Carrick misses penalty as Burnley stun United

England midfielder Michael Carrick missed a first-half penalty as English Premier League champions Manchester United suffered a sensational 1-0 defeat at newly-promoted Burnley. The home side scored the only goal of the game in the 19th minute when Stephen Jordan’s deep cross for Martin Paterson was headed away by United full-back Patrice Evra — only for Robbie Blake to meet the ball on the volley and fire a spectacular shot into the top corner

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What is the Confederations Cup?

What are reigning world champions Italy, European champions Spain, and football giants Brazil doing taking on teams like New Zealand and Iraq this month? It sounds like a complete mismatch, but the eight-team FIFA Confederations Cup which starts in South Africa on Sunday, will see these teams pitted against one another in what is a dress-rehearsal of sorts for next year’s World Cup

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Arshavin hits 4 in 8-goal Liverpool draw

Arsenal’s Andrey Arshavin became the first player to score four goals in a league game at Liverpool for 64 years but it was not enough to stop the Reds returning to the top of the Premier League after another 4-4 draw. A week after crashing out of the Champions League 7-5 on aggregate after sharing eight goals in their quarterfinal second leg at Chelsea, Liverpool took their fans on another rollercoaster ride.

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Late Benayoun strike puts Liverpool on top

Substitute Yossi Benayoun scored in the second minute of injury time to give Liverpool a 1-0 win at Fulham to claim top spot in the Premier League ahead of Manchester United. Israeli international Benayoun smashed a right-foot shot past home goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer to leave his side two points clear of United, having played two games more

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Gerrard double as Reds destroy Real Madrid

Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres combined to destroy Real Madrid’s Champions League ambitions as Liverpool powered into the quarterfinals with four goals on the night and 5-0 on aggregate at Anfield. Former Atletico Madrid striker Torres made the breakthrough from close range after 16 minutes of Liverpool pressure when he fired home from close range before Gerrard’s double destroyed any lingering doubts. “The most important thing for me was to win the game and book our place in the last eight and it was a fantastic team performance,” Gerrard told ITV.

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Boro hammer blow to Liverpool title hopes

Liverpool’s Premier League title hopes suffered another severe setback as they went down 2-0 to relegation strugglers Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday. To complete a sorry afternoon for Rafael Benitez and his men, Chelsea grabbed a late winner at home to Wigan to leapfrog them on goal difference into second place in the English standings

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Benayoun header gives Liverpool vital win

Yossi Benayoun headed home a late winner as Liverpool beat in-form Real Madrid 1-0 at the Bernabeu to take control of their Champions League last-16 showdown. Benayoun nodded in Fabio Aurelio’s 82nd-minute free-kick to earn a crucial first leg victory, making Rafael Benitez’s side firm favourites to make the quarterfinal stage

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