Suarez salvages Liverpool draw
LONDON (AFP) –
Liverpool‘s Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez celebrates scoring their equalizing goal during the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Newcastle United at Anfield in Liverpool. The game finished 1-1.
Luis Suarez rescued a point for Liverpool with a sublime goal that owed nothing to his alleged penchant for diving in a 1-1 draw at home to 10-man Newcastle at Anfield on Sunday.
This season the Uruguay striker has been on the receiving end of repeated charges from rival managers that he goes to ground all too easily.
However, Suarez delivered a timely reminder of his skill in the 67th minute at Anfield when he drew Liverpool level after Yohan Cabaye had given Newcastle the lead.
Jonas Gutierrez gave possession away to Jose Enrique, who punted a ball into the Newcastle box.
Suarez brought the ball under control, skipped past Fabricio Coloccini and coolly rounded Magpies goalkeeper Tim Krul in a sweeping solo move.
Newcastle United’s Dutch midfielder Vurnon Anita (L) vies with Liverpool’s English midfielder Raheem Sterling (R) during the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Newcastle United at Anfield in Liverpool. The match ended in a 1-1 draw.
Coloccini’s day got worse when he received a straight red card six minutes from time for a wild challenge on Suarez.
Cabaye had put Newcastle in front two minutes before half-time with a superb strike across the face of goal and into the far corner of Brad Jones’s net following a cross from Hatem Ben Arfa.
“We were outstanding,” Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers told the BBC.
“Our possession and intensity was relentless. We went to sleep for the goal but I thought we deserved the three points.
“Suarez’s goal was brilliant and he has been fantastic. His first touch from that height, and touch was an incredible piece of skill and he is a world-class striker,” Rodgers added.
“Most people in football know he is a threat, he plays the false nine role like (Lionel) Messi does at Barcelona. He will be disappointed we did not win.”
The draw left Newcastle in 10th place in the Premier League while Liverpool climbed into 12th spot, three points behind the Magpies.
“We looked comfortable at 1-0 and lacked concentration for their goal,” said Newcastle manager Alan Pardew. “We looked to keep hitting them on the break, but they are clever and Suarez is a great player.
“He was causing us problems and if we could have wrapped him up, we would have won the game. It has been a tough day for us.
“The sending off doesn’t look too clever, Coloccini tries stopping himself to some extent and there not too much intent there. The lineman has given it, and we have to accept that.”
Queens Park Rangers‘ Spanish midfielder Esteban Granero shoots during the English Premier League football match between Queens Park Rangers and Reading at Loftus Road in London. The game finished 1-1.
Earlier on Sunday, Queens Park Rangers and Reading were still both left searching for their first league win of the season after sharing the points in a 1-1 draw at Loftus Road.
However, the result did see QPR at least climb off the bottom of the table, leapfrogging Southampton on goal difference ahead of the Saints’ match against West Brom on Monday.
Former QPR defender Kaspars Gorkss (attn eds: both correct) opened the scoring for visitors Reading in the 16th minute.
But Djibril Cisse earned QPR a draw with a 66th minute equaliser.
Afterwards Cisse insisted QPR, who spent heavily in pre-season, were in a false position.
“You see the quality we have in the team, we don’t belong at the bottom,” he told Sky Sports.
“No disrespect to the other teams — we don’t belong there but football is on the pitch, it is not by talking.”