Liverpool 2-1 Newcastle (FA Cup)
Bruno Cheyrou struck twice to book a place in the fifth round of the FA Cup after an exciting cup tie at Anfield tonight.
The Frenchman netted his 3rd goal in four games after little more than a minute of play, with a neat side foot from a tight angle after Emile Heskey had seen his initial shot blocked.
But Newcastle levelled things almost instantly, with their own in form French midfielder, Laurent Robert, getting his name on the scoresheet with a thunderous 30 yard free kick which Dudek got fingertips to but couldn't keep out.
A quieter 20 minute spell followed, before Newcastle started to get on top of the game, but without being able to create too many chances.
Liverpool would have been happy to go into half time with the scores level, but the second half was very much a different story and saw the Reds dominate for much of the half, helped by an outstanding display by Steven Gerrard, and a very good half by Anthony Le Tallec, who replaced Heskey at the start of the half.
And the home side were rewarded for their dominance on the hour mark when Bruno Cheyrou grabbed his second of the game, getting on the end of a cross from the left by Gerrard to power a header into the bottom corner leaving Shay Given helpless.
Newcastle looked more threatening towards the end of the game, though fine defensive displays from the back four, Jamie Carragher and Stephane Henchoz inparticular, kept the Geordies out, and a good save by Dudek from a 92nd minute effort by Alan Shearer made sure that Liverpool would hold onto their narrow lead and progress into the last 16.
The fifth round draw takes place on Monday at 13.00 GMT.
LFC-1 Star Man: Jamie Carragher.
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Wolves 1-1 Liverpool
Liverpool moved one place up the table into 5th, but a Kenny Miller equaliser in the final minute of the game denied the Reds all three points, leaving them still four points behind Charlton.
A lively opening saw both keepers forced into making early saves, with Emile Heskey testing Michael Oakes, and almost immediately at the other end, Jerzy Dudek had to be at his best to keep out Steffen Iversen.
The Reds managed to get on top of the game though, and played some terrific football during the half, but without a goal to show for their efforts until Bruno Cheyrou got on the end of a fine pass behind the defence by Finnan, and beat the Wolves keeper from close range to send Liverpool into the break in front.
The home side, in confident mood after a weekend win aganist Man United, refused to give in though, and a determined second half display eventually brought it's reward, but not before Liverpool had missed a host of chances to kill the game off.
Steven Gerrard brought another excellent save out of Oakes, and Michael Owen also had opportunities to double the Reds' lead, firstly with a header from close range which was easily saved, and then he just failed to get on the end of a superb cross from the right by Heskey.
Steffen Iversen at the other end missed a sitter, firing over from 6 yards when he looked certain to level the scores with 25 minutes remaining.
Deapite a period of Wolves pressure, Liverpool continued to press forward in search of a second goal and Danny Murphy almost grabbed it in the dying minutes, though sidefooted a shot onto the post from 10 yards.
That kept Wolves in the game, and Kenny Miller made no mistake when, in the 90th minute, he was presented with a chance to punish Liverpool for their missed chances. Miller struck a low shot across Dudek and into the bottom corner, and with much of the 2 minutes of injury time taken up to allow Steven Gerrard to recieve treatment on an injury picked up after a bad challenge on him, Liverpool were left with virtually no time to respond to the goal conceded.
The point moves Liverpool ahead of Newcastle on goal difference, with both sides currently on 33 points. Charlton, on 37 points, currently occupy the final Champions League spot, with the next round of games set to take place at the end of the month.
LFc-1 Star Man: Steven Gerrard.
Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Liverpool
Liverpool slumped to another Premiership defeat, and now find themselves 5 points behind Charlton in the race for 4th place.
A goal in each half put the home side 2-0 up, with Robbie Keane netting from the penalty spot after being brought down by a lamsy challenge from Biscan, and Helder Postiga scored his first Premiership goal shortly after the break, after getting behind Liverpool's centre back pairing of Biscan and Hyypia.
The Reds looked a shadow of the side which had fought so hard aganist Chelsea and Villa to secure back to back league wins, and despite going more than a month unbeaten in all competitions, the players didn't look in confident mood from the start.
After playing such a key role in Liverpool's previous 3 wins, Emile Heskey was back to showing the kind of form which is unlikely to win him a new contract offer, and Michael Owen, starting consecutive league games for the first time in more than three months, was starved of any kind of decent service thoughout the entire game.
