tomorrow lunchtime (ESPN)

It's about an hour or so to go before the lunchtime game: Arsenal v Spurs (12:45pm, Sky Sports 1) looks a tasty one, Arsenal have won all four of their home league games this season and Spurs have a decent away record; the rest of today's slate is notable for the players that are missing.

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Gabriel Obertan impressed for much of his début against Barnsley before looking tired in the final fifteen minutes or so. He kept the ball really well, ran at the opposition with speed and showed off his silky skills. He looks to be the real deal, regardless of what Larry White thinks.

He's only had one game so there's no point getting ahead of ourselves, but some sections of the press have already questioned what impact Obertan's arrival and début might have on Nani.

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Hull club officials had plenty of patience with boss Phil Brown over the last year or so, even though the Tigers kept underachieving, but they have finally decided to sack him if the team remain in the relegation zone after the next two rounds. Those of you who were insightful enough to place a bet on Brown to win the Premiership sack race are probably in for a nice betting bonus, while those of you thinking about doing that now should know the betting is suspended.

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Everton v Aston Villa
English Premier League
Saturday, 31 October 2009
Kick-off: 1500 GMT

Everton's injury crisis shows no sign of abating and they are now without 10 senior players for the match against Aston Villa but defender. Leighton Baines and Louis Saha their highest goalscorer this season could return to the fold.

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Manchester United v Blackburn Rovers
English Premier League
Old Trafford
Saturday, 31 October 2009
Kick-off: 1730 GMT

Swine-flu and poor defending will be the talk of the day, as Manchester United take on Blackburn Rovers in a late kickoff on Saturday.

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Liverpool intend to reflect José Reina's status as one of the finest goalkeepers in the game with a lucrative new contract that will secure his long-term future at Anfield.
The 27-year-old still has three years remaining on a five-year contract extension he was awarded in 2007. However, in keeping with club policy not to allow key players to enter the final two years of their contracts, and having tied such players as Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres and Yossi Benayoun to new long-term deals over the summer, Reina is next in line for a contract offer. Click to continue reading...

It is very likely that Stuttgart coach Markus Babbel may be out of the job after the forthcoming weekend. He received the dreaded vote of confidence after their 1-0 defeat to improving Hannover 96 last Saturday but the club's Sporting Director Horst Heldt made it clear that he was looking for a response against the 2 Bundesliga side Greuther Furth in the German Cup (DFB Pokal) on Tuesday. Click to continue reading...

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- Visit also the combination messageboard and quasi-blog QPR Report Messageboard. If you're interested in constantly-updated news re anything QPR-related (not infrequently not found on other QPR sites)and also QPR nostalgia, the QPR Report Messageboard has both - along with assorted eclectic non-QPR football material. Click to continue reading...

Jimmy Conrad and Josh Wolff lead the way in 2009 for Kansas City. (WVH Photo Correspondent Brian Stevens)

The bandwagon was getting bigger for this club going into 2009. Many folks had hoped this was the year the Kansas City Wizards would get over the hump and make a big splash in the eastern conference.

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