In the Spurs goal, Kasey Keller found himself almost untroubled until the 78th minute, when Harry Kewell charged down the left before finding a gap at the near post to pull a goal back and give his side hope of rescuing an unlikely point. Prior to that, weak strikes at goal and long range shots, including an outrageous 50 yard volley by Stephane Henchoz, had been almost all Liverpool had to offer.
A frustrating afternoon for the travelling fans was made even worse when Uriah Rennie turned down a blatant handball in the box to deny Liverpool a chance of a last minute equaliser.
Had a penalty been awarded, and scored, it would have been tough on the hosts, who were far from their best themselves, but still managed to look more impressive than their Merseyside opponents.
A big improvement is essential if Liverpool want to keep up with the likes of Charlton, and an improved level of consistency will also be required with a series of difficult games coming up.
LFC-1 Star Man: Stephane Henchoz
Liverpool 1-0 Aston Villa
A third Liverpool win in a week kept the pressure on Charlton as Liverpool kept up their unbeaten start to 2004 at home to Aston Villa on Saturday.
The winning goal came nine minutes from half time, with the ball bouncing in off Mark Delaney who knew nothing about it, but despite a touch of good fortune, Liverpool once again did enough to deserve the points.
The outstanding Dietmar Hamann could have put the Reds up inside a minute when his low drive from 25 yards flew agonisingly wide of Thomas Sorensen's goal, and Michael Owen should have opened the scoring ten minutes later though his attempts to divert Harry Kewell's cross into the net from 5 yards out failed, with the striker's side footed effort crashing against the bar.
Aston Villa rarely troubled Liverpool, but almost went ahead through a close range Darius Vassell volley, which on loan keeper Paul Jones had to be at his best to keep out.
Once Liverpool were ahead, they began to look much the stronger of the sides and a solid defensive display barely gave Villa a chance of getting back into the match.
Going forward, Liverpool created a number of chances from which to kill the game off. Owen missed a chance in the first half to double the margin of the Reds' advantage, and Harry Kewell should have netted his 9th of the season with opportunities that fell his way.
The Aussie put in his best performance yet since returning from injury, but had an off day in front of goal, blasting high into the Kop on one occasion after a fine run by him to set up the goalscoring chance, and striking the side netting late on, after a determined run from the halfway line by Cheyrou, who made a late substitute appearance.
It wasn't the most spectacular of performances, but Liverpool did what was needed to earn the points and should be in confident shape when they travel to White Hart Lane next Saturday.
LFC-1 Star Man: Dietmar Hamann.
Chelsea 0-1 Liverpool
Liverpool recorded their first Premiership win at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, to move them into 5th place in the table.
The Reds were given little chance ahead of the match by many, and with Gerrard, Kirkland, Baros, Carragher, Finnan unavailable for selection, and Michael Owen not fit enough to make the starting team, the big names of the Chelsea side were expected to comfortably see that the Blues took all three points.
But Liverpool began brightly and showed no signs of being on the wrong end of another heavy defeat to their London opponents, who were 4-0 winners in he fixture just over two years ago, and Bruno Cheyrou's opening strike was well deserved.
A patient build up started the move which led to the Frenchman's strike, with Liverpool's defenders happy to keep possession in their own third until a suitable opportunity arose to launch an attack on the Chelsea goal.
Stephane Henchoz found Heskey with a 40 yard pass, and after taking the ball down well, Heskey found Cheyrou, who put Heskey back in possession down the right whilst setting off on a run into the centre. Heskey's powerful charge down the wing was followed by a fine cross, played into the box with pace, and Cheyrou made good contact to send the ball past Cudicini.
Liverpool were forced to spend much of the remaining hour in their own half, as Chelsea looked to level the scores, but a solid Liverpool defence, so rare a sight in recent weeks, kept the Blues away from Jerzy Dudek's goal, and the 'keeper had very little to do in the half.
Chelsea put more pressure on Liverpool after the break, though their best chance didn't fall until the final 10 minutes, when Adrian Mutu headed against the bar.
That came just moments after Patrice Luzi had been brought on to replace the injured Jerzy Dudek, who had been suffering from a leg injury.
The 23 year old replacement was stranded on his line for Mutu's effort, though his reactions were excellent a minute later when Mutu again threatened, but was denied by a brave stop at his feet by Luzi.
A controversial ending to the game saw Diouf shown a second yellow card for tangling with Mutu. The 10 remaining players hung on for a priceless win however, and in doing so did a considerable amount of damage to Chelsea's title ambitions.
Gerard Houllier's men are in action against Aston Villa on Saturday, a match in which Liverpool must continue their 4 game unbeaten run if they are to strengthen their claim for a Champions League place.
LFC-1 Star Man: Emile Heskey.
